The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-06-24 00:00:00

DARING HIGHWAY ROBBERIES

BRISTOL, JUNE 20.—The neighbourhood of Bristol has,
within the last three days, been the scence of some of the
most daring highway robberies, accompanied with violence,
that have been committed of late years in the entire king-
dom. The whole of these robberies have also evidently been
perpetrated by the same persons, an organised gang of ruffi-
ans consisting of seven persons, three or four of whom are
armed with large horse-pistols, and who have attacked
farmers and others on their return from market, within even
a single mile of this city, at as early an hour of the night as
ten o'clock in the public road, and in the most daring man-
ner. The first of these robberies was committed on Friday
night, on the person of a professional gentleman of Bristol,
Mr. Francis Edwards, who, it appears, had been dining with
Mr. Frederick Ricketts, of Cote-house, Westbury, about
two miles from Bristol, and left about ten o'clock in the
evening, on his return to his residence at Redland, about a
mile from Cote-house. Mr. Edwards had not proceeded
further than about one-eighth of a mile before—as he came
opposite a place called Henleeze-lane—he saw two men
sitting down whom he had noticed following him at a previ-
ous part of the evening. Not having any suspicion, Mr.
Edwards proceeded, and when he had gone a little farther,
three other men jumped suddenly out of the hedge, one of
whom placed a pistol to his mouth and the other two a pistol
to each side of his head, threatening to shoot him if he made
the least noise, or offered the slightest resistance. Mr.
Edwards then observed that the other two men whom he had
seen following him had joined the party. Finding that the
least attempt at resistance must prove fatal to him, Mr.
Edwards quietly submitted, when they proceeded to rifle his
pockets of his purse, containing four or five sovereigns and
some silver, and of his gold watch, which being suspended
by a guard chain, they found some difficulty in getting off,
and twisted its chain violently round his throat so as almost
to produce strangulation. After they had thus robbed bim,
they marched for some distance by his side, still holding
their pistols to his head, and threatening to shoot him if he
gave any alarm. When they got on a favourable part of
Dnrdham-down they suddenly darted off in different ways.
Mr. Edwards immediately ran back as fast as he could to
Cote-house and informed Mr. Ricketts of the robbery, when
that gentleman, who is in the commission of the peace for
tbn;yl
umti immediately
cna
ctneerlssysu.
pursuit
nt
of out his
highwaymen, servants and h raised s
unfor-
tunatelyed tl
e
of £25 for their apprehension.
On Ethva'd'
has offred a reward
On Thursday night a waggoner of Stoke, about three miles
from Bristol, was driving along in his waggon, when he was
stopped by evidently the same gang of fellows, two of whom
placed themselves at the horses' heads, while the others
jumped into the waggon and proceeded to rifle his pockets,
but fortunately the sound of an approaching carriage being
heard, they made off.
On Saturday night the same gang perpetrated one of the
most daring robberies we have eyetocwo.,,,
with the most brutal violence, within a mile of Bristol, on
the Horfield-road. The following are the particulars :—A
Mrs. Collard, the wife of a respectable farmer at
.Almonds-
bury, five miles from Bristol, was returning home in her co-
vered cart on Saturday night from the Bristol market, ac-
companied by Mr. Smith, a carpenter, of Ahnondsbury, who
was driving, Mr. Smith's son and a young woman sitting be-
hind. On arriving near the first milestone five men suddenly
jurepeA out of the Ledge. two ran to the horse's head, a third
pointca a pistol at them in the cart, and the other two, who
were also armed with pistols, got into the cart and demanded
their money or their lives. They then dragged Mrs. Collard
and Mr. Smith out of the cart in the most violent manner,
and having thrown them on the ground proceeded to rifle
their pockets. Having robbed them, they beat them about
the heads and faces with the butt-ends of their pistols until
they ceased to move, being reduced to a state of total insen-
sibility, and no doubt being thought dead by their assailants.
Mr. Smith's son jumped out of the cart, and, falling on his
knees, begged them not to murder his father ; they then beat
him in a similar manner, and having left them all lying in
the road, made off.
The sufferers were in a short time afterwards found by
some persons coming up the road ; they were, removed to
their residence, where they still lie in the most dangerous
state. Mrs. Collard has her teeth beaten out, with some
very severe contused wounds of the face and head. Mr.
• Smith is so beaten about the head that he has lain in a state
5. of perfect insensibility ever since, and scarcely the slightest

hope can be entertained of his recovery.
On the same evening two labouring men, who were return-
ing from market on the same road were stopped and robbed,
and beaten by the same five men. As the men attempted
some slight resistance, one of the robbers attempted to fire
his pistol at them, but it fortunately flashed in the pan.
They were then robbed of their earnings and some groceries
they had purchased. The poor fellows were then beaten
about the head with the butt-ends of the pistols and thrown
into a ditch.
The five robbers are described as follows :—Three of them
dre short men wearing srnockfrocks, with Jim Crow hats;
the other two are dressed like navigators, and have high black

hats.
The police arc using the most strenuous exertions for their

apprehension

A young man named Williams was last week drowned,
whilst bathing in the Severn, near Gloucester.
Loss OF AN EMIGRANT SHIP IN A SNOW STORM.
Letters have been received stating the total loss of the
emi-
grant ship Kent, captain Gardner, on the night of the Bth
of last month, in the Western Ocean,
off t
the Seven Ibelongedslands,
during a heavy snow storm.
The vel, i appears,
to Greenock, and was bound for Montr.eal, having 70 emi_
grants on board. The diEaster, it is said, occurred between
eleven and twelve o'clock, by the ship running on to a mass
of sunken rocks a short distance from the coast. Owing to
the severity of the storm which prevailed at the time, for a
length of time it was expected that she would fall to pieces.
Providentially, however, she held together until daybreak,
when the whole of the emigrants were safely landed on the
coast, though in a
having lost everything they possessed. The ship was about
00 tons hurdle:), most deplorable condition, m.any of them
to be insured. and is, together with her cargo, reported