The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-10-28 00:00:00

(To be continued.)

RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

The important and valuable vicarage of Lowestoft,
Suffolk, rendered vacant by the resignation of the Rev.
F. M. Cunningham, has been conferred by the Hon. and
Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Norwich on the Rev.
Charles Herbert, late vicar of Burakm, Staffordshire, a
strong "Evangelical"
CANON STOWELL ON SOUND CHUIICHNANSIIIP.—On
Thursday evening, before the Wakefield Church Insti-
tute, Canon Stowell, 31. A., delivered a lecture on
"Sound Churchmanskip," the vicar of Wakefield pre-
siding, The lecture was most vigorous. In the course
of his remarks Cation Stowell urged his hearers to be
firm in their convictions, earnest in supporting them,
but at the same time moderato, and with regard to Dis-
senters (though they might not think they are in the
right,) to act so that Christianity may be before their
Churchmanship. He thought no one could read hiitory
without coining to the conclusion that at one time
ninny were driven from the Church by persecution,
litany were turned out because there was no room for
them, and many left because of the abuses that pre-
vailed in the Church.
POPULATION OF DIOCESEEL—The census of 1861 found
14,071,164 persons in the province of Canterbury,
and 6,138,507 in the province of York. Bat the
climaxes differ much more widely in population.
There are 14 dioceses, no one of which has in it a fifth
of the number of souls that are in the diocess of London;
there are five dioceses with not a fifth of the population
of that of Manchester. Half the people of England
and \Vales are in eight of the 28 diocese& One diooess,
Soder and Man has a population of little more than
50,000, rather n
above a fourth of the number of the
parishioners of St. Pancras. Twelve dioceses have a
population below half a million—Bangor, Hereford,
St. Assph, Carlisle, Chichester, Salisbury, Llandaff,
After all it seems that Deerfoot is a very ordinary Bath and Wells, Si, David's Canterbury, Ely, and Peter.
sort of Indian. A case was heard in the Wandsworth borough. The remaining 15 dioceses have a population
County Court on Thursday, in which a man named exceeding half a million—Oxford, 515,083; Olocester
Hovritt, better known as Jackson "the American Deer" and Bristol, 568,674; Rochester, 608,914; Norwich,
made a claim upon a Mr. Martin for balance of wages 667,704, and with an area of 1,99425 acres; Linooln,
due. Martin, it was stated, had set up what was called 706,026, and an area of 2,302,814 acres • Worcester,
a "humus circus," engaging Hewitt and others in the 857,775; Durham, 858,095, and with 1,906,835 acres;
company, with Deerfoot as the bright particular star. ' York, 930,216, and with 2,261,493 acres; Exeter,
The arrangement was that the other men—who could, 953,7e3, and with 2,530,780 acres, which is more than
it is said, have easily beaten Deerfoot—were to run into • fifteenth of the acreage of all England and Wiles;
the places fixed for them, those places being always Ripon, 1,103,394; Lichfield, 1,221,404; Chester,
behind the Indian. The plan, however, failed to draw 1.248,416; Winchester, 1,267,794; Manchester,
money, and Mr. Martin could not pay the salaries he 1,679,326 ; London 2,570,079. On the next avoidance
had promised. Hence his appearance in the county of the see of Winchester the south of London is to be
coati, and the exposure of the Deerfoot scheme, taken from it, and it will have, wording to the census
6


of 1861, a population of only 769.910, and the dioceas of
London a population of 3,067,963, so that inure than a
seventh of the population of al' Englond a 1! then he tin
ono of its 28 dioceses.

HORRIBLE MURDER NEAR CIRENCESTER.
On Friday morning n painful state of excitement was
created at Cirencester by the news that a berharous
murder had been conimitted at the pleasant village of
Rendcombe, about four miles from this town, on the
Cheltenham mad, the victim being a young woman
narnod Sarah Moss, and the murderer a man named
William Mealing, who was engaged to be married to
her.

The murderer, William Mealing,is about 26 or 27 years
of age, and is an agricultural labourer. 'leis a tall, this
young man, with a stupid expression of countenance and
ungainly appoaranoe, and with the stooping gait peculiar
to men a his class. His father and mother ars
labourers In the same parish, and bear a respectable,
character.

Sarah Moss, the unfortunate victim of this dreadful
crime, was about 32 years of age, and had been for some
time staying at the cottage of her father, which is
situate in a secluded part of the road, near the vicarage.
She was formerly in the service of the Rev. Mr. Ms-
some, of North Nibley, and while there she formed au
acquaintance with a young fanner in the neighbourhood,
which resulted in the birth of a child, which has shove
been affiliated. and the father contributes 18.6 d. a week
towards its maintenance. This skild is now three years
old. The mother of Sarah Mout was burnt to dealt'
some years since, and the household, until about last
Christmas, consisted of the deceased, her child, sad
her lather, au infirm old man of about 80, wad very
deaf.

Shortly before Christmas last the prisoner left his
father's cottage and went to live at Moss's house. A
very close intimacy took place between Mealing and
Sarah, and the woman was at the time of the murder
very near her confinement. The banns of marriage
between the parties had been put up at the parish
church, and the wedding was to have taken place im-
mediately. The deceased had saved LIS or £7 for the
occasion, and she asked Mr. Riddiford, the superinten-
dent of police at Cirencester, to intercede for her with
the father of her child, and try and got him to give her
£5 more. Mr. Riddiford, it appears was in the habit
of receiving her child's money from its father,and hand-
ing it over to her.
On Saturday the parties quarrelled, and Meeting
returned to Ws father's house, where he stayed until
Thursday, the night of the murder. On Thursday even-
ing he wont back to Mom's, and his mother and other
persons were present. A reconciliation apparently
took place, and hfeallng and his victim went to bod,her
child sleeping in the same room.
About three o'clock on Friday morning ',foaling went
to the house of Timothy Tarrant, the village black.
smith, who is also the parish constable, and, having
aroused him, informed him that he had killed a weenie.
Tarrant at first was incredulous, but at length he went
to Moss's cottage, and there he fonnd that it was too
true, the poor woman being quite dead, with her throat
cut, and her child crying, as it it could realize the
dreadful hosts of the case. An alarm was created, and
the prisoner, who had gone to his father's house, was
pissed in sate charge. Information was sent to Oren-
nester, and Mr. Superintendent Riddiford, Sergeant
Eylas, and Constables Dash and Townsend were as soon
as possible at the scene of the awful tragedy.
Mr. Riddiford found the body of the ill•fated woman
lying on her left side, with her arms crossed, and her
throat literally cut from ear to ear. The bed was satu-
rated with her blood, which was running through the
floor into the room below. From the calm and tranquil
appearance of the body, and the absence of blood on
her hands, it would seem that the murder was suddenly
committed, while she was asleep. Mr. Riddiford has
possession of the instrument with which the fatal deed
was perpetrated. It is common black-handled razor,
with the words "chilling moor" on the blood-stained
blade which is also notched like a Uwe
. . . .

The' prisoner, after murdering the poor woman,
robbed her of her purse and money. This money,
consisting of six sovereigns, one half-sovereign, • three-
penny piece, and three penny worth of coppers, he
gave to his mother, from whom Mr. Riddiford received
it.

The dreadful news Wl9 attempted to be communicated
to the aged father of the deceased, but be appeared to
persist in believing that she had only been eonfined, for
which ho was prepared, but the real facts he could not
be made to comprehend.
The prisoner was removed to the pollee-station at
Cirencester, where he appears to be in. most dejected
and miserable plight, and evidently fully alive to the
horrors of his position. His face and bands were blood-
stained.

The eircumstanoos which gave rise to the murder can
at present only be guessed at, but the matter will be
fully investigated both by the magistrates and the
coroner, the result of which we shall duly make known.