Folios 209-210. A letter from John Boyes, of Margate, [Kent], reporting that no steps...

Folios 209-210. A letter from John Boyes, of Margate, [Kent], reporting that no steps have yet been taken regarding who set fire to 'Mr Croft's [supposed] property', but there have been no complaints to the magistrates. He continues that the stack belonged to Hodgman, a cowkeeper or carrier at Ramsgate, and the stack was, situated a mile from Ramsgate, set alight at about 4pm on Sunday. He adds that Major Garrett's farm was visited by 12 men, shortly after the fires at Mr Price's in Liminge [Lyminge] and Mr Becker's in Ash, and Mrs Garrett saw three well-dressed men [stringers] on the lawn of 'Updown House' and a servant saw 9 others.

He states that he attended a meeting of the magistrates of the eastern division of Canterbury, at which there was much discussion of rewards. He mentions that a government reward of £100 had been offered in Mr Price's case, but he adds that he feels that the circumstances behind such incendiary acts must be considered. He uses as example the case of Mr Becker, who has been accused of oppressing the poor in his position as an overseer. He adds that his information comes from a reliable source, and that the man in question, John Fordred, lived in Margate but belonged to the parish of Ash, had a wife and 5 children and could not find work so was allowed 9 shillings per week. However, rather than collecting this sum weekly, Mr Becker made him walk the 13 miles between Ash and Margate every day except Sunday, which Fordred managed to keep up for 9 weeks before it affected his health severely.

He reports that there is no machine breaking at the present, although many farmers have stopped using machines. He adds that his brother who farms 600 acres for Lord Guilford at Waldershare talked to his workers and they agreed the machines were useful if used infrequently, but Lord Guildford has insisted that the machines are no longer used. He finishes by adding that in the case of the 2 fires of Price and Becker sky rockets were fired direct from Ash to [Lyminge].