The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-09-15 00:00:00

Voroet gountg Expres.

DORCHESTER, SEPTEMBER 15th, 15.

SOUL

The Mayor of Dorchester is to be heartily oongratm
listed and commended on his strenuous exertions to
secure the visit of the Bath and Wert of England
Society to Dorchester in 1887. Since the last meeting,
When the proposition was received by several
prominent townsmen in • very lukewarm manner, the
town ham been aroused to a keen interest in the
question, and the result was his Worship's second
appeal was responded to by a large and
thoroughly representative meeting of tradesmen,
farmers, and others, who came with minds
made up as to the desirability of the exhibition being
held here. The canvass of the town has produced
surprisingly good results, and we have no doubt, with
the generous support of the Agricultural Society
airessly amused, and the liberality of the county
people, the financial difficulty will be easily sur-
mounted. We consider this happy result to be almost
entirely due to the (Aorta of Alderman Gregory, who
has, since the proposition was first mooted, defied the
wet blanket" which in this particular matter has
bees liberally brought into use.

The outlook before the country (says the Record)
canaot be regarded as very enlivening. It iv, to say
the lomat, doubtful whether the list of voters can be
fiaelly revised before the end of November, and it
may be nenteeary to deter the General Election until

lead. Yet already we are in the midst of a political
contest of unexampled intensity. From all parte of
the country come reports of meetings and picnics and
banquets, at all 01 which political principles are very
variously expounded. It is didicult to contemplate
calmly the prospect of this weedy warfare being
indefinitely prolonged.

I/invasion tho prohalifi—ty of Mr. fila44one's
retirement to-day's Stand" .4 says :—Will Mr. Glad.
atone undertake the leadership of the Liberal peaty
in the next Parliament! The. id one of the questions
which, at the present moment, are neceesarily upper•
most in the minds of all who are interested in politics',
foe on the &newer to it depends the answer also to a
great many other questiona of supremo interest sad
mportance. The Liberal party without Mr. Glad.
Mow wooki, under existing circumstanoes, be a
helpless multitude, having no common purpose
to guide them, and no confidence in each other."

Whik 'banning with every word se to the enormous

value of Mr. Gladatone's individuality and guidance
at the head of the Liberal party, yet we are not
*fined to join ionic with the Illtormiard am to the utter
belplemetteas of the Liberal party without him. In
the ordinary arsine of events, however fax we may
hops the day will be, we shall be deprived of the
veteran statesman's invaluable aid, but we have an
impression (we may be foolishly sanguine in enter•
tenting it) that the Liberal party will not be
extinguished on the unhappy day when the
nation will by Mr. :lladstone's death lon. one 44 the
grandest statesmen who ever lived. Still we join
with every other section of the Liberal Party in the
earnest hope that Mr. Gladstone will lire long to
lead the party of which for so many years he han
been the mainstay.

Something like a discussion has been ping on in the
Press respecting the supposed rival claims of hoed
Martingtne anti Mr. Chamberlain to the inheritance
of the Liberal leadership. Speculation on ouch a
matter is rather premature, considering that Mr.
Gladstone ha 4 shown no signs of resigning his iseition
as the renagnised party chief. A. long AA the en-
l'renner is to the front, it matters little what may be
the political divengencies hetwoon the two stateitnen
shore mentioned. If the general electi it be rdelght
on the Liberal Ai& in lb.. name td Mr. tavlstone, and
the issue of it be • triumph for hint, th.. Liberal mtates•
men who may accept office tinder hien will have to
r shier themselves or bring thetnrelves tip to his
standard, as tho ease may lu.. Vithout him, to
restrain one statesman awl stint:date anotls•r, then•
%eight indeed he a danger of intestinal clivisi.ott in the
groat Liberal party, that is, in the pneent Puba.
mentary representation ..1 it lout then it mast I.e
n.moinbered that this representation will pealtably Ito
• attend Ity the general election that it would he
!tittle to enter into a dirtena,i.si opon pro...tit I Ilia.
%triton the now Liberal representation In Parliament
hat btorti tasistitittetl, it will I,• d —itto who,
in default of Mr. Gladstone, waihul have the best title
1.. its leadership.

The political mtleration of the Trailes ITnion C m-
intage, 54 evinceil in the pr., native.. th y recomnrild
to the voirking class elector. of tho initeel gimp' on,
it pretty generally rocognited ltY ti. r Th"
practical representatives .4 fi.lerated w,,r1c.11..ts
give no emolument") to Mr. Chamber! sin'. .pi so
eonalistie platform. What they went from the new
Parliament is not more instalment. .4 wlitieal
revolution, but measures that will tend to ameliorate
the • oriel coutlitiout .4 their own chi.. They have
hew taken to tails by mime eaptionn critic., however,
for seeming to put tho interests of claw before these
111 the country. Ittit the simple answer of the min,
mentalist) workmen to this criticism would probably
tie,"ll we don't look alter our own class interests,
who will r. At all events, our working men mem
&Monis of elevating their Inrn claw without attempt.
jog to injure or destroy other clement, and in this
they differ from aerociated artisans in meet Europosa
countries. Social reform is a ipiesti.si that will obtain
attention from people 1010 woukl scout the mention of
social nriolution.

A revising Ministership is generally regarded as a
lucrative a4nmintmesit, a. it brings in a few hundreds
of pounds for what is usually mere ositine work per.
formed during • few weeks of the long vacations,
when even those gentlemen of the long robe, who me
not habitually briellsea, Rod their ordinary occupatiim
gone. But dna year, what with the extension .4 the
franchise, the re-arrangement 14 the constituencies
and other legislation affecting the registers, the rr
ing barrister. are having a bits), and sometimes anent.
barrassing time of it. For instance, it WM imagined
that the Medical Relief Itill had finally loon niade
comprehensive and clear enough ; but the nice point
has still to be decided by the personal discretion 4 the
revisers, whether a man loses his vow by having been
a patient in a Pone Law Infirmary.