The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1881-08-30 00:00:00

CHARGE OF WINDOW-MASHING AGAINST

4 GENTLEMAN.

At the Police-court, on Monday, before the Mayor
(Mr. G. Curtis), Mr. Weston and Mr. Saunders,
Charles Fletcher Woods, described as a gentleman, of
Holloway Place, Upper Parkstoue, appeared to
answer a summons taken out by Wiliam Henry
Fenwick, gentleman. of Bournemouth. for breaking
the windows of a house in the occupation id Mr.
Henry Sharpe, of Bourne Alley, pottery manu-
facturer, and doing d•mage to the amount of 2, ld
Mr. La:wy, jun. of Bournemouth, appeared f r the
complainants. Tie facts of the case would seem to he
briefly these. The defendant had been turned out of
a house belongin+ to Mr. Fenwick, and Mr. Sharpe
had been accepted as a tenant in his steal. The
defendant feels aggrieved at this, and on the daV iii
question committed the damaged alleged.—Mr. Lacey,
In opening the case, stated that on the previ
Thursday week, the 11th of August, the defendant went
to the house in question, No 2, St. Albans Cottate,
Upper Parkstone, and then in the occupation of s
man named Steele, who had been placed there by Mr.
Sharpe. He was in • state of intoxication and made
use of very bad language. He asked Mr. and Mrs.
steele to put some doge in the house, wh eh
was refund ' as Mrs. Steele said she csuld
not have her house turned into A kennel.
Upon that he agaiu made use of bad languize. and
without any warning rushed at the window, put ha
foot through one pane and smashed two o hers with
his fiste. He then went round to the back .4 the
house declaring he w add smash in others, but wit
prevented by alit% Shaw and a man named Farley,
from doing further damage.—At this point the defeo.
dant made an application for an adjournme.d. lie
had only been served with the snminorut about midsley
on Friday, and his solicitor, Mr. Chamber! •in. who
believed he could have attended, had been obliged t.• ge,
to Sonthampton.—Mr. Lacey strongly objected to art
adjournment Be believed his client would be in
danger of still further annoyance if it Were grantecL—
Defendant said it was a question of right--Mr. Lacey
replied there was no such question appertaining t" d.;
sodas to the notice g'ven 1:e contended there had been
plenty of time. If Mr. Chan:hod:lin could not avend,
the defendant could have got someone else. There
were plenty of solicitors in the nei;:hbourh""(l ~
Poole He was sorry to have testate it,
but the defen-
dant had given the tenants of the how,- a great deal
of annoyance, and if he were not pre% ente I the resultss
might be seriousM . —r. Allen tin .gi+tratee clerk),
Pointed out that according to the statute no specified
time ti- the .erving of a summon+ before the hearing
was stated, what was required was that thole should be
a reaeon•ble time intervening. It was quite for the
bench to construe what was a reasonable time.—Defen-
dant said he further required an Adjournment, we he
would have to ask for a summons against two pereeno
to atteod as vritnernsi.—After some further discussion
the Mayor said the Bench considered a reason ddi tins
-
bed been granted. and dirsct d the case to pro INA.—
Mr. Lacey then called Geo ge Steele, who said he lived
at N". 2 St. Albans Cottage, Upper Parketene. On
the 11th of August last &lout 10.30 in the evening he
saw the defendant who came throo.th his w eket
Witness was standing on his doorstep talking to Mr.
Shaw a d • man named Fri.r'ev. Defendant. who was
so drunk that he couldn't et .nd, said " Now, then, Mr.
—Shaw, off my premises or VII put psi ff." lie
ale • mid to witness "George I sua going to put my dow,
in here." He t Id him he co•dd not do so, and at that
moment his (witness's) wife came up and at once 'look
the matter off his handle." Sho told ths defendant she
oh .nl.l not allow it, as she wasn't coil g to have her
house made bto a place for dogs. Upon that he said
he would, or else he would bre Ii every paineofkl 44 ill
the place. With that he put his foot through on 3 pane
and his fists through two others. He then went.
round to the back, but his (witness's) "mis-us " went
after him and said "now Mr. Woods your wife 'awaiting
for you, go home," and "of course." added Steele. "he
obeyed her orders rid went on. "—ln crosesixamini-
tion defendant reminded ths witnese he had told the
bench he was so drunk that he couldn't ',tend. Slid
&eked him to ex 'dein how he passed through the
wicket, whether he rolled through on the ground or climbed over the spikes on the top. Witness mid he
couldn't tell exactly, but he got th.ough tomeho w.—
Defendant : Nowa, to !Wallow expression of •,hich you
axone me, would it surprise you to Lear that I never
made use of such ran expression in my life!—Witnew :
Very well, Mr Woods all I can say is that I hiin' been knocking about more than you, and such fed
language I never heard before in my life.—Wit•"'"
continued : He (defendant) told Mr. Shaw he shoul3
put him off his pternisesi. he tried and ski corded in
doing it. —His Worship here remarked that the mere
fact off his being the tenant, even supposing he nw's
wou'd not justify his breaking the wind. w, —Mr Lacey If it would, he might go further and pen the house
down. —Re-examined by Mr. Lacey, 'When he said
the defendant was so drunk that les couldn't stand,
he meant that he seemed to fall about a good deal--
The Mayor: Could he walk a chalk line is they say !
Witness : No, sure he couldn't He put me in mind of
the man at the circus who—.—The mayor said they
didn't want to hear that —Witness looked at the
Bench, as much as toss), " Well, the less is yours, n°l
mine' you've missed • good story," and left the box.—
Sarah Steele, the wife of lama witness, corroborated
her husband as to the first psrt of the transaction, and
added that when the defendant went round to the
back she rushed after him, without any slippers. and
said to him "Now my dear Mr. Woods, Its the
middl- of the night, your wife is at home waiting for
you, do go home," and upon that be went alai com-
fortable and quiet as any man could be. It wanted
about 20 to 12 when he welt away,- Croes-examined
by the defendant: She did not know whether or not
he was intoxicated, but if he warn't be very much for-
got himself. Que•tiona were then pet as to the
tenancy. but the Bench held they were Irrelevant.—