The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-07-10 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

Healey, b Johnann
Walton, rot out 0
Extras 10

Total 73

COMMENTS ON CURRENT TOPICS.

THE defeat of the Right Hon. G. J.
wns a cliaointment and a blow
Li)er,l Rtrty, and a sqtiF:.
. . . .

.it,ll to t e fol!overs of the Prime Mi
t?r, who certainly scored a signal success in
Etlinbuty.ll, as; some sort of compensation
'or tlie rtwerses in other direction. - .111..
iochen is the most eloquent of all the
Premier's opponents, and-his constituents'
repudiation of his attitude on Irish matter,
must have been hard for him to bear. 01
course, a man of his high ability could not
long remain oat of Parliament except b)
his own desire, and so before night had
fallen on Mr Goschen's defeat in "dear oh?
Edinburgh," as Mr. Gladstone styles tilt
modern Athens, arrangements had been
made to secure him a •=eat elsewhore

SIR CHARLES DILKE was one of the first of
the doughty champions of Gladstonianism
of eminence to fall in the fight, losing-
Chelsea, whose voice he had interpreted IV
St. Stephen's for over a score of years, b)
17(3 votes, just one more than he held it by
against his now successful antagonist in
November. • Radical Birmingham .went
"solid for the Union," to quote Mr. Cham-
berlain. This is a strong testimony to thE
ex,Gladstonian ancient's personal ascend-
ancy in the Midland metropolis. The Min-
isteria!ists won a set in Liverpool, but Sir
Thomas Brassey, who went to that city t:
fight tite Uladstoaian battle, and did n:
succeed, I..st his safe membership for Has; -
ings by leaving the couflict in less abh
hands.

untke vet ran memleer fur Centr
Birmiu in, till stands by the side of 11
nld chief, as d ies also it may, en, prisi.fmt be
said, the son of Mr. John Bright, who sits
for Stoke—is in again for South-WeA
lianchester. Mr. Mellor, Judge Advocati-
General, is ousted. at Grantham ; the Solici-
tor-General tried once again and still in vain
to gain a seat; Mr. Hibbert, another mem-
ber of the Government, was thrown out at
Oldham. In SLepney, the Junior Counstl
to the Treasury lost the Lib ral battle, a.:
allowed a seat to be captured from his part: .
Carve •1 Williams, the Liberatioi
•'.oci4ty's leading spirit, was defeated ii
Nottinvham by a Conservative. Sir Mat.
thew White Ridley, a weighty North mar
aid ex-Conservative Minister, did not sue.
ceed in re entering Parliament through the
gate of Newcastle, on which he made a
strong assault.
AT Ashton. Mr. Addison has only th
Itayoral distrust of Mr. Gladstone to thanl-
for his privilege of Parliamentary member.
ship, for the casting vote of the chief ma -
istrate carried him in. An ex-coloniel
. Parliamentarian, Mr. Spensley, goes int:-
private life again for the lack of half
dozen additional supporters. In London-
derry City, where Mr. Justin M`Carthl
failed by 2'..) la,,n November, the Toil wn
declared as giving the Conservative candi-
date a majority of 102 on this occasion.
Then an error was remembered, and a re-
count in.iicated :1 tie. A further and recre
en reful iierutiny ;eft the clever Parnell it.
'eader-writer three behind ; and after the
declaration the niaal rioting and hea•t-
breaking o‘c,tterel.
• •

BALeocrt holds Leeds.. East, captur,-:-.
from lit Cinsmvativ:,,S in 1.885 from M.
John Barr La; th ther of I.,eeds
in thopet this tiffi the chief of ti.v-
boron7h the visional champion
'Air. lithind, however, 1:",
only st-t w• 0i hi-n and his rival.-
Mr. (.n.;. Vtli kwi in tle
'Sort ,ttrt,s and fl leetnn
piatfo,..ins as qn:,nt pleager and er-
pouent of the i‘rt of giving voice and ex-
7)ression to masterpieces; of literary beant--
ias run in for Leeds East, where the Irisi
•nost do cone:re-rate. tiiiselairig Mr, Dawson.
strong Constitutionalist. In Hull r.
Virilliam S'und rs, of Central News celebrity,
:roes to the wall because Mr. Grotrim
,
ommercial intluence and robust Conserva.
satisfy A majority of 37 inhabitants of
a section o'f the Third Port: Alderman At.
kin,on, a shipping inthority of inercantil,-
note, a I.lading Wesleyan layman, and thi
:zreatest Bible collector of his day, hivs
turned out Mr. Ingram, of the Illustrated
London News, by a polling defeat of 5(..
votes, from the lAtter's long connection witi-
Thston. We shall hear again, doubtless,
of the elections that hove resulted RO closely,
as rumours of scrutiniesgand petitions ale
already afloat.

LONDON'S concessions to Conservatism anA
the new Union Liberalism are very remark-
able, but the capital has always favour,('.
the policy of political eautiou and leaned in
the direction of holding fast to old institu-
tions. More remarkable perhaps that
Birmingham's repudiation of Mr. Gladstone
are the the Ministerial routs at Dudley,
Glasgow Central, East Bradford, Hartle-
pool, Oldham, and elsewhere away from
London in quarte?s hitherto remarkable for
Gladstoniau strdngth. As the elections
have progressed the adherents of Unionism
and Conservatism have grown more and
more jubila-. t, and the Gladstoneite des-
pondency has increased in corresponding
I.egree.

THE ti e.rj thq testuts of the
contests - ."•',eitemeat t bereanent
evinced 7 t•-r., a.; was the case
last • •: . !• %, .1s congregate
round ~..! ,r wherever the
coantin_, t.e balloting is
comlji.l. to hear-
th° ;1)(11.0c:tin-, in datrr-
ons inelicatio.4; .of ~:aiizanship. :Then,
when who has won is known, the candidates
are called upon for a speech in the small
hours, with -itibOnh and uproar to follow.
Injuries to the. pers.on and damage to the
ikti ire are cornuionoecurencesin consequence
and there is nf-,t, infrequently a police court
sequel to the story. The expectancy and
dispinyed by the numbers
about noun, gather daily in the vicinity
of the newspaper olfiets to read and hiss or
applaud the returns of overnight pollings
as they are published is r• a sight to see.
Many of these curious waiters are far from
being able to understand the issues involved,
or even to tell you the moaning of the mvs-
tic designation L IT, C, G. and P., but they
hoot and cheer with the rest nevertheless,
with vehemence, generally following the
winning side. How much better it would
be if all the pollings could be taken on one
day, so as to obviate a full fortnight's ex-
citement of this sort, which does immeasure-
able injury to trade. There is little doubt
that the lengthy duration :of the polling has
an unintentional effect on the ultimate re-
sult, too, There are always lots of super-
ficial folk who will think it the correct ,
thing to follow the winning flag, and vote
for the party which has secured the lead
with a view of being on the side of triumph.
Their intellectual order is not high— they
are own cousins to the unwashed politicians
who furnish tne strJec claque when results
are 'being exhibited in the windows of
journalistic preuint.s—but their nu._ii