The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-04-11 00:00:00

A HERO AND A MARTYR.

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If honour is due to the brave, it is certainly due to a
man, named John Chiddy, on whose remains an inquest
was held at Brislington, near Bristol, on Saturday, who
met with an "accidental death," according to the verdict
of the jury. (Middy was foreman at a quarry close to the
Great Western line, between Keynsham and Bristol. He
was superintending the stacking of the stones alongside
the line, when he found that a large block of stone had
fidlen on to the metals of the down line. There was no
time to be lost, for rushing towards the spot CAMS the
" Flying Dutchman Express,' described by the driver who
gave evidence as "the fastest train in the world.' One
second more, and • horrible tragedy would probably have
occurred, but that Chiddy, forgetting himself and a large
family deepndent on him, and thinking only of the danger
of the unconscious passengers in the train, leaped on to
the line as it dashed out of the Brislington tunnel, and,
seizing the block of stone in his hands, was cut to pieces
as he rolled it from the rail. The witnesses for the railway
company took a more cheerful view of the matter than
that held by Chiddy. They "thought the life-guards of
the engine would have cleared the rail." The coroner
reminded them that the life-guards might do so for ni nety-
nine times but fail the hundreth, and that this failure
might cause one of the most lamentable catastrophes that
had ever happened on the railway. He further expressed
his opinion that it was a most dangerous practice to stack
blocks of stone close to the line without any protection.
Such a proceeding, however, is entirely in accordance
with the " happy-go-lucky " system upon which railway
arrangements are so successfully conducted, and which
gave Chiddy the opportunity for his noble act of self-
I sacrifice.

ACTION AGAINST THE GREAT WESTERN
RAILWAY COMPANY.

At the Bristol Assize. on Friday, Chief Baron Kelly
heard the cause of Laughland v. the Great Western Rail-
way Company.—The action was brought to recover
damages for injuries stistained in the Bathampton
accident. The defendants had pail Is. into court. Mr.
'Cole, in opening the case, said the plaintiff was a little
girl, about eight rears of age, and damages were claimed
In respect of injuries sustained on the occasion of the
Bathampton accident He need not go veiy much into
the details of the accident, as the company had, by paying
Is. into court, admitted their liability, and the only
question for the jury was the amount of damages. The
girl was travelling with her father, who is a travelling
draper, living at No. 2, Henry-street, Bath, from that
city to Trowbridge, and at the time the accident happened
she was standing by the carriage door looking through the
window. The carriage was overturned, and two people
fell upon her. Her arm was broken, and she was severely
wounded generally. The child was carried to • public.
house at Bathampton, where she was attended by Mr.
Barrett, surgeon, who set the ann. She was in a terrible
state and remained delirious for some time. The elb ow
joint was more seriously injured; it was crushed, and the
result was that mortification was seriously impending.
Mr. Stockwell was called in, and an operation performed
on the poor child by taking away • portion of the diseased
bone. That, unfortunately, did not accomplish the
desired result, and nothing but some terrible operation
could set the child right There would be no dispute that
the child would have • crippled joint for the remainder of
her daya. Her father was in • comparatively humble
position of life, though very respectable; ho was a travel-
ling draper, and earned something like £350 a year. The
jury found for the plaintiff—damages £4OO, in addition to
the .F. 84 out-of-pocket expenses.

THE BRUTAL MURDER AT CARDIFF.
At the Glamorgan Spring assizes, before Mr.
Justice Grove, John Webber, a fisherman, 62
years of age, was indicted for the wilful murder of
Edward Ste'fox on the morning of the 13th March.
The Court was densely crowded during the trial. The
murder was of a fiendishly brutal nature. The
murderer and the murdered man were rival fishermen,
and this is the account given by a woman, with whom
the deceased lived of the tragedy. Annie James said:
On the morning in question, while I was in bed,
heard Webber say to some one outside the fish-hut,
" You are the man that removed my planks. You
took the police to where they were." After talking for
another minute I heard the report of a gun fired off
close to the house. I got out of bed directly, and as I
did so the deceased opened the door and staggered into
the room, exclaiming, "Oh, Annie, I am dying." I
caught hold of him as he was falling, and when he was
on the floor kept my arm under his head. He was
bleeding fearfully from the right breast, and he died
almost immediately. I saw the prisoner move away
from the fish-house and look in at the kitchen window.
I put the deceased's head on the floor, and then went
And locked the door. Prisoner then moved away, and
the next moment I saw him by the bedroom window.
He broke a pane of glass there, then looked in, and
came straight back to the kitchen window, where Mr.
Stelfox was lying on the floor. I stepped on one side
then, and prisoner said "The is not quite dead
yet; give him another discharge." With that he
fired again, and shot the deceased in the left leg. I
cried out "Oh, John, don't shoot me." He replied
"Oh no Annie, I am not going to hurt you." The
jury retired, but were only absent a short time, when
they returned a verdict of "Wilful Murder." His
Lordship then put on the black cap and passed
sentence of death upon prisoner, holding out to him
no hope whatever of mercy. The prisoner was not
much affected.

EDWARD DAWSON. • LS/111 magistrate, has
been buried In • wicker basket, on his awn Mull&
JOHN RHODES. • commercial traveller, has recovered
£5,200 from the North Eastern Railway for injuries.
AT THE IPSWICH ASSIZES, Elizabeth Swestman pleaded
guilty to the murder of Hannah ITO; and was sentenced
to death. She is of weak intellect
AT THE W•EWICK AssiZES, a deaf mute, named SIWOUeI
For, aged 18, was sentenced to 18 years penal servitude
for the manslaughter of William Brielin, on Christmas.
eve. _

--fice OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE CHEW MATCH WAS played
on Wednesday. at the Freemason's tavern, London, by
seven players from each University. Oxford won by
twelve games to live. This is the fourth match, each team
having gained two.
loixi.n MARSHALL MOLTER'S REALM—The health of
Field Marshall Moltke is said to be so delicate that he
feels it necessary to retire from his post as Chief of the
Staff of the army.
Miss Basofloy, having, it is stated, disposed of 341-
gravia to Messrs. Chatto and Windus for £12.000, is said
to be contemplating a public-reading tour in the United
States. _

MOLLOMAY'S PILLS.- Weakening Weather. —The sultry
summer days strain the nerves of the feeble and decrepit,
and disease may eventuate unless some restorative, such
as these purify ing Pills, be found to correct the disordering
tendency. Holloway's medicine gives potency to the
nervous system, which is the source of all vital move-
menta, and presides over every action which maintains
the growth and well-being of the body. No one can over
estimate the necessity of keeping the nerves well strung,
or the ease with which these Pills accomplish that end.
They are the most unfailing antidotes to indigestion,
irregular circulation, palpitation, sick headache, and cos-
tiveness, and have therefore attained the largest sale and
highest reputation.
CRIMINAL PRECOCrIT.—At the Warrington Police-court,
Margaret Kihoy, 11, was charged with steeling Si. from
the person of • woman. On her being searched a ha; con-
taining .C 2 in money and some purses were found in her
rsion. The girl confessed that she had been engaged
prcketpicking for three months, and the contents of
the bag were proceeds of her thefts that evening. She
said she had been taught by another girl. She illustrated
entirely
it
her Jawing operandi in the presence of the police by picking
a pocket without arousing the owner's suspicions. The
thaprurhisner'schfailtbd ewr'asa slabourer,
Th said he was e Bench CORIUM her to
gaol for one month, and afterwards toa reformatory for
three veers.
timmurr CasM—lS is end to reflect that national
blessings can rarely be attained without a certain amount
of individual suffering. The late return of Mr. Jacob
Bright to Parliament was no exce_ption to this rule. A
sad incident which arose out of Mr. Bright's election formed
the subject of an action tried at the Manchester County
Court Wednesday. A spinner of Miles Platting sued •
publican of Oldham-road for the emu of XI Ss., the rain'
of &coat lost under very painful circumstances. On Feb.
28th the plaintiff attended
"public "soiree and ball" held
In celebration of Kr. Bright 's victor'''. The defendant was
there as caterer, and also had charge of the closk-rOo.m,
When the plaintiff entered he handed his overcoat to the
defendant's wife, paying the sent of twopence on it, and
receiving in returns numbered ticket The bell was eery
had attended; and wheN after egiwessing by lirdy and
ul gestures thely delight at the political event which
°cored, the exhausted isherala rushed to the cloak-
room fay the fiurpose of resuming the garments they had
temporarily aid aside for the purpose M auen.i.,. free
action to their limbs duple the deem there was it is
Mated, " great confusion, and to the horror of the plaintiff,
although he produced his ticket, he could not obtain his
coat, the value of which
.he now sought to recover. On
behalf of the defendant it was nrjw that there was no
proof of warranty, or of any enema contract between the
parties. The defendant was only honnd to use ordinary
care, and Miring done his best in the confusion wls
took place, was not responsible for the deplorable loss the
plaintiff had incurred. The Judge L.); this view
or the
matter. The defendant was surd:di an ordinary bailee,
and to make an ordinary bailee resoonsible for negl4enoe
must be pastier than had been proved Or the plaintiff.
must be consulted. plainti and e ff
payment of thefee of 2d. certainly did not guarantee
the safety of she coat, th
Thee ended • case which is ofso much social ehd political '
impertmos.—Piiii Mad Omuta.