Star.
London, England, 1830-10-23 00:00:00

TILE FIRES IN KENT AND SURREY.

About ten days ago a man, named John Blakey, was apprehended at
Oxted, in the county of Surrey, by a constable of that parish, on sus-
picion of being concerned in the fires which have lately taken place in
the neighbourhood, and underwent an examination before the Magis-
tr.ttes in that district; at the conclusion of which he was remanded.
Yesterday he was brought up for re-examination at Union Hall. In
addition to Mr. Hone, there were present on the Bench Mr. Wilke, Mr.
Master, and Mr. Wettbank, three Country Magistrates, who have been
actively engaged in the investigation of evidence as respects the psi.
toner.

Several farmers residing in Kent, who have suffered by the recent acts
of the incendiaries infestino that county. having heard that a man was
in custody on subpieitm (lemon, attended, with a view of ascertaining
whether they could identify him ns belonging to the gang; but they,
one and all, declared, on seeing him, that his person was entirely un.
known to them.

The prisoner, it appears, was apprehended, having in his possession
a bow and sonic arrows, or hollow brass tubes, which were believed
capable of containing combustible materials, receipts for making which
he also possessed, and by which, he said, stacks might be tired at some
distance. He had likewise prophetic political pamphlets, and manu-
script papers of an inflammatory description, calculated, if circulated
among the unthinking population, to produce dissatisfaction. On being
interrogated as to his course of life by the Magistrates, before whom he
was conveyed, he gave a long narration, and from which it was manifest
he had for some years led a vagabond kind of life. From his represen-
tation, he is respectably connected, his father having been a substantial
farmer, residing in the vicinity of Hawes, in Yorkshire. He has
a brother, a Clergyman of the Church of England, and another
brother in affluent circumstances, in the West Indies. He left his na-
tive village early in life, and went to live with an aunt at Lancaster, by
whom he was apprenticed to a watchmaker of that town, named Dick-
enson. Having quarrelled with his master he ran away and entered the
navy, serving from 1809 to 1812, on board a bomb-vessel, which he
quitted at Cadiz, and returned to Liverpool, on board L'Orient. an
American merchant ship. From that period up to the present time he
seems to have been in no respectable way of getting a livelihood. With
a smattering of chemistry and mechanics be has compiled some short
publications, and, as before intimated, he appears to be a radical poli-
tician of the worst description, by the works which were found in his
pocket, some of which, however, he had not sufficient funds to enable
him to print. He claims the invention of a new mode of harpooning a
whale, but, on his explaining la what manner this was to be effected,
Mr. Wellbank immediately recognised it as being the invention of Cap-
tain Scoresby.
The prisoner said that he had slept in a barn not far from Woolwich
the night before he was taken into custody, but he did not know the
name of the person to whom it belonged. He said, moreover, that he
had left some brass tubes at a public-house at or near Deptford, where
he lodged one night.
Hall found these tubes and now produced them, which the prisoner
admitted to belong to him. Hall now added, that the landlord in-
formed him some person bad applied for the tubes since the prisoner's
apprehension.
The prisoner said that he had not sent any one, but probably two
men who had slept in the barn with him, to whom he had communi-
cated the fact of the property having been left as described, had taken
advantage of the information and gone to the landlord.
The blagistrates considered this a suspicious circumstance, and
were inclined to believe he might be connected with,others.
The prisoner said he was a perfect stranger in that part of the coun-
try, and he doubted not, when the whole affair was fully investigated,
that he should clearly establish his innocence.
Mr. Hoxa inquired whether he could produce any friends to become
his surety for his appearance on a future day, to which the prisoner re-
plied he could not.
On being questioned as to the practiboaility of setting stacks on fire by
means of apparatus such as he possessed or could make, he, without the
least hesitation, admitted it was easy to acsompliah. One of the hol-
low braes tubes. he said, when complete, would fire a small shell
from the holster of a saddle when the horse was trotting. Ile said
one of the tubes he purchased at a shop in Barbican, and the other.
he brought with him from Liverpool.
On being told that he would remain in custody for some days longer,
until futther inquiry was made, he said, " I have no objection to be in
prison for I have no money."
He was then remanded to Tuesday se'nnight.