The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-10-23 00:00:00

CM ant eau.

A good many of my readers will remember the
visit to Ode torn M,1:110 twelve months ago of
Murphy, the ingenious Yankee, who founded time
Blue hellion Army, and they will equally recoltect
MO precious exhibition he made of himself .33 the
platform. Lt Us liosrocks, who is con to., lug •
mission here tide week is a Temperance Detuoetheuee
in oomparierso, and while he earns, I believe, Ed • wed'
sod pass his own hotel bills and ralaway fare,
Murphy fur the week he was in Poole drew £XS in
cash from the gentleman thr,ugh who*, Metro-
meutality he came I.ere, beskde being lodged an I
boarded at his residence. The ICcho ramming to the
pr,puaterous shag.. wade by this =sassy@ :—" lii.
reaily high tune that eomabody started a lied Rib!, m
Miselus against gr se.l emon4 Yankee Temperance
orators. The .6.11.,b .rgli Gospel Temperanoe
Union is in debt, taring .ecsutly paid £152 I, Mr.
Francis Murphy or four woTcs' work and hotel bolt
if the earnest voloutter worlb.re in the Temper am
movement choose to pay an advocate £25 a iv, ask, that
I. their lumina+ ; but a Teuiperauce advocate whom
hotel bill amounts to 1:52 to a mouth would do well
to bear in mind tie Injunction, ' Let your
moderation be t .swim ucto at

The approaching " Firs." is not at present the
engromisg theme that it sill bee week hence. Privets
meetiap are, it ia true, being held of the gentlemen on
either side who are supposed to pull the strings, but
the general public so yet evince no very considerable
Interest in the fight—curiosity, of course they
un losubtedly de. But I cut glad to learn ilia utter
absurdity of turning • hiuniolp•l electi di lot, •
political 'squabble seems to be more and more general,
appreciated. It seems ridiculous that it should be
solemnly put forward that a Tory nose is beats' colon-
, listed to di.cover stinking drains than • Liberal
proboscis, or vice Cello; or, that an eye for Ci€42l
Artois, improvements iu the general aspects of the
plaos, • reduction of rate., et hoc genus mac, should
be either of & dark or light cerulean tint.

A working man put the matter to me tersely, and I
may say, "In a nutshell," the other morning, when we
ware discussing the subj,ct. " Confound," he, said—al
least, he did not use tat precise word from the Royal
Anthem, a somewhat stronger one doing duty—"tbeir
politics, let 'em rime and take away that beastly
stink trap in front of my windows, and put down
the pavement so that when I walk home of a dark
-night lamer t splashed up to my knees." And this is
the light in which I believe most of the working men
view the matter.

Another working man, however, alter telling me
his opinion of my notes last week, thus exhibited
the question to me—" I don't say but what they
haven't sa good men on the To 7 side se
we have. But you must look at it in this
way. If we give 'em a downright beating it'll
encourage a good ma. to .ome here and contest tbe
borough for the Parliamentary election, and who
knows but what we may gt Wariog here again."
Fond delusive hope, I thought, but it only shows thrt
men are to he found willing to sacrifice the real
interests of the borough by voting for, no matter how
big the duffer, provided his politics are declared.

•-
Of mun
e,there are pleutl• y of rumours flying about,
but thews should be taken with the proverbial grain of
salt. It is sal I among other things that the Liberals
have offered not to cot test the election of Mayor or
of two Aldermen. provided so ,mproutise is agreed to;
but the Conwrvatives, confident of carrying four,
have declined the offer. I doubt whether it was ever
made. if • CJoservative Mayor and two Allertnen
equalised parties in the Council, why the Libetal
might as well forthwith give up their majority, for the
Mayor would have the canting vote.

Again it is dated, and it is an open secret, that Dr.
Lawton, acting upon the advice of bit party, will retire
from the candidature to be replaced by Dr. Smith*.
The reason alleged for the change is that the forgoer
sports the blue ribbon.l I doubt the policy of
the manoavre on the p.rtgof tbe Oonservative.. I
fancy that from Oat very hot a good many Blue
Ribbon Liberals would support Dr. Lawton.

Than it la affirmed that-e.i.ther Mr. Dugdals or Mr.
Mate will be tbe Meyor for the ensui g year, accord-
ing to which party obtains the majority. It we live
long enough we shall see whet we 'ball we.

,t:..t.

Hoary, desry I How • irtuous we are getting.
One can hardly go 20 yards without being trinfronted
with large placards sitting forth the pains and
penalties entailed by any breach of the Ciiritipt
Practicea Act, and concluding with the following
solemn warning :
Thin Ant will to ate ictly enforcitd at the forthcoming
NI unicipal &action, and • Vigilance Committer, coniivesd
of per•ona who on determined to ensure wirity of
election, ace engaged in de:fitting and prowl t nit any
offender..."
You don't say so I I wnnder if this awful company
of vigilants have been chiaten upon the well-khown
axiom that an old poacher nukes the best gameSetper.

In our advertising columns will be found an
announcement relating to the folthooming concert of
a troupe of Amateur Negro ?Montrone's, who have
chosen the somewhat un-euphonions name of '• Doreet
Ravens." In spite, hewever, of their somewhat
croaking title, we believe they will be found an admir-
able company, and three of the public who enj .1,
even if they are not Raven-ous for, an evening's
amusement may realise every good two or three hours'
relief from busman cares by patronising them.
The stability of a public company may fairly be
judged, not by r-erely the represented increase in the
amount of bunions done, but also by the enlagement
of the working material. When we read that over a
thousand and 250 new superintendents, assistants and
collectors have been appointed during the past year by
the Pearl Assurance Company, it seems evident
that to take out a policy in this company would
be a matter of polity on the part of anyone wishing
to provide against the uncertainties of life. The
Increase in the receipts of this society is also, if we
may use the term, reassuring, and the promptitude
with which the claims were paid up upon the policies
of the poor little children who lost their lives in the
awful ontsh at the Glasgow theatre is a
still further inducement to the public to repose confi-
dence in it. The chief superhtteadent In this locality
Is Mr. eV. Tilley, of Loogfieet, Poole.