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

JOarset eountti fxpres

TUESDAY. JANUARY 21. ME

NOTES OF THE WEEK.

Although we are now within • few weeks of the
opening of the last session of the old Parliament,
neither the Ministry nor the Opposition have given
any indications of their policy, and it seems that like
the boy in the nursery story, we must wait 'with
our eyes shut and our mouths open," for what the
legislature may be good enough to send na
The dullness of trade and the distress amongst the
working classes, hold • prominent place in the
thought, of moist people at the present time. The
former manifestly exists in all departments of
business, and there is very little doubt but the
quarter's revenue accounts will show a still further
decline than did the last. As to distress amongst
ar:isans, it follows as the natural result of lack of
trade. Happily, in this county, we have no large
masses of artisans, and our poor are for the most
part cared for by the Lady Bountiful, of their re-
spective pansies.; but, in the large manufacturing
oeutres, but few, if indeed any, of the wealthy and
benevolent reside, and what can • few do for the
thousands of starving helpless families? This is the
case in an especial degree in the East End of London,
from whence come loud wails of sorrow and appeals
for help. But this East London distress seems more
hopeless than the cotton famine. In the latter we
had only to provide for a population till a war should
end, or cotton could be procured from other countries
than America; but East End destitution is now a
chronic complaint, and is sure to break out afresh
every winter. The present attack is only somewhat
sharper than weal. Thousands of pounds are being
raised to meet the present emergency, but the evil
of it is, that after all, the people will be left just
where they were before, or perhaps in a worse
Position, Spring may come and alleviate the direness
at the misery; but regular paupers will have been
enceuraged, hundreds of industrious families will
have been pauperized, and thousands will be in a
worse position for retrieving their fortunes than they
Twhearit Jae: the oriruestiWonha:piathwtis
Poor Lew authorities, our then,th,
now
apt
zizb done?ad .%
r
political
00ee'r.17:DYeiglaAs
tt4,,o(duglle.trad...e.,_tese...t.it:ittiisonc,urain.olzatoys
ninotdicatiTetalialtinf noLt much is being done now in
co m
profit of t eistsei
somehow
During
money
redeparleilt,w,iettha
gtomihe
deal
made in dealing with money
past week two tioance associations, which rode out
the
panic hurricane, have come out with dividends
of five and six per oust respectively. But the joint
etock hanks have greatly exceeded them. The
London and Westminster divides 6 per cent. and
13 per cent, bootie on the paid.up capital. The
Union Bank of London divides 15 per cent; and the
directors of the London Joint-Stock Beck apologia,
that they have only 124 per cent, to divide among
their shareholders. With money at 2 per cent, these
dividends appear incomprehensible, but doubtlessit
sail right.

The dt. Alban's ritual case was brought to • close
in the Court of Arches, on Saturday, after being
nearly • year in through its various stages;
but judgment isPdrettrrersed. , and when given there is
no doubt an appeal will he made to the Judioal COW-
enittee of the Privy Colima, so that probably
before • settlement is
anianot,hoderatyearnwe
judgment of of Dr. Phillimore, there.
fore, will be of little moment, save that it may give
decide on the subj•ct. The fact that so simple a ques-
-11101110 notion of what the Privy Ceuncil is likely to
tion as, whether rites &oil ceremonies which existed in
the church before the Reformation, and are not
expreseely forbidden, are now lawful, should require
such a length of time for solution, and involve so
enormously expensive a law suit, shows that reform
is imperatively demanded in the ecclesiastical courts.
It is quite obvious that an individual or a small
community could not call in question the actions of
the parish clergyman, whatever vagaries he might
display, and in the cue of Mr. lilackonochie—who
was taken as representative of the ritualists—the
proerention could never have been continued until
now, or carried on to the end as it will be,
but for the Church Association, established in
London, and having branchtethroughout the country.
It is of great importance that we should know what
is the ceremonial of the Church of England, and
from the defence adopted in the Mackotiochie ease
there seems little reason to doubt that the ritualists
will be condemned unequivocally; but the question
of the Church's doctrine is of far greater moment,
and this is about to be brought to the test, by the
prosecution of • prominent ritualist for preaching
false doctrine. Litigation on religious questions is a
painful thing, but the contr ivenues which have
raised the present proceedings at law are of such
paramount importance that it is impossible earnest
men should have refrained from bringing them to all
issue. The religious worship of the Church of England
hag been settled by the usage of 300 years. In some
small particulars variations from strict legal rule
have been introduced, and allowed because harmless,
but it is not to be tolerated, therefore, that altera-
tions which affect the whole character of the service,
and the whole colour of the doctrines taught, should
pass unquestioned, or without vigorous efforts being
made to repress them. Thus it is that these
ecclesiastical prosecutions have been undertaken, and
we confidently trust that their results will be most
decisive and salutary.
Fenian alarms have ceased to agitate the public
mind in England, and canards are at • premium.
The Irish American has disappeared before the
special constable, and the meeting of Irish Catholics
in various towns to protest against Fenian outrages
and declare their loyalty to the Queen, is producing
• wholesome impression. The men charged with
wilful murder, for being oonoerned in the Clerken•
well explosion Kristin under remand, the depositions
being at present too incomplete to send them for
trial, though week by week new links in the chain
of evidence against them are addel. There seems
no doubt but that Burke was fully informed of the
infamous plot for effecting his re'eue. According
to the Law Journal Mr. F. A. Lewis, • London
solicitor, has been honoured by receiving Her
Majesty's Royal thanks for some writings on the
Fenian outrages against law and society.
The proprietor of the 1 rieltninn, and the editor ef
the Nation, two Dublin papers, sympathising
strongly with Fonianism, have been committed for
trial—the former on a charge of having published
" seditious libels," and the latter for the art be
took in the Dublin 'funeral procession." An
Ingenious defence was set up fox these Irish
journalists. It is argued that they were not more
guilty than most editors of newspapers in England.
What," they say "have we done more than
published letters and complaints—which, the
moment they appear, the English press hastens
to reprint?' The answer to this is, that the objects
in the two cases are entirely different. In Ireland
abusive and threatening propositions have been made
public—such at least is the the ury of the prosecution
—in order to incense the population against British
rule, and to induce them to believe that they may
cotht upon foreign aid if they should act upon the
hint by rebelling. In England these exhalations
were reprinted in order that the English Government
and pe pie mieht know what their avowed enemies
were doing. These libols, like other libels, must be
cionstrued by their context, and with the other
writings by which they are accompanied. If this
treatment induces the conclusion that they were
published with treasonable intent, they are not
pilliated, much less justified, by the fact that they
have ben re-issued by persons whose intact is
obviously lawful and even loyal.
The French G.ivernment have got the Army Bill
through the Legislative body, though only in it.
final passage, by 199 to 60 votes. The ordinary
Opposition being estimated at from seven to a dozen
members, it will be seen how strong has been the
popular dislike to this oppressive measure—a dislike
further manifested by the signal defeat of the Govern-
ment in two recent elections. A hill providing that
the standing army should he h 40.000 strong, and that
• supplementary force of 400,000 national mobile
guards shall he added, was not likely to find favour
with • nation so greatly altered of late years as our
neighbours. The French have become • mercantile,
manufacturing, and shopkeeping people, who think
more of francs than of glory. The present scheme
will require eight years for its full development.
Before them we expect this unpopular scheme will
have fallen before the general dislike of the
population. It would be • great instrument for
warlike purposes in the heeds of an ambitious
potentate. - _

The lat.at news from Ahyseinia is to the effect
that General Stavely arrived unexpectedly at
Annesley from Senate, and ordered the :13rd
regiment to land and advanoe the same night to the
front. A report at once gained currency that Col.
Nlarewether had met with a repulse at Senate, but
it is clearly unfounded, as we learn the chief of the
Tigre tribe still continued very friendly, and had
offered to victual the forces. The haste with which
the troops were ordered to the front was doubtless
in coner9uence of a determination to advance at once
into the interior of the country.