The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-08-11 00:00:00

EXTBAORLOSARY 43341747' IN A B4ILWAY

CARRIAiiit,

At the Greenwich Police-court on Friday morning,
John Watkins, 21, coinniercial agent, of MI, Penton-
place, Newington-butts, wins charged with assaulting
Miss Fanny Hiliabeth [lull, a governess, in a railway
carriage on the South Eastern hallway. Mr. Willis
appeared fur thersiecution on the part id the railway
coinpany ; Mr. k omen, barrister, watched the ease in
the interests of Miss Bull.—Mr. Willis said it was a
gross ease, and he should ask for the prisoner's cum-
mittal for trial.—The prisiecutrix, who appeared very
nervous, deposed that she was agoverness and resided
with her mother. On Thum's), afternoon she returned
from Eltham' where she bad been travelling t•• St.
John's, by the South Eastern Railway. She got into
an empty second class carriage at Eltharn, but just as
the train was starting the prisoner got in and took his
seat at the opposite end. A few minutes after the
train started he came and sat opponte to her, and ••n
arriving at Lee she unwed to the other end of the car-
riage. Nothing occurred until the train left Lee, when
the prisoner again came to where she was sitting, and
! stood up, looking out of the window. Suddenly he
! seized hold of her, held her down with his left hand,
and with his right indecently Reunited her. She
struggled to get away, and bit his cheek, mid then
ois hand. She got one hand free, and the communi-
cator being above her she penal it out about two
inchess when the prisoner pulled her back. Ile put
both his arms around her and tried to hold her down.
Getting her left hand free she succetaled in opening
the door, and getting out on to the footboard.
The witness added that the train war pu11.4 up in a
few minutes, when she war put into another carriage
and went on to New Cross, where the I.risoner was
taken into custody.—Mr. N ham : Did the prisuie•r
say anything to you I—Witness Nothing ; I did not
hear him speak.—Prisoner : I should like to ask the
lady if she could nay if I was sober at the time.--
Witness : I do not know. Prisoner : I plead
guilty', is there any use in going on with the case ?
Mr. Marahlun said, an far as he could judge, the
young lady behaved with the iitizioat propriety, and
there IVAA hip reason wily she should object to apis•ar.
—William Thomas D••ver, gmiril on duty with the
train in quoition, said lie left liartfon.l at 4.30 p.m.,
and on leaving Lets just pad the Hither-gm:li signals.
the communicator rang, but at the seine time the
driver was rtopping. On looking mat he saw the
prosecutrix standing on the continuous footboard I a
aecond-claas carriage. He went to her misistanct•
immediately the train stopped, and she made a com-
plaint to him, but not in the presence of the prisoner.
He put her in anther carriage and locked the
'weenier in the train, then proceeding to St. John's.
Here witness put a porter in with him and went on to
New Cross. It took six minutes to travel (nun Lee
to St. John's —William Thomas Newport, station•
loader at New Cr deposed to having the iuii tt••r
reported to him by the last witness. Ile told the
prisoner to einne out of the carriage, and after
demurring lie did is., and was taken into die custody
of a constable. He appeared perfectly sober.— Polio--
c•iiistable Wintall, 103 Kir deposed to rem-icing the
prisoner in cuatody. At t station he was asked his
name, and replied " jack for a long • refusing
to give any other description of himself In his
pocket whores found a third-class ticket from I.:101am
I" London Bridge.—lnspector Knapp said lie Iva, ii
duty at the station when the prisoner was brought in.
He told wiatiess he was • :mined WAIL Ur was
perfectly sober.—Other evidence was given of the
prisoner being sober. —Mr. Nlarsham toll the
prisoner for trial at the Central Criminal Court, but
consented to take two sureties in 3:50, and his own in
£lOO, for his appearance.

LORD RANDOLPH CHURCHILL..
Commenting on Lord It. Churchill's latest exhilii•
tion, the Standaral says :—We admit the temptation
to which cirtsimstances subjected a politician of Lord
Randolph Churchill's 4V./11 t. But he would
have done his country—l , incidentally, his political
friends—a better service if he had resisted it. It is
absurd to fasten on the late Viceroy the responsibility
of the deficit simply because he did not, • year or two
in advance, take measures for securing an annual
surplus. There, no consistency in:taking it to matter !
of offence on the part of the Liberal Viceroy that he
" remitted almost all indirect taxation and almost
wholly abolished the Customs," and to claim for his
Conservative predeoiesor the gratitude of posterity
beCaUIIP he gave India complete free trade. Lord
Ripon only finished what Lord I4ytton began, and the
impulse to which both yiekled came fn.in the Man-
chester manufacturers. This "Heads I win, tails you
lose" plan of meeting out praise and blame will never
do for a slat that is reputed to he sensible. We
think Lord Bils.n, with the best possible iutentioie,
did an immense amount of hani, by the Ilbert Bill.
But that psrtieular error of policy does 11.. t. Can for
notice in a financial statement ; and if it is referred
to there, it ought to be noted that, at any rate, the
people of India, high and low, have wade tip their
mind to thiuk well of the Viceory whom the Seen.-
tary of State al,ClOns of having committed " not only
a blunder, JAIL I* crime." There llught to is sonic
'sense of prolortion in the judgments passed on human
errors. One recriniinations and the manufacture of
party capital n Indian questions begin, it will not
6. possible to set limits to the evil. Hitherto Indian
finanoe, at any rate, has been kept out of the domain
of English politics, and we confess we share the r.=
expressewlmd itartimetou orm Mr. J. K.
that • t has Won sot fur an abeam/moot of
Mat priitoilia