The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1841-02-12 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

DARING BURGLARY AT NESTON, NEAR CHESTER.— On Saturday morning last, a daring burglary was committed at Newton, near thts city, in the house of the Misses Cox, two maiden ladies, who reside upon their property. The only inmates of the house at the time of the burglary besides the Misses Cox, were two female servants, and the particulars so far as we have been able to collect them are as follow. It appeared that the ladies and the domestics retired to rest on the evening of Friday, after having as usual made every thing secure. About two o'clock in the morning an entrance was effected into the house by three men, one of whom is described as being very powerful and athletic, and about six feet high, by forcing a large iron stauncheon out of the back kitchen window. The doors of the different compartments of the house were then opened, but as no money was likely to be found below, two of the men proceeded to the bed-room of the Misses Cox, while the third was stationed at the gate, to give an alarm jn case of discovery. The ladies were awoke directly on the villains presenting themselves in their room, and one of them was so much alarmed as to fall into a fainting fit as soon as they entered it. One of the men carried a dark lantern, and the other had a pistol, and presenting it at Miss Cox, he demanded her money. Miss Cox then jumped out of bed, and struck at the fellow who held the pistol towards her. A struggle ensued, and the lady actually succeeded in thrusting the fellow out of the room, and his back falling against the balluster of the stairs, a portion of it was broken off. Miss Cox. however, ultimately became exhausted, and was forced back into the room ; and the servants, who had heard the noise occasioned by the scuffle, now entered. One of them immediately cried out, " For God's sake don't murder the ladies." We should, however, here state, that the Miss Cox who had so courageously struggled with the burglar, was so severely beaten with the pistol on her arms, as to be incapable of further resistance. It would appear that she now consented to hold a parley with the men, to save her life, if possible, by the sacrifice of her property. One of the female servants had now left the house, and succeeded in reaching safely a cottage occupied by Mr. Frith, with no other garment on than her chemise ; but the other, who had also gone down stairs to look out for assistance, was-seized by the fellow who was stationed to watch, and brought back into the room to her mistress, after having been told what would be the consequence if she made any noise or gave an alarm. Miss Cox was now on the point of giving a purse, containing a considerable amount in gold, to the men, as the condition on which their lives were to be spared ; but just at this crisis, the attention of the burglars in the room was drawn to voices outside of the house, which fortunately proved to be the servant girl returning with Mr. Frith—the latter person having immediately consented to accompany her home, on being informed of the perilous situation in which the Misses Cox were placed. The men hearing this, hastily rushed down stairs, and were met by Mr. Frith at the gate, who demanded who they were, and what they wanted. No reply was made, but one of them presented a pistol at Mr. Frith, and snapped it. Providentially, however, it missed fire, and the men then went forward in the direction of Flookersbrook. In the course of a few minutes afterwards, the report of two pistols was distinctly heard, from which fact the presumption strongly arises, that the pistol snapped at Mr. Frith was loaded.