Dover Express anmd East Kent Intelligencer 9 December 1865.

Burglary By An Old Offender.

At the City Police Court on Tuesday, a man named William Ward alias Macdonald, who has been several times convicted of felony, was charged with having burglariously entered the house of John Goodwin Fedarb, a newsman, living in Mill-lane, Canterbury, shortly before six o'clock on Thursday morning, and stealing therefrom a silver watch, two pair of cloth boots, one pair of Wellington boots, a blue striped shirt, a silk handkerchief, and a blank cloth mantle. It appeared from the evidence that the prosecutor got up between five and six o'clock on Thursday morning, and left home at about twenty minutes to six, fastening the front-door of his house as he went out.

A few minutes afterwards Mrs. Fedarb, who was in bed, heard a noise in the lower part of the house, and thinking it was caused by her husband, she called out "Are you not gone yet?" but did not receive any answer. Her daughter came into her bed-room, and just then the cathedral clock struck six. Presently the fire-irons were heard to rattle down stairs, and having listened a few minutes to see if any other noise was made, Mrs. Fedarb went down into the front parlour, and saw the door was open. She missed a silver watch and a pair of cloth boots, and all doubt as to what had become of these was removed when she discovered a pair of dirty old boots in the middle of the room, and which had evidently been left behind by the depredator in his hurry to get out of the house on finding there were others about besides himself. Mrs. Fedarb sent for the police, and later in the day the other articles named in the charge, and which were seen about the house on the previous day, were found to have been stolen.

Enquiries were instituted by Superintendent Davies, and the result was that suspicion fell on the prisoner, who on the night previous to the robbery had taken lodgings at the "Eight Bells," a low lodging-house opposite the prosecutor's house. When he went to the "Eight Bells" he was very drunk, and William Hogben, potman, noticed the prisoner wore the strange boots found in prosecutors front room. He got up between five and six o'clock on Thursday morning, and having obtained two or three lucifars from Hogben, he left the house.

It is probable that he then saw Mr. Fedarb come out of his house, thinking there was no one else at home, or that the other inmates were not about, prisoner by some means not yet discovered. He says he did not break anything in getting into the house, and it is not unlikely that Fedarb did not latch the door as supposed. Superintendent Davies sent a description of the prisoner to all the superintendents of police in the county, and on Saturday morning he was apprehended in Globe lane, Chatham. P. C. Kilby saw Ward going into a second-hand clothes shop kept by a Mrs. Mace, and inspecting he was the who had committed the burglary at Canterbury, he followed the prisoner into the shop and caught him in the act of selling the missing silver watch. He told prisoner he thought it was part of the proceeds of a burglary for which he was wanted, when Ward said he did not steel the watch, and that he had bought it nine months since.

Kilby then took the rascal before the great terror to evil doers, Superintendent Everist, who at once identified the fellow as an old acquaintance. At first Ward repudiated the friendship, but after a gentle reminder from Everist of a previous exploit in which he (prisoner) was the principal actor, the fellow exclaimed "All right master, you come to me to-morrow morning and I'll tell you all about where they are," meaning the stolen articles. He was then wearing a pair of boots which he admitted on the following day, were part of the proceeds of the robbery. He also admitted that he had taken the other property named in the indictment, and that he had sold it on his way from Canterbury, but as he came a round-about-read, he did not know where he had disposed of it. In answer to the usual question by the magistrates, prisoner said "I done the deed, bet I never broke nothing." He was than committed for trial at the assizes, which commence at Maidstone on Saturday the 16th December.

From the Dover Express, 22 October, 1869.

Public-house Offence.

On Thursday, Thomas James, proprietor of the "Eight Bells" public house, St. Dunstan's, was charged with unlawfully selling a certain quantity of beer in his house before half-put twelve on Sunday morning last. Defendant pleaded in extenuation that out of the four men who were in his house he gave a pint of beer each to two, they being in his house on business. The other two persons told him they had been travelling by road. The Supt, said the house was always kept very orderly. Fined 2s. 6d and 9s. costs.