The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-04-25 00:00:00

Eljeloutbribc _)hsertnr.

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 13iN.

IRELAND.

The visit of the Pzince and Princess of Wales
to Ire:aud may have bean studied politeness am,
demonstrative k'ndriesa ; it may have been
planned and inteuded as au exhibitiou of Royal
patronage of the sister isle; but certaiEly
throughout the events of thepast few days there
has beea no evidence of anything of the sort.
The Irish have nit taken the visit in that spirit,
nor have the Royal visitors done the least thing
to manifest the au ,velemue, obtrusion of their
patronage or condescension. On the cuntrary,
on the one aide there has been spontaneous free-
dom of association with the people so far as it
was possible ; on the other there have been a
hearty and a joyous welcome, and the expression
of a feeling of boundless loyalty. Were this
visit paid to Ireland, as some have sneeringly
suggested is the case, to bid for popularity, t
create an appearance of loyalty that dues not
exist, Ulla to condone for the past wrongs by a
little present rejoicing and excitement, it would
be a visit of which Englaud ought to be ashamed,
and which Ireland would despise. But as we
arc happy to believe that the visit and the wel-
come are equally honest and true ; that the one
indicates a kindly feeling which really exists, as
it ought to exist; and that the other is an ex-
pression of genuine goodwill towards England
aud English institutions as well as towards the
crawn 01 the United Kingdom.
But th' a visit will soon have come to an end,
and what is to be the effect of it ? When the
echo of the last ringing cheer shall have died
away, when assembled thousand shall have her-
rali'd and waved their handkerchiefs to speed
the tiarting guests, what is to be the result of it
all ? 'the Prince and Princess will have dote
all that in theta lies, for the present at least, but
there will he no more immediate cause of re-
joicing. The duty, and a pleasant duty it will
mom been, we trust, will have been done, and
Irish histormns will have an agreeable episode
to add to her mutate. But after all Royal visits
can do little for any country. It is to commerce
—to benelicent legislature—to social reform—
that Ireland has soy other country must look for
true national happinosa. And the Irish know
Ca* as well as any other people. It would not
ho easy to ascertain how much of the euthusi-
aim that has been displayed towards the Prince
and Princess was really owing to the hope that
the British legislature is at last seriously turn-
ing its attention to the redress of Irish wrongs,
but undoubtedly this conviction has had its aim
effect. Argue about the matter as we may it
cannot be denied that the Irish Church, the
church of a small minority is a grievance to the
great body of the Irish people; and this griev-
ance is now tinder the serious consideration of
the House of Commons, with good groands for
the hope that it still soon become a thing of the
past. Thu representative institutions of Ireland
have also long called for amelioration, and re-
presentative reform will ere long be decreed.
And then there are the evils connected with the
tenure of hind. It is too much to hope that the
present Parliament will be utile to deal with this
question, but a lb-formed Parliament inn vt as a
matter of course 011dCRN o tr to give a satisfactory
answer to it In all these respects Ireland's
prospects are bright. We are every day increas-
ingly feeling that she has a perfect right to be
treated as a component part of the empire, as
one with ourselves, governed by the sonar Parlia-
ment, and subject to the smile Crown. The
more this unity of interest can be made a fact

rather than a sentiment, the better it will be for
the British empire. There has always been too
notch contrariety in our legislation. We have
many laws that apply to England, but not to
Ireland or to Scotland, and our diversity of laws
is really MOM rema,kable than diversity of race.
Why, for instance, sh aild there be a difference
in the marriage maws of the three parts of the
mamo kingdom; or why indeed should there be
one Reform Bill for England, another for Scot-
land, and a third for Ireland ? All this tends to
keep up that feeling of national distinction, and
we may say that local exclusiveness, which it
should he the object of legislation to diAcourage.
We are a " United Kingdom" by Act of Parlia-
ment, and Acts of Parliament should all tend to
promote that unity which at present exists only
in theory.
But while we look chiefly to legislation for the
improvemot of the condition of a country; as
upon a legislation so much depend commerce
and social reform, we would no-t
underrate the
importance of such an event as that which has
called forth such enthusiastic rejoicings in Ire-
land. We trust, therefore, that something more
meay be done in the same direction. Would it
hi i too much' we ask, for the Prince and Princess
of Wales to have a mansion in Ireland, at which
they could spend a portion of the year. The
scenery of the Emerald Isle is fame throughout
the world, and nowhere (mould the Prince better
enjoy those sports of the field in which he takes
delight while the imeessioaal resideime of
the Princi,ss would afford boinnlica ontisfaetion
to time fair danghters of Erin.