The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-01-28 00:00:00

Vaud (DWI! Expres

TUESD AY , JANUARY 28. 1868.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

The Conservative banquet at Bristol was a soccer
in the numbers it attracted, and notable from the
indications the speecbee of the three Secretaries of
State afford of the Ministerial policy during the
ensuing session. But Lord Derby was not there, for
his old enemy, the gout, has attacked him severely,
and the Chancellor of the Exchequer was absent,
preparing, we suppose, for his visit next day to her
Majesty at Osborne. Sir John Pakington promised
that naval recoostructioc, and military reform should
be zealously carried on with as small an expenditure
as practicable, which it is very gratifying to hear,
only it is just a thought indefinite, and may go for
very little ; but we hove something in Co tries am-
biguous (ruin Mr. Gathorne Hardy on • subject of
considerable importance, nit, the compound house-
holder. The difficulty which has been everywhere
experienced in the collection of rates from the corm
piers of house formerly comcounded for by the
landlords, coupled with the realization of an actually
less sum in many places than under the old system,
had led us to anticipate that the Government, wise
above all things to apprehend the feeling of the
nation, would not be indisposed in the ensuing
session to consent, after a mild show of opposition,
to the resuscitation of the compound lsoeaehold,
notwithstanding the incompatibility of such an en.
, Worms with the " pnociple" of the Reform Bill.
But Mr. Hardy rye "No" very decidedly—the
Government will not give op the personal payment '
of rates as • qualification for every voter. The
expediency of the oompounding system is
beyond question, and as before now we
have beard of such a thing se a Ministry
sacrificing principle for expediency, we do not
despair of seeing before the year is out the old plan
revived, which worked well both for the ratepayers
and the householders whose rates were compounded
for by their landlords. Bat "the speech of the
evening" was that of Lard Stanley, in reeponding to
the tout of "Her Majesty's Ministers." He plainly
intimated that the Conservative party are quite pre.
tared to attempt a settlement of thn oat question.
now cooupying public attention, and we may infer
from his remarks that we shall have endeavours to
legislate upon education and trades-unions, possibly
something in the way of tenant-right for Ireland,
and these 'objects, with Reform Bills for flootland
and Ireland, will pretty well occupy Parliament
during the evening' which can be awed from
ordinary routine business. It is not surprising,
therefore, his lordship should intimate that the eon.
sideration of the Irish church question will not
form part of the ministerial programme this year.
And there are other reasons for its postponement
than press of business. The existence of Fenianism
amongst us, though it seems well nigh stamped out,
renders it impossible that snob • vexed question
should be discussed with the calmness and candour it
pre-eminently demsods ; and the noble lord will
find many to support his View, that legislation of
such great importance to the United Kingdom ought
not to be undertaken by an expiring Parliament,
especially when its successor will be elected by coo.
stitusocnee so greatly altered in oomposition.
, We are told, and the events of the week iced =to
' have faith in it, that all the Fenian chiefs in this
country, ezoept two or three, who are in "dose
! hiding, are now in oostod y : that the conspiracy, "al
far as the police can ascertain." is for the present
" soared almost to death" in England; and that
neither in this country, nor in Ireland, have the
Fenian* either leaders or funds.

That crack-hrained American demagogue, George
Francis Train, who lately made several pro-Fenian
speeches of an inflammatory character on the other
111.1110 f tbe Atlantic, and than "sailed for Europe to
take charge," we, as announced by the New Y ork
Triburse. "of the affairs of all the kingdoms and
principalities of that unhappy continent." has
obtained by coming to this country a distinction
which be mast have coveted above all things, via.,
that of being considered a person of political oonse•
comae by the Government of Great Britian. He
*as arrested immediately on big airival, but, after
being kept in custody for three days, he was released
on professing strictly lawful intention Should be
act differently • speedy return to prison awaits
him. After his usual fashima, he now claims £lOO,OOO
of the British Government for his brief detention
"It *wits," rye the Daily New, " • moderate
110111 to ask, masidering that he might just as easily
have made it half-a-million. Mere is nothing
treasonable, however, in asking for money."
The Bishop of Capetown has again been foiled in
hie foolish attempt to mod out • Bishop to fight
Dr. Golenso for supremacy is the see of Natal The
Rev. W. ft. thorarie, of Accrington, was willing in
accept the dangerous office, and- an income of £7OO
per annum for five years was provided, but it baa
been found impossible to inatal tho new prelate. At
one time it was thotlght of proceeding to St. Helena
to perform the ceremony, then Soothed'as selected,
and finally Dr. Gray announced eeeee to take
place in Accrington last Saturday. Bet, the proteet of
the Bishop of London against this step, "for wkiob
certainly, there is no precedent MOOS the ache= o,f
the non-jurore," and toe opinion of Sir Roundel,
Palmer that the consecration could not be held in
England without • violation of the law, has led to
the pompoimment indefinitely of the Woe of
solemnly ooesseratimg an English olerpman to an
Alias whialt thera is an prelagas for aping to vacant

The *object of national adoration is now one. of'
the leading topics of the day. id!. I.4We, aPealung
at Liverpool on !Pilau, took rocasion to show, that
the opinion in favour of compulaory clue ition, which
he exprered apropos of the passing of the Reform
Act of last )ear, was not uttered sareastical. ly but in
real earnest. The Manchester erlututonal con-
ference, he said, seitne.l to have agteed upon three
points :—lst, That the bill which Mr. Bruce, Mr.
Egerton, and Mr. Forster bad charge ef ought to I
be compulsory, and not permissive; 2nd, That
, assietance from the Privy Council ought not to he
denied to schools on account of their being purely
secular; and 3rd, That all schools recteiviog public
money might to have a conscienoe clause. He gave
his hearty assent to these conclusions, believing
them to be woad, and to be required by the present
state of affairs. The feeling is growing that means,
of SS stringent a character as may be found necessary
will be taken to enure the education of the young,
and, Gofer as the agricultural districts are concerned,
the immediate ooneequences of such a DOW osder of
things are not difficult to fore.ee. As bag been
pointed out by Mr. Herman Bidden, of Playford,
the English peasantry cannot afford to lobe their
children's labour, and cannot therefore tend them to
echooL The 3s. 6d. a week ahoy of tea earns for
feeding cattle, is "just the difference," as the father
says, "between living and starving," and if the lad
is prevented earning it, the farmer, in the first place
at least, mast augment the father's wages by that
amount. This is how the case stands, and it is
melees to attempt to hide it by a cloud of words.
Ultimately, doubtless, the farmer would recoup
himself by raising the price of his produce, and
he would meet in the rine way them:thawed price of
Ishone through the scarcity of agricultural torrents
which might be occasioned by education, but, in the
outset the charge of instructing the labourer's son
must fall upon the farmer.

A general belief prevails in Paris that an Imperial
manifesto of • eery pacific character will be ironed in
• few days. The object of the manifesto will be to
allay the apprehensions of war which the passing of
the Army Bill ham created.

There lies been some feu that the Essitern ques-
tion would be re•opened during the coming spring.
It is said Unit an Insurrection in Bulgaria has been
preparing, end that the Cur is gathenng troops en
the Prutli—menatiing the Sultan at Constantinople
Rote deapatob from Vienna says that "Russia was
less in a position to go to war than at the
present moment. She has neither men, horses,
breechloaders, nor money." The Czar hu no
decided allies in Europe. Prussia holds aloof from
his schemes; Austria is on the watch against them ;
and France is now openly and decidedly oppoeed to
the policy of the Cabinet of St. Petersburg.

Hardly any doubt now exists that the veteran
explorer, Dr. Livingetone, will onoe again appear
amongst us. The Search Expedition has rettuned
t England, having stumeeded in ascertaining that
the story of the Johanna men as to the easeneination
of the great traveller wag a tissue of falsehoods, in-
tended to cover their base deeertion of him. They
have discovered that near the spot where Living.
stone is rid to hey. been murdered, he and his fol.
lowers were ferried over • marshy lake. From this
point we lose eight of him. Bat there is information
that • white traveller (who could only have been the
doctor), with native attendants, had been seen on
the western toast of Lake Tanganyika, and that he
was going northward, that is, in tbe direction of the
Albert Nyanza, the main source of the Nile. There
, is melon, therefore, to hope that, in due time, Dr.
Livingetone will make his way down that stream
into Egypt with the fruits of his new geographical
discoveries.

The news from Abyssinia, which is up to the 13th
inst., is not altogether encouraging. No forward
movement has yet taken place from Senate, and it
is to be feared that the extraordinary delay which
has occurred will prevent the expedition socomplish•
ing its object before the rainy season sets in. The
captives, according to the latest news, were in good
health. It is DOW considered doubtful whether
Gotszyse will attack King Theodore.