The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1878-05-21 00:00:00

113orget &until Expren.

11J1111DAT. 1141 T 111.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

The policy of the Government in ordering troops
from India will be eriticiad in both Houses of Par-
liament to-day (Monday). To the Pears Lord 1
&Aborts' 'tends COOK =Wed to introdnoe the intbject,
and Lard Hartington, as bsoousys the leader of the
Opposition will challenge Ministers in the Lower
Home to show that their conduct has been in aooord-
ance with constitutional principles. Meanwhile it is
satisfactory to learn that the prospect of a pacific
settlement of the questions at lane between England
and &eats is by no means less encouraging than it
witi. Count Scloonvaloff haa had more than one
audience of the Crier and 111. very generally believed
that great efforts will be made to avert war. The
int of the leading journal,
;r°ortr:sr 'Petersburg Thursday, says that atiloicilraoricil
journal hints that " the Count's object is to examine
the situation in the desire of finding posable founds.
done for an Understanding. While admitting the
extreme tension between the two Cabinets and the
gravity of the situation generally, it sees in Count
:fr.baavalors arrival a proof that a claire for an
understanding exist.; that all hops of succeeding has
not been abandoned; and that Kuria, at least, spores
no efforts to reach the goat" This is no doubt
correct statement of the case. It is improbable that
the Modal Ambassador you'd be charged to deliver
a definite and precise message from the English
Cabinet. If an ultimatum bad to be laid before the
Czar • representative of the British Government would
doubtless be sent to St Petersburg. While, therefore,
too much importenos should not be attached to Count
Schouvaloff's pr sence in that city, it may reasonably
be anticipated that his visit is more likely to result in
the preservation of peace than in engendering further
' hostility between two nations already. it is to be
' feared, animated by somewhat angry feelings towards
each other.

Soldiers are not the most provident of men, yet CoL
Stanley ii able to report • very tidy sum in the
Military Savings' Bank. Tile satisfactory to see, too,
that the amount is incresaiog. For inrtance, the
Army had to It. credit on March 314, 1876,
£64 958 ; • year later the amount had augmented to
1:389 894 ; and the total mm in hand in April, 1878,
was £337,057.

The report of the 'United Kingdom Band of Hope
shows that the movement was set on foot thirty years
ago, and that at the present time there are over 2,000
societies in amociation with the union, and probably
twice thin number in various parts of the kingdom. In
London alone there are nearly 500, and in Lancashire
and Cheshire 450. The receipts of the union during
the yn.ar amounted to 0,50, and the expenditure to
CIAO.

When the Hon. Anthony Ashley died and the
mastership of Si. Katherine's Hospital thereby became
vacant, It was promised on behalf of the Crown that
the condition of the charitable foundation should be
reformed, and the very grievous diversion of funds
I from the poor which had existed for so many years
I should be terminated. Lord Cairns undertook to
draw up a new scheme. Many months have
but no new scheme has been forthcoming. It L 3 now
announced, however, that the Chancellor hail appointed
I his own son-in-law, Mr. St. John Blunt, Master, with
E 1,500 a year. This arrangement is quit, worthy of
I the Government which lately gave a living worth
£l.BOO a veer to a perfectly unknown clergyman who
' happened to be brother-in-law to Mr. Gathorne
I Hardy.
The Bale of Poisons Act does not seem to touch
adulterated polecats concocted for the purpose of
destroying what is considered vermin. Yet the
theory of the Act is to prevent unauthorised persons
from procuring, without due registry of their names
and addremes„ and full explanation of their motive,
drugs which may be used inimically to human Life.
Any one ran buy half a hundred weight of Battle's
vermin killer, which is saturator] with strychnine, or
of the "smut" poison for wheat, and can poison a
whole village with it. In December, 1873. s man and
a woman were convicted at Gloucester Anises of
poisoning a child, and were afterwards executed.
Their plan we. this. They bought Battle's poison, at
I which no qoartior • were asked ; it was to be purchased
at any grocer's. They also bought .ntne "soothing"
powders. They opened the latter, shook them out,
substituted the Battle powder instead, and handed
the "medicine" to the person in charge of the child, to
soothe the infant florin^. its teething. The chi fl died
in convulsions ten minutes after receiving its first
drwe. So long an poison can be freely obtained, with-
out inquiry or registration, and can be thus easily
intnsinowl into humeri food. the Sale of Poisons Act is
a dead letter. The criminals in qnestion would never
have been brought to justice but for some ungusrdwl
traces of handwriting which led to their subsequent
identification.

At Reading a complete Liberal victory has been
won. Mr. Palmer, the I.Perrsd candidate, polled no
fewer than 2,233 votes, while Mr. Attenborough, his
Coneervative opponent, polled only 1,565, the con-
stituency thus lndicatins their Preference for the
former by a majority of 658. The true improtanoe of
the victory becomes fully apparent only by referring
to the lest election. On that occasion the number*
Hied for Mr. Shaw Let ovre. who then had most
rote., war 429 fewer than Afr. Palmer received,
while Mr. Attenborongh had on Ir iday SI fewer
vote., than he then had. There is no mistaking the
P ~;gnificance of th. ,!4-tic.n. The Oxford
election, which ha. re-tilted ,n the return of Mr.
Talbot by a majority of 1,698. Ind which ham been
virtuall,. decided for game time, involved no real
political bane ; It has been little more than a disoute
between the country talents and the University. The
Feateria Question wee diathictly eliminated from the
flossiest. At Reading. on the other hand, the main
issue was the Eastern Question Mr. Palmer
I expressed in the clearest terms, and repeatedly, his
opposition to the foreign policy ,1 the Government and
hie intention to support the course which Mr. Glad-
I stone bee recommended. if. he. taken occasion to
I speak in a decided manner against the introduction
of Indian troops into Europe. In short, few elections
have turned on a simpler lobe; and no sloes can
oly.cure the fact that the elector, of Reading have
signified their d-citied Meant,' .hation of a policy of
war. Indeed, it will he difficult for the most manguine
friends of the Ministry to Persuade themselves, look.
ins to the figures which we have quoted, that the
country Is so much with them as they ere apt toads/art.
—Daily Ness.

DOWER/TIM
gAuuvny RAM are fixed for Thursday and Friday,
the 30th sad 31st of May, under the stowardship of

..,
the Marquis of .11 daisy Lord Minton, arid Sir
l '

George Chetwynd. Bart. There will be six races
each day, and 1,100 son, will be melded. The entries
are the largest ewer known, and a capital meeting is
expected.

MILITIA VOLUTTZEILIM —A number of militia
regiments having voluntarily offend their sarvioss for
permanent duty in CIS• of war, the War Mos has

Br annum of the Chl•li • Loyd* was held as
Iltiday 'hernia at St. JaliMie. Palms by his Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales, on behalf of Her
Majesty. Amos( the promutatirm were :—Colonel
the Hon. &ward H. T. Wiry, M. 1.., Coldstream
Guards, co pennotion, General Sir Wrn. Codrington,
GALL Second Lieutenant Burchel Helms, Prince of
Wales's Own Royal Regiment Wiltshire Yeomanry
Canby, by Lord H Tbynne ; Sub-Lieutenant Henry
Urea. Main. Prince of Waive. Own Royal Wilts
Yeomanry Cavalry, by his grantlfether, the Marquis
of Ailesbury • Second Lieutenant Charier N. P.
Phipps, Prince of Wales's Own Royal Willa Yeomanry
Cavalry, by Lord Henry Monne, M.P.; Earl of
Radnor, on appointment of the Lord-Lientenancy of
Wiltshire, by the Earl of Beiroonslield ; Mr. Thomas
Henry Staples, by Mr. R. S. Wilkineon. Among
the noblemen and gentlemen present were—Duke of
Beenfort, Marquis of Bath. Marquis of Lanadown,
Earl Carnarven. Lord Digbv, Lord Methuen, Lord
H. Scott, te Ir.. Lord H. Tbynne, tar., Right Hon. Z.
P. Bouverk, Hon W. H. B. Portman. ILE, Sir
Edmund Antrobus, Bart., Sir Claude Clumplon de
=v. Sir Masseyit P., Dr. W. florloin
,guMr. E. Ashley, Mr. Philip Bouverle, Mr. G.
B. fiothertott.Eatoourt, M.P., Mr. Eyre, Mr. G. B.
Eyre, Mr. Henry Ferrer, Mr. Prior G. oldna2fizi
r.
Adam Kennard. Mr. Charles Rails..
William Parke, c i.,Colouel Heresy Bathurst, Colonel
Kennard, aur., &a.