BURGLING CHURCHES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 253, 1 December 1909, Page 3

BURGLING CHURCHES.

FURTHER CASES. WANTOX DAMAGE. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, Last -Sight. The list of churches burglariously entered during the past few weeks h.is been increased. Further enquiries wore made to-day, and it was elicited that the Koman Catholic Church and schojlroom at Halswell had both been entered. The thieves broke into the church and. forced open the contribution box, hi.t found nothing. They then took the church vestments out of the vestry press and scattered them about the floor of the church, and the sacristy of the schoolroom, which is situated near toe church, was also broken into. Two cf the windows were smashed, and (.he school clock wag broken. The ink wells were emptied, the ink being scattered over the desks and books. The Halswell occurrences are distinguished by Iho wantonness of damage done. The fiu-ger-print department attached to the Christchurch police station should have had a busy time. The offenders tampering with so many windows and varnished boxes left plenty of digital evidence behind them. It ha 6 been discovered that the Roman Catholic Cathedral was entered by forcing the window on the north side of the lower windows in the cathedral. They are so constructed that they can be partly opened from the bottom far ventilation purposes. A notched peg, which kept the window in position, had been tampered with and ultimately separated from the window by the removal of an iron pin. The window could then be swung back so that a largo body could be admitted.