The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-07-27 00:00:00

Trill; WANfINTO OF THE LEGISLATIVE

YEAR.

With tilt passing away of the month of July,
and tlae'dawning of August, with its associa-
tions of a r-cently-established Bank Holiday,
the lauours ji our legislators annually come to
a close, and for the next six months they are
scattered over the four quarters of the globe,
for the recess given then opportunities of visit-
ing the Antipodes, and of making a somewhat
lengthened stay in that part of our distant
possessions. So far as the present session, is
however, concerned, Parliament is not likely to
rise quite so early as usual. The constanily-
recurriug debates on foreign policy are not even
yet at in end, a.n,i every night devoted to this
purpose leaves but the number less for the dis-
posal of domestic business. When Parliament
arrives st the third week of July, it has
oenerally he-n found !.hat the Bills which
have failed to get throup the necessary steg-s
are abandoned, and onty the most urgent
rni-
terS, such as the granting of supplies, and the
c:tr3 0 - +lo' out of absolutely necessary measures,
are i„4_4ljed through. Let us see what the
ctr'eer of the Parliamentary Session now
t:- ce.,,,e has been like.
•• It ()reseed 01 the 17th of January under a
political sky. The very
. .
e‘inet.iriewalee; Vial, it viiis about to meet at
alraffriatly oariy period had filled the air
with apprehension and even with alarm. That
announcement had been made within a few
days of the surrender of Plevna, acd when it
was seen that there was then no obstacle to
the Russian advance upon Constantinople
What did the precipitate summoning of Parlia-
ment mean ? Did the l-ovornment intend to
go to war with gnsaia for the reatoration of
the Ottoman Empire? These questions were
set at rest by the Speech froth the i''•
still there were rtveout-, of Cabi.ifq. aissr.t,
which w, ;le ieen,
lialueut •Lo •;
Cariaarvu:, vino :luting four pars iece.i.
otos o eacrtiori col State la tho Colouism

resigned his.seat because he disapproved of the
course which hod been pursued by his col. '
leavues in seeding the into Turkish
waters, Then came the debate upon the Veto
of Credit for FixPiens, which swidenly
levied u;ea tt, the Rnssiens had
broken ;1 p htt tan, would not move
nearer to Censetei,eoele, :led were ectually
cw‘eeing the 'inrkiela ezpital. the House of
Commons voted the money by an enormous
majority. Next came the announcement that
the 2+,linistry had decided to call out the Army
Reserves, and simultaneously with this the
Foreign Secretary resigned. When the House
reassembled after the Easter Recess, there was
a long debate upon the summoning of Indian
troops to Europe without the authority of Par-
liament; and still more recently the Prime
Minister has explained to a numerous and
brilliant assembly in the House of Lords the
result of the Congress at Berlin.
Here then has been a constant succession of
startling incidents in connection with the
foreign policy of the country. When the pub-
lic mind of a nation is set in one direction, it is
difficult to turn it into another. This Session
that direction has been towards the East, and
the mind of a people can, no more than- the
mind of a single man, not grasp two great sub-
jects at one and the same time. 'fake for
instance the Sessions of 1866 and 18G7, when
Parliament was so occupied with tlie extension
of the franchise and the redistribution ol: seat 3
Who is there that believes that in either of

those Sessions it would have been possible to
sustain a continued debate upon the Eastern
Question ? In like ,eanner, during the present
Session the franchise and the distribution of
political power are subjects whin could not
have been dealt with in the Session which will
so soon clos:!. Members could not h,tve
brought themselves down to such a level. The
balance of power in the Mediterranean . has
proved a far more attractive topic. Thus it
com,s to pass tnf:t the records of accomp!ished
legislaticn is year are scanty and:uninterest-
ing. Yet there is no disposition to grumble at
the short and simple annals thus presented.
Trio barrenness of the Session has been due to
none of those causes which give reasonable
ground for discontent. The Government began
with a very modest programme, and have not
attempted, to use a familiar simile, to drive half
a dozen omnibuses abreast through Temple
Bar. The expectations of the people were not
raised to a high pitch by the promise of great.
performances, and so there will be no dis-
appointment. The overshadowing importance
of foreign affairs has cast into the shade
domestic wants and requirements.
It is only fair to assume that, once relieved
from the distractions of foreign politics, the
public will turn with renewed interest and
dctivity to the various unsolved questions await-
ing discussion at home. There are litany of
these which could not be attended to whilst toe
country was upon the verge of war, and the
clang of military preparations were resormding
through our dockyards and arsenals. For tin
last three years foreign policy has taken pre-
cedence of all other matters, and the records of
home legislation have naturally become scantier
as the issues at stake abroad became more
urgent and more momentous. Under such cir-
cumstances it was impossible but that home
legislation upon our purely internal affairs
should have been reduced to a minimum. It is
probable that the Treaty of Berlin has given us
a temporary respite from our recent anxieties.
For a few years, at any rate, we may reckon
upon being able to bestow some attention on
our own concerns, and after such a period of
rest it ispossible that a time of political revival
is in store for UB whicu shall brieg to Lilt;
front more than one question that demands solu-
tion.