The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-01-27 00:00:00

Our fonhn Corrapoubuth,

(We deem it right to state that we do not at all tlinei;
Identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

The posting of Prinoe Napoleon's :manifesto upon
the walls of Paris so speedily after the funeral of M.
Gambetta, was a remarkable illustration of the political
unrest under which France has suffered during very
nearly a century of time. It is now within six years
of that period since a revolutionary mob in Paris rose
in insurrection and destroyed the Bastille, the great
State prison in the heart of the French capital which
was the. embodiment of one of the worst forms of
despotism that ever flourished on the surface of the
earth. In the History of the French Revolution Carlyle
describes with graphic force the tyranny under which
the people of France had for ages groaned, and which to
some extent accounted for the frightful excesses of the
Reign of Terror. But the destruction of the Monarchy
has involved France in difficulties inseparable from a
frequent change of government, and from which we in
this country are happily free. In less than a century
Rrance has been ruled by a Consulate, three Republics,
eve° Empires, a Legitimist Monarchy, and an Orleanist
Monarchy. Putting aside the Consulate, all the other
forms of government have their constant adherents.
The Republic is up for the time; but it may soon be
down, as it has been before. And then Legitimacy, in
the person of Comte de Chambord; Orleanism, as re-
presented by the Count de Paris; and Imperialism, as
embodied in Prince Napoleon, would each renew the
old struggle for supremacy in one of the finest countries
n the world.
No one who has paid a visit to Paris can have failed
to notice the way in which the names of streets are
altered with each successive revolution. Imagine an
important thoroughfare being solemnly and deliber-
ately called the Rue 29th July. That is in com-
memoration of one of the numerous insurrections
which Paris has witnessed. Immediately on the fall
of the Second Empire the Rue Imperiale was altered
into the Rue 4th September—the day which wit-
nessed the destruction of that Empire. The Rue
Napoleon becomes the Rue Gambetta, and that in its
turn would become the Rue du Roi in case a the
restoration of the kingly power. We do not go in for
revolutions in London ; but even if we did we should
have much more serious business on hand than in
altering all the King and Queen-streets in the metro-
polis into some other description. There is a fine
thoroughfare in Paris called the Rue de Is Paix,
but its peaceful cognomen does not quite accord with
the warlike tendencies which the French are again
daveloping. True, they kept out of the Egyptian
trouble ; but the names of Tunis, Tonquin, and Mada-
gascar suggest the idea that France is by no means so
pacifically inclined as the title of the Rue de is Paix
would appear to indicate.
The description of Mr. Gladstone's sojourn at
Cannes makes the Londoner long for a climate in
which the sun is visible, and this it certainly has not
been in the British capital for some time past. It
seems difficult to believe that in the land of our
nearest neighbour, separated from us by only twenty
miles of sea, the Prime Minister is resting in a
chateau standing in the midst of a garden with
palm trees and orange groves, with flowers in full
bloom, with bright sunshine overhead, and with the
blue waves of the Mediterranean breaking softly upon
the sands in front of his windows. Such a description
does not appear like one applying to the same world
in which for weeks we have been compelled to
live—gloom overhead and mud beneath. It is hoped
that the Prime Minister, in his present condition and
at his advanced age, will be benefited by the com-
plete repose which he has been ordered ; and it is to
be noted that he has left his private secretaries at
home, so that for the time he transacts no public
business whatever. There is is treacherous wind which
sometimes blows in those regions known as the
Mistral. The visitor who gets out of the sunshine
into the face of the Mistral stands a very awkward
chance of losing all the benefit which the change of
air has produced.
Another indication of the re-awaking of political
life has been afforded by the visit of the Secretary of
State for War to his constituents. Lord Hartington
represents one of the divisions of a county which has
long formed the battle-ground of rival parties. Although
by no means the gee of Yorkshire, Lancashire is
in proportion more populous, and the mere mention
of the names of Liverpool and Manchester, to say
nothing of such towns as Blackburn, Bolton, Oldham,
and Preston, shows the immense importance of the
county in English public life, It returns thirty-three
members to Parliament as against thirty-nine sent by
York; and is the only county which contains two
constituencies sufficiently large as to be entitled to
three members each. The late Lord Beaconsfield was
always a great admirer of the enterprise of Lanca-
shire; and the present Prime Minister has in the
course of his Parliamentary career represented one of
Its divisions—that comprising his native town of
Liverpool.
As time goes on, the work which is likely to occupy
Parliament in the coming Session is gradually shadowed
forth. There is now no doubt that a bill for reforming
the Local Government of London will be placed in the
van of the Ministerial measures. It has been
announced that this piece of legislation is likely to
be of a most elaborate character, and that it will
probably occupy a considerable time in the discussion
of its details. The transfer of the Metropolitan
Police to the new municipality is to be dealt with in
a separate Bill; at present that numerous force of
over 10,000 men is under the control of the Home
Secretary, while the City Police is ruled by the
Corporation. The Bill for reforming the government
of the Metropolis was in the list of measures for con-
sideration last Session, but it was never even intro-
duced, owing to the absorption of Parliamentary time
by the Rules of Procedure and Irish legislation.
Little as it will affect any place beyond the
boundaries of the capital, this Government of London
Bill promises to form the battle-ground of the Par-
liamentary year. As it will supersede all existing
systems of local rule, none of these are likely to be
very friendly towards it. Sir James M`Garel Hogg,
the Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works,
site in the House of Commons as one of the members
for Truro ; while out of the twenty-six members of
the Court of Aldermen, eight have seats in the
People's House, in addition to the Recorder. Out of
the four representatives of the City itself, three are
Aldermen; two are sent by Lambeth, one by Fins-
bury, one by Gravesend, and one by Barnstaple.
An agreeable feature in civic life, so far as the pre-
sent winter is concerned, is the way in which the hos-
pitalities of the Mansion House have been dispensed
by the new Lord Mayor. The festivities have been
peculiarly appropriate to the season, and the Lord
Mayor has not forgotten the young people in sending
out his invitations. Children's Parties and Fancy
press Balls have enlivened the evenings at the civic
palace, where the spectacle of a thousand persons in
picturesque and varied costumes is one well worth
beholding. There is not any garden ground attached
to the Mansion House, and consequently no oppor-
tunity for giving summer parties; but in the long
nights of winter the way in which the Corporation is
repre,ented by the indoor festivities at the Mansion
'Ruse leavts nothing to he desieed.
The first tramway line in London was opened in the
spring of 1870, between Kennington and Brixton, and
this means of communication has since been extended
east and north to a considerable degree. The resi-
dents in the west end of London, or many of them, at
all event., object to the introduction of tramways into
Belgravia and Kensington, and the Metroi.olitan
Board of Works has received a deputation representing
an opposition of a different oharacter. Hitherto, no
tramway line has been allowed to cross any of the
bridges in London, one objection being that the laying
of the rails might possibly weaken those structures.
A proposal is, however, now before Parliament to en-
able the tramway company, which has now to atop short
at Westminster Bridge, to cross that structure and pass
along the Thames Embankment to Blackfriars. It is
a bold proposition which has already been met with
formidable antagonism ; but whether Parliament
grants this or not, one thing may be taken for granted,
and that is that tramways will never be allowed to run
through the crowded streets of the city of London.
The abandonment of the festivities which were to
have celebrated the- Silver Wedding of the Crown
Prince and Prince3s of Germany, must be a great dis-
appointment to the people of Berlin. Of late years the
inhabitants of the German capital have to a greater
extent than before laid themselves out for commemo-
rative occasions; and the date of the Battle of Sedan
is now elevated into a national anniversary. And
while Prance has lost the 15th of August—which
was kept with so much splendour under the
Empire, the 14th of July, the date cf the destruction
A the Bastille, has been substituted. The death
of Prince Charles of Prussia has put an end to the
Silver Wedding rejoicings, which is to be regretted,
seeing that the interesting event is so extremely rare.
Two or three years ago the German Emperor cele-
brated his golden wedding, an event rarer still in the
Palaces of Europe, and of not very common occurrence
in any walk of life. It may be added that, although
the Princess Royal haa been married a quarter of a
century, she is now only in her forty-third year.

The Rio Gazette of the 23rd inst. publishes intelli-
gence from Mita; announcing that the theatre at that
place was burnt dpwn. the previous night. The fire,
the origin of which Is unknown, broke out at half-
past ten o'clock. Fortunately no performance took
place that evening, The Fire Brigade succeeded in
preventing the flames from spreading to other buildings,