The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-06-16 00:00:00

THE LICENSING CLAUSES.

Mr. W. H. Smith informed Mr. Summers and Mr.
Caine that the Government intended to go on with the
Licensing Clauses of the Local Government Bill.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT BILL IN COMMITTEE.

The consideration of the Local Government Bill was
resumed in committee. On Clause 2, which provided
that the councillors elected by the council shall be
called selected councillors in lieu of aldermen, and that
the other councillors shall be called elective councillors,
Mr. Stansfe/d moved, as an amendment, that all
the councillors shall be elective, and that there
shall be no aldermen. After a discussion of
two hours the closure was moved by Mr. Kenyon,
and carried by 264 to 192, and the amendment was
thereafter rejected by 250 to 214. Several amendments
were proposed and withdrawn, but in the course of the
discussion upon them Mr. Ritchie intimated that he
was willing to abandon a later provision in the clause,
that a casual vacancy among the elective councillors
should be filled by an election, by the council, of a pro-
peily qualified person, and to insert an amendment that
all such casual vacancies shall be filled by popular elec-
tion. He also intimated that he was willing that the
selected councillors should be called "county alder-
men," and that the elected councillors shall be called
"county councillors." These concessions were given
effect to by a series of verbal amendments on the
clause.

Two or three amendments were moved fixing the
proportion the selected should bear to the elected
portion of the Council, but they were negatived. The
ciause provided that the elected portion should remain
in office for three years. To this nine amendments
stood upon the paper. By the first, Sir W. Barttelot
proposed to extend the term of office to six years.
The amendment was rejected by 384 to 82, after which
progress was reported.

WAYS AND MEANS.
In Committee of Ways and Means, a resolution im-
posing a duty of two shillings and sixpence per gallon
on spaskling wine, in substitution of the duty recently
authorised upon wine imported in bottle, was agreed to.

CLERGY DISCIPLINE.
In the noun OF Loans, on June 12th, the Arch.
bishop of Canterbury moved the third reading of the
Clergy Discipline Bill. The Archbishop of York said
the bill was not acceptable to the clergy in his diocese
because it established a novel Court of first instance,
and provided no appeal at all. He trusted theii
lordships would allow the measure to come to an end.
The Bishop of London supported the bill, remarking
that the Archbishop of Canterbury was willing tc
strengthen the clauses for rehearing cases on the spot.
Lord Herschel complained that the Archbishop of
York had reserved his criticisms until the third reading
stage. Lord Coleridge thought the bill would not
bring about a better state of things than existed at
present. The Bishop of Carlisle defended the bill;
the Bishop of Liverpool protested against such a bill
being passed without its having been submitted to the
Diocesan Conferences; and Earl Selborne thought
there was no foundation for the objections taken to it.
The bill was read a third time, and, with one or two
amendments, was passed.

THE LOCAL GovE.BmmYr BILL.-LICENSING CLAUSES

DEFINITELY THROWN OVER.
In the Commons Mr. Ritchie announced that the
Government had resolved not to proceed with the
Licensing Clauses, whir+ thy did not eonsiclor N-ittd
to the Local Government Bill. It was clear that the
proposals would meet with strenuous opposition, there
being no fewer than two hundred amendments on the
Licensing Clauses upon the paper. A determined
adherence to the clauses might, after a prolonged
struggle, leave so little time as to make it impossible
to pass the remainder of the bill during the present
session, a result which, he thought, the House and the
country would regard as little short of a disaster. In
reply to Mr. J. C. Stevenson, Mr. Ritchie added that
he included the clause which dealt with Sunday closing
among the clauses to be abandoned.