The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-04-21 00:00:00

PORTISPLAIL
A LIVELY MENTINII.

-- -- • -•••••.— ••
nn Friday evening last a political meeting in favour
.1 Mr. Farquharson Tres held in the Temperance Hall.
Mr, W. Manhekl was in the chair, and sulloeting
111111,41 the platform were Mr. R. William.., Pin, '4 lkidehead. the Rev. W. Gorton (vicar of the 'wish/.
Me...c.. W. Mayo, Dr. Hawkins, W. H. Manfit•K
l'. Haskins, W. Synwic T. Kellaway, W. Roper, and
.sliers -The Chairman, in introducing Mr. Farquhar.
Isiri
"'". a•-erted the great principle vf ilium', nal: le,
1.1, tlit ‘,.41.. ..I ilLuct---Mr. ria,l4 '444.4Vit
Ult. bull %jai rather a noisy roan e
tml a km things to say, awl if they had come there to
Is.. hini they might Just as well pay attention. (A
I."ke : " Let's have tie • truth then.") He went on
t• Audi. to • meeting that had been very recently
at which the Hon. Mr. Portman pawl he had
called loni a nem., but he positively denied that he
had nude tlw remark. 1.% Voice: "You are had
""ith Lod,, so.") Mr. Farquharson continued Mr.
Portman had to IN to quite a new district. (A
"Did Mr. Portautn vote for the cat Of did he
wer) Mr. Portman had had to retire foe the reason
;.; e'miti tint get in where he is well known. (A
'we: " We are going to put Portman in; that'.
net what we are going to do.") The lectern' then
',tin to tv my Lad Biscu.il.l4had Paencl sum,

very nod and wardul Ineeaures. The Liberal party
went in in lulfo, and could any of them tell him what
they had done for the working clew*, and why they
had 11.4 fulfilled all their promises. (A i
" Ilisemuw they were hammed by the Cotuservativ'esc...")
NN'ho gave the labours-es the Franchise' (A Voice:
" The Liherals."l The lecturer then went on to state
what would be the result of doing away with the law of
entail, which he frankly admitted he wanted. The result would lei thM the rich nuui would Fet fleet of the
land. IA Voice: "All hos", Mr. Gladstone, in his; Midlothian campaign, had Proulierd Peace, retrench•
went, and return', and what had they got War.
(A Voice: " Who sent so many hundreds to the Zialti
War and had them butchered up r) Then, as to retrenchment, what had they got? (A Voice " Put
your heed piece on and see what the Conservatives. Plielit 50 year,. ago."l (A Voice : 'What went with
the e 11,000,000 surj us the Liberals left when they
went out iit office.) That went to fill the arsenal*
and stone the ',Where's left empty. Mr. Farquhar**
went on to show what would have been the result
pluming the Franchise Bill in Dorset, a. the Liberal.' wished, without a Redistribution !fill. He denied
that the Conservatives had imssieni the Bill. (Upner
and loud cries "They did, they did," all over the
room.) One the audience remarked I.ord R.
Churchill had said the agricultio I': labourers were not
educated sufficiently for the Franchise, and the
lecturer replied Lord Randolph was not the (2eti...rya-
tin. party, and at that tine- he was in opiewition to
thimi. Mr. 1 lladstone oppesed the Franchise in 11472,
because he wanted it lowered. (A Voice : "The
I.ilwrals linsight it in, and the Tories came and gave
them a clout in the head and sent them ci further.")
Some of the most astounding statenients wade
liy the lecturer was that the Coniwrvativivi
were in 11 majority When the Franchise bill warn
peewit in Bel?, and that the I.llwral party Were
eriii.t abolishing slavery in the colonies, and had
returned 90,000 men into slavery in the Transvaal.
IN., no, from all quarters ot the ri•mi. I Tl‘.. lecturer,
referring to Ntr. who hail lint some very
straight questions to said "My friend here maker
me speak all the longer, localise he makes me speak
to questions I del not intend to. (Laughter.) -An
old num here went lip on the platforni and asked the
lecturer who was in power when die tea and Pugar
duty was taken off, and wee infortnerl the Conser•
were. (No, no, all over the remit.) The
lecturer said he t not make • speech now, and he
replied "No, you don't want toe to." (Ifprear.l—Mr.
K Winne, here rime to endeavour to get a hearing for
the •peaker, and said Mr. Farquharson had 0.4 made
a long sissch because his fnends would not let him.
-The lecturer then went..,, to refer to the price of
wages, and said the fanners could nut lower the swioent
wages unless it suited thein.-IA.. V"ice : What de
they want to do it tor then lecturer went on
to state wages were being 15., a week. (Cries's! "We
don't get it, awl " Barley loat."—A Voice : 111alte
the farms smaller, aml hit some of 114 little bees have
smite it.) Mr. Farquharson went in to show
that the Gallie LIM% were in favour of the
posiple. He endeavoured t., .I.IW that fox
hunting, if done aw.iy with, would do the
agricultural lab"iirero izn•nt MA the aristocracy
would gil..n here tii Islet their money. He said
he had a fans Irot4 .4 Na) acres, and he would
1... glad to pay the tithe. mid let it at el per acre, or
would let it mot lei iif I sere at el. He pro•
needed to state there Was lewd Woke-rye, who was
a very rich man, who wao most likely getting but 2
per amt, fur his land, but he had the .hooting and
other things which re rated hint for
.getting
mi little. IN, awAy witls that and they would dnee
the.. 'nen away. (Some of the hearer. here called
siC " Itrwley rake" and " Red herring," and the
lectunr said it was just jesisible a CmltileeVatiVe had
.aid oonwthing shout "itch Kubete. A %%Ilia,:
e hav seen it sit print.") lint they must not charge
that tothe whole id the Conservatives ; don't brand the
Conservativni because one num said it. The lecturer
went im to explain that it was providence and bounti-
ful harve.bs that had given cheap bread, and neither
fon-mimeo is to he blamed for this great depression.
the audience asked how he came to advocate
protection in his first speech, which ler denied.
(Uproar : " Vim did, you did.") Mr. Farquhar**
luid been just two holm. in giving his address, and
before he had clomed the greater it of the sienna*
had gone onteitte, but tuany emitinised to make a great
upro.ir at thi•disir. 51r. Williams jaimisied a Vlote of
tluinks to the leeturer, and with • Vote of thanks to
the the Illeetillg was I... Might to a chola:.
N.. doubt Mr. Farnidutroon will nuneinher his visit
to this neighlourhissl for 4.1111 time to come. He
received a ll less favourable neeptiou then he
might have expecte'', lest it is to his credit time he
showed isis much patienn- in dealing. with the
maim ijoestions that were put to I . Cheers
for the Ilratel Old Man were repeatedly givell.