The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-10-18 00:00:00

SIR STAFFORD NORTHCOTE AT
TORRINGTON.

Sir Stafford Northoote presided on Monday at an
agricultural meeting near Torrington. Referring to
the progress of the past seven years, he said that
during that period the prosperity of the country had
increased. There was more money to be spent, and
upon the whole people were in a thriving condition.
He did not say that there were not reasons for looking
anxiously upon the present state of the country; but
still the country was advancing rapidly in prosperity.
The consequence was that prices had risen, the prices of
food particularly, and more especially of meat. His
hearers were for the moat part producers of meat and it
wail important for them to seeho w they could take advant-
aged the rising prices and do their duty to their country
by supplying the additional food required. Referring
to the scarcity of labour, he said it could be remedied-,
first by retaining as large a number of the present
labouren in the country as possible, and secondly
by supplementing the deficiency in the labour market
by the employment of machinery and the most
approved methods of industry. Some people said
that the labourers would be satisfied if they received
their wage' au in money. He could not help feeling
that such • system would defeat the very object
It was meant to serve. At all events, farmers should
consult together and co-operate with their labourers.
The question was raised at the Bath Church Con-
grew as to the duty of the clergy with regard to strikes,
and he agreed in the view taken by the Bishop of
Oxford that the clergy were not entitled to take a side
in controversies of that sort. Their functions were of a
nigher and more spiritual character. It was their duty
rather to endeavour to robe the general character of
their parishioners, to endeavour to bring among them
feelings of Christian kindlinem, than to enter into
diecusrious of the kind which had been referred to.
He then spoke of the military spirit which had always
been prominent in the yeomen of North Devon.
At present their gallant Army and Navy were called
upon to perform a service not of the most agreeable
character, and one in which, perhaps, there was no great
amount of honour to be gained. He referred to the ex-
pedition against the Ambulate°, ; but, nevertheless,
wherever British troop; were called upon to serve there
was always honour really to be gained, because it was
as much honour to go out and face the deadly climate
and the treacherous though savage foe as to engage
In more regular warfare. Of this they might be
confident, that whatever service British troop. were
called upon to render in the pestilential West
Cool': of Africa they. ...old ',liter it cheerrully,
WILIIUUL cusiti..l“aag uttitt q.estion, excep.
of doing the duty which their country might assign to
them. He extremely regretted that it should have
been found necessary to exposer their soldiers to such
service as they were now engaged in. It might be that
the expedition was entirely necessary, and could not
have been avoided. Upon that point it was rather
dlificult to express an opinion, because they bad not
been taken into consultation by the Government, and
had not bad full explanation of the objects of the pur-
pose for which the expedition was sent or how far it
was intended to proceed. Some persons told them with
more or less authority that they were simply engaged in
defending lintish territory and British lives from the
savages, while others told him that they were going
much nether— that they were going to carry British
civilisation into the interior of Africa, or to annex a large
portion of that continent, and to extend the blessings
of civilisation by means of • military expedition.
Whether one or the other be the object it was lin-
poesible to say, but he presumed that Parliamentary
explanations would be given of the lemons which led
the Government into this war, and whet object they
proposed to get by it. Nodoubt it would have been more
in accordance with precedent if the Government, on find-
ing themeelver committed to an expedition of that mag-
nitude which this promised to be, had called Parliament
together and proposed a vote of credit for the purpose of
supplying the expedition. It would have been their
duty to give an explanation, and to ask for • further
vote in order to carry on the we:. Of course, a British
Parliament would never refuse the funds for carrying
on an expedition which the Crown had thought it
necessary to engage ; bat still it would have been
only a reasonable proceeding on the part of the Go-
vernment that they should have shown confidence in
the Howie of Common, on this occasion, and have taken
that House into their counsels from the very earliest
period of such an undertaking. Alter one or two more
remarks Sir Stafford Northeote resumed his rest amid
loud cheer,.