The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-01-31 00:00:00

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R. GLADSTONE'S ADDRESS.
The following is Mr. Glitclstone's address to the
electors of Greenwich :
“Gentlemen.—lier Malady has been advised by Her
hififisters, and has graclusisly accepted the advice, to dissolve
the present Parliament and imnsediately to elimn+oll a new
one, for the transaction of the rtgtilar hummer of the
year.
Is that new Parliament I respectfully solicit the honour
of representing you.
"I am too well aware that in the choice of a person
charged as I am with official duty, you forego for the public
good many special claims which you would otherwise justly
make on the time and attention of your representative. Ills
sacrifice, so freely and honnurably incurred five years ago,
I once again presume to eat at your hands, under the cir-
cumstances and for the special purposes whtch I shall now
proceed to describe.
"Of the House of Commons flow about to be dissolved, nn
one will deny the remarkable amount of its labours, and f
those legislative result• which, but for untoward and chiefly
resent clrcumst Incas, would have been greater still. I take
upon me to affirm that those crest labours have likewl,e been
crest 'service., and that they will glee to the Parliament of
1663 a dlatlogaiihed place its the annals of our country.
" it Is not to be wondered at if, after fire years of zealous
and varied effort, the strength both of the ilnuse of Commons
and of she administration for the concur:taut sitscharge of
their arduous duties ha. been impaired.
The welfare of the country cm never be effectually pro.
muted by a bleverumeut which is not Invested with ads Tilde
authority. . . . .

- -
"That authority, which was lu 1868 amply confided by the
nation to Hie Liberal Party and its leaders, tilt haa now sunk
Stow the point necessary for the due defence and prosecu-
tion of the public Interests, can in no way be so legitimately
and effectually restored as by at appeal to the put pie, who,
by their reply to much an appeal, may tlsce be yona all chal-
lenge two great questions—tne first, what they think of the
manner In which the commission granted tel ltee has been I
executed ; the second, what further commission they now •
think It to give to their represenladver, and to whet hands
its fulfilment and the adanuistratien of the Government are
to be intrusted.
"1 will net attempt to set ant In full the Melees which
have convinced the Government that the time has now come
for thus appealing to the country, nut I will ref er to such
of them as embrace matters of fact rather than of opinion.
"In the month of March last the Government were d
hated In their effort to settle upon jun and enlarged prin-
ciples the long-disputed question of the higher educaitun
In lodised, if not by a combined, yet by a concurrent
effort of the lender 4.1 the Opposition and of the It man
Catholic Prelacy of Hamel. Upon suffering this ....feat.
the Government, accor•llng to the practice of our
Constitution, placed their resignation hi the hands
of the Sovere'gn. Her Majesty, in the just and
wise tannin ot her high Witco applied to Iloe leader
of the Oppositiou. He, however, Sedating that tin was not
prep-teed with a policy, and could not govern to the existleg
Pazliament, declined to fill the void which he had made.
UncUr these circumstances, we thought ourselves bound by
loyalty to the Queen not to decline the resumption of our
office.. But title step we took with an Reoweil retuctaece
We felt that. In coosequence of what had happened, both
the Crown and country were placed at a disadvantage, sa it
was established that, doting the existence of the wenn:
Parliament. one Party only could govern, and must, there-
fore, govern without appeal. We also felt that a precedent
had been set, which tooth diminished our Areegth and
weakened the general guarantees for the respensibitlty and
Integrity of Parliamentary opposition.
01 this ginelnut'on of strength We were rainfall), and
sensibly reminded during the Session by the summery and
rapid dismiratal, 111 the lions. of Lords, of measures which
had cost much elms anti labor to the House of C 0110301.9.
NW W 1 remembered that lathe years 18438 and 1870, when
the Wad if tho country was unamregdosisly expressed, the
House of arde had, much to its honour, deferred to that
expressien upon matters of great moment ; and I cannot
doubt that It would have continued to this conrre, bad the
Isolated and less certain, but still frequent and fresh, bill-
cations of public 011111W1 at single elections conttnued to he
In harmony with the powerful and authentic, but now more
remote judgment of 1888.
"This state of things, which was not satisfactory at the
close of the last Session, and which has toot admitted of
remedy by the method of resignation and a change of ,
Government, ties rot Improved &Mu: the recess, especially I
the latter part ot the recess; and the time has now arrived
when the Administration, aids to anticipate and survey the
principal pans and the general character of the work which
awaits It, has been called on to consider whether it could
reasonably undertake such work without a fresh access of
strength, and to frame its advice to tier Me, sty ac-
cordingly.
"The question whether Ministers ought to retain or to
abandon office should be decided by a general election, with
the optortunity which it affotds for broad declarations of
policy and issues truly national, and cannot to satisfactorily
solved by isolated contests, of which the Issue Is in a greater
degree dependent on close discipline and finished and con-
centrated organization.
From a state of things thins fitf at and owlet, we deeire to
pass to one In which the nation will have had full oppor-
tunity of expressing will and choice as between the poll Peal
parties. The Government of the day, whatev, rit he, will be
armed with its just mewls of authority botn within an
without the Legislature. The Opneattion will enjoy the
power, and di nbtieas will not shrink from the duty, or a- king
office. The House of Commons will be reinstated in Its
full possession of conatitui tonal authority, and a hen it shot
see cause to withdraw its cnnedence from an Administration,
it will not leave Ma Sovereign without resource.
"Such will be the general objects, then, with whleh anew
Paella:Dent will he summoned. I proceed to speak of the
work which it will have to do.
"I need not dwell on the elementary and ever-alibiing
Males of the Minter)', such as the maintenance of the
country's honour, of the general peace, of the rights of all
classes, of our insular security • but I will state that sir
desire to found the credit and Influence of our foreign
poll. !. upon a resolution to ask from foreign Powers ndhlng
but what in lire circumstances we abould give ourselves, and
as steadily to respect their rights as we would tenaolcully
uphold our owD.
" With regard to the unhappy war on the Gold Coast, our
object has been to prosecute It with sego tir, subject to a due
regard to the exigencies of climate and the value of human
life, and only within the llmite which justice and future
neetuity prescribe. We shall alm at the mitabliahment,_not
only of peace, bet of friendship with the Asbautees, and we
shall, I Dope, !seek to draw from what has happened a lesson
on the duty ol avoiding in future the tint entrance into
tolvocal and entangling engagements. Meantime, we
repose the utmost conk len. In the British General, cftioen,
and soldiers; anti we cheetah the hope that we are about to
eeeerge at an Beefy date, sod on good terms, from the Gen-
---•-- • • - - - -

'When I tern to the general tubjecta of internal
legisla-
tattoo, I have to !flesh rather as a member of a party than as
a member of a cabinet. For iii, not the duty of a Cabinet
to bind luster, or to mature its collective views on all subjects
of public interest, bat only upon such at are to form the
early subjects of precticel treatment.
"I fear that tiae time has not yet come when you Can an-
tiolpatea diminution in the calls for legislative labour. Per.
maneet and solid as is the Union of the three Kingdoms,
they present varieties of elm:mit-anew, of organisation, ard
even of lam These earietlee, comiened with the vast de-
velopment of linperial leteresse, add xerieuty to the duties
of Parliameut, which, indeed, have reached a pilot where
they seem, for the preset, to defy all efforts to overtelos
them. I think we ought not only to admit, tint to welcome,
every Improvement in the organisstion of local and labor. 1-
nate authority. which, under the unquestioned control of
Parliament, would tend to lighten its labours and to expedite
the public business.
"As rereadn the important Act of 1870 for the promotion
of education, I am one of those who had no prefereuce for
the later over the earlier adjustments Of the Bill. But they
were sejustments adapted to the state of public opinion at
the time ; and it appears to me that DO main provision of
the immune° can advantageously be reernaldered without
the aid of an experience such as we have not yet acroirete
With regsre to out or two points, ralculaled to create an 1
amount of unestioess cut of proportion to their real Im-
portance or clinical, I do not douet Met the wisdom of tie
renovated Legislature will dtacevir the means of their
accommodation.
"Beth In Scntle.nd and In Ireland there are many questions
requiring the aseention of Pali meet. Alone g au-h, how-
ever, as are peculiar to them, I will only now mension the
completion of the weighty Iseieletton of last year by the re-
construction of their jetliclat eatahlisimiente, and by
aglnditlng them to the advantages, net yet meeteued by ex-
patience, of the rew Court of Appeal.
"It is more epproptide to the nature of an address such
es this that I should touch upon subjects which are, In the
main, of a con.mon Interest to all the three collate's:a. I
will however, say with special relation to lit-gland that it
seems almost a reproach to cur Peritaments teat, down to
the present time, we should have boon unable to deal
effectively with the local Government and institutions of this
great metropolis; and I must also express my hope that the
throttles of the Commission appointed to examine into the
property and Income of the Universities stet Colleges of
Oxford and Cambridge may lead to a greet flutter extension
of the benefits conferred by those grset an I p meths! bodice
"the lens respecting the transfer, the descent, end the
occupation of land ; the laws respecting game ; the lets re-
specting the sale of spirituous liqu-lra, the laws affecting the
relations between employer and employed, the law, cleating
and of local g .vernment, are among the sulscts likely to
come in turn under the notice-of the new Parliament. In
some of these metters there is, in my judgment, room for
extensive imps. v'-' ; ant they all, I trust, will be dealt
with ins alpha rif Impartial justice.
"Of all the changes marking the present day, there I. cone
which I view with n-cre heartfelt satiefactlon then the pro-
Creative rise of waves in the agricultural districts. I view
this rise as the neural and proper, though long delayed,
remit cf econonite laws; as the removal et something like a
nations.' discredit ; as carrying with lt a great addition to the
stock, never too abundant, of human happiness: an-I as a
new riven tee for the stability of the lihrOne and Institutions
of the country.
" I have never concealed my opinion that those Instate
ti one will tie strengthened by granting to the
counties generally Dot extended franchise whtch has
been conceded with general satisfaettoa to the towns,
and to the populatfons of a number of rural die-
trlcte with a coastal village, wh ch may perhat I be
called peasant-horonehe I earnestly desire to wittiest
the formation of a mature public opinion on a sub-
ject which haa hardly yet obtained ell the attention
which it deserves. 1, for one, wi eay nothing upon
It that could tend to arouse the jealonstee of Oehler of
party ; and I cherish the hope that at no eissant day our
loyal, patient, al A, as I hold, intelligent, peseantry may, to-
gether with the other import ant chases now unenfranchised,
for ne other reason than thet they reside hey-lid the
bound/Mossol boroughs, reeelve tllls boon at the hands of the
Leeielatum, without conflict, without intrigue, and by
general consent.
" I come now to qnestions of expenditure en! finance.
"it may he stated with truth that next to the great Irish
reiestions of Courch and Lane, now happily disposed of, the
election! of 1,60 turned, in no small degree, open expendi-
ture. Ido not deny that we there'd our predecessors with
Improvidence in tile stewardahlp of the public fonds.
It hes been shown by my friend Mr. Childers, in his
place In Parliameet, conelesivel eel without reply, that we
have not 1 orgetti n the declarations of lE6e, nor needed from
them. li. the eittmates of our first two years for the deter-
sive services of army and navy we were aide to nerve to
reductions smou Wing in round numbers to £4600.000 in the
charge of our peace eitahlishments. It is true that we are
not abla at this moment to place such a lam to our credit
In comparing our esitinatee with those f the last Govern-
ment. l sin far from saying that we bare perfect
reason te be s disfiee eith cite own off tee or with
the results of them. :still, let it he cot sideret tot. by what
special and necearary acts of policy they have been hindered;
secondly, what the results actually axe. We cannot !reams
the ellen of such calls as that firr the abolition of purchase,
which ware I think, well described as the redemption of tee
army, or for the augmentation of the ethic ;Don vote, to the
grout and unqu softened benefit of the country.
" But, notwitheandine these demands, notwithstanding
tee calls mistier at the period of the great war of 1870, not-
withstanding the aerious lituden of the sine of peloos, some-
thing not wholly insianificant has been achieved. Setting
eelile the Debt, and feundtng the cortiparlson on the basis of
what may he called the optionel ispin,iinre, derived from
tome mud ',ming the proper test el the disposition of a
tievernment, it was idioms thas a saving had hen uffoted
sat the close of the very last flannel.' year amounting to
£1.350,000, sane this, as we contend, with no diminution, bet
with • great inereara of our defensive fume, both naval and

_
" Upon a touslew of liko finance of the 1 kat five yrars,
are enuhled to state tliat, notwithsiasnlinfstha Purchase of
the telegraph!, for a funk eaveding Lit; POMO, the aggregate
anionnt et the national &Ist has been reduced by mess than
,g 20,140,000 ; that tale, have helm lowered of ahollasiel
(eye? and above 1)(1• ',I, 9116 l•- Deco ' ) ) the II • -
£12,5 .0,009 that dining the present y:ar the dtiofosoef
Indemnity haa insen pelt, and the charge of the Aahantea
War will he met cnt of revenue end that In mktimailnit. ea
we can now venters, 0000, the li-come of the corning sear
(and, for the moment, eastinking the general genie of charge
to continue is It woe fixed during the last Suwon), we In
not fear to anticipate as the proliaole balance a surplus
exceeding rather than falltcg short of £5,1E2 00e.
The existence of such a trzplis will Offlr, in one judg-
ment, agrnr.L opportunity of sit.irdlng re:lni to trio corn.
mosity, and an r pportUnity which OVA to he turned to the
very best account.

I have accepted with much reluctance the charge of the
finances of the country to addition to my other duties. But
as this Is now the tenth occasion on which I am called, as
the Molder Immediately responsible, to consider the
(Mondial arrangamente of the coming year, you mar be will-
ing to believe that I am not speaking lightly when I proceed
to Indlcate an outline of the boons wh'ch, In the ab,eoce of
some gravely unfavourable and unforeseen incident, it will
be in the power of the new Parliament at ones to confer.

"In the first place, there Ls a very general desire that
some new assistance should he all ivied to the ratepayers of
the country from funds at present under the commaed of the
State.

'The Government have been unable to meet the views of
those who appear to have thought that, provided only alarge
amount of public money could be had in any form to relieve
the rates, no greet hoed need be paid to anything e' sc. hut
they have never felt themselves compelled to drop the wish
of such as think that • farther portion of ehe charge. hitherto
borne by real and immovable property should, with judicious
accompaii)ing arraneem-nts, be pieced upnu propetty gene-
rally. Their endeavour has been, and their resolution it to
have a thorough and comprehensive, not a partial, handling
of the question, and in our future proceedings we shall.
I trust, exert oertelves to keep in view all that It involves :
to strengthen the invaluable traditions anti to improve the
organs of Local Government, to keep central control within
the dont& of sound policy, to maintain, and if potable to
enhance, the guarantees for provident administration, to
avoid the repetdlon of unseemly contests aid the danger
which would arise if Parliament were gradually to lay upon
labour a portion of the burdens hitherto borne by property ;
In • word, to reform as well as enlarge the aid granted by
the B:ate to local expenditure. The first item, then, which I
have to set down in the financial arrangements proper for
the year le relief, but relief coupled with ref arm of local
taxation.
" What I have said refer, properly to &tetrad, but it would
be impossible to exclude from view Lae case of Scotland,
which is very clesely analogous, or that of Ireland, which
presents larger varlatious.
- -

"I now turn to a su'lect of a less complex character, MI
of evsn greestsr importance ; I mean to income Tax.
According to the of ier financial tradition, the Income
Tax was a cortex. For such a purpose it is Invaluable
Men are willing to ',Mice much, net only of their means,
hut ot their prirany, time, and comfort, at the call of patriot-
ism.

In 1842, the inCOrre Tax was employed by Sir Robert Peel,
putty to covet a ser'ous deficit iu the revenue, but piquet-
paly to allow of important advances In the direction of Free
Trade. I need nit dwell 1. the groat work of liberation
which has been ta.complithei by Its aid. Mail ly perhaps on
this account, It has been borne with an exemplary paatence.
But no Government Ina ever been able to malts it pergetual,
like OUT taxes la general, or even to tibtain Its renewal for
sly very long term of years. Since 1860 it has been granted
by au annual Act. Intring a long time, for remota on which
It is not neceseary for me here to dwell, the country
cherithed, together with the desire, the expectation or hope
of its extinction. But the atm annually drawn ir .m it
formed go hours tn Item In the coconuts trues year to tear
that it eppeared to have grown unmanageable. It has, how-
ever, bees the happy fortune of Mr. Lowe to bring it down,
first from 86. to tel , end then from 41. to 31, lathe pound.
the proceeds of the lucerne Tax for the present 3 err are
expected to be between £s,oeo,ceo and £8,000,00, and at a
sacrifice for the financial year of something less than
£4,500,000 the country may enj .y the a 'vantage and relief
of ite totsl repeal
"1 to not hesitate to affirm that an effort should now la
made to attain this advantage, nor to declare that, accoroang
to toy Judgment, Ills In present circumstances practicable.
',And yet, while making thle recommendation and avawal,
I have mare to add. It will have been obrerved that the
proposals I have mentioned ceniemplate principally the relief
of rateable anti other property, although there are many
an ong the payers of Income Tax the anode,' rn of whom
with that term seems almost to mock them. But It Is M5lll.
feat that we oucht not to aid the rake, and remove the

Income Tax, without Riving to the amend c rammer, end
giv'ng him aiorattonocutly, some marked relief In the clan of
artlc'es of popular consumption.
" I t may be observed that the changes I have indicated
would ill-pose of more, indeed c inelderably more, than the
surplus I have tamed ; anti that I am not entllled to entlei-
pate any larger balite., of available revenue diming the com-
ing financial year from the present conic,s as th-y are fixed
by law. But I have said nothing to prec:ule the Government
from asking Parliament to consider, in c injunction with
those era at remissions, what moderate assistance could he had
from judicious adartments of existing term. Aid It is
scarcely necessary tor me to add that, admitting, as I do ad-
mit, the declarations 01 1153 1101 one could not belong to a
Government wh'cla did not on every °cosi-don selk to enlarge
It rtimerces by a wile economy. But these, I admit, are
general dechmations. The r whole vain, dem min aeon their
tutu-o and prictical development. On this subject I will
frankly allow that the question Is for the moment one of
confidence. The policy of the Government for the last five
pore In particular, toe character and opinions of my col-
miming, and the financial and conomercial legislation with
wh!ch 'may say that, sine- 1812, I have Leen asecciated, are
bsfore you. I can only add that I have tot spoken lightly,
but deliberately, and with :u'l persuasion.
I have now, Gentlemen, endeavoured to supply to yell
the 'intense! tritranding generally, bet IFNI, lb me. autliciert
accuracy, the views and intentions of the Government with
reaped t to policy and immediate lectslation, hal more
especially with reference to the Miami.' work which they
now offer themeelves to undertake and to perform. Undertaken
and potformed I knit it will be, whether by us or by others. '
Ir Is for yr u Orgy by whom. As for all that lies beyond, in
the region of the many ard arduous questions to sone
of which I hove referred. I can give no unlimited pledge ot
peraovel aid or service in the forty.second petrol a laborious
public Lie, and with the ilestre which I feel both entitled
and bowie to cherish for repose. But for the present issue I
am at your service, and no I trust are the colleaanies who
have pert irmed the work and made the chant-ter of the
present Government, and to sham I owe a lively and um.
e.idrag cratitu
'llls sometimes said. Gentlemen, that we of the Liberal
G Mernment end Party have endangered the institutions and
worried all the interests of the country. As to the interests,
lam aware if no one of them that we have Id med. If we
have unhappily el-fended any, it has been nettner our inten-
tion nor our wish, but the c insequence of our anxiety to con-
sult the rightist intimeet of all, In which all others are
involverfe—the in.eiest of the nation.

" As to the tnetitutiona of the country, gentlemen, the
charge Is the very fame that you have been accustomed to
hear tonged againq !Abend G.overnmenta In general for the
last 40 years. It is time to test by a amoral survey of the
past Gots trite aud vague allegation. II ow, thore has elapsed
a period of 40, or more exaotly 43 years since the Uneral
Party acquired the main direotion of public affairs. This
followed another period of about 44 years, beginning
with the oulroreak of the Revolutionary War, during
p p othere„,n
thod be
were
h o claimed a anl,nin u a
reputed too t rate of
their
b the
great preservers of the inatitutions of the country. but I ask
. you to jodge the men by the general results. I fear we
must admit hot the term of 40 years of Tory rule, which
closed In 1,30, and to wh ch you are Invited to
roturo, left the tratitatione of she country weaker,
e, even In Its peace and order leas secure, than
at the commencement of the period it had found them.
I am confident that If now the present G tvernment be
disonlesed from the service of their Gracious Mistress and of
the country, the Liberal party, which they repre,ent, may at
least challenge contradiction when they say that their term
of forty years leaves the Throw,. the laws, and the lostitu•
lion. of the country not weaker, but stronger, then it found
them.
- •

"Such, Gentlemen, Is theism placed before you, and bo-
ttom the nation, tor too" ueoielon. If the trust of this Ad-
ministration be by the effect of the present elections vir-
tually renewed, I, for one, will serve 3011,1 W r what remain,
of my time, faithfully; tf the Qoundeoce of the country toe
taken from us and handed ever to others whom you may
julive mere worthy, I, for one, shall acoept cheerfully my
dimities].
"I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your most ooliimd
and most IshlVul serv,alt,

"W. E. GLALSTONE
"11, Carlton lionse-tcrrace, Jan. 23, 1878."