CITY BURGLARY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 53, 26 November 1907, Page 2

CITY BURGLARY.

1: ■«. Tho police authorities wore on the alert yesterday morning, wlieii "another burglary was roported. Visions of a-gang of expert thieves arose, and enquiries were set on loot at once with a view to checking the career of the offenders.- Tho enquiries ,had not proceeded far before suspicious eyes were'cast, on "Tho Feather Gang, a combination of juveniles in the Mount Cook district. Subsequently- three boys, whoso 'ages rango frorii eight to ten years, were- taken into custody, charged with having broken into tho temporary premises of Messrs. E. T. Taylor and Co., wholesalo bottlers, wine and spirit merchants, etc., in Courteuay Place. The offence was committed! sometime between Sunday evening and 4.30 yesterday morning, when the premises were reopened: The premises in question stand back from the road, between two brick walls and a pile of building material and timber. Mr. Pearson, clerk for the firm, was; back at work on Sunday, and departed about midday, leaving all the doors locked. The first of the firm's employees to put in an appearance on Monday morning found' twelve empty cigarette boxes strewn on the floor, the cigarettes having been taken;'the drawers of the desk had been.taken out, and papers, bills, etc., were littered about tho floor. Tho handle of tho safe was broken off, and the brass plate on the front of the safe was twisted -about., Half a dozen -whisky bottles were found with the corks drawn, together with some beer bottles in a. similar condition, but nono of the liquor was missing, 'l'he only things removed from tho building appear to bo the cigarettes and some cigars, valued altogether at about ,£2. An cntranco is alleged to have been effected by one of tho smallest of the youths crawling through-a small hole-in-the floor, and opening the door for his 'companions. The youths are also to he confronted .with a charge of breaking into and damaging the new drill shed, and several other petty offences in the Mount Cook district. CUBA STKEET 'PREMISES- ENTERED. Soma boy.-; broke into Messrs. Gordon and Goteb's premises between Saturday night and yesterday morning, and left a card bearing the inscription, '' With the compliments of the Feather Gcng." The word "feather" was not written, but a crude drawing representing a feather took its place. One of the culprits was evidently a barefooted boy, tho marks of two bare feet being left on a piece of blotting paper in the shop. No goods are missing from tho establishment. The representatives of the "Feather Gang" will appear before the Juvenilo Court -on summons, within the next few days.