The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-03-05 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY !BULLION ROBBERY IN

LON Dow.

On Tuesday aftorsoon, batwerin 3 and 4 o'clock,
Messrs. Rothsehild despatched a uttered van front tlseir
banking utablisheieot ie St. Swithin's-lann, cannon-
street otty, with 24 oases of hellion for shipment to
Hamburg sad Rotterdam. The van to luitti to •
*eerier who has been many years employed by therm
The meow of the boom in forwarding or res-iving
bullion or apreie from eny part of the metropolis is to
make s person in their employment ao. °toothy the
Vehicles. On the printout oticasion the 24 oases (neigh-
ing thout 2 owl. each) were to he shipped on board two
steamers lying in the river. Twelve of the ours were
for the Waterloo, Captain Stemma. bound to Rotter-
dam, and the other 12 for the John Ball steamer, Wand
to Hamburg—both belonged to the General Steam
Navigation Comptny—the former then lying alongside
the Harpy revenue cutler. off the Tower, and the John
Bull of Floreleydowo. All the cues were mashed and
lettered, end the perms sent with them was provided
with two lists or tallies of the marks on the stem in
order that be might tick them of in shipping the..,
persons representing the Ammer being furnished with a
duplicate list to do the R&M as they received them.
The van proceeded to Nieholues Wharf, were the
hellion was uhen out and placed in a boat belonging to
L. Gray, lisliterroan. in Water-lane, which w o lying
of the wh.rf, and polled of alongside the Watertoo.
The itethter had hewn taking in come, and was in chirp
of the chief mats The manna the hellion boat mum
up he attended to the elhiptoent of the cum. They
were hauled np by the •SOMIrs mow, two at a time, and
immediately lowered into the fore bold of the
the reprimentritive of Messrs. Rothschild 14011101 them
of his list as they left his custody, and when the 12 had
been put on beard he received front the chief sate •
receipt of their safe delivery on board and left. The
chid mate went into the bold with dm bnetseraio and
sew them smorely stowed away, and as other goods
tune down them were Filmed round the bullion awes mi
les to 611 up the 'teem decks. The hatebra were then
I put on and fastened with Ito% bare; these were secured
I with a padlock, locked by the chief mate, who had
I poneentiou of the key. There were os board st this
tim• teo hands of the crew (Captain Stream* was not
on board) and three Cestatothoom ofleera The latter
mane on board the Waterloo on her last homeward trip,
last Saturday, and, in aototdame with the Custom.
house regl.tiona would remsin on board till the
steamer had cleated Gravesend on her outward trip.
Throughout the day, a Duleihrean, named Walsh, kept
wets& on deck. He says be never left the desk,
bet be may, nevertheless, have slept there vary
ass ly, fee he had been hard at work all day, and
*Si in no aonditios far beeping • vigilant lookout.
By some unaccountable memo. too of tin, mem of bullion
were sthsteaeted from the hold, and the Wares got
clear oil with them. The intention, no doubt, was to
Garry off the whole of the 12 cars, as the thieves smin
to have had a lighter alongside the steamer to Deceive
them, but they were distarbed and made of. The
robbery was not disooverod till 6 o'cloth on Mod...cley
miming, when the chief mate unlashed the padlocks
fill removed the bats for the men to remove the
'Batches. It me at ones sees that themes° hail bees
disturbed /arise the night,_ and upon the amt. cumin-
lug the mane two were found to be gam, and, front
appearamos, it was quit* evident that tam; had primed
outward up the hatchway, sad that the hatches had
bees removed. It is impossib • for one man to have
118.4 the maws op coo to the deck on amount of their
1 $-41 owt eneb—the diatoms beim some left. or
12ft ; sod the eireelualos arrived at le that the thieves
meet ham hauled them with a pulley rope attached to
the hop el the elaamer's *num end by the same mesas
lowered the oases into a lighter altesmiide, but how this
amid bane been dome with me of the grew on diet is the
esesteatruordinary portal the stair. As mon as the dis-
sever, was made the Thames pollee were walled os board,
esdishriat marsh wan MO& by them moon all the mush
lying mar the Waterloo for the stoles caste, but with-
out avail and daring the day the olleialle of the General
Steam Revigatioe Company were imaged making •
esambing loireethration into the whole- feels of the
robbery but, with the mese:ion of showier, that •
lighter which wee mooned alongside the slmeirr the
night previous bad dliappeared in the morning without
he ormint of its °weir nothing transpired. The (sees
Witham' bars of silver, and their value in estimated at
upwards el L'2,000. The lighter belonged to a lighter.
mast tarrying on Mishima at Wapping, who brought it
plong-ide She steamer the ruble. night with •
wtatticliy of empty asses to be shipped ea beard the
Waterloo; and find* that they maid not be Ulm on
hood for IMO time be moored bet to the steamer,
telling the mate he would remove the lighter the wet
morning. TM emptymuse wen afterwards taken so
beard, and the Custom-home diem have some
reeoltection of suing the lighter still alongside till two '
Maul ; after that boar the was mimed. Sims then
nothing whatever km been beard of the lighter. Both
side' of the river, both above sad below bridge, have
been searched. A large reward has been oilfired by the
climb's of the General Steam Navigation Company to
any one giving informatiou that may lead to the appre-
hension of the thieves. lb. Watenlo Promo "06 on
Thursday morning on her tom, tolloteeriam. Several
of the mow mashed to give evidence oo the subject of
the robbery, and with them also the chief male, Mr.
Robinson. The theory maintained by the thief mate is
that the two oases were eertainly purloined after the
f •steninr down of the hatches, barred and locked though
they were, Hs does not seem to have retained the key
in his owe posawsioo, butt. bars hang it spin hie
berth, which be afterwards socked before going sabots
to sleep. Re sap that whoa be muse au hoard next
morning he found the key of the padlock still batwing
where he had left It; hot the cabin door was thetemed
only by sa ordinary cheep look, end might has. hoes
men by any sestinas key of a eneremondiog am.
Another fast has traospired which seems to mused the
4:imposers's* of the two eases with the now mists,
lighter. Alter Moe °Week es Tosedisy night one of
mow Dolled up the PIT ropes aetathed to the mane es'
hoed, and so left them ow flea. The guy ropes are
employed for 1110Vi011 the sane from over the bola to
our this stumee's side, so m to heist and lows, goods.
TM guy ropee are sever used for boiming goods up
from tine hold • bat as Wednesday wonting me of them
we. found tinselled, and at one part there weep Una,
showing that there had been a heavy strain on it, mu
as would mem in lifting the hellion mom out of the
bold Besides, the rope is booneared with ne• paint,
and on ezawialng the inner framework of the hew.,
which km bees misty pointed, there an the maths of
the paint having been cabbed off by the rope bevies
bass draws up against IL haat Ums desoripties of tbe

miming eases obi& has him Oi Insirculetioe a„q.
the river aide it appears they were about eichtecc
long by fourtewe in depth and width ; formed of bar.,
keotted fir-wood, hound with Irons' both end.. and
nailed with lireg.healled wills. The silver hats in el..
wean marked R. RS, and in tbe other It 111. The?.
is no oddress on either of tb• cur% Sonny due to thia
-west of the robbery ha, hewn found. The chief met.
has diseloeed his reasons frr su.nrciult • liebterman at
having borne band is the robbery. It seem" thcc
only two men belrvgiog to the Watorloo were
when Ibis vessel left the pool on Wedoewlay moroirg.
Toes. were the chief mate. already !mentioned, and the
Dutch sailer who kept watch. or wee *apposed to keep
nabob, tiring Toes lay night on deck. The misaing
barge wee found early on Friday morning alms 'midi,.
' Beyond the mere eiroutestenoe of the booty'. ilaTielg
weighed more than two, or rice three, noes mild sell
helm teenaged to remove, there are •pprarame. 8 which
Induce the belief that s party of at least six in number
were engaged in the felonious operafions.