The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1864-07-05 00:00:00

Tlii
DORSET COUNTY EXPRESS
DIRCIIESTER. TUESDAY. JULY 5, 1864.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Since the Corn-law debates, we are told, there I
have been none, the prospect of which excited so
much interest as the debate of Monday. The
discussions on the Russian war were not com-
parable with it. Members and strangers seemed
alike to share the excitement inspired by a pos-
sible war with Germany. As early as half-past
seven o'clock in the morning—so said the police-
men on d uty at the House—candidates for seats in
the strangers' gallery had already taken up
their places in the waiting lobby. At four
o'clock the House was literally "packed."
There did not seem an inch of vacant space,
either for sitting or standing, save upon that
sacred area between the bar and Mr. Speaker,
which is known as "the fluor," and upon which
no member must stand or sit. It was about
twenty minutes to five when Lord Palmerston
rose, amid breathless silence, and made as
masterly • statement of facts, and as lucid an
explanation of complicated negociations as might
be expected from a vigorous, clear-headed states-
man of five-and-forty. Viewed as a physical
effort, the speech was wonderful ; as an intellec-
tual display,it was wonderful too A correspon-
dent who was in the strangers' gallery writes
"It was curious to listen to the cheers which
now sod then greeted the Premier's words, his
rial full voice filling every part of the House.
When he spoke of Denmark's heroic resistance
the Oppretitiou broke forth. Not that the
Nliniderialiets are without sympathy for Den-
mark—not that they do not admire the bravery
etpially with the opposition, but it was not
their cue. Stop till they heard the statement ,
that England would have to bear the whole
brunt of the war, and was not willing to enter
into the undertaking single-handed. Then was
their time. That was the peace t ue, and they
knew that their turn had come. When the
Premier announ-ed that Denmark had rejected
arbitration as to the boundary line, again the
opposition cheers swelled up in a fierce
crescendo, while Ministerialists were mum. This
alternation of cheering, with almost the regular
interchange of • cathedral choir, or the respon-
sive declamation of a Greek chorus and semi-
chorus, *as something unique. At lasts tribute
of sympathy to ill-used Denmark, and • declara-
tion that might had overcome right in this
instance, brought up the scale to an equal balance,
and both sides cheered to the echo. Then
Lord Palmerston decidedly fell off. His state-
ment that if war was made upon the islands—if
Copenhagen were taken by assault, if the King
were captured, with other very extreme "ifs,"
—then the position of England would become a
subject of reconsideration, seemed to be thought
, so weak that there were murmurs, at first soft,
but rising into something like groans from the
Opposition, Ministerialists making no effort to
cover with cheers the retreat of their leader.
"We have heard bluster very much like this
before," the Opposition seemed to say, " and
nothing came of it. You have barked and not
bitten. Be silent now; and don't insult Den-
mark by, your vague and unreasonable promises
of help. ' This part of the speech was the
.Kasco, and as it was also the closing part, the
Last stage of the Premier was by many degrees
worse than the first. Presently Mr. Disraeli was
up, begging the House with fins strategy, not
to enter upon any desultory discussion, and not
to commit themselves to opinions until they had
had time to read and digest the papers, and also
to read and digest his vow of censure. Several
of the tnembers were panting beneath their
white waistcoats to be up and at the Opposition
or the Ministry; but on hearing this sensible
invocation from the 'man who will direct the
storm,' they nobly restrained themselves, and
in company with some five hundred other
senators rushed out to dinner."
The announcement made by Ministers on
Monday night that Denmark should be left un-
aided to fight her own battles, has given infinite
delight to the Manchester party. As a com-
mercial people, experience has taught us to look
upon war as a calamity, but we ought also to
know that firmness and determination of purpose
is as essential for the protection of commerce as
it is to guard the time interest of the State. We
are taught to respect guarantees, and it is this
teaching that has ever insured respect and con-
fideuce in the proverbial integrity of Englishmen.
It is not to the interest of Great Britain that
Germany should mush Denmark, take possession of
Iher islands and sea?ort towns, end, s a nocsalary
otroftquouse, al lame dislaal day lay ea malmage

upon British commerce, or, uniting with Russia,
effectually exclude us from the Baltic, or other-
wise cripple our commerce in that quarter.
Neither is it consonant with the chivalric notions
of Buylishmen, inherited from their forefathers,
to look quietly on while powers so dispropor-
tionate in numerical strength are nontendlng for
the mastery. Al a people we have never yet
been taunted with feebleness, incapacity, or
treachery, nor have gained our renown by a
course of truckling policy, the only tendency of
which invariably is to strengthen the aggreinor,
and maintain might against right. Our wishes,
it is true, are for the maintenance of peace; but
not peace at any price. We ought not by any
show of timidity or infirmity of purpose give the
advantage to our enemies, or encourage preten-
sions which, if carried out, would of necessity
place us at a disadvantage in our commercial
dealings with nationalities, who at present rank
among our beet customers. By our firmoess and
determination in oontradistinction to the
truckling one-sided policy of the Esst India
Company, we have won India to our purpose,
concentrated our power, and conciliated its
mixed raos • we hays done more to open out
that rich ..a valuable dependency, in the few
years it has been under Imperial administration,
than bad been accomplished ins century previous.
By our national firmness of purpose we have
been enabled to establish commerce on its broad-
est basis in China and Japan, and as etemplified
in the early stages of the American outbreak,
we called forth respect instead of previous
arrogance of demeanour. It behoves its there-
fore to study well the signs of the times, ere we
compromise or lower our dignity with :he strong
and unscrupulous. It behoves us to decide
quickly, ere all further effort in the cause of
freedom be removed by conquest and permanent
occupation. Poland has been deserted by us,
and what is the consequence 1 Its population is
being rapidly transplanted to Siberia, the
country presenting but • wreck of what it was.
We have more than deserted Denmark, for in
doing as we have, while asserting them, aban-
doned the principles as ourselves laid down
and guaranteed with other nations to maintain.
The Ministerial policy on the Dano-German
question has supplied the Conservative leaders
with an opportunity of hanging out their flags,
and about the time our broad-sheet goes to press,
the battle will have commenued. Mr. Disraeli
will move a vote of censure in the form of an
address to the Queen. Whether Lord Palmer-
ston is the right man in the right place, according
to the opinion of the House of Commons, time
will shortly tell ; but there is one sentence in
Earl Russell's speech on Monday night, which,
ass confession of alarm, have peculiar force. The
noble Lord said : .

_ .
"The den War now raging in America, ending how it
may, whether by the establishment of an independent
republic in the South, or whether it ends mmt tin•
expectedly, nut would be to me, I confilei. by restoring
the union, still the United State. of America, or the
Northern States, or whatever they may b. celled, will
thee be in • totaily different pocition to that which they
were in • few years ego. A great army will then be
maintained by the trotted States. A formidable navy
will then be kept up. Our relations with that rower
are liable at any moment to interruption."
If this be so, we cannot do what we know we
ought to do in Burope, because at any moment
America may come down upon us. Our relations
towards America are, in short, of such a nature
that we are obliged to play the coward in
Europe. Things are coming to a pretty pass
truly. Our next step will be to become a
nation of quakers and put down our army and
navy establishments altogether.
One of the most interesting duties in which
the Prince and Princess of Wales have as yet
been engaged was discharged on Wednesday
the 29th ult., when their Royal Highnesses paid
a visit to the ground of the Hon. Artillery
Company, to which the Prince is captain-
general and oolonel. With appropriate cere-
monies and gracious benedictions the Princess
presented new colours to the regiment. One of
the special incidents of the day was the giving of
three lusty cheers for Denmark; though we are
afraid her Royal Highness will find that cheers
are as cheap in England as prayers are in Den-
mark; and that though equally earnest, both
are equally futile.
The eighteenth annual report of the Commis-
sioners in Lunacy, which has just been issued,
cannot, on the whole, be considered more satis-
factory than their returns for several year. past.
Insanity—especially among the poor—has in-
creased largely. About a thousand have been
added annually during the last fifteen years to
the number of patients in public and private
asylums; and since the commencement of that
period the number has nearly doubled, 14,660
having been in charge on the Ist January, 1849,
and 28,285 on the saute date in the present year.
This increase has been confined almost entirely
to pauper lunatics. But while the Commis-
sioners remark that the accommodation and
management of the county and private asylums
is generally excellent, they point out that the
arrangements for the cute of the insane poor
continue most imperfect. The law as affecting
these is, they urge, in • most unsatisfactory
state. Pauper lunatics may be removed from
the asylums to workhouses, where the greatest
difficulty is fouad in sacertaining the manner in
which they are treated. The rules for keeping
records of the condition of patients, which are
rigidly enforced and strictly obeyed in the
asylums, are either loosely observed or neglected
altogether in accident, so loose and irregular is
the present system of giving and collecting in-
formation concerning the treatment of lunatics
in workhouses. Of all the irregularities to
which the indefinite state of the law as to the
dispozal of lunatics has given rise, perhaps the
most reprehensible is the practice of committing
insane persons to gaol in order to get rid of the
trouble and responsibility of sending them to a
lunatic asylum. In many cases, it appears.
prisoners have been committed as drunk and
disorderly, while their disorder has in fact been
insanity. To this practice is attributed the con-
tinued annual increase in the number of the so-
called criminal lunatics who have originally
found their way into prison as aline persons.
For the removal of this evil the Commissioners
recommend that the necessity of obtaining a
warrant from the Home Secretary to consign the
prisoner to an asylum should in certain cases he
dispensed with, and that this power should be
exercised by the Visiting Justices of gaols, with-
out the intervention of the Secretary of
State. Were this plan adopted it is
certain that this class of criminals would
be materially diminished. In &attend it is the
practice to an extreme extent, as insane persons
charged there with criminal acts may be sent to
asylums by order of the sheriff, sometimes even
without • trial. It is not proposed to go so far
as this, but even this would be better than plating
the stigma of guilt upon unfortunate persons
who are not properly accountable for their acts,
and extending to their friends the shame of their
disgrace. In this, as in other matters, there is
an urgent necessity for an amendment of the
Lunacy Laws. The present state of these laws
is most discreditable to the Government and to
the country. No one can read the annual re-
porta 01 the Lunacy Commissioners without ex-
periencing a sense of shame that t e machinery
. of our great legislature should be employed in
attempts to improve the law for pauper lunatics
so frequently, and with such impotent results.
American Dews which reached us &lout the
middle of last week, told us that Grant's whole
army had 'novel to the South aide of the James
River; that Smith's Corps, 15,000 strong, had
captured the main line of the Petersburg defences
with 13 cannon and 400 prisoners, and that
Hancock had moved to Smith's left. It was
also stated that a report, requiring confirmation,
but generally believed, had been received from
James River, stating that the Federal/ had knee
captured Petersburg, Butler destroying the rail-
road between Petersburg and Richmond. The
news requiring confirmation now turns out to
be all Yankee-doodleism. Grant made an as-
sault on Petersburg with his entire army—an
assault again and again renewed ; but be was
repulsed with a loss, according to Federal con-
fessions, of 8,000 men. This estimate, however,
is supposed to be considerably under the mark,
as Hancock's corps alone is said to have lost
4,200. Subsequently Grant entrenched about a
mile and a half from the city, but when the mail
left, he had made no further attempt to
carry the works. Sheridan has announced
his return north of the river Anna, and his de-
feat by Fitxburgh Lee at the same time, and great
fears were entertained respecting the safety of
Federal General Hunter, in consequence of
Sheridan not being able to join him. It was
thought that the Confederates were concentrating
upon Hunter's line of retreat up the Shenandoah
valley. There is no news of importance from
Sherman. Gold had been up as high as 245,
and at the latest accounts it was at 2to.
The general news from India by the Overland
mail is not ire t. In China the Taeping
rebellion still a=attention, and the old story
is repeated that at. end is near. The rebels are
certainly confined now within narrow limits, but
they are fighting desperately, and with consider-
able suosses, against Meier Gordon. aisd the
Imperial troops. There ts nothing of Weaves
from Jspest

•Before the Mayor,

BOROUGH Bnislona, blonds}
R. Davis, and G. Curing, Regn,
CAUTION To Cmusaa.—iranois Pommy was
charged with selling • pair o boots, belonging to
Rickard Gosling, • private in the B Battery
Royal Rome Artillery. —Prissier pleaded guilty,
but mid Gosling stated they were of no nee to him,
and he sold them oat of kiidosee.—Major Paget
and this was not the first names had to take out a
summon' against persons for pirchasing necessaries
belonging to soldiers, and civilise must know they
were not allowed to buy or dispde alma. Quarter-
ldaster•Sergsent Lethbridge pulsed imaingthe boots
to Gosling in April last, *marking them with
the regimental number. Thor present value was
about Ba—Prisoner hoped theßenoh would not be
too hard upon him, when ll* Paget said he did
not wish to press the aim sevealv, but mine check
mast be pat on persons getkag rid of soldiers(
two, ememaries, ari it is waa almost • daily practise.
—Prisoner was fined in " the value of the
WWI 414.. I lb. sow of the Is. Hi I sags

penalty of Li. A week was allowed for gwilrnrent, or
in default a month'. impriaontnent.
CoNIIIITTIID TO Till tiOIVOT COUNTY ri AOL.
Hard Labour : Thom.. Dean. an ,b.rt 41F,1"ret",
dainaging apoons at Weymouth. 7 day.;
Walker, vagrancy at Poole, 1 month • Henry
Mutant: stealing wood at Sueltland Newton, 14 &P.;
Elisibelt; Stbetley, stealing butter et Wareh
day.: insprimamesit : flobert rldley, stealing turnips
at Crannurne, 14 day.; Henry Sie,•cer, drank, LO., at
Weymouth, 7 days; John Dalton, drunk, kn., at
Dorchester. 7 di,.; Peter Fitzgerald, hawkirq without
a bosom at Sidling, I days.