The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1878-12-17 00:00:00

Pious anti *intll
ON DORCHESTER, WEYMOUTH, AND

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Ugh ! what bitter weather to be Oat 04 a iltuitlon II
1110 Man of merry, merry linglabd who live in the
rural districts had bettor be careful how they put
down traps that me their own, or pick up those that
aren't. They may toes them down again; but who's
to say smog one isn't behind hedge tooklgt Before
his "'better." the too-curious may be brought and
fined, with the chanm of being turned out of what
clergymen vary practically call—a living. Says shy.
lock—" You take my life, if you do take the means
whereby I live," and indeed life may not seem worth
much to the man, in wintor, "out of a Mt" There
ire Wriee all our labourers to eschew the dangerous
piesenre of looking after other pimple's traps, or they
may have to sell their own.
Should the peasant go on his travels for work let me
advise him not to walk too long hours. For should
be arrive in certain boroughs ;akar eight, not even his
offer to crack a quantum of stone, will suffice to
open to him the doors of that imposing mansion—the
workhouse. ilarly-clming is in force there, and the
non-punctual wayfarer must be content, weary, foot.
sore, still to move on, and keep moving on.

Does the tired tramp, whose strength couldn't bring
him into town before curfew bell, ask "Whir, shall
I move tor Poole may oak question.; but only the
wise can answer. Ile mustn't more into the borough
of Dorchester, for the police there keep their station
door shut too tightly in the daytime, and very Wile
chance is there of getting shelter at night. The
Mayor very properly doe* not see that he ho to extend
civic hospitality to the maimed, the halt, the hooseless,
and what is there but the softest bit of road for the
locked-out, with • stone for • pillow? Yet even
Cornwall-road is hard paved now by that concrete-
maker, John Frost, Eaq., and between the upper and
nethcr millstone there is no help for the tramp but to be
improviii off the face of the earth.

Milan I see ne of these poor pinched-with-cold
labourer' or artisans In march of work I wish we could
cover them, say with those red curtains which hang
inn the ceiling of the Grand Jury Chamber, and add
to the dignity of the c ainty magistrates and the
difficulty of hearing what they may.

Those county ma/banana are not going t) have •
very smooth time in the eakction of Mr. Conine
Leach as analyst for everybody, themselves included.
Dorchester has stood up for It. municipal indepen-
dence, and is going either to have • wise man resident
In the town, or no analyst at all. Curious would be
the calculation—lf one analyst is appointed for a
county what fraction of an analyst would belong to
each town? I giro it ty.

General Purposes Committees either work or shirk
immensley, considering how the Dorchester Council
refers matters to them. (Jr is the reference only from
the Council reportable to the Council businese.like
A shrewd observer called the General Purposes Com-
mittee "the donkey that PATIOS every load." With
such a donkey to work for them, the speeeh.making
members of the Council ought to be as happy as sand-
bort.. rush of, "spirited foreign policy." 'tie almost
bo to expect any chance of wakening up easy.
go motile to a sense of the rapidly-increasing
burdens, loaded not only on the Imperial tax.oayer,
but also on boroughs, by a paternal Government
arms toga Is revolved, and in the glare of
victories from Afghanistan, Mr. Alderman Gelpin, of
Dorchester, must expect to find the Corporation too
dazzled to perceive that salary upon salary is being
piled upon the borough funds, or if they do dimly
discover that fact, the satisfaction that • warmaking
Government is at the hoed of affairs must make up for
a diminished and overloaded Borough fund. We
have in particular towns as well as in the whole
country, the adornment boasted by that ispolowspoer,
who, crowed over by his cousin with—" We are going
to have a copula on our home," replied with ignorant
glee—" Oh l that's nothing; we shall have • mortgage
on
oura"

111 had &spirited volunteer who did duty that nobody
else, on sa emergency, was ready to do, I'd promote
him to be corporal, whether 12 or 20 men rent in
their resignations. I wish every man who chatters in
the ranks would chatter elsewhere, even if he had to
=tln order to get a chance of letting his tongue
ee. More good non-commissioned officers the
volunteers want, and more they'll have, it officers and
men are wise.

In the midst of precious specimen" of Imperialism,
• "True Conservative " appeals to the Electors of
Weymouth to "seize the opportunity." and return
two Conservatives to support Earl Beaconsfield's
" enlightened foreign policy." Now. Mr. Edwards
has always opposed Russia, and backed up Turkey as
far as he can; so it is hard to see On what ground the
policy of Earl Beaconsfield can be invoked. And the
opportunity !" What opportunity A time of
deep sorrow to the man whose heart and purse have
always been open to relieve sorrow— this Is the
"opportunity" to be seized! Can the depth of
tutture farther be fathomed 1 But we hope the
"second Cooservative candidate" may be induced to
come forward, providing only two things—first, that
Mr. Edwards can be induced to view him candidature
without annoyance, and secondly, that the "second
Conservative candidate " will give security for the
meta of the contest. If we can he only sure he will
pay, there are legal gentlemen in Weymouth who will
be happy to &moist him in standing up at • fight in
which he'll get the most thorough thrashing that ever
ambitious or deluded man ventured on. But again I
would hint to those legal gentlemen—" Make sure of
your costa."

"True Conservative" would do • real service if b•
Gould get from Sir Frederic Johnstone • site for the
new Drill Hall which Captain Gamin is desirous to
build. The gallant captain nobly gilded his return to
Weymouth, and if Sir Frederic Johnstone is willing to
help in the defence of his country, let him favour the
men who give time and money. The site of the Drill
Hall would be • sight to brighten dull eyes.
Memo, for people who have been through the
Divorce Court. Keep away from your relations, and
don't risk getting the cold shoulder. The beet cook
Is unaoosptable, when that is all that. is to serve up.
Twonldn't be emir if our friends at Weymouth
would make cure of the cost b.for• Limy rote tot
throwing overt:m."l on wptication which may bring
them an impreved bridge, and the defeat o which
may very likely prematurely beaten the necessity for
• new on.. The sketch in the South-Western office
window seemed to prove that a very sightly alteration
might be Ina& at the £5,000 cost. The worst of it is
that already the sum has increased to 143,000, so
slippery are 1106010.416. But what would be the esti-
mate for • new bridge? Shall we not slip by easy
steps to 100 NO. or any other amount that may appear
" convenient" to borrow? Mr. Alderman Howard
put the matter in • very clews light when he said—
Would the ratepayers of Weymouth adopt the
alteration which would be so great a convenience, and
an additional beauty, free of charge, or discard it
&Borst*, and wait till they got £20,000? Those
penman who have horses and carte and other convey.
antes were willing to pay for the alteration." Let me
take one of the other dais arguments—" It Is mani-
festly unjuat to owners of property on the Weymouth
side to have their property so cut off." May the rate-
payer who wrote that bill be blessed with more
knowledge of his town I I fancy I know such OWDIIII
as Sir Frederic Johnstone, Messrs. Deveniah and Co.,
Mr. J. Gloves, and Mr. Howard; but they show no
sign of opposition, as fez as I can judge are entirely
In its favour, and Mr. Alderman pward ham
y given up • pet scheme of his 0.11 to
rr=ualdths application. However, the opposenta
have done right in pressing forward the poll, and
whichever way it decides, MOO or less is worth spend.
bag to have the genuine decision a the town.

How Its. a contemporary of ours showed ideas of
Cockneyism ?—Becaus• be has dropped his H.

Portland piques me. No inquests on 000ricts
lately ! I can't remember the time when we had the
canal natural death. Haws Portland convicts taken it
Into their beads to live loom than usual, or doss that
Meyer medical Aker, Dr. Askharn, manage to save
their lives otherwise? Of course sending them out of
the Island. seam as they become sick, might help to
lawn the death rat. there.

Those co-operative stores again I Isn't it • shabby
trick to *end all your ready money to the co-operative
stores with your best orders, and to put the striggling
tradesmen off with the dregs of your custom, and maks
Lie. give you credit for months?
At Portland I bear a formerly over-acute financier
has improved his povition and increased his stock of
ereclit, by helping • warder against attack, and the
goisvict no doubt enjoyed his extra feed quite as much
SS whoa begot (when outside) the chance of pLaying
with a few spare "Mamie."

Before now, I hare seen a sham epileptic wonder-
fully rewired from a fit in the fields by being gently
lowered on to • furze-b,ash. The upright bearing of
some of the Portland conricts is ascribed to an external
spidkation of birch-twigs on • part that must be
only iodicated by the hint that there 'Honour', *elf
setddes."

taus that a " schemer" will go so fax as to
damage his back in the Great Quarries by putting a
big stone on It? This is the latest Illustration I hare
beard of—" Rooks fall on as, mountains cover us"
Christians I this Christmas, mod ups thought and a
ruyin for those whom plaos you and I West have
DISCI:XL