The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-03-02 00:00:00

Somusetsbirt.

Taurcrox. —Nord Chase. —A fox was started by
the Taunton pack on Monday, near Quakers' burial
ground, about a mile from Taunton. Reynard came
into the town, and rushed through one or two of the
principal and longest itreeta in prime style. He
swam across the river Tone near St. Jamea's-etreet,
made for the timber yard of Colthurst and Small,
paid a visit to the grounds of Dr. Metford, and ulti-
mately gave his followers the slip in some shrub.
beries near Fairwater, on the »ad to Staplegrove.
The hounds had another find on the Name day, but,
as in the former case, did not kill.

A move is being made for altering the
position of our fish market, which is now centrally
situated near the Castle Hotel. The building has
been erected within the last three or four years, ex-
clusively for the purpose of a flab market, and at a
cost of nearly £l,OOO.

Ysovn...—Mideal Improvement Bociety.—Mr.
James Applebee delivered • lecture on Thurs-
day evening, on " Shakspearean types of manhood
—Antonio and Shylock—the persecutor and perse-
cuted ; with illustrative readings from 'The Mar.
chant of Venice.' " It. Donne, Esq., of Odcombe,
occupied the chair. The lecture was one of consi-
derable ability and eloquence, exhibiting great ima-
ginative power and beauty of expression. The dio-
thin was highly ornamented, and the imagery, which
was profuse throughout, was at times rich in the
extreme. The readings, which constituted a large
proportion of the evening's entertainment, were cre-
ditably given; and more particularly the portions
allotted to Shylock, which were reed with great
propriety and most striking effect. The lecturer
appeared to enter into the spirit of the character,
and while in his expressive and appropriate reading,
he gave a truthful embodiment of the cruel and ava-
ricious Jew, hie judicious descriptive remarks tended
still further to elucidate the powerful conception of
the great poet. As might be expected from the
title, the morale of the lecture was a lesson against
persecution. Mr. Applebee observed that Shylock
always appeared surrounded by a persecuting els-
ment ; and Antonio, with all his good qualities, was
a bigot. He conceived that the burning passions
which agitated Shylock, in which that of revenge al-
ways appeared prominent, were to a great extent
attributable to these circumstances, and that Shaks
peare designed, in this productiom of his genius, to
teach religious toleration and forbearance. The at-
tendance at the lecture was w.t numerous.
SHP:I'7ON ' MALLET. -A Novel Resote'ion. —A
vestry meeting was held in this town on Thursdui
morning week. "to consider a recent imp irtaiir
alterath.n in the lei .r.rate valuation." It eppea,
that the house in the occupation .4 Mr. Jeep'
Brainier, baker, T ,wn street, was improved veri
much previona to his enterin4 on it at Christma,
last, and the (I,l)4ollmin'. MAI that tha siverseer
thought the rate ou4lit to be raked in proporti .n.
This was isooordiu,ily elone, met althongh Mr.
Braliner himself slid no i not coinplai f the ncrease.
Mr. James Dohlrell, his former landlord. th.,0,41i
it very hard, and, therefore, obtained the si,piaturei.
of • sufficient number of ratepayers to call a vestr‘
on the subject. After discussing the matter for ui.
wards of so hour emit Mowing unique resolution wa,
a;reed to —"That it is the opinion of this veer
that the question before them is one on II ilia they
are not competent to decide." We understand that
Mr. Dmhlrell intends to refer the matter to the Poor
Law Commissioners.

CHARD.-• On Thursday morning week, about a
quarter before two o'clock, as P.C. Player was pas.
sing up Fore-street, he fancied that he smelt burning
tallow, but believing it arose from Mr. Stoodley s
candle manufactory, whose men frequently had to
begin work at an early hour, and not seeing any
cause of alarm, the constoble continued his round,
but before he reached the George Inn, observed a
light, and are he oould get back. to Mr. Stoodley's
premises the workshops were in one mass of flames.
He called up Mr. Stoodley, and aroused the inhabi-
tants, who used every exertion to extinguish the
fire. This being found impracticable, efforts were
then made to cut off the connection with the dwel-
ling house, which they succeeded in doing. The
whole of Mr. Stoodley's candle manufactory, with
his stock of tallow and candles were destroyed.
He is insured in the Sun Fire Office, but we fear
not adequately to the serious loss he has sus-
tained.

BRIDGWATER. —A public meeting was held on
Thursday week, in opposition to the Government
Alien BilL Certain local politicians, knowing the
principal municipal authority was absent from the
town, got up a requisition with their names attached,
asking the Mayor to call a meeting, and—like the
Irishman who wrote an epistle and carried it himself
—they convened the meeting themselves in the
absence of his worship. The meeting was but
thinly attended, for, however the townspeople may
have been inclined to doubt the wisdom of the
policy of the Government, they had, apparently, lees
faith in that of the memorialists who called a meet-
ing under such circumstances. Resolutions condem-
natory of the Bill were adopted.
SUICIDE.—In the Townhall, on Monday evening
week, J. E. Poole, Esq., coroner, held an inquest
upon the body of a man named Bailey, formerly in
the employ of John Browne, Esq., who had com-
mitted suicide in the borough gaol at an early hour
on the same day. Decesasd had been apprehended
on a charge of assaulting his wife while he was in a
state of drunkenness, and his apprehension seems to
have depressed his spirits, and to have led him to
bang himself. "Temporary insanity" was the jury's
verdict.

GLASTONBORY.—it Ls now confirmed from Genoa
that Thomas Darrell Hodges, of Glastonbury, has
been arrested at the Hotel delta Villa, on the quay
of that seaport; and instructions awaited for the
further transmission. It is unlucky that by the
death of Yates Brown, the Genoese Consulship
should be just now in abeyance.

ILIIINSTEH GRAMMAR SCHOOL—RoIIs' Court, Chan-
eery•lane, Feb. 23.—(Before the Master of the Belle.)—
Re the Ilminter .3chool,—This ease bed been referred
from Chambers in order to 'obtain his Honour's opinion
upon certain objections which had been raised by the
surviving trustees of this charity to the appointment of
new trustees, who were not members of the Church of
England. In cense inence of what fell from the court
on a fonner occasion wine trasten belonging to dia
aenting bodies bed been appointed, but an objection we,,,
now rained to the nniuber being increased. In the
onunA of the argnments reference was mole to the Wer-
w:cic ml Cholnisfonl schools, and also to the " Attorney
General v. Trinity College, Cambridge," in order to
chow that dissenter. were eligible to the ofe e.
Honour that the chief object of the Court in thee
Num was to see how the scholar* would be affected, anil
lie was of opinion all that was necessary was that the
tnietees to be appointe I should by honed persons. who
would• feitlifnlly perform the duties which they under.
took. He was of opinion that the objection raided
amid not prevail.
HAAT SoIIBRAET RAILWAY.—The East %menet
Railway is approaelmig ti u ithin threeluarters of a
mile of the Sheldon Mallet station. The contractor.
Mr. Botberwood, says it shall be opened by October
next.

Nonni Dzvor RAILWAY.—The report of the
directors of this company states that the total ordi-
nary capital to the 81st of December last amounted
to £327,953, lcsm £34,661 forfeited, and not entitled
to any dividend, leaving £293,232 entitled to divi-
dend. The 6 per cent preference capital amounts to
£38,421. The debenture interest for the past half.
year amounts to £3,132, and the dividend on the
6 per cent. preference capital to £1,162. These two
sums deducted from the net revenue will allow of a
dividend on the ordinary stock at the rate of 16s. Sd.
per cent., anti will leave a balance of £lO. The
traffic returns for the six month's ending the 31st of
Dec. m or, 1857, shows, gruel receipt of £12,658,
as P.lliparOd with £12,530 for the corresponding
I,e,iod feat year. The capital acomnt shows that
e 496.174 bad been metre,' and £494,386 expended.
leaving a balance of £1.768. The revenue amount
for the half-vair sh,.wed that £6,051 had been re-
ceived and £536 expended, leaving the net revenue
£5,515.

Netherlands Majwsty's paddlewheel stuatuves•
ael Ankjoeno, 8, Captain J. A. Van Hasselt, four
days from Helvoet, for Batavia, put into Plymouth
Sount ou Monday fir fuel.

WAXY CORNWALL RAILWAY —The divectors or
this *quietly state in their report that the passenger
tradic during the half-year ending the 31st of De-
cumber amounted to £8,085 again.t £7,651 in the
corresponding half of 1836, and 17,683 in the seine
half of 1855; while at the same time the total re-
ceipts had been £16.065, .£14,934, and £15,631 re-
spectively. With an increase of more than .£l,OOO
in the receipts the balance of profit carried over to
the credit of general revenue account was le I by
nearly £lOO than in the corresponding period of
1856. About £834 of the extra expense ou attri-
butable to the re-ballasting of the line, and £2OO to
increased taxation. The general account shows an
available balance of £5,833, but the directors of the
company are of opinion that it would be highly inju-
dicious to declare any dividend.

FATAL BOILKIt EXPLORION.—A few days ago 111
boiler explosion, which resulted in the leas of four
lives, occurred at a mine in the parish of Uny Le-
Lint, Cornwall. It appears that two engineruen named
John Gleason and Peter Kernick were engaged in
cleaning out the boilers, and two women, named
Webster and Jones were in the boiler-house drying
themselves The latter had not been
,there long
when an explosion took place, which blew out two
plates of the middle boiler, about 10 feet from the
fire end, and filled the house with boiling water to a
considerabledepth, whereby all the parties were scald-
ed boa dreadful degree. Gleason, who, in addition to
his scalds was very seriously injured about his heed,
his skull being fractured in two plaoes, was taken out
dead. The woman Webster was removed to a room
in the account-house, where she was attended by two
surgeons, and died in two or three hours after the
occurrence. Jones was taken to her home, where
she died in the evening of the same day; and Ber-
nick remained at the mine, and died there about
noon of the following day. The boiler, it appeared,
was only five years old, and was believed to be in
excellent order, and the agents, therefore, were un-
able to account for the accident, the gauge cock hav-
ing been tried only ten minutes before, in presence
of one of the agents, to ascertain that the feed was
right.