The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-10-22 00:00:00

OUR M.PA RUSTICATING.

We Shim week give our readers amounts of two
important meetings that ham been held in the county
of Dorset; Important from their primary objects, but
rendered more ea by the presence of two of our toasty
members, Mr. Gerard Start mid Ur. lfloyer. At Use
present tune every extiwpattlainentary ottomans dour
representatives ie exantioed with very deep interest.
We all feel that we have arrived at • very important
point in the history of our country. If we look at
home we have Fenianiam dying in the facie of all
constituted authority, and @hewing itself dangerous,
not from the numbers and character or skill of its
supporters, but from their audacity and recklessness.
We hear crime mourning proportions never before
witnessed. agrarian outrages in Ireland, Trades Union
outrages in England, • gradual rise it the prams of all
the necessaries of We, and • growing impatience among
the labouring cisme& Upon society so constituted, con-
taining so umay elements of evil, has been bestowed a
large Aare of political power, and bestowed irrevocably.
Politics is • war in which there is no retreat, no falling
back, no ramie' • false step. If we look abroed, the
prospect is no lees portentous. Our own expedition to
Abyssinia, full as it is of difficulty and uncertainty,
I. nothing compared to the apparently impending
convulsion of Europe. Fames, sitar preparing for
months for an onslaught upon Prussia, Ando herself
likely to be engaged, where she did not expect It, in a
struggle with her own polatkal ebild, the new born
Italy, in support of the crumbling power of the Pope.
As the evil spirit before ha came out of the child
"rent him sore, and left him as one dead; so we may
expect that the Papal power will not he overthrown,
until all Europe is convelsed. Nor can we help feeling
that Prussia, who has been welching France's prepars'
tiona through the last year an direated against herself,
will be sure to tube advantage of the Italian squabble to
begin a war, which she sees to be inevitable,on the most
advantageous terms to herself. And where will it end?
What right have we to aspect to be preserved from
this common calamity. We know how difficult and
dangerous a thing is neutrality; how apt to bring
upon the neutral party the animosity of both the
contending powers. We have masoa therefore at such
1 a time to scan with clogs attention every word that
shall give us a clue to the sentitsents and feelings
of our rulers and representative In parliament.
We wish, for their Own sakes, that some M.Ps.
would consider this vety proper anxiety, and not satisfy
themselves with uttering a mere nflor.clinner speech,
and making things pleasant to all parties. The time is
gone by for that sort of thing: ant whatever the
immediate cause which brings • member hoe to hoe
with his constituents, he will find it worth his while to
give them all the information he can upon the matters
which are agitating the minds of us all at the present
, moment.

Let us first ci all take the Labourere' Friend Society
at Wareham. Of Gonne there were Hui mutt toasts,
and the usual amount of indifferent amnion places
uttered, to which We should not allude, but one or two
expressions demand our notice. In returning thanks
for the bishop and chirp, Er. Prebendary Bond, asses,
other things stated, "H. believed there had never been
O more conscientious or more faithful bishop." Will
the rev. prebendary dare to say in public that be
believes the late charge to be consistent with the teach-
int of the Church of England? Of course, • consider- '
able &nominee mutt be made for. prebendary, speaking
of his bishop : but we believe that Mr. Bond knows
pert sll7 well bow irmeoncileable that charge is with
the articles of our church. Why go out of his Way to
nee expressions which seem toss, &Mr 110,34 1100211 to all
intelligent men, acid will seem to the majority of the
laity of the twenty, marl inappropriate to the Bishop
of SalisburySn his grenent position If we beard to-
morrow that be had resigned his bishopris and was
received into the church of Rome, then we would say
he ems "conscientious and faithful." And once more,
" Nobody could my that be had been partial in the dis-
tribution of his patronage." Can't they? Ca the
prebendary tell us of an instance where his lordship
has given preferment to any but his own clique! He
may have conferred the dignity el "R.D. or " Frith.
Serum" upon some waverer', and thereby, whether
intentionally or not, secured their silence if not consent;
but if this assertion be true, is its compliment ? Surely
not. Aan may be honest in error, as well as is truth:
he cannot be honest in iodifferenoe ; and Beretta., we
are lees disposed to blame his lordship for partiality,
than his followers for their mistaken flattery. It is
timn that our clerical friends should know that these

- - --
publio attetances me read as well as heard; and that
such Battery only excites contempt.
The address of Yr. Ferrer is full of sound good mass.
The imperfect education which the labourers bad
derived hitherto, is yet a greet step in advance of their
previous lguorame : sad there is • gradual,
desire for education. And as surely as tbily=
more educated will they become more eivihned, spd
I then they will require better and more dement houses,
and if they cannot get then at home, they will go where
they san find them, and the result will be, that the
fanner that ham the worst cottages, will have the worst
laboured. There will slums be • supply, we fear, of
ignorant and drunken tots; no education will free the
land of them entirely'
, bet it will be found that the
cheapest labour is the dearest in the sod, and so we hope
that the advantages of an educated labouring pelation
having been ones acknowledged, real steps MU
be taken b produces it.
And what can we my of lb. Gerard Start's address?
Shall we say that it was genial, good tempered, free and
easy? Of MONO it was, nothieg could be more so; bat
we amid wish for • little more thoughtfulness, and
sobriety' a little more evideme that he is aware of the
impatienss of the post he magpies, and the gravity of
the questions which he may be called upon to deade.
We do not blame him for declining to speak poritively
no the 'abject of education, it is • most dificalt one.
Compulsory education has ite own evils, which we can
seareely fore...: without compulsion, it will ever be
partial and imperfect ; the race for bread is so in.
clamant, the struggle so hard, that to compels labouring
man to forego his child's earnings of four or five shill-
ings a week, is to make him pay as snob for his child's
schooling as the 'ell-t0..d0 tradesman. We say we an
glad to find Mr. Stud liminte to give an opinion on it.
We should be more glad if be had prowled to take the
matter into mrious consideration, and not follow his
party into the lobby, but follow the gaidenos of his
own independent sense and eonseimes, fie has all the
ability requisite for • metal LP. If his would smash
some hours front his duties of country pathumc to
which he is now going to devote himself, and give OM
to matters of public importunes be would lad the hold
be already bee on the affections of his constituent@
strangtheeed eassadershly by their seafidease and
reaped. But let us turn now to to the other gather*.
The Melplaish Agricultural Society does great mtu
to those who first instituted it, and to those who have
kept it in its present flourishing condition up to the
present tints. It is estislactory to hear • pauctimil
farmer like Yr. John Pope giving his opinion upon the
state of the crops of the late harvest, and we wish that
more presided farmers would come out on such oc.
caddis sad give the eoeutry the benefit of their 'g-
m/nonce. His opinions also with respect to the education
of the working clumps are worthy of all attention
although they do not exactly fall in with modern notions:
John Ball always comes with • rush, like laisfour-
le
nam
mi
esake, and never stops until he is brought &
stone wall, or the trunk of an oak tree, or some other
little impediment ; and if we don't take one he will
make the some mess of education that he has made of
inifroads and j dot stook banks, Ac. One feature of the
,•'s performanos we mast not overlook; Yr. Moyer
was called ',PO° tojetoteme the health of "The
and Clara of the MOMS,. Mid fin nirfilist MicarattY
To tide the Hon. and Bev. A,p.y gpri,jgßies 111.
opoogoa io a speech of marked I nitty and good
oposs, late sepseial apnoea( the wools " all Christina
ministen, and welcoming thews ia • spins aims goo,
him aredlt,a spirit which we hops is whim ground.
With sash a toast to propose, mould aot Le. Rom boos
sees what the hobs% of the meeting woe, sad vestelei

to hare mid something &boat the Mate of the Church?
Lord Derby Gould !weak of it at Manchester —Kr.
Ooleridge used no equivogal Immure at Hailer,
but Pleinly claimed for Parliament the right to
NO that the Church spoil her revenues for
the permute for whisk they ware intrusted to
her; Gad we seriosely
_ware out mpressetatives
thus *of will be metindied to speak. mid speak de-
ridedly too, oh them points before they come to tie
hustings, or it may De too late. Was it well for Kr.
Moyer to tresp•es on the good temper of the laity of
Bridport and Ito neighbourhood so far NI to my that
"the honesty and sincerity of the Bishop bad never
been called in quertion by any min?" Has the boo.
member never heard of a meeting at Dorebeider, held
last February' Of • meeting st Salisbury? 01 a
memorial. sliced by 90 clergymen sad 900 chrireh-
"'silent,. game of whom be wee addreodng it Meirlaleh,
in whien, we think, his lordship'. homely mul eisearity,
not as a man, but •• an ofliMal of • Protestant Ohara,
were ream euriossly called in question? No on. eau
doubt Kr. Floymos sincerity; there is bet one opinioa of
his high 'barmier, in every relation of life: al Ms desire
to do hie duty in pebll3 and private: but the time is
coming whoa public men must throw aside all attempts
to keep thins qsiot the people are in earnest: they
will hens the Present dingraoefal state of the °Minh
settled by parliament: arid they want to have soom
delimits exprunion of opinion front their representatives
on these sublmes. We trust that dm" will not bare to
wait musk layer, otherwise, as Hr. Start mid in
February lest,' It may be very issonvenient on some
future ocemies."