The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-02-21 00:00:00

Cur ronbon Torrtzpoubent

fWe deem it right to state that we do not at all times
Identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

The fact that no Court Circular was issued on one
day in last week was called attention to in a London
paper; but there is nothing so unusual in this inci-
dent as to deserve such a prominent notice. Often
when the Court is at Balmoral, and the Queen merely
walks or drives out, one day so closely resembles
another as to be scarcely distinguishable from its pre-
decessor, the Court newsman is silent, and no circular
is sent to the London papers. Bat on this particular
otlcasion it happened that her Majesty had been un-
able for two days to take her usual exercise in Con-
sequence of what is described as "a bad cold," which
would necessitate the poitponement of the Royal
departure from Osborne to Windsor for a few days.
It may be added that the MS. of the Court Circular
is about the very best which is sent into the office of
any London journal. It is very clearly and distinctly
.written, thereby contrasting with most of the "copy"
that has to be dealt with, and having been revised by
the Queen's private secretary has the great advantage
of being correct.

By the a-ltnission of the Earl of Rosebery and Mr.
Shaw Lefevre to the Cabinet, the number of that body
is raised to sixteen members. This is not often
reached, but for some time there were sixteen in Mr.
Gladstone's first Cabinet in 1870, after the inclusion
of Mr. Forster and before the resignation of Mr.
Bright. When Lord Beaconsfield, then Mr. Disraeli,
formed his second Administration in 1874 he re-
stricted the number of his Cabinet to twelve, holding
that the smaller a consultative body of this kind was
in reason the better. There are, of course, many
Ministers who must of necessity be in the
Cabinet. For instance, the Premier, the Lord
Chancellor, the President of the Council, the
Privy Seal, the five Secretaries of State, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the First Lord
of the Admiralty are always included as a matter of
course. Beyond these the selection of the confidential
advisers of the Crown is entirely a matter for the
discretion of the First Lord of the Treasury. Mr.
Gladstone believes in large Cabinets; Mr. Disraeli
placed his faith in small ones; while Lord Palmerston
pursued a via media, and made thirteen or fourteen
his usual number.
The relations between Parliament and the Press
have been far more cordial since the Legislature re-
cognises the enormous debt which it owes to that
which is so often described as the Fourth Estate of
the Realm. Each successive Commissioner of
-Works has done his utmost to meet the wishes of
the reporters' gallery on representations being made
that this or that little suggested change would
facilitate the discharge of their duties. "When Mr.
Shaw Lefevre held that office he was most kind and
courteous in this respect. The right hon. gentleman,
amon,st other things, assigned to them a committee-
room in which they might transcribe their notes; for
it is obvious that if they had to go to their respective
offices for this purpose and back again between
their turns, an enormous amount of time would bo
lost. The Speaker's new regulations, taking away
this room, have been received with astonishment
and consternation. The journalists of the United
Kingdom are not responsible for the dynamite outrage
in the House of Commons, and to punish them in
this way for a crime which they never committed, and
would have been as anxious to prevent as the Speaker
himself, is felt to be a most arbitrary proceeding.
They are also to be excluded from the lobby and
deprived of the means of gathering political informa-
tion of the greatest public interest. It is only for the
press to put forth its united power to obtain a very
material modification of these arrangements.
The assertions and contradictions over the fall of
Khartoum and the death of General Gordon are
exceedingly bewildering; but the probability is that
these will be continued for some time to come.
The fears of one day, the uncertainties of the sext,
and the faint hopes of another, are but an illustration
of the difficulties which attesd the prosecution of this
campaign in the Soudan. Had we been dealing with
a civilized enemy instead of with hordes of the
fiercest barbarians on the surface of the globe, Sir
Charles Wilson could easily have ascertained the true
state of affairs by sending in a flag of truce to Khar-
toum. But these savages understand just as much about
flags of truce as they know of the works of 'Virgil,
and would speedily have made short work of the
bearer of such a message of peace. Even in the
Russian war the Alascovites fired upon a flag of truce
at Hango, and as the Soudanese are centuries behind
the Russians in civilization, we might be assured of
what we should get from them in this direction.
With the meeting of Parliament this week the
flood of platform oratory in the provinces will cease,
and the collective wisdom of the nation will have
once more assembled at Westminster. When the
adjournment took place the main topic of public
interest was the passing of the Franchise Act.
Closely associated with this were the details
of the Redistribution Bill, which in its
principle had been settled between the leaders
of
•the respective political parties. It is
remarkable to note how redistribution has almost
disappeared from the columns of the newspapers
lately in the face of the stirring news from the
Soudan. War is a most absorbing topic, and every-
thing has to give way to it. When we were engaged
in hostilities with Russia, a Reform Bill brought in
by the Government of the day disappeared alto-
gether, and was not heard of again for several years.
But this course will not be pursued now. The
measure before Parliament will have to be passed
this session, so as to come into operation with the
Franchise Act. This will take effect on the Ist
January next, and the scheme is intended to be
applied to the United Kingdom as a whole and at
the same time.

The cordial relations between Great Britain and her
colonies receive an agreeable illustration by the offer
of New South Wales and Victoria to send a contin-
gent of troops to Souakim, to co-operate with her
Majesty's forces in the Soudan. The Government has
accepted it, and no one is surprised to hear that the
Queen will personally indicate her high appreciation
of the generous and spontaneous assistance thus
made by a distant dependency. England's far-off
possessions are not therefore such a source of
weakness to her as has been so often represented.
If any European Power, taking advantage of our
temporary difficulties in Egypt, attempts —as has

been hinted by some of our public men—to put
Tressnre upon this country, which it would not dare
to do at any other time, this incident might be
-worthy of consideration. The tie between the mother
mcountry and the colonies is a very strong one, and
I.the bond was never more complete than it is now.
' The mild weather of the past three weeks has been
2‘Ae. great blessing to the unemployed in our large towns.
.71t was just on a sharp pinch of cold in the middle of
January that demonstrations of those who unfortu-
aiately could not find even fluctuating occupation were
?becoming numerous in the streets of our great cities.
Bitter cold has added to hunger, and it is notorious
'that a keen frost drives from work large numbers who
could earn a
_day's wages in the face of a south-west

~wind. It is therefore satisfactory to know that so
touch of the proverbial time of winter has been got
'through without that distress which must have ben
caused had the wind come from the north-east insteoad
of from across the Atlantic. Kingsley's "Welcome
fierce north-easter from thy frozen home! " finds no
-echo in the hearts of those whom that ungenial blast
deprives of a meal, as it does many a time to the
honest and industrious poor when frost and snow are
borne upon its wings.