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

THZ TOLL&

Mr. Faorto called attention to the circumetanoe
that the revision of the tolls had not been completed,
and the matter is to be proceeded with shortly.

MR /SANITARY STAYS OF YORDINOTON,

The MAYOR observed that the Vicar of Fordingtoo
had for marry years past laboured to effint an
improvement of the sanitary state of Fordington,
but his ellorta had been toe great extent fruitless,
owing to certain circumstances which unhappily
exist; however, the subject had not been lost next
of, and he hacl received a letter from the Hey. H.
Houle on the subject which would be read, and he
hoped that the time would soon come when the
abominations which existed in Fordiugton would be
removed, and give place to a far better sanitary and
moral Mate. The following letter was then reed :

"Dear Sir,—l beg to submit through yourself to the
Council some particulars respecting that portion of my
parish which is commonly regarded as the source of
throe flagrant immoralities and indemnities, now
no long the almost unrestrained Plague of this
borough. I have shrunk from a publis dessription of
the state of things in question, but, in the hope that it
may not only suggest remedies but perhape almost
necessitate their adoption, I no longer withhold it. It is
far rimier to denounce the evils of street•walking and
prostitution than to perceive, and boldly attack when
p mired, their main sources and encouragements. For
instance (I spook of course may of each things as an
official body can deal with, either by legal powers or
moral Influence), one of the greatest encouragements of
these cells is the state of our public Louses, of which so
many • harbour notorious prostitutes,' and this is in
direct contradiction to statute law. But, sir, the foster-
ing cause or enowaragernant of prostitution to which I
would invite your especial attention in this letter, is the
letting of oottageTroperty—some of the most wretched
to be met with—to parties who notoriously us• them as
houses of ill4ame. The aggravation of moral evil thus
produced, especially in the contamination of children,
can hardly be imagined by any one who has not lived,
as I have lived, in the midst of it, long enough to see
children grow up from infancy to manhood ,arid woman-
, hood in these dens of infamy. To take a single instsnee
a house in Tabb's Corner, one of those which were in-
dieted on the occasion referred to at meeting of the
' Council. This house, so long since as the year 1854, I had
described in certain letters which were published in our
1 county papers, as a tenement 12 feet by 14 feet, divided
ioto two rooms upstairs, inhabited by • man and his wife
and flee children, with two male and two female lodgers.
These females were prostitute.. But the point to be
chiefly noted (to say nothing of many untold evils be-
tween that time and this) is that one of those five chid.
deco is now • married woman, and in • bons* I shall
presently mention, not fifty yards from her mother's
door, she receive. two prostitutes. Front this single
instance, however, let me ask you to torn y
to themes. devil and impurity in the block of eighteen
cottages known by the significant name of "The
Barracks." Of this property I believe • sister of Mr.
Charles Henning is mortgagee in possession. Mr.
Henning's clerk. Mr. Tilley, hiss the letting of the houses
and receives. The rent eerie! from 2s. 44. to 2s. 61. •
werk, andlthe letting is as follows (the number of lodgers
in these several houses may Imre from time to time but
they are generally as I shall state the ground door of
, the houm Is from ten feet to twelve feet square: 4.
A man and his wife with two prostitutes. 2. Ranted
by the same parties, but in charge of • girl of 18 or 19
, years old, a prostitute, with at least two others in the
house. 3. A widow living with • married man having
three children by him and three by her husband. 4. A
widow and two little lily*. 5. Rented by a prostitute:
two women besides hermit( and three men have bee n found
in it by the police. 6. Has for some time been rented
by Isabella Brown, the same person who resides in the
house in Tubb's corner, before described. It was
for the state of things in this house as well as
in the other that her husband was indicted, when
(as Mr. Bishop observed) the indictment was so
onweountably set aside. The house has been for some
time in charge of a notorious prostitute, who has in it
three and sometimes five companions- She is• now
(Aug. 25) in prison. 7. Rented by a prostitute who has
at least one companion. 8. Rented by • man and his
wife who for some years have received two prostitute..
9. Now empty, but it has been as bad as any. 10.
Rented for some time by an unmarried woman, who is
now married to the man with whom she lived. They
have had two prostitutes, but have now abandoned the
trade. 11. Rented by an unmarried woman who
receives generally two prostitutes. 12. Empty. 'out it
has been as bed se any. 13. A man and his wife with
els children. 14. A widow with two sons and •
grandchild. 15. An unmarried woman, a man with
whom she lives, two children, her mother 84 years
of age, and, till lately, two prostitutes. 16. A
men and his wife, with a lodger and twa children. 17.
A man and his wife, the wife being the daughter of
Isabella Brown, receiving two prostitutes. 18. A man
and his wife, two children and • lodger. I forbear to
add a word of comment on this enumeration, but simply
ask your Worship and the Council with all respect,
whether edy ought not to be found, and that
speedily, a state of things.
o ". ''ll am, dear Sir, yours very truly.
•HENRY HOULE.

To his Worship, the Mayor of Eo;;Wa-sior7—
The MAYOR said he was sure they would all apes
with him that • more painful letter had never be laid
before them, and that it behoved them to exert them-
selves in every possible way to remove such • dread-
ful state of things.
The Rev. IL Moms said he intended sending •
oopy of the letter to the Secretary of State to ask
what could be done.
The Tows Cunni : If you do I hope you will
state that one of the worst of the houses was
indicted, and bow it was disposed of at the Quarter
Sessions, and the observation made on the subject by
one high in authority.
The Vicaa said he wished Mr. Andrews had
remained in the room, be would then have asked
him one or two questions as to the failure of the
prosecution referred to. Mr. Andrews told him
that the case broke down because the witnesses
who's RAMOs were put on the back of the indictment
failed to prove the ownership of the houses, but be
ihould observe) that Lord Portman directed the
grand jury to ignore the bill before evidence came
before them.

Mr. Brno:roe laid the ownership could have
been proved by Mr. Tilley, the collector of the rents,
wham name was put GU the back of the indict.
ment.

—The VICAR said he afterwards wrote to Lord
Portman, saying, "The injury you have done by
your direction to the grand jury is beyond anything
you can imagine; I have eubmitted the depositians
for the prosecution to one or two solicitors, and
they my that a fairer prima facie case never came
before a jury, and I beg to ask your lordship upon
what point of law you directed the
jury to throw oat the bill, and also itC";:dci
ever knew of evidence for the defence being
produced before the grand jury, which wu done in
this tam" Two men swore that they never mw
anything improper in Fordingtoo, and Mr. Maher
was so annoyed at the manner in which the ame was
mooted, that, ash. left the grand jury room, he mid
"Gentlemen, you treat the muter so lightly that I
should think IMMO of you have been to the houses
yourselves." The foreman of the grand jury told
him Lord Portman directed theta to ignore the bill,
and he advised him if he ever had cam of that
sort again to take it to the 11.1144/1, where he would
get plater impartiality.
Mrr. Boinor was told the explanation of the extra-
ordinary course pursued in regard to that indict-
ment, was the absence of proof as to who was the
tenant of the house. He was told that acting under
the advice of the counsel engaged in the action, it
was oonsidered neoessary to- prove who was the
tenant, and therefore the names of parties for the
defame were put upon the boa of the indictment,
and they tided to prove it. He thought the c
were bound to render all the help they could in
putting an end to the evils revealed in Mr. Moule's
WON., and which are so detrimental, not only to
the physical and moral state of the people more im-
mediately concerned, but to the best inters* at the
rising generation.
The Vices, to show the oontainiasting inflames
of the evils complained of, said being anxious to
know the number of parsons in each of the booms
there he went to the least direputable perms in the
neighbourhood to ask how many people there wire