The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-01-10 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY.

The Court opened at 10 o'clock this morning, when,
after the usual preliminaries had been gone through,
Lord PORTMAN delivered his chsrge to the grand jury.
He said: Gentlemen of thegrand inquest, I am exceed-
ingly glad to find that there are threeend-twenty
gentlemen who have attended to the summons to
appear here, ready to discharge their duty to the
county. It is fortunate there are 23, otherwise it would
have been my duty to impose a fine upon those who
have not answered to their names. This is the first
instance, for many years, in which I have not
seen more than sufficient gentlemen willing to serve
the county. Happily those who are absent need not
be noticed, because we have enough to make a full
grand jury. lam happy to be able to tell you that the
cases before you are of the lightest possible nature.
You will have no difficulty in any of them. There
are one or two to which I shall call your attention to,
and I have no doubt but we shall find these sessions
remarkable for the lightness of crime. According to
theirformation which the Court had yesterday from
the officers who gave us information on these subject*
there appears to be a dimonition generally of crime
la this county; certainly there is a dimunition of great
crime. As a proof of this, there are only
three persons committed for trial at the Amine*
dinned with offences on which we have nal
power to adjudicate. There are two or three caseate
which I wish to call jour attention particularly, bemuse
Ithink, to use an old story, "A stitch in time very °Hee
Wes nine." In my younger life, I remember there
was a practice amongst the younger men of this county
to associate together in bands—almost in gangs I may
say—to carry out a plundering system, which they st
that time desired to effect. lam sorry to say there
have been signs in some parts of this county of a return
to this practice, and in my own division it has been my
duty to assist in punishing severely one of these gangs.
I am afraid the parents are more to blame than the
young men, because I have no reason to doubt
that the parents of many of the lowest
classes, who themselves, during their lives, have been
plunderers and thieves, are in the habit of saying to
their children "Go forth and do not come back again
without bringing back something of which we can,
make value." Now the sooner we by a vigorous
administration of justice can check such practices
as these the better, for I believe by being fina
at first we shall probably save • great deal of misery to
the parents, children, and owners of property. There
is also another species of offence which to me, I own, is
srfectly now, but it is one to which you will have your
ation specially directed, because you all fill the
eation of masters in this county. It may probably
m known to you that two servants of a large yeoman
in this county have been sentenced, as they have been
obliged to be sentenced, to a short term of imprisonment
toe committing this offense—stealing the property of
'one of their nei,thbonre for the purpose of feeding
their master's horses. We knew it has been the
practice amongst labourers, and carters especially,
to take a foolish pride in their horses of stealing the*
master's property for the sake of their horses, but this•
case was one in which they have stolen the hay of
another man tofeed the horses of their master. Noir.' -
nothing can require so mach vigilance on the part el
muter'', and those to whom they depute the dare of
looking aftertheir servants, as of seeing that no property
brought upon their premises which do not
- to them, and, although the men who:
the felony are moat to blame, still
.aster or the person whom he intrusts re his
ff in looking after his business, should be vigilant
check such a crime as this. The poor men brought
7e us were sorry for what they had done, but at Ells
time I have reason since to know that they
have robbed • neighbour who was loath to prosecute.
For the same reason you must all, if you please—you
who represent the great body of:this county—endeavour
and suggest to your neighbours the necessity of putting
a most vigilant check upon the increase of such •
practice as this, because I feel it is for the honour of
this county that we should not set up a new sort
of crime which would lead to very serious
consequences. I will not go into any general
matter of observation, because it will take
pp your time unnecessarily, but will call your attention
:to one or two eases in the calendar, by which,
think, I may assistyou in the judgements you may
have to form. His Lordship then alluded to one or two
oases, - which he dismissed the grand jury to their

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TRIAL OF PRISONERS.

NISI Paws Counr.—(Before the Right Hon. Lord
PORTMLN.)
Edward Player, labourer, pleaded guilty to stealing a
pair of boots, valued at 4a., the property of Joseph
amo, of Fordington.--Prisoner was sentenced to four
months' hard labour, • previous conviction having been
proved against him, but the state of his mind was left
an open question.
Sam- 1 Gillott, labourer, was acquitted of unlawfully
wandering about and lodging in a oow shed, at Marn-
hull, he having before been convicted of being a rogue
and vagabond.
William Burt, not on the calendar, was charged with
stealing • fagot and hurdle stake, belonging to John
&gaiter, of Chikle Okedord. Committed for seven days'
hard labour.
Huddy, labourer, was indicted for stealing
ash pole Chardstook: the property of Solomon
te, on the 10th of December.—Mi. Saunders prose-
sad Mr. Fryer defemded.—Aoquitted.
lits England, painter, pleaded guilty to stealing
twill jacket and other articles, the property of
Phillips, at Starminster Newton, on the 22nd of
- Six months' ireprisonmeat with bard
Foot, labourer, was charged with stealing a
_ of Iron, the property of John Light, of Man-
on the 10th of November.—Mr. Saunders prose-
, and Mr. Pole defended.—me jury rettirned •
at of not guilty.
'illiam Spicer, doing damage at Osmington, on the
of November, was acquitted.
_ . . _
and Henry Brown, labourers
obt, money under false
,T 2 at Stower Provost,
embe Ffooks proseouted.
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