The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1869-04-27 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

TB! Innis Cneacti.—ln the Home of Commons on
Monday, ono upset of the finturcial problem was di.-
cussed. Mr. Disraeli was unfortunately compelled by ill-
nem to absent himself, and Mr. Hardy took charge of his
amendments. Theist. Home Secretary did not seem to
relish his taak,and contented himself with merely propos-
ing amendments. The first of them, proposing the pra-
bibition of future sppointmenta from January 1, 1871,
to Jammu 1, 1872, was withdrawn after a short debate.
Mr. Hardy divided the House on the next amendment,
postponing the veating of the *hutch property in the
hands of the oommissioners from January 1, 1871 to
January 1, 1872, but be was defeated by • large
majority. Tbe principal subject debated on Monday
evening was, whether, in calculating the compensation
to be given to a beneficed clergyman, the salary that he
bad been accustomed to give his citrate should be
deducted or sot. Mr. Hardy's amendment proposed to
omit the deduction, and it As energetically supported
by Sir B. Palmer. Unless it be dedected, beneficed
clergymen would be better off after the passing of the
Act than they are now ; whereas all it is proposed to do
ia to we that they do not lode anything. Moreover if it
hearted that, although the obligation to ire .p • curate
has practically the effect of reducing the parson's
stipend, yet it forms no legal charge upon it, it may
fairly be replied that, if we come to strut law, we
should not be bound to give the curates a farthing, since
they have no ktrol Maim upon any of the funds we are
going t vest in the hands of the commissioners. The
amendment was defeated by • majority of 98. Thus
the Government reached the 14th clause of the bill.
On Thursday and Friday evening+ the committee
devoted its labours to the subject of eoropeniations,
and altht ugh there was the usual esdeavoar on the
part of the Opposition to get as much solid padding in
the way of consolation for their clients, yet Mr. Glad-
mu. referees to let the fonds be jobbed away till the
measure should become • mere rearrangement of income,
instead of the serious restoration to the Iri.h people of
a large portion of their ecclesiastical property. " The
G.iveniment," says the Premier, "has never adopted
the prioeipal of the re-end 'tersest of the frill church
on • limited scale, although they are anxious that the
great Mange whieh they propose shall be accompanied
with ea little shook to her as possible, and if arrange-
ment. con be devised or worked by the clergy by which
anything can be caved out of the wreck, the Government
has no wish to regard theist with an unfavourable eye."
That is, however, the furthest point to which the
Government can go. It must bg owned that this resolve
is very efficiently backed up by the diligent attendance
of the majority.

TFIK FRANCO-BELGIAN DIFFICULTY.

Borne two months ago there mem in an unexpeeted
quarter of the European horizon, a cloud which was in
Itself small and baseless enough, and should have die-
Wowed immediately, instead of which it has grown
silently till at present its proportions give to it a grave
interest for all who are interested in the Maildiellat•
Of pease in Europe. The Luxembourg Railway Cese-
pany finding that it could not make its line pay, pro-
to sell it to the French Eastern Railway, and tins
by using it es • feeder to its own general
sYstorl, considered that it might make • good thing of
the bargain. The line was yielding met revenue at
19,000( per kilometre per annum, and the Press&
company offered to the Luxembourg eomwy, in ex-
change for it. property, to guarantee to the shareholders
• net revenue equal to 23,000 fr. Iper knomelre per
annum. The Wisner of advantage would *mar to
have been with the Belgian line, for the Fru& com-
pany soon boom to doubt whether the arrangement
would prove as remunerative an had been exposited
and, bung unable to get out of it, they applied for, and
obtained, the seenrity which the French Governmens
tries, as a matter of worse, to a greater or less extent,
• all the new branches that are made to Freseh
• war*, of • Government guarnntee against 100 by
the extension. The arrangement between the two
companies haying been made—and made, not secretly,
but openly, in the light of day—and the whole affair
having been matter of notoriety for months beforehand
without having provoked any remark; no sooner was it
completed than the Belgian Government, as though
seised by some extraordinary panic, suddenly introdued
into their Parliament a bill to prohibit the session of
rsilways to foreign companies, and no secret was nude
of the object being so prevent the particular 0011600
which had just been completed. It is molly difficult to
Bud any reason for snob s bill. The purchase and sale
of a railway is • purely commercial matter, with which
not only the Governmmt of • country has nothing to
do, but which cannot affect the Government In any
way. What makes interference more absurd and unto-
teldgible in this case is the fact that the Belgian
railways have all, almost without exception, been
made with foreign capital) and that their stook is
held by foreign capitalists. The railways are
therefore in foreign hands already, and yet the
Belgian Government les thought lit necessary almost
to take leave of its senses when it was proposed
to treader • line from one set of foreign capitalist to
another. This phase of the question touches no nearly
in this country, for the Luxembourg Railway shares
are pommeled to • large extent by English capitalists,
and it is very unfair upon them to debar them from
making the best bargain they can of a concern which.
while it has conferred great advantages mon Belgium,
has brought hitherto nothing but lass to the Aare.
holders. The Government would have been in con-
ceivable respect in a worn position as regards the
railway after the sale than it was before. Its authority
over it would have been in no way diminshed,and aster as
its military importance is ooneerned, it would have been
juntas easy as it ever was to interrupt the eons-
manic:4oon at the frontier. One argument now used by
the Belgians is, that the Esstern of France, once in
posessoon of the line, mist have made such regulations
In its tariff as would have unduly favoured French
at the expense of Belgian industry, but it is not likely
that a company seeking to earn a revenue would do
anything to injure it; nor is it pretended that the
Northern of France, which has already Isom admitted
into Belginm, acid which has even greater opportunities
of this sort than the Eastern Company would have had,
has ever exercised its power in so suicidal a manner.
; Even, however, if there had been the very bast of
reasons for prohibiting the melon, it cannot be denied
that the Ban government has adopted a method in
I refusing it which leaves much to be desired on the
wore of courtesy, and which, indeed, is little less than
I offensive. Having allowed the matter to proceed with-
out any assincastrence to the Freud, Government, the
• Belgian c'sbinet suddenly sprung its prohibitory bill
I upon them in a manner which ostentstiously displas ei
gratuitous waist of confidence quite unsanotioned by
the circumstances. They seem to have thought that
I because a few French capitalists were going to buy •
private property from a few English capitalists, Belgium
I was about to be intinrrysbed from the map of Europe,
and in their alarm at the " French influence" which
1 WKS about to be introduced in the shape of • few more
'" "

French porters and ticket-collectors than they already
bad, they paraded • distrust of their neighb•urs which
could not fall to be highly irritating. What makes it
worse is that they have been strangely obstinate in
maintaining their false poaition. If. Frere.Orban has,
it is understood, persistently ref 'sea to silos the con-
cession to the French Company of anything more than
what are called " running powers," which would be
nest to valueless to it, and would entirely defeat the
objects it seeks in the proposed sequisition of the
The last report which has ooine to hand states
that the anal demand of the French Government has
been forwarded to Broseels, but that its terms are such
that "• favourable answer is scarcely expected." It ie
denied that the English Government has recently
offered to act as mediator bstween the big and the
ittle power.

Mg Bing of Burma, has biti wives and nuiety
children.

LORD STARLIT Of Alderly is seriously ill, and hi. COD..
dition causet morph anxiety to his family.
PRINCT LROPOLD has now almoat oompletely recovered
from the effect, of his recent indisposition. His royal
highness suffered from • strain, and not from hemorr-
hage, as had been previously stated.

- .
A maw rargit milled the lisperusitot. advocating a
monarehial form of government for the United States,
has titen started in New York eity. It declare* glut
Lb. Republican form of government is • failure there,
and that this opinion has long been cherished by
thousands of 'intelligent Americans.

Ix tt e worse of the proceedings in the Court of
Queen's Bench on Wednesday, in which • telegraph
company we. oonoerned, one of the counsel engaged told
• good stofy of a clerk's mistake. The message, to be
sent was ' Your wife is delivered of • fine girl.' The
message actually transmitted end received by the
astonished parent was "Your wife is delivered of five
girls." We have not beard whether the happy fatter
survived the @Look of the announcement.

OUR 11 AR 411011. In a time Of pesos no profound that
we not only speculate on non-intervention, but profess
and act on it, the keepers of the national puree stringy
extract from on taxes to the amount of 172,855,000, or
just about £7.5,000,000 more than the Luke of
Wellington repuired to govern the country in the era of
rotten boroughs, Test Acts, and Catholic Disabilities.
Our local taxation has increased £6,000,000 a year
sinee our clout corporations were made open muni-
cipalities ; and oar latest patent new improvement. in
the shape of Poor laws have raised the cost of relief
from £4,500,000 to nearly £10,0110,000.

THE PRINCE:IS Or WALKS AT THE SULTAN'S TABLE.
—T:I4O Levant Herald. in referring to the recent viait of
the Prince and Princess of Wales to Constantinople,
bey, it was reserved to the Princess to overturn one of
the most rigid barriers of Oriental life, and +Amid the
right of her set to the very highest social recognition
ghat liallomptan manners can give to it, by obtaining a
place ler heraelf and time other ladies at the table of
the &thaw. Already, it adds, polygamy is fast going
out, though from rail/sons of economy, it fears, rather
than moral., and it wily need. that the "one wife,"
who is now be.orn;ng the mode, should be reeognised as
the equal other husband to elevate the whole are, &Rd
in hnif a generation wore raise perhaps the entire tour
of social life among the If ahometan popolation of
Tuikelys

•_i- --