The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1873-03-11 00:00:00

Borott &nig Exgeoo•
TUESDAY, KABOB U. WE

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Her Majesty the Queen. accompanied by Her
Royal Highness Prinoem Beatrice, and attended
by the SUDO. will, it is understood, leave• Windsor
Castle, on Wednesday, on a visit to the metro-
polis. The Queen is expected to remain at
eltingham Palace till Irnday, and then return
to Windsor Castle. The Prince of Wales
arrived in town on Saturday afternoon from his
hunting visit to Lsimetershire.
It is stated in well-informed circles that the
preliminaries of a marriage contract have been
arranged between his Royal Highness the Duke
of Edinburgh and her Imperial Highness the
Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, only
daughter of the Emperor of Russia. It is also
understood that Mr. Gladstone will have an
interview with the Duke of Edinburgh in a
short thus, presumably with a view to fixina
the amount to be voted by Parliament on the
occasion of the marriage. Her Imperial High-
nem wee born on October 17, 1853.

It has °Reined been remarked that the present
Government is • " squeezable" one, and perhaps
only Governments that yield considerably to
can get on in these days of lax party
reTpTie, when private members, or little coteries
of members, would not hesitate to join in up-
setting the dish if they could not hive • finger in
the pie. Ministers have of late shown themselves
very complaisant in assenting to this oommirdon
or that committee, and in assuring every member
of the House of Commons who has brought for-
ward a real or supposed grievance that due
attention should be given to the subject of his
complaint, and now they have exhibited the same
complying nature in regard to the Irish Univer-
sity Bill. Mr. Lowe and Mr.Chicheder Yortesoue
on Thursday night pretty clearly intimated that
a number of features in the measure which had
been visited with adverse criticism from various
quarters of the House were only matters of
detail with which it would be competent for the
House to deal in committee, and it began to
be clear that the one great principle upon which
the Government would take their stand was that
of one united university for Ireland, with affili-
ated colleges of various characters. On the sub-
sidiary, but not unimportant feature, of the
scheme, Mr. Gladstone was prepared to be
squeezed, as he himself helped in squeezing Mr.
Disraeli over the Reform Bill in 1887. If the
House will not have the Government Bill it
will not be for want of concession on the part of
ministers.

What passed at Saturday's Cabinet Council we
know not, but the Observer, which might have
been supposed to know what transpired, still
believes that the bill will pass, and will be a
settlement of the Irish University difficulty for
generations.
The Lord Chamberlain has proved himself a
too zealous friend of his colleagues in suppressing
the performance of a faros called "the happy
land" at the Court Theatre, because three
"Right Honourables n who appeared in fairy
land were got up to imitate three principal
members of the Government—Mr. Gladstone,
Mr. Lowe, and Mr. Ayrtoo. The fairies are first
supposed to be enamoured of proceedings in the
British Parliament, but under the tutelage of
these gentlemen very heartily refuse popular
government. The caricatures being most success-
ful, the theatre was thronzed.

Both by a large cud. of friends and by the
general public the death of Viscount Oesington,
better known as Sir Evelyn Denison, will be
deeply deplored. The noble lord has only enjoyed
the dignity of the peerage about a year since his
retirement from the speakerahip of the House of
Commons,in which capacity he did the state good
service for a lengthened period. Be was one of
the patrician fathers who give weight and dignity
to the Upper House, and his wisdom and (*esti-
tutional experience will be missed in that
assembly.
There is also announced the death of the Right
Hon. H. T. L. Cony, the father of the House of
Commons. He was in his 70th year, and has
sat in the House of 0002010ns, as member for
Tyrone, since the year 1826, that isr, for 47 years,
without the interruption of a single session. He
began his official career under Sir Robert Peel, I.
1824, as Controller of the Kings Household; and
he was First Lord of the Admiralty In the last
Conservative Administration.

It is worthy of remark that the Civil Service
Katimates for the year amounting to £18,419,698,
show an Increase just shout equal to the decrease
on the Army Estimates, the actual amount in
the former else being £444,525. We must pro-
bably reidgn ourselves to a continual illoToo4o of
the Civil Service Estimates, for recent legisla-
tion or education and other matters entails
angumented expense, not to mention that with
the yearly growth of the nation It. public busi-
nemand ths.expenditnre thereon must grow.
. . .

Right in the thick of the fight that I; going
on at Westminster, Mr. Gladstone Is to be
found, in "undress," commemorating the
twenty-four years of political union between
Mr. Locke King and Ern Surrey. Mr. Glad-
store's speech was an easy, contented review of
the five years of office, and an intimation that
he for one would not much mind if the hour of
dissolution should come a little sooner than it
must come. Speaking for himself and colleagues,
they would not be unwilling victims, though
they would not abandon their poste unnecessarily.
In face, the Premier would have all his sup-
porters know—who, it is not difficult to per-
ceive, see nothing very promising in • general
election—that if they vote against his third
Irish scheme, they will have in many oases
forthwith to surrender their mats. The notice
was charmingly given, with many pleasant
allusions to the Liberal flag courting the breeze
on the summit of captured citadels of prejudice
and privilege; to the happiness that through all
the turmoil of the five serious had reigned in
the Cabinet; and to the supreme enjoyment
found by Governments, as by individuals, in
activity.
The Coal Committee men have all their work
out out for them if they are to reconcile equally
contradictory statements to those which are
offered to the public through the Press. Here
are Messrs. Cockerell, holding a reputation as
leading merchants in Loudon, affirming and pro-
mising proofs that South Yorkshire coal cost
them last month at the pit's mouth 30s. per
ton. Here are the coal-owners emphatically
stating this to be false, and declaring such •
price utterly unknown; and a Barnsley mires-
ponieut smarting that he has good coals de-
livered at his own door for 16s. a ton. How to
reconcile them statements, and further to show
that 30.. (if such be the price) in Yorkshire at
the pit's month warrants a charge of from 445.
to 525. in London, may be easy enough to the
coal merchants but are tough problems to other'
people. Is it by coal speculation and rigging ; 1
and if so, are they to be included in the pri-
vileges of free trade, and to be allowed to ruin
the wonky I
Few men are more talked about just now than
Mr. Plimsoll, the member for Derby, in connec-
tion with the great movement he has set on foot
to protect our seamen from unseaworthy ships.
It wee • little too bad that in an affair of such
magnitude, with several libel suits to boot, ha
should select to fight the battle single-handed.
He seems to have thought so himself, and haa
given way, making, however, two conditions. '
One that he should subscribe to the Plimsoll
Defence Fund for himself and wife £1,500; and
the other, that any surplus of funds should go '
to relieve the widows and orphans of sailors.
There is every reason to believe that whatever
may be subscribed will be wanted. The pro-
ceedings at law in respect of the book, which, by
the way, is for the present "out of print," grow
In magnitude, and as forty-four ships have been
at Lloyds this year miming, with •
Foliste Cil as
life estimated at 1,000 men, there is
every probability of abundant channels for any
vaTius. The Board of Trade returns for February
prove that we are barely maintaining business at
the point which was reached a year ago; but
they do not show any mom than this, and there
Is not yet • symptom of • declining trade which
would ague/1y be expected from • severe depres-
sion. But the pause, suoh as ills,
with the other influences by which thig
prices for coal were certain to be affected, has
obviously had the result of reducing the compe-
tition for mad, which has steadily dwindled In
Ce. It is not remonable to expect that the
will be continuously rapid, as in all other
markets we may look for sharp ructions attar
each heavy fall, and the downward movement
will be arrested at one stage after another by
the reserve of holders of the article; but while
the high pitons remain we may feel quite certain
of the fact of • steady pressure to bring forward
supplies, and that this pressure will not stop,
but will go on increasing until the price is only
• little above the average level of former years.
The present commercial situation may thus be
briefly described as one of slight depresaion, the
awns at wig& are rapidly pain away.