The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-05-30 00:00:00

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SATURDAY, MAY 30, 1803.

PARLIAMENT.

At last there is hope that the dying Parliament
will be allowed to end its days in peaee. There
most be many of no who, like Mr. Bright, have
found that two or three Ministerial crises a week
are too much for our nerves, but a; the public is
not bound to keep up its attention to these crises
the natural result has followed, and people have
become wearied of the political combat, which
seemed to he ever being wiged and never won.
But on Monday night last, thongh there WaS a
sufficiently storm debate On the almost intermin-
able subject of Reform, ultimately the Govern-
ment ship got into smooth water. The debate
clearly brought (int on point, to which the at-
tention of the public is not now for the first
time directed, and that is the conflict of lows
between various parts of the United Kingdom.
The Government measure fur Scotland was in
eine respect similar to that for England ; it stip-
Rioted that tur the privilege of a vote there
should be the penalty of a rating goolification.
Bonverie, it will be remembered, Inel RUC-
coaled in sketching out this clause in tho bill,
which would thus have given household suirrage
untrananclled by conditions. This would have
boot unfair favouritism towards Scotland ; but
had the bill remained thus modified we miglit
have attributed the anomaly to the origi iii ijf-
fereuices that exist in relation to the Poor Laws
between Scotland and Ktigl ml. Even now the
arrangement that has Wen e Hue to is not idea-
tical in the two etemtries ; but while we reTet,
these diffsrenccs of laws it is at least sail tin:-
tory to know that 'mama concessions have betu
made by tl,vertiminit and Opposition, RO that the
inain object may be effected—the carrying of the
S !MAI Reform Bill.

The session of NM is to be regarded, it seems,
as the Worm session; and if the work of par-
liamentary reform be accomplished, this is all
that the public now feel inclined to expect from
the dying Parliament. The &mkt' Reform Bill
may now be regarded as safe, and the remain-
ing business connected with it will evidently he
got Etrotigh atuicab'y. This will give a good
hope of the Irish Reform Bill being similarly
agreed to, after the inevitable battle, without
which no measure having reference to voting
ran be carried ; and thus the triple problem of
parliamentary reform will have been accom-
plished. Ii the present state of political affairs,
with a Government in a decided minority, it Is
imt desirable that the present House of COIII-
- should then attempt any further legisla-
tion but what maybe alesolutely necessary. The
wish of the country now evidently is that bud-
'less that must be done should be done as
speedily as possible, and that there should be an
:iippeal, as soon as may be, to the HOW ColliLitu-
onvies which will have been created. For weeks
past we have been threatened with one of two
• courses, either of which would have been disas-
trous to the country. Ministers have been sere-
ral times so decisively defeated that had the
Liberals determiued on a definite motion of want
of confidence the lovernment would have been
' forted to resign. On puidie grounds such a re-
sult would have been much to be deplored. It
would have checked the course of neeessary leg-
islation, and would have still further unsettled
the public mind. But more to be deplored would
have been the penal dissolution which not long
mgi seemed to lie looioit in the innuediate fu-
ture. This would have thrown the whole coun-
try into confusion, would ilerioliAly have affected
nusiness, would have enraged the House of
COllllllolli, thus put to a useless and unnecessary
expense, and all the work would iu a few months
have had to be done again, in aceordauce with
the legislation on which nearly all the present
session has been spent. We may now, however,
congratulate ourselves that we have avoided
both calamities, and it is to be hoped that we
Alan have no more Ministerial crises, but that a
Parliament of which the country is weary of it-
self, may transact its necessary bushiess, and
Ming this importaut and feverish session to a
dose.