The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-07 00:00:00

LONDON THIEVES IN SOUTHAMPTON.

For some months past robberies have been committed at
the Southampton Railway terminus, and the South-Wes-
tern Railway Company have had to pay a considerable
sum of money for parcels which have been lost there.
Strong suspicious have been entertained that a pipe of wino
was tampered with at the terminus, that a portion of the
wine was taken from it and water substituted. In con-
sequence of these robberies, a London detective has for
some time back been stationed at the terminus. A night or
two since, three of the night porters belonging to the
goods department were detected engaged in abstracting
the contents of a barrel of beer, and were apprehended
and lodged in gaol. One of these men has been in
the railway company's service twelve years. For some time
past, also, a gang of thieves have been noticed passing be-
tween Southampton, Portsmouth, and Salisbury. A short
time since two of them came to the parcel-office at the
Southampton terminus for a parcel, and it was noticed by
an official there that each seemed adverse to sign his name
to a book as an acknowledgment of the receipt of the parcel.
The latter was directed to a disreputable public-house, in
an obscure neighbourhood in the town. On Monday one of
these men came again to the terminus with a parcel for Lon-
don. A railway policeman, who was standing by, remarked
that he was one of the gang of prigs about. Mr. Colebrook,
theofficial alluded to,recollected that he was onewho had been
averse to sign his name. The London detective was called
in, and he pronounced the parcel to be directed to a
London Fence, or a place for the receipt of stolen goods.
The cover of the parcel was of washed leather, such as
jewellers use. It was very soon ascertained by the police,
who set to work directly, that it contained about 101.
worth of new silk handkerchiefs, and that most of
the contents had been recently stolen from different
shops in Southampton. Lee, an active town police
officer, was then made acquainted with these facts.
Mr. olebrook went in disguise to the above-mentioned
public-house, and there he saw a number of fellows, some
playing cards, and others eating and drinking. None of
them were, however, the parties he wanted. Lee soon
afterwards entered the public-house, and in a room by
himself he saw a man who, he knew from the description,
was one of those who received the parcel from London, and
very shortly afterwards he apprehended his confederate,
the man who brought the stolen handkerchiefs to the ter-
minus. This fellow appeared to be thunderstruck by his
apprehension, pretended he was a commercial man, and
that he horsily knew where the railway terminus was.
On being confronted with Colebrook, however, he soon
altered his tone, and betrayed his guilt. Both the rail-
way and town police have acted very dexterously in the
matter,

Some interest is excited by the announcement of the
sale of 130,000 acres of land in South-Western Austra-
lia, north-west of King George's Sound, by Mr. Robins,
to take place in the month of May next. It is the por-
tion left unsold by the Western Australian Land Com-
pany purchased from the Crown some years since. The
intention is to dispose of this property in large lots for
agricultural and mining purposes. The land is reported
to bear, in every respect, an appearance similar to that
in South Australia, and should its products be the same,
the tide of emigration will be diverted to that direction,
as the climate of this portion of Australia is said to be
equal if not superior to that of Sydney and Port Philip.
Specimens of copper ore are in England which have
been brought from near one of the rivers intersecting
this land. The public sale of the extensive property in
question will take place, under Mr. Robins's direction,
on the sth May, if not disposed of in one lot by private
arrangement.
Several fine estates in Canada East, or Lower Canada,
in the district of Gaspe, are announced in our columns
for public sale by Mr. Robins in June next. They com-
prise 132,652 acres of freehold land, upon which luxu-
riant timber is growing, and buildings erected in con-
nection with the Gaspe Fishery in the Bay of Chaleur,
and seem to offer a strong temptation to the enterprising
capitalist to invest his money in land, which in these
days of emigration to the West, under the protection
and influence of the British Government, must eventu-
ally become of great importance and value.

"STOP MY 15APER."-I-When a man gets mad and
stops his paper, he always borrows the next number of
his neighbour, to see if the withdrawal of his patronage
has'nt killed the editor and dressed the columns in
mourning. This grows out of the fact that none try to
show their spite in this way but the kind of people who
imagine that the world rests on their shoulders.—GateB.
head Observer.