The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-03-09 00:00:00

THURSDAY.

John Joseph Norton was indicted for wounding E. S.
P. Shewin at Alverstoke on the 15th of January.
Mr. Beetham prosecuted.
It appeared that the prisoner was a private in the
Marines, and the prosecutor was a captain in the same
corps. On the evening of the 15th of January the captain
was going towards his house at Brockhurst, and on his
road he saw near a cottage inhabited bye person named
Softly, a soldier with his back towards him, either taking
off or putting on his waist-belt. The captain walked on,
and the soldier followed him quickly, and, coming up
behind him, struck him three blows, two on the side of
the face and one oil the top of the head, with • sharp
thick instrument. The captain instantly turned round,
and, saying he was a cowardly fellow, struck him two
blows on the face with • stick he carried. The soldier
then ran away in the direction of Gosport. The captain
made the best of his way house and obtained medical aid,
as the blood was running freely from him. He sent his
servant to the policeatation to give information, but the
prisoner was already in custody. It happened that •
gentleman named Dotterill, who was coining from Gos-
port in the same direction as the captain had gone, saw
the prisoner running towards him. He was also seen
by • policeman, who caught him and took him into cus-
tody. He found marks of dirt and blood on his face, as
If he had been struck with • stick.
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The jury fornd the prisoner Guilty, and he was sen-
tenced to four years' penal servitude.
Thomas Baker, Cornelius Sheath, and Charles Kenneth
were indicted for a burglary in the house of J. D.
Hodges, at Portsmouth, on the 30th of January, and
stealing a large quantity of provisions.
Kenneth ileaded
Mr. Coleridge was counsel for the prosecution, and
Mr. PouMen for the prisoners.
On the night of the 30th of January Hodges, who
keeps a shop at Portsmouth, fastened up his house. In
the course of the night the shop was broken open, and
• large quantity of provisions taken. A barber, who
lived opposite Hodges, had seen Sheath loitering about
that evening, and frequently looking into Hodge 'is shop.
He remained there so long that the barber took par-
ticular notice of him. It was between 8 and 9 o'clock
in the evening. He knew it was that time because the
clock had struck 8, and had not struck 9. In the course
of the night the three prisoners were seen together.
Baker called at Sheath's lodgings shortly before 3
o'clock that morning, and Sheath got up and went out
and returned about 4, and said he had been to help load
• barge, for which he had had 3s. Shesth was • fisher-
man and had a boat, and was in the habit of going out
'in the night. About 4 o'clock in the morning Sheath
called upon • carman and wanted him to bring his cart
to take some smuggled goods which had been saved from
• wreck. The carman refused to go till 6 o'clock. He
then went with Kenneth to a field, where he found
Baker and Sheath ; they had a quantity of goods, cheeses,
ho., in bags. They all assisted to put the things into
the cart, and then the carman and Kenneth took the
things to the oarman's yard, and Kenneth said he would
go and find a person who would buy the things, and
all of them were then taken to the shop • of • man
named Collins. In the evening Collins returned the
things, and the carman then went to Kenneth, who
took all the things away. niter that • policeman genie