The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-07-23 00:00:00

A SUMMER DAY IN BLENHEIM
PARK,

The adage, "a thing of beauty is a joy for ever,
never came so appropriately before my mind (says a
writer in the Queen) as the other day, when I started
to spend an afternoon in the park of beautiful Blen-
heim, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough. Scribes
are allowed the privilege of passing through locked
gates, and otherwise wriggling themselves into the
most private portions of estates such as this one,
that are only accessible to the public by the kindly
courtesy of the owner, and in this way no one has to
complain of the Duke; all he asks in return is, that
those who enjoy the privilege, or avail themselves of
the power of strolling through his park, should keep
to the road, and not make for him unsightly paths on
his grass and otherwise mutilate the stretch of green-
sward that all lovers of nature would abominate to
see trespassed upon. On alighting at Woodstock-
road Station (with the private key of my pen), I
walked briskly to the Eagle Gate, and, passing
through the portals, found myself under the shadows
of an avenue of old elms. Skirting the kitchen
garden walls, I beheld the lake, which covers alto-
gether an area, - told, of ovet-300 acres! Cros-
sing over the new bridge, I then beheld the part of
the park that was the finest for timber, and an
elysium such as eye doth not often see and mind can-
not grasp—gnarled old oaks, picturesque double-
bent old thorns, fine elms, all tumbled one
after another over one's sight, and sunlight
dancing on their trunks, telling you to look
further and you will see more wonders.
In truth I did ;on my right I looked down into the
private gardens—the American and the Rock gardens,
the Cascade, all were visible from the vantage ground
I was standing upon ; the palace also came into view,
and indeed it looked a noble building. After passing
through Spring Lock gate, I still had fresh sights to
admire, for the bracken under these old trees began
to show itself, and the rabbits dancing in and out re-
minded me of what it must have been when, a little
while ago, the famous herd of deer belonging to Blen-
heim gambolled in this 14 miles of park, for this is its
circumference inside the park walls as enclosed by
Henry I. On reaching the reservoir, I beheld an old
stone building of which the present occupiers are the
woodman and gamekeepers. This is the High Lodge
of history, where once lived, as Ranger of the Royal
park, and died there, Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. I
paused here, and the young woman took me up to
show me the room in which he died, the bed he lay
on, and his sword. From the roof you have a perfect
view of Oxford. Leaving the High Lodge, still pro-
ceeding onward, an enchanting bit of scenery once
more sprung out of the trees, showing another side of
the palace, the monument and grand bridge, which is
just in front of the Quadrangle, and the front en-
trance into the palace, with the town and tower of
Woodstock church as its background. Leaving
Coombe gate to my left, I crossed down Coombe Bot-
tom, and then proeeeded straight to the monument,
where I read on the marble pedestal the account of
the gift of the Manor of Woodstock, &c., to John,
Duke of Marlborough and his heirs by Queen Anne,
as a token of Marlborough's glory and of Britain's grati-
tude." The column is 130 ft. high, and I believe it is a
measured mile from where it stands to the front door of
the palace. It is placed just facing the palace, nodoubt
that the descendants should be ever reminded of their
founder's fame. A colossal statue of the first Duke
of Marlborough surmounts the column. From here
the easy declivity of the beautiful lawn-like turf
brings me to the bridge; on leaving it, a little to the
west the renowned Rosamond's Well is perpetually
pcuring forth cool and refreshing " gushes ; " it is a
square basin of freestone, inclosed by iron rails, and
the water runs by a subterranean passage into the
adjoining lake. It is supposed Fair Rosamond had
her apartments under the bridge, but all is only
guesswoik ; and, seeing it now for the first time, in
this
.nineteenth century it would be difficult to
imagine Queen Eleanor discovering her, or her
hiding-place, as there are no traces of the labyrinth,
and all is visible to the naked eye. There are some
lovely cedar trees here, and as I rested under them I
could not but admire the judicious and clever manner
in which the clearing of the timber, which has been
going on for the past two years, had been done. Let
those who grumble at owners of large estates using
,:,he axe just walk through this park, and they would
be obliged to confess that peeps and beauties had
been opened out and let in not guessed at even before.
But my time was drawing to a close, and so, turning
off to the grand bridge again, I passed the north front
of the palace, and, walking down to the triumphal
gate, found myself in the town of Woodstock, which
is a primitive little place, boasting a Mayor and Cor-
poration, and the one industry of glove-making, which
gives a good deal of employment to all the villages
around.

Dressmaker (to servant) : Is Mrs. Levy in ?
Servant: Yes.—Dressmaker: Is she engaged ?
Servant: No, she is married.
IT is a curious fact that land theories emanate
mainly from men who own no land.
A man with a large family was complaining of the
difficulty of supporting all of them.—But, said a
friend, you have sons big enough to earn something
for you now. —The difficulty is, they are too big to
work now, was the disconsolate father's reply.
A brutal but vain man had his likeness painted.
When it was brought home he called his wife to see
it, and after she had looked at it awhile, he asked:
Does it strike you ?—Not just at present, my dear;
she replied; but I think it soon will, it is so like
you.
I have such an indulgent husband, said stout and
good-natured Mrs. Doll.—Yes, so James pays, re-
sponded the thin and dyspeptic Mrs. Spiteful, speer-
ingly ; sometimes he indulges too much, doesn't he?
Those 2adies no longer speak to one another.
I WANT my daughter vaccinated, said the woman
sharply, in some place where it won't show. She is
to be a comic op'ry singer.—Madame, replied the
physician in a business-like way, " bare your arm,
please. She will have to be vaccinated by proxy,.
A LADY correspondent wants to know why, since'
the invention of needle guns, women can't Vat as
well as men.

TnEac are numerous new styles of parasols dis-
played this summer, but all will be worn just high
enough to take out the eves of reckless pedestrians.
A BOOTBLACK at a London railway station has this
sign conspicuously po:3ted above his chair: "Pedal
teguments artistically illuminated and lubricated for
the infinitesimal remuneration of one penny per
operation."

MR. GLADSTONE AND THE SCOTCH
LIBERALS.

The Scotch Liberal members on Saturday night
entertained Mr. W. E. Gladstone at dinner at the
new National Club House in London. Mr. R. W.
Duff, M.P., presided, and in addition to Mr. Glad-
stone the Earl of Rosebery and Lord Hamilton of
Dalywell were present.
The Chairman, in eulogistic terms of Mr. Glad.
stone's past services, proposed the health of the guest
of the evening, and took the opportunity to deal with
Mr. Goschen s assertion that the Home Rule cause
had lost ground during the last six months, pointing
out that the loss inasmuch as it is represented by at
least a gain of 12 votes—could be accepted with
equanimity. (Laughter.) The future, he added, had
the brightest prospects for their cause.
Mr. Gladstone was cheered on rising to respond.
He said he had to thank the chairman for the tco
kind manner in which he had proposed the toast, so
far as the references to himself were concerned. He
felt that he owed somewhat of a debt to Scotland and
to her members, especially as lately he had been
accused of dalliance with Wales. (Laughter.) They
required first to meet the demands of the Irish people
before they could expect Parliament to be in a posi-
tion to apply itself to its long-neglected duty. To the
best of his ability he was willing to assiduously assist
in the settlement of the Irish question on a real and
solid basis, and in a proper adjustment of so great a
question his anxiety to do so would prevent him from
being limited by his own views. He would endeavour
to promote any settlement of the question that would
fulfil these two absolute conditions. The first was
the settlement should be accepted by Ireland.
(Cheers.) Nothing in a political point of view could be
more preposterous, as the upshot of the present con-
troversy, than to arrive at a settlement which would
not meet the convictions and the wants of the Irish
people; and he for one should refuse to accept any
solution of the kind. (Hear, hear.) Nor, on the
second head, would he have anything to do with any
settlement that would in any way threaten the great-
ness of the empire. So much for himself on this
great question. But he came now to a larger subject
for the moment, and that was Scotland. The name
of Scotland had hardly been heard in Parliament
during the last six months, and in this respect she
had suffered in company with other portions of the
Queen's dominions. He believed that the effect of
the great Irish controversy would not be lost on
Scotland. The strong resistance that had been of-
fered to the Irish policy and proposals of the late
Government had, he had no doubt, turned the minds
of Scotsmen to the condition of Scotland, and the
various phases of the Irish controversy would
lead them to a larger and a grander judgment as
,to
what was due to their country from an historical and
patriotic point of view. He would not attempt to
forecast the future; but he had the strongest and
firmest conviction that when the claims of Scotland
came to be considered by her people, her representa-
tives would approach them with strength, sagacity,
and patriotism, and they would work out the question
whether their scales of demand should be a large
scale or whether it should be limited by a smaller
scale. The people of Scotland, in common with the
people of Wales, and in common with the people of
England and their relations stretching beyond the
sea, were now experiencing an absolute and total
extinction of their claims on the British Parliament.
If any one had predicted 12 months ago the
paralysis which had overtaken the House of Com-
mons, he would not have been believed. There'had
not only been a paralysis of Parliament, but there
had been a surrender of the rights of members not
only in regard to legislation, but on the very im-
portant duty of voting supplies. (Hear, hear.) At the
present time they had got a great block in Parliament,
but there were signs that it would not continue foe
any very lengthened period. He ventured to think
that when the people of Ireland received the power of
self-government for exclusively Irish interests, the
monstrous and flagrant evils of the present system
would disappear. (Hear, hear.) He believed that
the Irish policy of the late Government would be
conducive to the strength and the greatness of the
empire. A Parliament for a whole empire may be a
good thing, but it did nisi follow that all the good was
on one side. It was not felt so in America, where the
Senate of the United States did not legislate for the
whole of the States, but it would not be unreasonable
for the Senate to attempt to do that, however unfair
it might be to distinctive interests. If they looked
at the vast preponderance of English representation
in Parliament it would be seen that there was a
monstrous inequality when one thought that
Scotland was represented by seventy members
and Wales by thirty. When the time came that
extreme demands were made upon Parliament it
could not but be felt that the weaker power would
more or less go to the wall, and the small portions of
1 the kingdom would not then secure that share of
attention that they were entitled to. They had
lately arrived at a number of Welsh questions which
ought to be settled by the Welsh people themselves;
and there were also large Scotch questions that ought
to be settled according to Scottish views. He would
, not then do more than refer to one question—that
! was the question of disestablishment. The question
of disestablisment in Scotland was approaching ripe-
ness. In the winter of 1885, when the question came
, up, they approached it in a spirit of armistice. The
result was that the advantage of such a course was on
the side of the Established Church, and not favours
able to the cause of the Free Church. But the con-
ditions under which the armistice took place had
since greatly altered. He was of opinion that the
armistice was entirely shattered by the bill of !Mr.
Finlay—(hear, hear)—which had swept into the air all
that had been said on the question in 1885, and released
them from the terms of the armistice. He would
not anticipate what the judgment of Scotland would
be on that head, but he thought that the time we
were now passing throogh would enable the Scotch
people to enlarge their minds not only upon their
special, but general interests. Like the Welsh people
their interests would come to the front and require to
be dealt with in a manner which only could be ex-
pected when the Irish controversy was got out of the
way. (Hear, hear.) He would like to refer to a state-
ment that had been lately made by Lord Hartington.
He stated that the alliance between the dissentient
Liberals—he (Mr. Gladstone) must call them by that
name—and the Tories had been strengthened during
the session; the noble lord also added that the
alliance between the Liberals and the Irish Nationa-
lists had been strengthened and consolidated in the
same manner. He (Mr. Gladstone) received the first
statement with regret at the present moment; but it
would now be difficult to say what might happen
within the next few weeks. (Laughter.) As to the
alliance between the Liberal party and the Irish party
in the House of Commons, he knew nothing in the
present action of Irish Nationalists or in the present
policy of those men to make alliance or agreement
with them dishonourable for the purpose of the policy
that both entertained towards Ireland. (Hear, hear.)
There was no alliance except what there ought to
be, no alliance at the present moment that there
ought not to be on the one question upon which
, they were agreed. In his opinion, for the sake of
, Ireland, that alliance ought to be strengthened and
consolidated. Mr. Parnell had recently spoken with
conspicuous ability, as he always did, on the ques-
tion in the House of Commons; and on Thursday
night last be spoke with signal tact and moderation
—(hear, hear)—but, at the same time, he (Mr. Glad-
stone) thought that Mr. Parnell and his friends
should be as free from the Liberals as they were free
from them. Mr. Parnell had not made new overtures
to the Liberrl party, nor was he to be seen walking
in the purlieus of the House with that gentleman;
but if there was an effort made for a closer
alliance he (Mr. Gladstone) would remonstrate against
it. In his opinion Mr. Parnell ought to be in perfect
readiness at any time to join hands with the Tories
in the interests of his country, and he ought not to
be hampered by any regard to the Liberal arty;p
and he (Mr. Gladstone) would say that they, as a
party, would make no claim upon him if he entered
into any arrangement with the Tory party.
(Laughter.) That was not altogether quite impoesible ;
the party that passed the Roman Catholic Emanci-
pation Act, and that passed the Franchise, even
though it did damage to themselves, were not slow to
learn and be instructed by the teaching of the Oiling
booths. It was not likely that the recent three or
four by-elections would be lost upon that party; and
,f the pending elections during the next four or
Ivo weeks went in a certain direction—
(laughter)—the Tories would not prove them-
selves totally insensible to the lesson they would
teach. (Cheers.) Electoral facts told upon them quite
as much as they did upon their opponents. (Hear, hear.)
When, in July of last year, the Liberal party were
defeated, it was stated in language of triumph that
the party was destroyed, but their ardour was not
damped, because they stood upon the rock of deep,
broad, and firm principle. They felt that then, in
spite of the exultation of those who were opposed to
, them. But what did the Tory party think of their
present position? They had passed a Coercion Bill,
In which they had made civil offences questions of
crime. By their bill they had denied to Ireland
equality of rights with Englishmen. The question
was at one time complicated and dark, but all this
was made clear by Sir C. Russell, the late Attorney..
General, who extracted from Mr. Balfour the decla-
ration that he did not intend to allow the Irish tenant
to combine in the same way and under the same pro-
tection of the statute law as the English artizan was
allowed to combine. To combine in Ireland now under
this bill would be no longer a civil matter, but a criMin al
matter, and thus the right extended to the British
artisan was absolutely denied to the agricultural
population in Ireland. Nothing could have been
more complete than the-triumph of the Government
in connection with this bill—they passed it under the
protection and shelter of a large body of Liberals.
(Hear, hear.) But let them hope that there was
still's door open. Mr. Chamberlain had made decla-
ratiOns on the Land Bill which were of a most cheery
kind. Mr. Chamberlain had spoken in the name of
the Dissentient Liberals, and it was presumed that he
had spoken in their name on this Land Bill. The
declarations he made were supported more or less by
tt
ihoen a_obfl e
hs pe e eLc
ahnodf Lordp
had
Cthhuer c
ti lml ,
oaa
tn dg r
at he q u v
itya esnd-
-importance. Would the Dissentient Liberals hold
tosether in supporting relief for the Irish tenants in
the same fashion that they held together in order
to deprive them of their rights, and to submit
them to judicial trial by the 'Viceroy or the
Chief K3cr etary in chamber? (Hear, hear.) The
Tory Commission on the Land Laws kad recom-
mended that 200,000 tenants ehoall have their rents

revised. Would the Dissentient Liberals see that tne
recommendations of the committee were carried out?
Was the Land Bill to be a woeful mockery or a great
and solemn reality? That was a responsibility which
fell first on the Government, then-On the Dissentient
Liberals, and after them upon every elector in the
kingdom. In conclusion, he trusted that by the re-
turn of Sir. G. Trevelyan at Glasgow the people of
these kingdoms would show their willingness to do
justice to the Irish people, at the same time that they
were devoted in heart, soul, and mind to the unity of
the Empire. (Loud cheers.)
Other toasts followed.