The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-07-05 00:00:00

ment and in thil:

Mr. Christopher Talbot is, however, the only
member of the unreformed Parliament who is in the
.House of Commons of to-day. He was returned at
the general election which immediaeely succeeded the
'death of George IV., and heard Lord John Russell
introduce the Reform Bill on the Ist of Msroh, 1831.
He was a witness of the stormy scenes which took
place during the fifteen months between this and the
passing of the bill after Bristol had been in the hands
of the riArs.foilwday. s and Nottingham Castle.-was in
flames. No one now living exPeatslO iee a repetition'
bf the tempest of passion which then swept over the
people . At the same time,, there will be a
very serfoys... agitation if the Lords throw out
the bill for the extensiOn of the franchise which is
now before them. It was the political machinery of
Birmingham which suggested the Leeds Conference
last October, at which it was resolved to press this
'question upon the attention of the Cabinet, and
Birmingham may be relied upon to leave no stone
unturned to secure the defeat of the House of Lords,
and the triumph of its own policy.

The fact that the Prince of Wales will hold two
levees at St. James's Palace early in July is wel-
comed as a sign that the London season is not so
utterly dead as was at one time feared. The
demise of the late lamented Duke of Albany tools place
at the most unfortunate of all times for those who
have to live by the flow of business activity. It was
the end of March, and there were three clear months
in which the riembersrof the RoYal:Family could not
be expected to take a prominent part in any public
event. Those three months included the very best
Limo (4the hon,Sn seasotL It is trile, that within the
past, fov,.. 4.4 p thopinCe and Princess of W!tles has again
come out, first to the military tournament at the
agricultural Hall, and a few days afterwards their
Royal Highnesses paid a visit to Shorncliffe to inspect
the 10th Hussars. Everybody gladly welcomes them,
for their 4peaimice promises the dawn of a brighter
and more prosperous day.

•
The subject' of marriage can never fail to be an
interesting one,- more especially when it affects the
Members of the Itoial Family. Here is Princess
Beatrice, in her 28th year, still at home, her Royal
tiaotheA.:s sole frienkancl. companion; but, comparing
the Eige of kerl-3145yal 'Highness with those of her
sisters, it is found that the eldest daughter of the
family Was married to the Crown Prince of Germany
at seventeen and two months; Princess Alice
at nineteen and two months.; Princess Helena
at twenty and two months; and Princess 'Louise
M twenty-three, which seems about the most
reasonitble age of the whole. The eldest 'daughter of
the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Louise,
is now older than the Queen's eldest daughter at the
time of her marriage, but not a sound. is heard of a
suitor for the
‘young hatnd. The eldest son is
'ithin, ii few months of the age of his .""father at the
time of his marriage; but here again nothing is heard
Prince Albert Victor's intention to take unto_
himself a wiK-iThere ivould no d'Oubt be some little
difficulty in applying to Parliament for marriaße
portions for the-Children Of the Heir:Apparent. When
bile was granted to the Princess Charlotte, the only;
Child of ta Monareh, Who Was afterwards George
fitr., he Was Prince Regent at the time; and
therefore virlually king, a Very different position
from that of Prince of Wales. It may be added that
the applications sent to Parliament by George 111, for
the' maintenance of his children, fifteen in number,
'Obre not always acceded to—in fact, they were some- .
times refused.
5" Their-Li nOw
,-little or no hope of pining the
London Government Bill during the present session of
Parliament, Here it is at the beginning of Silly,
eavin.L.ls,ce2a. read only a first time, and. with no
Sate . fixed for the second reading, another
iVote of Censure debate in the N'vay, and Supply
- • , -
t.C. be attended to on Government nights. The '
antagonistic _ forces arrayed against the bill
*ould- be enough to appal a Minister of stouter
heart and firmer resolution than Sir 'Milian. liar-
'ourt.. If the Corporation of London atiid,..Ltlie M2tro-
13blitan board of Works agree in
.ii3Othing ete, they
certainy cancnr. in opposition, to I.liis nae,aitire. A
'debate upon the second reading Vfould necessarily be -
one Of
,sonle, Ipgt,la,, while the fact thatthe bill contains -
ve:fity7three clauses shows what room there is for
the wilung of obstructive forces in CoMintitee. • Even
if tai!e=,-it- could scareelY Corn; before the House
Of L6rds-TiVitlX4'e-Ld-a,-,3'uly tii bhniiig of
Aug whethe,peers might'uatnrailiead'thttt in-
sufficient Aimer Was peiliattellkWm. aea_ inch.
, .
an in2R,244.nst measpre,_ !ind,..r6jSct tIX; thr.4,..grOnnd
as the Ballot .11iit was Pejected i lagist,•lB7l,- but it
was w.ssed '• "_
The extraordinary dri.season 'has had its effect
upOn,the Tharues,as,Well a upon other. rivers, and.
On some of the islaneds,,above the tideway wags have
erected posts With inclicatingboards, marked 'ffnild-
ing,. Land. tar J.....et.77 All this while, in the east of
, • . -
Europa, there have been:apods of nneommon severity,
One of tie incidents havinigbeen the sweeping away of
bridge overi,b7e tistnia, With the loss of manylives.
It seems a curious speculation as to
.what.. would
happen to tire- .greatest port in the world if the
Thames dried. u ;büt the fresh water of the river is
really but an infililtesii7,l pki:t_ of the giant stream
which, ,at . Graysencl practically an arm of
the 5p..... It is indeed doubtful whether the
tierman Ocean ever receives any part of the Thames
as such. Long before any fresh water could reach the
Non., it is imet by the incoming' tide and so absorbed;
therefore f no fresh water sat, all toured Over
Teddington Leek the;tide ,ivoul'ci ebb and flow just as
usual, and no difference would be witnessed either in
. . .
to
,at London-bridge. Every metropolitan
daily •1311 Per q°.atiliiiS 61 morning.
a statenient of the
time Of high witterniton
_ don -bridge that day; and the
estimate of this has of course I;een drhwñ from the
rise and
_fall of the sead not-fr.ona.' the cnialititY of
fresh. water that has CAITIO down from Gbirie"gker-
shire'...

- • -
A litLle girr as 'ed hçr brotherwh _at
' '-
punishment, and ho. said he thought that it was being'
locked rip in the cupboard with the jgin othei;
nice thiygs.
"10, wy. daughter didn't do .anything at the ex-,
inupli of a scholp.r, you kAoW.—
but everybody said she-was the best-dressed gidiñ her.
class." •
r A joicle'ssor of French fnii conntfy Etc 00l recently
asked a pupil what was the gender of "academy.
The unnsuak-bright reaponded that it depended
on whether A was a male or female academy.
.„
- A. gentleman at. an eati,ng house asked thq person
next to him if he would ileao,:,i4 Pass the raustard.
"Sir," said .the .man,, ao .y.ou mistaie. Alen for the
waiter ? " no' wt he reply; "I tillattrok
you for a gentleman." •