The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-04-28 00:00:00

Aloret gonitiq Expres.

DORCHESTER. AI'RIL 28tIt, 11445.

tiotts.

Thr representatiiins of an Old Volunteer in our I
last are likely to hear fruit, li' we imilerstand there
I. every prohalnlity of the I hirset iiattali,,nencamp.
ing this summer in the D.weleister,
—perhaps at Maiden Castle iw Pioutillimiy The
necewary preliminary enquiries have alrvioly been
made. As we isiiitteil nit last week, thi• camp n
afford genuine pleasure to the inhabitants iif this
district, and sites ("stud he found leirealssits equal, if
not poli..riot, to any in the county. hir own corps
would, of course. have to undergo what by some inty
he considered a little sacrifice, awl ',islet their 1111 l
outing in thew own country, hut mi.. feel sore they
would tal amply repaid by the pleasure it wisihl afford
their relatives and friends.

The rector .4 St. Pi-ter' Sunday loot. aftrr
.I,,,king in neiting termo iif the near posq.cet .4 a
terrible war, obeerved that at the present i. • I.:iixtlanil
appeared to sMarl abuts, with all the nations 11, ttittg
against her, while a few years ago he occupio-.1 1 ,o.ry
different pintion, tieing then feared, loolionir.-4, and
respected in all quarteroo id the Ti.- reet..r
St. Peter's in not alone in holding this Celle( :vol
we should like too ask 011.11 it wo, that England etosl
in a better positi 111 l than idle I. ie., now to meet a
foreign enemy Was it viglit ',
o•ar. ago when a vote
of .ix millions win asked for ! Then .1,401 mi-tau
was shattered AIM t.. in. Now it is .trong and
friendly. Then India wa. in an electrical conditi, n
of unmet, owing to mismanagement under I.onl
Lytton's rule, whereas now India is • friendly
than she has ever been before, native princes riving
with each other in their offers of help. Eight yeas*
ago our colonies regarded our exploits in Afghanistan
and at the Cape with oddness, now they are eager
to stand shonkler to shoulder with us, .hould our time
of trial come. Then half the people in tlii, country
regarded war against Russia, on helialf of a decaying
piwer such as Turkey, as madness, while now every-
one is agreed as to the necessity of resisting encroach-
ments upon 'our OWII frontiers. Then we were entering
upon a period of terrible trial in Ireland, now
happily that has well nigh passed away. All history
teaches us that if a nation is united and true to itself,
it haa 'ludo to fear from external enemies If this in
true as applied to ourselves, then with the ti•holii
empire knit together by the bonds of true aympothy.
resulting from • wise statesmanship, England nosy
assuredly now, if over, look forward with some con.
&Jenne to resitting any dangers that may threaten
from without.

The friendly *ale by Italy to England of her tint
new ironclad warship does nos look its if this cuuutry
was wholly destitute of fonsigu support.

It is often said, and on the continent it is firmly
believed, that we are not • military people. But we
are at any rate a fighting nation. If a military
career is generally speaking Irma popular with mu than
amongst continental nations, it is partly because of
a dislike for the dullness and routine of liamek life
in times if IleaCe, partly because higher pay i V. be
earned in other brandies 44 employment, and partly
beCallae ..f the liability iuf our soldiers to long n.siulenee
abroad. Of recent years recruiting has leen ;sir.
Ocularly slack, and alarmists have drawn a fearful
picture id onr inability to fill up our ranks. But it is
evident that no such apprehensions need eaist.
There is a general expectat. uif a great war. one
which, if it come., will almo.t ui neee..ity lie one of
bung duration; •nd recruits von', in at once in
shoals. Young men of goisl physique and fair uallielt•
tin present themselves eagerly for enrolment in the
lbleell'a forces. 'There :a a pro.peet of tough lighting,
and that i. enough 1..1. theist.

The exmaple 1 the colonists is ..nly another abr.
tration .4 the fighting prniensities of the Anglo-
Saxon race. The Australian contingent is not made
tip of men who could endure barrack life ; but they
wane to be in ths field. .gain, or Volunteo-s,
though their engagement is only to serve within the
realm, are by no means content to be kept t.. their
word. So many et our citizen soldiern are anxious to
smell powder in real battle that the services of at least
one regiment compowed of them will be available, and
will probably be accepted in case of war with Russia.
It has been well said that Englishmen, with all their
I"va of Peace, are the only nom who fight with real
enjoyment. We need not be afraid. Our men are
made of the SAW stuff as ever, and though our army
ii small, it is capable of touch greater and more rapid
expansion than we are .pt to think in the piping
times of poem.

Another explosion ! The inters al hits not been
long, and in this case the motive is not unintelligible.
The scoundrel consiiirat,irs n.. doubt imagined
that a blow up at the Admiralty would confuse
and delay the preparation ..f the Fleet for active ser-
vice. As usual, the plot has failed in its ultimate
intention, and we are neither nationally injured nor
terrified. If we have • war with Russia, it la to la'
hoped for the credit of human nature, that the dyna-
miters will ("nit • regiment and enter the Russian
service. It will at least redeem them front the credit
of mean poltroonery. It will at least give them the
dunce of fighting men—and armed men, instead if
making war with maidservants and civilians. It
wanld kid immense test to a conflict with the Mute°.
vitae if we amid come to a reckoning with our dynami-
Mid gtens M the same time.

LM 353 isb ury' speech upon depression of trade
is significant us praatiosl declaration by the leader
"f the ConsdrystiVil party in favour of " Fair Trade
,-
or at least in favour of that kind of Fair Trade whirl,
ill advocated by Mr. Hokroyd. The latter gentleman
may be proud of the convert he has made. The
recent inoventent which has been made in the promo-
tion of Colonial Fedaratioo him indeed inevitably
broughli Lr. Schroyd's theories to the front.
Lord Salisbury has as least inaisted upon the
propriety uf an inquiry into the subject.
Reciprocity, as Lord Beaconsfield said, is
dead; but it ought not to be beyond the
ingenuity of our statesmen to devise some remedy
1.. r the undeniable evils of All altogether one.sided
Free Trade.