The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-03-13 00:00:00

meeting. and I can't help commending to all whom it
may concern, one of the professor's sentiments—" Silence
is the emblem of power."— When are the Council to give
Mr. Wheeler the getting-up of an audience for their enter-
tainment I A late gladiatorial encounter was an
opportunity that should not have been missed.

When the nisei Urates have to deal with a remit shipping
rase they are assisted by "nautical =senors" to instruct
them in things pertaining to the sea. Was it for the
indruction of the presiding offieer that • couple of
" gentlemen of the scholastic profession" were unani-
moVy choeen asseseers on Thursday lard? I rather fancy
the Mayor can teach them municipal businese. Will they
hare the coveted honour of sitting on the Bench when
they revise the bargees list? Eren with that priceless
boon, they are very welcome to the pet, for my part I
was one* reporting in • County Court, when the yarties
interrupted on so by chattering in front, that the reporters
memorialised the judge to give them • place where they
, could hear. Judge Tyrrell immediately invited no beside
him on the Bench, and we could not refuse his courtesy.
But I never wish such a high position again; we were too
much chaffed afterwards by envious individuals.
The Ogmore "Oh, blow her," say your readers,
"send her to.Gilkieker. Jericho, or" anywhere, anywhere,
out' of the world:" we can't have any more of her.
Steady gentle reader; there. is fun even in the Ogmore
cases. That was a comical trick some of the Swansea men
played; they pocketed their advance notes of Ed smooth,
let the agent pay their railway fares down to Weymouth,
resew,' on ham and egg, at the owners' expense, were put
on hoard, and then stuck inside the formed% evidently
improving on the old sailor's idea of work on boar I—
" While you and I, Bill, on the decks
Are comfortably lying."
One of them even capped this piece of impudence, for he
tried to capsize his agreement, by declaring it was not
legal, became he eigned ins endxsh p! I always thought
that eating bread and salt sealed the bond between my
guest ea.] me: burteuis reserved for George Maine, who
must be an "old soldier," to .bricever that if you treat a
man to ham and eve, he is entitled to swindle you out of
El odd. So exquisite is the temper of George Adam.,
that the maristrates would have liked to tickle him in
return, and they gave his free lodging., and hoard for
three months, to the lively tune of "Such a getting
upstairs."

There was no fun in the gentlemanly arrangements of
the agent, for the owners of the Ogmore ; hot the mischief
generally springs out of the system of advance notes.
Shipowners, pressed for men, take what they cso get, and
find that a few of the men are almo-t destitute, little
clothes and less money is the amount of their possessions,
exeept perhaps a "sweetheart in every port, or a poor
wife and children who have to do for themselves till
father comes home, hit, sure of the advance note, Jack
ships, hands over his note to some dealer who gives lion
more or less value for his money, in clothes, and a little
" tin" over, for a drink. The dealer, of course, charges
for his risk on the note. for Jack may change his mind,
and not go to sea, and the note may not he paid. The note
gone, and the clothes in the bundle. Jack is at a loss to
get rid of his money if he hasn't time to drink; but he
generally manage; that, mid then the least thing, or
nothing at all, makes him change his mind, and he deserts
the ship. It does not matter to him how he gets on when
mit et prison or out of a berth, so long as he gets more
drink: _

'Bark and sides go bare, go bare.
Feet and legs go cold ;
But belly, give thee good ale enow,
Jolly good ale awl old."
This is the story of some of our sailors; of course not of
the larger proportion, awl I should be sorry to think it Is
true of many ; we have a large number of gond sailors in
Weymouth who would he a credit in any qation. But
only a few days ago, I heard of a nyirprif-war's-mae who
had come ashore on leave, with • .Ca note, and as his time
was very short, he was deploring that he could not drink
it up, and making up his mind to ties stone to it, and toss
it over Weymouth bridge, There is pl,nty of room for a
Sailors' Friend Society, who would provide real good
clothes on their shipping, and arrange to supply their
wives with money, on security of their pay • the clothes
could ho the property of the society if the men broke
their agreement, awl the money or notes given by the
shipowners be returned, minus a small commboion for
cats. The advance note system at present is thor lughly
bad. Bet I Laney the "gentle realer" is yawning, and
his sister to consoling herself with—
.. .

Blow. gentle winds, o'er the dirk lane sea."
Joy .nd gel lock go with the Oginsre, so long as die gives
Portland It Ads a wide berth.

The grievances of the seas are nit always on the owners,
if we may judge from the statement of the captain and
sailors of the yacht Dart. That vessel seems to have teen
much in trouble, for she got into mischief in D wer, anal
there she was detained: in Portland aortas she had to get
the help of a steamer, hut her captain can't pay the
money agreed on: and by anal lay the men are ashore
without wages, starving., anal forced to beg, anal their
wives at home, they say, are in the same plight. The
owner does not semi any money, anal the magistrates make
an order, to he enforced, if necessary, by distress. Es-
Sergeant Brine in put on boanl, hut lay and by he is re-
called, anal we must suppose the money has been paid.
What aloes it all mean I

With the mention of ya'htsis naturally associated the
Outer Pier. It was nut a bit too soon that Mr. Edwards,
St 1%, math, his splendid off"r to the Corporation, for the
Per has elroady (so says Mr. Aylesbury, and he is sup-
ported by Mr. Thomas) begun to sink down. Although
the mattur io not serious to Mr. Morgan's eyes, I remember
that the Pinking of the Quay Wall, which crippled the
harbour fund, was only small at first. Our peerless
ntenilier, as Mr. Howard justly calls him, "does not want
us to be merle's ;" and, considering that 'Mr. Edwards has
again soil again raised the amount of his offer, I do hope
the surveyor and contrzetor will he smart in this, and
show Mr. E lwarils that Weytuouth is really worth what
he has don". The old musieian sang to Alexander—
If the world be worth thy winning,
Think ! oh think it worth enjoying."
Mr. Edwards has won Weymouth by his love for her—
whet are we going to show hini "worth enjoying r
Public dinners, regattas, the Season—all very well but
there should be more attraction for gentry, at Imst Sir
Frederic Johnst ille scents to think so, and why not Mr.
Edwards ? The latter is always ready to come when the
occasion is sufficiently important, and be will bring other
gentlemen with bin, On the slightest excuse. If it is to
show them the new pier to shelter yachts, we are sure he
won't miss such a glorious chance.

Sir Frederic Johnstone, too, will hasten here as soon as
he bas hit upon suit. for the new aquarium, which Capt.
Chimmo is always thinking about Why should not Sir
Frederic manage for us under the Greenhill! True, the
seawall VIRG there has been nearly washed away; but
that was years ago, before the current from the Break-
water was diverted against Preston. Now the shingle
lies perfectly safe in front of Ifreenhill, and an reetaritim
ill be as easily lilt there as at Brighton Steyne. Nor
nee,' it be high enough to interfere with the view from
Mr. Cambridge's magnificent new house. I commend the
its to the worthy baronet and M. I'., and I am sure it
only rests with him to supplement Mr. Etlwanls's work,
devoting land. as Mr. Et wards has devoted money, and
Weymouth will be Nice enough furs winter resort.
Swne gentlemen are, it is said, making an effort to
obtain a puldielmuse in a convenient situation, in order
to sell non-inte‘icating drinks and other refreshments, to
poor ince who find the temptation or the strength of beer
and porter too much for their good. It is not a Isul thing
that the house is not to be conducted entirely by
teetotalers, lint that moderate men, who see the great
evils which drunkenness brings, tint who don't see their
way to Gaol Templarism, are to join in the effort, and
' they hope to art up, on is seals mutable to Weymouth,
some such a house as ones! the coffee palace,, which do
fetich :vanl in the East of London. When I was lad in
that strange neighlsourhood, it was like entering an oasis
in a desert to come upon the Edinlinrgh Castle, and a
sweet savour of Dorsetshire came over me at seeing Lord
Shafteditiry's name in an honoured place. With good
management. and not too heavy terms to begin with,
there dt.w not seem any reason why the affair should not
atty. The "British Workman" even at Dorchester is not
to be despised. anti I hear that at Weymouth sonic of the
newt thoroughly business-like men are in the scheme ;but
they will want a cool man like Dr. Barnard° to manage
the affair.

Talking of teetotalism, we must not confound it with
God Templarisin, which is a much more systematic and
uncompromising thing. I can't help thinking it is owing
to Good Templarism that the old dams of wine is in some
assemblies, in Abbotehury and in Weymouth rejected
from a very solemn use, awl a nowiwoxicating wine
introduced in its place. The Church of England Temper-
ance Society are trying their hands at a middle way
between the drinking customs, and total abstinence. It
will he long before we return to the style of banquet com-
memorated by Burns :
" Six bottles apiece had scarce worn on the night.
When gallant Sir Robert, to finidi the fight,
Turned o'er in one bumper a bottle of red,
And declared 'twos the way that their ancestors did."
[The present style is a great improvement on that, and
we shall hove the sickly touts awl stupid speeches
reformed yet. If they will only begin by omitting that of
"The Press," I will thank them even for that small
nicety, and hope for more.]

One nf nun townsmen, Mr. W. Parmiter Kent, who has
dune • goo.l deal to

—" Trace the clohe around.
And scarrh from War..hani to Japan,"
Hai struck out a thoroughly frch line, as was to be
expected from a gentlemen who had so much experience.
Mr. Kent I, sub-editor of what ought to he the newest of
all newspapers-44'421M0 Events."—which, not content
with giving the " very latest," looks into the future. It
is indeed a Daily Remembrancer, and, looking through
its well-arranged columns, one is surprised to on how
much an be predicted, and how much of interest there is
in the "coining events," which here "cast there shadows
before." It hag also a very readable feuilletnn, from
which I extract an illustration of the advance note
sy,teln, winch I have referred to elsewhere. "lint here
again is a difficulty ; you see all my clothes on lay
I am not tit to remain with you as I am, anal I Amin in
that rase require same cash down for an outfit, which you
would not, naturally, be inclined to give. If I get a ship
at Nlarseilles I shall then get an advance, and if I do not
attend too much on this,' tapping the jug, 'I shall be able
to rig myself out complete."

Discs.