Pontypool Free Press and Herald of the Hills

WHAT IS TO BECOME OF OUR MARKET? It will be seen in our report of the Local Government Board that some of the gentlemen who attended the last meeting hold rather gloomy views as to the future of our market. They find it dwindling and lessening, week after week, and, now that the stoppage of the works has left nothing to depend on but the markets, fear that the last thing on which the town has to depend is about to be swept away and that there is nothing before us but sheer ruin and utter desolation. Circumstances are certainly bad enough. It is far from pleasant to see neighbours who have held a good posi- tion, some in the bankruptcy list or else seek- ing in other towns the livelihood denied them here it is far from pleasant to find a long list of void property and to watch buildings visi- bly succumbing to decay. And it is but natu- ral, though nevertheless laudable, that those whom we have sent to the Local Board to re- present us and protect our interests, should en- deavour to trace the decline of the market to the primary causes and to put forth their hands to stead and preserve the seemingly-tottering ark in which is wrapped up our last depend- ence for commercial prosperity. They define those causes as two; and that these are the non-issue of market tickets to Pontypool by the Monmouthshire Railway Company and a demand for double toll by the lessee of the market tolls. The matter is a serious one, and is worth investigation. But still we do not think that the position of affairs is quite so alarming as some of our local guardians suppose, nor that the railway people deserved all the blame that was cast upon them for their supposed spite against us. Let us look a lit- tle more closely into these things. It is not to be expected that, with three large works at a stand-still, there can be the same demand for commodities as there was six or seven years ago, and that people will bring an excess of goods when the number of buyers has largely diminished. But it is undeniable that we are just now in that period of the year at which trade has always shown a tendency to stagnate, and that the return of spring has invariably brought with it a brisker market and a better time for the shopkeeper. Let the grass begin to thicken and the cowslips to hang their bells, and we trustfully look forward to see smiles on the faces of our tradesmen as well as on the face of Nature. With reference to the railway company, the Board laboured under a miscon- ception of facts. There does not in reality ap- pear to be any desire to treat our town un- fairly. On the contrary, the result of our in- quiries goes to show that she enjoys to a considerable extent the advantages of the sys- tem hitherto adopted as to market tickets. Market tickets are issued at Newport for Pontypool at Is., the same price that is charged from this place to Newport. Market tickets are issued at Cwmbran for Pontypool at 6d. each, the ordinary single fare being 4d. The market ticket from Blaenafon to Newport costs Is. 3d.; that from Abersychan costs Is. If economy is the motive of a journey, thinking people will not pay more to travel to a dis- tant town than they are charged for the short distance to this town, whei e most things, it is generally admitted, can be bought cheaper than at Newport. All that is left to complain about is that market tickets are not issued at Blaenafon for this place; and it must be con- fessed that Blaenafon is placed in a singular position in being denied a privilege which is freely granted to Cwmbran. There is no rea- son why the boon should be withheld from Blaenafon and we hope that the Monmouth- shire Railway Company will generously extend it at an early date. The lessee of the market tolls must be left to give his own explanation of the practice alleged against him, and, it seems, to prove in a legal court the extent of his powers. However prejudicial the statement which was made at the Board meeting may be for a time, it must do good in opening the eyes of the people of Pontypool to the importance of having a market house of their own. We do not join in deprecating the present building as unsuitable but any town that depends on pri- vate property for such accommodation is in a false position, and the sooner it gets out of it the better. We want not only a market house that shall belong to and be under the control of the local authorities: we also want a proper cattle market. We need go no further than Abergavenny to see what should be done and how it can be done. We hope that the Board will eziei-geticilly follow this matter up. No doubt there will be some croaking about the outlay but to advocate a continuance or the sent system will be to support a policy which is penny wise and pound foolish."

For lasting strength, perfect wholesomeness, and real cheapness, llorniman s Pure Tea greatly surpasses the usual colored sorts this arises from importing only the strongest growths, without the mineral facing powder generally used by the Chinese to disguise inferior wintry leaves. Local Agents for llorniman s Tea (in packets,) are advertised in our columns. HANNAH JENKINS AGAIN.—This old woman, whose last appearance at the Police Court for drunkenness was recorded in last week's paper, was unable to keep her vows. Ere a week had past, old Hannah was once more drunk as David's sow." About half-past three on Sunday morning, she was taken to the police station, having been found just before lying insensible and half dead in the Albion-road. Half-an-hour's further ex- posure to the wild weather of that night must have killed her outright P.s. Young sent the poor old crea- ture home at once, in charge of P.c. George, who had picked her up. Margaret, her blind fellow lodger, took Hannah to task for going to the public house; and Hannah, by turns asking what had become of her tea and sugar and entreating Margaret to kiss her and ised make it up, once more promised not to get drunk no more." RE GEORGE KNIGHT, Kemeys Commander, near Usk, Farmer.—An adjourned last examination and discharge sitting was held at the Bristol Bankruptcy Court on Tuesday. Mr Beckingham appeared for the assignees, who did not oppose; and Mr Edlin (instructed by Messrs Henderson and Salmon) for opposing creditors Mr Edlin submitted that the order of the court made on the bankrupt at the last sitting had not been com- plied with. Those accounts were accounts with a Mr Masters and two other favoured creditors, who held bills of sale. The accounts were to be filed 21 days be- fore the adjourned meeting, and seven days' notice of any objections to them were to be given. Now, the bankrupt had failed to comply with the order of the court as regarded one of the most important accounts, viz., that relating to his transactions with Mr Masters. His excuse for not having done so was, that Mr Masters declined to furnish the particulars; and he had no books in his own possession which would enable him to do so. Now, if this were so, it was for the bankrupt to bring Mr Masters to the court, and not seek to cast the cost upon the opposing creditors. Notice of the objections to the accounts had been sent in within the time speci- fied, and he (the learned counsel) now objected to the bankrupt passing his last examination, on the ground that he bad not complied with the order of the court. Mr Edlin said that there were no assets. Mr Becking- ham replied to the objections which had been urged to the accounts. His Honour said be did not like the look of the case. As regarded the auctioneer's account, per- haps what the bankrupt had done might be taken to be sufficient; but with regard to the account with Mr Masters, it appeared that the one forwarded had been lost either by the bankrupt or his accountants, and under these circumstances the bankrupt must get it again and, if necessary, he could have a summons for the attendance of Mr Masters. The case was then ad- journed till the 9th of March.

ABERSYCHAN. A lecture in favour of Total Abstinence was deli- vered in the Bible Christian Chapel on Thursday, Jan. 28th, by Mr N. Smith, agent for the West of England and South Wales Temperance League. The lecture was entitled, The war we wage, the weapons we use, the victory we shall win." He described the war as being against animalism, ignorance, and prejudice the weapons as being personal abstinence, moral power, le- gislative influence, the Press, Bands of Hope," and prayer; and the victory as being over custom, habit, and self. He said The war we wage is a hard one, but a bloodless one; the weapons are in our own hands; the victory is certain, but we must fight for it." The lecturer was a little too sanguine. The teetotallers have not quite got the Press into their own hands, and are not yet able to wield Parliamentary influence just as they please, and, however good their intention, they will be some time before they succeed in compe'ling every one else to adopt their views.

BLAENAFON. CONCERT.—A most successful concert came off at the While Horse Assembly Room on Monday evening last. The large room was filled to overflowing. The whole of the entertainment was under the management of Mr T. Grieve, who contributed largely to the harmony of the evening by his excellent performance on the violin. Mr Grieve, in order to ensure success, had secured the services of the celebrated Misses Foote, of Bath, as vocalists, Miss Pritchard, of Newport, as pianist, and Mr Frost, of Cardiff, as harpist, all of whom were re- ceived with great applause; the fact of their having been on a former occasion being sufficient to attract a large audience. Miss Pritchard's piano solo (selection of Welsh airs) was rendered in her usual excellent style; Mr Frost's solo, Merch Megan," was brilliantly exe- cuted and that magnificent song, Bird and Maiden," was beautifully sung by Miss Foote. The whole of the singing was universally admired.

CWMBRAN. The siding in connexion with the promised new forge at Pontnewydd was commenced on Monday. On Saturday last, a porter named Carter, employed at the Pontnewydd station, had the toes of one of his feet cut off by the wheels of a truck. The Pontypool New Amateur Minstrels gave an en- tertainmeut on Thursday night in the large room be- longing to the Patent Nut and Bolt Company. The programme was identical with the one which was re- cently given at Pontypool, but owing to the indisposi- tion of Mr C. Dauncey, there was some alteration in the allotment of parts. Mr W. H. Haskins good- naturedly came forward as pianist, and the audience consequently enjoyed a treat. Mr John Wingfield took the parts of Mr Smith in the burlesque and of Miss Snowflake in the concluding break-down," and dis- charged both characters with great drollery. Messrs Haskins and Sewell performed Weber's Last Waltz as a duet on the pianoforte and violin, and Mr Haskins gave a solo. La Harpe Eolienne. It is almost unne- cessary to say that these pieces were admirably played. The rest of the programme was capitally rendered.

GOYTRE. DROWNED IN THE CANAL.—On Sunday, two men, named William James and Lewis Bevan, while walking I z, by the side of the canal between Mrs Summerfield's public house and Mamhilad, found the body of a man lying in the canal. The deceased turned out to be a basket maker, named William Bevan, about 80 years of age, who had lived at Goytre. His hat still remained on his head, and in his pocket were £ 1 in gold, £ 1 in silver, and .5d. His wallet, containing groceries, was fonnd about 20 yards off. The presumption is that in the darkness on Saturday night, he walked into tho canal, and was accidentally drowned.

LLANOVER. The floods in the river Usk reached a higher point on Sunday than has been reached for years. It is com- puted that in this neighbourhood the water was at least ten feet above the ordinary level, and the lands were submeiged to a very wide extent. The boathouse at Llanover was entiiely surrounded and all communi- cation with the inmates cut off. At Llanellv the roads were qnite impassable, and persons who wished to tra- vel towards Llanover or Pontypool were obliged tc go round by Treforest. We have heard of no loss of stock or buildings. LLANGIBBY.—The River Usk has again overflown its banks, for the third time this winter. The present is one of tlieshighost floods known, and has lasted such a long time, having begun on Saturday evening and only reaching its highest about midnight on Sunday. It is still covering a great deal of the beautiful valley of the Usk. It is greatly feared that some damage will be done to the live stock that has unluckily been left down in the bottoms, and now cannot be recovered till the water has gone down. Mr Williams, of Clowdy- park, has a flock of some eighty sheep out, and they have only about four perches of ground to stand on. I t is generally supposed they will be saved. Pencareg. a farm situated near the river, and in a very low situation, is partly under water, it having reached the grate in the kitchen on the ground floor, so the family aje obliged to reside upstairs. It is feared hy some that, through the constant supply of rain, it will again rise with the tide. If so, it is to be feared a great deal of damage will be done.

FRIGHTFUL TRAGEI)Y^\T BIIISTOL. An inquest was held on Monday at Bristol, on the body of a woman named Harriet Nurse, whose lifeless corpse was found on Sunday morning in a meadow adjoining Cuckoo-lane, Two Mile-hill. From the appearance of the body, it was evident that she had been subjected to much ill-treatment; her wearing apparel had been torn almost to pieces, she was much bruised and scratched, and there appeared every reason to suspect that she had been grossly out- raged. Mr H. Grace, in his evidence, however, expressed an opinion that the woman had not been violated he said lie thought that the marks on the corpse were self-inflicted, and that the death resulted from exposure to the cold and wet. Since the holding of the inquiry, which was very properly and judiciously adjourned for a short time, to allow the police to make in- quiries, certain circumstances have come to light that leave not the slightest doubt that a most shocking murder has been committed. The deceased was unfortunately in the habit of getting drunk, and on Saturday night, after visiting one or two public-houses in the neigh- bourhood, she left the Air Balloon inn, St. George's, at twenty minutes past ten o'clock, very much inebriated. She was so drunk that she had to be assisted off the premises by the landlady's son, who, having taken her a littla way up the lane leading to her home, bade her good night, and left her. Although she had twice fallen down while the lad was with her, she was, after his departure, able to walk off pretty well. The deceased was never seen alive afterwards by her friends. At balf-past one o'clock on Sunday morning a man named Kenny saw something" crouched down against the bank of the hedge in Cuckoo-lane, through which he was passing. He could not tell whether the "something" was a man or a woman, and, be- coming frightened, he ran off and called a per- son named Hopes. Hopes procured a lantern, lighted it, and went forth with Kenny to ascer- tain what it was that had put the latter in such a state of consternation. The lantern was ex- tinguished,but hewent up to within a short dis- tance of the something," and said to his friend Here they be, then." Hopes, however, had bolted, and Kenny followed his companion's example, being so afraid that he didn't know how he got out of the lane." Shortly after seven o'clock, Wm. Golding, one of the men employed at the Bristol Gas Works, was going through Cuckoo-lane on his way home, when he noticed that the gate leading into one of the meadows bordering the lane was open and standing across the path. He looked into Lhe field, and seeing an object lying between a hay rick and the hedge, he went up to it, and found that it was the body of the deceased. He gave an alarm, and assistance was rendered. On ex- amining the ground, footmarks produced by boots similar to those worn by the deceased were traced from the gateway round the fence sepa- rating the mow from the rest of the fiold to a place were the hedge was weakest. There were other footsteps, but they were filled with water. The deceased was lying on her back, with her legs slightly drawn up and crossed, her clothing rolled up round her waist, exposing her person the front of her dress had been broken away from her neck and bosom, and a portion of her under clothing was found on the fence. There were scratches on her face and shoulders, and bruises on her wrists, knees, and legs, and there were other injuries of a shocking character. Near the place where Kenny had seen the something," were found her bonnet and shawl, the former trodden in the dirt, and the latter lying on the opposite hedge. The bank of the hedge bore marks like those which would be occasioned by a person's elbow. The corpse was removed to the Hose and Crown, where a post mortem examination was made, and as above stated, Mr Grace, the medical gentleman who made the examination, attributed the death to natural causes, and propounded a theory to the effect that the woman had sustained the in- juries, and had lost portions of her dress and underclothing in attempting to get over the gate, which was fenced with thorns, and in climb- ing over the hedge round the mow. He did not think, lie said, she had suffered any violence. The confession—for it is nothing less-of a collier named John Milsom, entirely upsets the ingenious hypothesis put forward by Mr Grace,. and proves that one of the most shocking and brutal murders ever perpetrated has been com- mitted. The details of the foul deed are revolt- ing and disgusting in the extreme. Milsom's statement is something to this effect: He and Charles Wiltshire left the Rose and Crown, Two- Mile-hill, at midnight on Saturday, and pro- ceeded on their way home. In passing along Cuckoo-lane, about half-past twelve o'clock, they saw Nurse sitting down under the hedge. Wiltshire's evil desires were at once aroused, and with a filthy expression he announced his intention of violating the poor woman. He seized hold of her, but she repulsed him, and recognising him, called him by name, and told him not to touch her. Milsom also begged him to desist. Wiltshire would not listen to him, and again seized Nurse, aud then a terrible struggle began, and in it the dress of the de- ceased was broken, and terrible injuries inflicted upon her. She fought hard to prevent her as- sailant from accomplishing his purpose, and Milsom, moved to pity by her struggles, twice dragged his companion off, and hurled him some distance away but Wiltshire, maddened by drink aud his brutal passions inflamed, again returned to his wretched victim. Fearing that her cries might alarm persons in the neighbour- hood, he placed his hand over her mouth, but finding that that method of stifling her cries proved ineffectual, ho gathered a handful oi mud, and filled her month and nostrils with it. Whether he effected his purpose vr not, Milsom is unable to say, but the pair left the deceased in the hedge—not before, however, Wiltshire had rifled her pockets—and went to the house of Wiltshire's brother (Abraham Wiltshire) at Potter's-wood, near the Kingswood Reforma- tory. After remaining there for a short time, they proceeded to the habitation of Stephen Hayden, another of Wiltshire's relations. Wilt- shire was observed to be uneasy, and occasionally went out of the house. It is said, we know not how far it is true, that when at one of the houses he-as if he had not enough already to answer for-went out and rifled a hen roost. Between two and three o'clock lie left the house, intimating his intention of going back to the deceased. What he did is of course unknown, but it is conjectured that lie proceeded to Cuckoo lane and carried the body of the deceased from the place where he left her into tho field, and flung it over the fence round the mow. Milsom did not go away from Hayden's until daylight, being afraid to go before, and lie was too con- science-stricken to pass through Cuckoo-lane, and went home by a roundabout and longer way, rather than take that path. Conscience could not be quieted, he could not rest, and he told, his hideous story to some of his neighbours, who advised him to communicate with p.s. Bird. This advicc lie followed, and after the inquest on Monday evening, lie disclosed everything to that officer. P.s. Bird speedily took steps to arrest Wiltshire, and on Tuesday morning, about seven o'clock, he apprehended him in bed in his house at Air Balloon-hill, on the charge of having wilfully murdered Harriet Nurse, On being charged in the usual way, he admit- ted that lie had seen the deceased on the night in question, but denied that he had injured her, and said that his companion had pushed him on top of the woman. P.s. Bird, in the course of the morning- brought his prisoner before Mr J. W. Palmer, J. P.. at that gt-hili-man's resilience, Hanhaui, and having dt'|u>st.i t" taking him into custody, Wiltshire was remanded for further examination. Rumours of Milsom's confession had been flying about the neighbourhood, and the excite- ment of the inhabitants of the locality was greatly heightened. The news of Wiltshire's apprehension spread like wildfire, and it was with great difficulty that the police could protect him from the violence of the mob. Wiltshire is about 26 years of age, is married, and has a family. He was formerly a collier, but latterly he has been supporting himself by hawking. He bears an exceedingly bad cha- racter, and has been in "trouble" more than once. There are no traces of the dirt in deceased's mouth, though Mr Grace examined it particu- larly. Probably, however, the soil was washed off by the heavy rain which fell during Sunday morning; but there is a likelihood of finding some particles of earth in the windpipe. Ti e face of the poor woman was covered with dirt, and her eyes were, when she was found, staring wide open, and their aspect was very much like that produced by strangulation. On Wednesday morning Charles Wiltsliiie and John Milsom were brought up and charged with the murder. Evidence sufficient to justify a remand was taken, and the accused were re- manded until Wednesday next.