The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1874-11-24 00:00:00

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iDarset Gantt' exiirtss.
TUESDAY. NOVEMBER SL 1874.

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Our poor Church seems in great danger of
being in the same case as an hypochondrical old
lady, who takes the advice of all her busy friends,
professional or amateur. Mr. Bensford Hope
is evidently in favour of homoeopathic treatment.
"In his opinion the motto of Churchmen ought
to be 'Live and let live that Churchmen should
behave that the Establishment was wide enough
and broad enough to take in all tests, all ideas
of devotion, all methods of Christian piety,"
which means—if you will only let us Ritualists
keep our places and practice our anti-
Christian ceremonies inside the Church, we will
let all the rest remain until we are strong enough
to turn them out. Let us live and you shall
live—until we can absorb you. The Archbishop
of Canterbury, a professional doctor, is of the
same mind. "Shall we quarrel about minor
pointa 1 Shall we tear each other to pieces for
a vestment 1" Like the soldiers upon a certain
important occasion, His grace would recommend
us to "cast lots" for it —that is, let us agree to
put sweet for bitter, and bitter for sweet ; light
for darkness, and darkness for light; truth for
error, and error for truth ; Popery for Christianity,
or rice cersd ; and let us all keel our places and
be happy. The Bishop of Salisbury, in his
letter to the Rural Deans, suggests three courses
with regard to the Ornaments rubric, which all
imply a condonation of Itomaniam in the Church.
But we believe that Parliament will suggest a
fourth course in which the great mass of the
people will concur, and, that is, a course of
honest repudiation of Sacerdotalism with all its
ornaments and disguises; and so we are very
indifferent as to the decision that may be arrived
at by the Rural Decanal Synods. But
between all these doctors poor old mother
Church is in a bad way. is it a wonder if the
Protestants of England are sick of these sham
attempts at Reformation I—if, like the people of
Spain, they think their officers and generals are
playing at war for their own purposes I—if a
party is gradually arising which will take the
matter into its own hands, and settle it for ever 1
What must a foreigner think of the English
Church 1 If he asks what is your religion 1 The
Church, by Mr. Bennett, answers, Sacerdotalisin;
if she replies by Dean Stanley, Free Thought;
if by and —, Twaddle. Can such a
Church stand 1 Is it a wonder if honest
Dissenters, like Mr. Neave, are unable to hold
their peace ; and if, indignant at such a mockery,
they speak rather strongly 1 Of this, however,
we are persuaded, when the Church falls it will
not be by attacks from without, they only serve
to consolidate its defence, but by its own internal
weakness and Laodicean charity.
The Corporation of Weymouth--and through
I them the ratepayers—are undoubtedly placed in
a critical position by the partial failure of the
Dam constructed under the direction of Sir
John Conde, but the Town's Meeting of last
week has done nothing that will be helpful
respecting it in any degree. Had the promoters
of the meeting been in accord as to the pro-
cedure that was desirable, their demonstration
would have commanded respect ; but divided
councils and vehement denunciations have gone
far to discredit the entire proceedings. The
proposal .sf Mr. Walker to get rid of Sir John
Condo was about as unstatesmanlike a suggestion
as can he conceived ; he is now responsible for
the success of his plans, but if he be dismissed
, and another called in to complete the work, Sir
John may fairly renounce all liability for the
ultimate result. So difficult a question, as this
confessedly is, cannot be solved by ad eaptaudunt
oratory or violent speeches ; it is rather a matter
fur the investigation of a committee of experts,
and the propoeal of Colonel Akers to take the
opinion of an eminent engineer of large experi-
ence in sanitary works, which he advocated with
the modesty which conies of knowledge and skill
in his connection with the Royal Engineers, and
withal so genially and forcibly, was the only
practicable scheme for allaying the just appre-
hensions of the ratepayers, without acting un-
fairly and unwisely by Sir John Ctxxle. But
the irresponsible and excited audience would
Inive no half-and-half measures, and their
determination to "away with him " defeated
their whole purpose, for now, it is more than
probable that the Corporation, with very few
exceptions, will "pin their faith" the closer to
Sir John Coode, and he will go on experiment- ,
ing first with one weir, and then probably with
a second, at the expense of the town. This
untoward result is largely due to the violence of
Mr. Walker, who has yet to learn that virtue of
moderation which is so imliortant and seemly at
all times, and is especially needful when a
question is under consideration about which the
uninformed and unreflective are greatly excited.