The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-06-05 00:00:00

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[We deem it right to state that we do not at all times
dentily ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.

Now that the new House of Commons is setting
int* work a complaint is heard which has been made
before, and will be made again before anything is
done. The chamber in which the legislative business
of the people's representatives is transacted has for
years been admittedly too small for the purpose. It
will seat only 306 members out of 658, and in the side
galleries there is accommodation for about 100 more.
But as it is contrary to Parliamentary etiquette for a
member to address the House from the gallery, prac-
tically the chamber does not seat one-half of those
who have been returned to it. The existing arrange-
ment has, however, its defenders, and no doubt there
are strong reasons why the present proportions of the
House of Commons were originally resolved upon. It
was not done until after very great deliberation between
Sir Charlesßarry, the architect, Sir Robert Peel, Lord
John Russell, and other public men whose names were
prominent forty years ago. They came to the con-
clusion that as it was only on very rare occasions that
anything like the whole of the members would attend,
it was better to construct a place for the transaction
of the business which is always going on than to pro-
vide accommodation for exceptional emergencies. A
chamber to seat between 600 and 700 gentlemen would
be altogether too large for the convenient discussion of
much of the work which the House of Commons has to
de. Tkere is, for instance, the consideration of the
estimates, containing a vast number of items repre-
senting a total of between fifty and sixty
millions sterling, each of which has to pass
through the crucible of debate. This is conducted
in committee chiefly in a conversational tone—
a tone which would be quite impossible in a
chamber twice or three times as large. Therefore,
when the small proportions of the House of Commons
are criticised, it must be borne in mind that the archi-
tect did not adapt his plans for great debates or big
party envisions, which ,clo not come very often, but did
his best to suit the building to those practical business
purposes which form so large a part of the duties of
Parliamentary life.
There are no such complaints of the want of room
in the House of Lords. That splendid apartment
is quite large enough to seat the peers who attend the
sittings of the upper branch of the Legislature.
Indeed, while the dark green benches of the House
of Commons are inconveniently crowded, the bright
crimson seats of the Lords are generally visible because
they are so often empty. The Lords have a larger
hall of meeting, and they have fewer members. While,
just now, after the election of a new Parliament, the
Commons crowd down to Westminster by hundreds
every afternoon, a gathering of fifty peers is a good
average attendance. In the Commons you may hear
the triumphant shout of the Ministerialists, or the
ringing cheer of the Opposition; in the Lords' all is
prim, orderly, and sedate. The Commons' chamber is
too small; the Lords' is too large. As a consequence,
the hearing in the latter is often indistinct; and it is
of frequent occurrence to see in the newspapers a
statement that the remarks of this or that peer were
"inaudible in the gallery." In cases of -important
Ministerial explanations this is a public misfortune.

Although Buckingham Palace is now a very dif-
ferent place from what it was in the old days
when the Court was kept in London, some of its
former gaiety at times returns to it, reminding us of
the brightness which was accustomed to reign within
it in days of yore. Such an occasion as this was the
State Ball given there by the Queen's command on the
night between the Derby and the Oaks. The gather-
ing was a very distinguished one, for it included the
Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess
of Connaught, the Dukes of Edinburgh and Cam-
bridge, Princess Christian, the Grand Duke and
Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the Duke and
Duchess of Teck, Prince Edward of Saxe-
Weimar, the Prince of Leiningen, and a large
number of the representatives of rank and fishion
now in the metropolis. London is very full
just now, as it always is in the short time between the
Epsom and the Ascot races. At the State ball the
Prince and Princess of Wales, with the other mem-
bers of the Royal Family, entered the Throne Room
at a quarter-past eleven, and dancing at once com-
menced. A State Concert will almost immediately
follow the ball, and for this about 1,800 invitations
have been issued. It is not expected that the Court
will again occupy Buckingham Palace until the spring
of next year.,; meanwhile these balls and concerts do
something to relieve the general appearance of deso-
lation which, more especially in the winter months,
seems to linger round the building. The Queen and
Princess Beatrice are now in Scotland, and Prince
Leopold is on a visit to Princess Louise at Ottawa;
but all the other members of the Royal Family are in
London, responding to the numerous calls made upon
their time, and fulfilling: the many engagements
which press upon their attention.

Favourable weather attended the celebration of her
Majesty's birthday; and Saturday being a half-
holiday with large numbers of the population, enor-
mous crowds issued forth to witness the various ways
in which the commemoration was kept up. The
"trooping of the colours," as the ceremony is techni-
cally termed, which takes place in St. James's Park on
these occasions, is always a favourite spectaclervith
many classes of the people. It is really a review of the
troops on the Horse Guards' Parade, and experience
has proved that the English are j ust as fond as Conti-
nental nations of a little military display. Besides, the
Royal Park of St. James's is so conveniently easy of
access that it can be reached with facility from any
quarter of London. The martial spectacle of the morn-
ing was preliminary to the illuminations in the evening,
wkieh took place under the most favourable circum-
stances, for it was a cloudy night with a waning
aeon, consequently the rays of the earth's attendant
satellite did not interfere with the brilliancy of the
stars and devices which were so numerous in the
West-end thoroughfares. It has happened that these
celebrations have been held when the moon is at the
full and the night is clear, so that the artificial light
in the streets were rather dimmed by contrast. Now,
however, everything went off satisfactorily, to the
great delight of the multitudes who thronged along
Pall Mall, streamed up St. James's-street, filled
Regent-street, and packed the space in the Circus at
the top of Piccadilly.
Just about this time of the year there are more per-
sons interested about horses in London than at any
ether season; consequently the Horse Show at the
Agricultural Hall is a favourite resort during the few
days on which it is open. This is a very different
affair from the Cattle Show which is displayed in the
same building in the early days of December, for
although there are not so many animals on view, the
attractions are far more numerous. A prize ox or an
abnormally fat pig stands patiently to be pinched and
prodded by a critical crowd; but the June exhibition
of horses is not a collection of over-fed animals bred
only to receive ultimately the attentions of the slaughter-
man. In the case of the hunters, they are put to show
their capabilities in the way of leaping, and this is a
very great attraction. There are hurdles and fences,
and water jumps, with all the concomitants of steeple-
chasing, and the feats of equestrianism marked out in
the programme are not unfrequently carried on amid
a little excitement, for they sometimes end in an acci-
dent. About 330 horses were this year on view,
including more than a hundred hunters in the first
four classes. Amongst the exhibitors were the Prince
and Princess of Wales, who never fail to manifest
their interest in the Show by paying it a visit.

A statue to Lord Byron is amongst the latest addi-
tion to the public monuments of the metropolis. It
is of bronze, eleven feet in height, and stands at the
rear of Apsley House, in grounds which were once
a portion of Hyde Park, but have of late years been
railed off. Byron had been dead more than half
a century when in April, 1875, an appeal was
made through tke press for the erection of a
statue of the poet in the British capital. Mr. Disraeli,
who was then Prime Minister, presided at a meeting
at Willis's Rooms in support of the object; and here
it was announced that the Greek Government would
furnish the marble for the pedestal. Five years have
passed away, and the statue is complete. It stands
upon a temporary pedestal, for the Hellenic marble
has not yet been sent over. Were the statue placed,
however, upon the Thames Embankment instead of in
Hamilton Gardens, it would be seen by a considerably
larger number of Byron's admirers than can possibly
behold it where it is.

The bathing season has opened, and judging from
past experience, a number of accidental drownings
may be expected. The Registrar-General's annual
reports, which over many years vary but little,
average about 3,000. This is a very startling return,
and it has suggested the inquiry whether anything can
be done to make a sensible decrease in it. The
London Swimming Club maintains that an absolute
necessity exists for making swimming a part of
scholastic routine. The "tuition tanks" which
it advocates are fourteen feet long, nine wide,
an four deep, and the cost is about £5O, with 111:-
jag apparatus complete. In these bright summer days
considerable numbers of non-swimmers venture afloat
in frail craft upon every open pool of water. Accidents
kappeD, and vacancies are made at the family board
with all their train of intense agony. It has often
been a subject of remark that a maritime people
Ilk, the English, with the sea all around them, should
pay so little attention to that which is at once a
inaltisg ramekin & salograzd against inner.
At As sane tisao tke givrbrasaMS Wan in tio Thaaee

seem to increase in popularity, which was especially
observable amid the sudden wave of heat that passed
over London in the Derby week.
From the Ist June to the 18th August the Benchers
of the Temple throw open their gardens to the public
from six o'clock in the evening until sunset. These
gardens lie between Fleet-street and the Thames
Embankment, and are kept up at very considerable
trouble and expense. Those who are accustomed
to the roar and bustle of London life can often-
times scarcely realise the existence of a beauti-
fully green and open space, bounded on one side by
the rushing traffic of the Embankment, and on the
other by the animated stream pouring east and west
through Fleet-street. The secluded cloisters and
silent courts of the Temple seem centuries removed
from the turmoil and bustle of to-day, and the sun-
dials in the gardens appear to tell no tale ci the
flight of time, such is the number of old-world asso-
ciations all around. So highly is the privilege of
access to the Temple grounds appreciated, that a
movement is now being made by the vast pcpsdation
in the neighbourhood of Holborn for the opening of
the Gardens at Lincoln's-inn at specified hours and
under proper regulations. At present entry is obtained
only by the residents, each of whom is furnished with
a key to the enclosure on condition of an annual
payment towards keeping up the beauty of the square.
The subject has lately occupied much of the attention
of the Metropolitan Board of Works, both on applica-
tion for the throwing open of the grounds and on
memorial from the residents praying that existing
arrangements may not be disturbed. The contention
of the applicants is that there is no other accessible
open space within a convenient distance; the latter
point out that the Thames Embankment is not far off,
and that with its gardens it answers all the purposes
associated with fresh air and recreation.

"TROOPING THE COLOURS" ON THE

QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY.
The 61st year of the Queen was celebrated on Saturday,
May 29th, throughout the country with chiming of church-
bells, with salvos of artillery, with parade of banners, beat-
ing of drums, marching of troops, and with much festivity
and merry-making. The foremost of the military displays
was held in the Royal park of St James's, in front of the
Horse Guards, and was rendered illustrious, not only by the
occasion, but by the presence of the Heir Apparent, the
Commander-in-Chief, and his staff, nearly all the members of
the Royal Family who are in London, and all the military
attaches of the foreign Powers. —We give the following
account of the ceremony of "Trooping the Colours" from
The Times of Monday :

A more than usually 14rge and brilliant assemblage
gathered on the parade for London is at its fullest,
the season at its height, and there was Queen's
weather. The Admiralty flag flew; stages for specta-
tors were reared in the Admiralty gardens; the win-
dows and roofs of the public offices, from the new
India-house to Spring-gardens, were crowded. A red
line of the Foot kept the ground, and 1,064 men joined
in the evolutions, under the command of Lieutenant-
Colonel E. S. Burnaby, commanding the Grenadier
Guards. It must be for the last time that this dis-
tinguished officer can share otherwise than a spectator
in the celebration, for after 34 years' service in the
Household troops he is ripe for the Major-Generalship.
The ceremony gone through was the well-known
manceuvre of trooping the colour, preceded by an in-
spection of the line, and ending with a march past.
The forces engaged were the two flank companies of
each battalion of the Foot—Coldstreams, Scots
Guards, and Grenadiers—in London, and the colour
used was the Royal standard, the Queen's colour of
the battalion of Coldstream Guards. Such reverence
as is paid to the Queen's colour is natural on the
Queen's birthday. "Le soldat francais," said
Napoleon 1., "a pour see drapeaux un sentiment qui
tient de la tendresse," and the flag has no less honour
in England, where standards, banners, guidons,
pennons, and banderols have been borne from time
immemorial, where battles of the standard have been
fought, and many have been ennobled and enriehed for
life as Guido deßryan in the time of Edward 111. was
"for his prudent bearing of the standard against the
enemies, and strenuously, powerfully, and erectly
sustaining it." The lieutenant to whom fell the task
of carrying the Queen's colour had no difficulty in
bearing it becomingly over the level green sward
beneath the shade of the tall trees, and the escort of
the Coldstreams, under Lieutenant Gladstone, had to
do nothing more trying than to march past in slow
step. All the front places at the windows of the
Duke's levee room at the Horse Guards were occupied
by the children of the Prince and Princess of Wales,
of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke
and Duchess of Teck, and others of the Royal Family.
Then also could be seen the Princess of Wales herself,
in light yellow flowered dress with deep crimson
bonnet and bonnet-strings, and carrying a black and
crimson sunshade; the Duchess of Connaught, in
light heliotrope • the Princess Mary, Duchess of Teck;
the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, with her
daughter-in-law, the hereditary Grand-Duchess, and
other exalted personages.
Under the Indian Office were massedthe two troops
of the Royal Horse Guards and all the bands' one on
horses and three on foot, apparreled in cloth of gold
and gorgeously accoutred. The infantry were drawn
up in a long red line facing the Horse Guards, stand-
ing at ease, but at 10.30 the arrivalof the staff from the
direction of St. James's Palace was the signal for a
few bars from the National Anthem and a general
salute from the troops. The Duke of Cambridge
and the Prince of Wales both wore the scarlet uniform
and bearskin of the Grenadier Guards, the broad
blue band of the Garter under the sash. The
Duke of Edinburgh was in the spiked helmet and
uniform of Colonel of the Edinburgh Volunteer
Artillery. The Duke of Connaught wore the uniform of
Colonel of the 60th Rifles ; the Duke of Teck that of the
let Surrey Volunteer Artillery. The Prince of Schaum-
burg-Lippe, Prince Leiningen, the Grand Duke of
Hesse, the hereditary Duke of Mecklenbucg-Strelitz
and Field-Marshal Lord Strathnairn, General Sir
Charles Ellice, General Sir Daniel Lysons, General
Sir Lintorn Simmons, General R. P. Radcliffe,
Colonel Kingscote, Colonel Teesdale, Colonel Ellis,
Lieutenant - Colonel Loyd -Lindsay, Lieutenant-
Colonel Clarke, Lieutenant-Colonel Russell, Captain
Egerton, Lieutenant Rose, and other gallant officers
rode in with the staff, as well as the foreign attaches,
conspicuous among whom by his fez was the Turkish
attaché, successor to the brave officer who fell from
his horse and was killed in Hyde Park in riding to
the celebration of the Queen's birthday last year.
White plumes and hussar coats made the foreign
contingent a brilliant accession to the scarlet clad
English.
The Commander-in-Chief and staff rode on an in-
spection of the line in front and rear, while the bands
of the Foot played Lord Dunmore 's "Royal Wedding
March," and Waterson's "Farewell March."
The Duke of Cambridge assumed his post in front
of the Horse Guards with the Prince of Wales on his
right and the Duke of Edinburgh on his left. Colonel
Burnaby, as officer in command, afterwards took
up his place on the right of the Prince of Wales
for the march past. But first the bands and drums,
with the tall pipers of the Scotch battalions, set out at
a slow march from the right to the left of the line,
playing as they went "II segreto per esser felice,"
the drinking-song. in Lucrezia Borgia. The three
gorgeous drum-majors twirled and raised their batons
us frout of all. On arriving near the colour, the
bands changed front, halted, and ceased playing.
They marched quickly back to the smarter music of
the Pirates of Penzance. They changed front, halted,
and ceased playing, but once more crossed the ground,
followed by the escort, to the air appointed by autho-
rity for this part of the manceuvre, "The British
Grenadiers." Some of the other military music varies
from year to year. As the lieutenant received the
colour from the sergeant the bands struck up " God
Save the Queen," and stepped back to the "Grenadiers'
March," which was succeeded by the foreign and
striking strains of the Preobajensky March.
In the march past, the Blues, with Lord Arthur
Somerset at their head, first thundered by, the horses
tramping ponderously and slowly as if each conscious
of carrying the weight of nearly 20 stone. Then came
the Grenadiers at slow march, nearly a head and
shoulders above the crowd which watched them, and
preceded by their band playing the March in Scipio.
In only one company was a slight irregularity in
dressing observed as they went by at this difficult
pace. The Coldstreams marched to an air from Figaro,
and the Scots Guards to "The Garb of old Gaul."
So they went by, and, wheeling in a narrow space, to
the admiration of the spectators, returned smartly at
the quick step to the music of " The British
Grenadiers," the Minanolla March, and the
"Highland Laddie." A Royal salute, and "God
Save the Queen," and the review was over.
The cavalry band of the Blues formed in a circle
and began to play. The staff had ridden off to
St. James's Palace and was followed thither by the
bands of the Foot. The people remained to cheer
while the Princesses drove through the paak—the
Princess of Wales beside her two boys in naval uni-
form, and her three daughters, in blue. opposite her,
followed in another carriage by Miss Knollys, Sir D.
Probyn, and Sir W. Knollys ; Princess Mary and her
children • the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg, with
her dauglter-in-law and grandchild; the Duke and
Duchess of Westminster, &c. Another selection of
music was played in Fairy Court at St. James's
Palace, and was listened to from the terrace in the
garden of Marlborough-house by the Prince and
l'rincess of Wales, the Duchess of Teck, the 'Duke
and Duchess of Connaught, the Duke of Cambridge,
and other members of the Royal Family, including
many of the young Princes and Princesses, till the
boom of 61 guns rolled through the Park.

The usual Ministerial dinners were given on Satur-
day evening in celebration of her Majesty's birthday,
Mr. Gladstone gave two dinners, one at his official
residence as First Lord of the Treasury (where the
Prince of Wales was one of the guests), the other at
the official residence of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer. In the evening the Countess Granville
had a reception at the Foreign Office.

The Queen's birthday was celebrated everwhere
throughout Cyprus with the greatest loyalty and
enthusiasm. At Lanarea and Limasol the Te Deum
was sung in the churches, and afterwards Royal
salutes were fired to commemorate the occasion. The
streets, churches, and the Greek club were decorated
with flags and flowers, and the shipping in the roads
displayed the colours o ftheir respective nationalities.
Turks and Greeks alike took part in the rejoicings.
At Nicosa the celebration was carried out with zreat
rejoicings. General Biddulph, with a brilliant staff,
was met outside the Papho Gate by the notables of
the city and a detachment of Sowars. The streets
were lined with troops. The pioneers formed a guard
of honour to General Biddulph, who, wearing his new
decoration, and surrounded by the chief officials,
received the principal officers of State and the heads
of departments. The Greek Archbishop, the Arme-
nian Bishop, and all the Turkish and Greek civil and
religious notables were present. The reception hall
was crow'ded. The High Commissioner addressed the
absexablar sad sar•-•
- I sat haw te meet 7ext *a Otis Vie genii aliztvbr.

sary of the Queen's birthday since the government of Cyprus
has been undertaken by England. Queen Victoria has
reigned in England forty-three years, and her reign has
always been considered happy and glorious. I have great
pleasure in telling you, as a proof of the progress of Cyprus,
that whereas in 1877 the value of the exports and imports
amounted to 16,000,000 piastres, in 1878 they amounted to
40,000,000 piastres, and in 1879 to 53,000,000 piastres. These
ligiires speak for themselves, and I trust that the prosperity
of Cyprus will continue to increase."