The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-12-04 00:00:00

ROBBERY OF ENGLISH MAILS IN
BELGIUM.

Thr Etile Beige published the foll3wing telegram
from Verviers of Saturday's date: "On the arrival
here of the express mail train from Ostend° this
morning it was found that twenty-two sacks, contain-
ing mails from England for Germany, Russia, Austria,
and the East, had been cut open. All the registered
letters, the number of which is estimated at about
150, had been stolen, but the ordinary correspondence
had beo, left intact."

The report of the robbery was subsequently con-
firmed. The mail train left Ostend at 3.30 a.m., and
arrived at 'V erviers at 8.37. At Ostend the mails
were inclosed as usual in padlocked vans. When the
train reached Verwiers and the officials proceeded to
remove the mails, they perceived that the padlock of
one van had been changed, and on further search dis-
covered that out of ninety bags, twenty-two had been
cut open. Moreover, the registered letters had dis-
appeared. The officials could form no idea of the
amount which had been stolen, because the advice
sheets had been carried off as well. It was surmised
that the robbery was committed during the journey
from Ostend to Verviers, or perhaps even before the
train started from Ostend. Further particulars
showed that,three passengers were observed to join the
train at Ostend. On arrlving at Brussels the chief
guard noticed that the pa.dlock closing the mail
van was not of the kind ordinarily, used on therailway,
but he did not report the fact, as he thought that the
fresh padlock had been affixed on the departure of the
train from Ostend. The robbery, therefore, must have
been committed between that place and Brussels. it
was supposed that the thieves came from Dover and
joined the train at Ostend, and that taking advantage
of the darkness they broke open the mail van, and,
having committed the robbery, left the train at Ghent,
after refastening the doors of the van with another
padlock. The robbery was believed to have been
effected by some men who committed a theft in the
same train on April 20th last, but who, were 'undis-
covered. The stolen letters contained securities to a
considerable amount from American banking houses.
The Independance Beige says that the mail especially
included 40 packets of diamonds from New York.
The journal, estimates the loss sustained by the State
of Belgium, which is responsible for the robbery, at
1,000,000 f.
A correspondent, dating from Brussels on Sunday
night, says: The police are now on the track of the
thieves. Fragments of the advice sheets accompany-
ing the registered letters have been found in empty
bags on the line between Ostend and Ghent. A
traveller carrying a hand-bag was observed to leave
the train at Ghent. This man had been travelling in
a compartment forming part of the mail van. This
compartment was occupied besides by three persons
who were travelling from Dover to Mechlin, and
another man who had a coupon ticket from Antwerp
to London, available for Brussels on the return
journey. These five individuals are suspected of having
perpetrated the robbery. It is believed that the man
who alighted at Ghent carried off the booty in order to
relieve his accomplices from all embarrassment should
the police at Brussels have been advised of the
robbery, and the travellers on reaching the station
there been subjected to a police examination. The
police authorities are endeavouring to discover the
whereabouts of the four men who are believed to have
got oat at Brussels. The inquiries are no far have
established the fact that they have not put up at any
hotel in this city, and none of the cabmen can re-
member having carried any fares answering the de-
scription of the supposed robbers. A strict watch is
being kept on all the hotels, and police agents have
been placed at all the railway stations.
The following official communication was issued
from the London Post Offine "As the reports which
have appeared this morning respecting the robbery
committed in Belgium of the English mails which
were despatched from London for the Continent, via
Ostend, on Friday night, are calculated to cause much
anxiety to the senders of the numerous registered
letters which the mails contained, the secretary to the
Post Offiee begs leave to inform the editor that, so
far as is known at present, no registered letters posted
in England hive been stolen. The depredations of
the thieves have been confined to registered letters
from the -United States or Russia, which was trans-
mitted in a closed mail from New York, via London;
142 of these letters have hese stolen."

BRITSSELS, Nov. 29.

From further inquiries into the circumstances
of the mail robbery, it appears certain that all five
thieves left the train at the Brussels Northern Station,
but the tickets of only thre,l of them were collected.
The other two are supposed to have stealthily made
their way out of the station through the restaurant.
To-day several cabdrivers have informed the police
authorities that on Saturday morning they saw
another cabman driving three travellers towards the
Southern Station, and from what they describe as the
"eccentric dress" of the occupants of the cab, they
judged them to be Englishmen. It is assumed that
these were three of the thieves, who were going to
the Southern Station to catch the 7.30 train to
France.

All the Brussels banking houses received their
London letters containing securities and other valu-
ables in perfect safety on Saturday morning.
A lantern round in the pillaged van is of English or
American manufacture.

A LITTLE girl went visiting one day, and after a
time was given the album of family photographs to
look at. She turned the leaves over carefully, anf,
pretty soon closed the book. Well, dear, asked the
hostess, Did you look at the album? Oh, yes, an-
swered the little maid, brightly; And we've got one
at home 'zactly like it, only the pictures are prettier.
As the train stopped at a small station the,attention
of a citizen was attracted by the yelping of a small
dog in the baggage car. Is that dog mad? he asked.
Mad repeated the distracted baggage-master, as he
wiped the moisture from his brow. No, the dog ain't
mad, but all the rest of us are.'