The Express.
London, England, 1851-11-04 00:00:00

THE BURGLARY AT RAVELEY.

At the bench of magistrates at St. Ives, on Mon-
; day (yesterday), John Titman, of Taxley, and James
Stokes, or Ramsey, were brought up, charged with parti-
cipation in the late burglary on the premises of Mr. Fair-
ley, with shooting at the said Thuimse Fairley, with intent,
lc., and carrying off a quantity of plate, two watches,
sundry wearing apparel, and other articles, his property.
The magistrates present were ; I'. S. Fryer, Esq., chairman;
the Earl of Sandwich, Revs. J. Lianas and George John-
' son, and IL 11. Ilussey and 0. Ansley, Emit. The court
was crowded. Both prisoners arc notoriously had charm-
, terse Mr. Fairley is a line specimen of the old English
yeoman, and gave his evidence with remarkable coolness.
It is in contemplation to present him with a piece
of plate by subscription. Ile deposed as follows :
I am bailiff to Mr. 'Lowy and live in a lone farmhouse
at Rowley. On the night of Friday, the 24th October,
went to bed,between 9 and 10 o'clock, leaving all fast. I
was awakened about 11 o'clock by a noise outside resem-
bling a clap of thunder; the door was down in a moment.
I jumped out of bed and went to the window, looking into
the yard ; I could not see the door. I called out, but re-
ceived no answer. I turned round and got my pistol, and
then saw a light at the stair foot. I always sleep with the
dour open. I went to the dour and cried "Beware !" The
light was then withdrawn but speedily returned, and I saw
it man and fired at him. The man said, " Oh, you keep
those things, do you ? we've got plenty of thole," and in
a minute or two he returned the fire, but missed me. I called
out to know what they wanted, as I could hear by the
whispering that there were more than one. They said
they wanted money, and I said I had none ; I had paid it
all away that morning. They said, "Come down ;" and
I replied that I would not. Isaiil, " Come up two of you,
you cowardly rascals, if one 's afraid." They again desired
me to come down, saying there were ten of them; and I
said, " I don't care it there were twenty of you, I am pre-
pared fur you ;" and fired at the man I could see. They
returned the fire ; they fired five shots at me in all: the man
I could see was under cover in a room below. Alter they
had fired three times, they said they would fire the house,
but I did not think they would come that. 0110 said,
" Bring in the straw," and they lit a fire with wine bean
straw, and fed it with the leaves of &large bible, the barome-
ter, and the clock case. They then fetched the instru-
ment they broke the door with, and knocked out the
window sash of the room below, and broke the dour into
the passage. The smoke nearly suffocated me. I went to
the window and found a man had command of it with a
pistol. Ile threw some stoats in. My wile could stand it
no longer, and rushed down stairs; they theu pushed her
in a closet and shut her in. I fired once alter she went
down, and one of them called out, " If you fire again we
will shoot Mrs. Fallacy where she stands." I was then
obliged to give up, calling upon them fur God's sake to
have mercy upon my wife. They then came up stairs, I
had put the revolving pistol I had used away, but it was
some time before the reseals would believe that I had no
fire arms. They said to me, "Go down stairs, you old
—." I can speak positively to the prisoners. lily wife
screamed just before I tired the lust shot, and it was then
they threatened to shout her. There was a much larger
man than Titman there, a great lumbering fellow. They
wettest the bean straw to make more smoke. There were
five men in all. They all had masks on their faces. They
ransacked the drawers and the bed looking for property.
When I went down I found one man in the kitchen, ran-
sacking my desk, and James Stokes keeping guard over the
closet dour. Stokes had uo mask on then, he had a gun
and a pistol in his hand. I sat clown on a chair,
and Stokes said to me, " I reaped a week with
you last harvest." Ile did not, however. My pistol was
loaded with ball. I was slightly wounded by a shot in the
thigh. They remained about half an hour alter I surren-
dered. While I was on the stairs they said, "Come down,
and we will give you a glass of wine." They had got the
liquors when I went down. When the men came down
that had been upstairs, I and my with were ordered up-
stairs. They came down with their masks on. Titmsn
attack me three times with a poker as I was going upstairs.
Ile hit me once across the kidneys, and I have a bruise
there yet. I said, " You have got my property ; for God's
sake spare my life." I and my wife sat down on the edge
of the bedstead when we got upstairs. I asked for a light,
but no answer was returned. Titman and Stokes then
came upstairs without their masks, and asked where the
bread was. I know the smile on Pitman's ugly face. My
wile told them to look about for it. Titman and Stokes
then went into the next bedroom, and then went down
again and returned with • light, and took my gun away. I
had hid the revolver. They wanted to know where
it was, and I said I had flung it in the garden.
Tho men then went down stairs and enjoyed themselves,
and I saw no more of them till we saw theta leaving the
house ; that was about 3 o'clock. I asked my wife if she
dare sit alone while I went for assistance ? She said yes,
and I then saddled my horse and rode to liparood (about
a mile), and soon returned with Mr. Wright, the constable,
and other parties. The walls at the top of the staircase are
marked with shot, as though there bad been a siege. The
balls from my pistol lodged at the bottom of the stairs.
They drank and carried off about a dozen sod a half of
(currant) wine. The waistcoat produced (taken off Titman)
is my property. (-Mr. Fairley identified a box and bag of
powder found on Titman, some cheese, a bottle and a half
of currant wine, and • gun produced by Wright.) There
was no wine in the house but currant wine. There was
some brandy, and I should have been glad if they bad got
hold of that, as perhaps we might then have caught the
other men. My wife and I were the only persons in the
house.

additional evidence against the prisoners having
been heard,

Police-coiastable Benson, keeper of the St. Ives lock-
up, produced a confession made by Stokes on Sunday,
Oct. 26, and written down by himself. Stokes said, "This
is a rum mess to get into," and witness then told him that
if he had anything to say he should take it down in writing,
and produce it to the magistrates.

The statement to which Stokes had attached his mark
was read. It was to the effect that he and Tidman went
together to Peterborough to look for work, but could get
none, and left to go to Talley and Wood Walton. A man
named Hall, and another, joined them at Peterborough,
and accompanied them to Ramsey. When they were near
Mr. Fairley's Hall proposed to go and rob it, but he
(Stokes) refused, saying he should go home; upon that
Hall and the other seized him, and, presenting pistols at
his head, swore they would shoot him if he did not go, fur
he meant telling. When at Fairley's, they made him hold
a pistol, as though he would shoot Fairley, but it was not
loaded. They took his gun, and fired it off in the house.
The reason he had his gun with him wan, that he expected
to go to a pigeon match. They made hint hold up the
latch while Hall and his companion burst the door. He
did not think they meant to shoot Fairley, but only to
frighten him, and make him come dawn, so that they might
' go up in search of some money.
The prisoners said nothing in their defence, and were
fully committed for trial at the anises.

EMIGRATION.,---The Victory steamer left Water-
ford on Friday morning at seven o'clock with IGO passen-
gen en route to America. There were a great many chil-
dren not included in that number. A ship sailed from
Belfast last evening bound for New York, with a large
number of emigrants—about 2.so—the majority being appa-
rently in comfortable circumstances.