The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-10 00:00:00

The Extraordinary Mail-bag Robbery.

HuLL, Friday.

The examination of Melia Cooke was continued on Wed-
nesday, yesterday, and to-day at the Hull Police.court, be-
fore Mr. Travers, the stipendiary magistrate.
Mr. F. F. Ayre appeared, as before, to conduct the pro-
secution, instructed by Mr. Forrest, the Post-office superin-
tendent for the Derby district. Mr. F. Summers watched
the case for the prisoner.
The following evidence was given on Wednesday :
William Anson stated that he was a grocer at South Cave,
and kept the post-office. The letter produced, bearing the
address, Yorkshire Banking Company, Beverley, was
stamped with the South Cave post-mark, and put into the
mail-bag, to the best of his knowledge and belief. The
mail-bag, after it had been made up, was placed by witness
himself on the counter of the shop. There was not any par-
ticular place for the mail-bag to be put after it had been made
up and was waiting the arrival of the mail-cart. The bag
was not very often left on the shop counter without some
person in charge of it. After witness had taken the bag and
put it on the counter, he went into the sitting room, leav-
ing his wife in the shop. The mail-cart did not arrive for,
perhaps, ten minutes or a quarter of an hour after the bag
had been placed on the counter as he had stated, and he had
gone into the sitting room at the back of the shop. The bag
was only missing about two or from that to three minutes
before the arrival of the mail-cart. He (witness) had gone
from the sitting room at the back of the shop into the
kitchen, and while he was there his wife came to him and
said the bag was missing and could not be found anywhere.
The robbery must have been effected in the two or three
minutes that his wife had left the shop. Immediate search
was made for;the bag in all directions, but it could not be
found. Witness sent for Mr. Bedford, the schoolmaster,
who assisted in making up the bag, and he went various
ways, but no trace of the missing bag was discovered.
Mrs. Anson, wife of the last witness, deposed that she
knew the prisoner at the bar, Mrs, Maria Cooke. She had
often seen her at South Cave, for she had stopped at wit-
ness's house. The prisoner had never, to witness's know-
ledge, seen the mail-bags made up. On the evening of the
24th September her husband (the last witness) placed the
mail bag on the counter, after it had been made up, to
await the arrival of the mail-cart. Her husband went out
of the shop into the sitting-room, and left her (witness) in
the shop. No one came into the shop while witness was
there, but she did go out for a few minutes. Witness did
not see any one looking in at the window during the time
witness was out of the shop. There was titue enough for a
person to have gone in and got clear off with the mail-bag
before she (witness) returned.
The following evidence was taken yesterday :
James Anson, recalled and examined by Mr. Ayre, de-
posed that on the evening in question he placed the mail-
bag upon the counter himself. He could not say why the
bag was placed upon the counter, but his wife was in the
shop, and she was looking after the bag. He only saw a little
girl in the shop after the bag was made up. Witness was
induced to go upstairs by his wife saying " It has just come
into my mind that there is a bag in the beck chamber." He
immediately went upstairs to fetch the bag and found it
covered up with some mats. He brought it down and took
it into the shop and placed it beside a butter basket on the
floor, leaning against the counter. He (witness) then went
into the back kitchen. An alarm was given a short time
after that the mail-bag was gone. His wife said, "Oh
Anson, the mail-bag has gone," Witness then went into the
shop and searched for it without success. He loft the shop
and told the neighbours what had occurred, and a further
search was made with no other result. Bedford instituted
a search on the Beverley road and afterwards returned and
told witness ho had found nothing. The mail cart arrived
soon after and the news that the bag was missing was sent
to Brough and other places by the mail cart.
By the Magistrate—Witness was only upstairs a few
minutes looking for the bread bag.
Mrs. Anson, recalled, stated that she saw her husband
place the mail bag on the counter, and he then went into
the kitchen, In a minute or two he called out, and she
went into the passage. That was perhaps about five minutes
after the bag had been placed upon the counter. He was
sitting in the kitchen by the fireside, opposite the door, He
spoke about a bread bag, and then took a candle with him
to look for it upstairs, where she (witness) had told him
there was a bag that would do. She returned to the shop,
and almost directly afterwards found that the mail bag was
gone, She called out to her husband, who came does n, and
they searched together, looking about the shop and the shop
floor, She did not recollect tolling Mr. James, when he
called, that her husband was in the kitchen when she gave
him the alarm that the bag was lost.
The Magistrate—But remember, Mrs. Anson, that the
witness is prepared to say that you did.
Witness—Well, it may be so.
The Magistrate—How do you account for the way in
which the bag was stolen ? What is your own notion ?
Witness—Well, Sir, I fully believe that the bag was
stolen from the street door, as the passage door has a bell,
which must have rung had any one come in that way.
Examination continued—Witness thought that any one
might have entered by the passage door and stolen the bag
without her seeing them, or any one in the room hearing
them, if they did so gently. She had convinced herself
of 'bat by a practical experiment since made. She knew
the pe;:orter, who had been in witness's house, at Cave Fair,
which was held in June, 1863. Witness had not received
Witness had no portica:
any letter from :he
.icused within the last two months.
bag had been misplaced 14a; a:ly one in mischief.reason for thinking that the mail
Philip James, the postmaster at Brough, deposed that
letters from South Cave were sent to Trough and stamped
there. The Beverley letters were sent in another bag. On
the evening of the 24th ult, he made up the bag for Hull at
Brough, in which bag the Beverley letters went. On the
evening of the following day he received 34 letters, bearing
the South Cave post mark of the 24th. In the ordinary
course, letters posted at Cave were enclosed in a healed bag
and sent to Brough. The letter addressed to the Yorkshire
Banking Company, Beverley, did not pass tiLrough the
Brough office.
By Mr. Summers—Witness always stamped the letters
that passed through his hands.
By the Magistrate—The mail-cart arrived at Brough on
the 24th ult. at 10 minutes to 8, and the driver said he had
been delayed 20 minutes at South Cave. It ought to have
arrived there at 7 18, and to have left a very few minutes
after. The Cave postmaster ought to have the bag in
readiness when the cart arrived there. _

. _
John Wilson, the driver of the mail-cart, said that on
arriving at South Cave on the evening of the 24th ult , at
his proper time, Mrs. Anson met him at the door of the
post-office and told him that the bag had been stolen.
By Mr. Summers—Witness was told by Mrs. Anson that
the bag had been taken from the shop about three minutes
before he drove up.
William Oxtoby said he resided at South Cave, and was
clerk to Messrs. Borland and Sons. He gave the letter pro-
(Need to Mrs. Anson at the post-office between 5 and half-
past 5,
Christopher Wood, a gardener at South Cave,
deposed
that he foundthe letter-bag produced in a piece of ground
called a the Sand Hole," next to Mr. M'Turk's garden.
This was on the 25th ult. The bag was open, and con-
tained some papers.
Thomas Ward, the superintendent of police, produced
the envelope addressed to the Yorkshire Banking Company,
Beverley, which he received from Mr. Boyes, one of the
bank clerks, on the 2Fth of September.
George Martin, a farm-servant at South Cave, stated
that he was taking his master's horses to a field on the
Brough-road, about half-past 7 o'clock in the evening-, on
Thursday. the 24th of September, when he met a person
resembling the prisoner. She was running when he first
saw her, and when she got up to him sbe began to walk.
Robert Barrett, cattle dealer, of Swanland, said that on
Thursday, the 24th September, ho was returning from Mar-
ket Weighton, when he saw a woman on the road, and he
asked her if she would have a ride. That.woman he believed
to be the prisoner. She was dressed in a similar manner.
She accepted his offer of a ride, and got into the cart. She
told him she was going to Hull, and witness gave her a ride
as far as Forriby. She got down, and he left her there
talking to a man named Jenkinson.
At this stage of the inquiry the Court again adjourned, it
being nearly 9 o'clock.
This morning the following evidence was taken :
Thos. Jenkinson, of North Ferriby, said that on Thurs-
day evening, the 24th September, a woman came up to him
and asked where the post-office was, and he told her. She
resembled the prisoner, and ho had no doubt she was the
same person. She went away, and he followed her to the end
of the lane leading to the station. Ho saw her go to the
post-office and put something in at the window. She had a
letter in her hand when sho came up to him, and was carry-
ing something bulky under her shawl.
Fanny Jenkinson, sister of the last witness, deposed that
sho was the daughter of the postmaster at North Ferriby,
ohfetlon. thLeetFterrisdawyi.th
and on the evening of the 24th September she closed the box
on the Thursday about 6 o'clock. She cleared it next evening, when there
were 70 letters in it. She had not cleared it from 6 o'clock
fact she made a
noticed that many of the letters had the South Cave post
mark, and seeing there was something; particular about that
Y until
separate t hbeu sued::
Shethe
South Cave post mark were never posted at Forriby in the
ordinary course. She noticed snore particularly because the
stamps were not obliterated.
John Whitelam, detective police officer at Hall, stated
that on Friday morning, the 25th ult., about a quarter past
10 o'clock, he was standing at the corner of Parliament-
street, when he saw two persons come out from the offices o
the Yorkshire Banking CorapanY, and look both ways as if
in search of something. They walked sharply through
Whitefriar-gate towards the Land of Green Ginger. Wit-
ness followed them, and saw one go up to the prisoner,who
was standing there. The other person said to witness that
the bank had received information that a Posteoffiee bag
had been stolen, with cheques to the value of 4700 from one
of the letters, and that there was reason to believe that the
woman had caused one of the cheques to be presented. Wit-
ness took her to the bank, and having been asked some
questions by the managers she was searched, and some
other cheques were found upon her. She accounted for
their possession by saying that on the Previous night she
was travelling from Hessle in a second-class carriage,when
a man who was sitting opposite to her threw the cheques to
her aAd said she Alight get 000ao casU for thew. no wit. ,