A POLICE THEORY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 68, 24 June 1916, Page 6

A POLICE THEORY.

RECENT DAMAGE IN CEMETERY. p-'- ; , _____ I In connection with the breaking of the glass wreaths at the old cemetery, Sergeant Dale, officer in charge of the feral Police Station, has the following report to the Bpeough Council: — Sirs, —In respect to the alleged malicious breaking of some forty one glass shades covering wreaths on graves in the old cemetery, 1 beg to inform the Council that this matter has received very careful attention from the police. On my first visit of inspection to the cemetery on the sth inst., I uas inclined to think the damage had been effected by some weapon of even pressure of force. I was at the time quite satisfied the damage was not done by stones being thrown, all the damaged shades bearing too distinct a uniformity to suggest damage by stones. Theie were no footprints about the 'graves and nothing to suggest any person had been about them. At that time I] was inclined to the opinion the damage might have been done by air guns

and accordingly directed our inquiry m that direction, with the result that several air guns in possession of hoys under 16 years were found, and by way of suppressing this nuisance some police prosecutions were instituted and the air'gAns confiscated. Not being satisfied with our inquiry respecting air guns being the means used to cause the damage complained of, I have experimented with an air gun on a glass shade such as those in the cemetery, the result being that I find a single pellet fired from an air gun will not break the glass shade, and I am now satisfied the damage was not done by means of air guns. The only concluIsion I can come to is that these ghms shades have all been broken by the severe frost which occurred about that time. In coming to this conclusion, one has to look for evidence in. support

'.of this theory. First the shades all appear to have one and the same class ot injury, that is they all appear;.to have had the same breaking, poiuta. Vi/.., on the top of the glass at this point m each case is frayed on the inside of the ' glass, which to my wind goes to show the glass was broken by it being contracted in such a way as to cause all the strain to come on the inside top of the glass, the top of the glass ultimately giving way to the even contraction and not by any lorce out- ' yardly. It is also very noticeable that the glasses which have escaped injury are invariably covere with grass oi sheltered by trees., Under all those circumstances I v.an come to no othei conclusion, that so many of these glass shades being broken are the direct ' result of severe frosts and that tin y. damage, has not been caused will fully. • s mk ■