The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-01-02 00:00:00

BETBUSPECI
THE YEAR 1868,

w, take no note of time but by its loss," says Dr.
vow, and c atolls inked must be the heart that pays
no herd to the lapse of another year of our existence,
aother milegtone, as it were, passed on life's journey
ti lumws no rest but that of the grave.
soi one re.'

oi,elesi fulls the foot 4.4 thou,
That only treads On floWera ;

but this ignore poetical than true. Says another

pat
With lore time flies; hate makes it linger ;
age youth, lie part
Age, pointlog to its sands with eager finger,
Murmurs, Too fast.
Dot Time. like Death, is equal and impartial, and the
ae Telly bids us prepare for the other. Let 113
awbil, "talk with our past hours," and cost a
atreepret re; the eventful year laiart.
the Mejsety,har, during the past year, maintained
1P Wes hat less strict treclueion than of bite r ea; s. In
April, the Queen held a Drawing-room in person, at
textirerhani Paine. In May, she delighted vast
of people by laying the first stone of St.
Th. mit Hospital, on the southern hawk of the
Thew," Orir gallant Volunteers also will recall with
odaure the grand Volunteer revisw which her Ma-
fray held in Windsor Park on the 20th of June. In
the autumn a visit was paid by the Queen to Switzer-
hied, her Majesty being accompanied lry the Princes
lauise end Ileatriee. and Prince Leopold. The roya
tourists stayed one night at Paris, where they were
sisaol by the Fanprees of the French. The Queen
(aperieneol great benefit front her trip, and, after a
gay of strait a nu nth, returned to her people in re-
E,wed health. On the 14th of December, her Majesty
paid her annual Solemn visit to the last resting-place
ef the Plince Consort, and two days afterwards left
Wind-er f••r Urbane, where tRe delights of merry
christaas are never forgotten for others, though the
herself, with her ever-present sorrow, does not
actively share in teem.
The earners of the Prinee arid Princess of Wales have
been con.stantly kreit before the public, and that of his
Royal Highnces esprreially, in connection with various
public events and nervemente. Among the more irn-
portaat theidents of the year we need but briefly men-
tion the visit of the Prince and Princess to Ireland
and Wales, in the spring if the year, and it is needless
t., sae they were Most enthusiastically received, both '
by Me Irish and the Welsh ; the birth of a Princess '
on the 6th of July ; and the visit to the Danish royal I
family towanls the chiee of the year, their Royal
Ifighnesse. staying a short time in Paris and Com-
piqrne, where the Prince joined heartily in the Im-
perial spirts arid festivities, after which they started
in a long journey, fel- the purpoee of seeing the rela-
tires a the Princess, and enjoying the advantages of
travel in the classic lands of the East, and among the
wed renowned wonders of Egypt.
Great excitement woo felt throughout the country
on our receipt of the intelligence that, on the 12th of
Mach, there had been an atteuipt to assassinate the
Duke of Erlinlitn,h at Sydney. His Royal Hishness
car at a pnblic nic given in behalf of the Sailors'
Rome. Here he aas deliberately shot in the back by
s F•eian named O'Farrell. Providentially the wound
was not fatal and by the 28th of the month, the ball
Itacinz been extracted, the young Prince was quite
onrv.leseeust.Assoofl after this Cowan illy act as his
larva:di would permit, the Duke of Edinburgh res
turned home. (the G,elateu arriving at Spithead on the
26th of June), where he was, of course, welcomer( by
the cerigratulatiries of the whole country. The mis-
creant who &malt his death, and who was found to
be a Fenian, was found guilty and hanged. The
Prince, in August, pail a visit to Grrrnany, and early
in November left our shores for a long cruise in the
6afatert. of which he is captain, intending to visit the
Cape of tliald Hope, Australia, New Zealand, Japan,
India, etc., and to return about July, 1870.
Our readers must have been pretty well wearied of
the great Iltiorm battle awl its results, but we must
ju-t not' tint, after a very long strugde, with amend-
ment upn .tmendinent, the Scotch Reform 1111 was
passed by the Helve of Lords, on the 7th of :filly, and
the Serach and Irish bills soon afterward received the
Royal ass& t- a few days before the prorogation of
Parliament, on the 31st of that month. The very
laree irxtenslen of the suffrage which was tine, granted
was at first complieated by the questions of personal
payment it rates, bY the difficul aes of ascertaining
the right of alleged lodgere, and by the claims of women
to vote. The Re4ietration Appeals were, collr,quen..ly,
of unusual intere-4, and the decision of the Court of
Conniver Pleas with reference to the claims of women
was looktql forward to ssithn anxiety. The Court de-
cided againat them, and the vote of a woman is there-
fore illegal, but it may be noted that, in sonic places
the vote., of women have actually been recorded,
despite the illegality.
An important chain of events characterised the hist
sesrion in respect to the Irish Church. On the 23.1 tol
Mal 4-h, Mr. Illarlstone brought forward his celebrated
re' dethrne, and, lon the 30th he further announced his
prT•.y on this question by nerving that the House re-
••• • itself into a committee, to consider the Acts
e sting to the Eetablished Church in Ireland. On the
4th f April, an amenilment, moved by Lord Stanley.
was rejeeted, and r•n the &one evening Mr. Gladetone's
mother was alepirol by 328 te 272. 'The debate WitA
resumed sir the 27th, and on the 30th the first reeoln-
tion was carried by :CIO to A On the 12th of May, ,
her Majesty, in reply to an address, placed the ,
tempothlitir•e of the Irisir Church at the diaposal of
the House if Commons. On the 14th of the month,
Mr. Gladstene'e Irish Established Church Suspermory
bill was r•ard a first time; on the 22nd its second read-
ing was carried by 312 to 258; lint, after having passed
the r '1•111111,111,4. it wee rejected on the 29th of June by
192 to 97. The decisive way in winch Mr. Gladstone's
policy, braver, Was ratified by the House of 4lom-
mon...la:Ain:4 the Iliniaterial poli •y, revise,' Ministere
lii 41.•termiur to appeal to the country, and Parliament
was prorregurel on the 31st of July, with the whole
country on the qei rice for the general election.
The electiom tlwoughout the United Kingdom were
t..lchicted with great spirit—in some cases, ant we shall
sec, with to lo much spirit --and the following are tire
',reit, For the English boroughs and universities
t'.-, e were returned 213 Liberals and 04 Conservatia.ea,
f •r the Sc' tell ditto, '29 Liberals and no I lonservatives ;
fir the Irish ditto, '2B Liberals and 13 Conservatives ;
Ur the Enclith counties, 56 Liberals and 131 I 'onserva-
tires.; fer the Scotch ditto, 24 Liberals and 7 Can-
servieivem ;aol for the Irish ditto, a'. Liberals and 26
Conservatives ; together, 388 Liberals and '271 Con-
servative.; makitig a grand total of 659, Horsham
haring reterned two members by a tie (each polling

—• •
Unhappily, the elections were in several places
marked by disgraceful rioting. We will note, however,
merely those Maces where there wan some fatal result. A
man w at, thrown down end tramplasltodeath Attie Tower
ilamlets election, London ; at Cambridge a college
p.• ter was killed by stone-throwing ; at Newport a
y.,,lng man and Me mother were killed; anal at Black-
I nrai two rden were killed. At Drogheda a man wan
tally woutelerl by a gunshot; at Sligo Captain King
was shot dead, anal a man had his skull fractured,
which carped his death ; at Cork the steward to Col.
I...retard wan killasl in a riot ; at Monaghan & man wan
sh..t dead; at Dublin a man wan nteldnal in the eye
anti killed; and at Bandon a men wan mortally sliot by
iiiiliceman.
The political result of the elections was such that
Mr. Disraeli conSid•real it wise to resign, and on the
2nd of December he issued an address to h.s supporters
giving his views On the matter in a manly anal straight-
forward way. The voice of the public had previously
unmistakeably declared iteelf in favour of Mr. Glad-
stone, and her Majesty immediately sent for the right
hon, gentleman anal charged hint to form no administra-
tion. This he at once proceeded to do, anal in a few
day, his Cabinet wan completed, and by the time the
House of Commons met, on the 10th of the month, the
Ministry was arranged, with the exception of a few
minim iletailic The parliamentary bosinens was
inn-rely formal anal fret , chiefly coasisting of
the re-election IJ he Speaker and the *wearing-in ml the
members. Fallowind closely upon thin NV IA the re-
election of those inembers of the /foam of Cadmium*
who had taken office in the :Ministry, and Parliament
adjourned till February.

Among the Acts of Parliament which were passet:.
dor,- the last Ses,.ioe we may mention, as the newt
important, the Soach and Irish Sections of the Repre-
sentation of the People Act, the Labour (Workshops')
Regulation Act, the Artizans' Dwelling Aor, the
Capital Punishment within Prisons Act, the I lerical
Tithes Act, the Compulsory Church-rates' Abolition
Act, the Divorce Amendment Act, the Electric
Telegraphs Act, the Election Petition and Corrupt
I'ractice:4 Act, the New nor:law Amendment Act,
the P: :lice Act, the Rail ways Regulation Act. the
Regis, ration Act, the Revenue K•rvants' Disabilities
Removal Act, and the Street Tramways Act.
141d4niam has throughout the year given tis corn-
paratively little uneasitoos, but at its commencement
there was considerable excitement in Ireland. Elie-
dally in the neightenurlol Of Cork were there several
outragea. Among other acts of violence was the
attack on Mr. O. Matthew (brother I.f Father
Matthew) by a gang of nil-Hans, one of whom, how-
ever, waa very severely wounded. A diabolical