The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1874-11-10 00:00:00

11,10r5Pt Cottntti expresi.

TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 10. 1871.

NOTEf3 OF THE WEEK.

In this happy country, because we enjoy
perfect liberty, we make ourselves the slaves of
fashion. From the shape and texture of a lady's
petticoats, to the most extraordinary theories of
science, fashion is everything. But in nothing
is this subservience to fashion so injurious as in ,
religious matters ; because true religion is never
fashionable. The moment what is called religion I
is in vogue as it is now, when it is talked of in
the ball room and hunting field, every kind of
absurdity, as it crops up, is eagerly adopted as
the thing, and mediteval ladies without husbands,
and twaddling triflers of the male sex but with
female instincts, are all in raptures at the last
improvement. Now we are threatened with
what is called "Freedom of Worship." The
whole church free to all ; how humble, charit-
able and Apostolic it sounds. But what does it
inlay 1
_The rich amateurs in religion will still
be plamd in gorgeous array in the best places,
where no poor person dare approach them; while
! every Sunday the begging box will go round to
poor as well as rich. No man with a family will
know where he can sit with his children, and in
our country parishes the greatest confusion will
occur. We presume that the clergy are not
sufficiently unpopular with the laity already : if
so they are taking the right step to complete the
job in supporting such a scheme Is this. Another
effect and result will surely be the division of
the sexes—a man one side, his wife the other.
I Not to mention the dissatisfaction that such a
change will cause, it is uncalled for, and a mis-
take. Our poorer noigligurs themselves don't
like to be mixed up with the rich. In our Corn
Exchange last week, when it was crowded to hear
the Evangelist Carter, you might see the working
men altogether, and unwilling to come forward
among the better dressed people. The whole
thing is a part of the great conspiracy against
the Reformation. In a little book circulated by
the Association, the liberality of the Roman
Catholics of the middle ages in building Cathe-
drals, is held up as an example. They
think we are such ignorant fools as not to know
that it was not liberality, but superstitious fear,
that prompted them so to bestow their goods; it
was to obtain indulgences and masses for their
souls that they gave their money to build grand
churches for the glory of the Priesthood. There
was the perfection of freedom of worship, when
every worshipper was the most abject slave, and
a man might not even worship by the side of his
wife. That is a freedom we don't particularly
desire; although the Episcopal Vice-Presidents
of the Assiointhin, including Lichtield,Chicheater,
and R"chester would he glad enough to bestow
it on us. flow is it that pew rents don't keep
working peuple fr. en chapel ! They don't hesitate
to rent a seat there. What we want in our
churches is seats appropriated to, or let at
nominal rents to, working people. They always
sit if they can in the same place in free seat.;
secure them their seats, and they don't want to
be mixed up with the gentle folk. If it be
really desired to get the working classes as a body
• to take deeper interest in the Church, it may be
done most effectually by providing for them
cheap sittings in a decent position; and we trust
that the new-fashioned fancies and retrogade
improvements we have indicated will never find
favour in Dorchester.

At the last meeting of Weymouth Local Board
the members received from Sir John Coode the
startling ax t that an immediate out-
lay of LIAO was required to render the Dam
across the Backwater (about which some £lO,OOO
have been already expended) effective, if not,
indeed, to maintain the integrity of the structure.
For some time past the opponents of the scheme
have had reason to feel proud of their prescience.
The inhabitants generally had become distrustful
of the work, and when part of the structure was
washed away, the current of public opinion was
set against the Dam and against those who had
before been elected in order to establish it. The
recent municipal election strongly indicated the
change of feeling. In Melcombe Regis two
determinol opponents of the Damn were placed
far above the Conservatives elected with them,
and in Weymouth ward strenuous efforts were
required to beat off a not over strong opponent.
The latest movement in regard to the Dam is an
indignation meeting of the burgesses, which we
report in our columns to-day. Strong language
was used, but the array of facts placed before
the constituency &sierra serious consideration,
and we have no doubt that the Local Board at
their meeting this morning will give due weight
to the facts adduced and to the resolution which
was passed at the meeting.