The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-02-09 00:00:00

Scotlanb.

GREAT HAUL OF HERRINGS.—One of the Ayr fish-
ing boats on Friday night fell in with an immense shoal
of herrings in our bay. On shooting the nets they were
instantly filled, and so deeply was the boat laden that it
had to be run ashore on the beach, in preference to
coming over Ayr bar. We heard the number amounted
to 10,000. They were sold to go to England, where
they are manufactured into Yarmouth bloaters.
TURNPIKE-ROADS IN SCOTLAND.—At an adjourned
meeting of the Commissioners of Supply of the County
of Haddington, on Tuesday, the Marquis of Tweeddale
in the chair, the Earl of Haddington moved a resolution,
approving of the general principle of the scheme which
the Marquis of Tweeddale had proposed for maintaining
and repairing the roads of the county by an assessment
laid upon horses, houses, and heritage. Sir T. Hepburn,
without pledging himself to all the details of this scheme,
recommended all in favour of the abolition of tolls and
statute labour to support it, because they would thus be
gaining one step towards that abolition and towards the
principle of an assessment. An amendment was pro-
posed by Mr. Nisbet Hamilton, but negatived, for the
appointment of a committee to devise a new county
road bill, on the principle of consolidating the various
trusts, and giving authority to parishes, either to convert
turnpike roads into statute labour roads, to be main-
tained by an extra rate on owners and occupiers, or to
apply to the trustees to convert their statute roads into
turnpike.

STORY OF A COURTSHIP.—DUNDEE SHERIFF COURT.
—" Jamie," the son of well-to-do parents in Fifeshire,
fell acquainted, twelve or fourteen years ago, with
"Maggie," a brisk young lass, the daughter of a neigh-
bouring family, and for about nine years previous to
1855 Jamie cherished the fond hope that he was truly
the beloved of his own dear Margaret. A wright by
trade' he was in 1852 induced to einigrate to Australia,
with the intention after a five years stay, of returning
home. The correspondence was steadily kept up;
Jamie was prospering in his business, but Margaret
thought he was getting careless about her, and warned
him that she could "turn the chase as well as he."
This terrified Jamie, and he could not be satisfied until
she would come to him, or engage to abide true to him
till the time when he should return home. The latter ,
proposal was declined, as she thought she had waited
long enough. She was willing to go to Australia with
him immediately, but he must come and take her ;
"and if he did not think her worth coming for, she
could, with pleasure, remain at home," and the corres-
pondence could cease. Jamie continued his entreaties,
and in November, 1854, enclosed to her A cheque for
£4O, "an as to enable her to come out to him if she had
a mind to do so." Margaret was inexorable. "Money
(she replied) could not tempt her, or she would have been
tempted long ago." Reproaches, followed by explanation
and recrimination, were now given and received, and an
irreparable breach was committed. The result has
been, not only the breaking up of the courtship, but an
action in the Dundee Sheriff Court against Margaret,
raised in September last by her quondam lover, now a
married man, resident in Melbourne. He asks payment
by her of the £4O remitted "foe the express and avowed
purpose(.s the suminons e xpresses it) of paying her passage
and other expenses to Melbourne, where he intended to
marry her, as they had been previously on matrimonial
terms ; but which sum she illegally and improperly
failed to apply to the purposes for which it was sent, she
having not only refused to go out to Australia to become
his wife, but having retained and applied the money for
other purposes than that for which it was sent." In
defence, Margaret argued that the money was sent to
her unconditionally, as /I present in the prospect of the
marriage, it being entirely optional to her either to go
out or to remain at home until he returned; and that it
was not her fault that the marriage did not proceed
the pursuer having broken his engagement with her by
marrying another. She also pleaded damage fer injured
feelings, and loss of market, having suffered severely
in her feelings and prospects in life" by his jilting her.
As to the merits of the case, parties were fully heard
thereon before the Sheriff-Substitute, who has issued a
interlocutor, finding the defendant liable in the sum on
£4O, remitted to pay her passage to Australia, since, if
she had suffered disappointment that disappointmentf
had arisen from her own fault in having failed to
comply with the condition on which alone the money
was remitted to and received by her.