The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1863-12-08 00:00:00

STALBRIDGE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

This Association it ite annual meeting for the
exhibition of fat and lean stook on Monday last.
There was a tolerable display of animals, and in some
instances the umpires had oriole difficulty in deciding
which of the competing animals pomeesed gaped ior
merit. There was a tolerable display of dairy
produce, and Mr. John Dunning*, of Newland Farm,
Glanville Wootton, exhibited some splendid blue
doable Nast cheese, which were quickly disposed
ot at .C 2 16a. per cwt.
The judges were—Cattle: Mr. W. Bart.ly, Mot-
comb.; Mr. R. Cory, Compton ; Mr. W. Coate,
Hammocin.—Cheese and butter: Mr. W. Hurdle,
Weymouth ; Mr. Thomas, Shepton Millet; Mr.
Fricker, Shaftesbury.
The following were the prises avrezded :
YILLILISO BULLS-Ist prise, £2 10s, Mr. Thomas
Hannsin_i 2nd, El, S. Andrews. Bulls of any age, Ist
24, Caleb Loader; 2nd, EL, W. Andrews.
Pair
dairy sows, let prise, £2, S. Hannam; 2nd, El,
C. Loader. Stock heifers, lit, El, W. Romiter ; 2nd,
LI, W. Senior; W. Rossiter commended. Fat oxen,
Ist, £2. W. Senior; 2nd, El, J. Galpin. Fat cows, let,
1311. T. Heensin ; 2nd, Cl. J. Galpin ; highly com-
mended, J. Galpiu and J. Wadman. Fat heifers, let,
v., J. (hl pin' Mr. B. Stiby's bull, no 'socking tooth,
recommended by umpire to the committee. Breeding
ewes, let prize, El lOs. Stiby ; 2nd ditto, 15a. Fat
ewes, lit pan, El, W. Drew; 2nd, 10a, R. Sanford.
Fat wethers, let prise, El 10s, Mr. Northover ; 2nd,
lbs, B. Sanford. Breeding sows, let prize, el. Jame*
Sims; 2nd, 10s, R. Benjalleld. Boars, lit prize, el,
E. Andrew.; 2nd, 104, IL Ford. Fat pigs, Ist prise.
El, S. Down; 2nd, 10s, T. Sims. Butter. lit prise,
£2, 8. Gulliver ; 2nd, el, W. Drew. Half skim cheese,
let prize, £2, J. Andrews; 2nd, £l, S. RIORSUI. Beet
cheese Ist prise, £2, E. Benjatield ; 2nd, kl, R. Davis.
The dinner warn held at the Red Lion Inn, and
was very creditably served up by the hostess.
M. Yeatsnan, Esq., occupied the chair.
The CHAIRMAN having proposed " The Queen,"
which was duly honoured, gave that of the" Prince
and Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal
Family." ills said, as regarded the prince, he stood
in • most advantageous position. He had descended
Ernie Royal parents, who ever had trod in the path
of virtue; and, believing the old statement that good
people were the progenitors of good, he felt certain
that in no particular instance would they find •
prince endowed with so great a proportion of those
good qualities which had been so signally the
characteristics of his parents. No doubt he had
received one of the best of educations, and they
knew that it was a well-aeoertained fact that educa-
tion properly conducted, in the very fullest degree,
warn calculated to elucidate and bring forth those
good qualities of human nature. As regards Den-
mark's Royal daughter, whom the prince had been
so fortunate as to obtain as his wife, and our future
Queen of England, she shone in all those virtues
which at once adorn and signify her sex. He felt
certain that they were justified in looking forward
to the time, when, after the lapse of man, years,
the prince should be called to the throne of England
in confidence, and that they would find that he
would tread in Hume steps which his noble father
and royal mother had trod before him, and that
he would be at once an honour to the dignity of
the throne, and a blessing to the people. (Cheers.) !
As regards the rest of the Royal Family, he felt '
assured that in their various stations of royalty each
would do their duty. (Cheers.)
The prises for long servitude were at this point
distributed; the chairman addressing a few words
of exhortation to the candidates. Of one man it
was stated that he served his master thirty years,
and during that time had walked over 50,000 miles,
having to go five miles a-day to his work.
The CHAIRMAN then proposed the " Lord• Lieu•
tenant and Magistrates of Somerset and Dorset."
Colonel Gtostior returned thanks, and said he had
been a good deal upon the Continent, and he had
found one objection to it, which was you could
never get anything done without paying for it.
(laughter). All the employee are those of govern-
ment, everything that is done comes under the
imperial laws. Abroad they never had an
of getting anything discussed. Now, it
struck hint that things were so much better managed
in England, where you could go to • neighbouring
magistrate, who had the good will of his neighbours,
and who settled many things, which, if they had
gone into the hands of the lawyers would have led
to lengthy proceedings. (Hear, hear.) They could
not, however, expect to find upon the benches
magistrates of equal intellectual power, still in their
county they had had men of most extraordinary
powers of mind ' • and as an example he might refer
to their late chairman, than whom they had never
found • man more capable of performing the duties
connected with his office—(hear, hear)—and he
might add that the present chairmen of both counties
were men of a like rational standard, and did their
duty to the satisfaction of the counties. He thought
that if in such • large body of men as the magistrates
they met with sound common sense there was
no need of that refined knowledge of the law possessed
by stipendiary magistrates; and he hoped that they
would ever continue to enjoy the good will of the
people. (Cheers.)
The CHAIRM•N gave the" Bishop and Clergy,',
regretting that unforeseen circumstances had deprived
them of their company.
The " Army, Navy, and Volunteers" were then
proposed by the CHAIRMAN, who said that, thanks
to the intellect and intelligence of statesmen of
former generations, England had risen steadily and
progressively to the proud position amongst nations
which it now held, but that position could not be
maintained alone by intellect, by commerce, or by
science, that can only raise us in the scale of nations,
but it remained for our army and navy to defend
our honour and our interest,. and if they looked to
_ . .

the page of history they woZild find that On all occa-
sions when their country's honour was called in
question, there beat and lived hearts of oak, and
there had never been an occasion when they had not
shown themselves worthy of their country. A few
years eine° we found that in consequence of the ex•
tensive armaments that were taking place in various
countries of Europe, and looking to the fact that
the English empire had considerably extended, it
was necessary for the protection of the various
colonies in our possession to divide the army of
England into various sections, and that being done
it was found that England had been left inadequately
defended—then it was that men came forward, not
only in thousands but to the extent of fifty thousand,
and enrolled themselves in a noble and magnificent
army of reserve, and, by the sacrifice of their time
and attention, made themselves masters of their
military duties. He himself had the honour of
belonging to one of two forces which had existed
previously, and which had been animated by the
same principles —the yeomanry and militia. With
those forces be thought England might defy the
world. (Cheers.)
Captain Lrrnrict um returned thanks, and said that
whether their services might be required against the
insurgent Maoris. in New Zealand, or the more
distant climes of India, they would always main-
tain the honour of England, and show themselves
worthy of the confidence placed in them.
Colonel G LOSSOP (3rd Middlesex), in returning
thanks, said he had held a commission for IS years
in the militia, and had led a detachment, during
the late war, tothe Crimea to feed the line. Whilst
there ha had an opportunity of seeing the Wilts
militia, and • finer body of men be never wished to
look upon.
Lieutenant Um( also returned thanks.

The enema/ix, in complimentary terms, proposed
"the County Members," stating that he believed they
were to have Mr. Stun, next year, as chairman.
Mr. LrrrLiaatze then proposed " The health of
the present Chairman," who, in returning thanks,
said he returned his heartfelt thanks for the kind
and cordial manner in which they had received the
toast. It would ever be a source of the highest
pleasure to him to identify himself with the
pleasures, the interest., the pursuits, and the occu-
pations of those amongst whom he might belong.
(Cheers.) If these intsroouress had gamed for hun
a kindly and social feeling, and if be had obtained
any sentiment of frie4ship, he was most amply
rewarded.

-
In proposing success to "the Stalbridge Agricul.
total Association." the Caziaitsx used he was happy
to be able to declare from his own knowledge and
observations that this society had gone on and ,
prospered. At one Bine it was in a position simply
of a convivial meeting, and could hardly be called
an agricultural society; but since that time, year
after year, they had seen an increase in the com-
petition forth. prizes that had been awarded, and an
=mem in the numbers who attended their gather-
ings. They were se well aware as he was that
them societies did a vast amount of good in bringing
men together in kindly and friendly illiercOWSll.
COUIFISUiIuII was the secret of success, and without
, these societies men would live contentedly looking
at what they themselves bad done without seeing
what their neighbours did, and if they acted accord-
ing to the principles of human nature, everyone
would think his own things better than his neigh-
bours. But when they found the contrary, then So
and So determines to beat So and So next year, who
beat him this year. (Cheers). Therefore they
looked to these societies to produce • most decided
improvement in stock, and be believed every farmer
would widens his statement. . _

--After the—Umpires, Committee, sad Secretary
were telided, Jed thanked for their labours, and
" numeeste flew by with feet flow fun," wail pipes
sod lights were put out, sad Eltolbridgo loft to root in
quid.