The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-05-08 00:00:00

THE CHAROE AOAINOT PROCTOR.

At the Wicaborns Petty Sessions, on Friday,
Frederick Proctor, 49, lodring-houm keeper, of
Bournemouth, was brought no in custoly on remand
charged with having, between the 14 of Msy and the
12th of June, at the parish of Kineon.
maliciously, and feloniou.ly aidmi cod abetted,
gnu:mallet and ova:mired one lames With (now under-
going penal servitude) to commit a feloqy by netting
fire toe stable eel coach-house at B awns Valley, in
the parish of Kinson, with intent t ) injure and
defraud.

S. Dickinson prosecuted on bshalf of the
police. and Mr. Bell, of Southentptm, defendel the
accused.

There were only two magistrates on the Bench,
vie, Mr. Rolle. Fryer and Mr. E. 0. Parke, but the
court was inconveniently crowded th•oughout the
day. Considerable Interest was manifested in the
appearance of James Watts, the chi of seiteese ag anal
Pro dor, who appeared in court In the charge of a
warder from Pentnnville, and dream.' in a convict'.
garb. Watt., it will be remembered, wee trio 1 about
• month ago at the Winchester Assiz.s, and sentenced
by Me. Baron Fluddleston to woven years' penal
servitude for having meliciotudy set firs to the
property in question. Wetted c inviction was brill rht
about in • somewhat remarks'''e manner. lie
said :—I am at present • c weird at Pentonville,
having been convicted for arson at the last Winchester
Amli Mi. I have known the prisoner for about 18
months or two rear.. / remember an Interview with
Proctor when Mrs. Proctor had some furniture taken
to her residence in Exeter-road, Bournemouth. He
had • policy of insurance, and told me he was • wreck
and must raise some money, as Mr. Crater, his
mortgqm had threatened I breeches He asked me
If I had hl • fire at the Triangle, B ournemouth. &nil
I said I had. He then said "How did you get on
with it?" I replied "I lost o insiderably by it." He
said "You ought to have done the same as I did
when I was at Barking, in Essex. Iha I • fire
there and made a good thing of IL" Hi said he
knew how to arrange it. and that he could en,x up
some stag to set the place on fire right. He edged
me to do it, and said if I would c meant he
would carry out the projected arrangement of
going into partnership with me at Bourne Valley, and
would put £l5O into the businest—his half of the pro.
oeeds from the Insurance Company. I did not enter
Into partnership with him; I wrote several drafts of
the terms, but they were not carried out. Afterwarde
I consented to set fire to the shed at No. 2, Sandring-
ham, Bourne Valley, belonging to Proctor. Coles, I
consented he Horsetails I several times to sell me up
un ler a bill of sale which he bed on my furniture.
Proctor went to London f r the purpose of seeing
Crafter, al he told me. Re maid the arrangements he
should make with Mr. Crafter was that he (Crater)
should claim the whole of the money ea mortgagee of
the property, and after be (Proctor) ha I arrange I with
his cre Mors that Crafter would head back the money,
£l5O. On the Saturday week before the fire t ook
place I saw Proctor, who 'toll me that the place
must be set fire to at once or It would be too
hate, and he should be sold out. He promised
to send me up some stuff with which to set the
puma on fire, and on the Monday or the Tuesday
following John Brown brought a bottle holding shout
• gallon of oil and tar. Oa the same day, or the next day,
Proctor himself came to me and brought • comoosite
candle and • piece of cork with • hole In the centre to
fix it. in. On the following Fridey he came to the
shied and said tome" I expected this would have been
all down several days ago' I have been exp-cting
I told him thai tded to do so three ...pirate times,
but each time I had gone back and blown the light
out. He asked me how I did It, and I told him. He
said, " Ton darned fool that isn't the way to do;
where's the tub that Br own brought?' I replied that
Brown had not brought may tub. He said, "I must
have a tub." and went outside the shed, looked into
my yard, and said "There's the tub' that's feat the
thing—go over the fence gni bring it." I did so, and
we placed It by the side of two boas in the shed.
He handed me some straw and said, " Pat that in
the bottom of the tub," and I did so. He then
got the tin bottle, brought by Browse which was
In another put of the shed, and ponied the cm-
tent. into the tub, fired the candle into the cork.
and said, "Put that down on the straw," I did
so. He then said—" -font cover the top of this with
some boards, throw some straw on the tm and you
have only to light it, and when it burns down it will
go like wildfire." I call sd his attention to the fact of
the shed being open, and could not be fastened at thi
coach.houss end. He told me to pot a log of wo xl
against the door, and that would be all right. On the
following Sunday, the afternoon of the fire, Proctor
came to my house, as I had mat for him. Ws went
Into the front parlour, and I told him I shouldn't set
fire to the palace. HI tried very herd to get me to do
It, and told me be should sell me up unless I did it. I
still refused, and he nail at last ' Will you help me
In making out the claim against the Insurance Com-
pany ? Somebody must do it." He said—" If you're
disturbed in the night either come down yourself, or
send someone; don't c t, the front door, but tap
at the little window at the back—we have an invalid
family in the h0w..." He afterwards left me when it
was nearly dark. On Sunday night, or early on Mon-
day morning, my front door bell rang violently; I ran
downstairs and found a man, name I Brown, father of
one of the witnesses, ant one of Proctor's tenants, at
the door. I partially dressed massif, and, on going
outside, found the shed nearly crammed. I told
Brown to go to Proctor, and be afterward, came up to
my hones. tie said—" It's made a clean sweep of it."
We bad some further conversation of an ordinary
character. At the fire there was some beer Ire • pail,
and Proctor asked me to have some. Oa the Monday
[saw him 'we're, and he then said be should be up in
a day or tw for me to make out the claim moon the
Insurance Company, and would see Mr. Aldridge (the
inonancs agent) and say Mr. Crafter had g t the
policy ; but Proc•or sal I—" I have got it." After a
conversation he told in. I ha I better skeddarldle out
of It aol not stay any longer. A day or two after-
wards be cause up, and I male out the claim On the
Insurance Company at his dictation. The loft of the
shed contained nine or ten old sacks, a chaff cutting
machine, about a truss of hay, and • very old suit of
clothe., which Proctor used to pot on when be was
there, • file used to sharpen the knives of the chaff.
cutter, • rake, fork, and • pair of steel yards. In
the coach-house were two old boats, a quantity of
straw, and • few pieces of wood, an old knife.
cleaning machine, • letter-press some rope. and
Pulleys, and • copper Mill which Proctor had taken
, from me as security for rent. The value of the whole
of the goods was lea than LW. (The claim sent in to
the Insurance Company was here produced by Mr.
Dickinson). About 10 days after the fire • man came
, to my place with Proctor, whom the latter said MU
Craf,er. At Proctor's request I emptied out of • sack
, • quantity of old iron and metal whlch I had picked
out of toed bra, and limiter said to him "What's the
worth of it?" i'rootor said he did not know, and I
repled " The iron is worth WI. • ton." T received the
letter produce I from Proctor in answer to one I had
SOUtt witness wa
im(lette rp
s thutienn),
Th cross-esamlned by Mr. 11•11.
lam now 51 yeses of age. Whilst at Chwtsey • Are
, broke out In • shad occupied by • tenant of mine, and
' my claim was MO, which I received. / wes the
agent for the Norwich anion at the time, and renedned
their agent for years afterwards. I afterwards went
to Addleetone, Surr-y, where I built • brewery, and
, had a lawsuit in connection with It, and liquidated. I
started in Victoria-terms, the Triangle, selling
American beef. I had • fire there, in Wei drawing
room, which slulad to caw room% and I received