The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-01-07 00:00:00

Etc ,itourbribst (thserber

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7, 1888.

COUNTY QUESTIONS.

REMOVE not the ancient landmark "is a
quotation which seems to give expressinn ' to
Ihe general feeling as regards the proposal
to revise county bounfla‘ ies. It was all very
well, in the last Parliamentary electoral
reform act, to merge a number of small, if
antique, boroughs into divisions of counties,
and so efface them from the, , map of places
returning members. The inhabitants can
still call their towns by the old names, and
for all but ono purpose they are as they
. were. But it is a very different matter. for
mere utilitarian put poses, to slice pieces out
of, say Gloucestershire and give them to
Somerset, or to take a section of Surrey and
throw it into Kent. What would the
Westerham hop-grower, whose biggest
boast through life has been to call himself a
"man of Kent," say if he were converted
into a Sterreyite by Act of Parliement ?
How would the sturdy sons of Cornwall, who
first saw the light about Liskeard, reeard
being translated into Dovonians through the
action of a new statute? It is questionable
whether any of the inhabitants of the north-
borderland of the beautiful hill county
which has been called "the Switzerland of
England" would like to lose their identity
among the multitudes of the many-acted
shire; and, on the contrary, no " Tyke "
would relish being metamorphosed by a
legal second nativity into a man "Darby-
shire man born and Darbyshire bred" And
soon, through the whole list nf the counties,
everybody has sentimental attachment to the
name of the shire "he came fr ti-t." A tor-
rent of opposition will rise up against the
sacrilegious statesman who dares to lay an
irreverent finer on the familiar title of any
English county. We might stand the tax
gatherer fiom a neighbon ring shire being
entrusted with the collection of our local
rates—the more so if he should experience
delay or difficulty in finding ear domicile—
but we could never put up with beieg de-
signated dwellers in the next county. Any
Lc* il Government Bill which ein het lied a
proposal of such a nature vioeld certainly be ,
aptly described as being of a highly con-
tentious character; and, . though we have
: -
4,
. li, led •to expect that • something stibstin--
e4would be attempted in the way of re-
form of County Government - inf the'comine
session, the Postmaster-General's remarks
at the Flintshire Quarter Sessicns on Tues-
day seem to forbode, spoken as they were
magisterially rather than as py a Minister
of the Crown, notwithstanding, that there
is little likelihood of any comprelee;sive .
scheme of local governmetal amendment
getting early legislative sanction. No one
would seriously object to such a rearrange
ment of poor law or other local administra-
tion as would lighten the drain of the public
purse, but we must have the popular no-
menclature of our parishes and of our
connties left just as it has been for ages past.
A rose by any name might smell as sweet,
but you would never be able to make the
dalesman of lovely Grasmere admit that
Cumberland sounded half as harmonious to
his ear as Westmorelanci does. It :is senti-
ment, as we have said, but it is that sort
of sentiment which the Briton will not per-
mit even the high court of Parliament to
violate. Now let us pass on to another
matter of great county importance, assured
that -5.r.' orkshire will be Yorkshire in years to
come, as she has been so long in the past,
and that the titles of the rest of tue shires
will be undisturbed also, despite the best
laid schemes of Viould-bo local Government
menders. The alterations in Assize arrange-
ments which have been made are a step in
the right directinn of setting out the whole
criminal business of the country with equai
regard to the convenience of those concereed
in the administration of justice in London
and tho provineial assize centres, and of
those interested in the trials also, wherever
located. 'With due co-operation and careful
collation of the number and character of the
cases in the calendars much waste of judicial
and legal time and lunch s tying of law and
travelling expenses may be brought about.
,There need neyer be juries panelled, court
officials in their places, and learned judges
on the bench in one towr or city to try a
few trivial cases while' justice is at a stand-
still in another from lack of administrators.
And assize work proper may be most miteri-
ally lightened, as is suggested, by the hold-
ing of adiourned quarter sessions imme-
diately prior to the time fixed for the open-
ing of the assizes, the magistrates taking and
Ileciding all cases of comparative iesigniti-
canoe, which otherwise would occupy the
attention of her Majef ty's judges, This '
latter expedient, if gener illy and systemati-
cally adopted, within safe limits would
being about tremendous saving in the county
rates. Let us hope that the many sugges-
tions of ways in which the burden ot local
taxation may he. reduced which have been
in ale may get all tin nuimpassionr3,l and
attentive e3nsiderati :u j. Pariiall II t
they deserve aesoon LIS pr:tetiettb'C Uf LUC the
re-assembly next month ; though Mr. Raikes'
remark above alluded to throv.s sorn3 "loom
on the prospect. " Contentiou3" proposalm •
would have lit 11r. ,:itance of a ceptance, as
vee; affirmed at the Flintshiro Ses.ons.
Why not di.L.l-) the contentions, then, and
proceed with 'legislation for the good of the
counties about the necessity for which the
vast majority are in agreement? There is
phAtty of work to do within these lines, and,
. with a solid House of Commons pressing it
. forward, Ireland would be powerless to stop
the way and could not prevent Ministers
redeeming their promise that next should be
a British session

4 ; e
PLe
r.`
•

COMMENTS ON CURRENT NEWS.

THE diplomatic ane newsraiter noie in
the German and Rnr.,,ian et:tint:lls concerning-
the notoriortst forged rlrx;_aits" does not
seem now that file I .-At of ril& sham papers
has been publiAed, to have been. warranted
by thejr importance, since there is no true
statement masle therein which dise!oses
anything new. The 1,-!. le of the d leu-
ments forms an uttblushin. fabrication ! but
who is the forger, the wort. is not, it !t.tins,
to know, at any rat,,.‘ at esent: Ho is
either a dirty tool .of some 'Berlin' cr St.
,
Petersburg diplomatist, or else he is cni-_,, of
Russ.a's internal foes. The , docum nits
were designed with the deliberate ir 'en ion
of cultivating bitterness between G l':1:fi a.
and Russia, of that there can be no
and even now that in Loth e tju tri,,A it . is
\Ai 'el y known that, they are - iiiiiiihlent
i'w ge, ies much of the bad blood t'tey
i„rowsf>d remains. And the "situation." On
the Continent will eontinne critical until
GLrtnany gives forth with emphasis- to all
. onctTned an unmistakable definition oi her
aq,tade on the Bulgarian question. If
Berlin will declare for freo Bulgaria, Sr..
Petersburg will hardly dare to ml.ke nnv
open or decisive move for Russian sunremaej
in the Balkans. All the world -.knows the
Czar's policy, but Kaiser William's. Govern-
ment seems .to prefer playintf .. A : waiting
came bi the straightforward plan-of Striking
0 ~
c.t position, and " atiCking to-iii."- Bulg'aria,
itself is powerless:- • ItS desire. ks for natioucil-
ism and independence, but its' people 'dwell
in fear froth day to day that' one. or other.
of the Great Powers will • overthrow their
rulers. and 'set. over them foreign taskmasters.
It is high in the intere,ts Of Bulgarian
p:osiwrity and of Etiropean p ,ace that sn
international understanding should he at-,
1 rived at. the provisions of which should pre-
vent any one country fiom interferityz in
any way with Bal7atia without the coiCiait
of all the Contneutal Governwients.

-NEW YELR'S DAY saw the celebratkn,
with all the ma;.-4-nificent ritual or the Cbureh
et Rome, of the Pope's sacerdotal jubilee,
and the grand old fane of St. Peter was
filled to ()Ye flowing lay and clerical
dignitaries, assembled to take part in the
imposing c.remonial. Though Pope Leo is
tho religious father and mighty head of all
the many millions represented in Sunday's
remarkable gathering, it was plainly do.
monstrated that he is only mortal after all,
for tw ice daring the proceedings the cam-
pant of the Vatican fell into a dead faint.
The matter most worthy of comment, in a
general sense, coacerning this event, is that
it has called forth less immoderate assault
from other Christian sects than Roman
Catholie ceremoxials of like importance have
been gree:ed with in ages past. This we
state as a fact to be noted, without express-
ing any leaning for or against the Roman
Catholic or any antagonistic. Chn eh, holding
as wo do thAt sPeulpx newspaper tom tans
ought not to give place to eccleNiktical con-
tentions and controversies, and. that ei.ery
person has a right to perfect freedom of
conscience, and to claim respect for his

convictions.

THB disastrous fire at the Islington Grand
Theatre has wrought sad hardship to a
mana2er just beginning to reap the first re-
turns of a heavy financial adventure which
had a seeming bright prospect ; and also to
over two hundred of his ar istic and other
assistants in the production cf a popular
entertainment, who lest their " properties "
and employment, by the accident. All that
sympathy of the practical sort can do is
being done to repair the mere money loss,
Thespians an 3 general public having
.nobly
given to the relief fund. .How -fortunate it.
was that the -conflagration, did not occur
before the pantomime - 'seers had the
building two hours earlier: Th.Plitieifess of
the outbreak alone spared .Loudon. from -4
holocaust like that which • 'last 'year made
Exeter into a city of mourning.

. 4p,
BurizaivE is now no more, and i,ts
sac-
cessor, margarine, though by law established,
is a dangerous thing to deal with. When,
henceforth, any one asks for butter, the
new Act ordains that with that wholesome
dairy product alone shall he be served. Any
compound of fat or other more objectionak le
ingredients which ingenious traders may
have made tip in imitation of the genuine
article is to be sold only as "margarine,"
and wrapped in paper Vl ith that uninviting
description printed thereon in inch letters.
Th: se aud other precautions have been
properly taken in the interests of the million,
to whom cheap and yet wholesome butter
is one of the necessities of life.

Trroax traders and others who have to ex-
perience the mortification of receiving more
or less occasional docnments on blue large
post folio paper, partly printed and partly
pen n'l, beginning "In the matter of So and
So," sill be glad to know that compositions
and private arrangements with creditors
a..e not to be for the future quite such easy
-methods of avoiding the pains and
.penalties
of the Bankruptcy Court (Mr. Chamberlain's
Re.ised Version), as they have been in the
past. Sir Bernhard Sarnnelsou's measure,
carried last session, provides that hereafter
every deed of arrangement must be properly
and officially registered, -just as Bills ef
Sale are, and that full- particulars must be
given to theCouttof Ban:iraptcyin London,
or the local County Court. This informa-
tion will be posted up, and may be inspected
„y anyone who cares to see or is interested
in knowing the status of a person who has
undergone a more or less friendly private
transformation from a state of insolvenev.
The new enactment may prove a considerable
check on fraud; and in this hey-day age of
competition commerce needs every possible
protection from swindlers.
- ---
RESOLUTE GOVERNAENT.

Airt. BALFORR long ago justified his selec-
tion for the arduous, very difficult, and
traditionally dangerous post of ChiJ
Secretary for Ireland. No man had cver so
much abuse heaped upon him. The Bill-
ingsgate which has been showered over him
has come, not only from those politicians ii
whose nature it has long been the staple
article, but from others of higher ca'tbre
who, in days gone by, were as jealctia of
of personal courtesies as the Loyalist ;ti
remain. Among all, this abuse, howe .
much of which is never seen by Mr. Bal
and none of which ever perturbs him—he
has had the satisfaction of seeing the Crimes
Act working steadily to its inevitable object.
We know that the Nationalist leaders will
take credit for the fact that Ireland is more
law-abiding to-thy than she has been for ,
years back. But the answer to such a '
..udicrons claim for credit is that some of
the most cf)nspicuous of those leaders are
at 'll. present moment the most notorious
lawbr a,kers. Intelligent men will see that
the r,.:tl credit for the result we have indi-
cated is due to the " %aloaroas &mums"
with which Lord Salisbury's policy has been
carried out by his nephew. This immunity
front rime which at present characterises
the condition of the Sister Isle is, we hope,
a gratifying omen for the New Year on ,
which weave just entet ed. It ha-, how.i
e'er, beenepptepriately.pointed ou hat it

MEE