The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-01-21 00:00:00

District Otto.

WEYMOUTH.

THs attrolL—Tlie impression baying gone abroad
that the Om of Mr. Norman for the laying out the
Rings, and for which an aw•rd of £lO was reign*
given by the Town Council, has been abandoned, we
may state that snob is not the ease. Mr. Norman's
plans firs to be tarried out in their entirety, with the
exosption of • rough st.ne wall being substituted for •
brick one, and • more ornamental iron railing adopted
than that proposed by the plan submitted to the Council
for approval.
_ _ _

-- - . •
WORKING MR/I'll CLUIL—On Monday evening a
lecture wee delivered at this Gluts by the Rev. A.
Davidson, on the Artisans of India and their Families,"
the chair being taken by W. B. Barrett, Eq. The rev.
lecturer, who has 'pent some years in India as •
missionary, gave an able sketch of the social status
occupied by the artisan in that quarter of the globe, as
also the social condition, employments., recreations, tux,
of the wives and families of the artisan clam The
mounter in which this clam are provided to. is so singular
se to be worthy of notice. During the tut 2,500 years
• pion has been in exiatesce amongst the vilisiss
whereby ths artisans become public property. The
workmen of • village are supported entirely by the
community amongst which they reeLle—but receive no
wages for labour. If anything requires to be done the
resident artisans do it; but in the cities and large
towns this system is now out of vogue. Buides the
livelihood afforded by the community at harvest time a
certain per oentage of the crops becomes the property of
the artisans—for example, a blacksmith receives 3; per
cent. This system wu found to answer admirably, and
poverty amongst artisans, except in um of famine, was
unknown. The attendance on this occasion was very
meagre.
- -

RiTOMIZD WZILrf ANIL—The Wesleyan element in
Weymouth, in common with most other towns in the
kingdom, did not escape the electric shock produced
by the "n 7 sheets" some dozen years since; though it
would appear that the Weymouth Wesleyans did not
view the despotism of the conference hierophante
throuxh such • highly coloured lens as some of their
brethren. But notwithstanding the return of member
after member to the bosom of their first lore from
which they had seceded, the Reform movement has
meinteinsd an existence, though suspected by some to be
utterly devoid of vitality, and to the generality of
people kot known to have haul en existence at all. Rut
such is Rot the case, the Reformers have an existence,
and posers sufficient vitality and energy to buy new
premises and preach in them. The old Wesleyan
*bake' being put to the hemmer, the Reformers
purchased it, put • brush of paint on the outside, and
transformation raa cemplete —complete in fact and
complete in symbol. Although the pulpit has been
occupied for some weeks past yet it was not until
Thursday that the formal opening took place, when
the Rev. John Gattridge. of Lancashire, preached two
sermons, afternoon and evening. Between the services
the usual tea meeting was held in the schoolroom.
The attendance appeared to be meagre ; though perhaps
an actual chapel will be kinder to the growth of a
congregation than the stiffing atmosphere of a ball in
Parketriet could posaibly be.