The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-02-24 00:00:00

THE ANNUAL RAILWAY DINNER.

Thin usually plemant an I c mrivial gathriring of
railway otfi +ale was celebrate I on Tomo-hay e.o7,ing,
when Mr. If iladin, .if the Victoria L too !foto',
cateroil in his well Ittiown giyli. To Chair ems
occupied by the Recoil., the Rev. J. A. Benz ,r,
whilst Mr. Porion., the civil and obligiiier et itioi.-
mester, filled the vie.. After dinner various taste
were proposed and hetitily drunk. In eivior the
health of the i seen, the Chairman remarked that
when her Majesty heard of • serum* railway accident
her heart bled for the sufferer*, and she made tbe
most auxima ammiries abut them. Her name w iuld
be handed down to history as • qmen, who, throurb
her sympathy with the people, her good deeds, and
the constitutional way in which she alwaya governed.
wee indeed • mother t her people, and he believed no
prayer ever wont up from the heart of a true English.
AM with greater fervour than that of "G xi Save
the (Immo" The Chairman sail there wan • saying—
" A full man made • ready man," although he was
inclined to question tbetruth of that remark in regard
to making speeches after diatom. At any rate, how.
ever, one was always ready, whatever the circumstances
might be, to do honour to the toast he was about to
propose, and that wee "The Health of the Prince arid
Prince's of %Voles and the rest of the Royal F
His Royal Highness might be sail to be • full man
and • ready man, full of genial, kindly, and generous
thoughts and purposes for the welfare of the people,
and always ready to carry them into practice. (Ap-
plause.)—Mr. Z. Millerlaer proposed " fhe Bishop and
Clergy of the Diocese," asking the company ti drink
the toast with imithusthem for three reason,. The:first
was of • eolith kind, the second educational, and the
third religious, The first, the selfish reason, was in
consequence of the grandeur of their sweet we and
noble liberality, the people of the present day were not
called upon to pay retest and taxes to support the
bishops and clergy. The educational reason was that
until the paining of the Compulsory E Imation Act
the whole of the parochial education of this country
was cheerfully undertaken by the bialmoa and
parochial clergy and nobly carried out. N one had
been able to ray anything against the grand and
liberal education given to the poor in the parochial
schools of the country, and he mope' so far as they
were concerned in this parti f the country it woold
he teeny years before they were saddled with a School
Board. Toe religious point of view waa this, that go
long as there was a bishop such as we have now, and
clergy like the majority of Ocoee in this diochse, %boy,
ea Englishmen, would be both ready and willing to
accord them their thanks for the zealot, and admirable
manner in whioh they carried out their duties. It
would not be necessary to wander outside Portland to
ml an exemplary parish priest. They cool I see him
In the person of their rector, who wan not ti be excelled
by any Maumee is alm dim..., always gauial, cheer.
fol, and willing to help lo any good work, and from a
long acquaintance he had with him he knew he did all
in his power to promote the beet interests of the
people. (Applaueel —The Chairman, in respondinr,
thanked the company for the kind way they had
accepted the toast, and said some people th night
parsons • very queer lot, but it wan evident the
opinloo was not held by the gouts provost that cler.:v-
men were so black as they were sometimes painted.
AA fir their Bishop, he lean • th cronehly goo I o• .1
holy man, one who had done a great work for the
Church in Ma day, and one in whose praise it wan a
great honour to *peak. The clergy, he molly believe I,
deserved the goo 1 opinion of the peop!e. An they
honestly str ivs to do their duty. Parsons A-onetime,
were a troublesome lot, especially when they cams
down upon people for subsoeiptione, but they never
tronhled other people without troubling themseiree,
and then it was always for • good ptirp me, (Applause.)
—The next tout submitted was that iif "Tie Army,
Navy, and Volunteers," the Chairman remarking
their eyes were all turned to Phi army at the present
time, and their thoughts were centred upon that
I gallant body of their countrymen out in the far Evt.
He thought they treate I their army an they did their
umbrellas—ill the gunships the lather were put away
and apt to be forgotten, and so in times of peace they
di I not think much eh ut their sol liars ; but in the
dark days they were glad ti know they hial such •
brave body of men to stanci up for their country. He
thought they all felt proud cf the daring deeds they
had achieved &wino the lart f irtnight i'c so, although
at the SAMS time their rej acing wag mixed with sad.
nem at the many cmoaalties which had taken piece
amongst their troops. TAill war hail p-oved that
Englishmen were made of the same good stuff an ever,
mot though they might hero to encounter &filo cities
which appeared to be almost insurmountable, he knew
they would be overcome by the "usual deteralioation
of Englishmen." as Lord Wolseley called it. (Ap•
olive.) As for their navy, it was well known nit the
least efficient of the services rendered in the front had
been from men drafted from their ships. They had
given • good account of themselves in the battles In
the Desert, ant the paper. hail informiid them of that
gallant remote by L trd Charles 11.reefora. 01 their
voloothers, he c it'll only aay th my h tri given proof
they were animated by the same spirit th it Maenad,'
the two sister services, as the 0 ivernmeot had
received offers from officers of volunteer roolueoooe
for active service, so that the while of the three
branches of the service were actuated by this same
brave spirit. (Applause.) Ur. Ititkee rettlowtod to
the toast.