The Sun.
London, England, 1850-11-02 00:00:00

LATEST PARTICULARS.

EPSOM, Nov. I.—The inhabitants of this little
town were alarmed this morning by the discovery
that a burglary, attended with circumstances of great
daring, had been perpetrated during the precedirg
night on the premises of the West Surrey Bank,
nearly opposite the Clock-house and in the centre of
the High-street of Epsom.
The alarm occasioned by the announcement was
in some degree allayed when it became known that
the thieves, or at least some of them, had been cap-
tured, with all the booty they obtained in their pos-
session, and that Sergeant Kennedy, the active police
superintendent of this district, had the scoundrels safe
in his custody.
The facts connected with the burglary may be
briefly told as follows :—The West Surrey Bank,
which belongs to Messrs. Mangles, brothers, and has
its head office at Guildford, has a branch in this
town. The office consists of two rooms on the
ground floor of a house occupied by Mr. R. Moore,
carrying on business as a fellmonger. The house
is detached on one side, Mr. Moore's yard, in-
closed by lofty gates, running between his own
residence and that of Mr. Holland, who lives
next door. The apartments occupied as the
bank are a front office and one small room
behind, which latter is lighted by a window looking
into Mr. Moore's yard. This window was fixed upon
by the burglars as their point of entrance, in effecting
which they adopted very similar means to the Frimley
robbers. The window alluded to was an ordinary
sash, strengthened inside by three iron bars. The
burglars first cut away and removed the sash, which
they deposited very carefully in an outhouse in Mr.
Moore's yard, and then loosening the fastenings in
one of the bars, they forced it inwards, and bending it
up obtained sufficient room to admit a man's body.
Having thus secured an entrance they struck a light
and commenced ransacking the place. While the
thieves were thus engaged Mr. Holland (Mr. Moore's
next door neighbour), who sleeps in a room overlook-
ing the yard, had occasion to get out of bed. On
going to the window, he at once observed a light in
the little back office belonging to the bank, and as it
was now about two o'clock he felt satisfied that all
was not right. Mr. Holland spoke to his wife on the
subject, and Mrs. Holland got up to have a peep.
She soon discovered what she thought were the
figures of two men, and summoning Mr. Holland to
make a second observation, they both clearly saw
two individuals in the little back office of the bank
busily engaged in ransacking the place ; one of them
holding a lighted candle in his hat, and the other
armed with a chisel, or screwdriver, forcing cupboards
and drawers opee. Mr. Holland's first impulse was
to open the window of his bedroom and give an alarm,
and with that view he threw up the sash, and called
out as loud as he could, "Is that you, Mr. Moore ?"
The burglars heard him call and instantly decamped,
having first put out their light. Mr. Holland has-
tened to put on his clothes, and in a very few minutes
was on his way to the police-station. Almost imme-
diately upon leaving his own door be encountered a
man in the High-street, whom he addressed without
obtaining any reply. This man walked off in ano-
ther direction, and Mr. Holland proceeded to give an
alarm to the police. He had scarcely arrived at the
station when two prisoners were brought in by the
officers of the local police, and charged on suspicion of
having stolen property in their possession. Mr. Hol-
land having communicated to Sergeant Kennedy
what he had seen, that officer ordered the prisoners to
be put back while he himself proceeded to ascertain the
state of affairs at the bank. On arriving there he found
the house had been entered as above described, and on
making an examination it was discovered that the
thieves, after ransacking all the cupboards and drawers
in the bank, had entered Mr. Moore's private apart-
ments, and regaling themselves on bread and beet and
wine, had subsequently stolen several articles from the
room. Happily the plunder obtained was altogether
very small. The iron safe in the back office of the
bank resisted all the efforts of the rascals to break it
open, although considerably injured by the rough
usage it has received. The point of a " jemmy,"
used in attempting to force it, was found sticking in
between the doors, and the corresponding portion of
the inatrnment was subsequently discovered on one of
the prisoners by Sergeant Kennedy. A cupboard in
this room was broken open and a bottle of wine
taken out, and from a desk which was also forced se-
veral blank cheques were abstracted. The front office
was entered by cutting away the bolts of the door
communicating between the rooms, and here 12s. 6d.
in silver money was taken out of one of the tills.
Happily, all the other cash, in accordance with the
usual custom, had been taken to his private residence
by Mr. Everingham, the manager of the bank,
on the previous evening. The door leading
from the front office of the bank to Mr. Moore's
private apartments was forced, and in all the other
rooms the robbers committed great havoc, breaking
open drawers and strewing their contents about the
floors. The only articles missing, however, are a
great coat and some silver spoons. Mr. Kennedy
having completed his search returned to the police-
station accompanied by Mr. Moore. On the prisoners
being called forward Mr. Moore at once identified his
coat on the back of one of the robbers, and on his
pockets being searched the silver spoons stolen from
Mr. Moore's kitchen were discoved. The broken
" jemmy" and the blank cheques were found upon the
other prisoner, and all doubt as to their participation
in the robbery being removed they were at once put
back into cells. One of the prisoners gave his name
as George Roberts, and describes himself as a gun-
smith, but refuses to give his address. The other
man calls himself Charles Dowe, and says he is a
labourer. Both state that they are last from Guildford.
The circumstances which led to their apprehension
are these :—Police-constable 307 V was on duty at
the London end of Epsom about half-past 2 o'clock
this morning, when observing two auspicious looking
strangers hurrying out of the town, he challenged
them. Failing to obtain any satisfactory reply, he
sprang upon them, and seizing both men by the collar
held them until he obtained the assistance of two bro-
ther officers, and thus secured his prisoners.
Both the fellows were brought up before the local
magistrates this morning, and underwent a private
examination. The Baron de Tessier and Mr. Henry
Gosse were upon the bench, and Mr. William Everest,
the clerk to the magistrates, was in attendance. The
evidence of the police officers having been taken, Mrs.
Moore (in the absence of her husband) was called to
identify some of the articles stolen, and this having
been done most satisfactorily, both the prisoners were
remanded until Monday next, when it is expected the
evidence against them will be complete.
Among the articles left behind by the prisoners is
a razor firmly fixed into a wooden handle, raising a
strong suspicion that had they met with any resistance
in the house murder would have happened. Great
credit is due to Mr. Sergeant Kennedy and the force
under his command for their admirable conduct in
the apprehension of the prisoners.
Roberta appears about thirty-two years of age, and
is five feet four inches in height. He is respectably
dressed, and his linen is marked "F. S.' DQwe is
about eighteen years of age, and five feet four inches
in height. He is very swarthy, and has a mole upon
his left cheek. Both prisoners were conveyed to
Kingston this evening.

BANK OF ENGLAND.
(From last night's Gazette.)
An Account, pursuant to the Act 7th and Bth of Victoria. cap. 32, for
the Week ending on Saturday, the 26th day of October, 1850.
ISSUE DEPARTMENT.

Government debt .. 11,0i* 00
Other securities .... 2,984,900
Gold coin and bullion 15,380,888
titiver bullion • • • • • • 45,667