One of the most daring cases of house robbery that ever happened in this Settlement, occurred on Tuesday night last between the hours of twelve and one o'clock, and although there was a considerable gang of armed thieves engaged in it, no one except the servants left in charge of the premises were alarmed, and the thieves went on with their work of plunder undisturbed for some time.
Tt appears that the house at which this remarkable robbery occurred, is known as No. 437, in the Canton road.' It is used as a wholesale opium store, and there is little doubt that, as the thieves have been discovered by the Police to be all Shantung men, old thieves and strangers here, that on their arrival in these Settlements, they must have made the acquaintance of some resident thieves who "spotted" the house for them, and so enabled them all the more easily to ensure the success of their attack, There would seem to be little room for doubt in this regard, for it has also been ascertained that they hired a oat at Nanking ten days ago, and arrived at Shanghai on Saturday last, having moored their boat at a spot near the well-known Mound on which is hoisted the winning flag at the Autumn Regatta. From thence they easily found their way into the Settlement, and no doubt had been ing" ever since, until they hit upon the unlucky house in question.
This house is situated in an alley-way, into which the door opens, the house itself lying back behind theshopsfrontingtheroad, which will in a great degree account for the suddenness, quietude, and success with which the robbery was effected. The ver and his family had gone to a "singa leaving a watchman and some servants in charge of the premises, These say that at about twelve o'clock at night there came a knock at the gate, and think ing it was their master returned, they at once opened it, when several men rushed in, and exploding something three or four times, the reports sounding very like those of a revolver, but were afterwards found to have been produced by the explosion of small charges of gunpowder wrapped in paper, proceeded at once to acts of violence by knocking the watchman-down and covering his face with a mosquito net, a part of which they crammed into his mouth, They then shut the door, and the other servants hiding themselves array, had the premises all to themselves, and about ' improving their opportunity."
The servants declare the thieves were armed, some with swords, others with short spear-like weapons, others again with revolvers and bludgeons, but as only two of the latter (euphoniously described as firewood) were found, some doubt as to the other weapons has been raised. Suffice it to say that at last ten or a dozen men were engaged ransacking the house, and that about as many more are now Known to have been posted as sentries in and around the adjacent parts of the Foochow and Canton roads; and it was only in obedience to an alarm given by the firing of some of the paper bombs before named that the thieves in the house decamped, but not before they had collected and carried off some $1,400 or $1,500 worth of property, made up of 55 balls of opium and other valuables, and £200 in money—to get at which they had to break open several boxes.
Immediately the thieves had decamped on hearing their warning signal, the servants went to the Central Police Station and gave the alarm. Two native detectives were despatched in pursuit, and Wednesday morning came up with the thieves who were making off in their boat, and had already got two miles beyond Jessfield before they were overtaken. The detectives managed to stop the boat, on attempting to board which one of them was knocked on the head with a bludgeon and tumbled into the water}!besides receiving a severe wound, while the other was shot at with a revolver. The boat was then run ashore, and the thieves attenipted to get to land and run away, in which all but one and the boatman succeeded. These two were captured with the help of some people of the neighbourhood, and are now safely lodged in che cells at the Central Police Station.
Tu the boat were found 39 large and 17 small balls of opium, 11 packages of opium, 34 pieces of opium (balls cut in pieces), two opium pipes, one brass water pipe, one chopper, some powder, shot and balls, an opium box, and six bags.
The thieves were also seen to throw something into the creek, and on Messrs. Stripling and Fowler afterwards proceeding to the place and searching, they fished up nearly all the money that had been stolen. The officers just named were engaged during the whole of Wednesday scouring the country round the place where the thieves decamped, and did not return until Thursday afternoon.
Mr, Penfold's opinion is that this affair is not to be regarded in the same light as a raid organised in the same manner as that which lately happened in Hongkong, but is simply the act of a gang of wandering thieves, who, if they happen to escape now, will take care to give Shanghai a wide berth in future. It is however, sufliciently alarming to know there are such visitors at times close to our own doors, and it will not be amiss to look a little more closely into the security of the fast-eriings of doors and windows, as well as to the "security " of house servants.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.