The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-08-07 00:00:00

MINISTERS AND EX-MINISTERS AT

OSBORNE.

Lord Salisbury's new Administration may be said
to have been formally constituted on Tuesday, when
the members of the outgoing and incoming Cabinets
proceeded to Osborne, the former fo surrender their
seals of office, and the latter to receive the seals and
kiss hands on appointment to their several posts.
When last year's change of Government occurred, her
Majesty was at Windsor, and the termini of Padding-
ton and Waterloo were consequently the principal
centres of interest. But the Queen is now at Osborne,
and the Victoria Station of the London, Brighton,and
South Coast Railway was, therefore, on Tuesday
the scene of those arrivals and departures
which, in our prosaic times, mark the rise and
fall of Governments. The ceremony of trans-
ferring the seals of the great public offices and
departments has an etiquette of its own, one inflexible,
though unwritten, rule being that the ex-Ministers
and their successors shall not meet either at the
beginning or end of their journey, though—and this
generally happens—they fly past each other en route
either in the train or on the steamboat. In accord-
ance with custom, therefore, those members of Mr.
Gladstone's late Government who had received their
official mandate directly from the hands of the
Sovereign were the first to set out for Osborne to
yield up the seals which are the outward symbols
of -official existence. At a quarter past nine Mr.
Childers arrived on the platform at Victoria, where
he was soon joined by Sir William Harcourt. Next
came Lord Rosebery, Mr. Campbell-Bannerman, Earl
Spencer, and Sir U. Kay-Shuttleworth, and the party
of ex-Ministers was completed when Lord Herscheil
and the Earl of Kimberley drove up shortly before
the hour at which the train was timed to start. Not
more than 20 or 30 spectators were present, of
whom all, or nearly all, appeared to be ordinary pas-
sengers. There was accordingly an entire absence of
political demonstration, though a few of the on-
lookerti seemed to expect that Mr. Gladstone would
join the party. The absence of the late Prime
Minister was, however, sufficiently accounted for by
the fact that he had already vacated office, in due
form, at an interview with her Majesty at Osborne
on Saturday. Lord Granville's state of health, again,
is such that he is unable to undertake the fatigue of
a railway journey and the passage to and fro across
the Solent, and he did not, therefore, go down to
Osborne with his colleagues on Tuesday. In addition
to the retiring Ministers, Mr. Lennox Peel, Clerk of
the Privy Council; Sir John Rose, and Sir John
Drummond Hay travelled in the train, which left
Victoria punctuallf at half-past nine and reached
Portsmouth Harbour two hours later. The retiring
Ministers at once proceeded on board the steamer
Duke of Edinburgh, and were conveyed across to the
Isle of Wight.
The special train by which it was arranged that
Lord Salisbury and his colleagues should travet was
fixed to leave Victoria at half-past 11, and this fact
having become known, a large crowd gathered behind
the platform barriers and along the station approaches
to wish the new Government "God speed." Sir
Richard Cross, who was generally recognised, was the
first to arrive, and shortly afterwards Earl Cadogan
and Mr. Henry Matthews entered the station. Lord
Halsbury and Mr. Edward Stanhope came next, and
there was a hearty cheer for Sir Michael Hicks-Beach
when he was seen proceeding along the platform ac-
companied by Mr. Ritchie. Equally cordial was the re-
ception given to Lord Iddesleigh, and Mr. W. H. Smith
and Lord Ashbourne, whose faces seemed familiar
to the bulk of the spectators, were also cordially
welcomed. The Marquis of Londonderry arrived in
company with Lord Salisbury's private secretary, Mr.
Henry Manners, and then a loud and prolonged out-
burst of cheering, accompanied by waving of hats, in-
dicated that some prominent member of the Ministry
was at hand. This proved to be Lord Randolph
Churchill, who passed with some difficulty through
the enthusiastic crowd and joined his colleagues.
There was further cheering when Lord Cranbrook ap-
peared, and the arrival of Lord Salisbury was the
signal for another hearty and long-continued
manifestation of popularity. It was now time
for the train to start, but before entering
his specially reserved first-class compartment,
the Prime Minister had a brief conversation
with Mr. W. It. Smith, Lord Cranbrook, and Mr.
Manners. Then the train steamed out of the station,
Lord Salisbury and his companions repeatedly
acknowledging the volleys of cheers. On their arrival
at Portsmouth at half-past one o'clock the new
Government were conveyed across the Solent by the
special steamer, Duchess of Edinburgh, and the
Ministers arrived off the guardship Colossus, at the
mouth of the Medina River, at two o'clock, the hour
at which the Liberal Cabinet should have left the
harbour. Same delay appeared to have occurred in
connection with the arrangements of the first Council,
so that the new Ministry had to cruise about among
the yachts lying in Cowes for over a quarter of an
hour, the Liberal Ministry meanwhile embarking on
board their steamer en route for town. Sir William
Harcourt did not return with the members of his
party, but bade them good-bye at the Royal landing-
stage, as he desired to go to his place in the New
Forest, via Southampton, for a few days. The mem-
bers of Lord Salisbury's Cabinet passed their political
' adversaries at the mouth of the Medina River, and
both parties being on deck, and meeting at close
quarters, salutations were exchanged. At 2.30 p.m.
Lord Salisbury and his colleagues landed at the
Royal stage amidst loud cheers from a crowd which
had assembled. In the roeantime the members of
the late Cabinet had proceeded to London, passing
through the Portsmouth Railway Station amidst
some cheers and groans, and reaching London shortly
before six o'clock. At Victoria when the former
Ministers arrived there was a considerable number

of people present, but very little demonstration was
made.

At a quarter past four o'clock the now constituted
Cabinet left Cowes to return to London, the Marquis
of Salisbury remaining at Osborne House as the guest
of the Queen. Portsmouth was reached a few
minutes before five o'clock, and the moment the
Duchess of Edinburgh came alongside the landing
stage there was great cheering from the very large
crowd of people, all of whom, it was understood, had
paid the railway company for the privilege of seeing
the new Ministry land by taking tickets for a neigh-
bouring station. Before the Ministers landed a con-
gratulatory address was presented to them by Mr.
Ford, the Chairman of the Portsmouth Conservative
Organisation.
Lord Cranbrook replied to the address as follows :
I am sure you regret as much as I do that Lord Salis-
bury is not himself present to receive the address
which you are good enough to present to him and his
colleagues. We who have not been present before
have observed with the greatest satisfaction the
splendid movement which you made on the late occa-
sion, and the union which was shown by the loyalists
in the borough, so as to bring in two Unionist mem-
bers at a period of the greatest crisis which has
been experienced for many years in this country. I
am quite sure all my colleagues agree with me in
that, and we hope by that union which has taken place
at the elections to preserve the unity of the empire
not only at home but abroad—(cheers)—throughout
all the colonies, and to make the country of Great
Gritain a still Greater Britain than she has hitherto
been. (Cheers.)
The Ministers, having shaken hands with Mr. Ford,
went across the gangway to the railway station, being
cheered again and again. Without a stop the special
train travelled to Victoria, where there also was a
crowd waiting to receive the new Ministry. The train
arrived at 20 minutes past seven o'clock, and a cor-
dial welcome was accorded to the Ministers.

"I beg your pardon, sir," said Mr. Swell, to a friend
with whom he was holding a heated argument. "I
beg your pardon, sir; I ought to understand this
matter better than you. I am a graduate of two
colleges, sir." "You remind me," replied his friend,
"very much of a calf my father used to own who had
the milk from two cows." "Why, how was that?'
"He was a very large calf."