The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1872-04-23 00:00:00

Drat Countq Expreo.

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1872.

NOTES OF THE WYJI.K.

The Queen, accompanied by Primer Beatrice
and Prince Leopold, paid • short visit to the
Emperor and Empress of the French at Chi.le-
burst, on Saturday, which was the Emperor's frith
birthday. The 3rd of May is the birthday of
the Empress.
Typhoid fever has attacked another near
relative of the Princess of Wales—her sister, the
Princess Thyra, at Milan—and the King and
Queen of Denmark are consequently delayed, OD
their journey homward. It does not seem,
however, that the Princess Is dangerously ill.
The triple defeat of the Government during
the past week is • striking exemplification of the
unatability of their
large numerical majority,
and will sensibly weaken the prestige of the
Gladstone Ministry. On the important question
of the absolute secrecy of voting under the
Ballot Bill, the Government have twice been
beatcn—first by a majority of one, and subse-
quently by no less than 28 in a House of 020,
after a special" whip" to avert suoh a result.
The interrogation of Mr. Bernal Osborne
whether the Primo Minister would proceed with
the measure after such a defeat was most perti-
nent, for what does it amount to I A correspond-
ent in Saturday's Daily News says:—" As to
bribery—The voter's ticket, which he is to be
allowed to show to an agent who has promised
him • bribe, will be his voucher for the bribe.
The agent will not use undue influence to Induce
the voter to display his paper, and will be liable
to no penalty for looking at it. Ai to Intimi-
dation—To tenants it will be quietly intimated,
'Show your paper or out you go —instead of
the present formula, 'Vote as your landlord
wishes or out you go.' Bribery and eviction
thus will remain rooted more firmly than ever in
our electoral system." Suddenly confronted,
Mr. Gladstone cautiously said he should go on
with the bill. "Although it is • Got that the
measure has received a blow, I do not think it
would he eeftWeene e :el. eh. Jab, et We Curtail-
ment to abandonlit at present' And we doubt not
the decision is right; for although the rejection
of Mr. Leathatn's amendment violates the abso-
lute seerecy of voting, yet there are penalties;
imposed on those who try to make the voter
diadem his vote, or who dingoes how he has
voted, that will go far to nullify the prejudicial
result which would otherwise follow. Every
voter must vote alone; he must make no mark
co his votinp-paper oonneoting his name with his
vote; he is to fold up his paper so as to conceal
his vote, and then deposit it in the ballot-box.
The bill expressly provides that the voter shall
mark his voting-paper "secretly" • a proposal to
ow it the word ' 'secretly" having bein rejected by •
majJrity of 202 to 126; and it is impossible to
contend that an elector who must mark his
paper secretly is regarded by the bill sea person
entitled to proclaim, when voting, how he votes.
No one will be present while this promo is
going on but the presiding officer, his clerk, and
the agents of the candidates. All these pennons
are solemnly pledged not to give any information
as to how any voter has voted, and are to be
severely punished if they do; while any one
whether of those present in the voting plow, or
not, who induces, directly or indirectly, •
voter to show, while voting, how he votes, Is
to be punishable with six months' imprisonment.
These penalties may deter those who would be
likely to make a voter show his paper, and those
who would disclose how he had
is voted though
voted,
SA obviously the precaution not so oom et* if
the voter was prevented showing how voted.
The incidence of Local Taxation is a subject
which for severalyears past has excited consider-
able interest in this and the adjoining county of
Somerset, and therefore the nooses of Sir
Massey Lopes's resolution will be hailed with
considerable pleasure. It is calculated that the
local taxation of the kingdom is about
130,000,000 annually, and it Is charged on real
property producing an income equal to lees than
a third of the income assessed to the Income Tax,
and to just about a seventh of the total estimated
income of the country. These figures, which
will be familiar to our readers from cropping up
continually at Farmers' Clubs and other agri-
cultural meetings, show a glaring inequality ;
but it Is only fair to remember that lapse of
time has done much to redrem the injustice, in-
asmuch as the rates have always been taken into
account in the purchase or renting of land:
while, on the other hand, stooks and other per-
sonal property have had to be psid for at • highs,
price nn account a theitt evemptem local
burdens. Still, there is undoubtedly some
grievant*, for the present local rates include pay-
ments for • variety of purposm essentially
national and for the benefit and convenience of
the community at large. It was to this branch
of the subject Sir Massey Lotus's resolution
pointed. His proposal was—not that personal
property should be ammeed to local rates, but
that the charges now imposed locally for the
administration of justice, polio., aid lunatics,
amounting to 4 millions for the whole kingdom
should be defrayed out of the Consolidated
Fund. It is impassible to justify the present
mode of raising them charges, and the mover of
the resolution was wise In not enennibering his
motion with the far greater question as to the
rating of personal property. Sir T. stoland's
amendment, supported by the Government, to
divide the rates between owners and occupiers,
was singularly futile, for it would either leave
matters practically as they are or damage small
landowners. Consequently Sir M. Lopeswou
an easy victory though it is ao I 1 one :
but we may utter • word of warning as to the
danger of the centralisation of the constabulary
as • national force, placing them gaits beyond
local control. We may buy relief from police rates
too dear.
The new Licensing Bill is • moderate measure,
but many of its provisions will be strenuously
contested, for they will greatly hamper and tax
"the trade." The necessary applications to
magistrates and appeals to Quartet Sessions
will afford more occupation than ever for attor-
neys and barristers, for not only have publicans
to run the gauntlet of both courts, but the
"aggrieved ratepayer" may also apply to them,
and we may anticipate that a portion at least
of the £lOO,OOO raised by the United Kingdom
Alliance will be spent in baiting the publicans
under this Bill. Then the hours at whion houses
are to be opened and closed will provoke angry
protests from both publicans and public. Here
In Dorchester, there being less than 10,000 In-
habitants, public-houses will have to be closed
from ten o'clock at night till seven the next
morning: and it must be remembered, that any
person found in a public-house after hours—say
five minutes past ten—la liable to be summoned
and fined equally with the publican. Ten o'clock
may be late enough: but the habits of the
people must be considered, for if there is too
great stringency the law will be rendered
nugatory by the establishment of clubs with a
nominal entrance fee. However, the licensed
victuallers are a well organised and wealthy
body, fully represented in Parliament, and
doubtless they will effect considerable modifica-
tions in the Bill before it pawn into law. Then
the police supervision is to be more effective,
and cumulative penalties will frighten the
publicans from permitting the appearance of
disorderly conduct or the assemblage of disre-
putable people. To our mind, however, the
best proposal in the Bill Is that for stepping
adulteration, for although probably most of the
publicans will agree with Mr. Greene that it is
impossible to adulterate good beer, it is notorious
that half the beer that is drunk in this cougar,
is a villanous compound of anything and every-
thing but malt and hops. Hr. Bruce- wants to
stop this; and the honest to assist him, host will be the first

The American Case and the English Reply in
the Alabama arbitration have been laid on the
table of the international Court in the Hotel de
Ville of Geneva, the English representative,
Lou" Tenterden, handing M a protest against
the Indirect Claims as forming no part of the
Order of Reference, and the American represen-
t&tiVe, Mr. Bancroft Davis, protesting against
the protest, and reserving for his Government
the right of vindicating their view of the scoops
of the Treaty of Washington, and her. till the
final decision of the American Government is
taken the matter rests. The 16th of June lithe
latest date oontemplated by the Treaty for the
presentation of arguments to the Arbitrators ;
and the English Government stipulate in their
protest that they must be considered free to
retire (rem the Court on that day if the In-
direct Claims are notiby then skunk out of the
American Case._ .

Besides the Geneva tribunal anxiety then
have been signs at uneasiness at Berlin about
the military proposals at Versailles. The Daily
Telegraph of ApetllB contsined • leading whole
Implying that the writer was in possession ol
exclasive and positive information from Berlin.
It stated that Count Bismarck hal forwarded.
through Count Arnim. an ultimatum to K
Tbleeei pereinplocill forbidding the gaiter/