The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-16 00:00:00

The Late Robberies in the City.

Yesterday afternoon a meeting of the inhabitants
of the ward of Cheap was held at the Guildhall
Coffee-house, to consider police matters. Mr.
Alderman Allen occupied the chair.

The CHAIRMAN having briefly opened the proceed-
ings by reading the requisition,
Mr. J. BENNETT said he was not satisfied with the
efficiency of the City police, and some time ago he
ventured to question the infallibility of the City
Police Commissioner. Under a police force properly
organised and rightly officered and manned the
Ong of burglaries which had happened ought
not to have occurred. He contended that the mise-
rable salaries paid to the police leftthe City without
its protectors, as the men could get better salaries in
the large firms and at the railway stations. When
anything was wrong they went to the police com-
mittee, and they said that their functions were those
of finance. They then went to the higher branch of
the corporation, viz., the Court of Aldermen, and no
doubt there our aldermen were preparedto say what
they could do, and how they could meet the ques-
tion by fair discussion and inquiry. Their magis-
trates assumed to themselves the direction of the
police.
Mr. GIBBONS said the magistrates did not assume
that position. They were acting under an act of
Parliament.

Mr. BENNETr said he was not satisfied with the
conduct of the aldermen with regard to the conduct
of the police. He took up the question not only for
their sakes but for the public good. Some time back
they stood up for the independence of the City police,
but if anythingwrong took place in the performance
of their duty, it was right of the inhabitants to make
their complaints. He trusted that such a memorial
would be presented to the Court of Common Coun-
cil as wouldprevent the recurrence of these robberies
in future. He moved the following resolution :
,4 That, considering the vast amount of valuable
property accumulated throughout the City, it is the
duty of the police authorities to afford every possible
protection for its security against thieves, and this
meeting is opinion that such object will not be at-
tained without the aid of a higher class of men, for
whose retention in the force a more adequate remu-
neration must be provided, and by an increase in
the number of constables." •
Mr. BARNES seconded the motion.

Mr. GIBBONS, as a member of the Police Com-
mittee, defended the constitution of the police, and
said that what was required more than the increase
in the number of men, was better pay and aceom-
modation. The alderman reminded the meeting
that Sir R. Mayne stated before the committee
of the Houses of Parliament that the duties of
the police were to take care of the outside of the
house, and that they did not appertain to the
taking care of jewellers' stocks inside the house;
that, so long as the streets were properly patrolled,
that was sufficient for the policeman.

Mr. STEWART defended the Commissioner of Police,
Col. Fraser, against the attacks which had been
made upon him, and contended that he had done
more for the interests of the City in the manage-
ment of the police than the late Mr. Daniel Whittle
Harvey. He drew a comparison between the lan-
guage of Mr. Bennett two years ago, when he was
a member of the Police Committee, and that uttered
recently. He concluded by moving the following
amendment :—" That the investigation into all the
circumstances attending the late robbery on the
premises of Mr. Walker, of Cornbill, having been
undertaken by the General Purposes Committee of
the Court of Aldermen, and by the Police Commit-
tee of the Court of Common Council, it is at pre-
sent inexpedient that this ward meeting should ex-
press any opinion thereon."

Mr. BAnsiEs spoke in favour of Mr. Bennett's

motion.

After some further discussion Mr. Bennett with-
drew his resolution, and the motion of Mr. Stewart
was put as a substantive motion and agreed to.
A vote of thanks to the worthy alderman in the
chair closed the proceedings.
The G

Teat Burglary and Robbery of Watches
and Jewellery in the City.

A respectable-looking, elderly man, who gave the
name of David Roberts, and described himself as a
weaver, residing at 45, West-street, Devonshire-
street, Mile-end, was yesterday placed at the bar of
the Mansion-house, in custody of Detective Ser-
geant Theodore H. Foulger, before the Lord Mayor,
charged with feloniously entering the premises of
Mr. John Walker, of 68, Cornhill, between the night
of Saturday, the 4th, and the morning of the 6th
inst., and stealing therefrom a large quantity of
watches and jewellery, value about £6,000.
Mr. Lewis, jun., appeared to prosecute.
It having become known that some one was in
custody upon the charge, the court was crowded,
and the case created a great deal of interest.

Mr. Lewis, in opening the case, said he appeared
on behalf of Mr. Walker, of Cornhill, watchmaker
and jeweller, to prosecute the prisoner for having
been concerned in a very ingenious burglary. Be-
tween the night of Saturday, the 4th, and Monday,
the 6th inst., the premises of Mr. Walker, situate at
68, Cornhill, was entered into, and property, con-
sisting of watches and jewellery, stolen therefrom,
to the value of about £6,000. The premises of Mr.
Walker, on the Saturday afternoon in question,
were left in charge of Mr. Walker, jun., and the
shopman, whose name was Smith. About half-past
five o'clock, Mr. 'Walker, jun., left the shop for the
purpose of proceeding to Mr. Walker's other pre-
mises near Regent-street, to see them safely locked.
His brother generally had, the charge of these pre-
mises, but on that occasion he had gone out of
town. Mr. Walker, jun., left the premises in Corn-
hill in charge of Mr. Smith, the foreman, who locked
up the premises, and left them, as he supposed, per-
fectly secure. Before doing so, he put the whole of
the stock in the iron safe. When the shutters were
up there were holes in them, and mirrors were placed
so that by looking theough the holes the police or the
passersby could seethe iron safe and the water closet,
the door of which was left open, so as to expose the
interior to view, that being the only place on Mr.
Walker's premises where anyone could conceal them-
selves. On Monday morning, nothing having trans-
pired to attract attention, the foreman proceeded to
the shop as usual, and upon opening the back shop
the first thing that attracted his attention was a hole
in the flooring. He then looked to the iron safe and
as he did so it opened to his touch, and when he
looked in, to his surprise he found the whole of the
property he had placed in it on the Saturday night
previous had been removed. He (Mr. Lewis) said
he need hardly observe that a burglary committed
under such circumstances had given rise to great
excitement. Of course the inquiry was one of ex-
treme moment, as it was extremely
hard that when
persons left their property, believing it to be per-
fectly safe, on going to their business as usual they
should find the whole of it removed without having
attracted the attention of those who had to guard
the Street, or those who passed the premises. The
circumstances had, of course, given great uneasiness
to Mr. Walker, that such a thing should have taken
place without the police having the slightest trace of
Property that was, as it were, stolen under their
very noses ; and he felt that it could not have. been
committed but by some very
burglars. Little wasjuknd expert and experienced
oewfn of the man who was be-
fore his lordship, to
notg he
erohm the evidence he would
adduce, whether or
concerned in
this very extensive robbery. adttbeloaernge reward had
the parties con-
been offered for the apprehnsion
cerned, and a very clear description had been
of the property lost, which had been given
advertised to
the public. Mr. Walker had determined, whatever
the cost might be, if it were within human'. .skileir
to bring the perpetrators to justice, despite the ex'
pense. Nothing, however, was heard which would
give the slightest clue until the previous day (Tues.
day), when Sergeant Foulger, who had been engaged
in the matter, and who had shown a great deal of
tact and experience, followed the prisoner into a
watchmaker's shop in Wilderness-row, Goswell-
street, and saw on the counter the movement of a
watch. He asked the prisoner where he got it from,
and the prisoner attempted to go away, but Foulger
caught hold of him and again asked him where he
got it from. He said he picked it up in the street.
Foulger said that would not do for him, and the

prisoner commenced a struggle, upon which the
officer put the handcuffs on him. Mr. Walker and
Inspector Hamilton, who were outside tho premises,
having accompanied Foulger, went into the shop,
and Foulger commenced to search the prisoner, and
found on him a gold case of a valuable watch which
corresponded in every particular to the movement
whichwas on the counter, and by the use of a strong
magnifying glass the name of Mr. Walker was found
to have been erased. Mr. Walker was, however,
perfectly satisfied that that watch was his property,
and that it formed part of the stock that was placed
in the safe on the night of Saturday, the 4th inst.
In another pocket of the prisoner's was found a per-
fect gold watch ; and as far as that was concerned,
there was not the slightest possible doubt it was Mr.
Walker's, as the name and number had not been
erased, and that particular watch was described in
the list of articles stolen. There could, therefore, be
no doubt that the prisoner was in the possession of
two watches forming a portion of the stolen pro-
perty, which he accounted for by saying he picked
them up in the Hackney-road.
The Lord Mayor—That will not weigh with me.
Mr. Lewis went on to say the officer took from
the prisoner's pocket an envelope on which there was
an address, and the officer proceeded there, although
the prisoner at first gave another address, and found
he resided there. He found that he was carrying
on the business of a weaver, and in addition he
found a number of watchmaker's tools and a quan-
tity of " bows" of watches, which, if the prisoner
were engaged in any nefarious transactions in
watches, it could be well imagined the purpose the
bows would answer. It was, -as his lordship was
well aware, the general plan, when a watch was
stolen, to break it off at the bow, and it was, of
course, very convenient to have a bow to put on a
watch which had none.
Mr. Lewis then proceeded to examine the wit-
nesses, and the following evidence was adduced :
Wm. Smith was examined, and said—l live at
1, Bath-cottages, Grove-street, South Hackney. I
am in the service of Mr. Walker, watchmaker and
jeweller, 68, Cornhill, who also carries on business
at 48, Princes-street, Leicester-square. I have been
in his service about twenty years. On Saturday,
the 4th inst., Mr. 'Walker's son left the premises at
Cornhill at about half-past five, and left me in por-
session of the property and shop in Cornhill. It was
my duty to superintend the shutting up of that esta-
blishment. I commenced at about a quarter past
six, and removed the stock from the windows and
placed the whole of it in an iron safe, and secured
the safe by locking it, and took the key with me.
I then sent the boy upstairs to see that the office
doors were all locked, and see that no one was
secreted there, and when he came back, from
what he said, I proceeded to lock the outer
doors. Mr. Walker occupies the front and back
shop on the ground floor, and the upper part is let
out in offices, and the basement is occupied by a
tailor. The occupants are only there in the day-
time. The outer door leads into Sun-court. I locked
that door on the inside, and locked. Mr. Walker's
front door and barred it, and passed to the front
door and put up the shutters to the door, which are
secured by an iron bar fastened by a padlock on
the outside. There are two doors to the shop, one
leading to the other, one being the shop-door and
the other the street-door. I then shut the street-
door and locked it and put a bar across the lock,
which I fastened on the outside by a padlock. By
that means I left the, premises of Mr. Walker
thoroughly secure. It took me three quarters of an
hour, or so, and I left about hal fpast seven. There
were three jets of gas left burning in the shop, and
there are apertures in the shutters, through which
persons in the street can see inside the shop. They
are made for that purpose. I placed two looking-
glasses in the shop.
The Lord Mayor—Those glasses are not fixtures?
Witness—No. I put them in such a position that
they reflected the iron safe and the inner part of the
water-closet, towards Sun-court. The water-closet'
is the only place in which anyone could secrete him-
self in Mr. Walker's premises. The keys never left
my possession until I went to the premises on Mon-
day morning. I went there on Monday morning
about half-past eight, and found all the fastenings
as I had left them. I opened the shop door, which
was locked. I first observed a hole in the flooring
of the shop from the basement. I immediately cast
my eyes to the iron safe, and touched it to see if it
had been tampered with, and it opened as I touched
it, and I found the whole of the contents which I

had left in it on Saturday gone. I did not make
out the list described in the bill. I put in the safe
all the goods that were in the window and on the
counter.

William Hamilton said—l am an inspector of the
detective department of the City police. From in-
formation I reeeived, I went to the premises of Mr.
Walker on Monday morning, the 6th of February.
I made a minute examination of the premises, and
first saw that an entrance had been obtained into
the back shop of Mr. Walker, behind the pannelled
screen which forms a partition. The hole was large
enough to admit a man through it.
By the Lord Mayor—lt had not been done by a
chisel or saw.

Hamilton—By a hand gouge.
Lord Mayor—That would not make any noise.
Witness—l found the iron safe broken open. I
found marks of violence on the door. I should think
it had been opened by leverage and wedges. One
of the wedges was found. I found considerable
violence. One of the doors was entirely bulged. I
proceeded to the first floor and in one of the rooms
there I found a hole large enough to admit a man,
which had been cut in a similar manner to the other.
The hole led into the tailor's shop. The thieves had
then apparently gone into the basement which is
arrived at from a staircase in Mr. Mitchell's shop,
and from there the hole was made in the ceiling,
and a hole had then been made between the joists,
and so admittance had been obtained to Mr. Walker's
shop. I did not find any indication of the premises
having been broken into. I form my own opinion
as to how the entrance was effected, but there were
no indications. The small padlock on the outer
door leading into Sun-court had been cut away
from the woodwork, but the door was left on the
latch and so apparently secure.
Theodore H. Foulger, sergeant in the detective
force, said—The case of Mr. Walker's burglary,had
been under my notice as well as other officers. I
was one of those with Inspector Hamilton. Last
night about five o'clock I saw the prisoner go into a
working watchmaker's shop in Wilderness-row,
Goswell-street. I went into the shop and went up
to the prisoner. I told him I was an officer, and the
prisoner tried to walk away. I laid hold of him, and
pointing to a watch movement that lay on the coun-
ter, said, " Where did you get that?" He said,
66 Let me go and I'll tell you." I said I should
not let him go. He struggled to get away from
me and tried to drop something which he had
in his hand. While we were struggling I pulled
from my pocket a pair of handcuffs and slipped one
on one of his wrists. The prisoner being over-

andup I i ne l
ip thep e
a H a
the Hackney-
road." ey-
other
is powered,l said, "Now will you tell me where you got
it from ?" he said,
road." We still struggled,
handcuff on hwrist. Inspector Hamilton and Mr.
''l
it picked
Walker, jun., came into the shop. I proceeded to search
found on the counter has since been
the prisoner, and found a gold watch-case, in which
the movement
d Mr.walker's name
perfect, numbered 3,040, an
placed. In another pocket I foun watch
and address on it. I found £ll 14s. in money on
him.
Lord Mayor—Rather more than weavers carry
with them. (Laughter.)
Witness—l also found a paper with an address,
45, West-street, Devonshire-street, Mile-end. I
asked him where he got the gold watch-case and the
move-
ment to Mr.
gold watch, and he said he picked them up in the
Tanle novamemeeonft
Hackney-road. I gave the watch-case and the move-
ctZee.watc Walker, and I saw him put it in the
,Waanidkerthheadnbameeen
oefras H
Wil '
Mlngton_squar
e, substituted. The name of Mr.
Walker was
vious to eildtonfr,oomf
on the perfect watch, not erased. Pre-
my finding the letter, the •
r, prisoner said he
lived in Duncan-street, Mileend
the letter on him, he said h -, but when I found
e lived
went to a room on the Becondindooat that address. I
custody, leaving the prisoner outside in c rin that house,
n
room fitted up as a weaver's sho. I found the
p, and saw several