The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-10-08 00:00:00

SUGAR BOUNTIES.

In Hyde-park on Monday a demonstration was
beta to protest against the bounties given to sugar
producers abroad, to the detriment of British industry.
The promoters disclaimed being influenced by party
politics, stating that their sole aim was to obtain the
removal of what they considered a serious hindrance
to home trade. Most of the people who took part in
the demonstration walked in proces.aon' with bands
and banners, from the East end of London or the
South side of the river, causing a temporary impedi-
went to the tv,tial traffic of the Strand and Piccadilly.
roe arrangements made by the police mitigated this
considerably and not much inconvenience was
caused, the behaviour of those who were in the
ranks of the procession being orderly and quiet.
In Hyde-park six platforms- were arranged. As
spectators and listeners there were grouped
around them between four and five thousand
people, and at each of the platforms the same rim-
lution was put and carried unanimously. Delegates
were present from various parts of England and Scot-
land where the sugar trade is carried on. The
speakers were principally persons who have identified
themselves with the agastion which has been carried
on respecting the bounties for some years, and they
were all strongly in fa,our of some kind of Govern-
ment interference with the view of protecting British
industry. Oue of these gentlemen pointed out that
the condition of the East-end of London 15 years
ago was far different from what it was to-day. At
that time there were 33 large sugar refineries in the
East-end, givine employment to 18,000 working men,
but at present he was sorry to say there were only two
refineries. This system was crushing out of existence
every industry in this country. At the present time
the great docks of London were paying no dividend,
and the directors were 'contemplating the reduction
of the wages of their men. He thought that Ireland
could grow her own sugar as well as any country in
the world, but was prevented owing to this bad
system, winch he said was taking the bread out of
the mouths of thousands of English men and women.
The foreign Governments were taxing their people in
order to undersell and ruin the people of this country.
Out of the 12,050,000 tons of sugar imported into this
country only 170,000 tons came from our great
colonies, and he thought that if the question was not
settled very soon it would ruin not only the sugar trade,
but also every trade of the British workman. The fol-
lowing was the resolution adopted at all the platforms:
"That this demonstration of working men from all
parts of the metropolis regards with indignation the
fiscal system of this country which permits foreign
labour and foreign merchandise to destroy our home
industries, and thus pauperise our industrial classes,
and we resclve, in the interest of British labour and
commerce, that countervailing duties, as an act of
defence, should be applied to suppress foreign .State
bounties in the interest of home and colonial industry,
and this meeting respectfully requests the Prime
Minister and the Chancellor of tbe Exchequer to
receive, at their earliest convenience, a representative
deputation of bona-fide workmen on this great ques-
tion." Long before darkness set in the participators
in the demon-stration quietly dispersed.

THE SOLICITOR-GENERAL AT PLYMOUTH,
Sir E. Clarke, Q.C., M.P., speaking at the annual
meeting of the Plymouth Conservative Association on
Tuesday evening, said the past session had been one
of unparalleled work and unparalleled straits upon all
those who bad had to take part in the work. They
had had ob-truction to meet in an unparalleled form.
But by the firmness and decision of the Leader of the
Rouse the obstructionists in the House were given to
understand that work had to be done, and the House
of Commons would sit until it was done. By
the eruphissis of that decision the passage of two
measure‘ of great importance—the Allotments and
Mines Regulations Bills—was tenured against the
obstruction of those on the Radical benches, who, if
they could, would have prevented the Conservative
party from having the credit of passing those mea-
sures. The bills which they passed specifically with
regard to Ireland—the Criminal Law Amendment
Bill and the Land Bill—were, in truth, a necessity
one to the other. By the Criminal Law Amendment
Bill for Scotland, which he should like to see applied
to the criminal law of England, prccedure was simpli-
fied, valuable protection was afforded to accused
persons, and the criminal law was put in a far better
form. The passing of the Technical School Bill for
Scotland, which if time had permitted they would have
extended to England, provided for the establishment
by the people for the people of technical schools which
should enable working men to understand the pro-
cesses and discharge the duties of their ordinary
life. The Government had placed daring the pea
session 20 Acts of Parliament upon the Statute Book,
which would prove of great and substantial value to
the people of England. They had facilitated the
transfer of land by dealing in a satisfactory and com-
prehensive way with copyhold land, which had
hitherto formed one of the chief dtfficulties of land
law reformers. A bill had bean passed for the ap-
pointment of Commissioners to ascertain the boun-
denies of the different local authorities within this
country. This was the Prot and essential step to carry-
ing out—as he hoped and believed the Government
would carry out—an effective, bill for the reform of
the local administration of this country in all parts. 1
He ventured to say that the work done by the Govern-
ment during the past session was more valuable than
that done in any year since the last three years of
Tory Government—from 1874 to 1876—which were the
golden sears of English legislation during the past half
century. While he felt the deepest sympathy with
those who had suffered with the reductime which had
recently taken place in the dockyards he would say
those reductions were absolutely essential to the main-
tenance of the dockyards at all. They were in-
evitably the result of a state of things which had been
allowed to grow up during the scandalous Adminis-
tration from 1880 to 1885. In 1880, when the Con-
servative Government went out of office, the number
of men employed in the dockyards was 17,418. Of
this nnmber (1574 were established men, and 10,844
hired men. During the five years of the Gladstonian
Government this number was raised to 21,958, being
an increase of 4500 men, and when the present
Government took office there were 22,800
men employed in the dockyards. The Govern-
ment had before them the report of the
Commission especially appointed to inquire into
the working of the dockyards, and if they had
not firmly and courageously taken up the question of
the administration of the dockyards they would have
had such an outburst of opinion as would practically
mean the abolition of the dockyards. Lord George
Hamilton and Mr. Forwood had gone thoroughly into
this question, and they found it absolutely necessary
to reduce the numbers which had grown uo when
practically there was not sufficient work for them to
do. The painful task of discharge was performed
with as much care as possible. The Government had
taken steps which he hoped would result in establish-
ing the real and valuable industry of the dockyards
upon a safer footing than it had been for years past.
Our national safety depended on the navy and the
existents) of the dockyards, on which they could
depend in time of trouble, and the people must be pre-
pared to bear such sacrifices as were necessary for the
support of that line of defence.