The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-04-22 00:00:00

DARING ATTEMPT TO ROB A SAVINGS
BANK.

IWe read in a New York paper the following account of an
attempt made by three men to rob the Central Park Saviors
Bank in that clty, at half-past eleven o'clock In the morning
One of them locked the street door. The other two
leaped over the counter, and while one secured a pistol
kept within the reach of Anthony Ellison, the teller
of the bank, the other seized Mr. Euioon, and with the
aid of his companions, threwhins to the II ,or and securely
bound and gagged him. Hie bawls were tied behind
him, and a portion of the handkerchief which was
used as a gag also covered his face and pre-
vented Lieu from suieing his assailants. Mr. Ellison
is nearly 70, and was therefore unable to cope with
his antagonists; end the attack was 90 unexpected
that he had not presence of mind to give an alarm.
sre the thieves had time to examine the place and
ascertain what plunder could be secured, Dr. James
Hadden came to the bank and attempted to enter.
Findaag the door locked he kicked in one of the large
plate.gtass windows, an 1 entering found Mr. Ellison
lying on the floor, and the gang 81moms-ling him. Oa
raeing Dr. Hadden the thieves fled through the rear
door into t'se yard, mulled the fence' and can into
Fixtya:xth-street. There a confederate was waiting
with a horse and light wagon. HAI this they leaped,
and were driven rapidly away, passing down Third
Avenue to Forty-fi:ta-street, and through Forty-fifth-
street. Near Four.h Avenue their wagon was stuck
in the mud, and they abandoned it anti escaoed.
the horse and wagon were meowed by the police.
Toe torte is a handsome hay, and Wl3 evidently
ael- cted for his steed. The wagon is ouch ns is used
by grocers and plumbers, and has no name on it.
Th., number :St is painted over as though an attempt
had been wade to erase it. The thieves, no far as can
be ascertained, securedbetwsea 300 and 400 dole.,
taken in during theme Ding. A year or two ago an
attempt was made to rob this bank, when it was
situated further up the avenue. The thieves knocked
down the clerk in attendance, and were seizing the
money and securities when they were interrupted by
the entrance of a customer, and fled, dropping a package
of bonds in their flight. One of them was arrested
and sentenced for a term of years to Sing Sing.
This latest attempt is one of the boldest of the kind for
several years past. The bank is in a thickly-populated
neighbourhood. with stores on either side. Had an
alarm been given by the teller, a crowd could have stir-
rounded the building almost immediately, and It would
have been exceedingly difficult for the thieves to have
; made their escape.

Cap"a'n Gunner and his officers, on being made
acquairced with the robbery, at once started in
scorch of the thieves, but failed to find them. The
men were seen by various persons to leave their wagon
in Forty•fifth.street, and run down Fourth Avenue to
Forty-second-street, and thence to Fifth Avenue,
a here all trace of tlir-m was lost. They are described
as young men, well dressed, and apparently not die.
guised in any way. Undoubtedly the thieves had made
themselves acquainted with the interior of the bank,
and the manner in which the business was conducted.
The fact that one of them at once secured the pistol
['hewed that they had learned where It was kept.

THE NEW LICENSING BILL.

A largely-attended nieetins of licensed victuallers of the
Met-op its, convened at tie Instance of the Licensed
Victuallers' Protection Society, WAS held in Landon, on
Monday, at the Agricultural-hall, Islington, to consider the
provisions of, or, as some of the printed broadsides an-
nounced, "to oppose" Mr. Iltuele's Public house Licensing
Pill. The chair was occupLwl by Mr. Thareton, the chairman
of the Proteettm Society, and thine were at least 3,0)0 mem-
bers of the trade present.
l'he Chairman spa ke of the anxiety felt by the society at
the introduction of the bin, which to slat to have been en.
tittal a hlli of pains, penalties and confiscation. (near,
hear) Ile complained of the tac`ics of the Home Secretary
In delaying the publication of the bill until the eve of the N.
atsembilug of Parliament, with the view, no (VIOL of pre-
venting any action on the port of the trade until It WWI too
late Me in that he had been disappointed It was setts-
f..ctory that in opposites the )JI.I they had the moral and
active support of tie defence !wile. both of ti,otl di 1 and
Ireland, although the latter country was not at present
threatened by the measure A ilelegrde meeting of the whole
trade would take place at the Landon Tavern, at which dis-
trict committees woull be a,„pointed to organize a thorough
opposition to the Oovernment tues.ure throughout the whole
country.
Mr. J. G. limner moved the (trot resolution

That this meeting, heels g given careful nail anxious Con-
sidenition to the Licausing Bill now before the LUMIA) of
Commons, is pahifully convinced that, if the said bill were
passed into a law, it would necesseelly It Let an Irreparable
mount of injury upon the members of the lecemed Vic-
tualler.' trade. and at the same time produce great incon-
venience to the public at lerge. This meatleg Is, therefore,
(heeds:idly of opinion that the said bill ought to be opposed."
The bill might be designated the Goveremeut Robbery Bill.
(sheers). The licensed victuallers were celled Into extstence
tie, Act of Perlarneet, before the reign sf Edward the Sixth,
to ailmisil,ter to the wrote and racessitlea of the public, the
power of renewing the liceeces being delegeted to the men..
trates, who, al far as hie experience went, never took a
licence away except for a breach of the law. It was on the
faith of that net subsequent Acts, aid In perfect faith and
confldenee Its the Legislature, that the trade bad Invest° 1
large same In ILeneed publiohousr., nrylog io amonnt from
£l. 0 to £2e,1110 respectively. A friend of his had recently
paid £17,000 for the lease of a Hemmed house, which he
would have hesitated to do if he had imagined that after
ten yearn the value of his property would be contiscated. He
described the proposed inspection, for which the licensed
vlctuidlers are to be charged £ISO,OeO a year, as a system of
useless but vexatious eapionage. lie dented the milieu:thee
, of adulteration, and insisted that generally the pnbllcane
sohl a genuine article as they received it IC, m the wholesale
houses. But if there was Adulteration, the police and lu.
land revenue officer' were turn:lent to detect it, or, if not.
let the It: ff of the.° services ba Manned. Ihe object of the
/tome Secretary evidently was, that by getting two or
three convictions again.: the puliican during the ton years
of grace, by means of his spies, materially to reduce the
cumber of licence.. The preposal of 'butting the tcialteg
Hermas of ten years was a measure of centiscation of the
grossest kind, and thin was to be done without any compen-
sation, although ParlMnient had given compensation to
the slave° wners, the parochial s IlMers, the proctors, the
Poor LAW nmeical °nicer., end even to the Vintner's
Company, which it was now proposed to abolish.
The effect of the bill would be to reduce the number
of licences in the Tower Herniate from I 200 to 200 or 25),
so that 1,000 publicans would be turned oat of door.
utterly ruined. (Hear.) Unfortunately, the Home
Secretary, had coneeleed the United Kingdom Alliance
In ',repartee the bill, throughout the whole of which the
permissive element was conspicuous. Had he consulted
some of the leading member. of the licensed victuallers'
trade as well as their opponents he would have been ahle
to frame a bill which would have beers fair to all pantos.
(Hoar, hear) If the Goverument would apply toe
£131,000 A year which it was proposed to teke from the
publicans fn payineut for 'Louses to the buying up of such
licensed house, as were not necessary and did nut pay, they
would accomplish the object of reducing the slumber of
pubtc-houses without Liming individuals. And another
suggestton he wind mane was, that they might create a
revenue of about £50.000 ear, which might be mail,
applieable to the same phrpese, by ley) Mg the licence duty '
according to the rattng of the houses, say fiem LI to
Ile advi ed unanimity of AC.IOII as the certein means of
incklug the hill out of the liouge, and for one he should be
gist lithe Illulatry went with Ir. I Lost cheers.)
Mr. Winterbotham nconded the motion, and denying the
allegation that the licensed nctuellers encouraged di unki-n.
ness, contended that there was no ground whatever for Mr.
Bruce's C mtlscstion Bill." Ile pointed out various obi,- c•
Lions lathe details of the bill, and dwelt upon the unfeires se
with which the licensed victuallers were treated even under
the present law as cerepared with the grocers, wt,, had
recently been brought into ci mpetitlon with them as retailers
of spirits.
A gentleman In the Maly of the hall said that he had been
informed bye memberof Parliament that Mr. Bruce intended
to show no mercy to the teak, bat to press the second read.
fog of the bill on the IA of May at all has oda and therefore
he (the speaker) gnu the necessity o. incant, united, and
eni.rgetic actien.

---• ••••
Tho rntoluzlon was unaninmuiiy, and by acclama-
tion.

Mr. G. Adana moved the adoption of a p..taion to Paella.
mint embodying the provl.ins r.olation, and elated that
if the lull passed without &iteration he stood to bee from
.ClO,OlO to £lO COO. That pu'llaims had a vested interest in
their iicei.ces Lad been aituowlidiged by Govoi 'meld, by
railway con.pdiles, and other bodice. when public houses
had bten required to be taken down for public improvement
this WM seconded by Mr. Pannell, adi abia on intimmely
adopted • as was e Wed, moved by Mr. Vously, seconded by
Mr. Globons. pled.lno the meeting to tappet the flamed
Victuallers Protection S 'Moly In formlog district msetines
In all p..ets of the mtrpelis to organise the means to be
adopted to c wry the oppoaition to the bill into effective ope-
ra!ion.

Avery long Pat of subscriptions to support the opposition
having been read, a vote of thanks to the Chairman And the
Committee of the Protection Society fel' the Juifolous and
Oecielve steps which they have taken and propose to take In
reference to the Ldil concluded the proceedings.

A large meeting of the members of the e Anity Brewers,
Society was glen hold on Monday afternoon at the CAntnerclal
8410 It-wm,, 111Mcing-lane, Gmadou, to c•sisider the provisions
of the above bill.

Et;,;,;:5:7f Ipswich, the Chairman of the Committee,
presided, and in evening the proceedings remarked that
they met under very t:itl :rent ctscumstaticos to those of the
I at occasion when they were called together. Then they
were in the dere, the bill was on'y is preparation,
now they keew weat the Lill was, and its provinces ha
caused no little surprise. Alec so noon? Iron of
pr miss eneh a bill or is hardly expeaed, off clog as It
did not only the bitterest of the era le, but that of the
column:oh, at lame. As it stood the bill was impraw
ticatee, aid Propoesible t carry out. Us held lu his hand
a letier from Mean,. Reid and Co., ataiins the ou'y way
to meet a bill like this, ruinous to ou-ssives and In-
joln
ma to the public, to to bring the united ipterest of tne
public-on., the brewers, and the distd'ers to !wee upon it, se
that It mdikt be radically amended," and It had also been
Intimated that Mr. Stang( 31d, the President of the Poor Lew
BoerJ, who was connected with the brewing Interest, was
qulteopp mei to the bill as P. stood. The committee, how-
ever, deemed i. unnecessary to go into the derails of the
mealier° with a view to Its amendment, and the course they
2... commended WAS that MO today should take up the grontet
Vest the me...ere was totally impractiedo'e. (Chetro.) R
r.lutlons would tlperefore he proposed for opposing the bill
oa the second towhee/. If they succeeded, it was just pota-
ble they vroted be leepared with a tell of their own, 0 meet
the pants of the entire commuulty ; on the other hood,
should the reconti reading be carried, their oppontion would
still go ou, be order to get rid of the objectionable clau-es.
(Clwers )
Mr. F. Slob (Chiswick) denounced the bill as a maature of
cosflscation, brought forward to satiety the dediteds of a
clique while it was as Involved In police teguletli 113 that if
passed no man would be safe In going into epublic-hon e or
an hotel, unless he carried with him the Act toe know how
and when to avoid Its palna and penalties. As to the pro-
posed lio speetion, to carry it out would moire a new class
of pollee woo should be free from temptation, and where
could they lee fomioti Laugheer). Amother monstrous
clause forbade any man making alteratiena in bit
house or premiees without the pei mission of the magis-
(rates The Beer House Act of 153), which the brewers
Opposed, had hoe, the route of muita of the mis-
chief complained of, and It was uelest to visit its sins upon
the trade. The bill by its permissive clauses would throw
the apple of discord into every pariah without accomplish-
tag any good, for the permissive net au had felled in America,
while at home Plead met with no better success when applied
by Mr. Bruce hireseif to cabs. (Bear, hoar.) The bill it
other respects affected the liberty of the Alli led, and he had
much pleasure in proposing that it ehould be met with a
determined opposition on the second reading. (Cneers.)
Str. l'sborne seconded the propoAtlon, when wee
mooeiya,aented to.
. .

Mr. dimmonds iltnidlng) moved that petitions generally
should be presented against the bill, and representations
made to Individual members of the I loose of Corunions whit
reused to it. The petitions isnould c ewe, not only from the
brewers, but also from the custonizre old freqnenters of
pubtic-houses. As to the other part of the resolution, there
were few country brewers who could not intinence members
and they, as well as the publicans, should let It be known
that they Collill only support members who oppseed this 1011.
Their polities must be the 1,1.101..111g 1111. All other politics
he looked upon as an expensive luxury that he could not
off mi to indulge In, and alihoirgh tne representative of his
borough entertained eldfcrent political vkws to his own, they
should hove his vote if they opposed this bill. That was his
price. (Langhter )
Mr, Peel (Watlington) seconded the resolution, and said
he was sure his member (Mr. Henley), to whom he had ad-
dressed a letter on the subjact, would vote agalnit the bill.
He had no uolion of munendering 50 per cent. of the pro.
perty of the trade for the satre of C nictitating or gratifying
the Temperance League, the United Kingdom, or any other
extreme Alliance. fencers )
Mr. Ford (Portsmouth) announced that the trade of his
illArlct had already begun action. One of their members
hod promised to vote against the second reading, and a de-
putation was now In town to interview" the others, both
b.l9ugh and c only.— . . . .

Mr. Hardcaatle, M P., a former member of the society,
responding to an appeal from the chair, rdmitted the Im-
mense importance of seeing members personally. Petitions,
when they reached the House, were Stuffed into a bag,
carried away by a porter, and seldom seen or heard of after-
wards. To produce any effect, the pettiona mint be sent up
In great numbers, but it they wattle] to turn a rnsprity into
a minority, they must bring their influence to hear upon
In itvloinal members, and to do that county and b trough
brewers should are or send eh-want:one to their own mom
hers, urging upon them the envie fact that their property
would be depreciated 50 or 00 per cent., and insisting upon
their voting spinet the bill. (Choral It was a simple
matter of organ:a Won ; they had the ball at their toe, and
they had ply to exert themselves to succeed. (Caren).
The resolution, like the formers war carried unanimously:
esti on the motion of Mr. lialle't (13rtghtot,), recoroted by
Mx Ford (Portsmouth), It was further resolved unanimously,
that d-potations front every cour.ty in Eaglat d ahem d watt
on (ho Individual members, both of imroughs and counties,
ti urge them to oppose the bill.
Titania were voted to tbe Chairman for presiding, rot the
Meeting separated, after enircribing every considerable fund
to carry on the opposition thus rloronsly Commenced.

At • meeting of the Licensed Vtetualtera of Bristol, held
on Monday, M. Braca's Bill was dlacnsnd fir five hours and
denonteol as ontragot.isttc to the intsrests of the trade, and
It was c snaldered tout Itw u'd le innussitale to eatry on
their bueness under inch severe rettrictlans.
At Wakefield, on Motley, a numerously attended meeting
of bro.-toe, mulct-n, wane sod spirit merchants licensed
victuallers, and others Intereated In the licensed victualling
trade, was held at the ''
Itoh " hotel, for tee purpuie of Con-
stdeting the provlalons of the bill. Mr. Shaw, miniscule!
the Wakefield Lfceructi V ctuallers' Association. under
whose autp!ces the mestiog had Peen called, na,.ved a series
of resolutmos In opposition to the hill, and It was unani-
mously agreed to forward a copy of tern to Mr. Somerset
Beaumont, tie borough memnar, and Lord Milton, and his.
Beaumont, the county member. It was also Many agreed
to petition against the hill.