The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-06-02 00:00:00

Duet &unit! (Expres.

TUESDAY, JUNE & 1868
NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Parliament *gems to have become quite a "happy
family." Tbe Canine spirits of the assembly have
apparently forgotten how to " bark sod bite," and
the counterparts of fiercer animals have been tamed
down in proportion, till, if they are not found
eating grass like coon, they take "chaff" from Mr.
Disraeli as quietly an horse does out of his nolie-Ing.
To hear of Mr. Gladstone, on Thursday, fraternizing
with the Premier across the table, in Committee OD
the Scotch Reform Bill, characterising Mr. Disraeli's
remarks as "the words of good sense," and support-
ing his authority against some of the troublesome spirits
of the Opposition, who wanted to pick the Bill all
to pieoee and put it together again after a medley
of a dozen different plans—to heir of this, we say,
one might almost fancy there wee some truth in
Punch's cartoon of the rival political leaders taking
their cups together jovially on the Epsom ran.
course on the previous day, and that the effect of
the generous grape•joioe had not yet paned off. But,
without insisting upon such a possibility, perba; •
the mutual good humour of the antagonistic
commanders may be accounted for from the fact that
each appears likely to attain the immediate end he
chiefly seeks, without obstructing the operations of
the other. Mr. Gladstone has got over all the
&Amities of the Irish Church policy for this
session, and as the Government mean to let the
Suspensory Bill paw through committee without
proposing any amendments, there may be a
possibility of " knocking at the door of the House
of Lords" without the Peers having the incase of
the man in the parable respecting the unseationable-
ness of the hour. On the other hand, the virtual
reversal of the vote on the Scotch borough franchise,
and the passing of other pointe in the Scotch Bill
by large majorities in favour of Government, have
naturally put Mr. Disraeli in good humour with
himself and all about him. If this pleasant state of
affairs will only last • few weeks, after Parliament
re•sesembles on Thursday, the "great work of
Reform" will be achieved, and will be in train for
an appeal to the new constituencies.
In the Upper House the most notable incident of
last wok was Lord Russell's speech complaining
about the state of public business, which wee • fine
specimen of the petulance and querulousness of age.
His lordship wee well answered by Lord Malmo.
bury, who asked the ancient leader of the Whip,
why, as he complained of the Government going on
without the °window° of the Commons, he did not
get one of his friends in the Lower House to move a
vote of want of oon ndetioe ? The Cowmen were
surely able to take oars of their own dignity without
Lord Russell's help; or, if he wished a vote of
want of confidence to be passed on the Ministry,
, why did be not propose one in his own Chamber?
But the great events of the week, for which even
Parliamentary humanise was put aaide for one day,
have been the Epsom noes, especially the Derby,
which this year seems to have been attended by •
larger concourse of all classes than probably ever
assembled on Epsom Downs before. The weather
on Wednesday sow all that could be desired, and
special interest attached to the race of the day,
because the encore of the favourite— Lady Elizabeth
—was to retrieve the shattered fortune of the
Marquis of Hastings, who at the age of 25 has
squandered the immense wealth he became pa-
neled of on succeeding to the title 17 years
ago, so that he is now branded as "defaulter"
amongst those who have won from him his
money, and the transactions of this peer
of the realm are now subject to the control of
a new attachment of sporting aristocrats—a financial
agent. But Lady Elizabeth did not win, and the
bookmakers—the gentlemen who live by racing—
seem to have been almost the only people befooled
into thinking she would. The Marquis evidently
knew better, for he is said to have won £30,000 by
the gumless of Sitio/own. It is another proof, if any
were wasting, of the utter rascality which
permeates the whole system of horse-racing, and
exhibits in a droll upset the commiseration which
I. expressed by many for the Marquis of Hastings
on the ignominous failure of Lady Elizabeth. For
°analyse we conceive that peen who choose to ruin
themselves by wild speculation on the turf are
worthy of no more sympathy than commoners who
do likewise; indeed, considering the democratic
tendency of the age, and the aloes watch kept upon
the shortcomings of the pe;r the noblesse oblige
principle ought 0011 to iad more strictly than
ever. "Ths ladies' day on Friday was marked
by • tremendous thunderstorm, such as is seldom
experienced at this moon in England. The Oaks
was a slow and unexciting race, and Formosa, as
was expand, won easily.
The advocates of female suffrage will be gratified
by the course which the overseen of Salford have
determined to adopt. We are told, that "after
giving the matter their beet attention," these gentle-
men have arrived at the conclusion that they have
no alternative but to place all duly•qualified females
on the next Parliamentary register for the borough
The new Reform hot distinctly limit. the franchise
to " every man" who Wham the *auditions laid
down: but the overseen are of opinion that this
noes not neesemenly exclude women. as an Act
posed in the thirteenth year of bar Majesty
provides "that in all Acts words importing the
ameouluie gander shall be deemed and token to
uiclade females, miler the contrary as to gender is
expreedy provided."