The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-10-27 00:00:00

Our `Noithon Otorrtspoubtut.

(We deem it right to state that we do not at all times
identify curseivei with our Correspondent's opinions.]

Mr. Gladstone having accepted an invitation to the
Lord Mayor's banquet on the 9th November, it is ex-
pected that the right hors. gentleman will indicate on
that occasion the line which the Government in-
tends to pursue next Session. The Liberal Con-
ference at Leeds has pressed upon the Cabinet the
importance of placing in the forefront of the Minis•
terial measures the extension of the household
franchise to the counties ; while Londoners remind
their provincial brethren that in two successive
Queen's Speeches municipal reform has been pro-
mised to th 3 Metropolis, and that this pledge has
not yet been redeemed. The fact that London receives
so very little attention from Parliament, and that the
whole of its legislation is devoted to the provinces,
leads to the hope that, the demand of the Leeds
Reformers notwithstanding, something will at length
be done to give the capital that system of local self-
government which the large towns in the country
have enjoyed for the past half-century.

The Prime Minister is asked to introduce a
Franchi e Bill only, so far as next Session is con-
cerned ; but his experience in 1866 cannot yet have
been obliterated from his memory. He brought in a
Franchise Bill then, proposing to deal with the clues-
tior of redistribution in the following session; but
Parliament called upon the Administration to produce
the whole scheme, and when this had been so pro.
duced, the Government was defeated on a point
of detail as to the foundation on which the new
suffrage should rest—rental or rating. Such was
the course of events in 1666, and Mr. Glad.
stone is asked to do again that which then ended
in disaster—separate the franchise from the re-
distribution of seats. The Cabinet has not yet met
since the rising of Parliament, and will not assemble
until immediately before Lord Mayor's Day, so that
it would be premature to say as yet what course will
be taken. But London certainly does expect to be
considered in the legislation of next session.

It is nearly twenty years since the distinguished
French advonte M. Berryer, was at the Lori Mayor's
dinner, and now an equally distinguished Frenchman
will be at the feast upon which Gog and Magog intend
once more to look down. That is M. de Lesseps, the
projector of the Suez Canal. He persevered with that
colossal undertaking through every discouragement,
and seldom has a man seen his ideas more completely
triumphant. Within a very short distance of the
Guildhall—viz„ at the Mansion House, M. de Lesseps
explained his scheme on Midsummer Day, 1857. It
was received with coldness by capitalists and with
ridicule by scientific men. Lord Palmerston, who was
Prime Minister at the time, always set his face against
it as being calculated to interfere with the legitimate
influence of Great Britain in our eastern empire.

The recurrence of earthquakes this year will mark it
out as an annus mirabilis in the history of those ter-
rible visitations. As everything is mysttrious which is
not understood, so there is nothing which causes
ruin and devastation upon the globs that strikes
upon the mind with such appalling force as the
earthquake. The whirlwind and the storm are un-
fortunately common enough both on land and sea;
but the sound of hollow rumblings beneath the
surface, and the sight of houses rocking to and fro like
forest trees when shaken by the *lads of autumn,
might well cause the stoutest heart to quail. Italy,
Java, rand Anatolia have all during the past three
months been devastated by this fearful agency, and
although the response to the Lord Mayor's appeal
for assiatance to the unfortunate Italians was not a
liberal one, this has not deterred his lordship from
making an appeal on behalf of the poor people who
have just been rendered homeless in Anatolia.
Prince Albert Victor, who will be twenty years o
age next January, has gone into residence at Trinity
College, Cambridge, the largest and most famous of all
the colleges at that ancient seat of learning. If there
is no intention of giving his Royal Highness a turn at
Oxford, as the Prince of Wales himself had when a
young man, there is likely to be some little jealousy
cetween the two Universities, for many a distin-
guished man has gone forth from the halls of Oxford,
the present Prime Minister included. Besides, the
young Prince has hitherto had but few opportunities
of mixing with the class of young men whom he finds
at a University, his experience having been chiefly
confined to foreign travel, of which he has seen far
more than his father at the same age.
About twelve months after the elevation of Dr.

Tait to the See cf Canterbury he was seized with a
ysiy severe illness, brought _ on chiefly 4..0v.9517.r15;
so long, is now told by his medical adviser to take

rest. The most rev, prelate seems to have been over
taxing bi 3 etrecgth thus early in his archiepiscopal
career. On the day before Dr. Tait broke down, he
had eitber written or dictated to his private secretary
eighty-three letters, and as presumably each of these
was on different subjects, it is easy to see what a wear
and tear of the mind is involved in replying to such
a large amount of daily cnrespondence. Nor does this
diminish as time goes on, as the heads of the great
departments of State, who keep two or three private
secretaries each, find to their cost.
George 111. lived to celebrate a jubilee, and we all
hope Queen Victoria will live to do the same, but it is
given to few in this world to be congratulated on enter-
ing the hundredth year of their age. On the 24th
October, 1784, Sir Moses Montefiore, the venerable
Hebrew philanthropist, first saw the light, and
his long and valuable life has been so marked
out by deeds of benevolence and charity that
the Ramsgate commemoration is no matter for
surprise. Sir Moses was born four days after
Lord Palmerston, who, after living to the age of
81, has now been dead eighteen years. At the
time of the birth of Sir Moses, William Pitt was
Prime Minister of England, Leßia XVI, was on the
throne of France, the Bastille yet stood in the heart
of Paris, Nelson was a young man of fiveeand-twenty,
Napoleon Bonaparte was a boy of fifteen. Within
the lifetime, therefore, of one who is still amongst us,
those two men have won imperishable fame; one has
been in the grave for the amazing term of seventy-
eight years, and the other sixty-two.
The discussion of theoretical and practical questions

such as those which have recently engaged the atten•
tion of learned scientiats in the congresses and con.

ferences doubtless tend to enlighten the public mind
as well as to produce results of public utility. But
we question if any of the recent meetings of savants
have had under consideration a subject of deeper im-
pirtance than that which has just been disposed of by
the Geodetie Conference holding its sittings at Rome,
viz, the adoption of an universal first meridian.
Hitherto the maritime nations have not been agreed
as to the use of a common meridian, and much incon-
venience to the nautical world has been the result.
The learned body jut referred to has resolved that the
meridian of Greenwich shall be universally adopted,
for reasons which are concisely stated in the follow-
ing paragraph of a report of the International Geodetic
Association :—" It cannot be doubted that the
problem should be solved in favour of the meri-
dian of Greenwich. It is by far the most extensively
used, and, from the geographical, nautical, astrono-
mical, and cartographical points of view, best answers
the two conditions required. In fact, the immense
British Empire, with its 23,000,000 of square kilo-
metres and its 250,000,000 of population, extends over
all parts of the world. Its mercantile marine number-
ing 40,000 ships, with a total of from 6,000,000 to
9,000,000 of tons, and an equipment of 370,000 men,
surpasses in importanco the ensemble of all other navies.
It must also be added that a great many other noun-
tries, among which the most important in respect of
their mercantile marine are the llnited States, Ger-
many, Austria, and Italy, equally use the Greenwich
meridian in navigation, whence it may be affirmed
that 90 par cent, of the navigators throughout long
voyages calculate their longitudes by the meridian of
Green wich."