The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-02-02 00:00:00

Central Netos.

RAILWAY BRAKES.—Colonel Yolland, one of the
Government inspectors of railways, has been sent down
to Lancashire by the Board of Trade for the purpose of
making a series of experinients, testing the comparative
merits of the railway brakes invented by Mr. Newell,
of the East Lancashire Company, and by Mr. Fay, of
the Lancashire and Yorkshire line. These are two of
the most powerful and efficient brakes that have yet
been invented, giving a perfect communication between
the engine•driver and guards, and looking up the wheels
of every carriage instantly, so as to bring the whole
train to a stand in a very short space of time. It is
understood that the railway companies are giving every
facility for these experiments. _ _ _

CHARGE OF MURDER AT SEA.—LiyERPOOL, Jan. 26.
—John Burns, third mate of the American ship
America was charged before M. Mansfield on Thursday
with killings seaman (whose name has not yet transpired)
on board that vessel at sea, The America left Liverpool on
tho 6th init. for New York, and a few days after her
departure the prisoner followed the deceased into the
maintop and no namely treated him that he fell on deck
and was 110 injured that he died. The vessel was soon
at terwarda obliged to put into Cork, where the prisoner
made his escape. The authorities were communicated
with, and the prisoner was punned and captured yester-
day in Liverpool. He was remanded for the production
of evidence.
EDUCATIONAL CONTIRINCIL—The committee of this
Conference, which it will be remembered assembled in
June, 1657, under the presidency of his Royal Highness
the Prince Consort, to consider the "early age at which
children are taken from school," have lately held A meet-
ing, to determine whether it were expedient to assemble
the Conference during the present year. The following
resolution was adopted :—" The committee desire to
express their sense of the importance of keeping in ex-
istence as many as possible of the elements of which
the Conference of 1857 WM composed, as a means of
providing for any expression of opinion on the part of
thoee interested in the public education who agree in
thinking that the agencies operating for its promotion
may best exert themselves through the religious coin-
munions. The committee, however, au not prepared
to recommend that a Conference be held during the cur-
rent year, but they hope that the Conference may re-
assemble in 1859, and in that cue notice will be given of
the subject of discussion."
FIVE Mxw DROWNED—On Tuesday evening, shortly
after 7 o'clock, a melancholy catastrophe took place on
the river Mersey, by which five men met with a watery
rave. It appear', that four riggers got into • small
boat at the landing-stage for the purpose of proceeding
with stores to the ship Castilian, lying at anchor be-
tween New Brighton and Egremont. A moderate gale
was blo wing at the time from the south-east, and as the
wind and tide were meeting each other • heavy swell
WM rolling up the river. Upon getting into the middle
of the stream the boat was suddenly upset, and her crew
were seen for • short time struggling with the waves
and endeavouring to maintain a hold of the small craft,
which was floating bottom upwards. The accident was
witnessed by the crew of the screw steamer Indian, ly-
ing at anchor, as well as by the men belonging to the
Rook Ferry steamer Ant, the Tranmere boat Cato, and
the steam-tug Sailor King. Life-buoys were thrown
from the small steamers to the drowning men, but
owing to the roughness of the river the poor fellows
were unable to seize hold of the preservers, and in
short time they disappeared. What renders the catas-
trophe more melancholy is the circumstance that while
the crew of the Indian were lowering a boat for the
purpose of saving, if possible, the drowning riggers, the
boastwain's mate fell overboard, and was also drowned.
His name was Alexander Clements, and it is said that
he has left a widow and a family of young children.
Notwithstanding the loss of their companion, the crew
of the Indian lowered two of their boats—one com-
manded by the chief mate and the other by Mr. Carr,
the second mate—and at the imminent risk of their
lives struggled against the heavy sea in the hope of
picking up some of the missing.men. After searching
in the river for about an hoar they returned to the
landing-stage, deeply regretting that their exertions had
been unavailing.

THE LEVI/a-HAL—During Tuesday and Wednesday
the hydraulic machines were again set to work at the
full tide to push the monster vessel to the lowest ex-
tremity of the launching ways, and even off them if
possible. The attempts were perfectly successful, a
distance of 6 feet 7 inches forward and 7 feet aft being
accomplished on Tuesday with the most perfect ease
in the course of a little more than an hour, while
on Wednesday a further advance of 8 feet 8 inches aft
and 2 feet 3 inches forward WU also gained. The depth
of water under her at Wednesday's high tide was no
less than 11 feet 8 inches forward and 15 feet 6 inches
aft, or only short of the depth required to float her by
3 inches. Under these circumstances she required
watching with considerable care, as a northerly gale of
an hour's duration would set her adrift. According to
the Admiralty tables she would not have depth suffi-
cient before Sunday, but at the same time the tide of
Saturday was so near her mark, and such a trifling change
of wind wouldinfluence its height, that everything was
ready for hauling her off on that day. On Wednesday
more than 40 feet off each fore and aft cradle had been
taken down, and her position showed that she had been
pushed 25 feet off the ends of the ways. On Wednes-
day at high tide, the hydraulic machines moved her at
a pressure of less than three cwt. per circular inch, in-
stead of 29 cyst. as formerly. Friday afternoon's high
water gave a depth of nearly 17 feet under this un-
tractable craft. Less than this depth would be suffi-
cient to float her if. in order to prevent any such un-
expected consummation of all the efforts, no leas than
2,500 tons of water had not been pumped into her com-
partments. But even with the drawback of this dead
weight the Leviathan on Friday showed such unmistake-
able symptoms of liveliness that it was at once decided
to delay no longer. During the whole of that night,
therefore, men were busily employed in pumping the
water out of her, so that at Saturday's high water, at
2 o'clock, or thereabouts, she would not only be afloat,
but be towed to her moorings in the river, with about
three feet water to spare under her bottom. Every-
thing in the way of steamtugs, hawsers, &c. had been
provided, and, as the rather difficult task of bringing
the monster to her moorings was committed to the
hands of Captain Harrison, there sehmed not much fear
of further mishap.

THE LATE MR. STAFFORD.—The friends of this
lamented gentleman have determined to erect a 1110/10-
nal window and to restore a portion of the cathedral
church of St. Mary's Limerick, in commemoration of
their respect for his memory and their regret at his un-
timely death. The list of contributions is headed by his
Excellency the Earl of Carlisle, Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland, and includes the names of a number of dis-
tinguished persons, Liberal and Conservative, without
reference to party politics. As was observed at the
period of his decease, Mr. Stafford's claims to recollec-
tion are founded mainly upon the self-devotion which
he exhibited when our army in the East wee so nearly
extinguished by sickness and exhaustion during the
winter of 1851-5. It is not unbecoming, therefore, that
the memorial of him should partake in some degree of
a religious character.
RELEASE OT A PRISONER—It Will be recollected that
Mr. Robert Bellany was tried at Lancaster assizes last
year, on the charge of having appropriated to his own
rise the sum of £2, belonging to the Crown, and which
he had levied (by virtue of his office as a magistrate) on
two men brought before him on a charge of killing two
rabbits on his (Mr. Bellany's) own grounds. Being
found guilty, lie was brought up to London before the
judges to receive sentence, and on the 19th of November
hut was adjudged by Mr. Justice Coleridge to pay a fine
°FEM) to the Queen, and be imprisoned as a mis-
demeanant of the first class in the Queen's Prison for
one year, and afterwards until the said fine of £lOO was
paid. Mr. Bellany was therefore (owing to Ida classifica-
tion) subject to no more privations than an ordinary
prisoner for debt, and could live as comfortably as his
means admitted. The exposure and disgrace, however,
are said to have induced a severe illness, which has even
threatened his life ; and the Government has therefore
consented to remit some portion of his imprisonment on
payment
of the fine. He has now been liberated, and
eft the prison in a cab, being too ill to walk.

FATAL ACCIDINT DURING A FOG.—On Thursday an
inquest was taken at the Black Hone Tavern, High-
street, Poplar, respecting the death of Wm. Richards,
aged 31 years, who died from drowhig. The deceased
was a watchman in the East India Docks, and on Mon-
day night he was seen on duty at his usual post, and
at an early hour on the following morning (Tuesday) he
was missing. Search was made, when deceued was dis-
covered in the water of the Import Basin quite dead.
He had been immersed several hours. The night was
very foggy and dark, and it was supposed that he had
fallen into the water while going his round. Verdict,
" Accidental death."

DEATH OF SIGNOR LABLACIIIL—A telegraphic des-
patch has been received announcing the death of Signor
Lablache, which took place at Naples, his birth place,
on Saturday week. It was but the other day we had to
record the death of the greatest dramatic genius of
France, and we have now to announce the loss of one of
the most illustrious lyric comedians to whom Italy, so
rich in that peculiar class of talent, over gave birth. It
was generally known that Sig nor Lablache had been for
some time suffering under severe indisposition, dropsy,
and that since his last professional visit to St. Peters-
burg he had been compelled to desist from the exercise
of his public avocations. But the medicinal springs of
Germany, and the society of his distinguished friend and
compatriot, Rossini it was said and believed, had in a
great measure restored him. Naples in the winter, and
Torre del Greco in the spring, were to effect the rest.
Signor Lablache was considered so far convalescent,
indeed, that his name was advertised in the prospectus
of the French Italian Theatre for the actual season;
and the aid of his colossal talent was confidently antici-
pated by the conductors of the Royal Italian Opera, for
the opening of the new theatre in Bow-street. But
" L'homme propose et Dieu dispose ," Lablache was
not destined to resume the course of his artistic tri-
uniphs ; and the lyric stage has been robbed of one of
its most brilliant ornaments. The artistic career of
Louis Lablache was, from the outset, one of nncheckered
success. The son of a French refugee, he was born at
Naples on the 6th of December, 1794, and at the ago of
12 was placed in the Conservatorio, to be instructed in
the various branches of music.
FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT BOLTON.—AII acci-
dent of an alarming and serious nature occurred on
Thursday morning at the Bolton station, on the Bolton
and Kenyon branch of the London and North-Western
Railway. A goods train from Liverpool, consisting of
thirty-two wagons, eighteen laden with coal, and the
remainder with general merchandise, arrived at the
brow of the Daub-hill incline, about half-past six
o'clock. The incline extends over a distance of a mile
and a quarter, terminating at the station in Great
Moor-street. It is the practice on reaching the incline
to shut off the steam, and apply the breaks to every
wagon. In this instance the steam was shut off, and
some of the breaks applied, but not sufficient to check
the impetus of the train, which was carried down the
incline at a terrific speed. The gate at the Cross-street 1
crossing, which was closed, was literally broken into '
splinters, and the train dashed on, uncheckered, into I
the station. Here was a number of empty carriages,
ready for use, and the engine coming into collision with
them, drove them completely through the station into :
the street beyond. The buffers were shivered to pieces,
and the walls of the ladies waiting-room, against which
they rested, were forced in. Still the impetus of the
train was not arrested, and the foremost carriages were
forced through another wall, leading into the booking- .
&lice, and thence through a third wall into the portico
in Great Moor-street. The whole of the pillars support-
ing the left portion of the portico, which are of solid
masonry, were destroyed, and two of the carriages had
gone entirely through the station before their further
progress was stopped by the falling of the roof. Con-
sideriug the very alarming nature of the accident, it is
fortunate that only one life was lost. The stoker had
left the engine before it attained its greatest speed, In
order to apply come of the breaks. About a dozen
platelayers were riding on the wagons, but they jumped
off before the collision. The engine-driver and ono of
the platelayers were on the footplate of the engine.
The engine-driver was stooping down, and so eecaped •
but the other man, whose name was George Hoyle, and
who was standing up, was struck by a beam against
the front of the boiler, and when extricated he was
quite dead. The station-master and a charwoman were
the only persons in the station. The latter was in •
room entirely away from all danger. The station
master, who was standing at the door when he heard the
train coming, was about to run under the left wing of
the portico, when without any particular reason, he
turned to the right. Had he not done so he must have
been killed, as the left wing of the portico was thrown
down, bringing with it coping stones weighing several
hundred weight each. The inquest upon the body of
Boyle was ootnmenoed on Thursday afternoon, and ad-
journed to Wednesday.
THE WADSWORTH MOOR hiIIEDEE.—TIIe inquest on
the body of Bethel Parkinson, farmer, who was mur-
dered on Wadsworth-moor, new Halifax, on the 14th
ult., was resumed before Mr. Dyson, at the White Horse
Inn, Hebden•bridge, on Wednesday. Mr. Marsden, the
solicitor for the West Riding, was in attendance, and,
wills the conourrenoe of the coroner, conducted the en-
mination of the witnesses. Joseph Shepherd, the per-
son in custody on suspicion of being the murderer, was
also present, and arose-examined some of the witn .
Be is • mild, intelligent-looking young Mill, of fair
complexion and middle stature, The evidence was volt'.
ininous. It WAN shown that on Wednesday, the 12th,
the deceased and the prisoner were in company together,
when the former asked a brother-in-law, named Nor-
manton, to lend him Solna money, assigning as his rea-
son for wanting it that Shepherd knew of a young
farmer who, his father having died without • will, was
going to sell off and pocket the prooees. He did not
get the money, but the prisoner and the deceased after-
wards left the house of the latter together, and were
traced thence to the Moor where the murder was com-
mitted in company with each other. About 7 o'clock
the same night a man answering the description was
met on the road leading to Luddenden Foot, coming
from the direction of the tune of the murder, and
shortly afterwards evidently the same man took • ,
second-class ticket at Luddenden Foot station for
Halifax. On the arrival of the train at Halifax the pri-
soner was seen at the station, and he fulled a cab, telling
the driver, whom he knew, to take him up the back
streets to the Swine-market. He then got off and went
to a house of ill-fame, kept by a Mrs. Eastwood, St.
James's-road. As to what occurred there, one of the in-
mates, named Mary Gordon, said—" I remember Wed-
nesday the 13th, about half past 8, there was a knock at
the back door. I asked what was wanted—whether it
was anything? A man came in, and asked if he could
wash himself. He came into the passage and asked
Sarah Hay for warm water and a sponge. I heard him
say, ' I have plenty of money; here in a sovereign, get
a bottle of sherry.' I said, 'Come in.' He said, ' No, I
cannot; you don't know how I am.' He came to the
parlour door and said, 'Come here, I want you.' I
went into the passage, and there I saw the prisoner,
Joseph Shepherd. I showed him into a bedroom on the
same floor. I tried to light the gas, but did not succeed.
I took up a candle from the dressing table. I noticed
blood on his trowsers. In one part the blood appeared
to have been rubbed in, and in another it was in spots.
I saw blood on the man's fingers and nails also. I
fetched him some warm water and a scrubbing-brush.
He looked agitated, and was very pale. I asked him
what he had been doing, and he said he had been
fighting with a swell down the street. He said, "I
am a blackuard, but I will not hurt you." I came
out of the room, and he followed me into the pas-
sage. Sarah Hay told him he had better take his
, sovereign. He took it back and gave her ss. in
silver. Shepherd went out, and came back in about a
quarter of an hour. He knocked at the back door, and
. Mrs. Eastwood let him in. I noticed that the part of
, his trowsers where I had before seen the blood had been
washed, but I saw spots of blood still left on the trow-
. Ben. Sarah Hay fetched a bottle of sherry. Myself,
Sarah Hay, and Shepherd drank it. He then sent for a
second bottle, and while we were drinking it he had
, some beef and bread. While eating the meat and bread
, he said he would burn his trowsers and buy a new pair,
if it was not so late in the evening. I said "why would
you burn them—they are a good pair?" He replied, "I
don't care for the price of a pair; I have plenty of
; money." He said he had not so d--d long to live, but
while he did live he would enjoyed himself. He asked
if he could have abed for the night. He asked Sarah
, Hay and myself to go to Huddersfield with him next
morning, and he gave a cabman a sovereign for a cab.
He stayed all night. Hay and myself slept in the same
. bed. In the morning the prisoner left about half-past
6. Before leaving he took the scrubbing-brush from
; the floor, and commenced brushing his trowsers where
, I had seen the blood, saying, 'D
—n it, it's not
all gone yet." Sarah Hay, also an "unfortunate,"
living at Mrs. Eastwood's, St. James's-road, Halifax,
corroborated the evidence of the last witneas. The
inquiry was then adjourned till Thursday morning.
At the conclusion of the evidence the coroner briefly ad-
dressed the jury, who, after a consultation of about a
quarter of an hour, returned with a unanimous verdict
" That the deceased had been wilfully murdered by the
• prisoner." The foreman added, "That the jury could
; not separate without expressing their satisfaction at the
, manner in which the inquiry had been managed by the
; police." The prisoner was then remanded, on the un-
• derstanding that he would be brought up before the
West Riding magistrates at Halifax on Monday. The
coroner thanked the jury for their patient attention and
; Mr. Marsden, the West Riding solicitor, for the able
services he had rendered in the case.
, STATE OF EMPLOYMENT IN MANCHESTER.—The last
week's returns again show a satisfactory improvement in
• the state of the labour-market at Manchester. Seven more
k mills are working full time than in the previous week,
and the number of hands working full time has increased
by 1,146. The number working short time is reduced
r by 439, while those totally out of work are about 641
leaf than last week.

filiscellancatts.

Parliainent re-assembles on Thursday next, the 4th, for
the despatch of business.
It is intended, we believe, to commence the Bristol
and South Wales Union Railway either in April or the
early part of May.
The Queen-Mother of Owls died in Paris on Sunday
afternoon, at 1 o'olock, having arrived from England
only on the Thursday night previous.
. .

_
Sir James Fergusson, who is at present at Itonie, in-
tends making a tour to Syria and the Holy Land before
hie return.

The rumour arising from the report of Mr. Mechi's
speech at the Unity Bank meeting, that he had dia•
posed of his Regent-street business establishment is
without foundation.
George Byng Paget, Esq., of Button Bennington, who
only a few weeks since succeeded Mr. Ellis u chairman
of the Midland Railway Company, died suddenly on
Tuesday last.
The result of the interview on Wednesday last, be-
tween the Church Rates Abolitionists and Lord Palmer-
ston, may be summed up in a very few words: Govern-
ment mean to make no effort to carry out the views of
the Abolitionists, and the latter have in consequence
pledged themselves to press forward without delay, on
their own responsibility, "a Bill for the total and un-
compensated abolition of Church Eaten.'

At the funeral of the Queen of Oude, a diadem was
placed on her brow, a necklace of lapis lazuri round her
neck, and circlets of amber round her arms and legs.
A number of amulets were also attached to the cover-
ing in which the body was enveloped. The coffin was
of a rather singular form, as it was made to receive the
body in a sitting posture. It was entirely lined with
wadding covered over with silk.
Messrs W. A. Wilkinson, R. Walters, and F. Doul-
ton, three of the liberal candidates now before the
borough of Reigate, have issued a joint notificatioa to
the electors that they have resolved to forego their
i several personal claims n order to maintain the unity of
their party. They propose that the liberals of the con-
stituency shall choose by ballot which of them shall
fight the battle with the conlervatives, and announce
that their respective committees are preparing means to
carry this arrangement into effect. The lion. Mr.
Monson was invited to concur in these proceedings, but
declined to do so.

Dr. Livingstone, the celebrated African traveller and
discoverer is on a visit to James Aspinall Turuer, Esq.,
M.P. and visited the Royal Exchange, Manchester, on
Thursday in company with that gentleman. We under-
stand that Dr. Livingatone intends to take his depar-
ture for the East Coast of Africa, about the middle of
this month in a steamer bound for Ceylon, which will
touch at the Zambese river and there leave the expedi-
tion, which will ascend the Zambese in a small steamer
taken out in parts on board the vessel bound for
Ceylon.