ALLEGED ROBBERY OF STAMPS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7878, 19 January 1903, Page 3

ALLEGED ROBBERY OF STAMPS.

A CHANCERY LANE SENSATION KKVIVED. At tho Police Court this morning, before Mr 11. M. Taylor, J.P. and, Mr t. York, J.P., Walter Ernest Hose, a young man, was J charged with having, on or about August 21, 1902, at Ciiristelmrch, broken into and entered the ollicc of Churk's G. Fryer and stolen one rolled gold watch, a gold s-jal and a quantity of us<?d and limited postage stamps, valued at £200, the property of Charles G. Fryer. Mr M'ConiH'll appeared for the accused, and Mr Russell conducted' the case for the prosecution. Charles (J. Fryer said he was a stamp collector and tkaler, carrying on business in Chancery Lane. Witness had known the accused: for about seven years, and during the last two years he had been carrying on a business of his own a few doors irom witness's office. He was }a frequent visitor in the office, and on the night of August 21 witness, accompanied by Rose, who had been assisting 'him -during the afternoon, left the office, Rose locking tho back doors of the office before ; he left. The locks of these doors were fitted with fastenings which operated when tho door .slammed, but it was possible for a person to unlock them again undetected by pulling back and clipping tho catch. Before leaving, the accused asked witness if he was coming back ia the evening, and' received an, answer in the negative. Next morning witness found that the office 'had been .entered, and boxes of stamps had been removed from the shelves nnd! emptied of their contents. He valued the stamps which were stolen at from £200 to £300. A rolled gold watch and a gold - mounted seal, valued at about £6 10s, were also taken. About three months before the robbery witness had also missed a pile of registered letter receipts and a chisel from his office. This chisel witness found in the office on the morning of the robbery. It was the custom lamong stamp dealers to receive, sheets of stamps for approval from the Philatelic Society, and in the place of those stamps which they removed from the sheet they substituted a numbered ticket, which informed the Society as to the purchaser and also acted as an 1.0. U. Witness marked some of his stamps with a dot, which constituted his private mark. At that time Rose owed him £30, and after the date of the robbery witness bought five or six lots of stamps from him. In. the last lot he bought, on Oct. 31, there were three stamps which bore a mark similar to his private mark. One. was a New Zealand 5s used stamp, which he identified as one which he bought from a boy named Robinson. The mount was similar to those used by witness, and to the best of his knowledge the accused did not use these kind of mounts, bub what were known as rolled mounts. The registered letter (produced) was among the articles taken from the box in his office on thq. mghb of the robbery, and had contained a letter, some stamps and a money draft. The numbered dockets (produced) were also his, and bore his number registered with the Philatelic Society, and the bundles of stamps produced were similarly marked and of the same face value as those, which he had lost on the night of the robbery. The stamp sheet produced had been supplied to him from London, and his initials had been stamped in the spaces from which stamps had been sold. Witness went on to identify a great munber of stamps and documents produced as being similar to those stolen from his office. In soma oases the stamps were positively identified. After the robbery the accused had attempted to fasten suspicion upon one Angles Donaldson, who, he said, was the. only one who could have entered 1 the place. AAccompanied by the police, witness searched the accused's 'home under a search warrant, 'but none of the more valuable stamps were found; there. ( (Left sitting.)