The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-01-29 00:00:00

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Apiir

iJ ur Youhn 6nrit3poOtnt,

(We deem it right to Etate that W 3 do not at all times
.zientify ouraelvea with our Corresponant's opinions.)

The opening of the Parliamentary session, now so
eocn cnce more to be celebrated, is always marked by
the swearing-in of the new members who have been
elected during the recess. Only six months have
elapsed since the representatives of the people dis-
persed to their respective counties; yet in that short
space of time many changes have invariably taken
place. As a rule, death is the primary use of the
alterations, for it not only removes some members of
the Commons, but carries off as well many peers
whose eldest sons sit in the Peoples' Chamber, and
whose call to the House of Lords at once vacates their
seats. There are other agencies at work which render
appeals to the constituencies frequently necessary,
and amongst these is the appointmeat of a member to
an office tinder the Crown. When a seat has been
rendered vacant in the recess, the fact is officially
notified to the Speeker in a document signed by two
members; and he tllea gives notice iu the London
Gazette of his intentions at the expiration of six days
after the publication of such notice, to issue his war-
rant to the Clerk of the Crown commanding that func-
tionary to make out a writ for a new election. It will
thus be seen that, when Parliament is not sitting, there
are a good many formalities to be gone through before
a new writ can be issued. A period of delay is
afforded in order to allow of any objections to be
lodged. This is unnecessary when Parliament is
sitting, for an objection can be heard awl debated at
once. Usually the writ is moved for by the Whip
of the party to which the former member belonged;
but any member of the House is at liberty to do so.
It is always done at the meeting of the House at four
o'clock, or very shortly afterwards, so that the writ
may be dispatched by that night's mail. In the case
of a dissolution of Parliament, when the writs for the
three kingdoms have to be all sent at once, the work
to be got through at the Crown office is enormous;
while at the Post-office the most extraordinary pre-
cautions are taken in order that these important docu-
ments may reach their proper destinations. Mistakes
sometimes occur even in that splendidly-organized de-
partment of the State; but imagine the feelings of the
officials who by error were to send the writ for Shet-
land to the Sheriff of Cornwall! The said writ, thus
taken a thousand miles out of its proper course,
would have te come back again, and the delay in the
election of a representative of these lonely islands in the
north might be a serious one. I have known a vote in
the House of Commons deciding the fate of an Ad-
ministration to depend upon the presence of a single
member-311 against 310—and as the Shetland writ
takes a month to be returnable, it will be seen how
essential it is that there should be no possibility of
blunder in delaying an election even a day beyond
the necessary time. When the writ has been filled up
by the returning officer, the new member takes it
back to London with him, but although elected, he is
not entitled to take his seat in the House of Commons
until he has been presented to the Speaker, taken the
oaths, and signed the roll. Etiquette is very strict
upon this point, and it was strikingly illustrated by
an incident which happened in the year 1867. A
Cabinet minister had accepted another office involving
his re-election. It was looked upon purely as a
matter of form; there was no opposition; the minister
returned from his constituents with the writ duly filled
up; and waiting an opportunity of handing it to the
Speaker. he sat down as usual on the Treasury Bench.
But, not having been sworn, he had no more right either
on that Bench or in that House than the veriest stranger.
So the Chief Clerk—no respecter of persons—at once
bade him take his place under the Gallery, which is
technically outside the boundaries of the Legislative
Chamber, where he had to wait until the speaker
called upon him to come to the table to be sworn. That
he had been a member twenty years, and had held
several Cabinet offices, did not signify. His seat had
been vacated, and it was not legally filled up until he
should be sworn.

How to best pave the streets of a crowded city is a
problem not very easy of solution. Granite, although
durable, is the cause of such a terrific noise as to im_
pair the nerves of delicate persons passing over it in a
heavy vehicle; the wood paving has its determined
foes; and the asphalte, although noiseless, is declared
by many to be slippery and dangerous. The Commis-
sion of Sewers—a body which is responsible for the
paving of the streets in the City of London—has been
waited upon by a deputation of tradesmen carrying on
business in the Poultry, who implored the Commission
to have the asphalte taken up, as the fallen horses,
continually struggling upon its surface impeded traffic,
and injured trade. The advocates of the silent system,
however, came to the rescue, and the Commission
resolved to issue orders that the asphalte should be
regularly cleansed, with a view to prevent such acci-
dents as those of which complaints had been made.
There the matter stands for the present; but it would
be premature to declare that the long contention was
at an end, and that a system of paving had been
called into existence which gave universal satisfaction.
The skating rink has rapidly become one of the most
popular recreations of the time. Travellers on the
suburban lines of railway are often carried past a huge
covered shed, in which scores of ladies and gentlemen
may be seen gliding over a smooth and easy surface,
their movements resembling in every way those of
skaters. As the devotees of this pastime have, dur-
ing the present winter, had very few opportunities of
engaging in it, there has been a great demand for ad-
mission to the "rink," and the latest new luxury is to
set them up in private establishments. It is very
common just now for a gentleman to convert a
portion of his garden into a skating rink, and one ad-
vantage of the amusement is that it does not depend
upon the weather for its thorough enjoyment. Ice
or no ice, Bummer or winter, there it is ; and those
who indulge in it seems to like it quite as well when
the vertical rays of a midsummer sun are lighting up
the earth with a glow of fervent heat, as when the land
Is firmly grasped in the iron hand of winter, and the
hoar frost sparkles upon the leafless branches of the
trees.

We are reminded that Philadelphia is not to be the
site of the only International Exhibition this year.
There is to be one at Brussels, certainly a more acces-
sible place for Europeans, and a capital to which
many a cheap excursion will be organized. Even
under existing arrangements you may get a return
ticket from London to Brussels for £1 10s. 6d.,
so that a mechanic with a £5 note to spare
may spend a week .in Belgium very • well.
The people are hospitable, and both living and lodging
are very reasonable. An active executive committee,
for promoting the interests of British exhibitors, is at
work in this country, and every effort will be made to
secure an adequate representation of our national in-
dustry. Belgium is a most interesting little kingdom,
whether regarded in the energetic and self-reliant
nature of its people, the various characteristics of its
cities, or the advanced condition of its agriculture.
The bristling fortifications of Antwerp, the varied
aspects of life in a modern capital as seen in Brussels,
and the venerable antiquity of an ecclesiastical city
which clings around the belfry of Bruges, may all be
witnessed within the space of a few hours. If you
make Brussels your headquarters, one of your excur-
sions cannot fail to be to the field of Waterloo, nine
miles distant, where the ever memorable battle of
that name was fotighb. The vast mound upon the
silent plain, which has been raised over the remains of
those who fell in that tremendous conflict is a monu-
ment of a decisive victory such as the Belgians are
proud to show; and their shores are within such easy
reach of our own, that they anticipate a very fair
accession of visitors from our midst in the ensuing
summer.

Those who took such an active part in deciding
the fortunes of the two nations who were most
interested in the result of the battle of Waterloo
could scarcely have thought of a time when the
Parliaments of both countries would sanction the
schemes of engineers for running a railway between
Dngland and France under the Channel. That piece
of water, although such a terror to travellers from its
disagreeable chopping waves, is really very shallow,
and the towers of Westminster Abbey, if plunged into
its deepest part, would still rise 45 feet above the
surface. And could you cast St. Paul's into it, the
whole of the dome would be visible. So narrow is the
Channel at one point, and so little is its entire depth
of water, that many geologists hold to the opinion that
Great Britain has not always been an island, having
been, far back in the world's history, severed from the
Continent by some gigantic convulsion of Nature: The
bed of the sea is composed of grey chalk, which is
at Once sufficiently easy to bore through, and firm
enough to support the works. The sole point which
leaves room for doubt is whether the bed of grey chalk
through which the passage must be cut is compact and
homogenous. Does it contain deep fissures, resulting
from ancient disturbances of the earth's surface, which
the defective plasticity of the chalk has not enabled it
to fill up? Is not the chalk, apparently so regular,
pierced in some places by the tops of rocky peaks,
imbedded in the mass? So far these uncomfortable
suppositions have been negatived, and the lovers of
international peace and amity will rejoice if they should
permanently prove to be without foundation.

Anyone anxious to witness an interesting phase of
life in London would do well to attend one of those
dinners which are periodically given by the charitable
to those of the needy classes who get a really good
meal only on such occasions. Sometimes the recipients
are adults, some hundreds in number, who gather
eagerly round the doors of the place where the enter-
tainment is to come off, their pinched faces telling of
long days of hunger, and their scanty vesture causing
them to suffer terribly from cold in the wintry wind.
At others, such as in the case of the London Cottage

Mission, about 400 children of the poor assemble for a
repast of roast beef and plum pudding, followed by a
distribution of oranges and a magic lantern entertain-
ment. The funds have been subscribed by some
benevolent persons, some of whom are present to see
how their bounty is enjoyed. Brief addresses are de-
livered to the .youngsters, who ar3,exhorted to.be pod
boys and girls, and to endeavour to attain to pooitions
in which, some day, they too will be enabled to help
their less favoured neighbours. The subscribers are
well content if only a tolerably fair per centage of their
guests take to heart the lessons which are taught them,
and if even after many days the bread which is cast
upon the waters is seen to be bearing fruit.
The Volunteers have always been such a popular
force, that any plan for rendering so useful a body of
men really efficient in time of need is sure to command
much public interest. Some uncomfortable rumours
have blown about lately respecting the intention of
the War Office to submit to Parliament a scheme by
which the whole available male population of the
kingdom would, if net belonging to the volunteers, be
called upon to stand the chance of a ballot for the
militia. This has long had powerful advocates, both
in and out of Parliament; but it has equally strenuous
opponents, and an extremely good case must be made
out for its necessity before it receives legislative sanc-
tion. There is no invasion Panic upon us just now;
no navy to take the sea against our own; no
nation in Europe with which we have a cause; of
quarrel. There is,"of course, the "Eastern Question,"
and there will continue to be one for some time to
come. But whether the people of this country would
again consent to be involved in war overalls is at least
doubtful. Possession is said to be nine points of the
law, and although the Turk's political edifice is ad-
mitted to rest on a shaky foundation, he is likely to
remain in Constantinople for some time to come. •