The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-09-11 00:00:00

DORCHESTER.

Dirtsional. Perry Smatoim, Saturday. —Before
H. Williams, EN. (chairman), W. Williams,
E. Panes, Esq., Lieut.-Col. Steward, and Major
Kinder'ley.—Robert Stickland, carter, was charged
with drunkenness. P.C. Hisoook said the man was
in charge of a waggon with two horses, and so drunk
that he mould not keep on the waggon. The con.
stable who found him at Piddlehiutoo, was obliged
to come nearly to Dorchester with him. Defendant
was fined ss. and costs.—John Walbridge, of
wydoed Eagle, JllllOll Walbridge, his ads, and
Thomas Bryant, his servant, were chargixi with •
breach of the cattle plague orders. Mr. Andrews
appeared for defendants, and admitted the Mimic*,
except as regards James Walbridge. It seems that
**elder defendant sold • couple of calves to Mr.
Lock, butcher of Dorchester, and sent the lad Bryant
with them early on the 3rd ins waggon to the White
Home, Maiden Newton, where they were to be met
and taken by a servant of Mr. Lock's, James Wel.
bridge drove on some pigs at the mine time, and on
arriving at Minden Newton, went to the police office
to get • permit from P.S. Stillman to take the calves
from Wyoford Eagle to Dorchester. The sergeant
warn not at home, and he told Mrs. Stillman he would
wait. In the meantime a constable had found the
calves on the road without &permit When the calves
were taken to the White Horne, the landlord says
that both James Walbridge and the boy were in the
cart containing the calves. Suoerinteodent Under-
wood the same day had James Walbridge "brought'
to him by P.S. and he told him that he
would be summoned for removing the calves from
Wynford Eagle to Maiden Newton, when he replied
"I did it, bat it was by my father's orders."—Mr.
Andrews mid that never in the whole course of his
professional careerduting 30 years, had he heard such
a laboured attempt to prosecute an unfortunate man.
He analysed the evidence to show what efforts were
made to secure • conviction, and said he thought the
police must have so endeavoured to get • second I
victim, because they bad brought his name into the
ease. At the moos time he held that the charge had
not been primed against Walbridge the younger.—
Joseph Lock, butcher, of North Square, and his
servant, John Arnold, were 'summoned for removing
the aforesaid wave' from Maiden Newton to Dor-
chester. It seeing that Mr. Lock sent Arnold to
Maiden Newton for the calves, and expected to
receive a permit from Mr. Walbridge there. But as
Mr. Walbridge had not then got one, he brought on
the calves without it. —The magistrates fined John
Walbridge EIS ; they considered that James Wel-
bridge, although personally responsible, was acting
to soon extent under his father's orders, and there-
fore flied him 104 ; Arnold they fined 40s.—A
railway porter, named James Dowdell, was brought
up on remand for larceny.—Mr. G. Symonda for the
promention. —The prisoner has been in the employ
of the Great Western Railway Company at Maiden
Newton, and as one of the porters did night duty
and day duty alternate weeks. Mr. Peckham, the
prosecutor, keeps the refreshment room at the rail-
way station, which has • door opening out on the
platform; on either aide of the fireplace on the
right hand side of the room there is a door—one opens
into the ladies' waiting room, and the other into the
ladies' retiring room, and there is another door on
the left aide of the refreshment room opening into a
room in which there is a door leading to the road.
way. For a long time past the table in the ladies'
waiting room has been placed against the door. Mr.
Peckham's suspicious had been excited for some
time past that robberies had occurred on his pre-
mises at time* when prisoner had charge of the
station. He made a communication to the police
sergeant at Maiden Newton, who brought a con•
stable from Great Toiler, P.C, James Cantle, to watch
the premises. Cu Sunday morning, the 2nd, about
11 o'clock, as attention was attracted to the starting
of the Bridport train, P.C. Cantle was put through
the trap door in the door of the refreshment room
into the cellar underneath. Shortly after Mr. Peck-
ham left. At that time the door opening to the plat-
form was locked the key being left inside, the door
between the refreshment room and waiting room was
unlocked, the door to the ladies' retiring room was
locked, and as he went out he locked the outer door.
The prisoner was on duty at the station, and would,
in the ordinary course, be in sole charge of the sta-
tion in the afternoon. When Mr. Peckham left, the
station-master and • sivitohmen were at the station
besides the prisoner. About two in the afternoon,
P.C. Cantle heard • sound overhead as of some one
moving a table in the ladies' waiting room. Then
he heard a door open, and afterwards footsteps from
the waiting room through the refreshment room to
Mr. Packhem's inner room, and back again. Half-
an-hour later the door was opened again, and he
beard some one walk across the refreshment room to
the inner side of the counter. Affixed to the
counter is a beer-engine for malt liquors, and the
constable heard the engine used, and then footsteps go
to Mr. Packham's inner room,and shortly after return.
Then he heard something running, when he
cautiously lifted up the trap door, and saw the
prisoner standing _with his back to him, and facing
the spirit jars. He could not see the spirit running
bemuse the polemice wee to the way, but he heard it.
Ile lowered the hatch again, when immediately
prisoner turned, and walked across the trap door
towards the door leading to the waiting room. The
constable then emerged from theoellar, and laid hold
of the prisoner, and asked him "What he was doing
thero " but he made no reply.—Prisoner : .11 tel
you I bad been and drawn a glass of alaWeldr.
Coombe: "Yon had better not say anything, or you
will convict yourself."—Prisoner :—" No, I shan't,
but I'd sooner tell the truth if I'm hang for it."—The
constable took him into custody and came to the
sergeant, who told him the charge, when the prisoner
said he drew • glees of beer and drank it, but no
spirits, and be called God to witness that was true.
Subsequently P.S. Stillman and P.C. Cantle went to
prisoner's house, and his wife gave them about 20
biscuits, which Mr. Peckham says he gets from the
mills, near Bridport, and no one else in Maiden
Newton has them. On searching the house, P.S.
Stillman found eight pipes in a work-box up stairs,
manufactured by Ring, of Bristol, which have the
figure of • greyhound on the stem, and are not mid
in Maiden Newton except by the prosecutor. They
also found a oonsiderable quantity of spirits—two pint
bottles of rum, one of which was found in a backroom
under some hits of stick, and the other in • box with
some dirty linen; two pint•and•half bottles contain-
ing brandy, in the front room; • bottle with some
gin in it in • bedroom, and also a bottle of whiskey.
On going back to the refreshment room, Mr. Peck-
ham found • soda.witter bottle underneath the spirit
tape, which was not on the premises when be left.
The property found was produced in court, and Mr.
Peckham said he had not the slightest doubt but
that the biscuits and pipes were part of his stook.
Several of the bottles were similar to them from
which he sold ginger-hoer, lemonade, and soda-water.
In answer to the Bench, Mr. Peckham said the
value of the good, produced was about lbs.; he
never authorised prisoner to draw a glass of beer for
hiontelt—The prisoner elected for the cam to be
tried summarily, and admitted stealing a glass of
beer and drinking it. As to the pipes he said he
picked them up in the goodsehed at the station.—The
Chairman remarked prisoner had pleaded guilty to
stealing a glass of beer, but the charge of stealing
spirits was ant proved; he warn sentenced to a
month's hard labour.