The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-03-07 00:00:00

THA, POLITICAL SITUATION.

The members of the Cabinet, including Earl
Spencer, who came over from Dublin expressly to
take part in the deliberations of his colleagues, met
at the Prime Minister's residence in Downing-street,
at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon, and remained
in Council until nearly half-past six. It was ever,
tually agreed that the vote given by the House of
Commons was not of a'sufficiently decisive nature to
justify the Government in tendering their resigna-
tion. The majority against the Vote of Censure
was regarded, in the circumstances, as not
unsatisfactory ; but ministers are conscious that
the difficulties of their position during the
rest of the sessiov. will be considerably increased by
the narrowness of the division on Saturday morning.
One of the considerations which influenced the
Cabinet in their decision was the character of the
Irish vote. Parnellite party first voted for Sir S.
Northcote's resolution and then for Mr. Morley's
amendment, which was of a directly opposite cha-
racter. In the view of the Government, this de-
prived the vote of the Irish members of all moral
significance. The Government have decided, subject
to the exigencies of Supply, to push on the
Redistribution Bill and the Registration Bill
as rapidly as possible. Their desire is that
the general election on the new suffrage
should take place at the earliest moment, and the
dissolution will take place in November at the
latest. It is under consideration whether Parliament
might not be asked to sanction arrangements by
which it might take place at an earlier date. It was
rumoured that before the Division on Saturday
morning the Prime Minister expressed his inclination
to resign, in case the Government did not obtain a
clear majority without counting the votes of their
official supporters. The number of Liberals voting
with the minority was, smaller than was anticipated
by the Liberal whips. Sir Henry Ponsonby, her
Majesty's private secretary, left Windsor early on
Saturday morning for London, and immediately
visited the Premier in Downing-street, with whom he
remained a considerable time.
The Press Association states that the Cabinet
Council held on Saturday was not only one of the
most protracted of the present Parliament, but also
more than usually momentous. The keen public
interest taken in the meetisg was indicated by the
presence of an unusually large crowd of spectators in
Downing-street to watch the arrival and departure of
Ministers. Several detectives mixed with the throng
to guard against any possible danger, but it was
evident that curiosity was the only motive which
attracted the idlers, who, in spite of the cold wind and
an occasional heavy shower, waited patiently for hours
in front of the Premier's official residence. The
Cabinet Council commenced punctually at two
o'clock, and all the members were present, in-
cluding Earl Spencer, who had come over from
Ireland on the previous night in order to
attend. Previous to the meeting Mr. Gladstone
received private visits from Sir Henry Pon-
sonby, private secretary to her Majesty, as well as
from the Earl of Rosebery and Sir Charles Dilke.
The arrival of Ministers commenced shortly before
two o'clock. The Earl of Rosebery and Earl Gran-
ville were amongst the earliest arrivals, the latter
entering by the private garden gate. Mr. Childers
joined the Cabinet through the private passage leading
from the Treasury. Mr. Chamberlain crossed over
from the Board of Trade, and entered with the Earl
of Derby; while Sir William Harcourt and Sir Char!es
Dilke followed shortly afterwards. Mr. Shaw-
Lefevre, Mr. Trevelyan, the Lord Chancellor, the
Earl of Kimberley, and Lord Carlingford followed in
rapid succession. At ten minutes past two the Earl
of Northbrook arrived from the Admiralty, and next
came Earl Spencer, who had for two hours previously
been engaged at the Irish Office. The Marquis of
Hartington was the last to arrive. The meeting did
not conclude until half-past six, having occupied no
less than four hours and a half. It was noticed that
unlike the practice at ordinary meetings, few des-
patches were sent into the Cabinet during this time,
and the protracted sitting gave rise to a variety of
rumours. Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice visited the
Prime Minister's residence in the course of the after-
noon, and remained there a feiv minutes with the
evident object of learning the result of the delibera-
tions. Several other gentlemen also made calls, but
nothing could be gathered from them. The utmost
' reticence was displayed with reference to the result,
and a long time elapsed before it became definitely
known that the Government would not resign. The
interest attaching to the proceedings of the Cabinet
extended to members of the Government who do not
hold seats in the Cabinet, and amongst these was
Mr. Mundella, who waited in Downing-street until,
Mr. Chamberlain left the Premier's residence, and
with him gr. ligndellia• bad a long conversatipn

ME RIDING and DRIVING of HORSES.

This was the subject of a paper by Mr. Walter
Gilbey before the Farmers' Club. Among those
present were the Duke of Westminster, Lord Hast-
ings, Mr. A. Hammond, Lord Carrington, Mr. E.
Cote, Colonel Kingsoote, Mr. W. Wells, Mr. James
Howard, and Mr. Fowler. Mr. Gilbey, in intro-
ducing the subject, said that very many causes had
been assigned for the decline of horse-breeding. He
accepted only one, and that was the failure in per-
severing to raise animals of size, quality, and value.
It was an admitted fact that the true-bred English
hunter, hack, carriage and draught horse could not be
equalled in any other country. We might import
from foreign lands corn, meat, dairy produce, vegetables,
eggs, and other luxuries of excellent quality, and to
an unlimited extent, but horses of a high class must
be raised at home. Of late years a foreign trade of
great extent had been carried on; hundreds of pairs
of flashy soft substitutes being sold yearly in Loinlon
to purchasers, unconscious of their origin, at from
£2OO to £5OO the pair, an anomaly for which it was
unjust to blame the dealers when English-bred horses
were not to be found in the country. In the ten
years between 1860 and 1872 foreign horses were im-
ported into these islands to the extent of only 29,131
head; but in the corresponding ten years, between
1873 and 1882, no less than 197,092 head were im-
ported. How, could that alarming increase be ac-
counted for? Supposing these animals to be of the
value of £35 each, we have a loss to this country of
£5,850,600. Ireland being a country which still
held its name as a large producer of horses, it was
certain that very many of the best hunters in England
still came from there. Nevertheless, the percentage of
square-made, sizeable riding and driving horses was
getting smaller and smaller every year. As a rule, it
must be admitted that Englishmen had not made a
study of or given much thought to breeding horses,
with the exception of racers and of massive beasts of
burden for draught. The intermediate animals,
other than the racehorse or the draught horse, bad
been bred by accident or caprice, and were of mixed
lineage. This brought him to the theory which above
all others he was anxious to impress on them. To his
thinking there were only two distinct and definable
types of the equine race—the thoroughbred and the
draught. Of these two types, long-continued, costly,
and thoughtful care had been bestowed with a view
to found or constitute in them a distinctive lineage.
From each of them classes had been established,
which by common practice were called "breeds."
Thus, as an outcome of the first—" the thorough-
bred "—we had the racehorse pure, the hackney, the
hunter, and other varieties of light animals. As an
outcome of the second, or draught race, we had the
breed of agricultural and other heavy horses, known
as Shire, Suffolk, Cleveland, and Clydesdales. Mr.
Gilbey then turned to the subject of thoroughbreds,
and narrated the history of the blood horse, and
gave some curious statistics in connection with their
size. The draught race of horses was then considered,
after which the subject of "mating," which was the
most important part If the subject, was proceeded to,
the paper being concluded by a general summary of
the points which the paper had been intended to bring
out. Lord Carrington proposed a vote of thanks to
Mr. Gilbey, which was seconded by Mr. tattersall.
The Th..ke of Westminster, in supporting the vote of
thanks, said that the main difficulty was that the best
mares in England were exported. It was only a
question of demand and supply. Farmers got the
best price they could for their
„mares, and tie didn't sea
how it could be prevented.