The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-02-11 00:00:00

iOnrstt Conntil Expres

TUESDAY. FEBRUARY 11. 1968.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

"ualaf

The political calm of the Parliamentary recess bas
been nigh,' during the past week by two events,
Mr. Bright's address upon Irish topics at Hip
gain4Unin, and the great Protestant meeting in
Dublin. These afford some indication of *owing
events in the forthcoming session, and it seems
certain that the gustation of the Established Church
Ireland will be brought forward at an early period.
wood, it is already reported that within a day or
two of the meeting of Parliament, Mr. Gladstone
will bring forward a 'notion regrading the Irish
the stren.ith of the two
Church, which must try
great parties in the House. If this be true, and if
the Tight bon. gentleman goes far enough in his pro-
posed measure, the present Government la certain to
oppose him, and the result of the strugglo way
purnbly be the defeat and resignation of
Lord Derby's Ministry. Should, however, this
eventuality not occur, it is said that a trial of party
strength will be made ruperning the Scottish Reform
Bill. Ministers, it is understood, have made up
their minds to propose that the additional members
they have promised to Scotland shall be additional
members of the Moment Commons, and the °ppm.
tiou, it is said, will muster with force to oppose such
numerical augmentation, suggesting Instead that
whatever mita are wanted for Scotland shall be taken
from the close boroughs of England. It eurns
evident, therefore, that the semion will he dis
guished at an early date by struggles on the part of
the Opposition to regain the dominant aide of the
House, and, if the Liberal party have learned the
wisdom oi unity from their defeats of last esasion,
the contest spoll the questions we have mentioned
will be severe and the issue cannot be anticipated.
On the authority of the Joh,. Ball we learn that
the Duke of Marlbomugh is prepared with an
E,juogtional Bill, which will develop the eliding
system, rather than. intmdnoe anew one. "It will
not, we bear, substitute local for imperial tuition,
but aid will probablr be given to poorer perishes now
debarred from too grant, and unoirtilleated school-
masters will, under certain oonditione, lo awed.
Mies Burdett Coutte'e Idan for grouping Pariahs, may
not Improbably be tried.
The retirement of Lord Justice Bolt his enabled
Lord Derby for a third time during eighteen months
to make an appointment to a Lird Juatioeship of
Appeal in Chaneery, and during theism, period be
has Maw bad to re-All almost every high judicial
pad in %be an* of law and equity. This is sow.

thing like a matt of the loaves and fished, and even
Col:corvettes@ May well be anxious lest, if things to
OD le this
.way, there may soon be oo more ability
left in their party for promotioa. To the meant
appointment of Sir Charles Selwyn as Lord lustioe,
and Mr. Beliol Brett to succeed hiss in the Solicitor-
(3emeralabip, there esn, of cruise, be little exam-
bon taken from • Conservative point of view •
but. the Liberal her naturally think that
thew oem party would have offered a
better field for selection, especially since the lame
drafts which have been made upon the rank and tile
of their political oproneuts by former promotions.
To elevate political supporters in such "WWI how.
ever; is only " natural selection," if not exactly
la n. But of more interest in political
circles than the elevation of Sir Charles Selwyn to
the Beach Is thi• recency Moe ceased in the repro.
sentation of Cembridge University, tor which • hot
struggle In anticipated, politica running very high
Iml DOW in our Universities, as shown by the 1213-
excitemeat which attended the recent election
to the Mau of political economy in Oxford.
A penitent proprietary is Mr. Bright's pet Pula*"
for Ireland's woes, and we cannot but be astonished
that a man so well-informed and clear-sighted should
not have Porceirocl that, by the aid of science,
agriculture is advancing in a direction totally ()Prim°
to his views. He might as well advise the arrows
et the manufacturing counties to leave the mill for
the spinning wheel. Farming is ,"‘Y.a.daYa a
matter of science, capital, and organization, and to
urge recurrence to spade biabandry or something
Mry little better, indicated; onetstesumelike
1 apprehension of all the tendencies of our modern
commercial life. The gradual introduction of the
steam plough is a matter of certainty, and steam
power, even when not used for the plough, is an
Indispensable aid in farm work. Should we be tom
in shutting our eyes to all these tendencies, and in
?ins to deliver the land to • 411111 of poor minims
Flo, however moral, bird working, and economical
they might be, would nemesertly be devoid of funds,
and of tamest everythier but the tare strength of
their arms ? Surely not. The" magic, of property"
may do mach, but it can hardly suable the labourer,
by his spade, to complete with the united forces of
science, mechanism, issid steam power.
The ritual asses brought before the Dean of Arches
were concluded on Friday, but judgment is deferred,
and, whatever that may be, it is understood an
appeal will be made to the Privy Council. At the
close of the East Teignmouth case, Mr. Stephens,
Q.C., made a short speech to dispel, as he said, "an
amusing amount of misconception" in regard to
"religious persecution," under which category the«
actions had been classed; and his observations were
so pertinent, and the point inane of so mach import-
ance, that we feel it right thus prominently to re-
produce them : "What is persecution?" he &skill,
and went on to reply, "Permeation in religious matters
is unjust punishment inflicted upon • person for
adhering to a creed or mode of worship, either by
way of penalty or in compelling him to renounce his
principles. But this necessarily imports freedom of
action. Such freedom bee no place here, bemuse
every clergyman upon institution promises in the
most solemn manner to obey the laws of the Church,
and upon the faith of that promise receives prefer-
ment, emolument, social status, and legal rights said
powers. To profess, or even to entertain, principles
at variance with such promise vitiates every defini-
tion, every idea of fair dealing, of honesty, and of
truth. And the man who, under these circumstances,
attempts to may Mom inconsistent priociples into
action, mil in so doing violates his solemn pledge, is
punished for so doing, and not persecuted. The
man so offending is justly punished with those con•
sequenced; of hie guilt which are dependent, not on
this or that custom—not on this or that religious
system—but on the universally received distinction
between truth and falsehood; and he is justly
punished for obtaining or holding preferment under
false pretenoes."
A movement has just been made on the part of
Evangelical Cherchnim for a re-union between the
Church and the Wesleyan body, and an abstract
repolution in favour of this object has actually been
pained in the Convocation of York, though not
withott oxesition. But this resolution can do very
little in the desired direction. Theoretically the
differences bitween Methodists and modern Church•
menace comparatively trivial; but practically con-
sidered, these differences have become so "set" by
lapse of time, that if the two denominations have
not deeeloped into distinct species, they may
perhaps be charterer-lend, in botanical language, •
"permanent varieties."
The disappearance of Mr. Spoke continues to
excite lively interest. The theory of voluntary
absence is last losing groun 1, and the general opinion
now given is that lie has been murdered. A cor-
respondent in the Pall Mall Gazette makes a sug-
gestion which is quite original. He says them was an
extraordinary likeness in figure as Well as feature
between Mr. Speke and Mr. Gatborne Hardy, and
then proceeds to ash if it is not possible that,
in an attempt to fulfil their long-standing threats
against the Home-Secretary, some daring and
ingenious knot of Fenian@ may have mistaken
the one man for the other. This, says our contem-
porary, is as plausible a conjecture as any that has
yet been put forward, supposing the likeness to
have been as remarkable as the correspondent amens.
The place, offload Westminster—the time, twilight
—are favourable to it. And what • prodigious
stroke of policy—of Fenian policy—it would have
been if they had tried and succeeded in spiriting
away Mr. Hardy, the Minister responsible for
the fulfilment of the sentence on the Manchester
murderers, so that nothing should be heard of
him any more, as in likely to be the ease with
Mr. Stoke.
A conspicuous social event in the past week was
the grand hippophagio banquet in London, and it
seems to have been attended with great success.
But the Monti& sport of one dinner off horse-flesh,
although elaborately disguised for the most part,
and with meteor:amble alternatives in nes of re-
pugnance, is one Mira, and habitually having this
dogs' meat at table is another and very different
thing; and we do not for a moment believe that the
poorest class will ever eat horse, for, as a rule, they
are more fastidious site novelties than those in • better
position. Whether it is prejudice or not, none of us
care to dine ilf • berm even though the sentimental
oonsideiation be urged that we should thus be helping
to save worn-out lb imutes from the torture to which
they are so often subjected in our streets. On the
same principle the natives of Borneo (or some such
country), cook and eat their aged relatives, when
these can no longer provide for themselves; so that
the humanitarian argument in favour of eating our
fellow-creatures as an exercise of philanthropy might
be carried too far. The general opinion given of the
banquet by its guests appears to be favourable,
though it seems wonderful that even the staunchest
advocates of 1:101110-011.1111 Were not surfeited by home
is such& variety of forms, mid running through so
many courses. Another trial of the nerves was the
distribution of photographs of the equine victims
about the table. The Bornems will not have yet
reached the refinement of contemplating their
deceased relatives' carte de rule, with tears in
their gym, while they put the remains of
the "dear departed" out of harm's way. Horse-
flesh mey be a cheap and wholesome article
of food, but we anticipate it will be a long time
before the public are convinced such is the case.
But one of the diners recommended ass-flesh as even
superior to horse-flesh ; and if this notion gains
currency, perhaps some of the many permits who
never sew lk dead donkey may DOM enjoy MCIII
spectacle in their butcher's shop.
The latest news from Abyesiais informs us that on
the 26th ult. a foroe of 1,500 men advanced upon
Antal°, and from the active manner in which the
other troops were being forwarded to the front
there seems reason to believe that the bulk of the
expeditionary force will soon reach that place, and
that • rapid march will then be made on Ms/plata.
It is now seen that the army is too much encum-
bered with camp followers, and the natives have,
therefore, been bent back to India. The wells which
have been made on the American principle have
proved quite suroessful at Koomoyloo, and good
water has now been obtained. It 11 reported the
the Egyptian Governor at hillesiowah has been re-
called. A correspondent of the Leaser Herald
affirms that the Viceroy of Egypt seriously contem-
plates making an opening for himself in Abyssinia,'
but that it is probable this step will not be taken
until the British troops evacuate the country. Such
a proceeding might at once lead to French interven-
tion, but it could in no wise affect England.