The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-01-30 00:00:00

THE ADDRESS-DEFEAT OF THE GOVERNMENT.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer having moved to
give the order of the day for the adjourned debate on
the Address precedence over the notices of motion, Mr.
Parnell taunted the Government with desiring to avoid
a discussion on Mr. Collings's amendment with regard
to the condition of the English agricultural labourers,
and submitted an a•cendment giving precedence to the
debate on the Address on all days on which it should be
set down.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer repudiated any
wish to shirk the issue raised by Mr. Collings, but de-
clared that the Government having been reluctautly
forced to the conviction that the measure which he had
already indicated for Ireland was necessary felt bound
to place it before the House with the utmost expedi.
tion.

Mr. Gladstone desired time to consider the new
question as to the business of the House which the
notice. cf the Government had raised, before being
called upon to give a conclusive judgment upon it. He
therefore supported a suggestion made by Sir W.
Harcourt that the debate onthe Address should be con-
tinued at that sitting and again on Wednesday. Mr.
Parnell assenting, the resolution was amended in
the sense of Sir W. Harcourt's proposal, and was then
agreed to.
The adjourned debate on the Address was resumed
by Mr. Collings, who moved an amendment, expressive
of regret that no measures were announced for the
present relief of the classes suffering from the
depression in trade and agriculture, and especially
for affording facilities to the agricultural labourers and
others in the rural districts to obtain allotments and
small holdings on equitable terms as to lent and
Becurity of tenure.

The -amendment having been seconded by Captain
Verney,
Mr. Chaplin declined to admit that the Government
were not fully alive to the advantages of allotments,
and referred to the promise in the Queen's Speech of a
Glebe Lauds Bill as indicating the friendly spirit in
which they regarded the question. He objected, how-
ever, in the strongest manner to the introduction of
compulsion, and pointed out that the system of very
small holdings had not been attended with great success
either in France or in other countries where it had been
triea.

Mr. Gladstone characterised the speech of Mr.
Chaplin as offensive rather than defensive. The read-
justment of local burthens which had beon indicated
was not intended for the benefit of the labouring man,
while to Aregard the sale of glebe lands as a general
remedy fbr the condition of the labourers was prepos-
terous. With a thoroughly good and efficient system
of local government, he considered :that the desira-
bility of giving local authorities compulsory powers for
the provision of allotments avd small holdings would
be a subject for full and fair consideration by the House
of Commons, and he trusted that the amendment would
be adopted by a large majority.
Mr. Finch-Hatton, while opposing the amendment,
appealed to the Government to declare their intention
to take up the question. He deprecated any attempt to
inflict a defeat upon the Government on any other
question than the main issue, viz., their Irish policy.
In the course of subsequent discussion, Mr. Efeveage
spoke in support of, and Lir. Birkbeck against the
amendment.

Mr. Arch did not look upon the amendment as a cure
for agricultural depression, but rather as a cure ism
poverty among the agricultural labourers. The clause
in the Queen's Speech he regarded as an admission that
the Government recognised the hard lot of the agri•
cultural population but had no remedy to propose;
and that being so he thought the country would
seek other physicians, who had a practical remedy at
hand.

Mr. Goschen congratulated Mr. Chamberlain upon
having succeeded in transferring the principal item 3f
his "unauthorised programme" into what was now
apparently the authorised programme of the Liberal
Party. For his own part, although he was strongly in
favour of allotments and small holdings, he was
satisfied that the introduction of compulsion would
entail so much expense, so much danger, so much
liability to jobbery and parochial disputes that the
intentions which Mr. Collings entertained could not be
realised. Hopes would have been created in the minds
of the agricultural labourers which could not be
fulfilled, a vast machinery which would not work would
have been called into existence, and a false idea would
have been given the labourer of his rights in the soil,
which the labourers in towns would not be slow to
improve upon. He protested against the charge that
those who voted against the present amendment were
not in sympathy with Liberalism.
After some observations by Mr. Bradlaugh and Mr.
Long,
Mr. A. J. Balfour explained that it was, and had
always been the intention of the Government to give
in the Loeal Government Bill which would be intro-
duced powers to local bodies to deal with this question,
and he reminded Mr. Goschen that there was nothing
new in the principle of compulsory powers. If the
Opposition leaders persisted in pressing the amend-
ment to a division it would obviously be done for the
purPose of turning the Government out upon a side
issue. _

Chamberlain taunted the Government with
having so well kept the secret of their intentions, and
declared that the amendment was brought forward in
order to redeem the promises made at the general
election, and because its supporters had no confidence
in the Government to do justice to the agricultural
labourer, or to any other question.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer observed that it was
now evident that this was a party move to turn out the
Government. If the amendment were carried it would
not only defeat the Government, but would defeat the
policy which the Government had announced they be.
lieved it would be their duty to pursue in reference to
Ireland. He warned Liberal members who valued the
legislative union between England and Ireland to pause
before, by their votes on this untimely proposal, they
increased the dangers to which that union was exposed.
The Marquis of Hartington, replying to a challenge
from the Ohoancellor of the Exchequer, avowed that he
felt bound, after his public declarations on this subject,
to vote against Mr. Collings's amendment. He could
not Fe a party to the adoption of a general principle of
that character without having any conception of the
details of the scheme, or the authorities by whom it
would be carried out.
The House divided with the following result:
For the amendment
Against 250

Majority against Government 79

. _
The announcement of the numbers was received with
loud cheers by the Opposition.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, observing that the
Government quite appreciated the nature of the vote
at which the House had arrived, moved the adjourment
of the debate, which was agreed to.
The House adjourned at ten minutes past one o'clock
until Thursday.