The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-07-20 00:00:00

Central Neins.


THE ATTEMPTED ASSABBINATION OF THE EMPEROR.
—The law otlimrs of the Crown having expressed an
opinion that it in not advisable to take any further steps
in the prosecution against Thomas Allsop, Her
Majesty's Government have consequently determined to
put an end to the proceedings monist him, and to with-
draw the offer of a reward for his apprehension.

THR COMET AT LAST.—The famous comet which has
been so long missing has at length made its appearance.
Professor llonati, of Florence, certifies that he saw it
for the first time on July 2. He has observed it fre-
quently since; it looms daily larger and more luminous,
and he expects that from the middle of August to Sep-
tember it will be visible to the naked eye.
A DIRTY Box.—ln Allen's Ilvlian Mail • writer,
dating from Lucknow, says, "Yesterday (April 27) in a
small corner was discovered • dirty box, after an hour's
digging, and when opened behold • oollection of rubies,
diamonds, pearls, &0., of the value of 100,000 rupees.
The soil of Incknow is • mint of money."

SHAICEPEARE'S BIRTHPLACIL—The late Mr. John
Shakspeare, who died recently at Langley Priory,
Leicestenshire, has bequeathed by his will the noble sum
of £1,500 to carry out the work set on foot by him
daring his lifetime of restoring the birthplace of Shake-
pears at Stratford-on-Avon to the condition in which it
was during the lifetime of the poet. He has also be-
queathed a cam of £6O a year in perpetuity towards the
same object.
THE DAGENHAM MUllDER.—Blewitt, a labourer,
charged on the oonfessien of a woman named Smith,
with being concerned with her huaband (since deceased)
in the murder of the policeman, Clarke, at Dagenham,
In 1846, was brought up for final examination before the
bench of magistrates at Ilford. The only additional
evidence was a further statement made by the woman
that the prisoner was the second man who on the night
of the murder struck the policeman Clarke. The prisoner
on being asked if he had anything to say to the charge,
replied firmly, "I am not guilty of it." He was com-
mitted for trial.

A WARNING TO MAGISTRATES. MIMI& Cost,
Palmer, and Tailby, three Leicestershire magistrates,
who ordered a Mr. Nunnele , of Market Harborough,
to pay a churoh•rate, notwithotaniling that their juris-
diction had been ousted by his disputing its validity,
have been glad to stay proceedings by a compromise.
They uave paid £BO, the cost of quashing the conviction,
Mr. Ni nneley forbearing to press for the damages which
he would have recovered had the proceedings continued.
This is the second case of reeent occurrence, in which
provinciel justice have had to smart for refusing to give
heed to the proviso contained in the 7th section of the
53rd of Geo. 111., cop. IV.
Tag ORERORNIE Fr,.—The fete at Cremorne Gar-
dens, for the "nobility and gentry" alone, which pro-
voked so much gossip, was an utter failure. The price
of admission was half.a-guinea, the test of fitness a place
on the visiting list of the lady petroneues. The funds
were to go to some charity. and 3,000 tickets were sold.
Cremorne was beautified for its 'elect revellers; there
were profuse illuminations, en abundance of flowea,
real plate from Hancock's. But the weather spoilt all
the anticipated enjoyment. The rain poured down, and
prevented the pleasure-hunters from engaging in any
of the out-door auluseinents practical at Creinorne.
Nevertheless, 2,000 persons were present; and it is re-
ported that 'they toiled to secure an evening's pleasure
with a seal worthy of a higher cause." £l,OOO above
the expenses was realised for the charitable object.

THI EAST INDIA COMPANY AND THEIR POSSES.
stoait.—A special meeting of the East India Court of
Proprietors was held on Monday, to take into considera-
tion the India Bill, as now adopted by the House of
Commons. Mr. Crawahay, who was the moving
spirit of the meeting, proposed the adoption of a pet-
non to the House of Lords, embodying various objec-
tions against the bill. The petition argues that a full
and searching inquiry should have preceded the aboli-
tion of the Company; it condemns the power of secret
action, which the Bill reserves to the Minister for India;
and it makes other statements, with which the public
are already familiar. Some dila:suasion on the petition
took plane, but a motion for adiourninent was carried,
and in the meanwhile the petition was ordered to be
printed.
A STEAM YACHT.-LIVIRPOOLp I4.—A 'team
yacht, built of Mr. Clay's puddled steel plates, the same
as those used in the Niger expeditionary bteamer Rainbow,
was launched this morning from the yard of Mr. John
Laird, at Birkenhead. The yacht, which is 96 feet long,
16 feet 6 inched beam, has • tonnage of 131, and is sup-
plied with • high pressure engine of 25 horse-power. It
IS intended as a pleasure yacht for the Duke of Leeds, is
named the Deerhound. hen excellent saloon aoooinuio-
dation for his Grime and friends, with good space for
captain, engineer, and crew. She is fitted with a lift-
ing screw, is rigged as • schooner, and from her fine
lines and beautiful model, is expected to prove • very
fast sailer u well as steamer. Great credit is due to his
Grace for being the first to introduce the new material
of puddled steel plates in the building of yachts—an ex-
ample which will no doubt be largely followed.
- -

_
Tien HALIFAX HURDZIL—At York on Wednesday,
before Mr. Baron Martin, William Blackburn Dawson,
ued 19, wee indicted for the wilful murder of James
Edward Jacobs, at Halifax, on the 9th of May last. The
prisoner, a tall, slim, simple-looking lad, with a small
head and an unintellectual expression, sat during his
trial. Once or twice he cried, and on another occasion
appeared ae if half insensible, and likely to have WWI
fit. Mr. Shaw and Mr. Mauls appeared for the prose.
mitten, and Mr. Pries defended the prisoner. His Lord.
ship 'topped the OIN), and left it to the jury whether
they believed the prisoner to be insane at the time that
he had inflicted the blows on the deoeased which had
caused his death. If so, they would find the prisoner
not guilty on the ground of insanity, and he would
then be taken care of during the Queen's pleasure. The
jury found this verdict, and the prisoner was ordered to
he kept in safe custody till the Queen's pleasure is
known. _ _ . .

A SOZNI AT A FIZIL—On Thursday morning, be
tween 3 and 4 o'olook, • fire oocurred on the promises of
Mrs. Susannah Cross, boarding-house keeper, No. 37,
Ludgate-street. The inmates made an attempt to de-
scend by the staircase, but on reaching the seoond.floor
landing they were met by such powerful bodies of smoke
as to prostrate Mrs. Cross, and, she being a woman
weighing nearly 18 stone, the servant, A. Appleton, was
unable to lift her up. The other inmates had escaped
over the roof of the houses. At this juncture Wslford
and Briggs arrived with their escapes from Cheapside
and Bridge-street, Blackfriars, and, having placed the
machine, Welford ascended it and managed- to reach
Mrs. 8. Cross and with difficulty placed her in the bag-
ging of the fire-escape. Owing to her beifig so stout, lie
was forced to get in himself and push her down, and the
moment they reached the ground the conductor was
most enthusiastically applauded. They again mounded,
and brought down Appleton, the servant.

A NoTIC OF WARNING.—The Lancei says :—" Diar-
rhos' and cholera, or choleric diarrhosa, during the week
ending June 26, was fatal in 64 cases; the numbers of
the two previous weeks were 18 and 31; the number at-
tained was double the average for corresponding weeks.
This is sufficient to indicate the necessity for great eau-
ton duringtne hot weather which we are likely to pass
through. Every hyjenic precaution shouLl be taken
by individuals, by householders, by persons in authority,
and by medical officers of health. Even now, without
the appearanoe of any epidemic disease, we lose weekly
293 persons in excess of the average of really healthy
districts of England. The Registrar-General attributes
this weekly sacrifice to the fatal influence of bed air,
already over the average. The hot and stagnant
autumn months are before us. The cholera has broken
out at St. Petersburg. Paris just now is suffering
greatly from Typhus, scarlet fever, and small-pox.
Therefore, although unwilling to play the part of alarm-
late, we say to all, ' Take care."

CREDULITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.- -Patience
Evans, the wife of a farmer at Chew Magna, had a stye
of fine ptrking pigs, which were all suddenly taken ill
and died. Shortly after M smaller pigs out of 26 died,
and other losses followed. Airs. Evans and her husband
concluded that they were bewitched, so they went to •
certain aunnirg man in Bristol to etop the spell. The
cunning man declared that the person who had be-
witched them would come on a certain morning and look
into the stye, and that they must draw blood to stay the
witching. Now on that morning (and of all days in the
week het should it be but Thursday) Mrs. Buell lost
her ducks—and in searching for them went into Mr.
EVRII6'B orchard, and thence to his pig-stye, into which
she looked for the ducks. A little Evans, who had been
watching through • window, communicated the dis-
covery to his mother, who forthwith sallied out, and
stopping Mrs. Hasell at the gate, upbraided her for her
wickedness, and, saying she wee detemined to have her
blood, fell upon her with some sharp instrument. With
such excess of pious indignation did she use it, that
Mrs. Hasell's arms (held before her face) were soon
covered with gore; Mrs. Evans meanwhile exclaiming,
" Thee blood I want, and thee blood 11l have." The
reputed witch represented the case before the magis-
trates at Bristol, who fined Mrs. Evans £4 7s.' which
she freely laid, signifying that it mattered not to her
now if it had been M.

MURDER AND SUICIDE AT GRAVEARND.—During the
past 10 days a man, aocompanied by a woman who
passed as his wife, had been lodging at the house of Mr.
Henry Bean, the Royal Standard beer-thop, Terrace'
street, Gravesend. The parties appeared to be on the
most amicable terms with each other, and were in the
habit of leaving the house daily for the purpose of going
into the country to follow their occupation as hawkers
of artificial flowers. On Monday evening, after partak-
ing of supper, they retired to rest in their usual cham-
ber, the landlord of the house (Mr. Bean) occupying the
chamber adjacent. About 5 o'clock Tuesday morning
Mr. Bean was aroused by a scream and a strange scratch-
ing point at his chamber door. He immediately jumped
out of bed, when he perceived, on entering the passage,
that the outside of the door of his chamber was stained
with finger•marks of blood, and he then, in consequence
of the direction whence the screams proceeded, entered
the adjacent chamber, where a frightful awns presented
Waif. It appeared that the woman, from whom the
noise had proceeded, had managed to get back to her
own room when she fell down in a pool of blood, while
the man was apparently reolining on the side of the
bed, with his throat out in a frightful 'winner. Mr.
Bean, perceiving the nature of the fearful tragedy, in-
Wendy gave an alarm and sent for Dr. Russell, of the
Terrace, who immediately attended, but found that his
services with regard to the woman were unavailing, as
life was extinct. The attention of Dr. Russell was con-
sequently directed to the man, but the nature of his
wound was such that he expired after lingering about 40
minutes. Mr. Superintendent White, of the Gravesend
Police, subsequently searched the room, and was enabled
to find such documents as led him to proceed to London
and communicate with the relatives of the unfortunate
man, and they immediately proceeded to Gravesend. At
the legume on Tuesday evening it transpired that the
woman had stated that else came from Windsor, and
that her friends would not look upon her in consequence
of her connexion with the man with whoni she was tie-
veiling. The deceased man was John Knight, aged 36
years, a dealer in artificial flowers, who had resided in
Charlton-street, Somers-town. The deceased had re-
cently attempted to eoinutit suicide by hanging. and
was out down. by his sister. Insanity had prevailed in
his family, as two of Ids sisters had died in a lunatic
asylum, and another sister had been removed to a mad-
house during the present week. The name of the victim
was Jane Moore, and it appeared that both the mar-
deeer and the woman bad been cohabiting together for
several months. The jury returned a verdict "That
the deceased, Jane Mame, was wilfully murdered by
John Knight, and that John Knight committed suicide
Irbil* labouring umber temporary Waniti."

THE GREAT FIREWORK EXPLOSION.
On Monday afternoon several explosions took plaoe at
two firework factories, the result of which is that
serious injuries were inflicted upon • great many persons.
The scene of this terrible casualty 10 the Westminster-
road, near the corner of Waterloo-road, and facing the
newly erected district church of St. Paul's, Southwark.
At the corner of Charles-street and Elizabeth-place stood
this well known factory belonging to Madame I'..oton, the
pyrotechnist artist to the Royal Gardens, Vauxhall, and
at the opposite angle of the street wee the building
belonging to Mr. Gibson, late Cannon, also a well-
known firework maker. The present being the most
fb.thusynpea.rt of
werett Lre;iniandon ani.wllysuocbuOurbpanied
iseneso preparing
sab4h
g
tholes dangerous projettilea. Maclaine Coton having
received the contract for Vauxhall Gardens, had been
nine Monday week preparing an extra supply for that
establiahment ; and on Monday evening, about half-past
six o'clock, Madame Colon was in the building, but in
what part does not appear quite clear; there were also
a young woman and a little girl upstairs, and a boy,
about 13 years of age, named David Bray, in the tin-
room in the front kitchen ; the brother of this boy was
in what is termed "the coloured fire department," in
the bank kitchen. All of • sudden the latter cried out
" Oh, the red fire is alight," and iinmediately rushed
out of the building. The brother followed, but before
he got to the top of the stairs he became encircled in
flames, and we regret to say that although he managed
to get out of the building he was fearfully if not fatally
injured. The Waterloo-road and Southwark-bridge-
road engines, together with that of the West of Eng-
land office, had just arrived, and Dunn, the turnoock of
the Lambeth Waterworks, had drawn a main for
the supply of the engines ; but there being another
nearer the premises of Madame Colon, he was in the act
of drawing the plug, when the whole building, except a
portion of the external walls, was blown into the air, as
well as across the fall extent of the wide road, and at
the same time rockets, Catherine wheels, and the more
powerful description of fireworks exploded, mattering
everything used in the business in every direction,
knocking down firemen, and, it is said, 300 men, women,
and children. The flames laid hold of Thoniaa Dunn,
the turncock, burnt his hat off his head, and so severely
injured him that it is feared he is mortally hurt. At
the same instant the rockets as they exploded, half
spent of their destructive contents, shot into the pre-
miaes of Mr. Gibson, and the stock of fireworks in that
place also became ignited, and before Mrs. Gibson had
time to escape she was also fearfully burnt. For some
minutes the firemen and police hardly knew what to do.
for explosions continued to follow each other until
everything in each building of an explosive character
was totally destroyed. Just before the first ex-
plosion took place five or six persons were at the
first floor window of Madame Colon's premises
and while they were making an attempt to enter,
the ownbustibles exploded, and they were all blown to
the ground. They were all badly injured. In less than
half an hour alter the outbreak not fewer than 00 suf.
hirers had been removed to Dr. Donahoo's surgery. I
Among the most serious oases was that of Mr. F. Bon- '
ham, • livery stable keeper, of No. 2, Obelisk-yard, who
ran to the front of the house and rescued • little girl,
but had no sooner done as than a rocket struck Lim on
the head, blew the child out of his arms, and they were
both seriously injured. At the same time, Mr. Barnard,
of No. 5, Gibson-street, Lambeth. was panting along the
road in a light cart with four other persons, aud so great
was the force of the explosion, and so fierce the shower
of rockets and pieces of the roof, that they were all ,
blown down in the cart, and Mr. Barnard mash injured I
1 about the legs. Mr. Patterson, a licensed victualler,
who was standing in a timber yard opposite, was sur-
rounded with burning rockets and hie legs were, in con-
! sequence, much burnt. By 10 o'clock the lire that re-
, inained was so far got under as to allay any fears of
further mischief. As far as can be at present sego the ex-
plosion appears to have extended in no lea than five or
six directions, and to have been moot severely felt in the
Westminster-road, Borough-road, Waterloo-road, Duke-
street, and Charleietreet. The premises of Minium)
Coton and all they contained, including the furniture,
fixtures, and stock-in-trade, are entirely destroyed; the
adjoining house, on the south side, is likewise nearly
destroyed ; the various houses in Charles-street, and
several others oppoeite in Weetinineter-road, independent
of those before euninerated, se well es the district
church, are greatly damaged; and Mr. Gibson's stook-in-
trade and building are almost destroyed. The present
Is the third or fourth time that Madame Colon's pre-
mimes have been destroyed by a similar casualty, and her
predecessor, Mademe Fiengler, lost her life in the same
way, by an explosion of fireworks. A polite-constable,
No. 93 of the L division, picked up a ohild severely
burnt, who lives in some part of Dukeetmet, the flesh
being all burnt from its bask. Police-constable 89 L was
blown by the force of the explosion under a cart and
horse, the latter treading on his kneecap. Many of the
persons were, during the day, considerably worse, some
having inhaled the Fasted sulphurous vapour, and some
having been shot through the book, sides, and legs by
the rockets exploding ; it remains extremely probletua-
thul whether some of those Individuals are not fatally
Injured. One child hiss been found in the ruins almost
burnt to a cinder. The deceased was mused Sarah Ann
Williams., a daughter of & protector of astronomy residing
in the seine road. She MIA only 11 years of age, and
had been sent to post snine letters at the corner of
London-road, and on her return, and before proceeding
home, she went into Mr. Gibson's and was talking to his
child when the explosion in Madame Colon's tatablish-
ment occurred. Maclaine Colon was so terribly injured
that but faint hopes can be entertained of her recovery.
Another sufferer, noised Emily Clark, is so much
Injured that not a feature of her face is dieeernable.
Wednesday afternoon another poor fellow, after
suffering the most excruciating agony for many hours,
expired, and from inquiries made at the Borough
hospitale, there seems every probability that the names
of Madame Colon, (Mm. Bennett) and a lad named
Delaney, who has lost his sight, will in the course of a
few hours have to be added to those already killed. Mr.
Gibson, has lost everything he once possessed, and is
not insured. The distance between Maclaine Colon's
premises and those of Me. Gibson is over 70 feet. Of a
boy named Bridges doubts are entertained of hie ever
recovering. It is stated that both his eyes have been
destroyed. Caroline Clarke, of 42, Tower-street,
Weterloceroad, died Wednesday.