TWO KINDS OF DOUGH

Southland Times, Issue 19515, 15 May 1922, Page 6

TWO KINDS OF DOUGH

MISCHIEF IN A BAKERY. BANK NOTES RECOVERED FROM THE ESTUARY. The oft-quoted phrase, “fact is stronger than fiction” was exemplified in a remarkable manner on Saturday when, a story a modern novelist might‘have been proud of was brought to the notice of a Times reporter in connection with a number of burglaries in Invercargill. A man is at present in custody charged with, breaking and entering premises in South Invercargill, with wilfully destroying goods therein, and with being a rogue and a vagabond, and also with being in possession of a skeleton key. A further five charges of breaking, entering and theft will be preferred against him

During the past week or two a series of thefts in all parts of the town has been engaging the attention of the police and Detective Lean, arrested the man and £6l in banknotes was recovered. The accused was formerly-in the employ of Mr Champion, who is a baker at South Invercargill and the charge preferred against him of destroying goods, relates to the destruction of a batch of bread, consisting of something lilce 220 loaves. Whoever was responsible for the act appears to have gone about the job with earnestness. To the dough had been added a large dipper-full of what is thought to have been washing soda and boiling water and a second mixture consisting of soap and water was also used. Apparently, determined that the success of the weird scheme of ruination, should not suffer from want of the necessary ingredients, the destroyer had in readiness a large Glaxo tin full of some unknown mixture in which soap again played a big part; but either it was not needed or the man thought he had done enough for one night, and the third mixture was not utilised. One of the loaves that had undergone such treatment was seen at the Police Station on Saturday and disclosed a block that was nearly as solid as a brick. The story that came to light in connection with the thefts of money is more extraordinary still. The total amount involved in the thefts was about £6O and the greater part of it was recovered on Thursday under strange circumstances. From the evidence in possession of the police it appears that on Tuesday morning, the day before he was arrested, the man was loitering about in William Street, South Invercargill when he saw Acting-De-tective Lean coming along the street. The detective did not see the.man but the latter went down to the estuary and, screwing the money up into a ball, flung it into the water. After his arrest on Thursday, the accused told his story to the detective, who thinking there might be something in it resolved to investigate at the place where the accused insisted he had thrown in the money. A party of searchers was accordingly organised and proceeded to the riverside. This was two and a-half days after the notes had been thrown in. A long search of the foreshore revealed nothing, but some time later a member of the party appeared with a bundle of wet paper—nothing more or less than the missing notes! The notes, although wet, were none the worse for their long immersion and were subsequently spread out in a room and dried. The estuary is subject to tidal ebb and flow and it is a wonder the notes were not carried out to sea.