The Express.
London, England, 1853-04-14 00:00:00

EXTENSIVE ROBBERY BY A POSTSIASTER.

Great excitement has been created in the little
town of Whetchurch, in Shropshire, by the discovery of the
perpetration of a fraud, on a most extensive scale, by the
postmaster of that town, who is now in custody upon a
charge of having feloniously possessed himself of upwards
of 2,0001., beiug the contents of c. male letters which had
come into his c ire as yntmaster. The dis:overy was made
cot Saturday last, and on the same evening the accused
party was apprehended, and is now in custody under a
remand by the magistrates of the Whitchurch Bench. The
ease has not yet been fully investigated, but front what
has already transpired the following particulars of thin ex-
tensive and rather remarkable robbery have been collected:
On Saturday last Mr. Cross, the pustmaster, who also tills
the office of parish clerk and sexton, and is proprietor of a
respectable draper slop in Whitchurch, hired a convey-
ance, saying that he intended proceeding on Madness to
Crewe' a distance of about 16 mile. from Whitchurch ; but,
after daring proceeded a tow miles on the road, he made an
excuse to the driver and said that he had left something
behind, and that therefore it would be necessary for him
to proceed to Shrewsbury, which is about 20 miles from
Whitchurch, instead of to Crewe. Accordingly the
driver turned sack a little way and turned oil ut
Pre,, heath into the read to Shrewsbury, to which place
Ihe drove Mr. Cross. In the meantime some suspicion
1
was excited at Whitchurch in consequence of a ',arty
I Mille bad posted a letter containing a valuable enclosure,
1 calling ag an at the post-office, and asking permission to
aid something on the outside of the letter, when it MRS
discovered that the letter was not in the post-office. This
, circumstance, added to the fact of Mr. Cross having left for
' Crewe, excited suspicion that all was not right, and *nerd-
ingly Police-constable Layton, of Whitchurch, followed
him ; and having discovered that he had partially la trac, el
his steps, and proceeded towards Shrewsbury, he want
there atter him, nod in the evening succeeded in :a-resting
him in Shrewsbury, and brought him back to Whitchurch.
1 It MRS a‘certeinerl that, duriug the time Mr. Cross had
hen in Shrewsbury, he had transacted business at two of
1
the banks, and had posted two letters, one containing 2001.,
addressed to a son of hie in Liverpool, to which place Police-
, officer Baxter was despatched, and another directed to an-
oilier party, containing 3001. So prompt, however, and ener-
getic were the measures which were taken that almost the
whole of the property has been discovered. A large portbn of
the amount was found upon the accused person, and it was
ascertained that before leaving Whitchurch he had pur-
chased a watch and jewellery to the amount of 50/. The
total amount recovered is 2,0151., of which sum 1,7001. had
been abstracted from one letter. To account for so many
large sums being sent to and from no small a place es Whit-
church by post, it may be observed that there are two
hanks theta —the National and Provincial and the Whit-
church and Ellesmere Banking Company. One of the re •
mittauces had been sent from London in payment of the
purchase money of some property recently sold. It is but
Iright to add, that no imputation rests on Mr. Cross's son, to
' whom a portion of the money was transmitted, which he
gave up. lie appears to have known nothing whatever of
the transaction. 'Die intention of the accused, it is pre-
, seamed, was to have escaped from Liverpool to America on
the Sunday. The solicitor fur the prosecution not being ready
to go into the entire case the magistrates agreed yesterday
to remind the accused in order to afford sufficient tints to
get up the necessary details.