The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-08-28 00:00:00

Parlianuntarp Vapro.

THE FENDA 01, THE CHCIWIL—A return just issued
states that in their administration of the property which
has come under their charge the Ecclesiastical Commis-
sioners have augmented 249 benefices by grants of
capital sinus, amounting together to £241,971, and that
they have allotted to 1,178 benefices annual grant'
amounting together to £90,079. The dioceses that have
bad most are Lichfield, Itipon, and Manchester; those
that have bad least, Norwich. Ely, Hereford, and the
Welsh dioceses (except St. Artaph). A return made a
few weeks ago showed that the sums which have been
expended by the Commissioners upon bishops' resi-
dences amount to 1:57,702 ; they found three bishops
(Manchester, Ripon, and Llasidaff) with no episcopal
residence, and another (Lincoln) with none within the
diocese.
THE New MILITIA Acy.—The new Act to amend
the laws relating to the militia has just been printed.
By this Act portions of militia of two or more counties
may fonn an "artillery corps" with officers and staff,
and to determine the number of justices to be elected on
behalf of each counts., ruling, division, or place for
forming a committee for providing and maintaining the
storehouse it. which the urine, clothing, and other stores
are to be kept, a committee for providing such store-
house is to be elected ad to inert for business. Lands
may be purchased for the purpose of this Act and
conveyed to trustees. The expenses are to be ffeftuyed
by the county or place. The oath prescribed for
volunteers way be ailtninistered by justices to militia
volunteers. The militia volunteers may be drilled in
addition to other times of training. Deserters from the
militia nifty be tried summarily by justices, unless the
Secretary at War should otherwise order. The stoppage
of the pay of n ilitiainen is to take place on fraudulently
! enlisting in Her Majesty's forces or on entering the
navy. In case of invasion or • t danger in
Scotland Her Majesty may raise the militia triers to
11),OUlt men, and in Ireland to 45,000. Further, the
Act provides that where the United Corps of Militia
Artillery is formed in England the justices of the
county or place are to elect at the ikeiiiiions the committxe
of justices for provirting and maintaining the storehouses
mentioned fen artillery corps.
CNA:WENT Ectneffee.--A Bill is passing through
Parliament to enable the Judges of the Court of ClllOl.
I eery to carry into effect the recommendations recently
made by the Chancery Evidence Commissioners. What
they recommended was that, instead of the present
system under which the parties verify their case
either by affidavit or by oral examination of witnesses,
the oral examination taking place before an "examiner,"
either party shall in future be at liberty to require that
the evidence on disputed points shall be taken rim t met',
not before an exannuer, but in open court at the hear-
ing of the cause and before the Judge who is to decide
it ; or there may be trial by jury either in the Court of
Chancery or before a common law Judge at Nisi Pries.
Lord St. Leonardo thought the objections to the present
oyatem might be removed by amendment., but the rest
of the Commissioners, comprising a great array of
lawyers of renown, consider that any attempt to
improve the course of proceeding before examiners
would prove illusory. This great change will, there-
fore, now take place.