The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-01-07 00:00:00

RAILWAY TO PORTLAND.

The following correspondence appeared in our
contemporary, the Teleyram :
Sur, —Your columns being kindly offered to all cor-
respondents upon general or local affairs, I presume
the following may not only be acceptable to your
numerous readers, but will be the medium of giving
that publicity to all interested with the interest and
welfare of the town who would otherwise have re-
mained in ignorance as to the working and doings of
the Town Council. Should anything I may now
state be incorrect I can only court a reply, and shall
feel obliged by any error made being corrected and
explained :
At the Town Council Meeting on Monday last,
amongst other subjects under discussion, was the pro-
jected railway to Portland.
At this meeting the Council was called upon to
decide whether they should support, oppose, or
remain neuter, when the bill was brought before the
Parliamentary Committee. Mr. Aldridge Devenish
proposed, and Mr. Thompson seconded, "That the
Town Council should support the project which had
connected with it a tramway to the Weymouth
Harbour r" Mr. Howard's bill, not embracing a tram-
way, was Ito be opposed.—Mr. Drew moved as an
amendment, which Mr. Wm. Thomas seconded,
"That the Council, as Trustees for the Harbour and
Pile Pier, should oppose any bill before Parliament
having for its object a railway from Weymouth to
Portland." For Mr. Devenish's proposition the fol-
lowing gentlemen were bold enough to vote :—Mr;
Hare (mayor), Mr. Maunders, Mr. A. Devenish, Mr.
Hibbs, Mr. Rowland Thomas, Mr. Thompson, and
Mr. Ayles. For Mr. Drew's amendment,—Mr.
Wm. Thomas, Mr. Wm. Roberts, Mr. Christopher
Beasaut, and Mr. Drew. The following gentlemen
were present, but did not vote (had they voted Mr.
Drew's amendment would have been carried),—
Alderman Bower, Messrs. Harper, Upjohn, and
Frampton. Without further comment upon the
above division, and the new railway scheme, it may
not be going too far in asking the question,—Whetber
the bondholders of the harbour and pile pier, as
well as the property of the borough, are to eacrificed
by so small a section of the Tory party? And is
Mr. Herbert Williams, of Dorchester, and the other
bondholders, holding shares for upwards of £30,000
to be lost sight of tor the sake of party alone? It
was evident the whipper-in could not seemed with
some of his men, as many were absent upon this
occasion, whilst four of those present refused to sup-
port their leader, And I would ask, where was Mr.
Thomas Luce? where the ex-mayor, Captain Prowse,
R.N. ? where Mr. Joseph Ayling ? where Mr.
Howard? where Dr. Coucher where Mr. Henry
Devenish ? and where Mr. James Milledge? It is
but fair to date that Alderman William Eliot is not
in England,—and these comprise the whole of the
Town Council. Those gentlemen who did not vote,
together with those who were absentees, have, I
think, declared in unmistakeable language that the
future prosperity of the good old borough of Wey-
mouth can be of no importance to them, or they
would have kept faith with those who returned them
as being fit members for the Council Chamber, and
when there, to watch and protect the town's in-
terests, and carry out the solemn promises (made I
grant upon paper) when seeking the honour of being
elected, surely they might have recorded their votes
one way or the other like Englishmen, and thus
hay* showed their true colours.

The town will, I hope, at the next election have li
their eyes open, and mark such conduct, and place '
their own value upon the paper professions of such
men. Your giving this a place in your next
Telegram will oblige, Mr. Editor, 0
1.
Yours reopectiully, -
i
A LOOKER•ON.

A CHRISTMAS SPRICIL—OrI Saturday week, Susan
Tower, a married woman 50 years of age, was
charged before Mr. Alderman Ayling, with being
drunk and disorderly on the previous evening. The
" lady" appeared before the worthy Alderman,
habited in a long grey hospital-fashioned coat, troa-
senor a similar style, and a red neckerchief. —P.C.
Bowring, who proved tho case, said the prisoner
was drunk and very abusive, and that she collected
a crowd round her in High-street. When he took
her into custody she said she was " a man," but she
afterwards acknowledged her sex.—Prisoner ex-
pressed sorrow at what had happened, but denied
that she was drunk. She, however, admitted that
she hail had a glass or tno of beer, and said when
she left her home she intended simply to have a little
amusement, but had no design to do any harm.—
Superintendent Lidbury said there had been a great
deal of stupidness in "dressing up at Christmas
time" in this town, which be did not find practised
in other places, and the tradesmen complained
greatly about it, as the nuisance prevented them in
their business. Depredations on property hail also
been perpetrated.—Mr. Ayling said defendant had
conducted herself disgracefully for a married woman,
and be accordingly lined her fia. for drunkenness,
and 2s. costs, to be paid in • week, or to be placed
six hours in the stocks.
THC DRATIA OF TIM PRINCZ CONSORT.—On
Sunday evening, the Rev. R. S. Ashton, pastor of
the Nicholas-street Independent Church, improved
the occasion of the recent loss to the nation, by the
death of the Prince Consort. The rev, gentleman
took for his text 2nd Samuel, 3rd chapter, 39 verse,
"And the king said unto his servants, know ye not
that there is a Prince and a great man fallen this day
in Israel?" He, after referring to the context,
gave a lucid exposition of his subject, and referred to
the many inestimable qualities of the Prince whose
death they mourned, and forcibly applied the lesson
taught to the minds of his hearers. There was a
large congregation, on whom the discourse seemed to
make a strong impression. May it be a lasting one,
and that its fruits may be seen after many days.
BANK BUILDINGS CHAPEL—On Sunday evening,
the Rev. Isaiah Birt, the pastor of the Baptist
Church, delivered an eloquent, solemn, and truly
impressive discourse, from the vs ords "He being
dead, yet speaketh." The object for selecting this
text was, to bring before his audience the subject
which of all others, has engrossed the minds of the
people during the past fortnight—the death of the
Prince Consort. There was a large congregation,
who listened with profound attention to the words
which fell from the minister's lips,
TNA Meirrnso.—On Monday evening a tea meeting
was held at the Nicholas-street Independent Chapel.
Between 200 and 300 tickets were disposed of for
the occasion, and everything passed off in the most
satisfactory manner. The tables were given by
ladies belonging to the congregation, all of whom
vied with each other as to who should carry off the
palm. After tea, a sale of fancy work took place in
the schoolroom on behalf of the new chapel, when
from .C 8 to £lO worth of property was disposed of.
A public meeting was subsequently held in the
chapel, presided over by the Rev. R. S. Ashton, the
minister of the Church; the Rev. W. Lewis and the
Rev. J. Birt also delivered interesting and animated
addresses. During the proceedings a selection of
music adapted for the occasion was performed by the
choir in a highly creditable manner, finishing with
the new version of "God Savo the Queen," com-
posed by the Rev. Newman Hall, LL.B. A lad,
named George Thorne, pupil of Mr. Daniel Rolls,
presided at the organ in a style that would have
given credit to a more pretentious professor of
music. Altogether the proceedings were of the
most satisfactory character.
PO R TLA ND. —DEATH OF THE PRINCI CONOORT.
—On Sunday, the 30th ult., at the Wesleyan Chapel,
Fortune's Well, the Rev. H. Jutsum preached an
eloquent and impressive discourse on the death of
the Prince Consort. The preacher selected for his
, text the 21st verse of the 9th chapter of Jeremiah—
" For death is come up into our windows and
entered into our palaces," and commented in a most
impressive manner upon the suddenness of the late
solemn visitation. He referred to several circum-
stances connected with the death of the Prince, and
how possibly the Divine mind would overrule the
event for the good of the Gond, and of the nation at
large. The preacher showed, in a most striking
manner, that even death itself in this world was a
wise and merciful dispensation of Providence, and
concluded his discourse with a most earnest and im-
passioned appeal to his hearers, beseeching them to
take each to his own heart the lesson of human
frailty, which the event would teach, and the neces-
sity of being prepared to meet the great Sovereign
and Judge of all. The discourse was listened to
with profound attention, and appeared to make a
great impression on the large congregation.
CHIISTMAS CHSER.—On Christmas day the
officefffti mpoeing the Mess at the Convict Establish-
ment, dined together in the Mess Room, which was
tastefully decorated for the OCCatli3ll. The dinner
was all that could be desired, the bill of fare inclu-
ded roast beef, geese and ducks, hams, plum
pudding, mincepies and a great variety of fruit
pastry, which was prepared under the immediate
stmerintendence of the Chef de cueine, Mr. Wills, to
whom much credit is doe. There was a plentiful
supply of malt liquor, including a barrel of fine
Dublin stout, presented to the members of the mess
by Mr. Charles White, proprietor of the Clifton
Hotel.