The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1873-03-18 00:00:00

Road &multi &pø.

TUESDAY, MARDI 18, 187 E:
NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Her Majesty the Queen went from Windsor
Castle to the Metropolis on Wednesday, and
held a lead. at Puokinghain Palace, when about
240 presentations were made; and on Friday
the Queen held a drawing-room at the Palate.
Her Majesty was accompanied by the Prince
and Princess of Wales, Princes, Beatrice, and
the other memben of the Royal Family. Of
the fashions in vogue John Bull says—
The hair appeared to be dressed higher than ever on
the top of the head, and almost all the young these
had it turned from the fees over scullion ; the feathers
and dowers were worn more out the top of the head than
of old. The young girl. who were presented patrosised
snowdrops • good deal, one of them partioulerly
having them most grthefully ermined as one We of the
hair,.. thosgb the, were growing there. A tulle
veil covered with peon l beads was rather • novelty, sad
Wonted ribbons round the neck with a bow in frost
sad dientonds in the centre were motth were. Oae
lady bad • ribbon goiter at the throat trimmed with lees
quite In the Louie XIV. otyle—indeed, the belies of
the present drawitirroom looked more like the *tures
of our ancestors thin ever. Yore false heir owned to
be worn, more costly tsar, and the trimmings were more
elaborate than ever. It would be really diftioult to
attempt to describe the pus'., plaiting., aid ruolt-
inp of which the tall* pettioaate were composed. One
dress had the leas douses brought up in • great plat
at the aide, whiola was filled out with blue tulle and
bows of ribbon, and had • very novel effect; a bleak
corded silk trail, with deep bias folds of blue silk, was
worn with it dotted over with primroses.
Her Majesty and the Prime's Beatrice re-
turned to Windsor on Saturday. Sunday being
the anniversary of the death of the Duchess olt
Kent, they visited her mausoleum at Froginore.
The Prince of Wales has formally accepted
his patrimony as a member of the Goldsmith's
Company, his father, the Prince Consort, haring
belonged to that ancient guild, when he wee
born.

The favourite barque of the Cabinet, which,
In Mr. Gladstone. own words, was on the crest
of the wave one day and in the trough of the
sea the next, has been finally wrecked. The
strongest Administration of modern times has
collapsed before a tantalising deficiency of three
votes ; Mr. Gladstone immediately going to
Buckingham Palose to resign, and Mr. Disraeli
to receive Her Majesty's commands. The fact
that the question before the House has been but
imperfectly understood in England did not
diminish, but apparently heightened the excite-
ment. We are at the clam of a Parliament
which was elected when Mr. Disraeli was in
(doe before. How awkward to change teams
just now. Her Majesty appears to have realised
the situation with her accustomed sagacity, and
to have urged Mr. Gladstone to reconsider his
determination; and Mr. Disraeli, having well
thought over the situation and had the advice of
Lord Derby, on Saturday definitively declined to
form an administration. Mr. Gladstone
therefore resumes office, the Ministerial pro-
gramme lightened by the overthrow of the
unfortunate Bill. The Globs asks.—
' But why could net Kr. Disraeli have armeoted
office and than instantly appeal to the °wintry ? There
I. much to be said for such • °our's, and we believe if
Ii had been boldly taken but ono thing °wild have
endangered its result. That one thing, however, I. as
enormous element is the calenhation. The Tory party
,la the country are not prepared. Precisely what we
' have frequently prodktoi haa some t plea. The near
prospect of • general eleotioo has taken the Tories una-
wares. The Liberals are ales". on the Wert. The
Irony of Mr. Glyn whoa be affected is envy the Cori.
servatives their osranisation was kit on • party which,
if not sterid, is rarely simple and ebildlike in its
soneeptlon and girlish in its nation. . . . . Their
load organisation Is of the wont possible
descripthu. The local agents bare tie vaguest
nltions of their duties. There is ocaresly
ens in ten preparef with an analytical list of
his constituency which could be depended upon. The
mistral organisation in Loodoe is for practical par.
poses useless, so that in an emergency the local agents
would be compelled to rely upon thrlr own affmta.
, Tie oonstitaencies are not kept informed as to the
leading questions of the day, and in a large number the
nudism submission of • political question would be
little better than a Wow This is not the way to
eonduot the affairs of a party, or to establish and
hem th r growth f &school Wpolitical opinion. The
Liberals are tierr in th. h. generation."
However, a dissolution in the autumn must
come, sad the Globs anticipates the cowl um of
the Gladstone Ministry until that time as
follows :

"Lightened by the Irish University Bill they will be
fr., but scarcely atis to Carty out th• Illiniaterial pro-
gramme, to play oat the burlesque of "Hamlet' without
the ghost and without the play-mane. It will be a
sorry performsuee, and we should not he greatly sur-
prised to Bed that some of the leading members of the
company rebelled against their poeitioo. It is even pro-
bable the manager may seek so improve hia proap,oas
by including • few sticks and pluogers front his Cabinet.
But however that may be, there is one eertainty for
watch the Opposition and the smoky must be pre-
pared The Prime Minister and Kr. Lowe will ley
their heeds together, and we shall hsve • justly popular
Budget. There will also be rubor large eoneaselooe le
the interest of their coming election, The Tory party
have kindly given them the opoortoolty of rehabilitat-
ing their character with the House and the °madly,
and we %nay rest assured they will lase It to the bast
adeentage. Tbe wolvellmay gather round, the mowilios
will be worthy of the eitoagon and its despair. What
remains of the session will be • armee of wholesale
pillage. Not an •••Fitatioa will be safe OF • surrender
too larp to be zeds."
Sir Bartle Frere's mission to Zanzibar to put
down slavery in the Eastern Seas has turned out
a failure, for the present at least. The Sultan
of Zanzibar refuses to give up his domestic in-
stitution, partly on the ground that he is not in
a position to relinquish one of his main sources
of revenue, and partly on the ground that the
industrial system of the Wand cannot be carried
on except by alavery, that slavery is sanctioned
by the Koran, that it is &time-honoured custom,
and all the rest of it, and that we ourselves re-
cognised it as such in our Treaty with the
Imam of Muscat in 180. The French, Ameri-
can, and Portuguese Consul. are all setting up
their backs at the visit of Sir Bartle Frere. The
German Consul alone is acting with us; but Sir
Bartle Frere is now off to the Seychelles,
Mozambique, and Madagascar, and he hints in
• note to Sir Henry Rawlinaon that he hopes to
do without the co-operation of the Sultan what
he was sent out to do with it.

The South Wales strike has worked itself out,
and the men are returning to work, the iron-
workers taking the lead and going in by thou-
sands, and the colliers sneaking back to the pits
with their picks and their lamps by twos and
threes. The unionist., of °lures, are still
shouting " No surrender," yet they are consent-
ing to go to work upon the old terms, trusting
to the masters to increase their wages as the
pries of iron improves. It has been • foolish as
well as • wanton strike; but we mar hope that
it is now practically at an end. It will be along
time before the ironworkers of South Wales
Itr_ikf. again. . - -

With respect to the demand recently made by
the London masons for an advance of • half-
penny an hour, it is stated that the muter' have
rejected it, offering instead facilities for the men
to increase their inoomes by working longer
time during the summer months.

The shipowners implicated in Mr. Plimsoll's
charges have had a short respite through the
Ministerial crisis; but the inquiry cannot now
be shirked, and the Royal Commlasion must be
appointed. Meanwhile another important in-
quiry—that initiated by Mr. Holm, into the
purchase and sale of Government stores—is not
prejudiced by the political upset, and that hon.
gentleman has been elected chairman of the
Select Committee of the House of Commons
appointed to conduct the inquiry. A dissolu-
tion would have put • stop to this and other
useful investigations, among much further mis-
chief, that it would have caused.

Opinions are pretty equally divided as to the
respective =rite of the two University crews.
The Cantabs on Monday got afioat,but theiralibui
was not deemed wholly satisfactory. The
Oxonians did not show until Thursday; but
made afar better impression than their opponents
had done. It seems likely that the race will
furnish a better fight between the two crews
than any we have seen for some years.
The faith of President Grant in • blessed
future, and in his power, with the aid of Con-
gress, to mist, form rather a remarkable feature
In his recent Message. People have talked about
It as well they may. I rather believe," he mays,
" that the Great Maker is preparing the world
to become one nation, speaking one language:
a consummation which will render armies and
navies no longer necessary. I will encourage
and support any recommendations of Congress
tending upwards such ends." It Is not often
that messages to Parliament or Congress take so
comprehensive • view.