The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-03-12 00:00:00

WHALING A WATCH AT BLANDTORD.

Joke Wilson was charged with stealing • silver
watch, a gold chain, and • gold key, the property of
William All., at Slandford, on Satarday, the 22nd
December last. The proeocutor was • groom in the eia.
ploy of Sir John Smith. The watch and chain were
stoke from his room over time sledges, *birth was
looked. He gave information le the police. Prisoner
took the watch to Hr. James Kendall, of Wimborne,
watchmaker, ott Thursday, 21th December, who took
him to the polies elation, et ore • written atatement
was produced describing the watch. Prisoner then left,
but • policeman afterwards went after him, and
brought him beck. Prisoner said he found the watch
IS a plantation belonging to Sir John Smith.—Verdict
"Not Guilty."
(The prisoner took • paper from his pocket relating
to his character, which was handed to the )udge, and we
were eurprised to hear his Lordship read it to the jury
before they had given their verdict.)
PLUADIS OUILIT.—Rmaia Moore pleaded guilty of
obtaining three cape of Alfred fonder, at Shabury,
on the 7th January, by falsely representing that her
mistress had sent ber.—Josathaii Lorekra pleaded
guilty of stealing a fagot of wood. the property of
Thomas Coekeram, at Leigh, OD the 9th February. He
had been twills previously convicted.--12 months.

NISI FMB COURT.—TRURSDAY.
(Before Mr. Baron MA11111.)
MAMA FOS • 71111124. L.

Sprang, v. Boultoos.—This was an action brought
for the recovery of 1,16., being the amount claimed
for a funeral conducted by plaintift—Mr. Collier,
with whom was Mr. Cole, was counsel for the
plaintiff, and Mr. Kerslake, Q.C., with whom was Mr.
Kingdoms, appeared for the defendant.
Mr. Cole opened the pleadings, and Mr. WILT stated
the case to the jury. He said the plaintiff was • draper
and undertaker residing at Weymouth, and the defen-
dant was the widow of • Mr. Boulton, formerly • livery
stable keeper in London, in good circuizstances. Lest
summer be came down to Weymouth for the benefit of
his health, and took one of the principal lodging-houses
in that Owe. He died in Asyut last, and the plaintiff
received instructions from Mr. Bishop—a friend of the
defendant, who the jury might imagine was too much
absorbed in grief to attend to the matter herself—to
find the coffin and conduct the funeral. Ho was re-
quested to obtain the beet description of polished oak
coffin, and the other arrangements were to be carried
out as for • funeral for a gentleman. Every:king was
done recording to the satisfaction of Mr. Bishop but
when the bill was mat in. it was disputed, and the de-
fendant had paid into court what she considered
a fair charge. He sbould,however, show that the charges
were lair and reasonable, and that the plaintiff had paid
considerably more than the amount paid into court, out
of his own pocket.
The plaintiff said he was • draper and undertaker at
Weymouth, and sometimes conducted funerals. On the
11th August lad, he was celled upon to go to Pulteney-
buildings, to conduct the funeral of Mr. Soultou, whore
body was lying there. He saw Mr. Bishop, who repre-
sented himself as being a friend of deceased, and who
asked him the prime of several things necessary for the
funeral, such as shell, coffin, hearse, ke. He then left
the room for short time, and on his :stern be gave an
order for a shell. He afterwards said the body would he
removed to London, and perhaps the shell would be
opened after it arrived there. Plaintiff told him he
would then take the necessary precaution, that the body
should not appear tumbled and bruised in the transit,
and that he would provide the necessary additional
cushions, ha. Mr. Bishop afterwards ordered one of the
very best polished oak coffins that could be made, and
he (plaintiff), in accordance with his instructions, pro-
cured for it • set of the handsomest furniture that could
be procured. There were none headroom., enough in
Weymouth, and he had to go to Dorchester for it. He
had a hearse and two horses, for which he charged
El 12s. ed. The bearers had cloaks, and he bad tofu
Dorchester for them. His instructions were to bury the
deceased as a gentleman. The coffin was made by a
respectable tradesman in Weymouth. He paida 18s. 6d.
for the inner coffin, and charged £.l 3e. Od. For
the outer coffin he paid £7 75., and charged
ells. us., but this included pall and attendance, for
which it was usual to charge a guinea each. He gave
gloves to the bearers, as was usual in
such cases in this put of the country. The station-
master had also gloves. It was always usual with him
to give gloves to the station-master when • corpse was
'moseyed by rail. There were six bearers. They had
se. each, and be paid 12s. for refreshments for them.
Is was always usual to give refreshments to bearers
and charge for the same, when refreshments were not
given at the house. The funeral was conducted on the
most respectable wale, and Mr. Bishop, after they had
arrived at the railway station, shook hands with him
and expressed his gratification at the way in which he
had carried it out. He bad charged nothing for his
own personal trouble further than the additional charge
on the coffin. The whole of his time for two days was
occupied in reference to the matter. He had conducted
other funerals of • similar nature, and his charge was
on the same male as in the present instance). He
charged 12e. for engravitig the breast plate on the
coffin. The doctor, the clergyman, and himself had hat-
bands and scarfs. This was usual at a gentleman's funeral.
Mr. Bishop Dever gave instructions not I. supply these
things. The furniture of the coffin cost him £6 65., and
he dodged £7 7s. The coffin was made of l inch
oak board. He did not accompany the funeral party
further than the railway station at Weymouth. The
deceased was buried in London.
William Norman, foreman to Messrs. Reynolds and
Son, said that Mr. Spreckley gave him orders for a shell
and coffin. They were made of the best material, the
best workmanship was bestowed on them, and they
were the best articles that could be supplied. The
coffin was the best that had ever been made in the
shop, and the price was Vs. is. He believed that
Cl 16s. was below the usual price for hearse said pair of
horses.
Richard Reynolds said he was an undertaker. He
thought Ell IL, was rather high for the coffin, but con-
sidering nothing was charged for pall and attendance,
it was not so very high. All the other charges were
fair and reasonable, and several of the items were below
the usual price. He himself never charged less than
£2 2e. for a hearse and pair of horses.
J. A. Buck said that he had for many years carried
the business of cabinet maker and undertaker.
He thought that from £7 to £lO was a fair price
for • polished oak coffin. He himself usually gave his
attendance, and supplied the pall in the charge for the
coffin. The charge of El 12a. ed. for hearse and pair of
horses was below the usual charge, as was also 12.. for
engraving the breastplate. £2 2s. was the usual price
for time former, and El for the latter. The other items
as to bearers, were not overcharges for • funeral such as
he understood this to be.
Mr. Milledge said he was with his uncle Mr. John
Milled's, one of the oldest establishments in the town.
He considered that £7 to £lO for an oak °onto was a
fair price. It was not usual to have the coffin boards
more than 1 inch thick. He recollected only one in-
stance of a coffin being 11 inch thick, and that was 20
years ago. The charge for hearse and pair of horses
was below the lomat charge; they always charged E 2 2s.
He considered that the other items were not over-
charges. The charges for • tradesman's funeral were
not so great as • gentleman's funeral.
Mr. Thomas Smith, station master at the South
Western Railway Station at Weymouth, said he remem-
bered Mr. Bishop coming to him at the station; and in
speaking of the fueeral said everything was very nice,
and he was greatly pleased with the arrangements. Mr.
Spreckley afterwards came, and Mr. Bishop shook hands
with him and thanked him.
Mrs. Sarah Randall said she kept the lodging house
at Weymouth where Mr. Boulton died. Mrs. Boulton
was in the house at the time; and Mr. Bishop was
there from the time he died to that of the funeral. Mr.
Bishop saw Mrs. Boohoo from time to time. Newer
heard them talk about the funeral. She went into the
rooni where the body was several times. Mr. Spreckley
brought the shell, coffin, and other things. He came
frequently to the house. She knew Mr. Bishop had
the onlenng of the funeral. He often went into her
room to her. When the coffin WM taken to the station
Mr. Bishop and Mrs. Boulkm followed in • carriage.
Mrs. Boution, the defendant, said her husband died
at Weymouth. She requested Mr. Bishop to order the
shell and coffin and the removal of the body to the sta-
tion. She only wanted • shell. She was afterwards in-
formed the body could not be taken away without •
coffin, and she then gave orders to have • polished oak
coffin. All the orders were given through Mr. Bishop.
Mr. Kerslake, Q.C., addressed the jury for the
defence, and said that he had often heard Weymouth
was an expensive place to live in, and It now appeared
that it was an expensive place to die in. He than
to state the original intention of Mrs.
CletOin.d was simply to have • shell and to take the body
to London for • coffin and the etceteras. The plaintiff
however, stated that it would be impossible to take the
body to London without • coffin. An order was then
given for • polished coffin and • hoarse to take the
corpse to the railway station, but he would call witnesses
to ;hew that the hatbands, scarfs and gloves, were not
only not ordered, but that when the subject was
mentioned, the plaintiff was told there was DO necessity
for three things as they were strangers in the place.
The ornaments, which had been represented as being
superior guilt were nothing more than lacquered braes
oraamenta, while the coffin instead of being polished
had been merely oiled and bomwaxed.
Mr. Bishop, examined by Mr. Kingdon, stated that
he enly ordered the outer coffin. He believed there was
• shell. He did not state to the station master that the
coffin 1113 an excellent one and the affair had been
couduckd in a satisfactory manner. He might have
shaken hands with Mr. Spreckley. He also denied
given orders for the bed oak coffin that could be made,
or that gloves, hatbands, sashes, be., were ordered by
him. Mr. Fox was the mimeo') who attended the
decoded in his illness, sad he recommended the
plaintiff to condect the funeral. He did not order the
extra cushions for the shell, nor did he know they were
antfted.
Casella* Battarlskl said that wham

Spreckley spoke about the hatbands, gloves, and scads,
for the clergyman, doctor, bearers, &c., they said it was
nut necessary, as they were strangers in the town. The
coffin was only oiled and bees*Murti.
Henry Stockwell, eh undertaker in London, who
buried the deceased fur £l5, after it arrived at the
Great Western Station, said, in his opinion, 1:22 lie.
10d. would be a fair charge.
W. H. Heiston, of Islington, 33 years an undertaker,
said he a ould have been glad of the job for £2O.
Mr. R.. Columbia said he had been an undertAker for
the last 20 years in Weymouth. Ile thought that the
items in the bill for ooffirr, Ell Ili., and furniture.
£7 7s. was very extraordinary ; liis ',rite for polished
oak coffin and set of best furniture was .C 8 Be. Be
thought that the Orr paid Into court was a sufficient
BUM for the funeral. The handsomest oak cothn. furni-
ture, kc., with shell, complete, he charged £l2 for.
Stephen Brown, a builder at Weymouth, was greatly
surprised that II guineas was charged for an oak coffin,
and 7 guineas for the furniture. His prices were
about 1:8 or CIO for making a best oak coffin.
Mr. Kerslake then commented on the evidonoee, and
Mr. Collier replied to the whole question. He con-
tended that the defence to the action was a most paltry
one. There might be an extra charge for the coffin
of two guinerus, but he did not say that they ought to
strike theta the bill. Seven guineas he pail for the
coffin, and then there was the guinea for the pall, and a
guinea for his awn attendance. Whether or not he
ought to charge for that, his Lordship would tell the
jury. Tine defendant disputed every item, but the fact
was, that with the exception of the coffin, the whole
of the rest IVILS money he had actually paid. It was
nail the goods supplied were more expensive than
was necessary for the station iii life deceased had
filled, hut, depend on it thAt persons who were so
fadidlous that nothing short of • trench polished
coffin would do, would not like anything short of the very
bead description. His 'Lordship in suniming up said
Inc hail calculated the items up :—Oak coffin, Ell 110. ;
shell, £3 3s. ; extra woollen pillows to pievent the
body being bruised in the transit, £2; set of hest onia-
manta, £7 75., &c., amounting in all to £24 186. for the
coffin. Now, the question was, whether when the
plaintiff gave his prices to Mr. Bishop, he gave him to
understand that Ell Ils, would be the price of Hie whole
coffin, if so, they would strike out the remainder of the
amount, which would be a reduction of £l3 Is. at once.
It was, however, for the jury to say, whether or
not he did make such a representation. With regard to
the other items, there was some difference between
the London undertakers' prices and those charged, but
the London undertAkers, who lauds that their only
business, could do these things cheaper than those who
only performed those services occasionally.
The jury returned • verdict for the plaintiff for £.lO,
being 17.5 in addition to the amount paid into court.