The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-03-19 00:00:00

DORSET COUNTY EXPRESS

DORCIIEiTEII,, TITEIDAY, MARCH 19, 18G1.

HOY ESTE AUDAL

NOTES OF TIER WEEK.

THE subject of "Essays and Reviews" still
occupies a large share of attention on the
part of the religious public. Two beneficed
clergymen have boldly declared themselves
defenders of the doctonws contained in the
volume which has been unanimously con-
demned by the Episcopal Bench. • One of
them is the Rev. Dr. George John Wild.
of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, vicar of
Dfxklerhill, near Droitwich, in the diocese of
Worcester. The other gentleman is the
Rev. Robert Bruce Kennard, M.A., of St.
John's College, Oxford, rector of Marnhull,
near Blandrogl. This gentleman, who is
beneficed in the same diocese-- Salisbury—
with Dr. Rowland Williams, the %triter of
the Second Essay in the volume. in a letter
addressed to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
expresses his sympathy with the WWII *titers,
and protests against the condemnation which
the inshup mir is.,i;shory has passed upou the ,
work. The light in mhich the subject, how-
ever, is viewed by the great body of Church-
men may be gathered front the Met that, on
Tuesday last, a very influential body waited
on the Archbishop of Canterbury, for the
purpose of presenting him an address, signed
by bOO clergymen. protesting against the ,
opinions promulgated in the " Essays and
Reviews," and asking his Grace to concert ,
measures with the other members of the
Episcopate, with a view to banish from the
Church all "Such erremeous and dangerous
doctrines." The spokesmen of the deputation
were Bishop Truwer, Dr. Irons, and Arch-
deacon Utterton. The Archbishop delivered
a brief but forcible reply. lie strongly con-
demned the theology of the Essays, but
expatiated on the uncertainty of adopting
proceedings in the Ecclesiastical Court, and
expressed his belief that, as in times past,
errors would meet with a complete refutation.
The introduction of the Navy Estimates
on 3londay night produced a debate agreat
interest. The discussion was clear and
instructive; and from it we learn ninny
things which much concerns us to know.
The First Lord of the Treasury, who has
spent his whole life in studying the polities
of Europe, and whose name stands associated
with every important event of European
history during the last half century, is not
a man to be looked upon as a visionary, a
panic monger, or a dupe. Lord Palmerston
assurcs us that the naval and military prepar-
ations of France are by no means upon a
moderate, an ordinary, or even a reasonable
scale. The Gloire the first iron-eased
steamship built for the French navy—is an
absolute success. She eau steam at greeter
speed than any of the French wooden ships,
and can live in very bad weather. Our own
fleet of ironsidea consists of two first-rates
actually launched, tau sceond-rates, mhich
will be ready for launching in a month or
two, and one first-rate and two larger than
second-rate, but lighter than rsi-rates, on the
stocks. Turning to other rowers we learn
that France has two first-rates actually afloat.
four second-rates, four third-rates, and five
gunboats which will be launched during the
summer, and the Emperor has given orders
for ten more first-rates uu the model of the
Gloire. Spain has one iron-eased vessel on
the stocks, Italy one, and Russia one in
prospect. For remote stations, distant
cruises, and the general work of the sea,
it is thought that wooden vessels will be
still employed, and in this class of vessels me
are stronger than France in proportion to
two to one. It is true that vessels eased in
armour have not been tried in actual wartime,
but the conclusion arrived at in the course
of the debate on the Navy Estimates was
that the relative forces of' maritime powers
must in future be measured, as for as home
squadrons are concerned, by iron-clad ships,
as it is to these we must look to tight our
most decisive battles.
The Army Estimates, which were largely
discussed on Thursday night, will perhaps
warmly satisfy those who have anticipated
considerable reduction in the public ex-
penditure. It is premed that the number
of troops in the' -Lintad Kingdom shall be
.116,014 men. This surely is not too large
a military force when we remember that our
Indian possessions have latelylkeen saved by
the gallantry of our soldiers, and that we
have colonies scattered throughout the world.
Time cost of the effective service has been
materially reduced, and is by uo means upon
an extravagant scale • but the expenses of
The staff and civil branches hive been
enhanced, as regards supernumerary officers,
depot battalions, and the recruiting system,
which is to be extended. At the date of
Waterloo, when we had 300,000 men under
um, the Duke of York's staff vest about
£20,000.000 a year; now that we have Ices
than Iplf that number of troops, that of the
Duke -6? eawbridge cost £14,780,000. Moro

xas a strcanz concurrence of opili fl to tli`
.1;114 that this establisioneut 1.w.,:0t to bt.
urvort:-1 at
.1).•:s; ;hose. va.l $ I. 111

.41:1v3 1.• t .I.•siry
of the II mow for iho salij,vt I.,Mialiii over
..r forth; r Lt;etoll. awl 1;1 t!;••ii
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As our latest travelliag statistics present
the amazing JtVCra!!,C of half-a-dozen railway
ourneys a year for every human being in
:he kingdom, we cannot Is. surprised that a
:notion owli as that brought forward I.v
Mr. Bentinck on Tuesday, having for its
..hjeet the prevantion, or. at le: s' tin'
diminution or railway aceidents. sh oulA have
excited much dismission and general interest.
rhe hon. member traced the generality of
Aeeidents to one or other of three causes—
.xcessive speed, want or punetnmit v bath in
the arrival and departure! of trains, soil a
want of communieation between the driver
and guard ; and the bare mention of the
charges steggests the remedies lie proposed
;hat :vernmeot ought to ao,ply. Other
members hail ii..strueos of their own to
propound as a remody of the sohnitted evil.
mit those mast prioninently put forward
eivoured far loss of the grave wisdom of
...nators timn or the jesting humour of the
iate Rev. Sidney Smith. Thatonciry divine
insiste4 that railway napauies weald never
take sqlleivat precaution agalnst accidents
till at least n Bishop had become the victim
of one; though, with a wholesome respect
ror the privileges of Parliament. he suggested
that he of Sodor and Man might be
a sufficient saerffive. In a somewhat similar
spirit. 31 r. Ilalliburton improved on the sug-
guestion made by Mr. Edwin James, that at
the departure of every train a director should
take his place upon the tender, and that in
every case of accident traceable to neglect. a
director should be hanged. We fear that
this proposal wrathd fiud but little favour
either with directors or shareholders, and
that there would be some difficulty in pur-
sending men to accept a sett at the Board on
such conditions. We ngre -with Mr. 3lilner
Gibs m Viat the interference of Government
would not be advisable; for Government
enuld not assume the whole responsibility.
and divided responsibility ensures neglect.
:Although the motion was ultimately with-
drawn. the debate will no doubt be attended
with beneficial results. as it will awaken in
directors aud shareholders a more correct
perception of their own interests, and their
•duty to the public. The real cause of most
mishaps we believe to be a short-sighted
economy, which on most lines has reduced
the servants below the necessary bee,
and has been content with inferior men.
The extent to whiell the lives of the passen-
ger:4 depend on the excellence of the servants
was shown in a remarkable degree in the
late accident on the South-Western, where
the presence of mind and promptitude of two
men averted the destruction of perhaps three
trains. But though such remarkable capacity
and energy may not always be met with, the
qualification of every man employed in such
eoacerns ought to be scrutinised as rigorously
as if the safely of each train depended on his
fitness for his post.
There is a vague notion abroad that the
sins matrimonial of the English people are
shamefully numerous. The habitual readers
of morning papers find six or seven cases
each day, and jump to the conclusion that
every day throughout the year the Simile IMM-
ber are anxious to separate. Light jests are
built on these hmse statistics ; sub-editors
talk of adding it department " Divorce" to
the headings " " Marriages," and
" Deaths," and a general impression floats
about that it is now easy enough to get un-
married, and that half England is crowding
round Sir Cresswell Creswell in a wild en-
thusiasm for conjugal recession. Tho returns
lately published by order or the House or
commons show that since the eatablishment
or the Dhorev Court in February WS up
the date of the return, there were 601
petitioos filed for dissolution of marriage, of
which :Lis had been tried. The otrenees
against the marriage vow extend fior the most
part, over a period of ten years. but the
earliest act of infidelity w !moll has beec
brought before the new tribunal was a griev-
ance of a quarter of a century's standing.
and there are eight complaints of wrongs
20 years old. The same 'lumbar 14 ill mark
the complainants which are but of II years' .
duration, while there are seventeen complain-
ants who came to complain of 'acts done
thirteen years ago, and thirty for misconduct
ten years since. The practical object for
which the House of Commons ordered the
return was, that it might judge uhether
the Divorce Court, as at present constituted,
possesses a judicial power of sufficient
strength to deal with the average amount
of work likely to be brought before it.
The fair conclusion is, we think, that it
does not. It is now two years in arrear •
but whether the necessary power is to be
obtained by the assistance of an additional
judge, or in simplifying the machinery so
as to relieve Sir Cresswell the necessity of
awaiting the convenience •of other judges, I
before lie can net in cases of divorce, will
forin a subject for future debate.
Sonic of our contemporaries just now are
making a great fuss about an application
to the Court of Chancery for an injunction ,
to restrain Messrs. Day and Sons and Louis
Kossuth from printing monetary notes for
circulation in llungary. Mr. T. S. Dun-
i:oink., who brought the ease before the
House last week, intimated that an un-
warrantable Ft retch of judicial power bad
been exercised in granting the injunetien,
and that our government had improperly
interfered to befriend the Emperor of Austria
and to prosecute the exiled patriot. Now,
we should have thought that no well-
int...mined person need require telling that all
this is pure nonsense. The grant of an in-
junction by our Court of Chancery upon all
exporte statement is a Mere matter of course,
and any one may obtain it against anybody.
The real question at issue is urged and
decided upon the motion to raise the
injunction, and the party who has wrongfully
obtained it is sufficiently punished by having
to pay all costs. As to the interference of
our Government, if the supposition that
Lord Palmerston would be likely to befriend
the Austrian cause were not sufficiently
absurd in itself, the very fact that an
application has been made to the Court of
Chancery is a clear proof that our Govern-
ment has refused to institute criminal pro-
ceedings. Sonar of our contemporaries,
however, are far to incensed against the
Austrian dynasty to be very particular what
arguments they use.