CHRONICLE. 



71 



who swore in three hundred of 

 the principal inhabitants as spe- 

 cial constables. The Vice-chan- 

 cellor and heads of houses also 

 assembled, and resolved to put 

 arms into the iiands of the stu- 

 dents of their respective colleges, 

 if found necessary. 



27. Riots at LittlepoTt and Ely 

 — On Wednesday last 22d, a most 

 desperate body of insurgent fen- 

 men assembled at Littleport in 

 the Isle of Ely, where they at- 

 tacked on the same night the 

 house of the Rev. ]Mr. Vachel, a 

 magistrate, who for some time 

 stood at his door armed with a 

 pistol, threatening to shoot any 

 one who should attempt to enter, 

 when thi'ee men rushed upon and 

 disarmed him. He immediately 

 ran up stairs to relieve his wife 

 and two daughters, who, with 

 very slight covering, made their 

 escape ^vith him, running nearly 

 all the way towards Ely, where 

 thev arrived safe after midnight. 

 The rioters then broke all the 

 windows, and nearly demolished 

 every thing in the house, burning 

 all Mr. Vachel's papers and writ- 

 ings, and stamping his plate un- 

 der their feet : after which they 

 extorted considerable sums of 

 money from the inhabitants, and 

 broke into two shops, helping 

 themselves, witltout any one dar- 

 ing to oppose them. The pub- 

 licans' cellars were their next ob- 

 ject, where, after having drank 

 what they liked, they got a wag- 

 gon and team of horses, and pro- 

 ceeded for Ely, taking with them 

 every gun and other deadly wea- 

 pon they could find. On their 

 arrival at that city they were join- 

 ed by some of its refractory inha- 

 bitants before eight o'clock on 



Thursday morning, when they 

 demanded contributions from the 

 houses <ind shojjs of the brewers, 

 bakers, butchers, grocers, and 

 millers, which were unavoidably 

 assented to, and a dreadful scene 

 of drunkenness and riotous con- 

 duct ensued. They then pro- 

 ceeded to the house of Mr. Rick- 

 wood, a miller, where they began 

 to break his windows, &c. ; but 

 on his wife consenting to go with 

 a party of them to the bank, for 

 the purpose of giving them 501. 

 they, on obtaining that sum, left 

 his house without committing 

 any further depredations ; but on 

 their return broke the windows 

 and doors of the house of a per- 

 son who sold flour, together with 

 great part of the furniture. The 

 mischief was chiefly committed by 

 the Littleport rioters, who, after 

 separating themselves from those 

 of Ely, extorted money from se- 

 veral persons of that city, which 

 they spent in drink, and departed 

 homeward, to complete their 

 lawless depredations, having first 

 obtained the release of two of 

 their confederates who had been 

 imprisoned by the Ely magis- 

 trates. Happily there was no 

 further disturbance in that pLace 

 after the departure of the Little- 

 port banditti. 



These I'iots have at length ter- 

 minated by the exertions of the 

 magistrates, aided by a number 

 of the gentlemen and inhabitants 

 of Ely, and the Royston troop of 

 volunteer cavalry, together with 

 a small detachment of the 1st 

 royal dragoons, consisting of 18, 

 who had in the first instance been 

 sent for fiom Bury. These pro- 

 ceeded in a body on Friday after- 

 noon to Littleport, and a vei'y 



severe 



