The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-01-25 00:00:00

Wiltshire.

M 10.110R0UGII. —St. Mary'', National School*.
On Monday and Tuesday evenings last, the elder
girls and boys of these schools assembled in the In-
fant School-room, for the purpose of holding their
annual concerts, Mrs. Bourne, the mistress, leading
the performances with great skill and taste. The
I:ev. E. H. Warren, with Mr,. Warren, and many
of the clergy, gentry, and inhabitants of the town,
with the parents of the children attended. The
IfIOCC4 sung and recited both by teachers and child-
ren afforded great amusement, and were highly ap-
plauded, re particularly the recitation of " John
I:dpln," by one of the girls. The vicar and all present
expressed themselves highly gratified with the at-
tainments of both teachers and children, and at the
end of the first evening's entertainment, they were
regaled with tea and buns. Ou the second occasion
the room was crowded to excess, and after the per-
formance, which was even more pleasing than the
tirst, the children received various rewards in the
shape of books, wearing apparel, &c., kindly given
by the ladies and committee of the schools.

Sour lirreurint. —This excellent charity, which is
well supported, has resumed operations tor the win.
ter season, and undoubtedly will, as in former years,
prove a very acceptable boon to the poor. The
soup, which is excellent, is distributed on Tuesdays
and Fridays to a large number of recipients.

SHEEP STRALIN(7.—A gamekeeper named Dobson,
of Lockeridge, has been cleverly detected in having
stolen a sheep from the dock of Mrs. Puniphrey, at
Overton, near this town. On the entrance of the
police his family were partaking of a portion for
their Sunday's dinner; the greater part being found
in the bedroom above.

Our readers will be glad to find that at the Petty
Seesions, on Monday, Mr. T. B. Merriman obtained
summonses against the persons who, on Thursday
week headed down or pollarded all the lime trees on
each side of the broad footway across the Green,
whereby the beauty of the avenue has been utterly
ruined. The inhabitants, who were so taken by
surprise at this act of demolition, will now have
an opportunity of knowing by what, if any,
authority this was done, and whom to thank or
blame. It must be peculiarly vexatious to those
who subscribed at varieties times, some years since,
for the posts and chains and other improvements in
the Orem and who have since been at the expense
itt maintai • g this formerly dirty and disreputable
part of the town in some degree of neatness, to have
their labour and trouble thus set at nought, and we
should think Mr. Merriman would have the cordial
support of his neighbours in general in his determi-
nation to see whethrr it can be done with impunity.

CIIIPPRNII.III. —Mn'liu, of tki. .11r4ira1 Prefrs-
sion. —A meeting of the medical gentlemen residing
in North Wilts was held at the New Hall, Chippew
lam, on Monday, to take into einsideration the
" Heads of a scheme for a suggested new arrange.
meets of Medical Belief," which had been submitted
to theme by the Pour Lew 'keel. Most of the pro.
positions were deemed very unsatisfactory by the
meeting, awl sonic of them were unanimously ohjrew,l
to, viz,: that " Guardians shall appeint Of possible)
two medical officers for each pariah in their union,
between whom the poor, when sick, shall be allowed
to make choice, subject to this condition —that a 'sew
person who has been attended by one "(the medical
officers of the parish shall not cluinge to another for
• period of twelvemonths after any such attendance ;
also that the appointment and contract with a inwh•
cal officer shall be made fir a period of three years,
renewable if both parties are willing." The follow.
ing were agreed to :—that " Orders for medical re•
lief may be given by each guardian of the pariah, as
well as the relieving officer and overseer, in urgent
cases ;'' mid that " iii cases of attendance 1110,11 con-
tinuous sicknesii extending hey I three months, awl
not being on the permanent relief list, each of such
cases shall be considered, after three months atten•
dance, as a fresh case." The proposed basis upon
which the gwirthims should fix the salary was deemed
insufficient, viz:—" not leas than Pal. per bead upon
the average number of persons in the parish in
receipts of relief in the let week of January awl the
let week of July in each per ;" And "not less than
Ihd. percale upon the number of cases attended in
the parish upon an average of the last thew years."
Nonni CADBURY. —On Thursday week, a plungh-
ing match took place in this pariah in COIlle.lllOllCO
of a subscription entered into by the fanners, farmers'
liens, and tradesmen of this and the adjoining
feirishes. Sixteen ploughs competed for the different
prizes, and the greater portion of the work was 4 lone
in a superior manner, considering it was the first
time any of the competitors had ploughed for prizes.
The umpirca were Mears. Thomas Field, Ihniel
Arthur, awl William bevies, who after considerable
attention to the different lots awarded the prizes as
follows —Ti,: farmers' sons.—lst prize, £2, to
Thomas Dyke, Weston Baumfylde ; 2nil ditto, Cl,
to Charles Pitman, of Woolston ; 3rd ditto, mit, to
Thomas Ford, of Sutton Moutis. To the carters.-
Ist prize of £2, to Edmund Barnes, servant to Mr.
A. (jinx; 2nd ditto, Zl, to John Hodges, 'errant to
Mr. John Chinnoek ; 3rd ditto, Ilfs., to John Taylor,
servant to Mr. Harry Clothier. Boys under IS years
of age—let prize, of .Cl, to Thomas Jennings,
servant to Mr. A. Cox; 2nd ditto of 10s., to Joliti
Brine, servant to Mr. M. Gould. The unsuccessful
competitors in the carters' class received be. each as a
merit. A dinner was provided at the Cat Ash Inn,
at four o'clock, when about 30 sat down under the
good guidance of our old and highly esteemed in.
habitant, Mr. Thomas Gifford, chairman, alr. A.
Cox vice. Numerous loyal and appropriate toasts
were proposed and duly responded to, not forgetting
the worthy &tele] or Osillwiry House and family,
also Mr. Wingfield Digby and the Foxhounds. The
evening was spent in a very pleasant manner; toast
and sung paused merrily round till midnight drew
near, when the chairman vacated his seat and the
party separated highly pleased with the satisfactory
oonelosio• of this,: their first meeting, resolved to
endeavour to continue it annually, also to select a
piece of land at a more proper time of the year.
We must not omit to notice the very kind exertions
of our respected parishioner. Mr. Robert Brett, in
getting up the oubeonptios but.

FllO H WORTH. - .Varket. —The market com-
mittee have appointed Mr. William Hewer, of Seven-
hanipton, honorary secretary. and Mr. John C.
Salmon secretary to the counnittee.
ill t: Krill Am. —A DiAgmterul Our. —Townhall,
January 15. -- Juhn Wallis, a respectablelookiug
grey•beadod old man, a resident in this place, WA/
en ii before the Rev. Thomas Heathoote and
Itelph L Lopes, Esq., by Inspector C. Merrett,
from an information laid by him, under the Act tor
the Protection of Women and Children. The
offence complained of was a most disgusting and
mistult committed by Wallis, on Ellis
Townsend, amal 104 years, on the evening of the
27th ult. The evidence given by the child and
others is not lit for publication. The conduct of the
parents has been very bad, particularly that of tne
father, who, instead of preferring a complaint to the
authorities, nuide the affair up for Xs' taking with
him, as a witness, Charles Owen, who also obtaitiml
by three instalmenta the sum of XI 65., as bush
money. The Beetelr severely reprimanded the
permits, and committed the defendant to Devizes
gaol for four months, with bard labour.

SWINDON.— Promotion. --- Wu observed in last
Tuesday's Gazette that Ensign Francis Richard
Bradford, ism of James Bradford, Esti., of this town,
has heen promoted to a Lieutenancy in the sth
Regiment of Foot.

WiLranitax Waints.—A Wiltshire clergyman
writing to the editor of the Tittu,s, says :—Allow me
a small space in the Time', to correct what may be
construed an inaccuracy in the seauable speech of
Mr. John (key, of Dilston, at the annual dinner of
the Hesitant Farmers' Club, reported in your itn-
presaion of Monday. He says (and you appa-
rently corrolmrate Ins statement in one of your had.
tug articles of the day) as follows, without restriction
as to county:—" You now see the butcher's shop in
every village, and you are often liable to be trotted
over by the butcher's cart dispensing joints of meat
at every cottage door as go along the rued." Now
Sir, such a statement is calculated to convey a wrong
impression. However true this may be as respects
Northumberland, pc-snit me to say that it is far
otherwise in seine of our southeni counties. 'File
extent of the parish in which I live is nearly 5,000
amiss, without a single butcher in any of the villages;
and half a dozen other parish.' in the neighbourhood
are similarly situated ; for the simple reason that the
labourers in Chasm parishes, are unable either to feed
pigsois they 41u in the favoured county of Nortliumber•
land, or to patronisc the butcher, in coausequence of
the low eeto a wages they receive from the fanners.
1 reside in a parish (whieh ought not to be the pool,
out in the oomity, inasmuch aa it is justly celebrated
for the finest cattle breeders in England, sa well as
for skilful and wealthy agriculturists) where the re•
gular labourers are receiving only 71. a week. When
the father of a family has to maintain a wife and
three or four children, all unable to work, paying
a shilling weekly for house rent, and sixteetipence
for a cwt, of coal, he haul no spare moriey to buy
either bacon, mutton, or beef; and as the wages are
the same in the parishes referred to, the butcher is
seldom seen, unless "at the parsonage or the
squire's."