The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-05
BOLD ROBBERY AT SEA.
Sailors Steal Several Thousand
Pounds and Then Desert.
From the London Mail.

Pounds and Then Desert.
From the London Mail.
Particulars are to hand of daring and
cleverly executed robbery on board a Ger
man liner plying between China and Japan
and England, by which the ships mail was
broken open and several thousands of
pounds distracted. The details of the
conspiracy, which was carried out by three
German sailors have transpired through
the arrest at Vienna of one of the con-
SpiratorS, who had deserted from his ship.
and, with his share of the plumber man
aged in roundabout way to reach the
Austrian capital. There he confided to a
waiter that he had large sum of money
and wished to start in business, but a de-
tective, noticing that the sailor seemed ex-
traordinarily flush" of money and OBJ,
serving him change a hundred-florin note
in cafe, arrested him on suspicion of
being concerned in a robbery. Large sums
of money were found upon him and upon
his lodgings being searched, further large
sums were discovered. The sailor event.
ualiy confessed 50 bsins a participator,
though not directly, in the great robbery
on board the ship, his share of the plum
der having been given to him as hush
money" He was examined on oath and
his evidence disclosed that a very careful
ly planned robbery had taken place.
According to his story two of the sail
ors took him into their confidence and
impaired TO him the secret of gaining ac.
cess to the mail room on the ship and
which contained consignments of specie
for English firms 1t was arranged be-
fore the vessel sailed that if any gold were
taken on board the mail room should be
broken into and the money distracted. The
doors of mail rooms are locked with a
spring automatically when pushed to- but
the robbers the r1ngleader of whom has
1t is stated, been at the game before, sue
ceeded in overcoming this obstacle The
bolts of the folding doors were all secret
~ displaced so effectually that, although
the door was afterward closed by the OFF,
Ger, it did not prevent any one from rais>
ing the door from the outside On the
night of the theft the ringleader reached
the folding door by climbing into the sail
cabin through trap in the deck He then
unlocked wooden door leading into the
| cargo hold, which was separated from
the mail room by the folding door, which
he then raised, and so gained access into
the mail room.
The sailor who has been arrested, and
| who has given this account of the rob-
berry, was on watch during the theft He
| says he does not know how the ringleader
broke open the box containing the money.
| but he admits that the ringleader told him
| ne mad an impression of the seals and
| that he could make them again. The
| weight of the box when emptied of its
| contents was made up by reflling it
| with bullets, which all three perpetra tors
| had secretly brought on board before leaV-
| ing port. The arrested sailor says he was
| in such terrible fear that during the two
| hours of his watch when he was not steer
| ing he had to lie down in the rudder house
| and act as though he were asleep. Sub
| sequently he saw the ringleader who told
him that he had been working at the
| theft during the whole four hours of the
watch. He also told the prisoner that
his share of the gold was secretly hidden
! in the rudder house, and described where
he could find it, and later on the prisoner
| did find his booty, as directed. 1t was in
! two heavy purses, one larger than the
! other, containing about 400 Japanese and
! American gold coins and fifteen $50 pieces.
! He wrapped the money up in his oilskin
and kept it in his bed in his berth and
was not heard of again until his arrest
in Vienna under the circumstances al
| ready stated
This robbery will, in all probability,
! form the subject of an action at law in
the English courts by the consignees of
| the specie against the shpowners on the
| ground that the latter were guilty of neg
| ligence in allowing the robbery to take
| place under such circumstances.