The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-08-27 00:00:00

Ilorset Conntii Crpress

TUSSDAY. AUGUST- 27. 182 i.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Parliament was prorogued by commission, on
Wednesday afternoon, until the 6th of November.
The royal speech delivered on the occasion was
maioly a recapitulation of the work done in the
session just 000cluded. It states that no ground at
present exists for apprehending any rapture between
France and Prussia; but it indicates the probability
of war been entered upon with Abyssinia, to secure
the immediate liberation of the British prisoners. It
also refers to the Act for the union of British North
American provinces, aa a measure likely to be
productive of various advantages to the oolonista.
Tbe new Ref3rra Bill is spoken of al one which, it is
trusted, will effect • durable settlement of • question
whloh haa long engaged public attention. The
*pooh is couched in exactly the frame one might
hive expected, is freer than usual of downright
!mita of style and slovenliness of diction, and says
5t what could properly be said about the Reform
BilL Probably the other members of the Cabinet
were glad to leave the concoction of that document
in Mr. Disraeli's bards, and her Majesty at
Tuesday's monad could hardly be critical on the
spawn, albeit to be delivered in her own name,
while impatient to take her departure for Scotland,
and bar, herself amid the traditions of BahnoraL

_—
Now that Parliament ham ceased its sittings, RN
harvest and the weather are the tonics of most
general interest. The general imprearion is that the
yieldof grain will be under average. The recent rains
have laid the =Ps. in many quarters ; but this is
said not to be an " unmixed evil," r only heavy
crops are laid, while incalculable goal has been
done to grass and to root crops by the heavy
rowers. Regarding the weather, ttiii reports from
all parts re on the whole favourable. ttfteting
a heavy and wide-spread thunderstorm on Topid.,
morning, and several hours' rain on Sunday night,
the woollier has been fine, though now It reins very
fickle, and considerable progrese has been made in
securing the new wheat crop. On most days
during the week, the sun has shone with a brilliancy
and power which has had an animating influence.
not only upon nature, but upon the public mind—
imputing general cheerfulness amid discouraging
circumstances and events.

Napoleon the Third's trip to Salzburg seems to
hays bola • =COOL The relations Innween the two
Xsoperors a,.liabod to b• "mot intimate," and the

French Sovereign has Aided the mother of the
fated Maximilign, had no doubt soothed her sorrow-
ful Inset A complete ainderstending has been eia-
tablished, we are farther informed, "relative to
=jEuropean questions." Napoleon's object is
ilts to put • check on Premien ambition; that
is, to prevent the closer 11111011 of Southern with
Northern Germany. He is said to have proposed
that the other European Powers should be invited
to make the maintenance of the Treaty of Prague an
international affair—a proposition to which England
at least is sot likely to anent, and which can hardly
be said 10 concern Italy, and the other neutral
powers. Nor will Count Bismarck be forward to
accept • proposal to put • bit in his mouth, nor the
South German Sister to look with favour upon •
proposal which would one* their natural leanings.
An instirreotion in Spain is not an event of
unfrequeot occurrence, and therefore the present
rising has not occasioned feelings of surprise. From
the details published, we gather that General
Cootreras entered Catalans from Preece with a
handful of armed men, and WM joined by the
greater pert of a aompany of custom-house guards.
Simultaneously honed crossed into Arragon
and was joined by from 400 to 600 frontier troope.
while one Lagonera suddenly appeared near Tarra-
gona, rallied around him some hundred armed
peasants and others, and had as aneounter with the
governor of Reus, whin ended in the repulse of the
latter. Thereopos the general who commanded at
Barcelona sent cut his whole garrison to those
diseffsetei Oran but with what result it is im-
possible to say. It is known, however, that
no o,lBu'Rent heed has yet been driven &MOSS the
Preach frontier, as reported by some of the Paris
papers. The Weft announcement is that an
encounter has taken plan in Arragon between a
body of the insargenta and the royal troop', 300 of
whom were killed, including their commander.
A severe attack of cholera haa just afflicted Rome,
Albano, and other parte of Italy. The dinase ap-
peared to concentrate itself in • most virulent form
upon Albano, where, in a single day, as puny as a
hundred eases were reported. As usual, notwith-
standing months of warning, no precautions had
been taken. There was only one medical man in the
place, and such medicines as were to be found in the
druggists' shops were speedily exhausted. Panic
seized upon the *hole inhabitants, who n.A from lb.
town in all directions, some making their wa.tr:
ed
Rome by the overburden railways, and
flying into the recesses of the wood of Polar:non.
The sick were left untended, the dead unburied,
and the only permas who had the mirage and
humanity to remain were • few ave soldiers,
who to their honour be it spoken, did more
than their duty in rendering assistance
to the distressed. They are reported to
have thrown aside their knapsacks and carting and
made themselves neful as messengers, nurses, and
grave-diggers. It seems surprising that even in
times of danger the MIMI of inhabitants should eo
lack ordinary courage as to fly away in shoals, the
more so that these panics have generally been found
to Morena rather than to diminish the intensity of
an epidemic. Happily, we know nothing of snob •
state of things in this country ; yet abroad,
whether in France, Italy, or Spain, eight appears to ,
be the first thing thought of. It is not to be I
wondered at, perhaps, that the superstitious should I
rush to a supposed stored spot like Rome, hoping to
enjoy a special immunity under the shadow of Pope
and priest. But that pawns high in station, and
of profaned intelligence, should adopt such • courts,
is strange in the highest degree. It required
the ezerople of Cardinal Altieri, to awaken
the fogitivea from Albano to a sense of their
duty. This prelate, on hearing of the disaster
left his duties at Rome, and repaired to the
plague and terror stricken town. Not only did he
address the people publicly, but visited the sick
and administered consolation both physical and
spiritual with the greatest zeal and courage, but at
the sacrifice of his own life. Seized with the fatal
disease three days after his arrival, he added one
more to the terrible holocaust. Cardinal Altieri
offers an example of true heroism. Neither his
high dignity in the Church, nor his position as •
Roman prince, interferred with that charitable
impulse which brought him fees to face with a
deadly foe; and amongst so many worthy of
blame he stands out in bold relief as one who merita
the respect, not only of his fellow-countrymen, but
of all who valve the goodness of human enure.
Holland, too, is suffering from the same epidemic,
in addition to a visitation of leprosy; so that it
seems a curious time for a British ship of war to be ,
sent over to a Dutch port to bring the Queen of
Holland and suite on • visit to our own sovereign.
Let us hope, at all events, now that we have paned
by some weeks what used to be the critical cholera
period in this country, that we shall be spared an
outbreak of that fell disease this year.
A legal experiment has just been tried in London
upon a number of journeymen tailors. They have
been charged with the elastic and very oompre•
hinnies offence known to the law as "conspiracy,"
committed by them against the master tailors in
carrying on the picket system. The prisoners were
found guilty, and having been put back for judgment
until Mr. Baron Bramwell could decide what ought
to be done with them, were subsequently called to
the bar, and told that they might go about their
business this time if they would promise to have
nothing more to do with picketing—all but one un-
fortunate, whose intimidation had been of rather too
physical a character, and he was awarded three
mouths' had labour. In delivering judgment, the
Baron made these kindly and wise remarks i—The
law was against them, and hews. satisfied that if they
only considered the question fairly and dispassion.
ately, they would see that reason and justice were
against them in the course they had taken. In the
first place, what right had they to dictate to any
other man in what tray be should employ his talents
and his labour? What right had they to demand
that all their fellow-workmen should throw their
labour into one common stock? They might
depend noon it that such a proceeding was wrong.
If all the journeymen tailors were to be allowed to
combine and carry out this object, the shoemakers
and the men belonging to every other trade
might do the same, and so might all the
masters; and what would be the Consequent*?
Did they think for • moment that if this was done
it would be for the benefit of society at large.
Certainly not. The ak,gregate of the happiness of
mankind was created by each man being left to
his own discretion, and to do what be pleased
in reference to his own affairs. For more
than forty years some of the hest men in the country
—men whom be was assured they (the defendants)
admired—had beeo exerting therosely. a in removing
restrictions from every branch of trade and
commerce, and there was nothing like class legisla-
tion at the present time, and no set of men engaged
in any branch of trade or commerce had any
exclusive rights; and yet the defendants were
actually trying to legialate among themselves in an
entirely (*unary direction. They were endeavour-
ing to put restraints upon trade, and to re-establish
those corporate guilds which might have been found
of use in ancient times, but which certainly were
not so in the present times. They must be aware
that even among those public men who were their
best friends they had no sympathisers, and no man
of eminence or distinction, or any known friend to
the working claws, had said • word in their favour,
or had expressed an opinion that they were doing
right in the nurse they had taken.