The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1873-08-19 00:00:00

llorott ennutq Expren.

TuamAy, AUGUST 19, 1873.

NOTES OF THE WEF.K.

Her Majesty the Queen and their Royal High-
nesses the Princess Beatrice and Prince Leopold
travelled northward on Friday, breaking the
longest journey that can well be made in ODO
direction, through Great Britain, at Perth and
at Aberdeen. " Queen's weather" accompanied
the Royal progre, throughout. It is expected
that her Majesty will visit the Isle of Sky*,
while she is on her Highland tour.
After the recent little excitement over the
Ministerial changes, there is a lull in the
political woeld. The papas. Ills true, continue
to talk about, the forthcoming, the approaching
or the impending general election but evidently
only for want of something sleet° talk about, for if
there le one thing made tolerably clear by the
signs and tokens of the times, It is that there
' will no more be a general election this autumn
than a local election at Greenwich in ton-
sequence of M. Gladstone having assumed the
office) of Chancellor of the Exchequer in addition
to that of Premier. The right hoe. gentleman '
evidently means to stand by his interpretation
of the law, and to keep his seat as he mom
to retain his armed majority in the Commons
for another session—a majority which will be
gratified by the changes made is the Ministry.
Of course, there will be a discussicru when
1 Parliament meets about Mr. Gladstone's
supposed infringement of law. But no doubt he
has excellent authority in his favour, and one
would think that the speaker at all events must
have coincided in the Government view of the
matter, for the issuing of a new writ must have
depended upon him rather than upon the
Ministry.
In the elections consequent on the Ministerial
changes, Mr. Bright is to have a walk-over at
Birmingham ; Lord Frederick Cavendish is to
keep hie seat for the North-Wed Riding, the
Conservatives postponing the fight for the
second teat till the general election; Mr. Dothan,
it is said, can bold the Secretaryship of the
Treasury, because it is omitted from the
roll of "offices of profit" In the schedule to the
Act of 1887 ; Mr. A. Green* the new Whip, is
• Groom-in-Waiting, and therefore exempt from
re-election ; and thus it is only in Renfrewshire
that there is any chance of • contest. Here
Colonel Mure Is seeking to replace Lord Aber-
dare—Mr. Bruce's new title—against Colonel
Campbell as • Conservative; but Sir George
Jemel takes the Mastership of the Rolls, sad
may have a fight for his seat at Dover ; but the
Solicitor-Generalship is not to be re-filled till
next session, and then, if the mese! Govern-
ment are in, and try to pull through another
session, we shall probably have a vacancy at
Taunton through the appointment of Mr. Henry
James. At present, Sir George Jowl's place is
left vacant, like Mr. Lowe's, although this can
hardly be from motives of economy, when Mr.
Bright is brought into the Cabinet to fill one
sinecure of £3,000 • year, and when the office
of Judge-Advocate-General is revived, with its
£1,700 a year, to find • poet for Mr. Ayrton„
when, if he cannot be kept out of mischief, he
cannot get up Parliamentary soenes.
Two more Anglican prelates have spoken out
pretty plainly upon the subject of the confes-
sional in the Church of England. The Bishop of
Chanced/4- and Bristol. in • letter to the Dean
of o:out:eater, asps :—" I am prepared to use,
as indeed I have done already, my whole moral
Influence in preserving in full integrity the
principles of the Reformation ;" while the Bishop
of Chichester says, in reply to a memorial
shall certainly discourage such confession as the
Church of Rome prescribes and practices, and
such direction of conscience as she employs."
But as the Siehops are practically powerlem in
the nutter as against incumbents of livings, we
shall probably Lad these episcopal utterances
taking effect principally in stimulating agitation
for new legislation. In any case this new
collision of parties within the Established Church
Is likely to have acme pregnant results. The
Wealeyans used to take great interest in Church
matters; but at their 00Dier011011 the other day
they seemed inclined to wash their band' of
this dispute, and to let the Church "slide," to
use a Yankeeism. The education question has
turned the Methodists into political Dissenters,
and they now seem rather proud of the title of
Nonconformists, which they once repudiated.
The celebration of the Fite Napoleon at
Chlalehnrst on Friday seems to have been rather
a small and tame affair, and the heir of the
Napoleons must have felt that be was taking
part in something very like a faros, (validating
the present course of events in France, the re-
conciliation of the two branches of the Bourbons,
and the elation of the Monarchist". It is a
strange turn of the wheel of fortune that the
chances of a restoration should at the present
moment he greater in favour of the Comte de
Chambord than of the Prince Imperial. The
latter and the Comte de Paris have been regarded
as upon a pretty even footing since peace was
concluded with the Germans, but that the Omni
de Chambord should now take precedence of
both is certainly a remarkable fact; and it
would be still more remarkable if, almost simul-
taneously, by vote of the National Assembly in
France, and by force of arms in Spain, the
legitimate representatives of the Bourbons
should be restored in both countries, while the
heir of the Bonspartista holds petty levees at
Chisellitirst. The significance of such restora-
tions in regard to home policy mad also specially
In regard to the condition of things in India
would much depend upon the contingency
whether the adage is still to hold good, that the
Bourbons learn nothing, and forget nothing.
An official return has jest been issued by the
Education Deportment which contains some
silnificant figures relative to the feeling of the
country in respect to school beards. It was pro-
posed in 578 places to establish school boards;
in 465 places the resolution. in favour of insti-
tuting sack boards were passed, and in 113 they
were negatived. In 117 oases a poll was de-
manded, the result being in favour of establish-
ing a board in 49 ems" and against it in 88. On
the whole, these figures seem to demonstrate
that the country is in favour of school boards;
though, of course, it may be sail that, as • rule
they would only be proposed where they were
wanted, and therefore the propositions would be
generally carried. But, be that as it may, the
Education League will not fail to find in these
figures arguments against the policy of discoun-
tenancing school hoards slimed in recent
Ministerial legislation.