The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-02-15 00:00:00

Our Peon Corvapmbent.

4s aotin It .ght to state that we do not It all times
Sootily ourselves with our Corre.pondent's Tinton.:

Her Majesty's loyal subject& would have been much
pleased had her health permitted her to open Parlia-
ment in pereon ; hot, fading this, it is satisfactory to
see that we shall have Court receptions in Buckingham
Palace. '1 he Queen in to hold an official and diplo-
matic court at the Palace on the 27th inst. ; the Prince
of 'Wales will hold a levee, on her Majesty's behalf, at
St. James's Palace on Vie 3rd of March ; and no
doubt other royal receptions will be duly announced,
while it is understood that the Q is to stay for
several days at Buckingham Palace Londoners are
always delighted to see the royal stoudard fl usting
from its roof.

The session opens well, so far at least as promise of
business is concerned. There is enough legislation
foresha lowed in the re.y.el message to occupy a great
part of the time of our legisla6ne, but the promiss -I
was about teasay the threat-al business on the part
of iniependent members is, I think, unparalleled.
On the opening day there were no less than
notices of motion, most of them preliminary
to bringing in a bill. I wonder to what extent
these notices will be follow,' out to their legitimate
Issue -what will be the "outcome" of bills therefrom.
Whatever be the remelt, these noticed show us what
freedom there is in the peceeedings of the HOLM of
Commons—at the beginning of the session. Probably
the majority of the gentlemen who give these notices
will find, sooner or later, either the forms of the Irouse
or the pressure of lousiness too strong for them, and one
after the other motions will be withdrawn or bills
dropped ; but still it is a healthy sign of political as.
tiVity and independent action that so many private
attempts at legislation should be made.

Os cla that the Prince and l'rincees of Wales intend
to pay a visit to Ireland, and that they will be present
at Peinchestoern races. They will be enthusiastically
welcomed. Prince Arthur too (one of whose names,
by the wry, is Patrick), will gain favour from our
Irish fellow subjects by presiding at the 90th anniver-
sary festival of the Benevolent Society of St. l'atrick,
on the lith of March next. Wales, too, is putting in
a claim--and very reasonably—for princely favours.
One of the meetings of the National Welsh Biateelffod
is to be held at Mold next August, and an influentially
signed memorial is to be presented to the Prince of
\Vales asking him to preside. His Royal Highness
will do a kindly and gradous thing if he conseuts, as
he most probably wilL
The conference of gentlemen, at the rooms of the
Social Science Association, on the subject of local taxa-
tion and administration, is only one out of many signs
of the interest that is taken in this matter by some in-
fluential classes of society. That the great mass of
the people manifest much interest in the subject it
would be idle to assert, and certainly the complications
of national and local taxation and administration are
not generally understoisl. It is generally felt, how-
ever, that the people are taxed with unnecessary local
burdens ; that there is a great deal of abuse in levying
this taxation; and that we want some approach to uni-
formity, and altogether better administration. There
will be no want of general interest in this subject when
the Government measure is before the House of Com-
mons. It is essentially a breeches-pocket question,
and in these hard times such questions are of vital
importance, however difficult they may be to under.
stand.

That P. Ilessel wax scandalously treated is cer-
tain, and that he hail • fair claim for compensation
'is equally certain, but considering what the Govern-
ment have done, the great British public, as is fre-
quently the case, have overdone the compensation.
This, however, is erring on the right vile; but still
one cannot help thinking how many innocent persons
have been somewhat similatly treated in one respect,
but not in another.

Friends at a distance will probably be suprised at
there being snob a fuss !Lade over the freeing of Kew
Bridge from toll, while the toll is kept on other
bridges nearer the heart of the metropolis; but the
whole matter is explained by the old maxim, that if
we cannot do as well as we wish we must do as well
as we car. It is easy to clamour against tolls on
bridges, but their freedom it a question of immense
ensue of money, and we must travel slowly on the
path of reform, and meanwhile the 'freedom of Kew
Bridge is at least something to rejoice at.
Whether the cbiliz .a world has more gabled or lost
by treaties would be a very difficult question to
anewer. Much has undoubtedly been gained by
treaties of commerce and navigation, but how many
wars have been occasioned by misunderstandings and
disputes about treaties relative to territory ! But
there is another question that is difficult to answer -
why should Government negotiate treaties and the
people know nothing of the matter till tha documents
are signed? The time is coming, I think, when the
people of this country will insist on having a voice in
these affairs, through their representativee. I observe
that Lord Granville has stated that there is at present
no extradition treaty between this country and Spain,
but that the respective Governments are engaged in
negotiating such a treaty. Very probably these
Governments will manage the matter properly enough,
but still why shoul I not the British Parliament be at
least called on to ratify the treaty before signature.
A motion is shortly to be brought before the House of
Commons, that "all future treaties between this
country and foreign Powers ought to be laid on the
table of the House before being ratified... This is
reasonable enough, considering what very serious
matters treaties are.

And so the Government does not intend to make
any inquiry into the causes of the high price of coals,
and I have not much faith in any such inquiry were it to
be undertaken. There has already been so much dis-
cussion on the subject that the varkitis causes which
conduce to high prices must be pretty well known, and
the difficulty is to make use of our knowledge now we
have obtained it It is confidently stated that riees
will yet be considerably raised. I much doubt it. They
may for a time rule higher than at present, but this is
scarcely likely to be for long. As the spring advances
the demand must fall off, and, moreover, there is good
reason to hope that the unfortunate dispute in the col-
liery districts it ill ere long be settled, and the output
of coal considerably increased. The action of two or
three companies who profess to cheapen coal, or to
supply new kinds of fuel, must alko have an effect in
lowering quotations. Meanwhile, however, the enor-
mous prices of coal is having an injurious effect on
many industries where coal is largely consumed, while
its dearness, together with increased charges fur coke
and wood, is inflicting great hardship on the poor.
A movement which cannot excite surprise has taken
place in the North, and a.number of masters engaged
in the iron and steel trades of Sheffield have combined
to resist the combinations among workmen, as well as
for other trade purposes. At find this movement looks
like war to the knife, and it certainly Indicates deter-
mined action, but I have sometimes thought that if
there were more combination among the masters--
without referring to any particular trades—not only
would there be less aggression on the part of the men
in the matter of wages and hours of work, but that any
disputes that might arise could be more easily settled
than they are now that there is so little organisa-ion
among employer?. Be this as it may, the movement
alluded to is important in itself as well as in what it
suggests.

The splendid building for the International Exhibition
at Vienna, which is to be inaugurated on the let of
May, approaches conipletion, and there is reason to
believe that this dhplay of the world's products will
he a much finer one than anything we have had since
the far-famed I'm is Universal Expeition of 1367.
Several r..yal personages have appointed dates for
visiting Vienna during the spring and summer, and it
Pt even rumoured that the Emperor of China son-
templates paying it a visit. It is probable that
thowands of Englishmen will make themselves a.=
quoing ol with Vi. ova during next summer who never
before raw it. The Austrian capital is a very fine city,
with handsome buildings, spacious streets, agreeable
suburbs, and attractive places of ammo:len There
will be cheap tourist tickets during the exhibition, as
a matter of course, and in fact " every body " will go
to Vienna. Apropos of exhibitions, our own Interna-
tional Exhibition, which will be opened on 'bright
May day," alb possess one feature of general interest
—a display of rookery. The department of food—ln-
cluding its production, uses, no I whilteration—will
smite popular attention us account of the continued,
and cluatless 'to be continued," high prices of most
atti.dea of consumption but in connection with this
departensnt will he an exhibition of practical cookery.
There has been established a School for Cookery, pre-
sided over by a committee, and this committee has just
decided to rrepars 100 resipe for the best mode of
cooking 100 dishes particularly suited to all classes with
incomes not exceeding ZOO a year. That we waste an
enormous quantity of food in this country by our bad and
extravagant modes of cookery is generally admitted, and
if this International Exhibition can show us how to
resold this it will do the country good service.

Although the Lord Mayor announced the other day
that the North Nett fund had reached an amount which
would be autliei«nt to meet the reasonable wants of the
survivors, subscriptions still come io, and it will be
difficult—and perhaps not nth inAlo —to stop them.
There will no doubt be surplus. 1 think this surplus
might be well applied 001 the nucleus of a fund for pro
muting the emigration of agricultural and other
labourers, with their wives and families, to Canada and
the United Stat.. Labour is still much wanted on
the other side of the Atlantic, and we still have •
Large surplus of unakill.l labour in our Own country.

The reeult of the Liverpool election is mook som-
mented on in political circles. Merely remarking, how-
ever, that the contest seems to me to have been decided
on personal quite as much as on strictly political con-
siderations, I would venture to express, the opinion
that it is now proved that the endeavours, by either
pr )1 itic.l party, to a-certain how the poll is going and to
identify voters with their votes cannot be relied on,
and that it in much to be regretted that such attempts
should be made.