WHAT THE CROWN JEWELS REALLY ARE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 85, 30 March 1908, Page 4

WHAT THE CROWN JEWELS REALLY ARE

Few more sensational crimes have over occurred than the I holt of the (ho Crown jowcU from JJuliliu Castle last •lune. So IfaH'linjr is tin* mystery snrloundiiig tliis robbery ILatj although seven months have now clipped away, the police are apparently no nearer the truth than when they lirsi started their mNestijiations.

The jewel* in que*tioll, wliicli are valued at something like C.Vl.nnn, form part, of the regalia fit' the Order of St. Patrick. They ale used on special Stale occasions, swell as an investiture by thy King, or at a big Viceregal ceremony, and would actually have been required for a brilliant Court function at the Castle on the \Vcdnc*dav after they were jstoleu. They coiM.-t of the following costly and beautiful articles:

A diamond star of the Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick, composed of Brazilian brilliants, consisting of [K)iii'ts issuing from a centre, inclosing a cross of rubies, and a trefoil of diamonds and skv-blue enamel with "Qui* Separabit MDCCLXXXIII " in n>-e diamonds, value ' A diamond liadge of the Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick, *et in silver, containing a trefoil in emerald* on a ruby cross surrounded by a sky-blue j enamelled circle, with " (,Miis Separabit 1 MDCCLXXXIII '' in rose diamonds in a circle of large Brazilian stones Mirmounted by a harp iu diamond* and a hoop, value XI 0,000. Five collars of Knights' Companions of the Order of St. Patrick, composed of gold, with roses and harp* alternately, one having a badge of the Order at* tached. Value £4,000.

These latter are the insignia of tlie Knights of St. .Patrick, and are worn by them oil occasions of State ceremony.

The jewels were not kept iu the nirong room, but ill a >afe in the Oflice of Arms. This oUice looks out on a courtyard, where night and day a sentry paces up ami down on guard.

It -eeius almost certain that the thief did not enter by the window, but ha I obtained possession of keys, both of the oitice and the safe. He seems to have set about hi* task in a cool and leisurely manner, wlucli can only be described as amazing. Por instance, in the case of the dia-mond-studded badge, which was attached to a ribbon by a large number of very small screws passing through eyelets in the silk, he actually took the trouble to unscrew every one of these minute fastenings, instead of cutting through the riblKm. This task, il is estimated, must have occupied nearly an hour.

Such an incident lends colour to the belief that the robbery was ai-complis'i. Ed by someone more or less out of his senses, for it is inconceivable that a sane criminal would have run such an unnecessary risk without any object. In addition to the Crown jewels, a certain amount of valuable property was also abstracted, from the *afc, including an exquisite gold bowl, the property of Sir Arthur Vicar*, valued at CUKtO.

SAISULI'S FUTURE. RAID MACLEAN'S (APTOB IX HIS NEW MoME.

(Loudon "Daily Kxpiv->'' Special Correspondent.) Tangier. February 7. BaiMili, the most Miccessful brigand in Morocco, who lias for seven nmnthheld Ivaid .Maclean capture, received me in liis tent to-day.

After coming into Tangier hist night with his captive and delivering him to the British authorities according to 111** terms of random, he started for a vil three hours away commanding a clear view of Gibraltar, where lie imaking his home. •This morning when I found him he sat at prayers looking towards Meiva. KaJsuli is by descent a holy man. and a> such has a reputation to maintain with hi? follower*.

The village, which consUt- of bamboo huts, i- complexly encircled by gigantic cacti, under winch were crouched fiftyodd mountaineers, as unpleasant-looking a bit of men as it has ever Ixren my IM to see.

In the hut occupied by l'ai>uli there were a dozen other tribesmen sitting i-nunting money and xpiabbling over Cl.oon paid to them in -ilvcr as thuir -hare of the ransom. HaiMili received me with a show of friendliness, but plainly indicated that lie bail not forsaken the brigand's jollaba for holy rotes for the purpose of the interview. Nor did he appear elated at hi" newly acquired British citizenship. The ex-brigand is a rather gross man. With tanned complexion arid black beard under a white hood, he w«is a typical handsome Moor.

When I asked him what he intended to do, he replied: "I shall stay quietly at Zeenat. for a few month*, and afterward- make a pilgrimage to Mecca.'' He added that he did not think he would participate further in Moorish politics, a> lie had no reason to love the past nor to respect the future Covermnen!.

1 asked him if it were true that he had been offered by Mulai llafid, the Pretender, the Governorship of Tangier, in return for political support. He replied: " I liave been offered a great deal Hy both sides, but I made no promises. "When I asked if he realised that for seven months he had held up the effortof the worldS civilisation, dictating term* which, if advanced by any great Power, would have resulted in war, hieye contemplated for a moment (Jibraltar in the hazy distance, and then hi- replied quietly, and without feeling: " I kuew L wanted something-. 1 knew what it was. and f got it."

At this moment a caravan, headed by Kaisuli's brother, entered the village. It was composed oi five women slavs. whom the bandit had not seen for several year*, and whose release was part of the terms secured for Kaid Maclean's freedom.

Baisuli's greeting was unemotional, a- if he had seen them yesterday, bu: the women displayed great feeling.

A-> I rode away from the village acro-s the lulls J felt that Morocco lnd lost one o? her few >trong men. and her los- might be Fngland'i gain.