THE ELTHAM SENSATION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIII, Issue 14, 15 September 1915, Page 3

THE ELTHAM SENSATION.

THE MEN .PLEAD GUILTY. HOW THE BANK WAS ATTACKED. At tlie Eltham Magistrate’s Court yesterday two young men, William Keith, stableman, and Samuel White, painter, both of Eltham, were charged; (I) That they .did on or about dune Ist, I‘Jld, attempt to break and, enter the Bank of New South Wales, Eltham, with intent to commit a crime therein, and (2) that they did break and cuter the warehouse of Charles Anderson Wilkinspn and commit a crime therein, to wit, the crime of theft.

The accused pleaded not guilty. Mr j L. Weir, of Eltham, acted for Keith, while Mr IE Spence, of Stratford, acted for White. Mr Cecil Wright, Stratford, watched the ease on behalf of the Bank of New South Wales. Senior-Sergeant McNeely, Ha worn, conducted the ease for the police. George McGlashan, eoachbuildei, ol Eltham” stated that Keith had told him that he (Keith) and White had tunnelled under the bank irom the billiard .saloon and that they were in a position to get into Wilkinson’s store any time they liked. Ibis was about four months ago, and about a month afterwards witness went with Keith to see what had been done. Wit ness continued; “I went down j Bridge Street and along the right of way by the furniture shop, then around the hack way into the vacant section between Sim's and the billiard room. He pulled out some old clothes from under the billiard room wall and gave me an old pair of pants and coat "to put on. He also put some on himself. He then opened a trap-door in the grass. He asked me to go in and then followed me, closing the door after him. We crawled along several yards in what appeared to ho a trolich. He passed me and I crawled along behind him. It was dank and ,1 couldn’t see where! we were going. I crawled along until I came to w hatappeared to-be a water pipe. We wont ■ under this and then he told me we were under the bank. It was Bank of New South M ales. Alter fa few yards further he struck a match and showed me what he said was the bottom of the sate. He crawled in under the safe first aitev lighting a piece of candle. He came out again and invited me to have a look. I looked in under tlie safe alter first lighting a piece of candle. He told me they intended to drill through the concrete,” Kjfe; told me thef intended * bo put the blame on to ; the billiaid marker. He also - said 1 ho was yoins to Wellington to get some tools and also a battery to see to’ 'work with at night. He canio part of the u.ij along 'Bridge Street with me on my wav home, and the next time I saw him was the Saturday night before he was arrested. He ‘came up to mo on the, street and told mo there wore two detectives staying at fvaspar s hotel. They (I presume Keith and White) intended ‘to gor,under the bank on Sunday night, but they would not now go near it ou/aecount- of the defectives being in the town. W hen Keith asked Hie to join them, my job was to watch outside. Keith said they wanted an extra man'to watch outside. The method by which they were go mg' to divert suspicion was. 1 think, that they were going to get some letter* or things belonging to the billiard maker and leave them under the bank. They afterwards decided to leave the work to Christmas time, because they thought there would ho, more money there then. He said when they got the money White was going to buy a farm, and he (Keith) was going to work lor hi,m. ’ William Denham K((ss, manager, Bank ofrNew South Wales, said that on .Monday, 23rjl August, 1015, >U cousei)uelice of what ho had been told ho went under the floor of the hank. He used a box of wooden matches and observed an open trench leading to the strong room. He went down later on with an electric torch. He saw the open trench ran under the strong room, and on turning the light in the other direction he could see that the other end .was covered with hoard upon top of which earth had been thrown. There was also some tools there. I There were a short-handled shovel, a spade, an ad/.e, and a fork. ,He, at ’.once informed the; policy. That ]w ; as t%, first occasion oiC which he had nseemtho'trench. i ■ .! : V ! f ! *s. TH E TUNXEL UN DEIifTHE BAN K. John Alfred Duflill, architect, Hawera, testified that he had been asked by the police to go under the Bank of New South Wales on August 30th. He entered the bank and went through a trap-door in the passage. He got underneath the floor and went towards the front of the building. He found an open trench 18 wide by about two feet deep extending from the strong room about 7ft. bin. to the front of the building. The bank at this particular point is about four feet from the level of the ground. He went down into the trench and found that the strong room floor was exposed about three feet. He noticed a couple of marks in the concrete as if made by a cold chisel or drill. About 7ft, (jin. from the strong room the trench took a turn to the left and dipdep down iu a gradual slope to the western wail. The trench at this point was covered over to the wall with hoarding with earth piled on top, making it very similar to the surrounding ground. The oovered-in pa.rt would be about lilt. long. About (our feet from the wall the covored-in trench dipped sharply down into a

tunnel underneath the footings on tiro bench wall, arid the small right of way between the bank and the next building and the piles ol: the billiard room next door. J lie length ol tins tunnel was about Bft. by ISin. aide and about 27in. from the footings of the wall, i-ising again to a trench under the billiard room floor. The billiard room floor was about 2-lin; above the ground lino. The trench is about 12in. deep bore by ISln. wide. It ran right under the billiard room iyr a distance of 33ft. Gin., and ends in a pit 18in. in depth. The pit was fitted with a trap door made out of inch timber, its si/.e being 2ft. by 2ft. Gin. THE POLICE EVIDENCE. Senior-Sergeant W. McNeely gave corroborative evidence. He arrested Keith on August 20, and when the accused was charged with attempting to break into the bank lie replied, ”1 see.” In company with Detective-Ser-geant SiddeNs witness afterwards arrested 'White, who made no reply to the charge. Detective-Sergeant J. Skldells gave corroborative evidence. M ben arrested White said. “1 know nothing about them. Saint’ ’White answered, ‘No. They got nothing out of me. They the hank.” Constable E. Townsend statpd that he remarked to White that it would take a long time to do [bo tunnel with the tools employed, and M bite said.

“It took us over eighteen months to do it.”

Constable •losoj)li AA roheniski said tlui(, on the morning of August dOtli. !ii T a.m., lie was on duty in Kithain in tlio passage of ilm colls which liold the two accused. They wore in separate rolls. Wiido was walking round Ids cell and oroatod a little distil rhaiioo, and Keith asked, Ms ill at you walking about’ (referring to WhiteA. AVliito replied. ‘Acs! AVliat about it now, (larky?’ Keith replied. ‘Sav 11011ii.ii.tr White replied, ‘My Clod, T must lie going off tut head.’ Keith then said. ‘Did you say anything to worn down at my place and got a lot of clothes. They must have got some clue from you. Keith said. ‘They got nothing out of me.’ AA Into replied. ‘T thing a man will drop in for it.' The hank peonK wil] shake ns tin over this. A man will get a ooui>l« of years for this.’ Keith replied. ‘Hid von get any stuff out of there,’ and AA liite answered. ‘Yes. they got it at my house.’ Keith said ‘Did you tell them that you were with me.’ and AVliite answered No.’ Keith said, ‘You only want to say you weren’t with me.’ After about live minutes’ silence Keith said ‘What are you going to say about it; j Say nothing. Say you were with me.’ A ■ Senior-Sergeant Diuuio, ol A\ etlingtou, gave evidence sis to identifying the finger-prints of the accused on a bottle found on the underground workings. At the conclusion of the evidence, both accused pleaded guilty, and-were committed to J the Supreme Court lor .sentence. A further charge against both men will be heard next Thursday. At the conclusion of the trial the prisoner AVJuto had a fit, from which ho did not recover for some tinie.