The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-10-02 00:00:00

COUNTY PLITT SESSIONS.

TOWNH Wtmiorrn, Friday, September 25.
Before Captain Manning, (chairman), R. 11. Swafheld,
, H. C. Gotaiden. and R. F. Eliot, Espy.
! .4 large number of terloll/1 were suinmoned for non-
! payment of poonrate., but all, with the exception of
! three. her, been settled before coining into court.
gaeostwer i.e WoßlisMEN.—Urorge (Waned, James
Rand.lll. and Joseph Raarioif were summoned by Mr.
George Brown, of Cluckerell, for breach of contract.—
Mr. R. N. Howaril aipeareil fur the comslainant, and
Mr. J. W. Hill for the di fendants.—The complainant
raid : lam a fanner residing at l'hickerell George
Orchard has Leen in my employ for the last seven years.
During the winn r month* I pay him 10s. a week as
general servant in hualiandry. but in harvest time I
pay I what he earns. The other two defendants
work for me during the summer, and at hedging and
drainini, in winter, doing the whole by contract. I
rely 111.011 thew time turn to lb o my harvesting, and if
they are not engaged abont one thing I employ them
about another. The two Randall. have been employed
by ine in this way these last six or nevelt years. During
the present summer 1 male arrangements with them to
fiat-hoe and mingle a field of swedes at 9s. per acre and
two gallons of ale. They were to have 9.5. per acre for
cutting wheat, and 2s. per acre for cutting eats. They
et 1111 l itenced the turnips, and I sent them :i1 gallons of
ale, the quantity allowsil them for the whole of the job.
They have taken the ale, but according to the work they
performed, they should not have heel) entitled to more
than 2`li gallons. After they had cut 10 acres of
Wheat and IT acres of oats, they mow too toe too ask
where tiny were to) go 011 nest, and I told them the
vetches were ready. They replied that they would not
harm yet, mid mid the " gitartclose" wheat was fit to
cut. I told them they might go on there if they liked
a: long as there was any. and Jain. Randall sail if
they could not have all they would not have ally.
'They then left, sod he found that they were neat morn-
ing cutting barley for Mr. Laver, at East rhickerell.
They never returned to finish the turnips, in conseopience
of which they were greatly damaged. -Voionplainant was
cross-examined at great length. Ile said h. huh Hot
'willed with the def. misfits, as the grass, clover, and
wheat. whieli they hail cut hail not been ineanitre.l.
lie had paid time,,, th on account. 'They were all en,•
plowed at piece work. lint had no right to leave till they
had finished their contract. He told them to go reaping
in the quiartclone field. but they never went. Did not
JAI them to go turnip hoeing, nor had lie ever sent for
them to collie hua,k and finish their contract with regard
to lowing the turnips. A fortnight after they left work
they came to inn fur their wages, mid I toll then* I olundil
I.ot I,IIV tll,lll till I leSd seen my betters. I have been
told they came twice. I did not see them, hut sent
them word that it was not now in my hands to settle. '
I did not swear at them, and any I would not Live any-
thing to b with them. The Randall's are not regular
servants; I pay them what they earn. —Re•examineil :
From the beginning of the hay harvest to the end of the !
wheat harvest they always work for nie, and I con-
sider the 51 my servants during that periml. If they !
wanted • day's leisure and asked me, and I Wit, not ,
busy, I allowwl them to go. Sullioning they had !
finished the turnips they were not at liberty to go any.
where else until they hail finished harvesting for rue.
They never worked any lialfslay for any one else, nor
did they go off to after commencing work for Inc
without asking toy leave.—Mr. 11111, in reply to the
complainant, contended that the work was contract
work, mid that Voirefore the care was not one which the
magistrates could take cognizance of. hut that the com-
plainant must go to a civil court for rearms. He also
ntaintaineil that the facts of the case were not exaetly
such as hail been given in evidence by complainant.
An the rani:m had been separately suntmoned he
called each IA the three defendants to give evi-
dence for bin two comma ll ill im.—James Randall
said he was a general labourer. In the month
ef August he went to Mr. Brown with Joseph
Randall and George Orchard. Mr. Brown agreed
with them to cut five acres of clover. We never
agreed for any price. He said he had some " tunnuta"
if we liked to do them. We wanted ss. an acre to do them
once, lie said he would rather we should du them twice,
and he asked if his, an acre was enough, and tl.ey said
it was not. ei subsequently agreed to pay then, what
the work was worth if they did it well. --Crone
mounted : Went to cut Mr. Brown's grass to ohlie
instead of going • fishing. Servants "oblige" their
'neater* by working for them now-a-days. ILaughter.)
From the time they went on to work for Mr. Brown till
the time they had left him, with the exception of 'Kline
days at fishing, they never worked for any other
insister. During the summer '59 they worked for Mr.
Marnhalsea a few dant at thrashing betvisesi the perioda
of doing different torte of work fur Mr. Brown, When
Mr. Brown wished them to cult the vetches they toll
him the wheat wanted cutiiiig, and when lie said they
might have part, they told him that as they had com-
menced first they ought to have it all. They bad
better pay fer cutting sheet then retches Brown said
miles* they had part of the wheat they should have
• and they told lllfil uimlesm, they could have all
the field they would tut no more. Mr. Brown then said
" vary well.'" and they an),! " very well." The next
morning they maw Mr. Laver, mail they "obliged"
him by cutting his wheat for him They
They lied bent to Mr. Brown several times for their
money, but lie would not psy them. Mr. Brown had
never asked them to finish the turnips. The other two
defendants gave similar evidence, and Mr. Howard re-
plied, contending that the defendants being the regular
servants of the complainant during a specific period,
although they had piece work, they were nereents in
husbandry accenliwg to the atatute, and eccordingly
could be dealt with, by the megisrates.— Mr. Coombs,
the magistrate.' clerk, was of opinion that the cast must
fall to the ground, because the defendants were sUill-
mooed for breach of contract in refusing to hoe turnips.
whereas it appeared they had not dune no, they never
having been called on to complete the hoeing. They
ought to have been
wheatthey were ordered to cut.—Mr. Howard stated that
the eunimon. U'ii• not taken oat in the form it was
under his instructions—Capt Manning said the Bench
were of opinion that as regarded the turnip hoeing
there had been no breach of contract. as the defendants
not been ordered to complete it, alai therefore the
summons would he disienased.- -Mr. Howarsl nail lie
would take out a fresh summons, to be beard at Dor-
chester on Saturday
_next.

IttlUsCti or rug Pr-AM—Abraham Pearce, a quarry-
man at Portland, WAX summoned by Mr. W. Coombs
for committing a breach of the peace, and Mary
Pearce his wife, and Samuel Pearce his eon,
were summoned for damaging • wall dividing the
two properties of the complainant and defendant.
—Mr. H. N. Howard appeared for the complainant.
It appeared that -the property in question,
which is situated at Wskelmea, demoted as to the
rights of ownership. It having been proved that
Pearce hal used language towards complainat calculated
to provoke • breach of the peace, and the latter &dor.
ing that he was in bodily fear of his opponent. Pearce
wee hound over, ill his own recognizance, in the sum
CM to keep the peace for 6 moutha....-Hr. Howard
offered to withdraw the charge against the wife and son
if they would promise not to molest complainant's
propetty again, but as this offer was rejected,
the case w,n proceeded vitlu. They had, it stems,
pushed down a portion of the partition wall
which separstes complainant's premise% from a ganh u
rented by Pearce. The damage done was estimated at
2a., and the coats amounted to 10a., which they were
ordered to pay.
Ass tilT. --- Mary Gear was charged by Elizabeth
Peters with asasulting her at Porthwid. According to
the complainant's statement. the defendant was err,.
" alma:fur towards her,aml called bar very opprobrious
name. she wee hued 2m. Cod., &he oats being
riomittad. •