The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-09-26 00:00:00

Siourbribge e6setter.

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SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26t1, 1385.

THE COMING GENERAL ELECTION•

THE iisue of the ex-Promier's political mani-
festo signals the commencement of the great
electoral canqmign for which the public
mind bas for some time past been in active
preparation. The coining battle of the pol-
ling-boothswill hive a greater and wider
interest than any of the historical political
struggles which have convulsed the country
in years gone by. The contending parties
will have, so to speak, to fight on new
ground; and each side has to bid fcr the
support of a heavy force of new electors,
who will, for the first time, take part in the
fray. Thus, having regard to the re-modelled
constituencies and the enlarged electorate,
the impending general election will be
characterised by elements of uncertainty as
to the effect of the issue on the defined
political parties such as have not been ex-
perienced since the struggles immediately
following the passing of the great Reform
Bibs of 1832 and 1867. In the entire re-
arrangement of the battling grounds, and
the heavy augmentation of the voting ranks,
the leaders on either side see with asserted
confidence accessions of strength to their
party interests, but 'llO one can with cer-
tainty foreshadow the result of a contest
under such altered conditions. Hence the
snrpassing interest of the hot engagement
which will so shortly occupy the entire at-
tention of the country. The precise period
of the elections is, as we write, still a matter
of doubt, though it has been generally
understood that the end of November had
been fixed upon for the event. A disquiet-
ing rumour that the burgesses would not be
called upon to decide between the. rival
candidates for a seat at St. Stephen's until
the new year, has, however, somewhat dis-
turbed the calculations of all concerned.
The complications of the amended franchise
and the reconstructed Parliamentary dis-
tricts have made the necessary registration
work and its revision a lengthy and arduous
task, and it has been thought that possibly
this, and the hearing of incidental appeals,
may occasion a postponement of the election
until the early days of 1886. While the
determination of the actual date of dissolu-
tion lies with the Premier, he will not find,
however, if he so wills it, that these circum-
stances need necessitate any unforeseen de-
lay. The voting list, as arranged, must be
completed by the Bth of October, and the
hearing, Of appeal:3 in the High Court of
J us'ciee commences little more than a fort-
night later, to be taken thenceforth continu-
ously until the work is done. There may
possibly Fe a few knotty decisions carried
even to the Court of Appeal, though this
course is not likely to be resorted to in many
instances. Notwithstanding the difficulties
arising from the fact that the Long Vacation
will not at the time mentioned be ended, it
would be quite possible, if found really
necessary, to appoint the hearing of appeals
from decisions of the revising barristers to
take place immediately after the final rising
of th!.! various District Courts, and so clear
the way for the issue of the loyal procla-
mation dissolving the tenth Parliament of
her Majesty- at least as early as has been
generally anticipated The further Proro-
gation promulgated in a recent issue of the
London Gazelle does not affect the matter
in the manner supposed in some quarters,
for there is nothing to prevent Lord Salis-
bury deciding on a dissolution at a date
antecedent to December sth. Should the
Premier not do so, indeed, it may be taken
for granted that the elections will not take
place in the present year, for the excitement
and inconvenience of a rational struggle
engaging everybody's attention, and creat-
ing a temporary deadlock in the business of
the country would be received with such
general disfavour if fixed for Christmas
week—as would under such circumstances
follow—that in deference to public feeling
the dying Parliament would be kept alive a
few days longer. Mr. Gladstone's lengthy
address to the Midlothian electors is re-
garded on all hands in the light of a
general order marshalling the Liberal line
for action; and as we pen these lines an an-
swering blast of oratorical strategy is looked
for from the head of the present Govern-
ment to indicate the attitude of the Conser-
vative ranks. The Prime Minister being, as
was Lord Beaconsfield atithe last general
election, =ember of the -Uppei House, can-
not issue a formal addresSto any British con-
stituency; but like his great predecessor at
the head of the Conservative party, Lewd
Salisbury will experience no difficulty in set-
ting forth in fall view of every elector in the
kingdom his electioneering manifesto. The
coming election, heralded by such extensive
political utterances from the partychiefs and
their lieutenants as will engage attention:for
two or three months to come, will be remark-
able for its comparative serious and business-
like character, as compared with the famous
struggles for political supremacy in time
past. Notwithstanding that the issues are
as momentous as ever they were at a general
election, and notwithstanding that those
engaged therein will be very much more
numerous than has at any prior period been
the case, the excitement surrounding the
event has been reduced almost to the lowest
possible point. Improved legislation and
the greatly amended public feeling that
called it forth have dealt a death-blow to
the electoral impurity which blurred and
blotted the contests of the corrupt days,
when money and family influence were all
powerful, and the reading of the Riot Act
was an inseparable accompaniment of every
polling. Add to the circumstance that the
abominable abuses attendant on old elections
have been swept away for ever, the fact that.
the contests which. are to furnish the next
Parliament will fall, so far as can at present
be seen, durmg a period of political calm,
when men's minds are undisturbed by- any
violent volution of home or foreign aiTairs,
awl we have auspicious promise that from
the coming General Eluction rnly be
gathered an intelligent and reasoning de-
liverance of the burgess of this cot-navy
respecting the politieal questions of the
hoar. The value of such an interpretation

of the people's will is of far more ilnport-
anco than the mere matter of whether a
Libral or Conservative Cal;ilv2L shall be
nominally at the head of administrative af-
fairs, for nowadays Tytiblie opinion. not party
interest, is the real ruler, at least so far tv-;
our favoured and liberty-loving land j con-
cerned.

Tint 1 OU .:CN 114 )2? ritAU

u-i Lesa r mai is a lit as ever in the Belg,ian
1. to. markst,.aai prices Are atil th ct nil g Lux ,ni
burg forge pig nay he had at 40 fr , whi h price
it is tiiii!cult to find buyers. troLl bats N fad
girder* do no.t fetch more than 9-) tr. to 10J Ir.—
The French iron market is wetting worse. The
demand is extremely slrk, .ftod pricts are weak.
The French Imports of iron and steel during the
d, et mix tronths of tins year. amounted to 16'1,6_7
iGns, awning; 161,131 tons in the
.correspooding
half-year of ISt.—There is no se• SL le change
the G. rie..tt iron markt b, rig-i•°71e().11. lint! g
and manufactured it-.n ia,ir!y active —Too. im
proverneut n the American iron niarket c,ntin
Sc°Lh ron is tirm at New York at advance
. Th, dnmand, however, qui t. American
io i.ni alervely acti.e, an.t quote!, us are
131 us, zbu• are stauji.g at Ziogo.s., and ote a6O
UM.

I COMMENTS ON CURRENT THINGS.
1 WE are now in possession of full partica-
I. lars respecting the new regulations which
, have been made lw the Postmaster-General
.. -
f. as to the reception and transmission of tele-
grams On and after the Ist of Oetober the
new system has effect. The greatest chanp-e
of all, of course, is the fact that henceforth
a _short message may be wired for sixpena!,
half the cost ot what the briefest despatch
has been hitherto charged. A modification
of the-method of counting words makes up
in some measuce for the circumstance that
addresses will be reckoned as part of the mes-
sa je. All place names, even if extending
to a word compounded of four, such as
"Walton-on-the-Naze," will stand for one
word only, and be charged at the halfpenny
a word rate; all hyphen-united words as, for
instance, "mother-in-law," or "fifty-five,"
count as one; "will not, cannot, do not," if
written "won't, can't don't," cost a halfpenny
in each instance only; the prefix "St." as
"St. John's, is reckoned with the word fol-
lowing: "o'clock, O'Niel, M'Donald, De
Grey," and similar names are accepted as
one word; "N.E.R." and like combinations
of initial capitals may be joined together and
written in small letters, and thus qualified
for inclusion in the single word tariff; "7/6"
goes as one word, while "7s. Gel." will be
charged as four ;and five figures stand equal
to one word. These are a few main ordin-
ances among regulat:ons which number
fifty six in all. When the public have
i. mastered these rules for the future conduct
of telegraphic business, and practised awhile
I the art of condensation, the change will, we
I think, generally be regarded as an alteration
for the better, and a distinct public conveni-
ence. Where one's correspondents chiefly
reside in a village or small town, and are
well known there—as, it might be, "Moore,
Mahon," one may sign our own surname,
say, "Jones," to the telegram, and so have
the advantage of transmitting messages of
nine full words for sixpence; and this will
be found sufficient for many important busi-
ness purposes.
.. ..

JUSTICE HAWKINS'S. recent remarks anent
English jurymen and their treatment in
Court will receive the appreciation of all
those who have occasionally been called
upon to form a part of the "intelligent
dozen" to whose judgment the trial of per—
sons accused of crime in this country is left.
A British juryman is prima facit-e, a "good
man and true ;" but so soon as a criminal
case is submitted to his hearing he loses his
liberty and is treated as untrustworthy, be-
ing placed in the keeping of an officer of the
law, and not allowed to associate with the
outside world until his verdict has been duly
delivered. This regulation, which extends
to the locking up of men for days and days
together often enough, is a reli6 of the
period when a jury was easily bribed or in-
fluenced by interested parties. In the corrupt
age it was necessary to isolate men who,
though conscientiously inclined, might not
be able to withstand golden persuasion, from
contact with the unscrupulous. We have
outlived this in great measure now ; and we
have made interference with the law and its
administrators too dangerous a game to be
indulged in with impunity. In Civil cases,
jnrymen may retire to their homes or busi-
ness when the courts close; in felony trials,
where the chances of corruption are not
nearly so great, they are kept under lock
and key until the conclusion of the investi-
gation. Surely the bad old regulation
might be either altogether abolished or con-
siderably amended. A judge goes home to
his hotel or his family when his Court rises,
why should not similar liberty be allowed
to gentlemen of the jury? The inference
is that, not being learned in the law, jury-
men are more liable to be tampered with.
But a man capable of trying a case truly,
and well is beyond the reach of petty cor-
ruption, and should not be subjected to the
indignity of imprisonment to keep him in
sound moral condition, and fit for playing
his part in the drama of British justice.

Mn. HOWARD VINCENT, Of Criminal Investi-
gation fame, but more latterly associated
with political circles, who has recently made
the voyage round the world, has done some
service by his letter to the Times, directing
attention to the lamentable lack of adequate
provision for the safety of passengers on
ocean steamers in the event of shipwreck or
similar emergency. How few, even of the
best appointed "liners," carry sufficient boat
accomodation for the immense numbers of
passengers they regularly convey from shore
to shore. And the boats fitted to the steamers
are but seldom ready for use at a moment's
notice, as they certainly should be. Could
not some ingenious marine engineer contrive
a light yet strongly-constructed boat, to be
suspended from an iron post with a swing-
ing horizontal arm. The posts might be fixed
on deck in any necessary number near to tilt
vessel's side, and constructed to swing out
over the rail. The boat might then be
lowered into the sea at the first favourable
moment. By this means passengers could
embark without the dangerous and dreaded
ordeal of descending from a storm-tossed
vessel into a boat driven hither and thither
at the mercy of the waves. - The boats
would have to be built purposely to fulfil
the conditions required of them, as compact
as would be consonant with storm-resisting
and floating purposes. When a suitable
design had been approved by practical men,
the Marine Board should compel every
vessel to carry as many of the little life-
saving craft as would accomodate every soul
on board. They should then be maintained
in such order as tc be ready for immediate
use, as is the fire-engine on terra:firma. And
every boat ought to be eqnipped with ade-
quate supplies of fresh water, biscuits and
tinned provisions. Life-buoys, too, should
be less sparingly distributed in convenient
positions on shipboard, and that by order
of the powers that be. Proper attention to
the subject broached by Mr. Vincent would,
we feel sure, greatly lessen the loss of life at

Ta ).4T TERITATTON AND Couou.—Soreness and dry
nee, ticktingandirritstion, inducing cough and affectined
the For these symptoms 1130 Epps's GlycerinS
Jujabea. In contact with the glands at the moment
they are excited by the act of sucking, the Glycerine in
thi se agreeable eo tfeetions beco nes actively healing.
Sold nniy in b tins Is. lid., labelled "JamE.
;s & Cf,„ Hom ieopathic Chemists, Londol.
atte!ge M to, in liis work on "Nose and Throat
Uisea,es," el; a "ftie o.yeerine Jujubes prepared bi
Qtl.:o Epp, and Co., Ire f undoubted se vice as a
cur •tive or palliative ageta,." While Dr. G.2rd0...i
tioluses. ',:outor Pbys,eian to the Mu iicipal Throat and
Ear loiirmari. writes: ".Iter an extended trial, I hays
found your Gi.tcerine Jcjubes of considerable bencitt
(.:711.1 or without medical trestuent) in almost all fora,
t.ir nit discase."—lB Stourbridge Epps's Nedisizt;
C Mcruts, iIG, High Street.

CHOLLIIA SAFE. GUARDS. ,Banitary Importance of
ika,haig Home.Twa c n be done with ease and
economy :•titt the clothes made heautifuily s,eet, whole-
• lily-white, and fresh es sea br,ezes, by using
Hudson's ; xtrsct cf Sosp, avoi it g all risk of contagion
wit:! io,rcled elothf s at i autilirts, or whwe the wash-
ing is pat tut No rttftg or friying of the clothes by
islta itiaß c..Ainn-ais. No bard rubbing, scrubbing,
b. ush.ng, it straining. The nit t slips away, and wear
so tear. 1 bour and fuel are laved. Hudson's Extract
• Solp is II pure Dry t•-.oap. in fine powder, rapidly
▪ übt-, lathers freely, softens wattr. A perfect hard-
wster ••• osp, a Cold water Seep, a Soft-water Soap, a
hit s;er soap. Unrivaled as a purifying agent, Sold
v.-r:::viirre. in 1 acktts, One P. niiy and upwards.