The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-08-28 00:00:00

Our fonbn tortespoOtnt.
(We deem It right to state that we de not at all timeS
Identity ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.

The visitor to the Strangers' Gallery of the House
of Commons, who seeks admission thereto in the
closing days of August. looks down upon an assembly
wearied and jaded, and anxious for its order of release.
It is upon the Treasury Bench that he sees the most
complete illustrations of fatigue. For it must be
remembered that, while to a certain extent the
attendance of ordinary members of th,e House is
optidnal, that of the members of the Gcernment is
absolutely necessary, as questions to Ministers have
to be ans-xered, policy defended, measures debated,
and estimates explained. But attendance in the
House of Commons is only one of the duties which
fall to the discharge of those who have the cares of
State upon their hands. They have to work several
hours a day in their respective departments, to re-
ceive deputations, and to be present at meetings of
the Cabinet. long days at Whitehall, and long nights
at Westminster—such is the lot of her Majesty's
advisers; and no one can be surprised at the fatigue
which, at the fag-end of the Session, is so visibly
stamped on the countenances of those who sit on the
front bench at the right of the Speaker. It will have
been noticed that, in the present session, the Satur-
day sittings of the House of Commons have been re-
markably few, late as it is. The truth is that both
Ministers and members have seen that unless the
Saturday were devoted to recreation and to absence
from business, it would be impossible for the Parlia-
mentary machine to go on at all.
Precedents have been sought to justify the pro-
lonk,ation of the Session. In the first place it is clear
that the Houses of the Legislature will now sit to
a later period than has been known for a genera-
tion. The new Parliament of 1841 sat until the 9th
October, and on the 28th August in that year a great
division took place which destroyed one ministry and
set up another. The new Parliament of 1847 eat until
September sth. The new Parliament of 1852 sat until
August 20th, and that of 1857 until August 28th. It
is hoped to get the business through so that the pro-
rogation may take place on Saturday the 4th, Septem-
ber, but even that is a sanguine view. Taking that
date, however, the nearest approach to it is 1847—
three-and-thirty years ago, and it will certainly be
later than 1857—three-and-twenty years ago, since
which no session has come up to the last week in
August. On the other hand, in 1865, Parliament was
prorogued on the 6th of July preparatory to its imme-
diate dissolution; while in the previous year, the
ordinary session was brought to an end on the 29th
July.

There is one thing which the late sitting of Parlia-
ment has done. It has put an end to the custom
which in London has gradually grown up during the
past quarter of a century, of waiting "until the
House is up" before beginning the holidays. This
has been the case in many large establishments, some
of whom are directly affected by the presence of
Parliament in town, while others are under the im-
pression that, so long as the Legislature site, it
exercises an appreciable result upon trade. But this
Is all very well when the House rises at a reasonable
time, such as the end of July or the beginning of
August. But when it comes to be September before
the holidays are begun, matters wear a different
aspect. Those who go last do not quitelike the month
of November or even December for an outing. It is
of course impossible for a great business house to act
upon the principle which the Law Courts carry out
the long vacation, and shut up altogether. The
place must be kept going, and if some are away
on their holidays, the others must wait. Those who
are so fortunate as to go in August get three hours of
light every day more than thcee who are kept until
November. Longer light means more warmth, and
better opportunities of enjoyment; in fact, so far as
out-door recreation is concerned, a November holiday
would be scarcely worth having. Therefore the late
session has shattered, if, indeed, it has not exploded,
the old superstition that before the holidays begin the
House must be up.

Amid the brilliant sunshine which lighted up many
a pleasant landscape on Saturday, the grave closed
eN.er the remains. of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, the
.I•plornatist. What a different world he left
feola 1).4 which he entered ninety-two years ago
Tae events which have been crowded into that time
almost surpasses the power of the imagination to
conceive, and tax the energies of the human mind
to their utmost to retain. The aged man who
was with us only a few days ago, was living before
the outbreak of the first French Revolution, and when
the Bastille was still standing in the heart of Paris to
overawe the citizens as the embodiment of tyranny
and despotism, Louis XVL and Marie Antoinette
econpied conjointly the throne of France, little dream-
ing of the tragic fate in store for both of them. At
the time Lord Stratford was born, very little had been
board of Nelson—who has been in the grave three
quarters of a century, and has left behind him an im-
perishable fame, nothing had been heard of Wel-
lington or Napoleon, both of whom were young men
under twenty years of age. Yet Napoleon has now been
dead within a few months of sixty years, Wellington has
been dead nearly thirty years, after attaining the age
of more than four-score. Lord Stratford entered the
public service in 1808, and died in 1880—it is only to
reverse the two last figures, but there is a difference
of seventy-two years between the dates! That is
to say he was in the service of the Crown eight
years before the battle of Waterloo, which was
fought sixty-five years ago. He was most prominently
before the country at the period of the Crimean War,
when he was British Ambassador at Constantinople,
and had to deal with Prince Mensehikoff, who repre-
sented Russia at the same court. Mr. Kinglake, in
his "Invasion of the Crimea," has described in graphic
language the influence exercised by Lord Stratford de
Redcliffe as he paced the shady gardens of Therapia,
in which the British Embassy is situated, close to the
Turkish capital, and has strikingly pourtrayed the
power which he wielded.
When the Queen leaves for Scotland, it is a certain
indication that the beginning of the autumn is at
hand. As a rule her Majesty takes her departure in
the third week of August; this year she is a little
later than usual. This is partly in consequence
of the prolonged sitting of the Houses of Par-
liament, for a Minister must always be in at-
tendance upon the Sovereign when at Balmoral,
and until the Session draws to a close any member
of the Cabinet can ill be spared from his duties
in London. The Ministers relieve each other in this
duty, which is assigned, as far as possible, to the
younger members of the Cabinet. For instance, it is
very seldom that the First Lord of the Treasury is at
Balmoral. The holder of that high and distinguished
office is generally a man advanced in years. Lord
Palmerston and Lord Russell in their last Premier-
ships; Lord Beaconsfield and Mr. Gladstone now, all
come under this description. In the list of their
solleagues there have always been younger men better
able to bear the fatigue of a railway journey of 600
miles. The minister who, when at Balmoral, has
the largest amount of correspondence to receive and
to answer, is the Home Secretary. This is obvious
enough when it is remembered that the Home
Minister has the virtual charge of the thirty millions
of people in our own islands, and that he is open to
receive a communication from any one of them at any
moment. The colonies are larger, but the Secretary
of State is not 90 accessible to their inhabitants.
The proposal now before the House of Commons for
the enlargement of the Press Gallery in that chamber
is a remarkable testimony to the value of provincial
journalism, and to the position which it has achieved.
Hitherto the reporters' gallery has been almost mono-
polised by the London papers; it is now to be re-
arranged for the benefit of the country press. The
truth is, that provincial newspapers have not as yet
had their true place in the estimation of their readers
or of the conamunity. No doubt they have been appre-
eiated—their extensive circulation is proof enough of
that. In many parts of the country they entirely
supersede their London contemporaries. Many
of them have more than justified their claim to
a foremost place in public opinion. They supply
the most recent news to the public, and at
great outlay procure information from every quarter
of the globe. This alone would justify their
existence; still, a large proportion of readers go to
the London press with an idea that it carries with it
more weight, that it speaks with more authority, and
that its opinions are more reliable than the daily or
weekly papers published in their own neighbourhood.
On this account the provincial paper is often thrown
into a secondary place, and those who wish to know
what the country thinks draw their information from
the metropolitan press. There can be no greater
possible raistake than to suppose that the London
papers possess the exclusive power of influencing and
controlling public opinion. The provincial press is
equally able, without the slightest difficulty, to
lead the mind and will of the people, and to act
as a trustworthy guide and representative of public
opinion. It is the real and faithful champion of
the clearly-expressed convictions of the community ;
and the attention which it is now receiving in
Parliament is a tribute to its power.

AA important matter which will come under the
consideration of Parliament next session is the
amendment of the law of libel. Hitherto fair,
accurate, and impartial reports of proceedings in Par-
liament and in Courts of justice have been held to be
privileged, because they are published in the interests
.f tke public, and coneetimmtly no :Lotion for libel

can be raised upon them. But this has not extended
to reports of proceedings at public meetings; and as
in the new Parliament the number of newspaper
proprietors was largely increased a Select Committee
was appointed to consider the question. Its report
will form the basis of future legislation. It recom-
mends that protection shall be given to reports
of a lawful meeting convened for a lawful purpose,
and open to the public, if such report be fair
and accurate and published without malice, and
if the publication was for the public benefit.
Thus, should this become law, instead of a newspaper
proprietor being, as now, liable for any slanderous
statements made by an interested person at any public
meeting where matters of general interest may be
discussed, he could in future plead privilege, and he
could show that the report was fair, acourate, and
without malice. Another recommendation would
prevent the institution of criminal proceedings for
libel unless the at of the Attorney-General were
first obtained. It is in the interest of the entire news-
paper pram of this country to get this report embodied
In a statute as 80011 as possible.
Far on the heights of Muswell-hill, in the north
of London, the revived activity of the Alexandra
Palace has lately attracted tens of thousands of
those anxious for recreation and amusement. The
vast assembly which gathered there on the
August Bank Holiday-109,000--would have been
deemed almost incredible but from the fact that a
multitude almost equal in number passed the turn-
stiles one day in the history of the Great Exhibition
of 1851. Muswell-hill stands several hundred feet
above the ordisiary level of London; and the spectator
who takes up his position in the Palace grounds looks
down upon the quiet suburban village of Hornsey ;
Highgate, Hampstead, and Holloway stretch away
more towards the metropolis; while the great capital
itself, indicated by a canopy of smoke, lies outspread in
the distance. On a clear day one can see right away over
the Surrey Hills, and can plainly discern upon one of
the pleasant slopes of Kent the towers of the Crystal
Palace at Sydenham, another popular place of resort
for those who seek to escape for a few hours from the
smoke of London. Looking at Sir Joseph Paxton's
Palace of Glass from the elevation at Muswell Hill, it
seems difficult to realise the fact that lying between
the two buildings, one on the north and the other on
the south of London, is a population of merely three
millions and a half of human beings—a world in
themselves, and exercising a mighty influence over
the outstretching empire of which London is the active
heart, the buy centre, and the moving souL