The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-12-09 00:00:00

CORRESPONDENCE.

We Irish it to be distinctly understood that by inserting
!Merlin this solsonn, ,oe do not thereby ident g oursel Or.
with the opinions af our Correspondents.
MR. BRADLAUGH OS THE IMPEACHNtENT OF

THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK.
To the Editor of the " Observer."

Ste—On Monday night hint, impelled by curiosity to
see and hear the uotoi ions "Iconoclast," I visited the
Corn Exchange to listen to • lecture on the above-named
subject. Having seen him described on the bills as the
l• greatest orator of the day," and having also heard his
friends assert that he was a logician of unequalled
ability and power, I was prepared for something extra-
ordinary. Need I say that I was thoroughly disappoin-
ted. His whole discourse, with the exception of a few
qu dations from Thackeray's "Four Georges," was •
tirade of abuse against the members of the •` House of
Brunswick," interspersed with—l cannot say enforced
by—quotations from the correspondence of persons, woo,
in the majority of instances (to use the language of the
lecturer) cordially bated" those of whom they were
speakiog Now to show the fallacy of resting an arau•
ment on such a basis as the foregoing, I will draw
parallel in the case of Mr. Bradiaugh himself. It must
be well known to that gentleman that although he has
plenty of admirers amongst a certain class, still there
are others—eapecially those belonging to the different
religious communities—whose love for him is anything
but fervent. In fact I myself have heard him describ,rd
as a dangerous person, a scoffer at and defier of the Al-
mighty God, and • despiser if everything religious or
holy; in fact, as one who would trample under foot all
laws, whether human or divine; and many other hard
things, too numerous to mention. Now, I do not say
that the above statements are true ; but if some lecturer
say 100 years hence, were to take up • copy of thin
(lbserre.r. and quote the above passage, without saying
anything ,d the context, as a sample of what was thought
of Mr. Bradlaugh by his contemporaries, would not that
be a grossly unjust way of dealing with the matter. Yet
this is , xactly the manner in which Mr. Bradlaugh
handled the subject ii,: licd uader consideration On Mon-
day evening.
Next, I utterly failed to see the drift of his argument,
or, to put it in another torn, what good was to be got

11-7 L

from his impeachment of the House of ht.i.innwick.
Grunted, for the sake of argument, that the private Ohs.
raeter of some members of the above-named " House"
would not bear the strictest investigstion ; that there was
a good deal of bribery and corruption amongst ministers
and other persons who should have known better, I can.
not for the life of as. see what that has to do with Our
present sovereign, unless Mr. Bradlaugh wishes to make
her responsible for the sills of her forefathers, • pro.
ceeding as monstrous as it would be unjust. We have at
the head of affairs now • Queen, of whom the nation is
justly proud; a lady, who, notwithstanding the exalted
position she has occupied for such a number of _yearn—
the observed of all observers—the most censorious per-
son has been unable to point to a single ttaw in her es-
ciitcheon, or a single blot upon bier fair fame—whether
. as maid, wife, or widow; a lady who, moreover, has en.
cleared herself to the hearts of all her subjects by her
tender solicitude for their welfare, and her ktmily bym
pathy with them in all their troubles. Now, Mr. hr.'.
laugh stated that his object in giving the lecture was u,
demonstrate to his hearers that it would be perfectly
legal for the people—or the Lords and Commons as the
representatives of the people—to compel her Majesty by
a vote 4,f a majority to vacate the throne. But supposing
such wi-re the case, and it were put to the public vote to-
morrow which the people would have—her Majesty as
monarch, or Mr. Bradiangh as President of a Republic ;
would the people choose the hatter' I think not.
Certainly, if it were left to the decision of a mob com-
posed of the very dregs of society 1, for one, would not
be answerable for the result. We all know a mob once
Chose Barabbas, and with such aprecedent as that before
me I should not like positively to assert that the name
class would not choose Brstilaugh, especially bearing in
mind the singular coincidence that both munmi begin with
B; but with the great intelligent. thinking portion of
the community, I think no unbiassed person would have
s moment's hesitation in declaring that the latter would
stand no chance. And it is well for us that this is so.
For although there may be defects in our laws and con.
ehtution, we have the means at our hand of reined:dog
the evils. With household suffrage, and a press which
for the purity of its tone and the ability of its writers is
unequalled in the world, there is no need to lie to such a
violent uprooting of society as a republic would entail
upon us to redress our grievances. We have too lately
seeil the horrible enact:omits of the Commune in Paris
1,, feel anxious to give their friends—the Republicans of
London—the opportunity of riding rough-shod oat r our
liberties in the same manner. In fact, to use the words
of the great poet, we would rather—

Bear those ills we have,
"'than fly to others that we know not of."

I hope the working men of Stourbridge will liy this
matter to heart, and nut allow thenpielves to he led away
by the line speeches anal fair proinises of those who, for
at their own, would decoy them from alleglauee to
their sovereign:
. .

Apologising for troubling you,
1 am yours. kc.,
ANII-REPUBLIC A N.
Stourbridge, Dec. 6th, 1871.