FINGER-PRINTS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 500, 6 May 1909, Page 6

FINGER-PRINTS.

AND HALF-FORCOTTEN BURCLARIES. AN ASTONISHING DENOUEMENT. Oho of tho smartest pieces of finger-print work reported for a long time, provided that it is borno out when put to tho test, comes from tho finger-print branch of .the local detective .staff, and relates to the young man Jjis. Hemingway wbo appeared before tho Magistratos's Court yesterday ,on a charge of beiffg.concerned m tho recent robbery from the parcels branch of the General Post Office, details of which case appear in another column. Some timo between December 14 and December' 15, 1906, tho Government Printing .Office was broken into, and a wholesale theft of stamps was reported. Evory effort was mado to trace tho offender, but without suocess. Tho matter was not allowed to drop by the police, however, although tho publio have probably forgotten'tho burglary ■long; since. The burglar succeeded in purloining 505 £1 sheets of penny stamps, eight £12 sheets , of 2s. etamps, and eleven £15 sheets of Cs. ■stamps. An enttanco was apparently effected .by descending from tho roof of the big building to a window in tho top story by means of a rope, and getting into the stamp room, from which tie drying room was reached. After collecting ■ tbo stamps, let himself down to the ground.from one of tho windows by means of his ropo. On a broken window and some broken glass hi tho drying room several finger-prints were •'found, and theso were developed by. the finger-print department ofthe police, which department has kept a close watch on the finger-prints of alloriminals passing through the Courts since. It is alleged that, when accused , Hemingway's finger-prints wore sent to the department, they wero identified by • Detective Quartennain as being identical with those taken off the glass at the Government Printing Office the day after the robbery' there. As a result, Hemingway will bo oharged at the S.M. Court this morning'with' breaking and entering tho'..Printing Office, and theft of stamps valued at £856: .The finger-print system is also responsible for. another charge which will be laid against Hemingway to-day. • Tho temporary premises of Messrs. TOitcombo and: Tombs were broken rate some time between Friday nieht December 14, 1907, and tho Saturday moral ing, it being reported at the time that stock valued at £300 had been stolen. On openine up on the Saturday, it was found that tho premises had been thoroughly ransacked and several empty cash boxes wero found on tho floor. Failing to find money, the burglar solaced himself with money's worth, and spared no pains in the matter of selection of the handiest and. most valuable goods. A number of boxes of recently-imported' goods were taken out on to. the. Mil-at the. back of tne shop, and broken open amongst the lode s l°f ■ Z 1 ) 10 stoleu articles consisted chiefly of fountain* pens, to the number of over 100, and a battii of ladies' bags and sundries. An .entrance was effected, through a skylight in at+rt t ting on te the-roof at the back of the building from Wellington lerraee, making tea raised skyfight and then climbing down-into the interior of the shop moans of a knotted rope. It is something of a coincidence that at Messrs. miteombe and Tombs's premises occurred almost on the anniversary of thoGovernment Printing Office'ooup. When the police made inquiry into the matter they found several finger-prints on ,the show-cases, ?>;&„„'■ as + u m tU Qovornment Printing UJfice case, these were, entrusted to tho' feiger-prrnt experts and wero found to bo identical with the prints taken at the printing office twelve months before, and consequently Vh?'£S f^'^* 11 those of Hemingway S-rt. take ?&°? Messrs - Wliitwmbe and lombs's establishment include 106 foun- ■ a^ST , "^ raneinK.-ia value from ss. to £5, 24 gold nibs valued at 7e. 6d. each, 20 leather lotter-cases valued at 10s; each, "PcWv" bags valued at 10s. each,; and, 12 ladies' nup?p s each valuedat 10s. As aWult of Z K way mU ljp charged to-day with brcakuijr and .entering the premises of «»|e^'^l«iV.ite&^;ffi