The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-11-10 00:00:00

PPP

--
Art Ttubor (orrtspottent.

(We leer,- it right to tAte that we do not at all timeatdenti
11n0011/0b Ilith out correspoudeut's opinkahs j

That:Miamiliar announcement "A Cabinet Coun-
cil wieheki yesterday" now frequently meets the eye.
The body which is called a Cabinet may be regarded
as a Parliament within a Parliament, an Executive
Legislature, or perhaps more properly an Administra-
tive Legislature ; R is a council within the Privy
Council ; it is the essence of Parliament ; it is the
Parliammt whtn there is no Parliament, the govern-
ing body when our legislative governors are scattered,,
all over the world. The whole of the royal authority
is vested RI the Cabinet for the time being, and the
ten or a dozen members of this little I ody are perhaps
more powerful than any other ten or a dozen men
througlwer the world.. ft is strange, therefore, as
the " Perliamentary 'Companion" informs us, that
" Alt hough this select council has now been
regarded during, Several generations as an essen-
tial part, of our polity, yet it still continues
to be unknown to the law the names of the noble-
men and oeentlemen who compose it are never officially
annot4cetto the public ne record is kept of its reso-
lutions or Meetings ; nor has its existence over been
recognised by A.U.11 4AOt Of Parliament." The
delibetetatittismf this important body are just twit; Of
unusual significance, for we may naturally coneludo
that there deliberations have special reference to the
foremost political topic of the day, Reform. It would
be useless to speculate on the result of those delibera-
tions in respect to this or any other subject, but looking
merely to probabilities we may reasonably suppose
that Mileistera either have decided or will elecide to .
bring forward a Reform Egli.

4 goodittleal of controversy has been occasioned, by
an analysis of the bribery at the Lancaster election.
The Pon Mai/gave the 'following as the result. "Of
the tipper classes were bribed 7 per cent. ; of eh rkr,
tradasmem stze., II per cent. ;of innkeepers, ;of
sma4r ers. 37; of farnmers. iitic of artisans, 7;
of smal a m ''sgftre 'labs-ewers, WA," Irrrefer'esices
to this it maybe said, as the ricotchmitn 'asked afie?
reading t' Paradise- Lost,"" What does it pro've
Like every' other • Ate:tent—to anzdysre and separate
classer, the 'result is very 'AMtbrful. What are we to.
understand by `.; clerks,.teaflesnigu, &c,"? Surely the
&c. must be taken from some other classes, and, if so,
what class? One would think that "small shopkeepers"
ought to none into this category. And that tea curious
dise4ncsion„between farmers sideman farmers. Where
is the line 'drawn?' It i. er. Foramen remark that' you
may prove anything
,by statistics, whi,ll is equivalent
to saying that nothing can be absolutely proved by
them. At irl.l ;vents Ido not think this tabular state-
ment proves much; unless it be the prevalence of bri-
bery among all classes. Perhaps we shall never have
any remedy for thin sad state of things till we make
bribery felony, though I believe the ballot would go a
long way towards it, for it would be useless to bribe a,
man if youseould.not tell whether he had fulfilled his
part of the bargain.
The Law Courts, Which. are now in full business
after the long vacation, are likely to be unusually
busy this term. The new Lord Chief Justice, Sir
Hugh Cairns, land • the new Lewd Chief Baron, Sir
Fitzroy Kelly, amongst the other judges, will have no
easy time of it. In the Chancery Courts especially
there will be a large amount of business to get through,
especially in eonneotion with the winding-up of public
companies. Legal circles of late have been much
agitated by-changes and impending changes. Among
the latter is-a-rumour to the effect that Sir Richard
Kinderrley will resign his Vice-S'hancellorehip before
the end of the present term, and that he will probably
be succeeded by Mr. Malins, Q. C., which would perhaps
lead to several other changes. It is a common opinion
that f,udgeships are eagerly sought for their emolu.
ments but thie is 'comparatively seldom the case.
The salariemof our higher legal functionaries are very
large, it in trge ; but generally speaking the lucky
lawyers vrho areeeelected for these posts are already
earning larger incomes privately than they will obtain
when adorned with the judicial ermine.
There is reason to believe that not one of the great
railway companies will next Session promote any bill
for new schemes. It is thought that the private bills
will fot number more than about 2.)0, and that the
only railway bills will be for raising additional capital,
for abandoning projects, &c..; The simple truth is that
railway companies have been going too much ahead
lately with their branches and extensions, and that
many of them now feel that it will be better to deve-
lops existing traffic than to branch out in new direc-
tlms. So far as London is concerned we do not want
further railway communication so much as a little
more harmony between existing companies.
Extraordinary wants are made known through the
medium of advertisements, but the following is per-
haps tes strange as any: "Wanted a Clairvoyant for
private purposes. Good remuneration will be given.
Address," &c. One wotild think that a clairtvoyant
wan as much a "definite article" be a journeyman,.
tailor or shoemaker, and that he or she can be had for
the advertising. But what can be the "private pur-
poses foe which the advertiser requires this phe-
nomenon? Perhaps he knows of some buried treasure,
but i ignorant of its exact locality; perhaps he wiehes
to hold communication with some tablewapping spirit
after the manner of the Davenports. In. any caw his
demand is a strange one, and it does not say much
for the intellectual state of the advertiser.

There is an old joke—to be found, I think in the
veteran-Joe Miller's book—about an Irish announce-
ment .to the elect that somebody's Sunday-school
would in future be held twice a week, Tuesdays and
Fridays. Something of the same kind is being, con.
templated by the Fortnightry Review. "Ii; coins
plianoe with wishes repeatedly expressed," we are told
" the-proprietors of the Fortnightly Review have re-
solved, to suspend fur the present the publication on
the 15th of each inonth. That an the Ist of each month
will continue as heretofore." But what is it to be
called? The present title would be as ridiculous ads.
nomer as would be Once a Week were It to be published
fortnightly. '

I notice that some New York publishers announce
a boo* by the Bishop of Vermont on the "law of
Ritualism." We want something of this kind here;
but I presume the difficulty would be to determine
what the law of ritualism is. Each clergyman hhre
appears to be doing what is right in his own eyes, and
the-blehops are apparently either unable or .nnwifling
to move in the matter. The Times tells us that certain
"pernicious nonsense" must be put down, but there
seeing no more prospect of it than of the late Sis'Peter
Laurie putting down suicide. The probability is that
much of the time of Parliament will next Session be
taken up by discussions on ritualistic matters, but
whether with any practical result remains to be seer?.
It is just one of those subjects on which a great deal
can be said on both sides, and there is no want of
ability on eithjr.

A friend in Paris, writing to me, speaks enthusi-
aetically-of the preparations that are being made for
the Greatest Exhibition, as he calls it. Not only in
the immediate vicinity of the Exhibition are great im-
provements being made, but all Paris is cleaning up,
as it were. Repairs of houses and re-building of
ststete, and numerous sanitary regulations are being
proceede'd with, so that Paris during "the
world's fair" will be more beautiful than ever. Every-
thing indeed tends
,t,o the belief that the gay French
capital during the summer of next year will D.
the centre of attaustion from all quarters of the
globe. , What the Parisians will do with this
mass of eight-seekers remains to be seen. Where
will they put them all? And what will be the
price of lodgings and refreshment? Perhaps cheaper
than 'anticipate, for it is just possible, though
not probable, that the accommodation will be
Overdone. No praise can be too high for the zeal and
assiduity which the Emperor has shown with regard
to this Exposition, and especially for his having devoted
himself to the improvement of the dwellings of the
working classes. The houses which he has hluj erected
after his own designs, and the model dwelling which
he will exhibit, may equally be considered as his con-
irihution to this 'Universal Exhibition, and he thus
Oyes an impetus to the principle of utility which is
valuable indeed amidst so much that is mere glitter
and ornamentation. In connection with this Exhibi-
tion, I have noticed that there is a new-found zeal
among many. of my acquaintances in learning French.
French teachers are now, sr ought to be, at &premium.