The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-05-18 00:00:00

and enthusiastic meeting was held in the Town Hall,
Btierley Mil, on Tuesday evening, when Mr. W. Touch-
stone (Manchester), delivered an address on the Eastern
Question. Dr. Walker presided, and he was supported
by the Rev. J. Stone, the Rev. J. Hartley, and Messrs.
Best, Waldron, Macmillan, Carpmail, W. Barton (secre-
tary of the Birmingham Conservative Association), W.
C. Barton, Llewellyn, W. Smith, R. Thompson, H. R.
Ker, W. E. Walker' R. G. Walker, and others. The
body of the ball and the galleries were completely filled
by working men, and, except from a small coterie,
allusions to her Majesty's Government and tEss Conservz
tive cause were received with loud and repeated rounds ,
of applause.
The Chairman in opening the proceedings, said that I
whatever wild and extravagant language might have
been recently used in that hall with the view of
denouncing the present Government they would that
evening receive from the able lecturer a true and correct ,
account of the excellent policy of the Government, a '
policy which he believed would lead to a peaceful solu-
tion of the Eastern Question. (Applause.)
Mr. W. Touchstone' who was received with prolonged
cheering, commenced his lecture with an interesting
historical account of events leading to the present crisis.
Referring afterwards to the statement that there is in
the present Cabinet a war party, the speaker said that at
the very moment when the assertion was first being
made, and there was an endeavour to pit the Prime ,
Minister against the Indian Secretary, who it was said
belonged to the peace par y, the Marquis of Salisbury 1
having been at the Conference at Constantinople, was
thanked fully and heartily by the whole of his colleagues
for carrying out, not his views, but those of the
Cabinet, in its entirety. (cheers.) In a despatch
written at that time, Lord Derby said, "I am coin-
miteded by her Majesty to convey to you the entire
approval of her Majesty and her Mejesty'd
Gevernment of your proceedings throughout the Con-
ference." Quoting from other despatches, Mr. Touch-
same showed that at the same time it was also within to
kaowledge of the Government that the Marquis of
Salisbury had given the closing piece of advice to tile
'harks, freeing her Majesty's Government from all re-
sp.insibility, and throwing the consequences of the
Porte solely on the Sultan. They had, he said, con-
tinued their united efforts, but when they had secured
1 peace—as he believed they would, the party who were
stumping the country would, bye and bye, refuse all
credit to the Government, aud affirm that they, by their
meetings, by their letters, and by their pamphlets, had
, kept the Tories out of war. (Laughter.) In many of
the boroughs of England they would try to throw dust
in the eyes of the people, and would still assume that
they were the peace party. (ilear, hear.) He was
thankful to believe that whatever might be the result oi
the present negotiations patriotism had not left the
Liberal ranks, and that there were many amoagst them
who placed their country before their party, and were
prepared to defend it. (Loud applause.) As ti the
"treaty of San Stefauo, it appeared that Russia said,
" Here it is, we will place it in your hands to look at,
but there are certain portions of. it that we will not
allow you andithe great Powers of Europe to disease "
Eegland, in reply, said " We are neither eeildran nor
fools." (Great cheering.) If there ever was a Govern-
ment that would conseet to a thing of that sort thank
God it was not a Tory Government. (Renewed cheers.)
it was an attempt on the part of Russia to steal a march
on us. (Hear, hear.) Referring to the statement that
the Government had changed he denied it, and inain-
tained that it was Mr. Gladstone who had changed.
Mr. Gladstone. too, reineuibered perfectly well that his
Government, in the previous war, had to turn round on
themselves, and he was now very anxious that tiie
Government of Lord Beacousfield should do did;.
(Laughter and applause.) The present statements of
Mr. Gladstone differed widely from those when he was
responsible; and he (Mr. Touchstone) never yet read
that in the whole of those years in which the ex-Premier
was in office he made one single complaint, or one singie
remonstrance against Turkish incapacity, Turkish
cruelty, or the Turkish Government. (dear, hear.) It
was more than co earlly for a man to wait until he was
out of office, and in order to make a row against his
opponents to bring up matters of that sort, which he
would not and did not do when he was in office. (Load
cheers.) Passing on to refer to the vo:e of six millions
the Lecturer sail the money was required for pre-
cautionary measures. (A. Voice : " Not to be spent,"
and uproar.) He could only say it was a foolish Oleg
to ask for money that was not to be spent. (Hear, hear,
and laughter.) The great principle the Government
laid down was this—they would strike no blow for
Turkey, strike no blow for Russia, bet stand aloof and
let. the two belligerents fight it out among themselves,
but the neutrality should be a conditional one ou the
part of England. Mr. (tress laid down three thiega
and one was that the Government could not see witn
c smplacency Constantinople in the hands of any other
Power than Turkey. Then there were Eygpt and the
Suez Canal, which were considered British interests,
because they stood on the highway to their great Indian
possessions, and no Ministry could be at liberty to
neglect them for a moment. (Hear, hear) Pre-
cautionary measures in behalf then of these interests
had been taken, and a great row was made about bring-
ing Indian troops to Malta. Now, when the bill eta
passed giving to her Majesty the title of Empress, he
made the remark that it was a stroke of statesmanship
which would develop itself bye and bye. He recaears
bered saying if the time should come that they would
have to make a call on their Indian empire for the aid
of bir people, they would be ready. Oct the let of
January last year fifty Indian princes met and vowed
their allegiance to their Empress and what hal they
now ? Why, if his reading of Corstitutional history
was worth the piece of paper he held, it came to this—
that the Queen was the owner of the troops, and when
those troops were brougbt from India tc Malta they
were brought by the Queen, who had A constitutional
right to bring them. (Hear, hear.) He contended that
it was an indication that the empire of England was a
reality and not a sham. (Applause.) Surely, if there
was any danger of their going to war at all, was it not
better that they should at least allow men who were
were willing and anxious to assist, to have a turn with;
the Russian bear ? (Laughter.) He thought it right
for men who had British blood in their veins to take
care they had as much help as they could from the
outside, where it was honourably got at, and where they
bad a right to command it. (Cheers.) With respect to
the policy of the Government, however, the voice of the
country ought to have some weight, and to be of
interest. Five years ago then, when the preseut
Government took office, they had in round numbers 49
o! a clear majority. Since that time there had been 188
bye elections, and the Government of Lord Beaconsfiefa
at
,the moment he was addressing them, was as near 49
in majority as possible. (Hear, hear,) It was not often
given to a Ministry, with the changes which hai
occurred, to stand as strong in Parliament as the pre-
sent Government did, and there was no man in that
country who was now so highly regarded by Queen an.
people as Lord Beaconsfield. (Protracted cheering.)
Take another view of the case. In Parliament itself
numerous appeals had been made of a party character
by the Government and the members of the House of
Commons. What had been the votes ? The majority
of the Government, as he had noticed, was really 49,
but what had been their majorities on sundry ocoasicris ?
Why 74, 92, 199, 204, and it was once 235. Really if
they went on they would ultimately find Mr. Gladstone
sitting on a stump at Blackheath and singing " lam
the last rose of summer." (Great laughter.) Now, he
said it distinctly that the present Government had been
working to the utinot, of their ability to preserve peace,
but peace in harmony with the interests of England,
peace in accordance with those interests confided to
their charge as British Ministers, and if peace be
secured—and all through he had the feeling that they
should ~,have no war—he did think the assertions of
some public men would be denounced as mean and
shabby and unpatriotic in the highest degree. (Cheers.)
A. neighbour of his had gone even so far as to say that
If they went into war they should be beaten.
(.6 sham.") Well, that gentleman had had a roasting
in .his own town, where the Beaconsfield interest was
very strong, and a lady had given him in verse the
benefit of her sentiments upon his raising the cowardly
cry. (Hear, hear.) He claimed for the present Govern-
ment fair play, and he claimed that they had been try-
ing and were trying to settle that Eastern question
peaceably and loyally. They were labcuring under
difficult circumstances' m,de more difficult by men who
s'iould help them, and who should remember that they
received very different conduct from Mr. Disraeli when
they were.in office and when they were struggling with
the Crimean War. (Applause.) In that day of trial
Mr. Disraeli said the Queen could rely upon
Parliament to stand by her in the emergency,
aid he believed, in C n Ilua:ou, that any man
woo tried to aggravate existing circumstances,
aat who endeavoured to make it more difficult
for tile Government to bring about peace, was neither a
friend to humanity nor to his country. (Great
I applause.)

At the 'close of the address there were some boisterous
scenes, but, notwithstanding a small element of opposi-
tion, the proueedings were brought to a satisfactory and
aucessful termination.

Thanks were accorded to Mr. Touchstone amid loud
acclamations, and the usual compliment having been
paid to the Chairman the meeting ended.

BRIERLEY HILL.

FALSE Perrinlong.—At the Police Court, on Monday,
before Messrs J. Holcroft and H. Smith, John Bullock
Was charged with obtaining money by false pretences
from John Dean.—Mr. Waldron appeared to prosecute,
and Mr. Addison defended.—John Dean, horse dealer,
residing at the Thorne, said he knew the prisoner who
has sometimes got witness customers for horses. In
consequence of what he told witness on Tuesday, the
9th April, he went to Mrs. Goodman's and sold her a bay
mare for el 15s. Mrs. Goodman paid witness a
sovereign at the time and he gave her a receipt in his
name. The horse was to be delivered and the balance
of money paid that day week. He took the horse home
and on the Tuesday following witness was at Wolver-
hampton and he was not at the Brettell Lane Station
with horses. He did not authorise Bullock either to
take the mare to Mrs. Goodman's or to receive the
money. He never authorised the prisoner to sell or
deliver horses for him or to receive payment for them.
When witness came back from Wolverhampton he found
the mare was gone. Cross-examined : I did not aek
you if you could find a customer br the mare. I did
not say you were to have all over a certain su.m at d I
went With you to Talbot's. By the Bench: I did not
tell prisoner he was to have all £5 103. The prisoner
offered me £4. The day he received it he had some
money in his hands and he should have been satisfied
with the £4 10s. Prisoner never received any money
for me and thought it better to have the £1 10s than
none at all.—Ellen Goodman, widow, residing at
Wordsley, said on the Bth April the prisoner came to
her and he wanted to know if she would buy the mare
and she asked where it was. He said it was a gentle-
man's at the Thorns. On the 9th April Dean came and
sold her a brown mare for £7 15s. Witness paid a
sovereign on account and the mare was to be brought
and the money paid on the 16th April. Prisoner
brought the mare and she tasked him why he had
brought it. He said Mr. Dean was at Brettell Lane Sta.
tion waiting for nine horses. He said he was to
receive the money and the boy can go back. She should
not have parted with the £6 15s if she had believed that
prisoner had no authority from Ur, Dean to receive the
stoney. Cress•ezarained; Both Dean and prisoner