The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-02-12 00:00:00

DORSET COUNTY EXPRESS
DORCIIESTER, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1861.

HONESTE AUDA X.

SINCE our last issue, Her Majesty, with the
usual pomp and state, has opened Parliament.
The speech from the Throne, with the die-
cussions thereon, Will be found in another
column. It will he seen that it was generally
well received. The principal points touched
upon were, the successful termination of the
China expedition ; the occupation of French
and Turkish troops in Syria; the serious
differences which had arisen among the States
of the North American Union; the kind and
cordial reception of the Prince of Wales in
Canada and the United States ; and the sup-
plementary conventions to the Treaty of
Commerce concluded with the Emperor of
the French. The following are sonic of the
questions to be brought before Parliament
this session :—measures for the consolidation
of important parts of the criminal law; for
the improvement of the law of bankruptcy
and insolvency; for rendering more easy the
transfer of land ; for establishing a uniform
system of rating in England and Wales; and
for several other purposes of public useful-
ness. We may hope, therefore, that though
for the present we must be content with our
representative system, and wait with patience
till the pressure from without forces Govern-
ment to act in this matter—a challenge
which Lord John evidently intended to throe
out when vindicating. the policy of the
Government—the abace-meutioned important
measures will be fairly discussed, and that
more may be done, and lees time wasted, than
heretofore.

Events have transpired during the past
week which will be hailed with great satisfac-
tion by the people of England. and which we
trust may prove the forerunners of still
more important concessions to the cause of
political and social freedom. First in order,
and ii, which we, as a free people, are most in-
terested,isthe statement made by the Secretary
air Foreign Affairs, of the determination of
the Government to continue that line of
policy whieh they had hitherto pursued, and
leave the Italians to choose whatever ruler
they pleased. The second is the freedom of
discussion granted by the Emperor of the
French, who, in his speech at the opening of
the French Chambers, said that "a general
statement of the situation of the country
would be laid before them every year, and
that their Address would be allowed to ex-
press their opinions on the questions of the
I lay, in a free and unrestricted manlier."
And the third is, the amembnent carried in
the Prussian Chamber of Deputies, against
the Goverutnent, declaring that " it was not
in the interest either of Prussia or of Germany
to place obstacles in the way of the con mlida-
Lion of the unity of Italy." This evidently
shows that the Prussian Chamber of Deputies
is opposed to the warlike tendencies of the
Courts ; and that the Sovereign has to deal
with men who will uphold those principles.
and that line of policy they deem right,
whether favoured by government or not.
The latest despatch from Gaeta Mama us
not only of the Ntleel`Bli of the befliegers,but of
the humanity of their commander. Three
powder magazines had been blown up in
Gaeta, and the side curtain of the citadel
destroyed. Genend Cialdimui granted all ar-
mistice of •IS hours to bury the dead, besides
sending necessaries air the wounded. Thus
surely, though slowly, the fate which
Francis 11. seems to court is coming upon
hi iii, and ere long he must either submit to an
honourable capitulation, or be the prisoner of
the King of Sardinia.
The state of affairs in America still continues
gloomy. An attack on For Sumter was ex-
pected. An attack was also expected at
Pensacola. The Wyandot was anchored
west of Fort Pickens, and it was expected
would assist in the defence. General Scott
was fortifying Washington with increased
zeal.

Tim schoolmaster has been abroad of late years
to some purpose, and, although Ittinian folly
and credulity are by no means extinct, people
are to a far greater extent what is popularly
termed " wide awake" than is online' repro-
suited. Take thimbleriggiug, for instance.
When, now and then, in some snag corner of
the purlieus of a racecourse, a rogue can manage
to evade the vigilance of the police, and, getting
a convenient "pitch" for his table, proceed to I
tutu 1. late his " three little thimbles and one
small pea," and displays his vulgar artifices of
Cheap Jack eloquence and transparent collusion
with his confederates, he has to wait a considera-
ble period before he can find a dupe silly enough
to fall into his snare ; and he is often pounced
upon by the municipals, or warned by an ac-
complice to decamp, before he has succeeded in
fleecing anybody. The great mass of those who
watch his tricks are perfectly aware of the nature
of the swindle in which hots engaged. Nine-tenths
of his audience know all about thimblerigging and
thimbleriggers ; and although they may gape
and grin while he lies mel cheats, they are fully
convinced that the yokel in the smock-frock or
the innocent-looking gentleman in top-boots,
who is at last persuaded to try his luck, must
either be a "bonnet," or a greenhorn so despe-
rately raw, so hopelessly imbecile, or so insanely
tipsy that no pill or imposture is too gross for
hint to swallow. We have no doubt that At any
country fair it would be possible to find to-
morrow a Moses ready to swop his father's
horse for a gross of green spectacles ; but we
contend that Moses is the excel.tion and not the
rule; mud that the great body of those persona
would laugh at stud elude the frauds of the
knavish korns-dealer. Thus also we maintain