The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-07-03 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

paid by the opposition or not; but when the
uproar develops into actual assault, as it .
occasionally does, and did in the case alluded
to—one of Mr. Richard Chamberlain':; elec-
tion meetings—it is time for stern repressio:
To maltreat a man by blows from broken
furniture because his opinions happen to
differ from yours, is certainly unworthy of
an Englishman, or, for the matter of that,
any other man. We should rejoice-t s
rowdyism of every form elimilated :rom
Action proceedings, and the infliction of
.a
month's hard labour without the option of a
fine upon all offenders would Lo far to hastoa
that desideratum.

WE noted, not without satisfaction, the
magisterial action in a case where two men
were summoned for posting election litera•
ture on the walls of private property without
consent. The delinquents were very pro-
perly fined. Why should your house front
or garden fence be covered with unsightly
rsters at election times because their situa-
tion is ? The ordinary bill-poster,
at ordinary times, confines the field of his
calling to proprietary hoardings or recognised
places for sticking up bills ; but when an
election is pending, the party-coloured sheets
are plastered up anywhere and everywhere.
It is all very well for enthusiastic supporte..s
of a candidate to place their dwelling at the
disposal of their champion for displaying his
bills. That is optional and unobjectionable.
But let the bill-sticker obtain consent before
he plies his paste and. brush; or, if he do
not, let him be fined for the trespass upon
private right.

THE late Mr. Holloway's magnificent be •
quest for the collegiate education of women,
which involved that adverising king in an
expenditure of nearly three-quarters of a
million sterling, has been duly opened with
all the eclat attendant upon a Royal cere-
monial. The day was of the brightest, and
the Queen chose a pleasant hour in the early
evening for the .inangaration of the splendit
building. The college will be quite an ideal
one of sweet girl graduates, with every ap-
pliance for forwarding study and promoting
physical as well as mental progress, whil=;
man will be as utterly shut oat from its
walls as in the domain of a TennyFon;an
Princess or within the confines of a
"Castle Adamant." Every success to
the palatial pile built so splendidly from such
common-place materials as ointment, pills,
aria printers' ink.

How is it that if a man is so fcreign
the instincts of humanity as to ill-treat HI::
woman he has sworn to protect and cherish,
and 11 o utterly abandoned and depraved that
a magigtrate at once orders a judicial separa-
tion. as well as awarding proper punishment
for the brutality proved in. evidence,
.the
magistrate is still powerless to deprive the
wretch of the custody of the whole of hk
offspfing ? Infants and little girls mnt
naturally be handed over to the mother, bat
blys of eleven years of age may remain at
the tender mercy of the father, however
unnatural he is, and however affectionate
and regpeetable his poor wife may be. TEcte
is surely room for improvemen4 in the la-sv
here.

THE grand review at Aldershot by her
Majesty was arranged chiefly in honour of
the Indian and Colonial visitors, and wl;l16
it was graceful of the Queen to_once more—
after so long an interval—stand at the head
of her troops, it was a piece of good sound
gatesrnanship ; for, from the representative
soldiery not only our own dependencies, but
also all the world beside, may gather an in-
dication of England's strength. The Colon-
ists have n 4 ground for grumblinq.at their
reception here in the. old country. They aie
Pte and made much of daily. The Corpor-
ation o: London entertains them at bangtnA
and at ball with splendid civic pomp, the
proprietor of the Times takes them down to
his country seat, the Crystal Palace beCOnVs
a blaze of light and beauty for their behoo,
dukes delight to honour them, the Queen
herself invites them to officially visit the
Royal castle of Windsor; every old city and
historical haunt &teridS nein the Open hand
of hospitality, each sylvan spot of BrifiA
beauty bids them welcome. The Coloni!ll
Commissioners will certainly take home with.
them glowing nieniories of their sojourn in
the 'Motherland, and the bonds of imperial
loyalty and love will be thereby Strengthenel
more than any federation scheme—however
wisely designed—could compass.

As the polling returns are 'published and
the hopes of Unionists and Gladstonians rise
and fall many will wonder what will be the
outcome of the electorial strife. No one can
forecast the issue, *ith any show of .er-
tainty, until the people's voice has had a
ltr?ger hearing. In any case, the new Par-
liament is summoned for August sth, and
should the Premier's defeat in the House be
sustained by the burgesses, it is hard to say
what would happen. If Me. Gladstone de-
cided upon resignation the political course
would be clear. A new Ministry would be
formed forthwith, coalition or otherwise.
Writs would be issued for new elections in
the constituencies effected by the appoint
ments, and Parliament would adjourn until
October as usual. But if the Premier get
from the conntry the verdict for which he is
appealing, eV.m by a slight Majority, it is
highly probable that Parliament will be
further prorogued and not meet until two
months later than as fixed at present. If
Mr. Gladstone fails to secure the victory he
hopes for, he may refuse to resign, as most
of the Liberal Unionists are at one with him
on all issues except Home Rule. Such a
course of action would force the Premier's
opponents to oust him from office, and in the
struggle such differences might not impro-
bably arise between Conservatives and
Unionist Liberals as would work to
strengthen the Gladstonian hands. The
party chiefs have an old political campaigner
to reckon with in Mr. Gladstone. Whatever
the ultimate issue, the electoral contest in
which we are now engaged is the most im-
portant of the Victorian era.