The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-02-26 00:00:00

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

I.—The PRINCESS OF WALES has once
more agreeably surprised the country.
Whilst the Court doctors were laying their
heads together, and sucking their gold.
headed awes, issuing bulletins and alarming
the country with talcs of rheumatic fever,
the Princess was, no doubt, laughing in her
sleeve at their show of solemn sagacity; and,
accordingly, we read in the phraseology of
the Court Newsman that "Her Majesty on
Wednesday morning received the gratifying
intelligence of the safe confinement of
the Princess of Wales and the birth of a
Princess." The accouchement took place at
half,past six o'clock that morning; and at
mid-day royal salutes, in honour of the
event, fired by the Park and Tower guns
announced to the astonished lieges this
wonderful transformation of the Princess's
illness into a joyous event. England has
reason to be proud of her Princesses,
some of whom will wear the proudest
crowns in Europe, and all of whom are
distinguished by those amiable qualities of
heart which are so becoming in women.
The Crown Princess of' Prussia, for example,
is as warm-hearted affectionate a lady as
ever lived. The Princess of Hesse has
endeared herself to the nation by her
devotion to her deceased parent on his dying
bed, and earned a name which will hallow
that of " Alice" for ever on the Engliah
ear. The Princess Christian, the Qiieen's
remaining married daughter, is also a
pattern to her sex, A gem of domestic life,
whose intended residence amongst us may
well be hailed as a public benefit by setting
an example of unobtrusiveness worthy of
imitation and even of emulation. But of
all her Princesses, England is proudest,j
perhaps, of her adopted daughter, the
Princess of Wales. iler youth, her beauty,
her engaging affability have charmed all
hearts, whilst the pledges she has given of
a prolongation of that Royal line under
which we may well expect to enjoy a long I
succession of prospective blessings, have
elevated this gentle lady even to historical
importance amongst us. The birth of the j
new Princess, therefore, will be hailed by
all ranks and all classes in the country as '
a most auspicious turn to a false alarm for I
the Princess's health which, had it been I
otherwise, would have produced a sensation
of more profound regret than almost any
other occurrence that could have befallen
us. Let us then accept the omen, and
hopefully believe that the blessing of the
Almighty is upon our Crown and country.
IL—Rxroam while we write is under.
going several renewed phases. The Liberal
party, at the instance of Mr. Gladstone, and
acting, we hope. with him unitedly, rather
than with the chips and sections of conflicting
dissentients, whose aim can only be to create
mischief, have adopted • policy which in
accordance with the opening speech of their
chief at the assembly of Parliament looks
considerate if not conciliatory. They meet ,
this day (Monday) to consider the resolutions
propounded by the Government and osten-
sibly in order to offer no embarassment to
the development of the proposed measure of
Reform. It will not of course be expected
of us that we should even be able to surmise
what will be going on in the House of I
Commons whilst we are going to press this
evening; but certainly the rumour has gained
some ground which leads us to anticipate
the substitution by Mr. Disraeli of a Reform
Bill in detail in place of his resolutions, on
which in our last we did our best to set a
favourable construction. We confess by
anticipation that we should still incline to
do the same by the Bill itself, because it
is acknowledged on all hands that to calm
agitation and procure a settlement of this
vexed and irritating question, the whimsy
of some, the fanaticism of others, but the
stumbling.block of us all, it is by far the
most expedient thing to encourage the
present Ministry to go as far as they can
and by a unison of all parties however
unparalleled in constitutional history bring
about the "consummation so deveutly to
be wished." As to the anticipated details
of Mr. Disraeli's measure, one authority
tells us, what we have no reason to doubt,
for it is very much wanted, that their