The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-07-02 00:00:00

COUNTY PETTY SMIONS.

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COUNTY HALL, Doacttearra, Saturday, June 29.—
Before H. Williams, E-q., and Major Frampton.
Robert Palmer was charged with stealing a sheep,
the property of Mr. Arden, of Dewlish.—Mr. Andrews
attended to prosecute. and 11r. Weston to defend the
prisoner.—George Dew said he was bailiff for Mr.
Harding, at Dewlish. The prisoner was • shepherd
there on the 17th June last, and bad been from the
16th April preceding. On Monday, 16th June, witness
saw a single sheep in Furzey Grey down, about hilt.
pest 6 in the morning. About half an hour after.
wards he saw a boy, John Alms, drive some tap
into the field where the single sheep was. The boy
went to the single sheep and remained three or four
minutes until the shepherd and his son came. They
had conic with the old ewes to drive into a field
called the Yard. He went to the boy to the single
sheep, and the boy Alma went on with the ohl ewes,
the shepherd remained with the single sheep. He
afterwards took it by the head or neck and dragged
it into • furze braise, about 7 or 8 yards. The furze
vu about 4 feet high. .Witness lost sight of him
after some time aid went to the spot where the
sheep was. The animal was dead. He exatnined it
and found it bad maggots, but as that was not
sufficient to cause death, be examined it still further
and found its neck bad been broken. While witness
was in the furze, the boy who had driven the old
ewes into the Yard field, came back. About
an hour afterwards he went to the shepherd's house and
asked him if he wanted him. Prisoner replied '• Yes
muter, I want to see you about the sheep-washing."
He told him the washers would be there next morning.
He asked him if that was all lie wanted him for, end
prisoner said "yes." Ile afterwards went to Kite-
hill and saw the prisoner, when they separated the
ewes from the tags, and counted them. Witness said
there were two missing, and prisoner said they were
all right, he counted then, on Saturday. Witness
told him that be had not his book in his pocket, if
he had lie should know. Witness counted the tags
again in the evening, as prisoner was driving them to
the field, and found there was another missing, making
three in all. In the afternoon he went to the furze
brake to look for the dead sheep, and found it was
gone. On Tuesday morning. between five and six,
as the shepherd was coining out of the Purvey Grey
down with the tap, witness asked him if the sheep
that was missing was all right. Prisoner replied he
had found it among the dock, and he had got them
all right then. Witness said be could not have told
them as there was one on the other aide of the mill
pond, against Mr. Alner's plot, and another prisoner
had put into the furze, the previous morning, which
he was determined to have before night. Prisoner
mad.: no reply then, but went to the other side of
the mill pond. Prisoner then burst into tears and
said "Whatever possessed toe to do it I cannot think,
it was done in • moment, I never did ao before." He
aid prixoner to speak the truth, as be knew all about
it, and prisoner said it was his neglect, and he did it
to put it out of sight. Witness said •• You broke its
neck them ? " and lie replied "No master, I didlit, I
knocked it on the head with the crook." Witness told
him to take the hogs on to the sheep.washing and
show nothing of it there, as lie appeared very much hurt.
The IMMO Tuesday the superintendent came to him.
They searched two or three furze brakes, and in one—
not where it was killed—they found the sheep they had
previously Ketll in the furze. The near hind le; was
gone—having been cut off—and some of the inside fat
had been taken out. The superintendent cut off the
wool which had the mark. He did not ace the shepherd
again till Thursday morning, about 5 o'clock, and asked
him why lie had left in that sort of way, and prisoner
replied that lie saw the policeman about, and he thought
he had better " hook it."—Cross-examined Magenta
would get into sheep with the most careful shepherding.
This sheep MAY very bad. The sheep when lie last saw
it was not fit for human food. The hind part might have
been fit to eat, if it had at once been properly dressed.
If the leg was cut off in the evening by the shepherd,
it might probably have been for his dog,_ and it was
usual for shephenls to give sheep that had died to their
dogs. Prisoner meant by his " neglect" that he had not
properly guarded against the maggots. On the Thursday
morning. lie told prisoner he MY very foolish to bare
tine sway, arid he must now go and see Mr. Harding.
e asid nothing about forgiveness. The Bench here
stopped the case, as in their opinion the evidence was
not sufficient to prove a case of stealing. He was ac-
cordingly discharged on that count, and silenced with
leaving service without proper notice. It ems:aired that
prisoner left in consequence of seeing a policemen about
the farm, and when lie returned on Thursday, be went
out 1111,1 counted the lambs. He volunteered to do so.
--Mr. Arden said he wanted to get rid of defendant, as
he 1134 now no confidence in hito.—The Bench dissolved
the contract, awl the prisoner was discharged.
James Hockey was charge! by P.C. Gill, with furious
driving at Abbotabury, on Thursday evening last. Wit-
ness said he saw defendant driving a wagon through the
atreet. The horse was galloping, and defendant con.
tinned to whip the animal. He saw the
defendant for about three hundred yards. He
afterwards went to the beach, where he saw the
horse had fallen down, and the shaft of the vehicle
broken —ln reply to some questions from Mr. Weston,
who appeared for defendant, witness said the horse
went at the rate of 14 or 15 miles an hour. Was con-
fident he was going more than 12 miles an hour.—For
the defence, Benjamin Ireland was called, and be said
defendant was going only at the rate of four or five
miles an hour. His horse was an " old broken knee'd
old thino, with his legs tucked up under him."—Cross-
examined by the superintendent of police. They were
not running a rice to see which got there first, they
hadn't race horses. They didn't peas each other in the
street ; nor drive abreast of each other. If either of
them bought any fiah they were to share them. Witneu
caused much amusement by prefacing all his replies to
questions with scene remarks about a" quart of cider"
which they drank at the Swan together. —Jane Ireland
said on Wednesday week she and her lineband and
Hockey went to Abbotabury for fish. They were first
as far as Abbotabury, where they had a quart of cider,
then defendant went first. Their horse would not go
five miles an hour—it was 20 years old.--Fined 2s. 6d,
the costs being remitted.
Benjamin Ireland was also similarly charged with
furiously driving at Abbotabory.—Mr. Weston, for the
defendant, admitted the offence, and defendant was
fined 2s. tki. also without costs.
Stephen Elliott and James LCW were charged with
aamiulting Frank Hoare. I.lsmplainstrt seta rmr
17th June, Stephen Elliott came to Dorchester for his
own drink and when he came back to the hayfield,
at Winterborne, be was drunk. He pitched one load
of hay with complainant's father, and they sat down to
" narnmett." They then quarrelled about whose was
the beet beer, and defendant said the complainant
end his father were fools. Defendant then asked Mr.
Vincent, the bailiff, for half an hour's grace to fight
with witness. This, of course, was not allowed, but
after work was over, "from words they quickly came
to blows." Roth the defendants "pitching" into
witness.—Several witnesaos were examined on both
sides, and the magistrates considered that there were
"six of one and half a dozen of the other," and ac-
cordingly dismissed the case.
&ephew Elliott was then charged with assaulting
Keziali Curtis. The alleged moult took place at the
time the former dispute was going on. The witnesses
called contradicted each other, but the Bench con-
sidered the case proved, and fined the defendant 1011.