The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-07-31 00:00:00

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THE ROAD CHILD MURDER.

Sergeant Williamson, of the metropolitan de-
tective force, has arrived at lload, awl is actively
engaged with Mr. Inspector Whither, Captain
Meredith, chief constable, and other officers of the
county police in investigating this tragic affair. Mr.
Kent, the father of the deceased child and of Miss
Constance Kent, who stands charged with the
murder, accfnupanied by his solicitor, Mr. William
Dunn, of From, having obtained an order to visit
the prisoner, proceeded to the County Gaol at
Devizes on Sunday last, but on their arrival the
feelings of the father overcame him, and be was
unable to undergo the interview. Every possible
exertion is being made by the poice to collect
further evidence, and to find, if possible, the missing
night dress belonging to Miss Constance Kent. it
is believed thot, if not bitnit, it is wreted .. •-•
where in the vicinity of the house, and. Wi th the
view of inducing the inhabitants of the village to
west in the search, a plastird has been issued,
ofbring a reward of t'ri to any person finding the
nighttime; and delivering it to the pol ce, It is now
supposed by perroisconieptent to give an opinion on
the inatter that the first intention cf the murderer
was to have thrown the child down the privy with
the object of suffocating it, Dail that it was expected
the body would have sunk out of sight. The
drawing-room window and shutters are supposed to
have been opened by some person inside the house
to convey the idea and lead to the belief that the
child had been stolen. A description of the privy
will make this theory better understood. It is
situated about 20 yards from the kitchen door, and
is surrounded by shrubs, the well or cesspool being
of extraordinary size—viz., about 10 feet deep and
7 feet square. At the time of the murder the well
contained about six feet of water &MI soil, so that
had the child fallen through, it would at once have
been suffocated and sunk out of sight. The peculiar
construction of the seat, however, prevented the
body (ruin falling through into the cesspool below.
The impediment was caused by a splashboard,
which is a piece of board fixed from the front of the
top pelt of the seat and extending downward in a
slanting direction to within about six inches of the
back wall of the privy, the consequence being that
the body would not pass through this small aperture.
It is supposed that the guilty party, being thus
foiled, resorted to the knife, and destroyed the
unfortunate child in the manner which has been
already described.

WILLS. —A Velerm rulainteer.—Lient.-General
Coles, a distinguished Peninsular veteran, and
Colonel of the 65th Regiinent, is a private in the
Wells Volunteers, though, owing to his health, he
is at present unable to attend drill.
. . .

The Lord Chancellor has appointed Henry
Richard Sheppard, Esq., and William Inman Welsh,
Esq., of Wells, Somersetshire to be London Com-
missioners to administer oath; in the High Court
of Chancery.
RIFLE CORPS. —The members of this corps have
received orders to assemble for drill every evening
during the present week ; the object for so doing
being to make as much progress as possible previous
to the inspection by .Major Hume, on the 30th.
191:11,6 WATER. —Mr. H. B. T. Strangways, son of
Mr. 11. B. Strangways, of Shapwiek, has been
recently elected Attoruey-General at Adelaide. Mr.
Strangways was called to the English liar in I ti;10.
Poirr. —On Tuesday, July 24th, the
annual festival of the Nli'home Port Temperance
Society and Band of Hope was held according to
, previous announcement. At half-past eleven o'clock
I the Yeovil Saxhorn Band entered the town. The
Band of Hope and friends of the Temperance
Society assembled at the Townhall at 12 o'clock,
where a procession was formed, which, after
parading the town, bearing numerous banners with
appropriate inscriptions, and headed by the baud,
proceeded to the church, where a sermon was
preached by the Rev. H. (;ale, 8.C.L., who
delivered an admirable discourse on the words "Be
strong; show thyself a man." At four o'clock the
whole party, with numerous friends from the town
and neighbourhood, assembled for tut in the avenue
adjoining 'en House, by the kind permission of Sir
W. Nleillycott, who afterwards also threw open all
his pleasure-grounds. In these the party spent a
very pleasant evening.
GLASTONBURY. —Somerset Central Railway Com-
pany. —The seventeenth ordinary half-yearly general
meetingof proprietors was held on Saturday at the
Townhall. Mr. George Warry, chairman of the
company, presiding. The report stated the sum
received from the Bristol and Exeter Railway Com-
pany Air six months' rent of the line from Burnham
to Wells, and the pier at Burnham, to the 30th June
last, amounts to £3,752 P's. 2.1., and the income
derived from other sources as stated in the revenue
account to £:112 17s. 7d. ; showing a total receipt on
revenue account, for the six months, to the 30th June
last, of £4,063 15s. lid. The disposable balance of
the revenue account, including the balance
15s. 40 from the 31st December, I,sse, amounts to
£3,611 13s. 3a. Out of this sum your directors re-
commend you to declare a dividend, at the usual
✓ated 4 per cent. per annum, less income-tax, on
the £140,000 of consolidated stock for the haltyear
to the 30th June last. payable to the proprietors,
standing registered at the closing of the transfer
books on the 11th of July, 1860. A balance of X9OO
• 51. will be left to the credit of the current half-
year. The report was adopted, and a dividend was
declared at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum on the
£140,000 of consolidated stock, and the directors
were authorised to take such steps to effect the laying
down and working of the narrow gunge as they may
think best for the interests of this company. The
proceedings terminated with the usual vete of thanks
to the chairman and directors.