The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-07-24 00:00:00

COMMENTS ON CURRENT TOPICS

As we write, it is anticipated that Lord
Salisbury, who returned from France imme-
diately Mr. Gladstone's Ministry, in Cabinet
Council assembled, resolved upon resignation,
will fornt a Conservative Government after
the customary Royal initiative and its out-
come have been duly observed. Rumours of
Coalition held the field for a while, naturally,
in view of the results of the General Election;
and there seemed to be a great wish in the
leading Conservative circles that a modes
vt'veedi should be agreed upon for Irish ques-
tions only between Lords Hartington and
Salisbury. The joint-Cabinet idea has not
really been finally abandoned as these lines
are penned, but it is regarded as virtually
so, The Marquis of Hartington would
manifestly be in a difficult and embarrased
position in close company with those with
whom he is at political loggerheads in all
things almost excepting his opposition to
Mr. Gladstone's Irish scheme. The likeli-
est upshot
,:of things, therefore, was, after
the elections had shown the strength of
parties, a purely Conservative Government,
with an understanding with the Hartingtoni-
ans, and perhaps also with the Cliamberlaii,-
ites. Thus legislation of at least a provisi-
onal sort on Irish affairs would be possible.
The Irish Question dealt with for a time,
then we should have a new election, and a
reconstruction of parties, for an alliance
between the Dissentient Liberals as a
London newspaper calls those of his former
supporters who now stand aside from A[!..
Gladstone—and the bulk of the Tory part,-,
could not continue in general business.,

PARLIAMFNT will meet on August sth for
formal business only, the swearing-in 'of
members, the issue of writs for the seat 3
vacated by acceptance of office, and so on.
These indispensables provided for, the ncw
members will be free to absent themselve s
until October, when once again the Trish
hurly-burly will begin, and, according to all
present seeming, with greater vehemence
than ever before. There is no probability of
an oposition being made to the election oF
.ilr. Peel for Speaker, his impartiality and
high ability in the chair having evoked the
goodwill of all parties, even those be has in 1
most frequently to call to order,

Tan Crawford divorce case has been the
sensation of the week, and the details of the
evidence of some of the witnesses, especially
that of the respondent, have been shocking.
indeed. As usual, the applications for
admission to court were enormous in number,
but no one not engaged in the case was
allowed within the precincts, and so morbid
cariosity had to go unsatisfied. It has been
sad to see the circumstantial and extensive
manner in which all the particulars ot the
ovidence, much of it altogether unfit for
family reading, to say the least, has been
reported in the papers. No good can come
of such bold advertisement of misdeeds.
And then the morality of such a proceeding!
One widely-circulated London journal gave
eight closely printed columns to a day's
report. Another daily, a principal proprietor
of which is a leading light of the Noncon-
formist religious world, devoted no less than
ten columns, in small type, to a single day's
proceedings in the unsavoury trial, and
delegated a ~special reporter to write an
edifying description of the clothes and bear-
ing of the principals in the case. That day
the report of the Wesleyan Conference
opening and Presidential electionwas granted
under half a column of space in this same
daily organ of Nonconformity. The evening
papers have been worse, issuing verbatim
reports in edition after edition, with all sorts
of sensational placards, such as "Mrs. Craw-
ford makes a clean breast of it," printed in
enormous letters. This sort of thing, which
would not have been permissible a year or
two back, is growing upon us, and the
tendency is in the direction of making the
streets of our great cities and towns as un-
sightly with objectionable literature as al e
those of Paris. The great papers are creat-
ing an appetite for this distinctly improper
mental fare, calculated to sadly and sorely
degrado the national life and speech am'
thought, and readers are demanding similar
sensational reading from the weeklies and
more essentially family journals. If a stern
stand is not made against thislflowing tide
of immoral reading, England will one day
bitterly regret it.

THE Queen's Prize the blue riband of
marksmanship has been won this year by
a private of the Lincolnshire Rifle Battalion,
Jackson by name, who was fortunate enough
to beat two other crack shots, after a tie for
premier position. Never before did three
men tie for first the position
in the last stage of the Queen's Prize. Once
two men got the same final aggregate. That
was in 1874, when Private Atkinson, of
Durham', tied with Private Ray, of Stirling
(subsequently Gold Medallist of 1878).
Atkinson won in the firing off. "The
Queen's Sixty" is now transformed into the
"Queen's Hundred," so that 40 more marks-
men than formerly compete in the final
stage. Tnereasing interest in shooting, and
increasing merit in the skill of the men,
make higher scores and ties more probable,
so that it is not unlikely that severer tests
will have to be adopted. There is a notice-
-11)1e improvement in the character of the
firing this year.;
A .
a'arfnE awful death at Woolwich Arsenal the
other day called attention to the dangers at-
tendant upon the fashioning of the monster
guns which science has decreed shall be made
use of in modern warfare. Whether or not
the poor fellow who was annihilated by
molten steel Ni as hirtiF, to blame in any
way for his fearful end, ..oems patent that
the moving of the metal before it was set
onght not to have been attempted. It is to
be-hoped that mondani; will be taken
:walnut the ropetition of such a, saa 11thitd•
Wntutio And that the jary's reooramendation
that Inch oomponsation as is now possible
should be given to the widow and family of
poor Moriarity will not fall upon unheeding
official ears,

Tilt new Extradition arrangement be-
tween England and America will not be
drastic enough to embrace within its
clutches such of the dynamitards who die.
turbod this country a while ago as may be
domiciled across the "herring pond." As,
hosvovor, it is understood that the Conven.
tion ohs?' not stand in the way, of a further
and fuller treaty dealing with the rascals
who, under a political pretext, plot sorely
against life, limb, and property, it is a step
.n the right direction.