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CHRONICLE.

2. B

JANUARY, 1851.

URGLARIES.-In the CHRONICLE of last year, notice was taken of the great prevalence of this class of crimes, frequently accompanied by violence to the person; of which a prominent instance was the burglary and murder at Frimley. The present year has been not less fertile in offences of the same nature.

One of the most daring of these was committed on the first night of the new year, at Downlands, the residence of the Misses Farnscombe, near Uckfield, six miles north of Lewes. The Misses Farnscombe have only one confidential man-servant to live on their premises, Thomas Wood: his bedroom is on the same floor with those of his mistresses, and for quickness of communication, in case of alarm, his door was always kept open at night. Wood was armed with a loaded gun and a sword. The lawn of the residence of Downlands abuts on the road from Isfield to Ringle's Cross-gate, and at its rear is a deep wood. At a late hour of the night, or early in the morning of the 2nd, a night exceedingly dark and tempestuous, the gang broke away the lattice-window of the dairy, and so gained access to a window, through VOL. XCIII.

which they broke into the cellar, and from the cellar they got through a locked and bolted door into the kitchen. From the kitchen issued two staircases, one of which led to the ladies' bedrooms, and the other to Wood's bedroom. The robbers were aware of this, and separated into two parties, one of which, well acquainted with the habits of the family, ascended one staircase, and went by stealth to Wood's door-sill; thence they rushed in upon him; he became aware of their presence just the moment before they made their rush, leaped out of bed, and got hold of his gun; but one of the men closed on him before he could bring the gun to a level, and felled him with a blow from the butt-end of a heavy pistol. The gang then wrested his gun away, and mounted guard over him while it was deliberated what should be their next step. Some of the ruffians were armed with pistols, the others had staves: all wore masks; and they appeared to obey a leader, who ordered the others with threats of violence. They took from Wood his watch and money. Some of the gang left the room and joined the other party, who had ascended the other staircase and burst into the room of Miss Susan FarnsB

combe, and threatened that if she screamed or rung the bell, she should be instantly dead. They took her purse and other valuables. In the meanwhile another party had burst into the room of Miss Mary Farnscombe, who was ill, and took from her her purse, her pocket-book containing bank notes, her trinkets and jewellery, among which was a ring worth 70 guineas. The room in which Misses Charlotte and Emily Farnscombe slept was then forced, and the terrified ladies surrendered their valuables, amongst which was a dressing-case containing 201. in gold and notes. The villains now returned to the butler, whom they compelled to show them the plate, which they carried off. After staying some time longer in the house, the gang retreated with plunder worth at least 3001.

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This daring violation of domestic security was not long unpunished. The manner of detection was singular, and is but an indifferent illustration of 'honour among thieves." As the gang were retreating, one of them suggested to another that he should give him the bundle of bank notes, and they would divide it between them unknown to the others. This trap the fellow (Hamilton) fell into, gave up the notes, except one for 51., and never heard again of his half! The others of the gang had been equally attentive to their own interests, and, when they divided the plunder in a neighbouring wood, gave Hamilton 11. 7s. 6d. as his share of the booty! They afterwards added another sovereign. With this money Hamilton and some of his companions went to a beer-shop, where, getting in liquor, he dropped a sovereign, which one of his friends picked up

and appropriated. Hamilton, enraged and tipsy, forgot his prudence, and gave his friend into custody for robbing him, but was wise enough not to appear. In the meanwhile, rumours of the robbery at the Misses Farnscombe's were bruited about, and the police, thinking the late complainant and defendant suspicious characters, took them into custody, and, on searching them, found property which was distinctly identified as part of the plunder. Others of the gang, to the number of six (five men and one woman), were taken, and were tried at Lewes at the Spring Assizes. They were all found guilty on the evidence of their accomplice, and were sentenced, the men to be transported for life, and the woman for 14 years.

These villains were distinctly identified as having been concerned in four recent burglaries. In fact, they were part of an organized gang, whose scene of operations extended over the rural districts of Surrey, Sussex, and Kent; Kent; the leaders or captains transferred their presence to any spot where business was to be done. The stationary members of the fraternity were ostensibly shoemakers, basket-makers, labourers, and so forth, in the rural villages; their spies and the agents of their correspondence travelled about the country as hawkers. They were sworn to obey the orders of their captain, and if any one attempted to back out, or refused to take part in any robbery, or murder, if necessary, he or she was to be instantly shot; and if any one left the gang without the consent of the captain, he or she was to be followed and shot. The gang had a regular agency for the receipt

and disposal of their plunder. In these counties there is a numerous population occupying as it were the debatable lands between the honest and the dishonest classes of society. It is composed partly of the numerous squatters who may be seen upon commons, as in the neighbourhood of Woking, and the semi-nomades who retire in winter to the villages, but whose tent-carts in summer swarm on the highways and block up every green lane. The proceedings of the Uckfield burglars resemble more the adventures in De Foe's "Colonel Jack," or Fielding's "Jonathan Wild," than could have been expected in the days of the Metropolitan mounted Police. We see them carousing on the daintiest viands and wines, in the greenwood shade, and cheating each other out of their ill-gotten gains, exactly as their predecessors of the last century did. On common occasions these fellows appear to have moved about in decent society, in the guise of honest mechanics, small traders, and labourers. Eleven members of the gang were convicted at these

assizes.

4. FATAL OCCURRENCE AT THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY TERMINUS. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon, an accident occurred at the temporary terminus of the Great Northern Railway, by which two men lost their lives, and two others were seriously injured.

The company are constructing an immense granary; and a number of workmen were engaged on a kind of floating saw-pit, on a creek which flows up to the wall of the buildings. At this time some workmen were employed in raising an iron girder to one of the upper floorings, by means of what

is termed "sheers," or "sheer legs." This girder weighed from five to six tons; the men had raised it to the fourth story, when suddenly one of the "sheer legs" broke, and the ponderous mass fell with a frightful crash, crushing everything in its progress downwards. Two enormous beams of timber, which had been placed over the saw-pit for protection, were snapped asunder; the platform was crushed, and the whole driven to the bottom. On the other workmen running to assist, several poor fellows were seen floating about in the muddy water, clinging to the masses of floating timber which had been carried into it. From the difficulty of getting at them, upwards of a quarter of an hour elapsed before any could be rescued. It was then found that one of the men had been mortally injured, and two others frightfully hurt. Another man was altogether missing; by the use of the drags his corpse was extricated from the muddy bottom of the creek, into which it had been driven.

COLLISION ON THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.A collision of a serious character, by which several passengers sustained injury, occurred at the station at Boxmoor. Shortly before 3 o'clock a goods train, in consequence of the defective state of its engine, put into the Boxmoor Station, and remained there whilst the necessary repairs were effected. At this time the Liverpool express train was nearly due, and the stoppage signals were hoisted at the station. The express train does not stop at Boxmoor; but the driver and guard, on seeing the signals, immediately shut off the steam, reversed the engine, and put down the breaks; but as the

train, when the signals were seen, was going at the rate of about 35 miles an hour, it was impossible to stop, and the express train came in collision with the goods train whilst still going at a speed of eight or ten miles an hour. The driver and stoker of the express train jumped from the engine. The driver was but slightly injured, but the stoker received great injuries. The screams and cries of the passengers now showed that much injury had been sustained. It was found that twelve or fourteen persons were more or less hurt. One gentleman had his right eye injured; a lady had some of her teeth knocked out, another was severely cut about the face, and others received contusions about the head and limbs, but no bones were fractured. The carriages were but slightly damaged, the goods train not at all.

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5. ROBBERY AT LIVERPOOL.An extensive robbery was mitted at Liverpool, from the premises of Messrs Clark and Morris, silversmiths. The shop of Messrs. Clark and Morris is somewhat conspicuous, and has a double frontage, in Church Street and Tarleton Street. The firm also occupy a cellar, which is entered by a trap-door from the back part of the shop. This door was found open, and an iron plate fixed for security against the partition-wall of the next cellar had been partially bent down so as to admit the body of a man, the brick-work behind having been removed to a corresponding extent. The adjoining cellar, it appears, is used for storing coals by Mr. Jones, who occupies offices in Tarleton Street. The lock of the door to Mr. Jones's cellar appears to have been picked, and also that of the door communi

cating with the street. The burglars then removed the bricks of the partition-wall, bent down the iron plate, and thus gained access to the shop. The partners do not reside at the place of business, and the robbery was discovered by Mr. Clark on Monday morning. He found the shop in perfect confusion; jewellery and watches worth some 18001. had been carried off.

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10. DESTRUCTION OF A COTTON MILL. Manchester.. -A serious fire occurred in the extensive cotton-spinning establishment of Messrs. Wallace and Co., Chepstow Street, Manchester. The fire was discovered in the eighth story of the building, at 5 A.M. An alarm having been given, the engines of the fire-brigade were promptly on the spot, and rendered every possible assistance; but, notwithstanding their utmost exertions, the entire building was enveloped in flames, and in a short time totally destroyed. An adjacent mill, belonging to the same parties, scarcely sustained any damage. The building and stock were insured for 22,000l., but the damage greatly exceeds that sum.

FALLING OF A MILL AND Loss OF LIFE.-Belfast.—An accident, attended with most melancholy consequences, happened at Belfast. A flax-preparing mill had been commenced in the month of October last, and was rapidly approaching completion. There were a number of workmen engaged upon the premises, carpenters and bricklayers, with a few labourers, who were sinking a drain to carry off the water, along the base of the columns within the building. The building had been roofed, and the slating all but finished; but it is supposed that the heavy rain of

the previous night had loosened the brick-work to such an extent as to unfit it for the support of the beams. The workmen commenced their operations at 74 A.M., and had been about three-quarters of an hour at work, when the whole building came down with a fearful crash. The ruin was complete and instantaneous; and thirteen of the unfortunate men, who were employed in preparations for arching the second floor of the mill (which was three stories high, and about 80 feet in length), were buried in the ruins; but fortunately those in the lower stories effected their escape. Seven of the thirteen were dug out of the ruins alive but dreadfully injured; the others perished.

15. FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE IN ST. MARTIN'S LANE.-A fire broke out in a public-house kept by Caunt, the well-known pugilist and ex-champion of England, in St. Martin's Lane, just after the inmates had retired to rest, at 2 o'clock in the morning. Caunt was in the country. Mrs. Caunt and a niece slept on the second floor, just over the room first on fire; in one of the attic rooms slept her children, and Ruth Lowe, a relative; in separate attics were the bar-man and other servants. Mrs. Caunt and her niece escaped down stairs; the fire had laid hold of the staircase when the bar-man discovered it, so there was no retreat from the attics except over the roof. He got everybody on to the tiles except Ruth Lowe and two of the three children with her; these, as he could not see them through the smoke in their room, he hoped had escaped earlier, or by means of the fire-escape; but when the fire was extinguished, their bodies were found in the

room-they had been suffocated by the smoke.

16. EXTRAORDINARY HOMICIDE. A labourer in the Regent's Canal Dock met his death under singular circumstances, arising from most culpable carelessness. In the south-east corner of the dock, near the river, a schooner, the Lively, from Guernsey, was discharging her cargo of stone, and a labouring man, named Robert Appling, was heaving up the winch, with his face towards the southwest, when the report of fire-arms was heard, and almost at the same moment Appling put his hand on his breast, and exclaimed, "Oh, my God, I am shot." He immediately fell on his back, a lifeless corpse. The men about him were horror-struck at the occurrence, and were for a few seconds quite paralyzed. A neighbouring surgeon promptly attended. Upon examining the body, he ascertained that a shot had entered it in a slanting direction, just under the nipple of the right breast, leaving an orifice about the size of a shilling. From the position of the wound there was reason to think the gun or pistol from which the shot was discharged was at an elevation considerably above the deceased. The police instantly searched a lofty sugar-house adjoining. The inmates denied having fired any weapon. Two pistols were found, but they had not been fired for many years, and were covered with rust. After the lapse of some time, it was discovered that the fatal shot had been fired by one East, a hoop-bender, of 39, London Street, which is close to the dock, and that he had been practising at an earthenware jug, fixed on the top of a post in the rear of his premises; he was now tranquilly pursuing

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