The Sun. — 1836-03-21 (London, England)

CROYDON PETTY SESSIONS.  At the sitting of the bench on Saturday, Coleman, the chief constable of Croydon, came before the magistrates for the purpose of making them acquainted with the following singular and interesting statement which had been made by a person named Samuel Tilling, who was sentenced to death at the last Dorset Assizes, but whose sentence had since been commuted to transportation for life, and eight. years of labour in a chained gang. Coleman then handed in the following statement : " Samuel Tilling states that he; William Arlett, James Hill, Curly Bill,' or William Fisher, John Lismore, alias Bath Jew,' and old Winchester Bill, the Earl" (he does not know the name of the latter), were at the burglary at Chipstead. The five I have named met at Kingston after Egham Races, and they joined me at the sign of the Arrow beer-shop at Kingston. Three nights before the robbery Curly Bill, Winchester Bill, and John Lismore, started to Dorking Home Wood to rob a house there. Hill and Arlett went after them. Curly Bill and Winchester Bill came back to Kingston, and said they could not find the house. The next day I went with them. 'We met James Hill and Arlett, and we all together went to find the house. It was Mr. Smith's house, next door to a beer-shop in the Home Wood, Dorking. We did not rob that house, but all started away directly for Chipstead. When we arrived we broke into the house. No one was wounded but Hill. I was the first man who went up to the window, followed by Arlett. I tried to lift up the window, but could not. We had first got a ladder from a farmhouse. One of us broke a pane of glass, and thus gave the alarm, and a gentleman came into the room with a cutlass before we could get in at the window. I snatched away a watch that hung near the window, and jumped off the ladder. Arlett still continued on the ladder fencing with the gentleman ; but after a little while he also jumped off, and we all then retired from the garden. Curly Bill went away from us and broke in the panel of the side door of the house. The rest of us had previously determined to leave the house ; but Curly Bill came and said he had got a panel out of the doors and we could get in. We then returned to the house. 1 got in first through the broken pannel, and undid the fastening of the door, and all the rest then came it. We rifled the two front rooms of several silver articles and a coat, and we also drank two bottles of wine. After we had rifled these rooms below we made up stairs. When we got to the door at the top of the stairs Winchester Bill wanted 501. to be given to him. They answered that there was no money in the house. Winchester Bill had lighted a candle, and I saw some one's hand through the bannisters, and I called out to them to come away, for they would be shot. The gun had been fired out of the window before. I went back, and Hill took the candle out of Winchester Bill's hand, and said " let's have a look at the —." I went out, and as soon as was outside the door I beard the report of a gun, and immediately went back and met Hill with the candle blown out in his hand. I asked him who was shot. Hill said," Sam, it's me ;" and immediately fell down as though he was dead. I and Arlett carried him out into the road, and Lismore and the others assisted to carry him away. We carried him down the lane into a field, and took off his round frock and hat, and left him senseless. We agreed to go and plant' the plate, and come back to him again. We did not go back, because it got too light. We went across Walton Heath, and across Epsom Downs, on to Ewell Marsh ; and there we examined the plate, and threw some of the plated articles away. We then went to Kingston, and from thence to Brentford. We sold the plate to some Jews. We also sold the watch and pawned the coat, and divided the money between us. I never heard anything about the murder of Mr. Richardson. We all had handkerchiefs over our faces. Curly Bill has since that been in a robbery at Barnet fair. Winchester Bill, Arlett, and me, committed a robbery also at Harlow Bush fair. (Signed)