The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-05-10 00:00:00

r ?FRILL PARLIAMENT.

in the House of Lordr. May 5, Lord Itedesdale rase to call
the attention of the Hence to certain bills Introduced thth
tension by certain gas companies for a peroammt Marais iu
their maximum charges, and to the Inexpediency of granting
loch an Increase even in rain in a Mob !p.n. Immediate audi-
tion to the pre•ent rates cold he pr party conceded, as it
might be expected that the late ir env- e in the price of coal
would Lot he yerrnamat, lie thought the application ex-
tremely unramainalilo, and the rethou he called attention to
It was that the Hones might rulers some opinion which
w..uld guide committees in future an to whether a per-
nisment rile out of that which was only temporary should
be allowed.

The Duke of Richmond awrced, but °unstinted that, while
the large compßiVes had no right to come fors. ard, the smAl
cowponies had some grout d for snob application, when from
an Increase they stood a great chance of below ruin nU. lie
sorsa.. sted that the ease could he met by a flight alteration
In the Om mot Water Act of MO. I.y which the timpani,
could Wit An a Gnsporary rise to their price by lii, assent of
• commies:on of the Board of Trade.

Etrl Grey considered th,tt noSI* 5h0,114 be sanctioned
w.thoot the most csrefui wrot.ny. The comp:lutes did not
take ~are to :mkt wssto nod ti oa.moo.iot In pro inctio”,
and until they h.cl doe kU they had no right t come for
an Increase. A rssolation Lmbooying tin es suggestions
would be most useful for the guidance of committees.

Lord Egerton said a precedent hut been set which might
be taken advmdago 01 by rail wmy committees who at any
time tout.d their prflts Mmintshed.
• • - • •• •

EI Granville wild these companies were restricted to their
aid that fact to an extent made the
question difficult to settle. lie negated that the matter
should be refo red to a select committee.

L.T.I Rudeadale .td he would conshlvr the matter, and
frame some rttointions to en idavour to meet the CAM but
Should the, not be approved by the Howe then a Select Com-
mitt. e could be appomted
The mahjong the dropped.
The FuTord ehaptl Marriages Legb Button Bill Viol read a
.socond tine.

Upon the mntlon for the thlrl reading of the Supreme
Court of Judlciture Bill,

_
ord Denman moved that the bill be n ad a third time
that day Oka month., and .an lett sparking.
The amt miment was put and m.ratived without a division,
aril the bill wail then read a third time, and pasted.
rh ir lordsiiips then glijOUM

In the House of Commons, Sir J. Packlngton gave nog:,
that ca. Tueedey, the 13'h Inet., he rh, all wove an addrere
to the C own, praylbg her el ejrety to with Ell her aseent
born nue of the renew; of the Eadowed Szhoole Commis.
alone".

---
In reply to Mr. Ore.., Mr. Airtan astd the ordnance
survey for Great &Main would not be complete for several
yews. Teat for England c. 1.1 Wales w. complete.

lit. O'Reilly aslod questions as to the provklon mwle by
GUllMffill lit for the rtligtinii wants of her Sll2lcaty's S. I vants
In hells profaning the Roman Cstholic
Sir U. Storks said the allowanese wore regulated by Royal
warrants, to which he referred.

Colonel C. Lindsay asked the Secretary for War If be would
state the number of officers commissions vacant in the
Volunteer service at present.
" '

Sir U Storks said thst if a return were moved for one
ehould be furnished.

Mr. Esstwick asktd if there 11.1 been any correspondence
with referee e to the b unitary between British North
trnerha and the territory purchased 1 y ti.e United States
from Resat%

Lord EMI, Id wax understood to say that last year Sir
Edward Thornton was instructed to make a suggestion to
the United St..tea G ,vere men! ior the al pAntment of a joint
corem'adon to survey and lay down a boundary. They as.
*anted, and a bill wee prepared, at owing !Ea 'Erasure of
business It could not pass Cong,ess. The subject was there.
fore standing over.

Colonel C. Llndsay gave notice that on the vote of the
Army Kstimates he should CRII attt ntion to the invill Amend
tliscoura, ing position of the • donteer officer under the new
regulations, and to move a reduction of the vote.
tr. Staueleld explalned the Government proposals with
recurd to Local taxation., contatne 1 in three b Ils—.,ne to
Amend the Lsw Regulatinr the lianilits and Valuation of
Property fur the turpose• of Rates, another to provide for
Unhormity lu the Valuation , f Property, mid the third to
preside for a Cons,lidated Rate. Too .hiug first on the
financial aspects of the question, he showed that of the
,000,000 at which Mr. Goschen's Return placed
the expenditure on local purl:lo4es, only £17*(1,000 was
from Rate., the rest being provided by Tolls, Loses, anti
Government contributions, and only £11,600,0t, wan devoted
to porous., giving a title to atidetance it ni the Imper al
resource. If hal obtaincd leave to ben in these bills,
Mr. Stansfeld Intimated that on Thursday be would move
for a Select Comurttee to pi ewe the way for dealing with
Local Self• Government and with the rontributi ms to local
burdens from Imperial reventps ; and he maintained that It
was not possible to proceed Pi any other way but by steps.
The first bill would aboilth ells:0,114ln. exemptions from rate.,
except in the rase of Churches and Chapels. With retard to
Government property, it would not be lift to the local autho.
Otte' to assess and rate It, but the (iLverrmerit would
submit schemes in the nature if Provisional Orders, which
would be conflrmet by Acts of Pirliamen. and on
which the local authorities would he heard. The second
would founded on the measures formerly Introdnerd by
Mr. Hunt sad Mr. Goscheti, and would provide for uni-
formity of niaessirent through the Medium of Surveyor, of
Tate', with an appeal to Potty Sessions and to gimlet Ses-
sions or a Special C.mmlttie A nial,nel‘nt of deductions
would he laid down for the purpose of getting at the rate-
able value; the mamma/A would I e quinquennial, and
would apply not only to Local but t, Imperial late. The
third Bill provides for the collection of WI Rat. a at one Con•
solidsted Rate, by means of machinery rim .6t I"(ntical with
that ,f Mr Goschetes Bill of

Sir Musey Lopes emitted that many of thee provisions
sketched out by Mr. Manifold would he beneficial, but they
did not meet the real grievanct—in fact, they would sg•
gravate it Mr. Commas &leo expressed his disappoint-
ment at the masks...ens of the Government scheme, and
Mr. Geldney pointed out that every proposal contained in
it had been before the House within the last few ye an, and
had been withdrawn to enable the Government to bring in
a large and comprehensive measure.

Mr. Pease, on the other hand, approved the cotine taken
by the G ,vernment, and thought it absolutely necessary
thee to pave the way to the settlemmt of the queation.
Mr Cranfurd exhorted the G. vernmef tto reconsider their
decialn‘n. and not to postpone Indefinitely the fulfilment of
their p edges. Mr Gregory ant Mr. A. Johnaten made some
observations, and leave having been given to bring in the
11 la, the helent Reading was fited for M uday, the 19:h
in •1.

...(1-3 the Or or of the Day baffle reel for ening Int t Corn
mlitee on Mr. F.wcetta Dublin University Tests Bill.
Mr. P. J. Smyth moved an li 'inn:Moo to the Committee
t., movide I m the &titillation ol the C thoHc ritiversity as a
Cob go of the Un morally of Dublin.
The O'Donoglino seconded the Instruction, arguing that to
pass tha 11111 in its pre eot form was utterly webs., and a
mere waste of time but on a division it was tegatived by
86 to 9.

In Committee Colonel Wilson Patten, with the assent of
the Government, carried an amendm.rit on Clause 2, by
which the abolition MI tests will not apply to Divinity Pro-
fessors as long as the University continues to teach and
grant Degrees in Theology.
Mr K. Smith moved an amendment on Clause 3 dfspensing
with the ohlbeation to attend chapel, tut on a (Illusion he
was beaten by 112 to 43_

A debate tiros. on the 8. cond Reading of the General
Vsluittlon (Ireland, Mil, th* rejection of which wise moved
the trGonor Don. It was carried, however, by 194 to 45.
The Soperannuatlon Ant Amendment bill wee read a
second time.

Mule other Iristneu waa disposed of, and the !louse ad-
journed at twenty-Are minutes to two o'clock.

In the :ion., of Lore* May 0, Lord Ripon moved the
second reading rf the Railway sod Canal 'franc Bill, which,
he said, was to,, el.ol on the recommendations of a Com-
mittee appolbtrd last year. It was thought dear/tole that
the great schemes of railway amalgamation should be regu-
lated by nom° general principle., and the Mil ac-orlingly
provided for the aprx lament of • Rail way Commission, com-
posed of three persons, to phi, It was to be transferred the
principal portion of the Pirlibliction created by the Act
of 18,4 ; and, with regard to through traffic, the Bill ex-
plained and amended the law a. established by that Act. The
Bill Mewlse enacted that railway companies owning any
male should keep them in pool repair. lie believed that
the measure was calculated to afford greater facilities for
traffic than at present existed, and, while just to the railway
companies, would elm prove beneficial to the public.
. . .

_
The Duke of Richmond observed that under the bill the
Comndesioners were to have great powers, and If those
powers were properly exercised the bill would operate use-
fully for to public. There were, however some details of
the bill which he would endeavour to amend In committee,
nnd ho hoped tho measure, when amended, would become
law.

Lord Houghton dld not thli k that the Railway Companies
had been guilty, In their relations towards the public, of any
such lochas alto neers Mate the appointment of the proposed
Railway (in mission, hl h would, in fact, be constituted
into a great C net 01 Law.

.•
Lord Redesdaie laid the bill was one of great Importance,
and in his opinion no person who was to he Commts,loner
under It should hs permitted to hold any railway or canal
securities. It was f no use to have a Commission such as
proposed unless it wan made an efficient Commiulou, and
therefore the powers conf :reed on it ought to be consider-
able.

The hill mu then read a second time : and, the other
Orders baring been disposed of, their lArdships adjourni d.
In the lionse of 'lmmons, Sir C Dike called attention to
the Distritiution of Electoral Power, and moved a gamin-
lion declaring it desirable to redress its Inequalities through-
out the Units K Merlons. The binds of hia argument mu
that that the I I diatitutionat lb. nry—representation if
placee --had give way to the representation of periona, and
he showed how flagrantly this theory is now violated, Ay
numerous statistic. IlliPtrating the unequal voting power
possessed by voters In different onistltuencies. For instance,
one eroup of 140 members is returned by 80,000 electors, and
another group f 100 by 1 0130,C04 electors—one half of the
House iselected by half a million, and the otherhaif by 4,000,000
odd. The number of electors It, small itor,nahs, he tweeted,
was declining ; they had given op their function of Winging
detrain*. into the ilOll5l who could not tib.l seats elsewhere,
and thoir maintenance c gild no longer be Instilled. Parlia-
mentary male-Wes v. ry often rept, sent d mere minorities
out at doors. to proof bf which he mentioned the
Division on the Birmingham Sewage Lill last year. On
the whole, he weeded that the present staSe of the repre-
sentation is • et it ding men cc to the p,ace of the country.
Mr. Anderson aeconded the motion In a speech cen.
eating of statistics illustrating the anomalies the present
system.

Mr. Collins roved en addition to the motiox, which to-
unneeded the application tit the m,m,lattre vote at a
reari of seeming a more seeurate proportional represents-
ti n If lure c.mstitlienclet got additional inenv.ers, the
result under the prerent mode of voting would be to In-
CreSie the power of majoritlee, and by the example of the
Metropolis, Lancashire, r d tient he shcwed that large
minorities of pul I,c opinion g entirely unrepresented.

Me. flladstone dd not rltemite the abstract force of the an
guno nte both of Sir C. Dllke and Mr. Cull ns, hut he regarded
thei, speeches as illtendeil more to form at d guide public
opinion tin,, as poss. s+lng any practical importance. Was
It do triable to proc. d now with the mien of
Seat,? and if not, shy t a s • lte,ohition that it Is
Whrnvrr Redistrlbui ion was dealt w.th, it must
Ire on n terve scale, and, cotsidering Its ui.
tandinona ramili Alfons. It would be idle to herbs on it
ex,ept at the corunitneertomt of a Ses-ion. It coin I not well
be called urgent. if, indeed, such a character sir, re given to
it, the House ought to throw told, all the work it still had
on It. hands, even in the fifth year of its existence. Hut Sir
C. I) Ike, he pointed out, had made no specific proposal
wililli could guide the House am to the manner to which it
should he dealt with.
Mr Dixon, in siipport of the motion, eulogized the supe-
rior wealth, education. and Intelligence ,4 the large town.
Mr. Astheton pointed out reasons for doubting the accuracy
of the returns end Mr. Itboinerhasset referred to the
anomalies of the Irish representation.
The amendment having been withdrawn, the revdntion
was negativei by 2rB to 77.

Mr. Troveinn called attention to the disproportionate
number of officers employed in the_British Army, which he
instated was far In P1C19911 Of Its requirements awl of the
standard of foreign armies, the @tett/ales of which he
quoted. He dwelt eats clally on the large nomher of gene-
rals employed, and to make a beginning of reduction he
moved a resolution declaring that, In the opinion of the
blouse, no forth. r appointment. .houil be made to the rank
of houorary.coloriel.

Brown we ,oded ths mot'. which h 3 sr carded u the
first step towel di She establtshment of a satisfactory scheme
of Retirement.

Mr. Cardwell, In opposing the motion, pointed o t that
while them was smile employment for young am in the
subordinate rants of the Al my, as they grew older and rose
In the service the opportunities of empl, yment were fewer.
Consequently, ae gs riflemen wont I not tie in time if peace
Just a h moment witCht win most convenient for the Ex-
ch. iver, the difficulty almnt Actin 'tient was inevitable. Astir
the proportion of °Moen te men, It was notorit no Met the Pros-
elan Army at the end of the war ft it the want of officers;
and we ourselves In Woe of war might and advantage In

- -
hating a superfluous amber. The Honorary COlOll4Ollllll he
till not regard as Cu Institution ton scored to be twaalied,
but It was a pert of the whole quistim of Retirement, which
could not be di•posed of in a daoussion Uk, this. It mu
intertwined with Minuets &Renew the Artillery. Engineers,
and 1113 Indian Army. The question was n being Col,
oiler I. and he hoped, therefore, that the motion woald be
withdrawn.
•

Mr. rr-velymi, however, reload to Wu thl, coupe, and
on going to a Didtion hit Relution w.te titgatircd 13.1 60
to 40.

Tho Ancient Monuments Bill etas read a second time, after
latch the Iloilo woo canuted oat at live minutes past
elbht o'clock.

111 the House of Commons, Hey 7, Sir W. Lawson moved ,
the second reading of the Penndelve Proluottory Liquor
ea), and contein'ed that the ptople of this country were hot
smithed wbh the preseut law m to the liquor traffic,
for there was from all parts of the country a demon I that
sonlethug more shuidel be dote in the matter. In his
roue& budget 'patch the Chancellor of the Exchequer
had shown that unclog the last ilmiicial 3 ear the pint, la
of this country had porde I down their guests a
ur strung drink Van the tune number of
people had ever dune in the same time In the history of the
world (leughter). This was no laughing matter. He would
not quote police statiati,e, and he could not prove that dur-
ing lent year drunken]. eas had ihereased, but he knew by
common report that such wise toe can Reviewing the
Licensing Act, and the steps that were being taken to
enforce it throughout the country, he declared that
he did not want another lieensing bill. He did
not believe In booming, for during sovcral generations
this Home had loom endeavouring to make a perfect
measure, and the result Iles been thoroughly unsatisfactory.
there cure eotatex in this count, y on Minch no pee&
homes calmed, soothe only asked that ix places whore public
opinion wait ripe forth. change a large moj wity Of the in-
habitants might be enabledito put themoel yes in a similar posi-
tion to those districts, audio try for three years how tiny
could get on without betrhouses Audi gin-shore. The demand
for this WI was net made namely by teetotallers. It we, a
cit'sens' question, and there were plenty of thell who were
wining to sacrifice some little of their own nonVenlenCe, Its
seeking tu do a great public geed. We hollered there was a
growing feeling in the connuy In favour of nobsiety, and
that increasing numbers of the working people of this
country would rally round those who supported this bill.
Hr. Wheelhouse moved tint this bill be read a second
time this day slit months, lie hoped there would be a divi-
sion on this question In order that the country might
know who wore on one aide and who am the
other. Everything that could ea said about tins bill
had been said. He felt that there was no necessity to
prole), g this debate, and he should have been glad
if the bill Amid be rejected with( ut a word from him in sup-
port of his ameheinie,,t. lie contended that the promoters
of th $ bill dare DO& put its aware before amy Open eleetiug
in it.e Mathary &lid bye f,r any sappart. this fluent a
would probably no made a lest matter at the text tic Cat
and he hoped that al maididatm, when they were asked
whether they would *armor& this hal, would be made
answer 'aye" Or .• no."

Mr. J. U. Talbot reo.nided the amendment, and after re-
marks from Mr. D. LWllloaple, Mr. Damn.lien. and Dir. W.
Selwm Ibbctson,

Bernal Osborne said he had hitherto abstained from
taking part in the nhciissions or votes upon thts bill, not
because to was ansious to shirk responathility—(cheens)—
but because he wished to give an opportunity to the Govern-
ment, who bad revised the whole of the licensing a?sten,.
They bad passed an Act, and he had hoped hat a tsar trial
would have been giveu to it le fore the hon. member for
Carlisle again entered upon an agitation on the subject.
lie had now been undeceived on that point In common
with other bon members, he had been saturated with litera-
ture on this subject. Amongst the viry numerous lithe-
graphed letters wish:Abe had recl iced, was one that told him
this bill was not a rival to any licensing measure that mitht
be submitted to the House, but es an Indispensable supple.
it ent, without which no licensing scheme wcii'd ever
satiafy the demands of the people of this country."
his, therefore, was not a licensed victuallers' questioe, or •
teetotaller's question, but one which threatened to strike •
fatal blow at tile liberties of the people of this country. To
pa-a this bill would be au act of spoliation towards a most
respectable body of men who hail been invited tir an express
act of this House to Invest their Capital In a trade.
The bill proposed to give the prohibitory power to two-
thirds of the ratepayers. Khy should it be confined to
ratepayers;' Had not the lien- ratepayers eyea, ran,
and tastes (hear, hear.) Were they to be entirely at the
mercy of the ratepaying population Suppose Msothirela
of • population were Protestants who chore to forbid the
Roman Catholics from eating liah in Lent. Laughter).
Nothing wail so ritili Wow; that it might not be broached
h, somebody. There Were physician, who held that tea
was a fruitful cause of nervous complaints. Suppose
he got up an anti tea &misty, and brought in a bill
to provide that if two-thirds of the inhabitants of a
district liked, tea should net he permitted On account of
nervous disorders. That would not be a bit more
ridicn-
ton.. The real rival to the public-house was the reading
room, and It was only by such means that they could reach
the indolence in intemperate habits. Tan Limning
Act bad Gait up publiolmuses at eleven o'clock, but the
pool le eid not go home to bed. lii many of the large
Manufacturing towns that Act had given rise to a system
of working men's cubs, where liquor wsa served, and
gambling took place at all Um, a of the night and day'
mid on Sunday those clubs woe in full operation, mode
the pu'.llc-burs were shot, I hire had 10-en a puritanical
e)sfoin tat this country which had nearly reduced it to revel.
lion tu the time of the great brewer of Huntingdon. Alter
that the country was it coded with profanity, moronity, and
chunkenuess, and such would be the case lf over thls bill
became law. Ile held his seat as nothing when truth was at
each, and he should give an unbeeitating vote against this
bill, believing that it would be an evil thing for this country
to begin to leatelate on such • principle.
. . .

After exprZtutioha of uptriou from revaral other Lou.
nhAmbers,
-- • • • •• • • - • - -

Mr. Bruce salt that he opp, ed the bl I, Ixeasse it wolf
add to the duties tad reap 'nalolitto, of the Home 8.-cretary,
at there would be calluoti riots; or, what ass worse, the
Government would have to wihk at evasions of the law. The
evide..e of America clearly short d that such a measure was
It tractleab'e. He cool I be no party to the cor tiscedon
which Ills bill would came, The means used to agitate
Lids question threatened to affect the independence of the
Home. Ile hoped the bill would be rejected by a crushing
. . _

After few wrdi In reply from Sir W. Lawson, the Howe
divided, when Me nomb,e were :

'For the second reeding— NI
Agsimt it
Majority .. 210
The result was received with great cheering.
Sir C. Adarriey moved the second reedlog of the Public
ilritith

.... en'ered into a long rtv:ew of this II sti CI
and a I:col:Ism if the provi.hus et that rah which he op
. „

Ilibbert. on behalf of the Local Goverunnnt Board,
lb artily supported the bill.
Mr. r. Collins was still speaking when the time ambit,' for
nti.i nulling the debate.

Ito other orders of the day were disposed of, and the
QUIP e adjourned.