The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-01-22 00:00:00

El)e cstourlitible Olistrber.

FATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 1870.

_
WORK FOR THE SESSION.

•I, , „ . :of. ceeeri•s ,fter the
is a ecetain inilieation that the opening of
the Session is at hand-. Ministers, as they re-
assemble in Downing-street in the third week of
January, know that there is now no more leisure
for them for about seven months to come. The
projected legislation disclissed at the Cabinet
Councils iu December. and upon which no deci-
sion was then arrived at, is now dealt with fin-
ally, and either put into a definite shape, or •
altogether abandoned. The finishing touches
are given to the estimates, and the programme
of bills is carefully gaue through in order to see
whether the ministerial ship is too heavily laden,
or whether she has sufficient ballast to carry her
through troubled waters. Every care is taken
to trim the craft before launching her, for even
at the best it is a difficult and arduous task to
hold the helm of State. The Queen herself is
to inaugurate the Parliamentary year, and while
preparations are being made in the Palace of
Westminster to give the Sovereign a suitable
reception, it may be well to note seine of the
topics which, to a certainty, will be inoluded in
the Speech to be delivered from the Throne.
There can be no doubt that the purchase of
the Khedive's interest in the Suez Canal will
form a prominent topic of reference. As yet,
beyond the fact of the purchase itself, but little'
official information has been communicated to
the papers, chiefly because the Cabinet decen it
letter to convey such information only to Parlia-
ment, and not give it to the public through the
columns of the daily journals. The securing of
a substantial guarantee for our own right of way
through this new route to India has met with
general approval ; and although British capital
did not materially assist in the construction of
the Canal, and our statesmen looked coldly upon
the project, the people in this country hailed
with satisfaction the intelligence that by the
payment of four milliona sterling we had become
part proprietors of this immense undertaking.
What the public have wished to know—and what
they will know when Parliament meets—is how
far our acquisition gives us a controlling influ-
ence over the management of the Canal; and
although this part of the business has met with
some criticism, it is scarcely credible that any
Government, with the assistance of the most ex-
perienced City financiers, would have made a
bargain which meant investment only and an ab-
sence of power. Another matter which must be
mentioned in the Queen's Speech is the compe-
tion of the Judicature scheme of reform. This
has now beceme an annusl acquaintance; but it
would have been settled last year had not the
peers resisted the attempt to exclude the House
of Lords from being a court of final appeal
This induced the Government to withdraw the
Bill which they had introduced with this obj, ct
in view; and in passire, a temporary measure it
was announced that the larger question stood
over for settlement this session. Again, the
army mobilization plan must inevitably form one
of the topics of allusion. Army reform is just
now a prominent subject in many of our large
towns, and the discussions upon it show the in-
creasing interest which the public take in mili-
tary organization. There are those who compare
our army system with that of Prussia, greatly to
the advantage of the latter; but while the cost
of the land forces of Prussia is smalier, it wilt
not be forgotten that compulsory military service
is the law of that country. Establish the con-
scription amongst ourselves; take the merchant,
the professional man, the tradesman, and the
clerk away from their avocotions for a three
years' training in order to become soldiers, and
estimate the effect which this would have upon
the contributors to our national industry. By
the light of such a comparison as this it will be
seen that the Prussian system polliesses some
slight drAwbacks which tend to counterbalance
its cheapness in actual cost. And the measure
that has been absolutely promised is an extended
Merchant Shipping Bill; and judging from the
time which this subject occupied last year, and
the interest to which some of its incidents gave
rise, this matter will come in for a considerable
share of Parliamentary attention. There are
also the relations between capital and labour, the
reception of the Prince of Wales in India, and
the state of our relations with foreign Powers to
, be taken into consideration.

Other subjects naturally suggest themselves
besides those which will be mentioned in the
document which will be read from the Throno.
The attitude of the country with respect to the
reception of fugitive slaves on board her Ma-
jesty's ships of war, the Vanguard incident, the
131flials Bill, the extension of education, the
Permissive Bill, the political rights of women,
the restrictions upon the importation of foreign
cattle, the high price of meat, together with the
debates which must necessarily arise upon the
Budget, and the army, the navy, and civil ser-
vice estimates, all give promise of a Session in
which there will be no lack of topics for interest-
ing discussions, and which will be appreciated
by the people after the irery dull recess.