The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21 00:00:00

THE LA.TE ROBBERY AT DUDLEY RAILWAY
STATION.

At the Dudley Police Court, on Wednesday, Alfred
Francis Leath, 18, booking clerk, was charged with steal.
big £5l 7s 3d, the monies of the Great Western Railway
Company. Mr. Bently, of Worcester, prosecuted, and
Mr. Shakespeare defended.
John Charles Perren said he was chief booking-clerk
at the Dudley station of the Great Western Company.
On Tuesday, the 30th July, the prisoner was his junior
clerk. Permission was asked by prisoner to take early
duty, so that he might get away by the 511 the next
day. Before leaving he handed prisoner his cash, in-
cluding all takings to the 436 p.m. Priso,ner put the
money (119) in a bowl, which was placed in the safe. He
had also some petty cash, amounting to about £B, which
he locked in the inner draw of the safe. He had the
sole charge of the key of this drawer. In another bowl
in the safe there were three stamps and some half.
tickets. When he left at 620 he went to his old lodg-
ings at Stourbridge. He returned the next morning at
9 15, when he learnt that the booking office had been
broken into. He found nothing whatever the matter with
the doors or locks. Prisoner was booking the 9 20 train.
He unlocked the inner drawer and found the £8 all right,
and nothing disturbed. He asked prisoner for his keys,
and found they locked and unlocked all except the inner
drawer. Amongst the cash handed to him there were
live half-tickets, and they were similar to those he had
seen in the bowl. He said to prisoner, "It is rather a
curious circumstance they have taken the cash and not
the half-tickets." Prisoner said they had been cut pre-
viously, but he had left them on the counter. He said
that as he was on duty late at night and early next day,
he should be there first to sell them. That was his rea-
son for leaving them on the counter. He never knew a
clerk leave his tickets on the counter.
Cross-examined : Witness said there WRB a watchman
in charge of the station that night. The bag in which
the money was placed was cut open. The prisoner, hav-
ing the key, could have unlocked it. He would not swear
that the live half-tickets were the same as those he saw
in the bowl on Tuesday. Leath told him he knew noth-
ing about the robbery. He told him that he found the
safe open the bag cut, and then money taken. Prisoner
said the office door was locked. The door would lock by
pulling it to. Prisoner was continued in the employ of
the company for alfortnight orithree weeks after the rob-
bery.

gdward Quinsey, carriage examiner, said he, was on
duty from 6 o'clock on the evening of the 20th to 7 o'clock
on the following morning. The prisoner was in charge
of the booking office. He was near the booking office
all that night and saw no strangers there, it was al
quiet and safe.
John Sandbrooke, porter in the employ of the carting
agents of the company, said he paid the money for the
parcels to Mr. Perron. On Tuesday, the 20th July,
Leath came to him and said he Was to pay in his cash.
Later in the day, whenathe books were checked off, he
paid the prisoner X 5 and some odd money. He had not
been in the habit of paying the prisoner. He paid Mr.
Perren.

_
In cross-examination, witness said he had not the book
which would show to whom he paid the money. He
would not swear the signature of prisoner was not in the
book for several amounts. Looking at the parcels' book
(now produced), he found that the prisoner received the
money from June 28th up to July 2nd. He also received
cash for the outward parcels from June 28th. In May tie
received £5 odd for parcels. After the robbery, too, he
received money.
William May, night watchman, went on his rounds in
the usual way, and saw no suspicious people, or anything
wrong about the booking office.
Cross-examined: He only passed the office once
during the night. He was sometimes half a mile
away.

Peter Wilson, locksmith, in the employ of Cotterill
and Co., said he found no traces of the locks being tam-
pered with. Ihey acted perfectly right with the keys
lent him by Mr. Perren. They could not have been
opened except by one of the keys of the clerks or by one
made purposely. It was very difficult to make a key
from a pattern key. He did not know that the lock of
the safe could be picked, butt i it could.he could have
told when he put the key in. Two keys only were
made.

_
Cross-examined: There would be no difficulty in open-
ing the booking office lock with any similar key. Look-
ing at the key, the safe lock had been made sixteen years
at least. During the last sixteen years the firm had
made many thousand keys. 'They made them different,
but there might be keys in existence like those produced.
If in one week 400 keys were ordered they would be all
made different in the guard. Other people made keys,
and he would not like to swear they would not fit the
safe.

Mr. Henry Fear, of the firm of Cottrell and Co.. gave
confirmatory testimony, and said it was impossible to pick
the lock without leaving some trace.
Henry Parke, who preceded Mr. Perrcn as chief clerk,
bore out the statement made as to the mode of conduct-
ing the office business.
Mr. Nathan James Borlinson, superintendent, said he
had an interview with the prisoner after the robbery. He
wrote down the statement produced.
Thomas Taylor, Station-master, said he saw prisoner
leave the office and close the door after him. He
walked away in the direction of Tipton, where he re-
sided. Prisoner told him the next morning that a rob-
bery had been committed. He found no traces of
violence.

Cross-examined: He saw nothing in prisoner's hands,
or bulky in his pockets.
Sergeant-Detective Davies said that whilst Superin-
tendent Burton was talking to prisoner, he saw him put
his hand to his waistcoat pocket from which three post-
age stamps. fell. He went afterwards to the prisoner's
house and found nothing there. He searched the whole
of the premises.
The Bench decided to commit prisoner for trial at the
next Worcester Sessions. Bail was accepted.
Several hours were occupied in the hearing of the
case.