The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-12-25 00:00:00

Our Yonbcfn gorrapaubent.

We deem it right to state that we do not at all ttmeo
,ntify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.

Ministers have suspended the series of Cabinet
Councils which extended beyond the middle of the
month, and have for the most part left London for
their country seats, there to spend the Christmas
holidays. For even Cabinet Ministers are human, and,
like ordinary mortals, enjoy the Christian festival
which is observed in all civilised lands. For a time,
therefore, the legislation for the coming session, the
amount of the Estimates, and the policy of the Govern-
ment both at home and abroad give way to a celebra-
tion which is as universal as it is warm and hearty.
The pavements in Downing-street no longer echo
to the footfall of anxious Secretaries of State. The
room in the official residence of the First Lord of the
Treasury, with double windows and double doors, so
that not a sound shall escape, and wherein so many
momentous decisions have been taken by successive
Governments, is empty at Christmas time. Her
Majesty's servants, as the Cabinet Ministers are
officially designated in every summons issued to attend
a Council, are now a long way from the scene of-their
labours, to which they will, however, return at an un-
usually early period of the new year. Whatever politi-
cal party may happen to be in power, no one can ever
grudge Ministers a brief respite fromthe cares of state,
more especially at a fime like this; when the occu-
pant of the humblest cottage, as well as the resident
in the most palatial mansion, joins in a commemora-
tion which has been looked forward to with pleasure
for weeks by every class in the community.
As to Christmas itself, of which so much has for
centuries been written, so far from Time diminishing
the extent of its observance, more is thought of the
season as the world rolls on. Even within the recollec-
tion of those who have not yet arrived at middle life,
more has been made of Christmas than was formerly
the case. Not so much perhaps from a sentimental
stand-point as from a practical one. Every year
seems to witness an increase in the amount of work
appropriate to Christmas time. The vast number of
Christmas cards which are now sent out are really
beautiful in art if not costly in material. Their
design and execution imp' ove year by year; and their
exquisite finish is the subjeet of admiration,by com-
petent critics. Then there are the Christmas annuals,
double numbers of weekly publications of all descrip-
tions, and Christmas gifts of every kind—all these mean-
ing extra work and additional remuneration to many a
labourer in the hive of honesty industry, and enabling
him to meet the augmented expense which then falls
upon the household. The cynical allusions which are
sometimes made to the celebration of Christmas rest
upon foundations shadowy and unsubstantial. By
most of us it is regarded as a time when there is a
break in the round of life's monotony, a resting-place
from its bustle and:turmoil. It is a period when the
acerbities of political strife are forgotten and the toils
of business are suspended; and when high and low,
rich and poor, from the sovereign to the pauper, join
in remembrance of an event which for centuries has
been kept up in every land with any pretence cf civil-
ization.

Singularly enough, four days before and four days
after Christmas occur-,the birthdays of the two rival
political chiefs who now stand out in bold relief before
the people, as Pitt and Fox did three-quarters of a
century ago. On the 21st December, 1805, Lord
Beaconsfield was born in London; and on the 29th
December, 1809, Mr. Gladstone was born in Liver-
pool. The late and the present Prime Ministers, are,
therefore, seventy-five and seventy-one years of age
respectively. Looking at the wear and tear of public
life, the long hours of Parliamentary labour, and the
excitement which is inseparable from prominent appea r
ances in the public arena, it is gratifying to note the
advanced ages attained by our public men. Earl Russell
was a member of the two Houses of Parliament for
the amazing term of 65 years, was twice Prime
Minister, and died at the age of 86. Lord Palmerston
was a member of the House of Commons 60 years, was
twice Prime Minister, and died at the age of 81. The
late Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister during the
early part of the war with Russia, died at the age
of 76. The late Earl of Derby, three times Prime
Minister, died at the age of 70. Lord Beaconsfield and
Mr. Gladstone have each been twice Prime Minister.
Mr. Gladstone has been a member of the House of Com-
mons 48 years, having been first returned in December
1832; Lord Beaconsaeld's parliamentary career has not
been quite so long, beginning in 1837. It is therefore
contemporaneous with the reign of her Majesty. In
the case of a Minister who is also a member of Parlia-
ment it will be borne in mind that he spends long days
in his department as well as long nights in
the House of Commons; and in the full tide of the
seslion the physical and mental strain of public life
must be one of some severity.

The recess has been so short that members of
Parliament who have gone abroad to spend their vaca-
tion will have barely time to address their constituents
before the meeting of Parliament if they have not
alreaely done so. When it was known that the two
Houses of the Legislature were to in eet on the 6th o
January, there was a hastening on the part of mem-
bers of the House of Commons to give an account of
their stewardship, as the phrase goes, and on the plat-
form of many .1, provincial town the battles of the
short session were fought over again. The intervention
of Christmas has led to a suspension of these extra-
Parliamentary utterances, but a good many of them
will be.crowded into the first week of January, which
it may be remarked, is the time for holding the
Epiphany Quarter Sessions in the various county towns
throughout the kingdom. As Easter next year falls
comparatively late, Parliament will have more:than
three months of work before it can have a day's holi-
day; and a quarter of a year without a break ought to
show some substantial results in the way of legis-
lation.

In the week preceding Christmas the Speaker of the
House of Commons allotted to the provincial press the
additional seats in the Reporters' Gallery which have
been provided by the Office of Works in accordance
with a vote taken last session. Newspaper enterprise
in the country has so developed since the transfer
of the telegraphs to the state that the accommodation
in the gallery became totally inadequate, and there-
fore ten more seats have been given to provincial
papers. The London journals retain those which
they have so long had, and provision is also made
for the representatives of the news organisations.
At the time the House provided these extra seats
for the country press, it also took a step towards
the establisnment of a system which has long
been in existence in France and the United States,
namely, the preparation of an official report of the
debates. A vote of £.4,000 a year is now taken for this
purpose. A quarter of a centnry ago the -metro-
politan journals reported the debates at much greater
length than they are now enabled to do in consequence
of the pressure of other matter, and then there was
no occasion for an official report of members'
speeches. But the extension of the telegraphic system
has brought with it an enortaeus augmentation of in
telligence from all parts of the world, which is now
considered of greater interest then the records of long
speeches; hence the House has resolved to have
longer speeches reported than can be given in the
crowded columns of what are described in Parliament
as "the usual channels of information."

The speech of the Postmaster-General to his con-
stituents has attracted much attention as indicating
an intention to develope the usefulness of that great
organization to its fullest possible extent. An im-
proved parcels post is promised; and a hope is held
out of the institution of a sixpenny rate for telegrams
of half the number of words that are now sent for a
shilling. So far as London is concerned, a sixpenny
rate was in existence before the passing if the Tele-
graphs Act of 1868, but this was abolished in the face
of the uniform shilling scale for the whole of the
United Kingdom. Many business men have long been
unable to understand why ten words should not be
sent over the wires for sixpence as well as twenty for
a shilling. In a large proportion of cases a score of
words are not required to convey the meaning lf the
sender, who, however, knowing that he has to pay his
shilling, resolves to have his money's worth out of the
State, and.makes up the number of words to twenty
accordingly. Mr. Fawcett will earn the gratitude of
a large and representative body of men in the com-
mercial world if he is enabled to initiate a reform in
the telegraphic tariff, which has long been called for,
and would be very materially appreciated.
We have heard a great deal of late respecting the
decline of British commerce ; and there can be no doubt
that certain branches of trade have passed through a
period of depression. It is, therefore, satisfactory to
note the general improvement which has taken place
during the year'now drawing to a close. There is one
department in commerce in which a steady increase
has been show, year by year during the past decade,
and that is our steam mercantile marine. A few weeks
ago the shippers of America were complaining of the
great falling-off exhibited in the marine of that coun-
try; and it was stated that by far the largest portion
of goods shipped from American ports was carriedin
English bottoms. The statement was true ; but it was
significant only in regard to the relations between this
country and the United States. Our true position
as the carrying power of the world is marked by the
fact that, out of a total of 6,434 merchantdeteamere which
sail under the flags of all nations, 3,787 carry the
British ensign. From July 1878 to July this year the
tonnage of British steamers increased to the extent of
508,398 tons; while that of the whole world amounted
to 749,910 tons, These facts speak for themselTes. So

long as we can boast of a steam mercantile navy
exceeding the total of all the other nations on
the face of the earth, our commercial position
can hardly be very precarious. While the steam
tonnage has increased, that of sailing ships has
undergone a very sensible diminution. It is thus
apparent that the mercantile marine of the world is
undergoing a considerable revolution. Machinery is
rapidly replacing wind as a motive power for vessels.
As steamers are much more costly than sailing vessels,
the increase in their number has been greatest in
those countries which have amassed great wealth, and
this probably, in some degree, accounts for the aug-
mented power of the British merchant navy. The
majority of the steamers have been built in England;
but the French and German iron shipyards have had
a fair share of the work arising from the change.
Those appeals to the charitable which are appearing
just now in the columns of the.papers tell an eloquent
story. They mark the contrasts and depict the lights
and shadows which seem to be inseparable from life in
a great city. They are not made simply for Christ-
mas charity, and to enable the very poor to enjoy
a treat once a year and thus to forget
for a few hours the hardship of their lot,
although these form a considerable proportion of
them. Aid is also asked towards the support
of institutions which do good throughout the
changing phases of each revolving season, and whose
beneficent work is obvious in the lengthening•days of
spring, in the pleasant time of summer, amid the
waning light of the autumnal eventide, and in the
wintry hours of the year's maturer age. Generously
do the journals open their columns to those who plead
the cause of organizations called into existence with
the sole object of relieving human suffering. As the
age of miracles is no longer ours, the alleviation
of the afflictions which descend upon man rests
upon his fellow man, and at this time of
year, when upon every hand and all around
us are outward and visible signs of that charity
which is so associated with the season, it is meet that
a generous response should be made to the requests
for help which are now so abundant in the papers.
In the very heart of the City of London, within a
stone's throw of the Mansion House—the seat of our
princely civic hospitality—and nearer still to the vast
wealth stored in the Bank of England, there is a
motto ever to be borne in mind, and most appropriate
to be remembered now. It is that upon the facade
of the Royal Exchange, and it tel every oue of the
city merchants who pass under its fty portals that
"The Earth is the Lord's and the f Uness thereof."