The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-08-09 00:00:00

£lll6 15 10

• Credit Is Viten for f. 30 711. 2d. for crab and boring tools.
t There Is a further demand of £lOl3 Igs. eid. for extres, but
he llmve no knowledire of the work alleged to be done I can-
not certify for it. I toc to refer It toile onumittee, by whom,
unknown to tee, It ens .rdenaL I bare made YAM Doke on
the bill., to which I refer them.
. .

t A fts:rther detnnn.l. amou-n.t..14 to £10618.. 4 ed. la oxide by
Yr. Galen, es Mewl In note at tbe Suet of page 7.

SIIERBORNE.—Ou Saturday, the Union children,
to the number of nearly 30, with some of the old
women, were kindly and hospitably entertained hy
the Chairman of the Board of i:uarilians, John Geed-
den, Esq. A Wap.ll decorated with laurels was
sent to convey the children over to rmnptoti House,
where a bubstantial dinner of roast beef and plain
pudding was served to them in the hall. After
dinner various amusements were provided for them
on the lawn in front of the home, and to these there
were tea and (Ake added. The squire, his excellent
lady, and his sons and daughters were unceasing in
their attention to their poor little guests, who, we
need hardly add, went home highly delighted.
STURYINSTER.—POLICE, August lst.—(Before T. B.
Hanhain, Esq.)—Jawes Stacey, of East Blower, was
charged with having been found in 'an out-house in
the parish of Starminster, and not giving a good account
of himself, on the night of the 30th ultimo.—P.C. Gale
proved having seen the prisoner about the town during
the day, and at 11 o'clock at night he found him in the
out-house in question, and took him into custody.—Hr.
Hammond informed the magistrate that the prisoner
was a convicted thief, and that he was strongly suspected
of having committed • burglary at East Slower, a few
weeks since. The magistrate convicted the prisoner
under the Vagrant Act, and committed him for one
calendar month's hard labour.

BRIDPORT. Heartrending Cataoroplie. The
whole town of Bridport seemed under a sad gloom
on Thursday evening week by the announcement
that 3.1 r. Arthur Babson had been accidentally kille4
by his little boy. The horrible intelligence is too
true. Mr. Balson hats for the last seven or eight
years lived with Mrs. Wendell and her son, and
though Mrs. Worsdell's own husband is living, he
had deserted her, and consequently she had
lived with the deceased as his wife, and he had
adopted the child as his own son, treating him with
every indulgence, and placing him at a classical
school in order to give him a good education. On
Thursday Mr. Batson sent for the little boy at
school about half-post 4 o'clock, that he might accom-
pany him and his mother for a walk. Having taken
tea the three poi:Decoded up stairs to change their
attire. Whilst Mr. Wilson and the mother were
busily engaged dressing. the boy walked into an ad-
joining room, took up a gun which was there, and
taking a cap from his pocket which had been given
him by a comrade, he advanced to the door and said,
"Look out father, I sin going to shoot you." The
unfortunate man looked round but had not time to
speak ; the boy pulled the trigger, and found to his
horror that the gun was loader The charge entered
the cheek nearly close back to the right ear, shatter-
ing the jaw, and causing instantaneous death. Doc-
tors of course were soon found, but without avail.
The fearful deed was done, and the wretched boy
had destroyed his best earthly friend and protector.
His feelings of horror may be better imagined than
described, nor would it be possible to depict the sad
spectacle of the frenzied mother and boy. Both,
however, were enabled to give evidence the same
evening on the inquest. At ti o'clock the same even-
ing an inquest was held On the body before S. S.
Cory, Esq., at the fl reyhosind Inn, and a respectable
jury, when the following evidence was adduced :
Charlotte Worsdell, wife of John Worsdell, of Brid-
port, weaver, deposed: I know the body the jury
have just seen, it is that of Arthur Belson, he was
40 years of ace, and was a butcher; we lived in Irish
lane; I lived with him as his wife. He and my-
self were in his bed-room, about five o'clock this
afternoon—we were dressing to go out; think
Arthur Belson was sitting by the dressing-table;
heard may son, Tom Wendell, who is about 10 years
of age—enter the room, he said he would shoot one
of us; I immediately heard the report of a gun, and
turned round and saw him (des:nasal) fall to the floor.
I thought this was in fan, as the boy often pre-
scnts.d a gun to bun, and he pretended to be dead.
I almost immediately saw blood on the floor; I
screamed, but Arthur Batson did not speak or move;
he WU dead. The gun belonged to him. I did not
know it was leaded. Arthur Bahion often went out
shooting ; I never knew him to bring the gun home
loaded—he was afraid to do se, as the child often
played with it; I do not know what the gun was
loaded with; I am quite Kure it was my son who
fired the gun, although I did not see him, I heard
him speak, and I sin certain there was no other par-
son in the house-1 am also certain that Arthur Bel-
son did Dot fire the gun himself. Blood was flowing
very freely from the right side of the neck; there
was a large wound there, and that wound, in my
opinion, caused his death. My .00 frequently played.
with the gun, and snapped gat Arthar Baleen in &n.

He (Arthur Ralson) when he siew him playing with
the gun, allowed him to do so, saying, "Lot the
alone, he will not hurt, as the gun is not
loaded." I have known the child 'map the gun at
different people repeatedly ; I think he did not know
the gun was loaded. Mrs. Worsdell appeared to feel
the event most deeply, and it was with some difli•
cult, that she could give her evidence. Tom Wow-
dell, residing in Bridpert, deposed : I lived in the
house with Arthur Ralson and my mother;
Arthur Ralson sometimes went out shooting, an:l I
went with him—Arthur liaison always fired off the
ipm before he came home; I never knew him leave
the gun loaded until this time. Ido not know that
Arthur Baboon has been out shooting for the last
three or four mouths. This afternoon when I came
home from school, and had my tea, Arthur Batson
and my mother went upstairs, and whilst they were
there I went up, took the gun from the spare room,
put a cap on it, and fired at Arthur Ralson. 1 was
not frightened at the noise of the gun, nor until I New
the blood flowing from his face—before that I
thought he was in fun. I have often put caps on the
gun before, having found them in drawers, but this
afternoon one of my school-fellows gave me a cap; I
am ecktain there was no cap on the on when I took
it up, and that I never loaded it before nor ever put
any powder ; I did not know the gun was loaded;
I took up the gun and snapped it at Arthur Ralson
in fun, as I had often done before. Before I snapped
the gun, I said "Look out father, I am going to
shoot you." I did not intend to kill him, only to
snap a cap at him as I often had. List week 1
snapped the gun at Emma Walker—it had no cap 1M
it at that time. I once Law Arthur liaison fire a •41111
bude 1 with Intl to kill a Lancet:, Lrit I:e gene ri:!!).
loaded it with shot--I do not know what the ;en
was 1.0.1 with, neither di:l I think it ems
This unfortunate little fellow in a boy of snore than
onlinary r;nickaess, and in giving hia evidence, net
only dkplayed considerable intelligence, but seemed
to unilerdand, and feel most acutely. the melancholy
position in which he stlod. The Coroner in /Um.
ming up, observed that he thought from the nature
of the wouud that the gun mut have been loaded
with lea Thejury retiwned a verdict " Accidental
Ih:rah." In giving permisaion to the little boy, the In.
intentional cause of this disa-fter, to retire, the Coro-
nercarnestly mid feelingly addrused him, and got him
to prenii,e that he woill not nwehlle with twain=
again until he was old eLough to do so without
danger. On Sunday morning the funeral took place,
and one hundred and fourteen of the
tradesmen of the town and neighbourhood
attended. The Boy. H. Fox, of Allington, per-
formed the burial service, and afterwards preached
a very impressive semen from these words, "Truly
as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is
but one step between me and death." Dr. Drown
of Meltenham, preached on the soleum event on
Wednesday evening, in the open air.