The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-02-10 00:00:00

eur yonkin. corropubc..!..".:.,

p9ire deem it right to state that we de aot at all tixn
dentify ourselves with our Correspondent's °pillions.)

The week preceding the opening of Parliament is a
busy one in the Palace of the Legislature. The whole
place is swept and garnished from the two chambers
in which the laws are made to the corridors, the pas-
sages, the committee-rooros, and the library. The
Central Hall, for weeks past so deserted, will soon
again be a scene of animation, and the crowded inner
lobby will again tell a tale of the reawakening of par-
lianentary life. The echoes of familiar cries will
again be heard, "Make way for Mr. Speaker ! "
when the House meets, and "Who goes home " at
the time of the adjournment. And on the day before
the gathering together of the lords spiritual and
temporal, and.the knights, citizens, and burgesses, a
solemn search is always made through the vaults
beneath the legislative palace, if haply any modern
Guy Fawkes should be there concealed, with the in-
tention of blowing the structure into the air!
The night previous to the opening of Parliament is a
busy one in political circles. The Ministerial and
Opposition leaders in both Houses respectively as-
semble their friends and supporters at a banquet,
where the Queen's Speech to be delivered on the follow-
ing day is read,and criticised. The London papers
thus manage to get hold of the substance of the speech
next morning in anticipation of its delivery in the
afternoon ; but, of course, the leading articles contain-
ing these forecasts are written in a diplomatic strain
so as not to convey the idea that there has been a
breach of confidence. The text of the speech is fur-
nished to the newspapers on condition that it is net
issued to the public until the clock strikes two—the
,hour of the ceremonial at Westminster. On any breach
of this condition, through any newspaper trying to
over-reach a oonapetitor by coming out before it,
the privilege would be very properly withdrawn in '
future years.
In the present case there need not be much curiosity
as to the measures of the session. They will be the
remnants of last year's unfinished work; and the first
Bill which is to be presented to Parliament will be
that which deals with the local government of London.
From the hints thrown out it promises to be of a sweep-
ing character; and it is already suggested that the
Duke of Westminster, the richest landowner in the
metropolis, should be the first Lord Mayor of the ex-
tended municipality. There have been some objeo-
Cons to such a vast place as the British capital being
erected into one great homogenous community, and
ruled by compact corporate institutions, on the
ground that such an enormous city would possess
too much power. Of course it is impossible to say
what force there may be in the objections ad-
vanced, as there is no other civilized city on the
surface of the globe of anything like the size of London.
But that these will be heard in Parliament during the
forthcoming debates there is no doubt whatever.
As Parliament was prorogued only on the 2nd
December the recess has been one of the shortest
within modern memory; and so far as the House of
Commons is concerned, very few changes have taken

place, and none to affect the position of political
parties. From the Lords, however, the spiritual
head of the English Church has passed away; and
a new Archbishop of Canterbury will take his seat
amongst his peers, and singularly enough for the first
time. As Bishop of Truro, Dr. Benson had not
yet been summoned to the Upper House; for although
Parliament has increased the number of bishoprics
it has decided that the number of prelates in the
House of Lords shall not be increased. Those last
appointed have therefore to wait their turns until a
bishop either dies or is translated. For instance, the
Bishop of Rochester was consecrated in 1877 ; but it
is not until the present session that his lordship re-
ceives a summons to take his seat upon the episcopal
benches in the Upper Chamber. Thus a new prelate
is now enabled to devote his undivided attention to
the duties of hie diocese for some years before he is
expected to live half the year in London as a Peer of
Parliament.

The removal of the equestrian statue of the Duke
of Wellington from the top of the arch which
forms one of the entrances to the Green Park
opposite Apeley House, has been the subject of
much gossip in London. The purpose of the removal
is the widening of the thoroughfare just there, and it
is not before it was wanted. In the London season,
of an afternoon there is a dangerous congestion of
traffic at that particular spot; and happily, St.
George's Hospital has always been conveniently near
in case of accident. A slice of the Park has now to
_ .
tome " away ha order to widen the thoroughfare, and it
. peems to be no secret that this especial statue was
:lever a favourite either with the late Prince Consort
or with the Queen herself. What is to be done with
it is riot very clear at present. The equestrian statue
of the Duke in front of the Royal Exchange has, how-
ever, never been adversely criticised; although this is
more than can be said of the statues to departed cele-
brities which gond in other parts of the metropolis.
This is the age of exhibitions, and one of the latest
suggestions is that an exhibition of Irish lace shall be
held in London. Meanwhile a Sportsman's Exhibi-
tion has been opened at the Agricultural Hall, in
Islington, so familiar as the scene of cattle and horse
shows. A more formidable undertaking is the Inter-
national Fisheries' Exhibition, which is now being
constructed on the site of the Horticultural Gardens at
South Kensington. No efforts have been left untried
to make this a success; and her Majesty has promised
to perform the inaugural ceremony.
The announcement that the Queen intends hold-
ing two Drawing Rooms at Buckingham Palace
before Easter is very welcome in the west end of
-London, where business has languished during this
winter of prolonged storm and protracted gloom,
Last year Parliament met on the 7th February, and
her Majesty held her first Drawing Room on the 17th.
This year Parlitmentrienfiblee on the 16th, and the
Sovereign will sOome to town about the end of the
month or the beginning of March, Easter falls ea:ly
this year, and so far as the Lords are concerned, they
will have been sitting only four weeks when the time
arrives-for the adjournment for the recess. Many of
the upper classes will not therefore come to town
lantil after Easter; and it is not until the bright days
of May and June that one of Her Majesty's Drawing
Rooms may be seen in all its brilliant surrounding's.
For all that, those interested are grateful for the two
which are FO soon to awaken Buckingham Palace
- from its customary quietude, and to break the long.
drawn out and dull monotony of one of the most
boisterous winters on record.
• So far, therefore, as the ladies are concerned, none
of them will be able .to pay their respects to the
Quiew until the end of this month or the commence-
naent of next. But with gentlemen the case is dif-
ferent, and the Prince of Wales will hold a levee at
St. Jameare Palace on the 19th instant, and another
at a later date on his return from Berlin, of which due
notice will be given. It is always understood that
' preeentations to his Royal Highness are considered as
•.squivaleiat to those made to her Majesty; but the
ceremonial at a Drawing Room is naturally more
elaborate, in consequence of the attendance of the
- The Ministers and great officers of State
.. are supposed to be present at the Drawing Room, but
- not-at the levee.

The remarkable absence of the usual rate of
it„el ity. amongst the members of the House of
°ominous last year have more than once been noted.
9n1:7 tbree members out of an average of eleven or
twelve were removed by death, and even one of these
was the Lamented Lord Frederick Cavendish, who,
^with Mr: Burke, was assassinated in Dublin on the
6th of May. The first loss this year has been that of
Oolonel Taylor, one of the Conservative members of
the oounty. of Dublin.. He had held office in three ad-
niiiietiutions between 1858 and 1880—two of Lord
Derby and one of Lord 'Beaconsfield, and has now
been taken at the ripe age of 72. '
While France is discussing harsh measures affecting
~thußoyalprinces who may be found upon her soil, the
princes of- our own reigning House do their beat to
manifest an interest in various movements affecting
the, condition, the welfare, and the culture of the
people. • Only a few days after the Duke of Albany
had presided at a gathering at the Blandon House to
. *Mote -the raising of memorials to Archbishop Tait,
la e2der brother the Duke of Connaught appeared at
the kat,le place to Osivocate the claims to public sup-
port of ,the Society for the Relief of Distress in the
metropolis. -The Prince' of Wales, whose engagements
taul.be 'as numerous as thosZt of a Minister of State, will
_openthe Royal College of Muisc early in May. Three-
cf he required capital of kzoipoo has been paid
or promised, and the College will &28-1:1 Witil 11E4'
:scholarships instead of a hundred, as was o.rigittallY
intended. This is a movement in which every o of
the Princes has made especial efforts, from the Heir-
pparent to his youngest brother. They have not
coAfined-their attention to London, but have gone
into`the provinces, which have responded to the
earns *4tness of their adiocacy, and under such aus-
pices t he College cannot fail to be a success.
The rtVent serious fires in London have aroused the
ocal autb.pritiee to the exercise of the utmost vigilance
in dealing with a matter which has such important
bearings. 9reat c'sgre is now taken that in case of
an alarm ,ekc fire at theatres, proper means of
piruishe4 to the crowded audience ;
egress shall lA'
and at the Last l meeting of the Metropolitan Board
of Works lt twas resolved te obtain power" for
the protection of London from a may hidden dawn's
It appears that, at *red within the metropolitan area,
are from a million) and a.half to two million gallons of
petroleum, a con 'arable proportion in warehouse

along the bitnks of the river, and it was determined
to ask Parliament to place the storage of this dan-
gerous material under more stringent regulations than
any which have governed it hitherto.