The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-04-24 00:00:00

KIDDERMINSTER.

THE ALLEGED CHILD MURDEIa.--OH Thursday
morning, Mr. Ralph Docker held the adjourned
inquest, at the Castle Inn, Park Lane, on the body
of the newly-born female child found a month
since in the.canad, near Caldwell. The medical
witness expressed an opinion, after having made
a post-mortem examination of the body, that the
childihad lived, but believed that death supervened
before the body was thrown into the water.—Tho
jury returned a verdict in accordance Ivith the
medical testimony.
THREATENED STRIKE AMONG HOUSE PAINTERS
AND PLUMBERS.—There appears SOME probability
of a strike among the house painters and plumbers
of the Kidderminster district. A meeting of the
society was held on Wednesday evening, at the
Bishop Blaize Inn, Dudley Street, to
,discuss the
question, and on she motion of Mr. A. 4`Cooper,•
seconded by Mr. A. Bradley, it was resolved to ask
fur an increase of id per hour, and in the event of
a refusal on the part ofithe employers to concede
the advance, the men pledged themselves not to
I resume work after to-night. A committee was
appointed to confer with the masters, and to re-
port to a future meeting of the society. It was
stated that the present rate of remuneration is
per hour, the week's work being fixed at 561
hours. In 1873 one hour per week was conceded
to the men; at the same time a similar concession
was made to the carpenters and bricklayers,
ACTION FOR DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL INJURIES.
—At the County Court, on Wednesday, before
Mr. R. Kettle, a case sent down from a superior
court came on for trial by jury. It was an action
brought by Benjamin Harris, of Astley, a labour-
ing man and stricken in years, to recover .2200.
damages for personal injuries, the defendant being
Mr. Green, a butcher, residing at Astley. Mr.
Underhill (barrister) appeared for plaintiff, and
Mr. Bentley for the defendant.—Plaintiff, on the
22nd July, was wending his way homewards when
he was overtaken by defendant's trap, and appar-
ently while endeavouring to avoid it he was
knocked down and was most severely injured, his
scalp being torn off and other hurts inflicted,
which the medical witness, Dr. Ormesby, said he
for a time believed he would not survive. Plain-
tiff was so deaf that the attempt to examine and
cross-examine was not made at any length, and
the case rested principally on other witnesses.
The plaintiff's case was that the horse in the trap
was driven by defendant's daughter, and that de-
fendant, immediately after the accident, virtually
admitted his liability. The defence was that there
was no legal liability attaching to Mr. Green, that
some friendly acts to the plaintiff after the acci-
dent were not an acknowledgement of any res-
ponsibility for its occurrence, and that when
plaintiff was knocked down, not his daughter, but
her aunt (since deceased) was driving. The case
occupied several hours, and resulted in the jury
finding for the plaintiff—damages £2O.
ELECTION OF A TOWN COUNCILLOR.—The vacan-
cy in the north ward has been filled up by the
election of Mr. Herring (a Conservative) without
opposition. Mr. Herring was one of the defeated
candidates in November, when he offered himself
for re-election after his triennialterm of office had
expired.
BEING ON LICENSED PREMISES DURING PROHI-
BITED HOUES.—At the Police Court, yesterday, be-
fore the Mayor, Alderman Goodwin. Messrs. J.
Kiteley, J. Brinton, H. J. Dickson, T. Banks, C. E.
Jefferies, and W. Green, William Pearson, of Stour-
bridge, was charged with being on licensed promises,
the Bridge Inn, on Sunday morning last, during pro-
"nibited hours. Police-conetable Yates said that
whilst he was on duty in Mill-street on Sunday
morning last at three o'clock, he looked through the
window of the Bridge Inn, and saw the defendant
and Mr. Truman, the landlord of the house, drinking
together. Shortly afterwards he saw the defendant
in the street, with a large jar under his arm. He
spoke to him and another officer also spoke to him,
and Pearson then went to the Police Station. Po-
lice-consiable Penny said that when defendant went
to the Police Station he had a large jar under his
arm, full of porter, and asked the officers to drink.
One of them tasted it to ascertain what were its
contents, and found it was porter. Mr. .Corbet, who
appeared for the defendant, contended that the house
having only a six days' . lioense the defendent had
not committed an offence against the statute, as the
house was to all intents and purposes a private house
on Sundays. The Bench reserved their decision in
this case until the next was heard.—Mr. Truman
was then charged with having his house open for the
sale of beer during prohibited hours. Mr. Sanders
defended. The evidence that was given in the pre-
vious case for the prosecution, was repeated in this.
For the defence it was stated that Pearson came to
the defendant's house at three o'clock, and called him
up, and asked him for a. bed. Upon defendant re.
presenting himself as being Mr. Pearson, of Stour-
bridge, who is a great friend of defendant's brother,
he let him have one. '.l hey went into the bar and
had something to drink, and the defendant afterwards
changed his mind, and said he would ride back to
Stourbridge, and then asked defendant if be could
let him have a jar of drink. Pearson, however, did
not pay for it as defendant looked upon him as a
friend. Mr: Saunders urged that the house being
only licensed for six days, and the defendant not hav-
ing sold the drink to Pearson, he had not committed
any offence against the law, The Bench considered
that a knotty point of law had been raised, upon
which they could not give an of-hand decision, and
they should,itherefore, adjourn both cases for a fort-
night.