The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1872-07-23 00:00:00

NOTKE3 OF THIC WEIK.

After showing a stoical example in sacrificing
• number of their own legislative offspring,
:Ministers have, as usul at this period of the
ses.ion, c 11l piivi C minuaire to make •
wiunesato earn liuo of tom c..ildreu of their brain&
In accordance with the resolution which was
carried on the motion of the Premier on Friday
afternoon, Government business will take prece-
dence in the House of CODIEIIOI2/1 over all private
business until the end of the Session, which
really means that Ministers will monopolise the
attention of Paribitneat ou their measures until
the prorogation. Mr. Gladatooe spsaking on
the 19th, anticipated that the Session would not
last three weeks; and so much progress has
lately been made with the Bills which Govern-
ment are anxious to carry, that, what with
morning sittings and the exclusion of business
initiated by private members,it begins to appear
very possible that the restricted Ministerial pro-
gramme may be carried out by the 6th or Bth of
August. If Ministers get as much done as they
now expect, the Session will have been by no
means a barren one.

One of the most interesting diaolllll4ll/1 on pri-
vate members' Bills that have occurred in the
House of Commons this Session, was that on the
acquisition of the Irish railways by Government.
From the small majority against the Bill, and
the tone of the discussion, it is evident to those
who know how questions make their way in the
House, that it only requires Government sane-
don to carry such a measure through. There
is, too, a growing feeling among the public that
the management of railways by the State could
be conveniently tried on a *odors* scale In
Ireland before applying the principle in England
and Scotland. It often happens that Ireland is
the subject of Governmeetal experiments,
because in a less prosperous country grievances
and abuse lire more keenly felt, and there is
consequently a stronger demand for reform; but,
in the matter of railway aoximmodatton. Ireland
has roman to complain more than England or
Scotland. for she is much worse served. We
should not wonder at all to see a Bill for the
acquisition of the Irish railways by the Stale
introduced by Government next Session, tepee-
tally as the couiluot of such a measure inigot
form an excuse for postponing the far more
difficult Education qlestioa. There are no party
considerations cmineoted with Lie railway ques-
tions; the only difficulty is to make a more
advantageous bargain for the State than W 44
done in the case of the telegraphs.
Speaking of the telegraphs, when Government
took over the business of the companies, it
intimated that in due time we should have
uniform sixpenny telegrams. As the business
ha been steadily increasing, and has been
thoroughly organized, people have been naturally
asking when this good tune is to be. We are
now officially toll that we cannot have such tele-
grams until tee new ?oat-office buildings are
completed; that the reduoed rate would neces-
sitate a great many more clerks, and that in the
existing buildings there is not room for a single
additional clerk. This is reasonable enough;
but when will the new Post.office buildings be
completed I with various breeches of the build-
ing trade engaged in an apparently interminabie
strike.

'The Revenue Returns for the last quarter
tot up, as Mr. Hume used to say, to more than
E 10,000,000, or about a million and • quarter
more than the return for the oorresponding
quarter of 1871; and the balsam in our favour
upon the current sooount of Revenue and Expen-
diture is close upon five millions. it does not
do, of course, to be reckoning upon • surplus
yet; but if the so:taunts keep up to this stand-
ard for she rest of the year, Mr. Lowe will have
a handsome surplus next April to hand over to
the National Debt Commissioners, and stall dis-
count to return, let us hope, to the ratepayer,
unless the award of the Geneva Arbitrators
should mulct us iu a tine of five or siz millions
and the costs of the triaL

These gentlemen are in secret esmion at
Geneva, for the AroUreters have bound them-
selves over to keep all their secret to themselves,
and a oJrrespoudeut of one of our New York oon-
temporaries says it is au established fact that Mr.
Caleb Cushing does not even mention the pro-
ceedings of the tribunal in his prayers. The
special correspondents are all at their wits sods,
for "mum's the word" all round.

Mr. Gladstone, it is said, intends to pay a vhil
to Ireland when the session is over, taking Mr.
Bri..•• • i trsiti, and doing Dublin, Bedlam",
Luudo.tl,.. y,eut Cork. Ilis Irish visit over,
Mr. Gladstone will 'peal part of the recess in
Napoleon's old retreat, Biarritz, and we our-
selves are promiaed a visit from Prinoe Bismarek,
apartments having been taken for him at
Torquay. M. Thiers is the only statesmen who
loves work for work's sake, and he has fitted up
a room for himself at Foutaimbleau, in order to
be within reach of Pans, and yet to have that
change of air scene which the physicians
are prescribing for him. Of Napoieon now we
bear nothing, or salt to nothing; but it is said
he has not even pt abandoned the hope of seeing
, Paris once more era restored ruler.

Spain has narrowly escaped soother revolution,
and the King of Spain and his wife the fate if
General Prim. rhe Kin., and Queen ware fired
upon by a baud if assassins on Thursday, at mid-
night, as they were returning in their carriage to
the Palace; but escaped, fortunately, without a
scar. One of the assassins was killed on the
' spot, and two were captured. On Friday all
Madrid were crowding round the Palace to ex-
press their sympathy and congratulations with
the Royal pair, and their Majesties attended a
thanksgiving service in the Royal chapel for their
safety.

The Royal Society's meeting at Cardiff has
turned out • sp eadid success. The weather
was everything that could be wished, the show •
capital one, and the ndmber of visitors almost
equal to those at Wolverhampton and far
higher than those at Oxford. Next year the
society meets at Hull, and Sir Watkin Wynn
relinquishes the chair to Lord Cathcart, one of
the best agriculturists in Yorkshire.
'run question of questions with most of us
this autumn and winter will he the price of
coals. Here we are at yet in the middle of
summer, and yet coal is at more than winter
prices! In London It la 30s. • ton, and herein
Dorchester it is 325. What does it mean I and
' where is this rime of prices to end I Perhaps it
may set some ingenious spirit to think out a
plan for economising the oonsumption of fuel
in our domestic grates as well as in the blast
furnace&
At the Divisonal Petty Sessions, at Dorchester,
saturday, there were no lees than 17 oasis
for hearing in which agricultural labourers were
summoned for unlawfully leaving the services of
their masters. Only three, however, were
taken; indeed, in two only was evidence given.
Mr. Saunders, of Mustoa, the oomplainant,
stated that the men had been with him some
years, and shortly before the usual hiring time
(the Caddlemaa (sir) this year he asked the two
men how about another yesr, and they agreed
"go " a twelvemonth more. A fortnight
ago they gave him a week's notice that they
required an advance to the terms of the
Natioual Labourers' Union—Ha. • week and

-
periptisites, or 15. caah. They went to him
altogether-4 "yard-ful " SI he said fie
refuted their demand, and on the expiration of
the week, the men struck work. For the
labourer", it was urged the master bad broken
his oontract by withholding 3owt. of ooal due
for last year till the present in one case, aim by
stopping the pay of • boy for a week in the
second, when he wee absent from work in eou-
sequenos of an accident with one of the em-
ployer's horse.; but Mr. Saunders said hM
agreements uniformly were" no work, no pay."
The magistrate' unhesitatingly held that these
hiring' for a year were perfectly valid, and most
, be carried out ; but, for " the make of peat* sad
quietness" they advised • oompromiae. t:042
an adjournment of half-an-hour, it was ar
Mr. Saunders and his fifteen labourers
. ,lit,tled to harvest money of Elshonld
wive gaud a couple of boys who were not
under the agreement to have anything should be
poid 10c each. Them ooaciemioas were made
uy Mr. Saunders without prejudice to the obli-
gations of the existing oontracts, they were
accepted by the men, and the oases owns to an
end. The result is, therefore, that wherever •
labourer has hired himaelf for • year, whether
by word of mouth or written agreement, he
must serve the year on the terms he agreed to
do. This is law, and no Union can help him
against it The legal. position in now a 1.,; the
oxpeakity of enforcing the letter of the law
is another question which we hope the
afFioulturieta of Dorset Will cooed& in a Madly
us spirit, reinembereitathat wages in every
partna.nt of other labour ye risen Skase lass
few years and are Mill advrowawili and that tin
smosisazios oflias ass at lout MI PI ttut. two'
ha they pm NM POI 1/0/ °mug al