The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-10-23 00:00:00

pool of the gaol. You undermined the offensiveness of
dealing with the cesthool of a eottep : you have to go
by night, and stopify yourself with brandy before you
can do so with safety, and often become M afterwards
either by the brandy or the think. I DUI quite sure that
the Governor would show the system to anybody who
wished to see it. In the cesspool of the gaol,
when I wa, there, there was 50 tons of hessian excreta
and soil • portion of the 50 tons being what
was emptied from the different places that morn.
iog, and to any gentleman who will go in there
with his eyes shut, if he honestly tells me there
is anything offensive, and will give me £5 if he
cannot discover it. I will inako him a very handsome
present if be cnn; and I imagine that eyes
end DWG can tell whether anything is sani-
tary or not, lint there is another point in the
matter upon which I confess myself to have had
much greater doubt ; yin., the Tian' of the product.
Uequestionably, we value health much, and an /body who
is wise will value health above all mortal blessinp, but
we know, by sad experience, that half umnkind done' in
the least value their health in comparison with their
pock, ti, I can tell you of cottages now, where the most
filthy nuisances exist foe the sake of a gin of about
a penny a month, and if such cases can be met by Mr.
Soule', earth system, it would be an enormous silvan.
!age. I have not been • thorough believer in the
pecuniary advantages of the aystem, hut I hope idneerely
I have been mistaken. The Governor of the eddy gaol
Informed me that during the 18 months the earth 'Mein
has been in operation there, he has actually received in
hard cash for the product k5O. Now, von know people
in Dorset, and in the north where I 0111310 from, are
not in the habit of giving £5O for what is worthless,
and I do not imagine that the farmers here are so
foolish as to have gone on for 18 months, buying
this staff, and to the extent of £5O, if they did not
find practically there was something in it. There-
fore I am in very great hopes that the system is not
only most valuable in the matter of health, but will
turn oat to beoithat I did not venture to hope,positively
profitable to the public. I think I need not say any-
thing more upon that subject, and I do not know timt
there is anything very important bearing upon our
meeting here to-day which I bath to my to you. I will,
however' as has been my custom, shortly allude to some
of the Acts of Parliament passed during the late maims
Them are not many which are of immediate local in-
terest to you, and I will briefly state them. There is
one which is an Act of very great importance indeed,
though more for its tendency, perhaps, than for (I fur)
any likelihood of its being put into immediate operation
in this place. It is called the Labouring Classes
Dwelling-houses Act. Every gentleman lam now
addressing is well aware how intensely important is the
subject of dwellings, especially for the labouring classes.
We know how much Yalu is attached to comfort in our
own houses, and how valuable it mast be in the estiages
and hum of the labouring Mmes. Of course, making
on this question, we are met at onoe with the great
difficulty how to make it pay. Well, I am bound to
say, Ido not believe Wean be made to pay. Ido not
believe it is possible to build cottages such as we could
wish to see for lahourenr—soattered about the country
as our cottages are—so different from those in towns—
end to make them pay a return. We cannot get 5 per
cent, for the outlay. Bat Ido not at 211 think that, as
retried& owner, of property, that ia the point of view from
which the mbjesit should be regarded. There are many
persons who would be willing to build °Magog for the
labouring deuce even under such circumstances,
but they have not the means to do it. At the same
time I think not only the owners of property should,
but to • very lam extent throughout the country do,
oppreach the subject from an entirely different point of
view. and that therein no subject which more attracts
the attention, and to which moth care is glven„than the
management and building of *attars, not on the principle
of paying, but on the same principle as you Lad I make
our stables good. We do not expect them to pay, end in
just the same my we must look upon the Improvement
of cottages and the like, an, I would call it, a luxury, but
at any rate, as • necesnity : and we must not treat it as
a mere matter of pounds, shillings, and pence. Now,
that is all very well to a certain extent, but it can oniy
be carried out by people who have capital and mosey in
their pockets. Bet this Act is for the purpose of
enabling those who have not got money to Invest—in
NM way at least—to borrow money at 4 per cent, to
devote to improving the dwelling. of the working alarm;
and the persons to whom this power is gives, so far as
we are concerned here in Wareham, meetly local authority
or public body, such an a railway company, a dock or
harbour company. or any other comprny, moiety, or
association, established for the purposes of this Act, or
for trading or manufacturing purposes. I may be
sanguine, but I do not think it is beyond the possibility
of hope, knowing the energy of men of even this
town, that I may yet live to see the time when
there shall be • mist>, company, or association
established in Wareham for the very purpose of
building proper houses for the labouring classes, and of
such a society I should mimeo an entirely different
opinion from that I have expressed no to individual
pruprieternbuildingcottagrs. lane perfectly convinced by
what is done in other places that each a society might be
made to pay. I have thought so before, bet now power
I. given to borrow money at 4 per cent. I entertain no
doubt whatever about it. If such • society should be
started here, and I am in the neighbourhood at that
time, anything lean do to promote its objeets, either in
the way of money or anaistanee, I shall be happy to give
—(applauee.) I would adil one word about cottage'.
We should take ears in finding Nutt with people about
tbe badness of cottager, especially here in Dreel, to
avoid one error : it does not necessarily follow because
we see catnips utterly neglected and in a disgraceful
state that we are able to put our hands upon the persons
who an in fault, and for this reasoa—you know per-
fectly well the spasm of life-bolds which has existed
(but which I hope will not be perpetuated) especially in
the neighbonrhood of large commons and the like such
as we have in this *aunty. I know that any one of
you could take me in five minutest to places
which Ere perfectly disgraceful, but to whom are
they • disgrace? You cannot nay they are a disgrace to
the owner of the soil, simply bemuse he has no interest
in the cottages. The man who has the lifehold of them
giver, perhaps, • penny or • shilling a year to the lust.
owner, and you may jest as well exempt the queen of
England to repair the Terminal of Wareham bemuse
the Recorder and Justices of the Peace nit in it, as to
upset the owner of property held by lifcpbold to roped
the oottages upon it, in whisk he hmi no wet of interest.
That in • matter. I think, which gives us some hope,
because life-holds drop in, and we may be quite sure
that they will not be allowed to be renewed, but will
coins into the bands ot the real owners of the soil. To
come now to • very different subject—there is an Mt
to which, through yon. I call the attention of my
brother Justioes on the benoh—en Act relating to the ex-
penses of criminal prosecutions. You are perfectly aware ,
that up to the present time there has been power in the
hands of the magistrates to grant the expenses of wit
noises in oases where an inquiry into Margot of a '
criminal nature end in • commitment by the niacin-
trate*, but where no commitment ham followed, the
magistrates have not had power to order such expense.. ,
Rat by the 52nd chapter of the Act now passed, a
discretionary power is given to magistrates to order
expenses when witnesses are examined in such eases;
and, I need not say to you how necessary it is to exercise
very great discretion when ordering that theme expenses
be allowed, bemused they were to be ordered commonly
and without inquiry, the result might be that &great
number of jobbing ems would be got up, by people
who think it pleasant to spend a day In a court of
justice—if there are people who have such a very pe-
culiar taste—and the time of the justices and the money
of the county might he wasted in frivolous and absurd
inquiries. Great caution is necessary, and I am rare
that the magistrates here will exercise great care while
they will be glad to have the powers this Act confers.
There are two further Actg which I shall name to you.
One is glad to nee anything indicating a prothect of trade
and Industry in the country, and I think it by no means
Impossible that the Act jutpassed for the encouragement
of oyster and mused fisheries in England, may possibly
benefit us here, situated as we are at no great distance
from the large estuary of Poole harbour. In France
there are regular oyster farmers. They farm the mud or
foreshore just as much as we farm better and more
scoessible land ; and now by the Act recently passed
power O riven to people to set apart a portion of the
shore for that purpose. Until this Act Was passed, you
land 1 might dart a fishery and put oysters down but
the find pasty of fishermen that eame along could take
them up, saying they area, much ours as yours. The
operation of this tat is to rumble persons to have
a portion of the shore set &pert, in regard to
which, while the ordinary rights of fishing remain,
protection is given to the valuable brood of
oyster, and the like. The remaining Ant is • con-
tannation of very valuable sanitary Acta, and gives
anusiderably inereaned powers to local authori-
ties to carry out measures for. saidtery iniprovement. I
need not go into details of the measure to you; you
me aware that hitherto any inhabitant could put in force
the powers of the Sanitary Inspector, bat now, in the
event of any inhabitant not doing so,supposing a nuisance
to exist, and that the other inhabitants will n..t move, and
that the local authority should be so careless an not to
carryout immure. for its abatement when their attention
hulled to the matter, it bosom's the duty of the police,
under proper authority, to see that attention O given to
it. It is also sathdectory to me, and I think it will be
to you, to know with reference to what I was slaying
before, that continuous attention is required, that it is
the duty of the nuismon authority, which is, with us,
the Board of Guardians, from time to time continuously
to make inspection of their district. It has been done
here May by the local authority, and has been well
carried out by the Inspectors appointed under that
authority, and I have not the slightest doubt it will
continue lobe so. There are further provisions in the
Act extending those powers, but you know the general
purport of the measure, and I need not enter into the
details of It. I think these are the chief Acts which have
passed during the last session of Puliantent to which I
86.110411 your attention, and now I need not de fain you
any longer except for one observation. I believe I may
'ably say that since I have sat upon this bench, and had
the honour of &Metering you, I have never made the
slightest allusion to anything Machias in the remotest
degree on party politic., but, valuing as I do the
country In which I lith, I think I shall not be violatingthe feelings of any gentleman present, if —not u a qua..
Ma of party politics but as • question of national
interest—l cannot refrain from expressing, as one
who Is anxious- with, I believe, all of you—that
principles of law and order &hoard ever prevail in
this country of England, my deep regret at ODO matter.
I regret that at this time, when Chartism and Revolu-
tion have been supposed to have bosoms words minims
prel7,:ibedmisininewlohiqueehn; elalnigvenages"bythtalie"°•rmporisti
and nafeared in laad—whita seem the couiparative
which are desolating other countries, there should be
sermons that seem to me. to have originally sutieuted
and,.
atainp.rats
what is evil—that applaud the evil when it is one--
that bold up for admiration and adoption actions which
three months ago subjected the metropolis to the repro-
bation not only of England hut of Europe and of America.
There may be advantages in living in mall towns,
and 1 hope and trust that DOM. Will DDO
time come when oar quiet twenty of Dorset,
or our peaceful town of Wareham, shall be advised to
seek to gain any object it may have in view by plunging
It. fields or greets into tumult and imarehy—
I feel that this • national question; I hope have not
transgressed my duty and my firmly intended rein,
sever to enter on the polities 011 peril. I am
much obliged to you fast the ablation you have
bestowed on what I have said, and I hops you will now
do what you can in carrying out your impatiens. I

have great hopes that the-re ;rill Doi be no Much for you