THE NAVUA ROBBERY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10913, 6 March 1907, Page 4

THE NAVUA ROBBERY.

CONFESSION BY THIRD OFFICER. A feature of proceedings m. the w Auckland Police Court on Monday m 'connection with the robbery of £1000 from the steamer Navua was the confession by Lawrence Christie, third officer of the Navua ; m which he said:— "About three months before the- robbery, I was on watclf. one night. Patrick Manning was on the look-out, and was on the bridge with me. Planning spoke of making some moncj and getting away from going to seat H( said something about wishing he could get to rob a bank or a safe.' The night after we left Levuka, Manning said tc me, Was there any jrold put on board al Levuka?' I said 'I do not know, but ] know some gold came on board at Syd ney.' W© then arranged (Manning anc myself) that we would try and get some of the money-, that was on board, am it was algo agreed between us that J should gp down and get itj as no notici would be taken of me if I was seen m tin .saloon. 'On the following night I went t( the captain's room while he was m th< •smoking-room, and 'got the- keys of tlu 'strong-room and the outer door. I goi the keys from a drawer m the captain's desk. I kept the keys until midnight when I leffc the bridge, went down anc had my usual bath. Then I went anc opened the outer door of the strong room and then opened the safe. I gropec around m the dark, and then felt twe large boxes and a small one. I took th< small one, imagining that I was onlj stealing a small amount, and locked tlu siife and the outer door again. After ] got possession of the captain's keys, I tolc Patrick Manning that I had them, anc that I was going down to the safe; Man ning knew .what I was going to the saf< for. When I took the box out of the safe I put it into an open case beside the fun. nelon the top deck, and covered it ovei with .an oilskin coat. I still kept posses sion of the safe keys, and went and turnec m.; I saw Patrick Manning early the fol lowing morning, and said to him, 'I have got a box of money m the case beside^ th< funnel on the top . deck.' H e said, Tl get it stowed away to-night.' I replacec the keys m the captain's drawer whilst he was below. On that night I was on watel between 8 and VZ. I saw Manning come \ip and take the box of money from tlu case where I had put ifc. He tookitdowii to the main deck m the oilskin coat, and, to the best of my belief, put it down tlu hold. On Sunday we were anchored m the bay, and Manning and myself went down into the hold and opened the box. Manning worked the screws out of the box with the aid of a scraper, and we transferred the gold into two bags — cloth bags — aoid stowed the bags under a bug of sugar. When we opened the box, J saw that it contained sovereigns, and 1 judged by appearance that there would be 500. After this, and while at Samoa. Manning went down the hold, put the box into a sack with something heavy, tied it, and threw it up to me. I pushed it through a port hole into the sea. As the hold kept on getting filled with cargo, wo kept shifting, the bags of sovereigns upwards. 1 shifted them once, and I think Manning shifted them once or more. The bags remained m the hold until the ■night before we gob to Auckland. On that night I got one up, and gave it to Manning. Later on that night he got tli c other up and stowed them about the deck. One was sewn up m a bag of sulphur m one of the native water closets. The- other one he put m a bilge pump pipe. It was agreed that the money be equally divided, and the bulk of it \»as takjen ashore by Manning. No person on 'board or anvpne else had anything to do with th c robbery—only Manning and myself." Patrick Manning, on hearing the statement made by Christie read over, 6aid m a confession :— "The statement is true, and lam glad that he has made it. I was only trying to screen him. You might well know now where the rest of the money is. It's m Avuikhnd. I left it m the care of Charlie Pepper, Mount Roskill road, near Mason's store." It is m one of the canvas bags that Christie speaks of. The amount I don't know; I believe it. is about £5500. The box is m his bed-room—-a wooden box which was intended for a sea chest." .'.. : ■ : . ■■..