The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1872-02-27 00:00:00

Drat enauttj Express.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1872.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

The Queen returned to Windsor on Thursday
afternoon, with Pelee° Leopold and Princess
Beatrice ; but the Prince of Wales remains at
Osborne with the Primes., and our medical
oontemporsries hint a doubt whether his Royal
Highness will, after all, be sufficiently well to
attend the Thanksgiving Service to-day. Of
course without the Prince of Wales the service
will be "Hamlet" with Haeaci left out. But
this is not a case where the Court physicians are
likely to allow a patient to run the slightest
risk; and the visit of Sir Jlll/10/ Paget to
Osborne-house, in the early part of the wee', is
now said to have been on account of the recur-
rence of the symptoms about the hip-joint, which
kept back his Royal Highness in the earlier
stages of his recovery.
The most conspicuous addition to the Parlia-
mentary programme of work this week is Mr.
Cardwell's scheme in fall for tho reorganisation
of the army. This was tabled on Thursday. It
Is, in the end, of course, like all plans of this
kind, to save us a million or two a year. But
we are to be called upon, first of all, to put our
hands into our pockets for £1,500,000 in order
to set the system iu working order, and we
must take our chance of the reduction after-
wards. The plan, however, seems worth all
that it is to cost. Col. Barttelot, a Conserva-
tive, after listening to Mr. Cardwell's explana-
tion, pronounced his plan to be "lie very
scheme the country had been asking for"—a
plan, that is, under which, in future, we shall
he able t nol moo when se want thew, and
fuel thew able to do the work we require them
to do. The army is to be localised—this is Mr.
Cardwe.." first principle ; and to carry out this
principle he divided; the country into a fresh set
of territorial districts. Each of these districts
will furnish, as a rule, two battalions of the
Line, two battalions of Militia, a certain quota
of Volunteers, and a proportionate number of
Army Reserve men and Pensioners; and in
' each district there will be a central depot, at
which the warlike and other stores need for
I if • ennHnuant rn•p Von rilnern
application to the War (Woe. Practically,
therefore, every district will possum a distinct
brigade or, as Mr. Cardwell says, there will be
In each district " a dep6t battalion and two
Militia battalion' in such a state of preparation
that the line battalion of the brigade at home
could be put at once on a war footing, while at
least one other Militia battalion would be ready
for immediate embodiment, and the depUt would
remain in a state to raise and train recruits and
to furnish the required reliefs." By this means
our force could be instantly mobilized, while we
should have ready, in working order, the means
of maintaining a oontineous supply of fresh
troops to meet the demands of war. The troops
thus localised will be trained together ; there
will be a common exercise ground at the local
centre; the officers of the Line will be encouraged
to pass into the MURIA, while commissions in
the Line will be granted to Militia subalterns;
the Volunteers will be annually exercised in con-
nection with the regular and auxiliary forces of
their district, and the staff of the dep6t will
have every branch of the military force of the
district under Ita cognizance and control.

This plan, of course, throws the Army Esti-
mates for the year into the background; but
even these are not without features upon which
we may congratulate ourselves. The total
amount is still four or five millions more than
Von Roon can get out of the German Path,-
merit; but, picking op our soldiers, as we do, in
the labour market, it is Impossible that we can
ever have a cheap army, although there is no
reason why we should not have a thoroughly
efficient one. The amount, however, is this year
more than a million leas than list year, or
£14,824,500, against about £16,000,000, for
1871 ; and the sum required for the purchase of
commiasions tide year is only about £885,000,
half the sum estimated by the actuaries—a very
satisfactory fact, implying, as it does, that the
officers are keeping to their posts and doing all
that men can to make the new system work well.
The strength of the army remains atthe standard
of last year ; but we have now a larger force of
regulars at home than we have had at any former
period of peace. The number of battalions at
home end abroad are exactly equal.

There is a rumour that Lord netherley is
anxious to give up his seat on the Wooblack.
LW sight, like M. Thiers's, is failing him; aud
although all the rest of his faculties are in the
healthiest state of activity, except, of course,
that of construing recent Acts of Parliament, hie
twenty years' work in the Oourt of Chancery as
Vice-Ohanoellor, and his twenty-five years' pre-
vious work at the Bar, must make him long
now and then for • little rest, if he does not
happen to agree with Dr. Arnold that it will be
time enough to think of rest when he is beyond
the grave. Lord Romilly Is mentioned for the
vacancy; but he is almost as old as Lord
Hatherley, and, as Master of the Bolls, it has
been his fate to see more of his decisions
reversed than any other man on tho Bench. Sir
Bounden Palmer of worse is the man for the
Woolsack ; but, unlese the American arbitration
goes Off hi* servicoa wi:l be wanted at Geneva,

Lord Northbrook ia the new Indian Viceroy.
His Lordship waa for several yam Cacho-
Socrotkry for India, and during that tune must
havo gamod zoa extiminvo knowiodge of the
Li called upon to govora. He is
said Co ho endowed with more than average
strength and vigour.

The Tichborno case has again become
interesting. Sir J ohu Coloridge's speech
lasted twonty•tivo days, or 140 hours, and
if not the highest effort of forensic elotiumme, is
at least thu longest within the memory of man.
The only *pooch at all approaching this in length
wee one of Sir Marlon Wetherell's before the
Privy Council, extending to 18 days. But Miss
Shodden had already overtopped this by her
time& of 24 days at the Bar of the House of
Ludo in defence of her lopitimacy, and, as the
news puts it, Ihe Athoruey-Geueral has only
wapod by one day the tato of Sisora. of being
beaten by • woman. Sergeant Wildo's speech
in the ow of " Small r. Attwood," • speech of
twelve days, is brevity itself in oomparison with
this. Although the Attorney-Goneral had just
finished a speech long enough to mako the
throati
of twenty guides aore,he could not resign
the examination of "rowan Kato to either of
his consignee. The manner in which Mrs.
Radcliffe was ohamploted by her doughty knight
glib. loog gob* quits Obivilneq2oo &i 4 &Me