The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-15 00:00:00

THAMES.

ROBBERY BY A LINENDRAPEIt'S ASSISTANT.—George
Panick, a young man, was brought before Mr. Paget,
charged with stealing is., belonging to his master, Mr.
Hutchand, draper, 69, Three Colt-street, Limehouse.
The prisoner had been in the employ of Mr. Hutchand as
assistant. The prosecutor having good reason to suspect
that he had been robbed to a very considerable extent by
the prisoner, marked three shillings and a sixpence on
Saturday night, and gave the money to a young woman,
named Emma Revell, with instructions to make a purchase.
She purchased stuff to the amount of 10s. 6d., and paid to
the prisoner the money she had received of Mr. Hutchand
on account, receiving from the prisoner a bill for 10s. 6d.
and a receipt for 3s. 6d. The prisoner only accounted for
25., and one of the marked shillings was found upon him
by a policeman named Pigott, No. 337 K, who also found
9s. 10d. in other cash upon him. The prisoner said all
the money taken from him was his own. He afterwards
said the marked shilling was stolen, and begged his
master's pardon.

The prisoner, in defence, said—l am guilty ; I throw
myself on the mercy of my master. lam very sorry for
what has happened.

Mr. Paget—Have you reason to believe he has robbed
you of other sums ?

Mr. Hutchand—Of large sums; no doubt of it at all.
Mr. Paget—Then I shall commit the prisoner for trial.

THE CUSTOM-HOUSE.

A circumstance has occurred at the Custom-house
which has induced the Commissioners to have re-
course to immediate and extraordinary precautions
against a possible act of incendiarism. On Friday an
anonymous letter was received at the department,
warning them in effect against an attempt to destroy
the building by fire, though the precise terms of it
have not been allowed publicly to transpire. Upon
it also is understood to have been written the word
" Fenians" or " Fenianism," which appears to have
added to the significance of the missive, or, at all
events, to have led the authorities the more to act
on the defensive. From the first the recentgreatfire
at the London and St. Katherine Docks was attri-
buted to incendiarism, and that seems now, for some
reason or other, to have become a settled conviction
though the truth may never be known. Last even-
ing, as on Friday and Saturday nights, special pre-
cautions were taken to guard the Custom-house, in
Lower Thames-street, from possible danger. In fact,
it is now being watched and protected night and day,
but especially at night. Ordinarily the building is
guarded from without by private watchmen attached
to the establishment on the water side, and by the po-
ce on the side overlooking Thames-street. There are,
also, private firemen on duty always during the
night ; but now the services of 16 watermen belong-
ing to the department are in constant requisition
outside the premises—eight in day time, and eight
during night, in addition to the ordinary watchmen,
and men from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, who
are on special duty at night. The hose outside is
kept constantly ready, and the entrances to the quay
and to the building itself are jealously guarded at
all points during night, the sentinels being changed
every four hours, while a police galley is moored
off Custom-house stairs to prevent any unautho-
rised access to the building from the river side.
These are the special precautions deemed necessary
to be taken, and there is the additional safety which
the police ordinarily afford from without: It is
rumoured that recourse has been had to similar pre-
cautions at Somerset-house. A vigilant watch is
also being kept at Brewer's-quay, a large wharf
near the Custom-house, and more than ordinary
care is taken against fire. As most of our readers
know, the Custom-house itself is entirely isolated.
There are some who treat the anonymous letter as
a hoax, but, whether it be so or not, the Commis-
sioners have thought it right to take the steps re-
ferred to. They have sought also, while taking
those precautions, to keep the whole matter a secret,
but in vain, for during Saturday evening and yes-
terday it had become very generally known.