Robbery Of The Maidstone ...
The Times, 1824-10-22T00:00:00

This robbery is a strong proof of the want-of vigilance s on the part of -those Yh6 transmit proptrty ef this description to i teat places.. WVe collect from-good eatthority, tthatt hea -tieres whou, a t hold of the parceL containing thbnateis and securities tothe tnmomnt of uPwards of 13,0001., had-no't laid a regular plan for theg,obevy_; bat that the parcel presented itself in so very tempting a rftanner, and lay so directly in the wayrof every body, that the power of rc- tisttng was quiteimiposgibletoztipersarn wholived npon surrep- titious contributions. It appears'-that five thieves, who arewell known in Londoento beaepteinwthelowerorderof-dishonesay1 to be stealers of snuff-b6xes, ~watrhee,-and pockethandkerchiefs, witb- out using violence, went down.toa fair somewhere in the -neigh- bourhood of Maidstone, to t:ke the countrymen. After,having. done a little business amongs. the flats of Kent, they determiued XW return to Liondon a% speedty as possible, in order to avoid any dis- agreeable interviews with the police-officers who -were expected from the metropolis npon business at the quarter sessions. They took places on the outside of the coach which was to leavg lisid- stone on Tuesday morning at five o'clock. As is gxstomary upon occasions 07 travelling amongst thieves, they fonne di7 art parties, and appeared to be strangers to each other. The iUoach was filled inside with gentlemen of iMiaidstone of well-knowW rcspct.. ability. Just before the time of departure, which vwas acedientally protracted.for half an hoar, a gentleman who -ws3 in the ecb-office observed the parcei of Mtessrs. Edmonds and Co. on the counter.and remarked to others in the office, that it was an inrstance of extraor- dinary negligence to leave such valuable property as bartk-not ex- posed to passer-s by, and tht if any of the London thieves were neat# they were supplied with a most tempting opportunity to enrich themselves. It happened thatsomne of the London thieves were I3reJ sent a.t the moment, and they took the nnintended hint. the thing was to he done in a moment, or not at all. They were cpedidiu and decisive in their measures. Three oftheme got upon the coarh, and a pretended quarrel about the seats took place, wbich threatened something serious. Th;e *uookkeeper (the only aerson belongingto tie office near the parcel) was loudly called uporn to decide the dispute. He ran out to the gentleman with his book in his hand, leaving e. hind him on the counter the very thing which was the obje of tele disputants. His interference speedily settled the difference, but he did it at the expense of the parcel; for upon his return to theoEfice tler bank-notes and securities had disappeared, and with them ene of the gentlemen iwhs had engaged the outside seats. A noise, of course5 was iimimediatelv made about the robbery, and one of the gang was searched, but tlhe scheme was more judiciously made, for he wha underwent the se:rch had covered the retreat of his companion whao took the pareeL In the confusion of the business, suspicin fell unon a gentleman, who immediately submitted to be searchi- ed. 'the contrivance was so well execiuted, that the man who got hold of the s.rag was not suspected until his seat witS found to be vacant, This person was a middle-aged stout man, vnith a drab surtout upon him. He was soon afterwards seen walkfng to- wards Colchester. The owner of the coach-ofce, u son acertainirg thlat this person was missing, believed that h, lad coDM;itteCd th1 robbery, and did not suspect that his accomnlices were to near. The coach was therefore ptrrnitted to proceed to London, and in- formation was immediately upon its arrival given to the City Mar- shals. AMr. Brown soon found out the names and characters of the thieveS, all Or' whom he knew to belong to a gang such as we have described ; complete infornation has been obtained by the officers oF all the particulars of the rubbery, and there is expectation of evi- dence to prove that the person who stole the parcel can be identified, and that he was seen with the notes in his possession. The haunts of the gang are well knowvn, and the foer accomplices can be pro- duced at a mnomnent's warning, but the apprehension of thieves under suchl circumstances is quite useless without a chain of evidence Lsch as never yet has been proved on similar occasions. Alr. Brown, the marshal. is activelv eneased in the invmet-i.n_r^ It is remarkable, that on Wetednesday morning a man called at the bankinglhouseof .Messrs. Curries and (Co.,in Cornhill. and presenfed some Alaidstone notes, to be changed for notes of thc Bank of England. The cashier asked the address of the party, and ques- tioned him closely as to the manner in which he becarne possessed of the fiotcs, mentioning to him at the same time that there was some coteplaint of robberies. There was nothing rernarkablc in the condluct of the person questioned. Ele readily gave an address, and t the bankers, instead of sending for an officer tO have his opinion and inquiry, employel a porter to accotnpany the man, and changed the notes. The stranger, as he went along, told the porter that he waa thirsty, and thev'd have a glass ef somtewhat. They went intoz. public-house and called for F.sme drink, and the stranger, pretending that he had something to say to the landlord, slipped off and left the porter in the tap-room. It is believed that the notes which were thus foolishly changed were some of those of which the gang sAool the countrymen at the fair. We are happy so state that the stolen parcel, should it be irreco- verably yooe. will not (although the notes and securities amoanit to hetween 13,0001. and 14,0001.) be a very serious lots to the bank. There are, we are given to understand, no more than 3001. or 40B1. in the whole which can be convertible to the use of the thieves. The numbers of most of the Bank of England notes are known ; and it is rather a difficult matter to prevail upon the fences to purchase sr.7g of this kind, on account of thegreat activity of the police, and the lengthi of time which it is necessary to keep stolen notes before as attempt cau be safely rnade to send them into circulation. A well-known fence was taken in some time ago, immediately after the robbery ot the banker's porter, from whose pocket a parcei! containing 2,9501. was cut at the cornerof Shoe-lane, in Fleet-street. Those stolen notes were hawked about theficnee-market for zomee time, and offered for 2,0001. The highest sum bid for several days wsas 1.2001., but the noise about them giving place to other subjects, the offers began to improve. At last, 1,8001. was offered, and ac- cepted. The thieves, of whom there are six in the gang, divided this sum, which has already been tossed away in dissipation amongst them, and the purchaser is already tired ef his bariain, for the notet are many of them of a large amount, and the difficultv of circulatirm thenm securely is, of course, considerably greater than if they were small notes. ,IRBBERY OF THE MAIDS TCNE BANE PARCEL.