Police.
The Times, 1824-01-16T00:00:00

MTAIILROROUGH-STREET Yesterday W. Holmes, Esq., M1.P. fOr Bishop's.casde. in Shropshire, attended at this office. for the purpose of being present at an investigation appointed to take place, relative to the darnng robbery committed at lis house in Grafton- street, Bond.street, on Sunday morning last, and on which - occa- oant bSome 8uspicion was supposed to attach to the watchman on Mr. }olmes stated to Alr. DYErt, the presiding magistrate, that hewas very unwilltng to attich a suspicion to any person without sufficient grounds, and wvas therefore very anxious to hear the watchman's own statement of the circumstances attending his dis- covery of the burglary on Sunday morning. 'With respect to his own servants, MXr. flolmes said he did not entertain the slight. es suspicion of any. The butler had in bis charge,at the very time, upwards of 2,000 ounces of plate, which,had he been concerned,would no doubt, not have escaped as it had done; and besides, the servants had directiong to call him (Mr. Holmes) at six o'cdock on that morn.. ing-nearly the very time of the burglarv;and of course, it;they knew any thing of sucl an intention, they would not have selected that house. MIr. Holmes fttrther said, .that his grounds of suspicion agaunst the watchman chiefly arose from the difficulty and great lengtht of time wvhich the thieres must have taken to break into tire house, as the window whicb they attempted to force was secured inside by three strong iron bars that crossed each other, which all tie efforts of of the burglars failed to force off; and they at length only gained admittance by working out one of the panels of the shutter with a centrcebit, the whole of which operation must have occupied a very great length of-time indeed. AIr. Holmes said, that although, as it was, his loss was very consi- dlerable, ha',ingbeen plundered of a raluable gold snuttf-box, a gun, and gun-caset, together with a large assortment of wearing apparel, the whole of wbhich was marked with his name, and had been packed up the day before to take with him that moming to Brighton, yet he considered himselfpeculiarly fortunate from the following cir- cumstance :-A friend of his in the Ternple, who was going into the country, had a few datys before requested him ( Mr. Holmes) to take cliarge of a quantity of gold to the anmOUOt of 2,7G0L, during liis ab- sence from lionic; and the wholc of this sum, contained in a box for the purpose, was deposited in the very room that liad been niundered until thle day previous to the burglary, when he had the 'money re- inroveci to the care of a friend of hIis at tirc Tower,for better security, as lic himself was about to leave town for a shiort time, so that this rich booty very narrowly escaped the robbers ansi strange to say, the box in whlichl tins molley had been, and whiih still lay emptv in the room, wasthe only one which tiey had not openl or examined. Mir. D)vEt now called upoii Crofts, the w atclinran, to state all hIe lknwcv or saw relative to the daring burglary in qUCstioIn. Crofts then said, thiat at the itoir of 12 r'clrk air Saturday night, lie came from Lord Stowell's hOuse, near which his box stands, id pastel Mfr. Holmes's liouse,promeedingon his rosins,and at that time vil was safe at tlhrce o'clock all was safe. and at live o'clock aU was sale also; but at lialfr.past ive, he observed the lamp over Mr. tJolnies's door suddenly gO outt; and proceeding to see the Cause, lie saw two mcn come out of he house, who atplroacled and passed 1iim, but supposing them to belong to tihe hoirse, li suspiccted nothliiig wroiig until hic saw fhc door open. At first hc did not observe that a burglary had been coinMitted, because the window of :1r. iolmnes's l..use is a large bow one, and the entrance being effected on the ofn ,ide from where lie stood, lhe coul(d not at the first approach remiark it, and by this time tire two nien had golle completely away. Thc mionrent le obscrved thecsituation of the window, and the d&or open, he sprang his rattle, and another watchman named M'Norton came lip, and. said that two men had just passedl him in Boond-strect at a quick pace, but did not appear to h ive any thing with them: toth watchmren thei cntered the house, and sprung their rattles in the ball to alarrir the familv. Upon exaiiination, ft was found that thle tbieves had taken the prccaution of locking tire rooni-door in which the hsut3br slept, so that it wonld appear as if they kilcew soricetililg of tl e interior of the arrangenrients of the lhouse. This statetreint of Croftt was coinfirmeti by the other wateiiriall, as far as he was conceried arid minder all the circurnstances, Air. 1Ioliires declaret himiiself satisfied with the statcment of the watch. iran, sard saul he no longer suspected him of any knowledge of thme robbery, although lie was quite at a loss to whom ihe could attach any suspicion. Mr. vgn said thatever' effort should benrade bv time officers of that office to discover any trace of thir property, anii as it was all niarked witl llr. Holmes's Crarime, it was not uillilely but some dlis- covery might yet bc rnade. POIICE.