The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1880-01-20 00:00:00

TEIE DORS'

S - --
0000 anb Vint's. WZIBT FORDINGTOII COSCILICL.46O h the ground
was covered some inches with snow on y night
---.1.--. • goodly company, in carriages and OD foot, penetrated
Volunteers are being apin troubled and annoyed to the schoolroom of Christ Church which was still
by the red-tapehen of the War Authorities, and that gay with the Christmas decorations. A high- clam
In a way which shows how hateful is all freedom and Programme bad been limed, and the performers
Independence to our military martinets. Grey hae numbered about twenty, two-thirds of whom
been proved to be one of the at tints for uniform, formed an efficient band, whose music was
because it makes the volunteer b 0 diffiCUli to be seen excellent Perhaps their most striking success was in
that he can only with great uncertainty be aimed at. the Farewell SYmPhony of Haydn, wherein, after •
Scarlet, on the other hand, is so not a oolour brilliant performance by a dozen instruments, one
that it can be spied through a fog as far ae any tint, after another becomes mute, the musician rolls up his
while a se..arlet-coated man would be visible against music, puts out his light, and silently goes. The gas
Found of almost any hue. It would seem as if the in the body of the room had been lowered, and each
War Department were specially desirous that mulcian provided with a lighted candle, and, as the
Volunteers shall be shot if ever they go 1120 action, music gradually got less and the darkness increased,
for grey and green uniforms are rllecouraged, weal, the " farewell effect was very fine, reaching ties
changes to scarlet will be favourably considered. climax when the two last shook hands and went. No
The fact is, volunteers "form,' not for the promotion wonder the composer's design succeeded, and Print*
of Imperialist designs upon foreign countries, but for Esterhazy, instead of letting the band go, as he
the defence .4 hearth!, MA homes. Volunteers, of all intended, retained their servi. Mr. C. Regan, •
soldiers, can the lea,t afford to lose life or limb, and bright violinist, was encored fir his solos, a romance,
should be allowed every means of protecting them. and • gavotte of Rameau, and the whole band, for
*elves. Scarlet is more especially the livery of the the March (from le Prophete), most brilliantly played.
Crown, and may be .uitable ..r otherwise for profe.. A clarinette solo was also very charming; but was,
sional soldiers—let the Horse Guards decide that— unfortunately, so long and so late a. to prevent our
but citizen soldiers have nothing to do with hearing the rest of the programme. Of the singing we
Imperialist raids. The worrying which the Tories may say with truth it wu excellent, yet we should
are continually giving the volunteers have the bad , be false critics did we not advise one singer to practise
effect .4 keeping down the supply of recruits. Take, for before a large looking-glass and so to correct
instance, that gallant and smart con*, the 3rd Dorset, a mannerism which detracted from the pleseure
For whom quarter-Sergeant ituntsey will be glad to given by a very sweet voice. Mr. W. G.
hear ~f a dozen eligible young men. Becruite for the Gregory was encored for his hearty song-
3rd Dorset neesi not, however, except to 1.4 "The Waggoner." and Meagre. A. P. DleDonell
like the line, for we will answer for it, there is no A. J. and I'. W. Galpin for their laughing trio, and
Intention to put them in scarlet. We are not quite the Messrs. Galpin and Mr. Gr. gory for the excrucl-
sure they could afford it, and they will continue to sting citch "Ah I how Sophia I" each of which was
wear dark green. For cis Hien soldiers there is, both ably acted and sung and compel roars of laughter.
besides the comparative ins isibility, a special fitness Miss Eva Old, encored or "The ti ildier's Tear," sang
In their determining to—" Wear hoddin grey, and a' with delicious voice "Jock o' I razeidean." Mr. R. S.
that." Ainsli!, by the part he took with Miss Old and Mr.
A. J. Gilpin in "The Hawthora in the Glade,"
_.. .

Weymouth is threatened with being wade an awful
example .4 the b dly of accepting the engineers' ideas
on sanitary niattem. Having spent somewhere about
tri,ooo, the admirers of Sir John Code's plan have
the rklibtlil prospect of finding themselves where a
volunteer recruit is when he " sling arms" accord-
ingl.. the drill-sergeant's idea, '• As you were."
A score of thousands beems a small matter to those
gentry, the engineers, who appear as adept at big
'scheme% as the late Brunel was with his Box tunnel
and tlrent Ea4ern. 1.11,000 gone for an idea, with the
chance of beginning again! There's a vista for the
towns which have been deluded by the Premier's
parody of a Scripture phrase. Sault= sanitatum,
croutin manilas, in the hands f the Premier, the lignd
Government Board, and the engineers, has proved but
a sham variation of the obi wail of the wise man—
"Vanity of vanities ; all is vanity." While towns will
give themselves over to professionals who get their
living out of expenditure, they will find them-
selves but milch cows, to be drained, and drained
again, till they get into the state f the bucked orange--
drained well enough, 'tis true; but no value to sni-
body, and only fit to be cast aside for fresh subhets for
draining.

tialpin In - -
proved be had a good voice. Another Moos which
fully deserved an encore for Its delicious harmony was
Pinsutre part•song "Spring,' sung by about a
dozen voices with perfect self - control and
charming effect. We should like to bear these singers
"Thy Three Chaftr-," fr they pr vv4 the/
have the tpi it well. The ILII4I-
- who shut awl ii ,y ut Chi i-teltarvh schoolroom
are au accomplished patty, having ahility ad Lode.

Dorchester will probably be the ecxt sufferer, or
one of the next. Our last half-year rates were equal
to about 6.. 8.1. per annum on SAC gross rental, and
there looms In the distane. another necessity for
drainage, and another waeme. Talk about local
taxation and Government relief! The best relief the
Government could ~'iv' US would be to relieve us from
the schemes of engiseen., and give us a plan of their
own for which the" should be responsible, and which we
should not be nalled upon to alter at the sweet will of
any Council or Board. The likelihood of having to
expend a „Teat capital
disgust any ratepayers with Government ideas and
demands. Of old the proverb was—" You =Ha eat
your cake and have it too;" but nowadays we are
neither to use nor to have what we have paid for,
the only privilege being the blessed one of blundering
along in the dark, compelled to continue paying for
attempts to do a work which we have no facilities for.
Science has long ago solved the problem how to make
bricks without straw, but who can tell how long it
will be before we can have efficient drainage without
an outfall ?

Yet hate we (the writer) returned to the old
problem with no further lights than may be found in
• book or two of the Bible, a pamphlet or is of the
Vicar of the parish, and a visit to Romford farm. To
successful experiments at Upwey, Channinster,
Bideford, and Weymouth, are being added experiments
at Fordington, which are so far successful, and which
seem to promise continued success. Although we have
only half the ground, or less, that we consider
desirable, yet for months no pollution has pawed f
our house into the sewers, and we depend upon the
wondrous chemistry of Nature to transmute into
plants and flowers sihat. if allowed to go into the
drainpipes, would add to the anno)ance of Lower
Fonlington and Mr. Fl. Ter. We cannot speak so
positively of the prevent experiments as of the post,
for we have not yet had a growing season but unless
the soil of Fonlington prove very different from either
of tiu.se we have cultivated before, we expect to show,
not only that nuisances may be provided for without
conta ating anythim: at the outfall, but that the
most repulAke .tilNtance• has e a resurrection of
beauty and value if properly dealt with, and that with.
out the enters enth .11 of the costly drainage engineer.

Ahmed Tewfik, the Ml,sulman prie.t who helped
translate the Bible. i,. to he •ent to Chiol (Selo).
Should Ahmed ,tudy the jut, lerance ,4 which he was
nearly the ‘ietim. an I reflect on the massacre of Scio,
he um-% I a f- .1 or a fatutic -houhl he remain a
Mmsultr.m. .1- Sk.ain dv„;att t , decay after the
horror, the In ;Imtti qt. M--lemistu may well he
said t•d.,L, v t lie fnm the awful crivaes which
male f Itaperialdds who are yet
*Dan. 4 T-•••.: "see. sk..fain Ow tale
Law w..- 'srriched in blood and vileness,
when •- ns seemed t. have p,,ssessed the

lic.t it I. the ixtwer that show.; a4,min
i - ~ttrrupting to peuiecute the Bible

Tutkey. 1.. r which we have, under
aocepted, by our acquiAtiona in an
unitrhar.i way. the 1...W0n of an oier-reaching
nati r.. ti.v the ttorbl.

NV:I.. r the Gelman wh. ht at a priest in Hatt It
;.-ar,lens was a Socialist not. hi- ..utraz., wa, n.,ne
the less an aim 11l ill able in.hit t.. c .:autou ,en-e. The

i:roperty "(the

btol pai f.,r by

f

.m I tilt

right

I, ,414althey til

nia "lien I ti. T.:: I ;- ru:ln mhieFeant haniut
even the e e ann..y ritualkt
that the i•.: t ry t.. the Church wh.e.e pay
the prie-t, take. ir the Remani-t f .nni. in Enr.rlandt
not olupp..tte.l by le% i..- ..1 the State. Ic.nl,elat of
the pre.ent luts4 reflect that if they thiiiia„•-e pr..-
perty prie.44, they thereby attack that
liberty which they praes, to a,l9re.

Liberty, even to ride one's own bicycle with the
usual positive and awakening- signals, is too delicate
a thing to be meddled with. Mr. C. Hambm and his
committee sought to regulate bicycles, poseibly for the
benefit of
]Se
who ride expensive and lidgetty
horses. The high-mettles' steed has hardly been
educated up to the taint of tolerance for the bicycle,
and he is apt to resent such a shock to his nerves as
blowing a whistle, ringing a bell, or, a, Mr. }lamb's)
suggested. firing off a gun. Any member of the High.
way, Co Itch, who should, on a spirited horse, meet
the uncanny steel pony would be very likely to lii a
rapid act of hot semanship nut for his own c fort.,
and might even get :u practical lesson about the surface
of the mad, which lie would not embody in his nest
report. lint all these things have to be put up with,
and magistrates and their horses must get rid of
nervousness and keel) their temper under trying.
circumstances.

It is rather tn.. touch when to those tu.ssluitoes of
the road, the bicyclists, the careful road curator has to
contend with the heaty reser% es of Unction engines
and their friends. But Mr. Hamlin) scorssl a few
points ag:dnst Sturminster Highway Board when the
latter wanted engines to be allowed on Hayward
Bridge. This powt asinortun has a settlement, a great
crack has re-opened, and Mr. limubn says it L. "still
moving." Pro% erbially "it is the last straw that
breaks the camel's back,- and this 'hely, cracked, and
‘olatile bridge would most likely, under such a subs
btantial straw as a road locomothe, suddenly cli4-a•
Pico%

Quarter Sessions reports are not %cry readable in
general ; but of what was said, Mr. ilambro's was the
most amusing, and the Weymouth people who didn't
send him to St. Stephen's may feel they lost a rising
member who could amusingly talk common-sense.
We shall expect Mr. Hambro.to take the place of
jokist, so long and so well filled by the ever-delightful
" Mr. Gerard Stud," who, since he has got into the
gilded chamber, no more favours with those 'flashes
of merriment that were wont to set the table in a
roar." True, my tont Eldon gave hunselt • pod
character as having never taxed a bill—(Purbeck
tradesmen! make a note of that !);—true, the Rev. C.
Bingham routed Mr. Floyer, who, to being the
representative i,f the lunatic asylums committee
added some shrewd suspicions about the illness of
pigs, and Mr. Bingham tempted him, when next in
Parliament, to enter into the subject of the swine;
true, the Chairman warned them against such •
danger, and protested touch alxutt the good manage-
ment by Quarter Sessions of that long farthing, the
county rate; but the rest of the business did not nse
above emu ~,,, n-place, indistinct as usual under the
hanging curtains, and even that deur ex marlaind,
Mr. Pleydel, invoked to help the Court over their
difficulty with boys on the road to crime, was nut
ready yet, while everything else was passed, as usual,
next. I. P.