The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-01-10 00:00:00

übjeets
outrage,
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hoetilities.,
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encourage
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against Yankee officials, and the Government
which connives at and tacitly sanctions their
unlawful acts, stronger than ever. We are not
unaware that the 'Washington Cabinet has
a difficult game to play. Taking it for granted
that they recognise the virtue as well as the
prudence of respecting the canons of interna-
tional law, and that they are not solely guided
by the fear of having a peck measured to them
out of their own sack, there is no doubt that on
these occasions they have to run the risk of
unpopularity with the multitude, who are ready
to deify any military or naval officer who
may be guilty of a gross infraction of
law, so long as he makes the Yankee
power felt. General Dix, for instance,
will be almost as popular in New York as
Captain Wilkes was, and no one on this side of
the Atlantic would be surprised that they had
given him too a public dinner, and voted him an
address. It is to this sort of feeling that the
Washington Cabinet has to run counter if they
are to maintain decent relations with foreign
States ; and, therefore, we are not disposed to
withhold the full amount of credit that is due
to President Lincoln and his friends for having
disapproved of the order of General Dix. Mean-
while the Canadian authorities have taken
measures to prevent a repetition of such exploits
as that of the St. Alban3s raiders—in, so far as
any asylum in Canadian territory can help them.
Certainly such a feaVas that 'accomplished by
General Sherman in Georgia is well calculated
to put tho Federal Government in good spirits
and good humour, for the success of the march
or retreat, or whatever you call it, through
Georgia, is almost unprecedented in the annals
of warfare. Here a vast army has not only
maintained itself without supplies of its own in
an enemy's country, but it has picked up sup-
plies as it has gone on, and from having 200
head of cattle to start with, comes out at
Savannah with almost as many thousands, which
it is leisurely driving before it—every man in
the regiment having full rations every day,
during that latter part of the march when it
would be expected that the greatest distress
must be suffered. It seems, moreover, that
Sherman's army has been free from those guerilla
attacks upon its flanks, which were not unreason-
ably expected, and that it has come through and
out of all its perils in the finest condition. There
is but one way in which this surprising state of
things can be accounted for; the Confederates
must have been too weak to offer any serious
obstruction to Sherman—that'is to say, General
Lee was kept so fully employed by General
Grant that he could not afford to part with a
sufficient force to deal effectually with Sherman.
The only question now is whether Savannah can
be taken. If it can, it will probably remain in
the hands of the Federals until the end of
the war, and it will have been proved in ad-
dition' that the Confederate State,' can be pene-
trated for hundreds of miles by an enterprising
and persistent enemy. How long they could be
held is another question, which, perhaps, is not
destined to be answered for years to come, if
ever. As for the defeat of Hood by General
Thomas, it may be considered as completely
confirmed. In fact, we begin to look upon Hood
as a failure. Whether he has not had the proper
material to handle, or is embarrassed by short
supplies, or whatever the cause may be, he has
suffered greater reverses than any other Con-
federate general since the fall of Vicksburg.
By invading Tennessee he recovered the greater
part of that State for the South. His progress
was not stayed by the defeat at Franklin, and
when the Federate retreated into the lines at
Nashville, it seemed probable that the whole
country south of the Cumberland would
be in his power. His aim now was to
drive the Federals out of the country,
and for this purpose he assumed those offensive
operations that have not hitherto been success.
ful with either of the belligerents. General
Thomas at length turned upon him, and in a
battle, or series of battles, that stretched over
three days, has driven him several miles, with
the loss of several thousand men, and a consider-
able number of guns. The Federal general
evidently expects that Hood will now abandon
Tennessee, retreating southwards by the
Tennessee river, which he will endeavour to cross
at Florence. Whether this should prove to be
the wind-up of Hood's operations for the year
or not, there was great rejoicing in Washington
when the news arrived, and the Federals are
altogether in high spirits. The President has
availed himself of the general good humour to
call out 300,000 more men; so that the horrible
game is to be kept alive, and those who hoped
for and thought they saw signs of an early
termination of the war are again doomed to the
bitterness of disappointment.
Since the above was written, we have seen a
criticism in the Times, by that well-known pro-
Southern writer, Mr. Spence, of Liverpool, in
reference to Sherman's movements, and his
sensational march on Savannah. The writer ad-
mits the latter is a remarkable military feat—an
excellent theme for oratory—but he questions its
solid advantage. Whether he aimed at the
capture of Savannah, or the permanent occupa-
tion of Georgia, Mr. Spence thinks Sherman's
march was a mistake ; but if he aimed merely at
popular applause the march was very judicious.
No country, he remarks, was ever conquered by
marching through it, and as a step in the subju-
gation of the South the change from a good base
of operations—Atlanta—to a worse one—
Savannah—is a step backwards. "it is assumed
by many," says Mr. Spence, "that Savannah
will be taken, and indeed it will be difficult to
provision it. For the last three years it has had
no value except as a place of residence, its
harbour being entirely closed by Fort Pulaski.
The river, if opened, may be used by light
transports, but to much less purpose than the
railroad that was said to have been destroyed.
It has been observed that operations may follow
against Charleston, but the Federals must be
given to superfluous labour if they march on
that city from Savannah, when they have been
established e ithin five miles of it for a year past.
And there is a result of Sherman's march not to
be lost sight of. Some of the people of Georgia
have regarded the war all along as a remote
affair, and preferred to remain at home trading
and manufacturing. In this State, which had
seen nothing of the realities of a Federal occu-
pation, there has hitherto been some absence of
the zeal and self-devotion which have characterised
the rest. We shall now see the spirit that
germinates in a devastated soil. There is no
more effectual way to cure a lukewarm man than
to burn his house down." The writer admits
that "there is no doubt that Hood has sustained
a great reverse. The real extent remains to be
seen, as we hear of it at first with all the usual
exaggeration. There seems to have been a great
absence of judgment in sitting down before a
strongly fortified city in the depth of winter, and
giving the enemy time to drain Kentucky of
troops and increase his numbers indefinitely.
Unless Nashville could be taken by a rush it was
idle to wait before it till the Federal,' acquired
superiority in strength. The loss of five
generals killed in the assault of Franklin, and as
many more wounded, was enough to have in-
vited any general to pause. Like other men of
reckless courage, Hoodappears to have made the
error common to the aggressive opperations of
the South, that of underrating the antagonist.
But the issue is yet to be seen. It is stated that
during the alarm and pressure of Hood's ad-
vance the Federal,' evacuated Chattanooga and
all the positions eolith of Tullahoma. This does
not appear very probable, but if it proves to be
the fact, and the Confederates re-occupy them
they would be no inconsiderable return for ths; Emß
. —At the Winchester City Sessions,
cost of Hood's advance, and would leave, indeed, held lain week, before the deputy reoorder, T. Gunner
a balance of gain in favour of the South upon gaq,, John FAiwards, journeyman butcher, °barge.]
the whole of these operations." with embessling meat, the property of his employer,
Some time ago the Small Arms Committee, Mr. Robert Hayward, of this town, army contractor,
appointed by the Ordnance Department, invited offered against him.
was
erovide:nrionbelng —Before the Mayor
a competition of rifle manufacturers to demon-
end JR°BieZ 713E9. ' aY'
strata to them the feasibility of converting the Assaciv.°l)William Amey, sawyer, of Ford
present Enfield rifle into a breech-loader capable ton, was charged with smelting Mary Ann Wood-
of firing a cartridge with the present nipple and wt—Mr. Look appeared for complainant, and
percussion cap, and at an economical cost. Several Mr. Weston for defendant. —Complainant said she
samples were sent in, and they have just selected was landlady of the Star Inn. Defendant owed bee
that forwarded by Mr. Westley Richards. Two some money, and she seat hire • bill in May last.
thousand Eufield'a so adapted have been ordered, Of this he took no notice, and by her advice a letter
and when completed will be distributed for was sent to him to the effect that if he did not pay
practical trial among troops quartered in various her in a week she should put him in the County
countries under British rule. The acceptance Court. The week expired on the 19th of December.
On that afternoon he came to her house and calledof this invention is understood to be only a
for a glass of beer. He was very drunk and she
temporary expedient, however, as the duty
refused to draw it for him. She left the tap-ron
devolving upon the committee is to discover a when he followed her into the paage, and attempted
new rifle altogether, especially one which will to strike her, but she avoided the blow by 'Mapping
allow the adoption of the new metallic cartridge, into the bar, and the defendant struck the wall
which combines economy of space with dura- instead. She threatened to send for the polies
bility of wear, and renders cap or pin super- unless be left the house, when he swore that he did
fiuous. The committee, whilst directing patient not care for them more than he did for her, Mit
attention to the subject, are not inclined to come ultimately he left. —ln cross-examination, she maid
to a hasty conclusion, as the experience of the she authorised Mr. Hawker, an excise officer, to send
war in America is giving rise almost daily to the notice to defendant, but she was certain the one
reclined wax not in his hand writing, but she
novel inventions the effect and worth of which P
would not tell who vuote it.—A witnees,named Ann
it is desirable to lest from time to time.
From Paris we learn that the tone of
i corroborated complainants statement, and
the
said that f Mrs. Woodward had not avoided the
Emperor is decidedly pacific. A petition has blow aimed at her by defendant she in love
been addressed by 400 manufacturers and been k„aed down. she was
going
shre
dealers in textile fabrics of Lyons, declaring when she saw this. In
their adherent* to the &Oland Aide by • Mr. Weston said that if die saw OP 'Ad
certain member of the Paris two* titst a gone upotiairs like • "Crab."
mitt** of Ithquirf dull be Itereedlillrel "new to ' seemed greedy to kdaziats the \
I.‘ . . Tidal b.B Awn,
AOLOai- AttO 1.14 44..4 -famed ad a,iss b 4,111, %. Litt, 111 1.),i 4,011 .4 ilea •siiJ ltrioso
—.levlis
,iisyltas 'NT Ai nal xsx4 cdi nedo—i)db ao4 tislA

prevent the injury occasioned to commerce
generally by the frequent augmentation of the
rate of discount by the Bank of France. It is
assumed that other petitions will follow. The
accounts from the manufacturing districts are
in general satisfactory. It is stated that the
commission appointed by the Emperor three
years since to exaMine into the state of the
naviAtion laws, has recommended their aboli-
tion ; also, that a bill will be introduced next
session to the Legislative Corps, having for its
object the abolition of ditties upon articles used
either in the construction or equipment of ships
built in Prance, and that within six months from
the passing of the law all foreign-built ships are
to be admitted duty free. The differential
duties either upon ships, or upon goods in ships,
are to be abolished. The tonnage duties are also
to be done away with. The weather has been
more than usually severe.
Statistics, generally speaking, are lool:ed
upon with suspicion, as partaking of the
anomalous in all questions affecting revenue
and expenditure ; but the time for conceal-
ment is now gone by; and the periodical
returns placed before the country, in abstract
and detail, may safely be relied upon as faithful
indications of the ebb and flow of commerce,
the fluctuations of trade, and the monetary con-
dition of the industrious classes. The remission
of £2,250,000 of taxation last year by the re-
duction of the sugar duties, and the duty on fire-
insurance, and a penny taken off the income-
tax, created a vacuum which, it was assumed,
would be difficult to fill in ; but such is the
wonderful elasticity and strength of our re-
sources, the default of one great branch of trade
or the sudden closure of one available source of
income, is certain to find compensation in the
progress of other departments. Thus we find,
according to the revenue returns for the quarter
and year just expired, that the loss of two-and-
a-half millions of revenue is met by an increase
in the Excise of more than £1,500,000; in the
post-office, £260,000; stamps, £216,000; and
miscellaneous, £252,754 ; the net decrease of the
year being only £308,246. The encouragement
thus afforded by Mr. Gladstone's faith in the
undeveloped resources of the country, in the
spirit of enterprise and venture that marks the
present era, and in the extension of labour and
profitable employment of capital, furnishes just
grounds of hope and expectation of making
further headway during the year we are now
entering upon, and will, no doubt, stimulate
the Chancellor of the Exchequer to further com-
mercial reforms, in the full reliance that the
great majority of the people are with him.
Much has been done to develope free-trade prin-
ciples, and thereby extend the field for capital
and labour, but still much remains to be ac-
complished.
All ships of war passing Osborne during Her
Majesty's stay in the Isle of Wight have received
instructions to resume the practice of firing
salutes—another of the proofs, of which several
have been furnished lately, that the Queen is
gradually returning to those duties and ob-
servances which marked the monarch's private
and public life before the death of the Prince
Consort.

Rumours have for a long time been afloat of a
projected matrimonial alliance between Her
Royal Highness the Princess Mary of Cam-
bridge and Viscount Hood. Absurd statements
of the obstinate refusal of the Queen to sanc-
tion the marriage were put forth. At last, it
was boldly stated that the marriage had actually
taken place, in defiance of her Majesty's wishes.
The general feeling which prevailed on this
'abject was one of sympathy with the beloved
Princess, who has long held a high place in the
affections of the people, and whose happiness is
an object very dear to the heart of the nation.
It turns out, however, that the reports referred
to have no foundation in fact ; and they have
wisely been contradicted on unquestionable
authority.

A very neat illustration of the stupidity and
arrogant airs of some of our County Constabu-
lary has just been exhibited. A person, giving
the name of Moron, and alleging that he was
a Carmarthen detective, put himself in com-
munication with the police authorities at Shrews-
bury, stating that he held a warrant for the
apprehension of a thief who, he had reason to
believe, was staying at an hotel in the town.
The assistance of a Shrewsbury constable was at
once granted him; and the two prooeeded to the
hotel, and arrested the "thief" forthwith.
The "thief" was searched ; and his gold
watch and a large sum of money were
taken from him. These valuables the
Welshman was cute enough to pocket ; the
worthless body of the owner being left in the
care of the Shrewsbury constable. He was
carried off to the station, and gave his name C
Mr. Charles Ashworth, of Manchester, but was
not allowed to telegraph to his friends, Morgan
having taken the precaution of prohibiting that
dodge on the ground that the prisoner had an
accomplice, and that be was on his track. So
Mr. Charles Ashworth was kept in confinement,
and not allowed to hold communication with
his friends, while Morgan made clean off with
his booty. The device was a smart one, but the
police authorities at Shrewsbury deserve to be
punished for their folly, nevertheless, Gracious
powers! if we 'are to be at the mercy of the
wisdom of the police, what man is safe?

DORCHESTER.--,-PITCHED CORN Manua, Saturday.
—Wheat trade dull, and in a few cases only a slight
advance was paid on the previous week's prices.
Abundant supply of barley—best quality eanged hands
freely at late currencies; secondary sorts a dull sale.
Oats again rather dearer.
Ma. Erreou'e REPOSITORY SALE, on Saturday, at-
tracted • large attendance of purchasers from Loudon,
Portsmouth, and other places, when upwards of 150
head of cow stook and about 400 sheep were brought
under their notice; the whole of which changed hands
at the following quotations :—Beef, 12s. 6d. to 13s 6d.
per score; mutton, Bd. to 9d. per lb.; heifers and calves,
£ll to £lB ; and barreners, £7 to £l3 per head
WORKING MEN% INSTITUTION.—A very numerous
meeting assembled at this institution on Wednesday
for the purpose of electing officers for the coming year.
The chair was taken by the president of the society,
Mr. G. it. Bawler. Mr. Stephen Baker, the secretary,
read his quarterly report, which showed • balance of
upwards of £7 in the hands of the treasurer.
This report, as also the treasurer's accounts, were
most satisfactory, and were passed. After this the
election of officers took place, when the following were
re-elected :—President, Mr. G. it. Bawler; vice-presi-
dect, Mr. H. Edwards; treasurer, Mr. W. J. W. Pike;
secretary, Mr. S. Baker; and librarian, Mr. John
Dean. Re-elected on the committee were Messrs.
Jameson, Crocker, Jeffreys, Bunting, Payne, Meech,
and J. Guy elected. After transacting some business
with reference to the change of certain periodicals, the
meeting was adjourned to Wednesday week, when the
annual report will be presented.

THE WEATHIIII.—The reading of the thermometer at
Dorchester for the past week is as follows :

1 111
.., Direetioa State of
. • Noon i of Wind. Weather.
4 &A
31 32 NNE &SSW Hazy
36 30 N Hazy, One
46 38 W Cloudy, fair
46 38 W Cloudy, rain
42 29 NW Fine, cloudy
38 36 W Fine
44 39 _ 8 Cloudy, rain
wit= 1863.
Fine

Dates. 1

JAN.
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

JAR.
2
3
4
5
8
7
8

23 E
22 E
22 ENE
21 NE
26 NE
20 NE
20 ENE

- ;
Fine
Fine
Fine
Gloomy

Fine
Fine

certain

corn-1