The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-11-14 00:00:00

PARLIAMENT OUT OF SESSION.

• Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, addressing a meeting of
Conservative electors at Bristol on Saturday evening,
said the question of disestablishment had been raised
by the Radical wing of the Liberal"party—notably by
Mr. Chamberlain; and they must therefore treat it
seriously and make up their minds upon it. Ho was
opposed to disestablishment; but he would certainly
support any reforms in the Church of England which
were found to be necessary.
Sir Charles Dilke, speaking at Bensal-town on
Saturday evening, replied to the speeches of Lord
Randolph Churchill at Manchester and Mr. Whit-
more at Bensal-town. He afterwards alluded to the
questions of Free Trade, Local Option, and the Land
Laws. He also pointed out, in reply to the statement
that credit for the Bill for Housing the Working
Classes belonged to the Conservatives, that V; was
prepared when the late Government was in office,
under his own instructions.

Mr. Chamberlain speaking at a Liberal meeting at
Birmingham on Saturday, contended that the present
depression in trade was due to the fact that land was
in the hands of a few; and he declared that the
Liberal party would not rest until they had frebd
land as they had freed the food of the people. The
true remedy was to effect a Radical reform of
the land laws, and double the produce of the soil,
which would creatt new trade, giving employment all
round. _ _

The ex-Premier, accompanied 17 Mrs. and Miss
Gladstone and Mr. Henry Gladstone, left Hawarden
on Monday morning, and arrived at Edin-
burgh at twenty minutes past four. During the
journey Mr. Gladstone was enthusiastically received,
and was presented with numerous addresses. He
delivered several speeches. Repl ng to an address
presented to him at the Albert Hall, Edinburgh,
immediately after his arrival, Mr. Gladstone
said that when they came to points on which
they differed, he hoped Liberals would behave
like men of conscience and understanding; and
if they could not honourably co-operate on
those points, they would not attempt to co-
operate at all. Until they came to those points
it would be folly and madness if they refrained
from giving effect to the common purpose with which
they thought the coming Parliament was so well able
to deal. Discussing the effects of the extended fran-
chise in Ireland, he said they must anticipate the pro-
bability, if not the certainty, of the return of such a
number of Nationalists as to constitute an enormous
majority of the Irish representatives, and must keep
in view the likelihood of a demand for the concession,
of larger powers to Ireland in the direction of con-
trolling her own local affairs. So long as we dealt
liberally, equitably, and prudently with Ireland this
country had nothing to fear from any change; but
whatever demands were entertained mast be subject
to the condition that the unity of the Empire, and all
the authority of the Imperial Parliament for main-
taining that authority, should be preserved.
At the Lord Mayor of London's banquet to Minis-
ters on Monday evening, Lord Salisbury said that the
Russian Government was now heartily co-operating
in marking the boundary of Afghanistan. As to
Burmah, there were eccentricities of tyranny which
no nation was bound to condone; but he hoped that,
while the operations of the Indian Government might
smooth the path of civilizing commerce, they would
make as little 'alteration as was consistent with the
interests of the population and the demands of
her own Empire. Turning to Egypt he saw
nothing to forbid the hope that in a few
years that country might be restored at
least to the condition which it occupied five
years ago. He believed that the Convention
just concluded with the Sultan would produce a more
friendly feeling in Turkey, and, referring to the
Bulgarian difficulty, he said the Government hoped
that whatever arrangement might be made by the
Conference, it would preserve the strength of the
Turkish Empire undiminished and would satisfy the
populations whom it concerns. The noble Marquis
dwelt upon the situation in Ireland, insisting that the
integrity of the Empire was more precious to the
Government than any other possession, and that the
minority must be protected. He concluded with
an appeal to the people to be united in face of the
conflicts which had been forced upon the country.
Sir William Harcourt, speaking at Derby on Mon
day evening, contrasted the principles of the Liberal
and Conservative parties, maintaining that the Liberals
had always sought the benefit cf the many, while the
Conservatives only desired to serve the interests of
the few: Touching the question of Fair Trade or
Protection, he argued that Free Trade had been pro-
ductive of benefits to the people wherever it had been
tried.

Mr. Chamberlain, addressing a meeting in West
Birmingham on Monday night, dwelt upon the pro-
posals he had recently made with respect to taxation,
free education, and the land question, and said in
none of these was there any favouring of his personal
interests. Each and all if carried out would entail
a cost to himself, but he made them because they
were just and honourable. He afterwards proceeded
to reply to the Fair Trade arguments of his opponents,
showing that if their proposals were carried into
effect the agriculturists would claim that they should
share in the protection they had helped the manu-
facturers to get.
At a recent Conservative meeting at Herne My
Mr. Akers-Douglas said that, in accepting the offices
of Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer,
Mr. Gladstone did not save the country £5OOO a year.
but took £7500 instead of .£5OOO for himself. The
attention of Mr. Gladstone was called to this state-
ment, and the following letter has been received with
reference to it Hawarden Castle, Oct. 28, 1885.
—Dear am desired by Mr. Gladstone to ac-
knowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th inst.,
and in reply to your inquiry to state that the saving
to the country whilst the offices of Prime Minister
and Chancellor of the Exchequer were held jointly
was £3500 a year on the Treasury estimate, as will
be seen by reference to the figures. lam to add that
the First Lord of the Treasury by fixed rule has one
and a half times the salary if he holds the two offices,
but in Mr. Gladstone's case the salary of a Junior
Lord was also saved.—l am, Sir, yours faithfully, EL
W. GLiDsToNE."

- • -
Mr. Parnell addreiied a meeting of Irishmen at
Liverpool on Tuesday night. He said he regarded
Mr. Gladstone's speech in Scotland as the most im-
portant pronouncement on the Irish question ever
delivered by any English Minister; but it fell short
of the exigencies of the position, and he invited Mr.
Gladstone to lay before the public his views as to the
largest amount of self-government for Ireland which
could be conceded.
Sir W. Harcourt, addressing a Liberal meeting at
Chester on Tuesday night, claimed for the Free Trade
of the Liberals that it had filled the hungry with good
things, while the Tories complained that it had sent
the rich empty away. The right hon. gentleman
criticised the Conservative programme, and en-
deavoured to show that the Liberal proposals would
be more beneficial to the community at large.
Sir Charles Dilke, speaking at Shepherd's-bush on
Tuesday evening, said that special retaliatory duties,
such as Lord Salisbury had proposed, were most
objectionable, inasmuch as, with them, there would
never be any certainty of the basis of British trade,
and small industries would be created which, as
soon as the duties were removed, would become
extinct.

Mr. Chamberlain, addressing the electors of West
Birmingham on Tuesday night, spoke enthusias-
tically of the Liberal leader, Mr. Gladstone. Re-
ferring to Free Trade and Protection, Mr. Chamber-
lain argued that distress existed in countries with
protective tariffs to a greater extent than among
ourselves. He referred, also, to the allotment sys-
tem, and advocated Free Trade, supplemented by
free land.