The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-06-06 00:00:00

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Captain Dawkins has been placed on half-pay.
THE CHANNEL SQUADRON. —The Channel squadron,
consi4ting of the Hector, Black Prince, Defence, Edgar,
and Trinoulo, were off the Eddystone at noon on
Thursday, and after a short cruise are expected to put
in at Plymouth.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

.
QUEEN is at Balmoral. The
accoucbement of the Princess of Wales Unex-
pectedly took place last Saturday. The
Prince was present as usual on the turf
at Epsom td the Derby Day, and of
course saw England beaten on her own
ground, and at her own national sport,
by the French horse " Gladiateur."
The French Emperor's quarrel with
his cousin Plon Plon continues to give
rise to the most exaggerated rumours and
excitement, culminating in the highly
improbable story that the former has
inhibited the latter from all his privileges as
a Prince of the blood, if not deprived him of
his rights altogether. It seems certain,
however, that Prince Napoleon has with. '
drag n from France into Switzerland, and is
now perchance a citizen of the Helvetic
Republic. If this be so, His Imperial
Majesty may have yet some trouble with
"Mon cousin." His cousin by courtesy, the
Emperor Maximilian, has sent his private
secretary to Paris to develope a still more
serious business. The mission is to urge the
the instant despatch of 25,000 more French
troops to Mexico I and we may judge of the
result of the application by the rumour that
one brigade has already started although
this has since been officially contradicted.
In Austria it is thought that Maximilian
will abdicate. We are not clear, how-
ever, that a collision is imminent between
the "United States and France in the
Gulph territory. The idea that Maximilian
would adopt the cause of the shattered Con-
federacy is now met by sensible men with
the conviction that be will never show himself
to be such a fool; for although Magruder
holds out for Texas, and from the nature and
extent of that far-west territory may give
the North some trouble before they can
claim extinction of the embers of Civil War;
an armament has been dispatched to the
South itself to trample them completely out
in that quarter. It is only therefore with
American filibusters and the Yankee
sympathisers of Juarez that the French
auxiliaries would be required to cope—but
neither of these can be held to fight in a
national character.

IL-CONTOCATION has closed its session,
having, before separating, carried by a large
majority Archdeacon Denison's resolutions
on the " Conscience Clause" in education.
The Canon framed for the relaxation of
subscription
to the Articles has still to pass
through the ordeal of obtaining the sanction
of Parliament before it can become law. The
project for the Reform of Convocation by
increasing the constituency and the repre-
sentation, meets with less favour than the
other measures brought forward, because it
is not believed that a larger infusion of the
inferior clergy is desirable in the Lower Rouse.
Let it be remembered in the ensuing General
Election that in Mr. Disraeli's famous
manifesto, that leader, speaking of the
degeneracy of our system of Civil Govern-
ment into a mere system of police, sees
nothing in such a result but the corruption
of nations and the fall of empires,
demands that the principle of religion "
be an element of our Political Constitution,

and I
shall

and that the State shall be consecrated." I
Three new Sees are about to be founded in
England, at St. Albans, calculated alike to
relieve the dioceses of London and Win-
chester; at Southwell (Notts), to relieve
the diocese of Lincoln; and in Cornwall,
either at Bodmin or Truro, to relieve the
diocese of Exeter. At all events the Bishops
of the -Upper House of Convocation have
concurred in an address to the Crown
praying Her Majesty to sanction these
foundations, engaging that the funds for their
support shall be forthcoming out or the
Episcopal Estates in the hands of the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, aided by private
munificence.

lII.—PARLIA.mmix is pretty much seen
out of doors for the present; for, not content
with adjourning over the Derby Day, the
House of Lords having next to nothing
before it, has adjourned over the Whitsun
recess, till next Monday the 12th of June,
and the House of Commons has followed suit.
We could not help noticing that as our
Dorchester Members, suddenly plunged into
the heat of an election contest, might be
seen making up their books from door to door,
in our streets, instead of on Epsom Downs,
that the same inexorable necessity must have
called away many an honourable member from
England's first summer holiday, and from the
House itself, and that the Commons as well
as the Lords must have been looking "rather
thin." Mr. Gladstone, for instance, has been at
Chester addressing the electors in support of
his son, and rather astonishing his new
formed radical friends and whole-hoggites,
by opposing himself to a general lowering of
the suffrage, and declaring with Mr. Disraeli
for a "lateral" extension of the franchise
' instead. This is like Mr. Gladstone, what-
ever may be said of Mr. Disraeli, for the
former Eight Hon. gentleman's movements
invariably partake of the character of those
of the crab—they are all side-ways—all
" lateral" ; you may think that he is marching
forward, or you may think that he is going
backward, but you are certain only that he is
going to one-side.
I V.—LoCA.I, ELECTION PROGRESS has
been further diversified by the appearance of
Mr. Calcraft, for Wareham. We have
already said what we could in favour of Mr.
Drax ; and, with the stern impartiality for
which we are noted, might, for anything we
find in his address, say very much the same
for Mr. Calcraft. It is one of those cases in
which Caviar and Pompey seem "berry much
alike, 'specially Pompey. The addresses of
both hon. gentlemen are before our readers;
they may judge for themselves. No doubt
the adherents of either will find enough to
admire. Both bear such excellent characters
as country gentlemen, both take such a keen
and lively interest in the affairs of their
district, both are so well known, so much
respected and admired. for genuine good
qualities, that the only thing we regret is that
the task should have devolved upon a locality
so deeply attached to both, to have to decide
betwixt them. As for politics, there is some
shade of difference; that it should amount
to so little is all the more remarkable, con-
sidering the changes of sentiment which both
gentlemen have gone through in former years.
Both seem highly constitutional, and really,
but for that trilling allusion to the ballot, we
should scarcely know which was the more so.
Nay, it is this very allusion which enhances
the puzzle. And altogether, under existing
circumstances,we should doubt the expediency
of disturbing the representation. A third
man—but not the third man—is out for
Poole, Mn, Waring, we understand, is
CariVassing the eleetcht tilthotigh, Whether
he can weaken the Car:ford interest on the
one hand, or break up the Conservative
phalanx of Mr. Franklyn on the other, so far
as to slip in betwixt these two, despite the
diversion certain of being made as usual by
Mr. Healy, is a problem best known at
present to those who have been working for
some time to obtain a chance for Mr.
Waring, of which we are very sceptical,
however, of the existence. Now, as regards
the Borough of Dorchester, the war of ad.
dresses and squibs; and other electidn
Works, is well kept up. We understand that an
Ignorant reporter has undertaken to deny that
the meeting of the Anti-Malt-Tax Committee,
elsewhere reported, ever took place. Now,
we have the best reason to know that it did
take place, because it was held in our own
rooms, the members having adjourned, in
consequence of the delay in dusting down the
place of meeting originally selected. That
every syllable of the report is faithful to a
fault every one present, we are sure, will
readily attest. Our only surprise is that it
should be for one mtinient agithried by the
supportes of either party in the present
election contest that the meeting, which was
purely one composed of the friends of the
repeal of the Malt-Tax, should have had in
view the interest of any one candidate now
before the constituency. So far as we are
aware, one and all of the hon. gentlemen have
yet to declare themselves on that subject;
and to extract their sentiments in some
shape ere the close of the election, was, we
suppose, the objet or the meeting in
question. Nevertheless, we are certain that
the name of any single candidate was never
once brought forward on the occasion. It
may be remembered that for our part we
charged the whole three in our last with
seeking to steer clear of this point.
We charge them with it still, and we call upon
them impartially for some definite response
upon the su i
bject. Weymouth rejoices n two
Anti-Malt-Tax representatives. Is Dor-
chester—a thousand fold the more important
market town of the two—not entitled to
have One? Sir Henry Ettwandon Ims been
lecturing at Frome, which appears to imply
a contest with the resident candidate, who is
coming forward on the local interest as
mentioned in our last.