SACRILEGIOUS ROBBERY IN GERALDINE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1217, 14 August 1884, Page 2

SACRILEGIOUS ROBBERY IN GERALDINE.

The quiet township of Geraldine was thrown into a state of great excitement last .Tuesday morning, when it became known that the Roman Catholic Church had been robbed of the sacred vessels which it contained. It appears that owing to indisposition and the inclemency of the weather the Rev. Father Keane did not pay his accustomed visit to the church on Monday, and consequently it is not definitely know whether the robbery was committed during the Sunday or Monday nights. Circumstances which surround the case, however, lead to the conclusion that it took place on Monday night. On that night the Rev. Father Keane trusted to his man servant to lock up the church. An attempt was also made on the Post Office, it is not known how,the burglars entered the church, but some keys which were in the r > ''•cm the inside are missing. This vvou.u c..u to the conclusion that the thief visited the church in the afternoon before it was locked, took the keys away, and was able to let himself in easily by their means. Of course the servant when looking up con'd not have missed the keys which were from the inside in other doors than that which he had to close. However, when the Rev Father Keane visited the church on Tuesday morning, to celebrate Mass as usual, he found the altar wrecked. The tabernacle which contained the Chalice and Sacred Host had been lifted off, and some crosses and other things were strewn about the floor. On closer examination he found all the sacred vessels had been abstracted, some of which were secreted in the sacristy where only Father Keane himself knew anything about them. He immediately set his man to search for any truces of the stolen articles, and shortly afterwards the tabernacle was found. It had been broken up, and thrown into a creek not far off. The Sacred Host was also found strewn on the ground not far off, but the gold and silver vessels were not to be found. At the place where the tabernacle was found broken wore to bo seen footmarks the character ef which led to the conclusion that at least two, if not more, were engaged "in the sacrilegious work. Burglary is always a sensational incident in the life of a peaceful and semi-rural community like Geraldine, but robbery of a church in such places goes beyond the sensational. It. arouses the religious feelings of the people, and makes': men look with horror on the heinous character of the crime. It is not to be surprised at therefore that the event cause much excitement in the township, not only amongst the members of the church but amongst all the community. The value of the articles stolen and destroyed is estimated at £25; but it is not that which has caused so much annoyance. It is that there should be in the community men so depraved and vicious as to commit such an outrage. Constable Willoughby took the necessary steps for the detection of the perpetrators of the crime early on Tuesday morning. On Tuesday evening Detective Kirby visited the scene. Earnest prayeis ara offered up on nil sides for the arrest of the criminals, and we are sure that nothing will be left undone to attain that end. As already stated an attempt was made at breaking into the Post Office in the same township. Mr Finch, the Postmaster, was awakened by a noise, and soon became aware that someone had entered by the window into the lobby where the private boxes are, and had struck a match. He immediately got up and struck a light, but in doing so ho was overheard by the visitors, who scampered back through the window as fast as possible, They, however, did not run away, but remained prowling about the place for sometime afterwards. Mr Finch thinks there were more than two of them there, and it is supposed they were the same persons who robbed the church. The fact is, it must be, for it is not likely there were two gangs of robbers going afyout on the same night. >