The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1869-07-13 00:00:00

DIM LONDON OORItiII&ONDENT.

The course which the Lords have taken with the
Irish Church BM hes surprised almost everybody. No
me teat I have nest with thought that their lordahips
would be 60 told as to preserve to the dieesteblished
church nearly all Its property etc•p4 the tithe, with.
out balancing this generosity by eta to the Roman
Catholics and Presbyterians ; but both fa Committee
quid on the Report they refused to entertain the notion
ut coseurreet endowment, while they persisted in 10-
log the personages and glebo. to the disestablialted
clergy. Ms provision is, at enures, the most im-
portant amendment made by the Peers, but there are
severs/ lathers which will be very unpalatable to the
Nouse of Commons and the Government. If the
Howe of lards Insists upon It. amendments, we shall
iiciabtlese have • collision between the two (Rousse •
though at the moment I write it ie not certain web.;
the collision may not rather be between ths House of
Lords and the Ministry through the rejection of the
BIN ea the third reading.
- -

R 11•1 Russell on Thursday night suffered another of
those diesopointanents which have marked his political
life. Time after time he saw frustrated his attempta
to effect a mooed reform of the House a Commons,
until the work was taken out of his hands by Mr.
Disraeli ; and now he has been defeated in hi. attempt
to reform the Upper Chamber. It seems a pity that
the noble earl. in his old age should have been denied
the gratification of tarrying his harmless Bill for Import-
ing life-peers into the house of Lords by homusopathie
dimes; for it would have pleased him to carry the
ueeaatre, Lad could Dot have hurt anybody. But the
Peers WWI to have been influatioed by two consider'.
tions In ravening the verdict they gave upon the
discoed reading of the BilL In the drat plane, the
political ability and eloquence which they found among
themselves daring the debates on the Dish Church
si,.pear to have convicted tbeni that their House
did Dot want any such propping op as Lord Russell
.reposed. and in the second place, they doubtless got I
alarmed it the idea of sending down to the Commons I
a measure affecting the privileges of their own body.
At a thins when the Peers were so busily `engaged in
materially and extensively amending a Bill sent up
from the Commons, what guarantee was there that the
latter assembly would not take similar liberties with
wile Life Peerage. Bill? Supposing the Lower House had
Introduced amendments doubling the number of life
peers to be enated, and abolishing all restrictions as to
making se ariuty a year ! The very idea was dreadful ;
Met the Commons might have taken thin way of ex-
pressing their opinion of the want of extensive reform
te a body se greatly out of harmony with their own.

Thing."—that useful, comprehensive word !
appear to be Is • vary unsettled state In Franee—l
nue things political. Xne day we bear of reactlon•
ary threats on the part of the Emperor; the next,
that the Ministry has rnignel. • order that a new
Ministry, iivdeiliag members of the Left Centre, may
carry out reform. In • constitutional direetion. But no-
thing appeanto be .attain except that all is uncertainty.
'The Emperor 15110015 to be oscillating between two
sipinions, and to require • sermon from his ehaplain
&hailer to that whirl, was preached to Jame. I. sad VI.,
rom James i., 6, " Nothing wavering." The old
inciiiion of character item, to have departed with his
Majesty's increasing yeArs and growing difficulties,
and tho bold attitude summed by the enemies of the
Empirei. robbing it of that prestige which it obtained
as pre-eminently • •trong Government. If the Empire
X. not strong, it is nothing.
"

H it were not tor the Immense amount of nu:Key
fineolved, it would be amusing to read the evidence
given before rue Abyssinian War rouitnittee. General
Jatimen, 07 the Indian Audit Board, tells how be
catenated the eat of transport, in the first instance, at
girk,ov per month ; but no bearing from India he
raised his estimate to mow, or newly three times as
much. Then "up to a certain point " he adanlated
tte expense of the expedition at 4,000.000, and at
E600,00U a month afterward_ , s • but when he made thie
estimate, he did not think the war wield terminate rs
eons as it did. But what was the use of estimating at
with all thew diserepaecies The feet is, that it
is impossible te estimate the east of a war; and if it
were peesible, we have not the officials to do it. We
told the Rowhey Government "logo in and win," and
we would pay for all; and they went in, especially
bar profusion of eapenditure, and won much credit at
our heart expense. This ie all the Abyssinian
mittee will by able to tell us, after all it. investiga-
tions.
A little while ago • girl was drowned while perform.
ins some foolhardy tricks on the bank of the Regent's
Canal, at • part wearable to the public, but whisk
they have no right to trespass upon. The coroner's
jery recommended that the canal ehould be fenced in at
this spot; but the aompiuty objected that they did not
want the the plane forted, that persons introaing upon
ewe trespassers, although they did no harm, and
that, therefore, there wee no motive for the company to
net. A few lisys ego the Worship-street magistrate
made a eisoilar recommendation to the London and St.
Katherine Cock Company's police. He suggested that,
on account of the many anicides from the bridges in
the dwell, the height of the barrier railings ahould h.
smileed but thie was objected to, not only brans* It
would obstruct burner., but because persona deter.
mined to commit suicide would not be deterred by any
such precations. Of course, in eeeh as.. private cow
paniesre•y reasonably make such objections. It VAS •
very different thing when the top of the Monument
was caged in to prevent persons dashing themselves
down ma the pavement beneath. It was as much to pro-
tect the public from horrible spectriles es to preserve
human life, that thi. was done. And, indeed, it is a
question whether any obstructions or facilities would
much decreer. or inure's the number of inside. . This
much is certain, that sotne of our biiilaes that have
very low parapet.a, such as Westminster Bridge, are not
remarkable for the number of suicides committed from
them ; while Waterloo-bridge, with its halfpenny bil—
low Hood's" Bridge of Bighs"—used ti be notorims
for the number of wreathed and deeperate macula that
throw themselves from its parapet& I may murk
here, that it *arida., have not decreased in the aggre-
gate. those by drowning appear certainly to have
considerably diminished in number, though "attempts"
are still very frequent ; but in many of the letter cases
It is pretty clear that the offenders do not contemplate
se-teal death.

The fine woollier has made the fird week of the
'Wimbledon welting • most buooesafal Lod agreeable
one, not only for the volunteer*, but for tbe thousands
of right beers, Lod the tradesmen who eater to the
requiremente of both parties. Ooly two serious draw.
hacka bane ocourred—tbe burning of • lent, and the
actuidasstsHischarge of his rifle through • number of
tout. by Ceeporal Peak, who boa, therefore, boss
qualified from farther shooting. This poor fellow seems
doomed to misfortune, for you will reeollect how he
forfeited the Queen's Prise last year, through an
accidental irregularity in big ammunition. The year he
had won lb. Prinoe of Wales's Prize Priam, and no
doubt hoped to secure the coveted honour of the
.Querrea Prize, when be lost all chum of it by bra eara.
lees handbag of • loaded rifle.
SPECTATOR.

Tan ACTH AT TA1.1111•011.—In eansegisence
id tie refmal ol the Ta•nton Market T. rustis s
.ippoint a committee Weenier with • committee of the
Local Board of health and • committee appointed by the
town in public meeting sesembled, the earlier balitf of
the borough, Hr. H. Charming, couvensil another
public meeting on Friday evening, at the to
receive the report of th• joint committees, and to
farther insider the beet reran, of remedying the evils
nttenilant rivet the prnsent government of the town and
an•rketa. The raerting was address...Nl by Meows.
Clarke, Cord.. ut. Harrel, Afe)ler, Penny, Williams,
Manning, rind Wotton, all of whom madly eomplained
of the exiatiog state of things, and • unanintoue
rvsloation woo passed calling upon the Load Board it
lfeslth to everei.e the power vested in them pay olf
the drht of £19.401.1 dos upon the markets, and take
them nod,' their contra. The trustees, however, are
not likely to surrender without • struggle, and if e.
the expense open the inhabitants will be nry great. ,