The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-06-19 00:00:00

DORSET COUNTY EXPRESS

DoiRCHESTER, TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1866.

NOTICE; OF THB WEEK.

Quitur has left us once more for
her Scottish retreat. Her stay in her dis-
tant Highland residence will be unusually
short this year, on account of continental
complicationstwhich may require the presence
of the Sovereign near her Ministers. While
the Queen is in retirement, the Prince and
Princess of Wales do their best to make up
for her absence. The Prince works bard to
maintain his popularity ; he made several
public appearances last week, notably in lay-
ing the foundation stone of the new building
for the Bible Society (of which a very hand-
some engraving and description appears in
the Builder—it will cost £40,000), and at
the dinner of the friends of the Clergy Cor-
poration. The Prince is a capital public
man, and makes capital with the public at all
such appearances. The Duke of Edinburgh,
however, seems to be the present favourite of
the London City Corporation, who have
lionized him lately to their hearts' content.
What with the freedom of the city and
several of its companies conferred upon him,
he will be able to take his choice of a busi.
'nese in the city, if ever royalty should come
(abeit omen!) to a discount in this country.
By the way, the Prince's new title evinces
another bit of favouritism to Scotland. Duke
;of Dublin would have sounded quite as well
but Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert is
to have that title, and he may some day
popularise Royalty as viceroy of Ireland,
whieb Prince Allred could scarcely do, as he
is the destined successor of his uncle iu the
sovereignty of Saxe-Coburg, if Prussia does
not gobble up that little German territory
before the end of the war. We should not
think it worth while to fight for its iodepen-
, dence, any more than for that of Hanover,
!which our Government has warned not to
' look for British support against Prussian
!aggression. By the way, we now see how
fortunate it was that Hanover was severed
' from the British Crown by the laws of suc-
cession ; otherwise we could scarcely have
kept clear of the present war.
ll.—lt WAS CURRENTLY REPORTED on
Thursday last that Austria had declared
, war. and the report was readily believed ;
, but the news was premature, and only pre-
mature, for the Rubicon was then already
passed. The Prussian entry into Holstein,
and subsequent secession from the German
confederation, created two distinct cases
belli. But Austria did not immediately
resort to reprisals, because she wished to act
in concert with the Frankfort Diet. It is
considered that she has lately played her
cards in this direction with consummate
skill, and has completely out-manceuvred
Prussia. She is now the champion of Third
Germany, as the petty States have been
called, and has secured the adhesion in the
council chamber, and already to a great
extent in the field, of minor States represent-
ing, in population and military tesources,
about four-fifths of the whole Germans not
under Austrian or Prussian rule. She is
now without a rival in the Diet, too, which
she may easily mould into an Austrian
Prussia's step out of the Diet is
regarded as a greater loss of prestige and
influence than Austria's evacuation of Hol-
stein; but the course of the former was
equally compulsory with that of the latter.
She could net remain in an assembly which
was obviously voting armaments against her-
self; and she must repudiate an authority
to which she could no longer pay obedience.
And now there is nothing but war—horrid
war—the issue being left to the biggest
armies or the ablest generals, as the case may
be. As regards the numerical strength of
the armies, Austria has floe certainly more
than a million of men on her side; Prussia
and Italy together have scarcely • million,
Austria, too, occupies a very strong position
towards Italy, and an advantageous one
against Prussia. But the litter country,
having outiiived herself in Germany, has
hastened to secure the advantages of the first
hostile movements by pouring her troops
into Hanover and Saxony. In the latter,
they must immediately meet the Austrians,
and then the problem will be solved, whether
the Prussian troops can fight. But, besides
the forces thus taken into account, it is
feared that Russia and France may soon be
drawn into the quarrel on the opposite sides.
Our only comfort is, that we are out of it,
and may keep out.

GoTtairmairr has secured the
adhesion of the Commons to its £l4 electoral
franchise, but by such a narrow majority
that the decision is of little value.
l'his is the only detail of the Reform
rneaaure that has yet been settled in Com-
mittee; and people are saying that, if it takes
is much talk to settle each of the others by
iimilar narrow majorities, ministers might u
well stop laying down stepping-stones for
text session. As for passing the measure
his year, it is now felt to be entirely out of
the question. At the sacrifice of such
nessures as the Irish Land Tenure Bill, the
'hurch Rates Bill, and that for amending
the Bankruptcy Law, not more than a dozen
overnment nights would be available for
deform; and those will scarcely avail to get
the Bill even through Committee in the
Gower House, especially as it is understood
that the Conservatives mean to interpose the
obstruction of delay at every stee. In the
opinion of many thoughtful politicians, who
are not prejudiced partizans, it would be
better that the Bill should be now withdrawn,
rather than risk a change of Government at
the present crisis by an adverse vote upon it.
Rut it is vexing to zealous Reformers, and
tantalising to the unenfranchised, that they
must anticipate the miscarriage of this the
tifth of our abortive Reform Bills.

IV.—Joar ss Futurism in America wu tbout to die out atter its inglorious exploit upon
the New Brunswick coast, we find it suddeuls
;alvanised into something the rigour. azia
,atually making an attack upon Canada Con-
adoring the almost exhausted condition or the
Fenian exchequer, and that no second harvest
contribotions anything bite equal to the Bret
aan be expected from enthusiastic supporters of
the brotherhood, we are at a loss to imagine
what the leading conspirators can hops to earners
by reeking odds upon the borders of the British