The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-03-20 00:00:00

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1880,

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

_ln the HCIISE OF LORDS, March 15, the Royal assent was
rpm by Commission to the Relief of Distress (Ireland) Act
40,1 some other measures. •
rLord EorY announced that it had been found that the Act •
01847 prohibiting troops from parading in the vicinity of ,
lling-places only applied to the regular troops, and, sums%
~9oOnventence would arise from the postponement of the '
,Iolunteer Review, the War Office had decided on allowing
to be held on Raster Monday, Certain Volunteer regula-
tions which might interfere with the holding of the review
_would be suspended, but an Act of Parliament would not be
neoessary.
tlieveral Bills were advanced a mho. Among them was
a.
Bypothea Abolition (Scotland) Bill, which was read a
Itirond time after a protest from Lord Redescisle and one or
0 other peers, who cried "Not content " when the quee-
,Tn Was put, but did not challenge by a division the Lord
,nancollor's opinion that the "Contents" had it.
,Lord Oranmore and Browne Vat a question as to the
;dale Minister's letter to the Lord Lieutenant, and moved
teturne showing the parts of Ireland proclaimed under
toe Peace Preservation Act.
I„,Th, e Earl of Bewoonsfield assented to the production of the
iZers and in reference to the Act itfel which expired in
said it was not imprudent to believe that the next
Karliarcent would do its duty and repeat that Act, if neces-
serf, With even stronger powers.
l'ke motion for the return was agreed to. •
Stratheden and Campbell called attention to the
"'et' of Her Majesty's Government on the Bistern Question
since the autumn of 1874. Tracing the diplomacy of this
(
ti)b)lll2trY from that date, he laid down as his first propotition
Her Majesty's Government were in a great degree re-
Vonsible for the war between Russia and Turkey. His next
troPosition was that the Treaty of Berlin was fatal on the
,hole to the maintenance of oAomen authority in the
rsDhorus, and raised almost insuperable difficulties to any;
ir end well-oonsidered combination by which the Boa-
r,us Might otherwise be guarded. Be concluded by
for a copy of the letter from the late.Ameer of Af-
stan to the Sultan dated the nth January, 1278.
„,_itord Granville felt that in consequence of the circum-
"vices of the moment he ought to make a few observations
Lin the question raised by his noble friend. He reminded
he Rouse of the Ministerial declaration, that this was to have ,
rah a Session of work, and then said that the reason given ,
'or dissolving Parliament at such a period of this Session
Would have been as applicable in any other Session. The
Inibalfesto of the Prime Minister he compared, on the
Mithority of a friend, to a piece of stage scenery
tather than to a correctly-drawn picture. It was meant to
have its effect at a distance. Pie denied that it was a true
_teDresentation. As to the foreign policy of the Govern-
'tient, he submitted that they had not secured peace and
"Shed where was our boasted ascendency acknowledged
~)
felt, He inquired whether boasting of our ascendency
calculated to increase our influence, and argued
up to the time when the late Government left
Lino() the influence of this country in Europe had
aa great as it was at present. Then, as re-
e4r,deti India. he held that the possession of "the
Latex of India" did not give us a better boundary
1,71 en we had possessed before.. With regard to the Turkish
a'ralgre he looked upon the Prime Minister as the greatest
optirnists. He expressed his conviction that the result of
e_ue elections would be disadvantageous to the Ministry. Be
nelleved them to be honourable men, but charged them
wlth not taking the country sufficiently into their con-
illuenue, He felt no doubt that whatever Government might
tzladpower as the result of the general elections would main-
., the honour and the unity of the Empire.
b Lord Beaconaileid described Lord Campbell's speeches as
Jtinil Made up of assumptions to which local colouring was
~.‘iveri by the speaker's knowledge of the subject, but which
Lere Utterly unfounded, and of conclusions which would be
'41141 if his assumptions had any real basis. The noble lord
one settlement of the Eastern Question, the beginning,
bliddle, and end of which was war; but the object of her
,essjesty's Government had been, and was, not to go
War. The letter for which the noble lord moved
• not in the possession of her Majesty's Government,
they had no official knowledge of it. It was,
out doubt, a forgery, and yet this apocryphal docn-
rkent was the foundation of the important debate of
~▪
,t evening and of the amiable remarks of Lord Gran-
en patio affairs. He confessed his surprise that the
,e.ader ot the Opposition in that House should have blamed
rine Government for advising Her Majesty to dissolve Par-
after the invective that had been heaped on them
.„..`ur not having done so before. Some of the noble earl's
vu.,,11.1dal colleagues had insinuated that the Government had
''''Tnied the dissolution because of some Bill about water. It
hethou ght the chiefs of the Opposition really believed that,
1.0 should indeed feel that the country was in danger. As to
ri own letter to the Lord-Lieutenant, every expression in that
,„`outiment had been well weighed and sincerely felt. Lord
those had always spoken like a statesman, but some of
Klose with whom he was politically connected had used
Lecguage which induced foreign nations to think that there
"al a want of sympathy between the people of this country
end the Executive. The policy of the late Government had
Conduced to a state of things in Europe that embarrassed
..
Present Administration. He could promise Lord Gran-
ville that If he became Minister as a result of the elections,
kid that if the honour and interests of this country were
concerned, he might count on the support of the Tory party,
After a debate, in which Lord Kimberley, Lord Crenbrook,
Lord Ripon, the Lord Chancellor; and Lord Selborne took
Part, the motion was withdrawn, and their lordsps ad-
learned at twenty minutes past nine O'clock.
In the HOUSE or Commorra, the Attorney-General, in an-
%Wet to a question from Mr. M. Scott, gave an opinion to
f‘he effect that Good Friday would not count as one of the
o..aYs in the computation of time for giving notice of an elec-
.
ts
,011 after the receipt Of a writ; and in answer to Mr.
euilabury, he said there was nothing in the statute to
Prevent Volunteers, and even troops of the Line,
taking part in a review at Brighton on Easter Mon.
day, provided that the nomination were not fixed for an
earlier day than Tuesday—which, in fact, could not be if the
rit were not received till Thursday. As to the Volunteers
t
"I° regulation which prevented them from assembling at
their headquarters while a writ was pending might be
rescinded by the authority which made it. In answer to a
turther question from Mr. Asbbury, Lord E. Cecil said that
the War Office, in consideration of the heavy loss likely to
suffered by many Volunteer regiments which had made
their arrangements, had agreed to rescind the regulation and
Show the review to be held.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in moving the second
reading of the Probate of Willis, dm., Bill, said its object was
to remedy the unfairness of charging small estates at a
greater rate than large ones, and the unfairness of charging
wills at a less rate than administrations. The new scale, he
said, proceeded on the principle of Sting an average of 2t per
cent. asemeau between the two extremes, but it was impos-
sible, chiefly on the ground of the difficulties of providing
stamps, tosfix an uniform percentage on all properties. The
result of the alteration, he showed, would be to relieve the
Small estates—which were by far the most numerous—and
to increase the duty on large estates. As to the objection
that only one species of property was dealt with, he said it
Would be unwise to delay a revision which everybody
admitted to be necessary until an opportunity occurred of
dealing with the Succession duties, and the estimate he had
formed of the yield of the new scale, he contended, though
Cautions, was tolerably accurate.
Mr. Gladstone, after some preliminary observations by
Way of protest against the new-fashioned method of call-
Mating the National Debt, remarked with regard to the Bill
before the House that it was impossible to check its progress,
and all that the Opposition could say would be by way of
Protest and manifesto. He did not deny that a revision of
the Probate duties was desirable nor that there was
some element of good in the proposed change, but
on the whole it was an alteration which the House
°,_Ught not to adopt, and -which certainly could not
°P._en adequately considered in the present circum-
lwinees. The objection to an uniform scale founded on the
difficulty of providing stamps be regarded as futile and
Irrelevant, and he showed by a critical examination of the
,Scale that it would aggravate the pressure on small succes-
thous- It aggravated also the difference between the duties
on teal and personal property, and it *lade no attempt to
remedy the great injustice of compelling executors to pay
duty on the whole estate without deducting the debts. He
disapproved, too, of the abolition of the distinction between
Probates and Administrations.
A. lengthy discussion followed Mr. Gladatone's speech, and
two attempts were made to count the House out, and one of
them nearly succeeded.

Replying upon the whole debate, the Chaneellor of
the Exchequer maintained that the New Sinking Fund was
not extinguished, but merely turned for a period to a
Certain use not contemplated when it was created. There
would still remain some £150,000 applicable to the redao-
Mon of General Debt, and what he really proposed was
to add £BOO,OOO a year for five years to the £28,000,000
already debited to the Debt charge, so that £6,000,000 of the
°Utttanding Exchequer Bonds would be extinguished in that
period. The only alternative was increased taxation, and
111 at he was of opinion would have been unjustifiable, suffer-
b2Elui the country was from commercial and agricultural dis-
"vs., No doubt the expenditure had been increased under
Lae present Government, but the purposes for which it had
been incurred were all worth the sacrifice, and with regard to
some of them, suchas education, local loans, itc., their pre-
decessors were responsible for the policy which entailed
Increased expenditure. With regard to the Bill, the scale
had been carefully considered, and he repeated that it would
afford a great relief to the smaller estates, especially of
Intestates. Before sitting down the Chancellor oongrat -
listed himself on the fact that the thunderbolts directed
him from Midlothian and elsewhere had dwindled into t
ordinary stock criticisms which had so often been answere .
In the result, the bill was read a second time, as was also
the Customs and Inland Revenue Bill.

Beale other business was disposed of, and the House
adjourned at a quarter-past one o'clock.

In the 1101153 OF LORDS March le, a number of Bilis were
advaneed a stage. Lord Denman moved the second reading
of the Bill brought in by him on Saturday last to facilitate
Interments.
Lord Beaconsfield said that the subject of the measure was
one which, no doubt, would again engage the attention of
Parliament, but he thought that Lord Denman would not do
Well to press his Bill in the present circumstances of Parlia-
rnent.

The Bill was then withdrawn.
Th,,_e Law of Hypothec occupied their Lordships for some
•une, but the Hypothec Abolition Bill pabsed through Com-
Inittee with certain amendments.
Lord Camperdown having cemplained of the amount of
Water rates levied in the Metropolis and expressed a doubt
Whether the companies were legati correct in interpreting,
lor the purposes of their assessments, "annual value" to
°loan "gross annual value," Lord Beauchamp pointed out in
ssPlanation that the Companies raised their rates in virtue
,of special Acts, and were entitled to prove the annual value
"' any way they could. Ile added that it would be a very
strong measure for Parliament to interfere with those
Devrers,
Lord Fortescue suggested that the shortcomings of the
Water aompanies in not affording a constant supply of water
at high pressure had not been sufliciently insisted upon In
reduction of their claim for compensation

Their Lordships adjourned at twenty minutes after seven.
In the Horan OF Commoxs, Mr. Cross, replying to Mr.
E. Jenkins, said he had no reason to suppose the details of
the Metropolitan Water Bill had been communicated to
Persons outside the Home Office before they were made
public. Ile had taken such precautions as would render it
impossible for prior information to be given, and the pro-
fessional gentlemen engaged had assured him that nothing
could have escaped from them. If the Government should
find themselves in their present position le the next
Parliament, they would certainly consider It their duty to
deal with the great question of securing a supply of pure
Water to the metropolis.
On the motim to go into Committee on the Corrupt Prac-
tices Bill, Mr. Anderson moved the rejection of the 11111,
blaming the Government for pressing it when the House was
more than halt dissolved, and insisting that the legalization
of payment for cabs, &c., would increase the expense of
elections, and work solely for the benefit of plutocrats.
Similar arguments were urged in favour of the amendment
by Sir G. Campbed, Mr. E Jenkins, Mr. O'Conor, Sir E.
Colebrooke, Mr. Stanton, Mr. 11. Samuelson, and Sir A.
Gordon.
On the other side the Solicitor-General pointed out that
the law as it stood was disobeyed, and that nobody had over
been punished for payment of these expenses, and that until
1857 it was quite legaL
Sir J. Eardley-Wilmot, on the same side, argued that the
proposed change was necessary in a great many cases to
enable the poor man to record his vote, and characterized
the opposition to it as illiberal.
Mr. Forsyth also supported the Bill, and the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, in addition to the arguments used by the
Solicitor-General, urged that it was impossible to make the
practice a corrupt practice so meta void the seat, and the
only alternative, therefore, was to legalize it. He doubted
Whether the change would increase expenses, as it was
always the clandestine expenses which were the heaviest,
and, if it were made legal, this expenditure would have to
appear in the election accounts.
Lord Hartington, without attempting to argue the ques-
tion on its merits, insisted that it was one which ought to
be discussed and settled by the whole House, and not by a
mere remnant. If the Government had ouch a strong
Opinion as it appeared they had, the Bill should have been
brought in at the beginning of the Session. He pointed out
that to legalize the practice would certainly increase it,
and would thus add to the expense of borough elections.
After some observations from Mr. Milbank and Mr.
Maiden against the Bill the Housis divided, and decided to
go Into COMMiSt4O by 82 to 88.
In Committee the controversy was renewed and continued

for some time and the Chancellor of the Exchequer con-
sented to exclude Scotland and Ireland from the operation
of the Bill. An Amendment to deal in a similar manner
with Wales was negatived by 47 to 28 The Bill then passed
through Committee.
The Probate of Wills and the Ctstonis and Inland Revenue
Bills were passed through Committee.

The Appropriation Bill was passed through Committee,
and the Fraudulent Debtors (Scotland) Bill, whisk stood for
a second reading, was withdrawn.

The House adjourned at a quarter-past nine o'clock.