The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1880-05-18 00:00:00

Duet Countl Erprtss.

DORCHESTER, TUESDAY. MAY 18. 1100.

MAL BRADLAUGH AND AFFIRMATION.
Northampton's choice of Mr. Bradlaugh ss a
legkdator seems likely to result, not only in what all
lovers of law should regret, but in some positive
absurdity. Called on to give solemn pledges to the
or=for the right use of him power, Mr. Bradlaugh
to swear. That would have been reasonable
enough had he founded his refusal on the injunction—
" Swear not at aU r but Mr. Brarllangh seems to
Went the Authority which uttered thooe words, and
as far as we can learn, bised his refuel on his absence
of belief in any Personal Supreme Authority at aIL
We are unable to see why Mr. Bradlaugh should
attach more importance to hie affirmation than to a
tr• promise without any added solemnity of any
He may be for aught we know, so truthful a
roan that 'his weid is so good as hia bond ;" but then
the consols* moat be admitted even by Mr. Bradlaugh
and his followers. For ourselves. we should not have
the slightest difficulty in at the same time refusing to
"swear,* and yA repeating and &IN nting ti the words
gsmwally need in the administration of what, in the
raw courts, is called an oath. The c ncluding words
—"So help me God," should be accepted in their
obvious and literal meaning—that of a prayer to the
Supreme Power to assist the affirmator in speaking
"the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
broth." But we are unable to perceive to what
superior power Mr. Bradlaugh, with his faith, or want
of faith, is able to appeal for help. Nor are we able
toss. that such a person ia guided by anythhig else
beside his own will, which may direct him to be truth-
ful or may determine him to be false or dangerous in
any other way. Doubtless; there are people lees
out-op hen than Mr. Bradlaugh, wit . have taken oath,
and white hirdly keeping the pr.mi e ta the ear, have
broken it to the heart. The conclusion would be •
I sib, ts..d i test one indrel if Mr. Braaten:lt should,
aftor ', ...E! 'a tot tl.e ; wou'd
south a cone :U.4.'4 be tb..t O. • !nigh, b., left with
,•Ir. lir WI .u4h's clai appears to he that
he ...ay affirm on his OW•1 unasedated, beam e,
as for ua k• ow, he a kr.owletice. a. power as
able t But we should be glad to learn
what 11.8 iil4:-.tiOn a Mall with Mr. I,,radl,tuab's
views c 11 low, for hiking patt at all in the making of
law. if the awful conception were a fat—that there
La no Beneficent Supreme, then what is the universe
but the 131103 of • strie of sellidh, mutually des-
tractive forcev, continually at war with happiness and
with very life itself, and continually victors in the
horrid strife' It is in the resurrection of life that
bops is to be sought, and if it benot in the resurrection
of the individual, what matters it to each individual?
And it is the belief of life beyond the present that
promises to justify the anomalies and injustice of OW
present condition. But the promise of the resurrec-
tion of the individual and of future life are made clear
and positive by statements which Mr. Bradlaugh does
not sooept ; what then has he to do with any plans
for interfering with free will? Would not his most
conidatent course be to leave everything to the self.
acting and apparently cruel force which crushes all
the weak? Again, the history of the earliest law, as
it regulates even the doings and relations of man to
man, traces it to a Source which we understand Mr.
Bradlaugh 's school do not acknowledge. Denying
the Source himself, what have that school to do with
expounding law?

_
--
In spite of the Bishop of Lincoln, the burial law
Is perhaps one of the earliest to be altered. in C
guano, of the Liberal victory. The "right reverend
Iced" has declared that to threw open the churchyard!
will "open the floodgates' of heresy and blasphemy
bat even the Conservatives are not sanguine of mucli
nooses in opposing the reform. The Tories,
la7Stinguished from the Conservatives, are of none
bitterly set against alteration; but the Tory party is
blooming smaller by degrees and beautifully less, and
more sensible people even among the Opposition begin
ese that it is disgusting to claim a vested interest
In connection with the bestowal of dead bodies, while
as to religions rites at the grave, no Protestant Pap-
poose they will affect the happiness of the deal, and
the living are far more likely to be made obstinate
opponents by havina thrust on them that with which
they do not sympathise.

If the Church of England ministers can maintain
power over the churchyards, then in otherwise no.
provided country places, it will be for the State to
provide burial places which may be used by all.

All the undergraduatesof University College, Oxford,
some scores in number, have been " rusticated"
becauge the Senior Proctor we. ,crewed up in his rooms
after a boat-ra, ing .upper. T 1,., perpetrators of this
Mince) were prob ibly, al the slang term his it,
"'crewed" them•elves; but their fellow collegians
would not "tel." on them, and nearly all have been
sent home to their friends in diagtace.

Weytn.,uth veople may be interested to note that
the offence, one in,•tenre of which made such •
sensation thero., in increasing fut in Loudon, where it
is getting online on for moth who have loved neither
'nu ly nor too well, to abitud heir hal: lea off,,pring
on 'loons'

Dorch,•ster manitsry authorities should give heed to
the 8ri.a..1 ise of contamination. Ref aiso W&e dis-
char4i-d it., the river without filtration through laud,
and with .I,,rt !crone results. Tho subject di an-
pleasant; but onr Council will be setisfi,l with the
wor Ito the wi ; let ns hope not only the C,uticil,
but the litecOf health will 1:11 satisfied also.
--
VIE GENIUS OF TORYISM.

After the remarkable wrformance at Wesimere the I
OberAnirnergan play may cease to attract English
pleasure-hunters to spend their gold so far away in
the E.'. s f Europe. As the Tory papers declare that
Relicalbni ii 1111-Ellgillh, so per ronira, we may
suppose any exlsihition sd the opposite would be
grateful to Emdish minds. At Wedmore the pioneer
of the Conserr.stives (or may tvos say-- the 'I mks ?)
mounted on a white horm that was now looking blue
all over, typified I °doubt the genius 0%4 has inspired
the flescoosfishl.Salisbury etbinet. The horse w.ut
Os type of English financ•, origiallly clear nal
bright, but now stained al over with Tory smudges
The rider in Vie blue smock showed the honest hard.
working En :Heitman transformed is.to • butsber, his
amockfrock changed from its original unbleached to
the but,li,t'd tint. But teat anyona *ha suppose it
was the im.-c•dul honest trade he was trying to follow,
the Tory genius took pains to IT 'vs Ise Wlll4 nit a
caterer for the dining table by carryiu.; a sword ;
by brandishinl it rather freely, he put the last
vinch to the faithful impersonation of Toryism. The
Wedmore !colds have talent to- symlsoldsm which
might be rlevel pea, and might even draw Earl
Bomoorodisld f . rom ' seeing the row bloom at
11-100enden "Is be stage-manager at Wtdmere.