The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-07-27 00:00:00

NISI PRIX% COURT.-THORSDAT.

Mr. Bst,nWATwJNtookbil scat in this Court ai 10
o'olock. . _

CURTIS V. MARCH—Mr. Slade appeared for the
plaintiff. This we, an action of ejectment, hut as
neither the defendant, his attorney, counsel (Mr. Cole),
nor witnesses were present when the ease was called on
—after ten o'clock, though the Ant on the OILGRO list—
verillVE for the pinintiff was given. Mr. Cole afterwards
entered the court and said he had been misled by the
clocks as to the time, but the learned Judge declared
that he could not rescind the decision, though he would
stay execution till next term to allow den application for
a new trial. This was accepted.
COWNISSIONZRS OF HIGHWAYS TN THU 1,t.0 OF
WIGHT a. THR INHABITANTS OF BOUTHAIIPTON.—TIiis
was a Special Jury cue, in which the Highway Commis.
Sonars indicted the County of Southampton for the
maintenance and repair of a bridge belonging to the
county. The subject was gone into at great length,
and pimpled the greater part of the day. The
bridge in question Wan situated in the Isle of Wight,
and called Pan Farm bridge. The sole plea entered on
the record WAS Not Guilty, SO that the point to be do.
aided was whether the bridge was what was celled a
county bridge, and not whether others than the defend.
ante were liable for its maintenanos, Roods in the Isle
of Wight were maintained by Turnpike Trustees, and
Pan Farm bridge was on one of these roads which being
In the county of Southampton plaintiff's contended
ought to be repaired by the inhabitants of that county.
The bridge was of stone and brick, spanned a natural
dream by one arch, and allowed of two carriages pus.
ing over it. The existence of the bridp as a public;
structure for 60 or 60 year. heal( Wan Wielded to, and
the following entry WU extracted from a contractor's
book : "County of Hints, 11121; centred for altering
Pan Bridge, £l7 10a. ;by cub on amount, £l2 ba.
lance, /NS 10s." A document signed by inegletrstes of
Southampton and sanctioned at Hanta Quarter Seulons,
authorising the above payment was likewise put In. The
bridge needed repair badly. The banks of the stream
were 11110WII 00 he well defined, and the stream was a
natural one. For the defend two surveyors were Galled
who averred from the size of the structure, that it wise
culvert and no bridge at all.
Sergeant Kinglike and Mr. Cooke appeared for the
plaintiffs; and Mr. Montagne Smith, Q,Cf., and Mr. Foul.
den appeared for the defendant.
The Learned Judge carefully summond up, and
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiffs,
WARNS V. EARL Or ORFORD.-0111016,1 Jury ease.
The 'derides for the plaintiff were Menem. Msnfield and
Andrew,; for the defendant Madre Newman and Co.
This action, in which Mr. Montague Smith, Mr. Kingdon,
and Mr. Portman appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr.
Karelake anti Mr. Hooper defended, was one to try
a right of watercourse, claimed by the Earl of Ilohester
and alleged to have been infringed by the Earl of Orford,
The defendant pleaded not guilty, apd secondly, that
the plaintiff was not possessed of, or entitled to, the right
to the water in dispute.
Mr. M. Smith opened the ease, remarking that the
plaintiff, Mr. Warne, was a tenant on a farm called
Woodsford Castle farm, which lie originally rented
under this late Lord Iloheiter, and which he now held
under the preeent Earl. Lord Orford, who was the
defendant, owned some property adjoining the plabitirs
farm, on the north side. Tide action was brought in
consequence of r diversion on the part of Lord Orford of
some water to which Lord 11c:heater's tenant, Mr.
Warne, was entitled. The water which the plaintiff
claimed was derived from the river Frome, which ran by
his farm, on which there were about fifteen acres of valu-
able meadow land, which he was entitled to water from
the commencement of the watering season, in November,
to the 13th of February. Lord Orford also owned 111
considerable quantity of water meadow. Lord Rehm'•
ters's tenants were entitled to control the hatches on the
north side (Lord Orford'a aide) so as to allow their 11181%.
down to be irrigated, and at • bend of the river called
Rockypool, where the water was very deep, there was
an artificial carrier to convey the water down to part of
Lord Orfonl's meadow. The carrier was originally a
narrow one, but it had been enhorged from time to time
partly, by natural causes, and uartly, as lie (Mr. Smith)
was instructed, by the acts of Lord Orford's tenants.
The effect of this enlargement had been that a eon.
siderahle quantity of water had been diverted, and at
times the hanks of the carrier load been blown out, and
a considerable quantity of water had fallen down to
farm called Reington, belonging to Lord Orford, so that
Mr. Warne had been deprived of the benefit of that
quantity of water for the irrigation of his meadow,.
He (Mr. Smith) would prove by the evidence of a man
90 years of age, that from time iinmemorial Lord liches.
tern meadows have been irrigated by tide water, and
thatilis lordahip's tenanta had exercised the right of
putting down the hatches at a place called the Great
Weir, when the watering season coin nonoed. The steps
taken by the plaintiff to prevent the diversion of the
water having been frustrated, this action had been
brought to establish the right. There had been some
correspondence, and it was proposed that somebody
should be left to decide the width of opening of the
carrier at Rookypool, but before anything was settled
Mr. Newton, Lord Orford's agent, took upon himself to
determine the matter. and mused certain pieni to be
built there so as to leave an opening of six feet and
without any hatch. This opening was unquestionably
much too large for the legitimate quantity of water
which would be required, inasinuoh, as the two hatched
below were only 12 inched and 18 inches wide. Mr.
Warne would tell the jury that he had suffered con-
siderably from this diversion of the water for which he
was entitled for the irrigation of his meadows. They had
hoped that they should not be obliged to have recourse
to legal proceedings, but it WWI the only way Lord
Ilohesier had of protecting his rights, though it opened
up • litigation which wan not likely to terininate with
tine action, the wand course being to obtain a nominal
verdict establishing the right, mid then by another
action to recover for the damage sustained.

Mr. Baron Watson: You have opened your ease very
clearly, Mr. Montague Smith, but I should like to know
whet is the meaning of all thee° twenty-one pleas?
Mr. Kerslake : The orginel number was forty.
tour.

Mr. Baron Watson: Well, when I have deeided 21
out of your 44 pleas, your right will not be • bit better
aseertamed. One will get • little more certainly than
the other—if the plaintiff succeeds he will get a shilling
in addition to his costs, and if the defendent succeeds he
will get his costa only. (Laughter.) It is only proper
that the rights of the two parties ehould be defined, but
this action will define no rights. I think these two
great landlords had better have their rights defined in
some other way, for I am sure it cannot be their wish
to bring action after action.

The learned counsel, after a short conference, co.
quieseed in his Lordship's suggestion, and agreed to
appoint a referee, with power to call in a surveyor. A
verdict was then recorded for the plaintiff—damages
£5O, subject to • reference; and the jury were die.
charged, after being congratulated by the learned Judge
on having escaped so lengthy and tediou a use.
This concluded the civil badness, and Anne Vincent
was brought up on a charge of wilful murder of her
child on the ooroner's warrant, but no evidence being
offered against her she woo liberated.
This Court rose shortly after four, there being no
trial to go on with.

REPORT ON THE PRISONS OF ENGLAND—The I
23rd report of the Inspector of Prisons for the
southern district of England was published on Thurs-
day last. It states that at Dorchester county gaol
the dietary is insufficient. At Poole town gantibiera
is no chaplain, and thus the Act of Parliament is
contravened; nor is there a schoolmaster.
WEST COKER. —Child Murder and Suicide.
This parish was on Friday morning thrown into
great excitement by the discovery in a mill-pond at
Hewhill, of the bodies of Satan Rendle, a single
woman 22 years of age, and Robert Renate, an ille-
gitimate child, two years old. The bonnet and
shoes of the wretched woman were left on a wall
at the side of the pond, and from which she must
have jumped with the child into the water, which,
at the time the bodies were extracted, was not more
than three or four feet deep. The act appears to
have been of a most deliberate character, and to
have been contemplated for some time previously.
On the morning preceding the melancholy MOH,
reuoe, the unfortunate mother gave a brooch and
other articles to • sister; and some mmths ago,
speaking to an old woman of the parish, she
mentioned the spot were her bonnet and shoes were
observed, and stated that if ever she was missed she
I should be found there. The unfortunate woman was
pregnant at the time she oommitted the fatal deed.
I Information of the circumstances was forwarded by
Sergeant Taylor, of the eounty constabulary, to D.
H. Ashford, Req., the coroner for the district,
early on Friday, and an quest was held &tithe New
Inn, West Ooker, on Satuaay, when evidence was
given as to the finding of the bodies and other par-
Venters, but there being nothing positive to show
the means by which they got into the weber,
an open verdict of " Found Drowned" was re.
turned.