The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-05-21 00:00:00

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tection of Person and Property Act should be allowed to re-
ceive the Dublin daily papers and the Papera of their own
localities. They did not think it necessary to modify that
arrengement. . _

Mr.-M'Coan and the tarl of Bective haring put questions
relative to the state of affairs at Tunis, Sir C. Dilke suggested,
as be had done on Monday, that the House should await the
production of the papers on the subject, when a discussion
could be raised if it were thought desirable. He Was
further pressed to answer questions on subsidiary points, and
stated that the Government had not yet receiVed official
information as to the text of the treaty with the Bey, but
he understood that the French Government had taken care
that the privileges secured to foreigners under existing
treaties, should continue to exist. He had not heard tt any
occupation of the city of Tunis by the French; they were
close to the city, but just outside it.
Mr. Lalor, having put a question to Mr. Forster relative to
the proclamation of Queen s County, and not being satisfied
with the answer, moved the adjournment of the Jtht, in
order to pretest against the measure and t.t.A'tain arrests
made under it. A short conversation ensued, and the motion
was negatived by 317 to 23.

Mr. Cowen, pointing out that the Speaker 'KM ruled that
the question of the exclusion of Mr. 8,1
been brought forward at once. laugh could have
,as a Matter of priVilege,
inquired whether the arrest o
been brought forwarr?, of .4r. Dillon Cnld also have
Es a Matter qf privilege, and whether
that power had estroyed _
The, ST,,,r
.cer. d
plied tlint as Mr. Dillon, one of the mem-
ersor TipperarY, had been committed to prison for some
-.me under the Operation of an Act Of Pailiaillent which had
bet 'passed in the pretent SesSiou lin had no hesitation
in saying that in the circumstances a motion could not,
according to the Pre.ctice of the House, be discussed as a
question of priVilege. Any motion with respect to the
matter m',lst be brought forward in the ordinary way. (Hear,
hear.)
Sir W. Lawson inquired whether it would be competent to
interpose when Mr. T. Collins came to take the oath, as Sir
Stafford Northcote had done when Mr. Bradlaugh presented
himself; but the Speaker declined to eiptess any opinion
on a point of order which had net arisen.
Mr. Alderman Lawrence gave notice Of his intention to
ask the Chancellor of the xchequer oh ThuMd.aY to whom
it was intended that the Commissiohrs ot Inland Revenue
should grant licensee, at £5 per annum, to sell wine, beer,
spirits, and tobacco ill travelling public-house railway cars,
and whether such travelling public-house railway cars would
be authorised to supply first-class, second-class, and third-
class railway passengers with any liquour they might re-
quire ; and whether all railway companies would be per,
milted to attach such travelling taverns to any train they
might think advisable, whether express, excursionist. or
parliamentary, and without limit as to distance traielled.
(" Hear, hear," and a laugh.)

Mr. Dillwyn submitted a series of net, kules, having for
their object the facilitating of the business of the House, and
the impeovement of its procedure.

Mr. Rylands moved the adjournment of the debate, and,
after a discussion, in which the Marquis of Hartington
criticised the proposals and concurred in the suggested
amendment, the resolutions were withdrawn.

Mr. H. Fowler next brought forward a Motion declaring
that the increase in the national expenditure demanded the
attention of the Government. In support of it he entered
inte a minutl., comparative analysis ot our expenditure
in the laat four decades, pointing out that it was chiefly
in the Education Votes and the military estitnates that
the controllable increase had arisen. In the courts of
his speech, Mr. Fowler said—" HO Was passing no
censure upon the present Government, which had
scarcely had time to feel his feet, but was merely calling
attention to a state of things which demanded the attention
of the House. (At this point an unsuccessful attempt was
made to count out the Rellse.) He believed that, as a
Christian nation, we r.',"ught not to engage in any war except
for the def
of our own possessions and our own
count If We adopted the policy of peace, of non-
-
...terventiOn, of minding our oWn affairs, of not posing
ae the arbitrators of the Whole civilised world and
maintaining that no shot should be fired in Europe
without our consent, then we might adopt one scale of ex-
penditure. If, on the other hand, the country was prepared
for a warlike, interfering policy, it woUld be involved in a
very heavy cost. The taxation of the working classes and
of the classes above them was unfair and unequal in its in-
cidence. There were reasons besides those he had urged
for the strictest economy. They were going this Session to
put a duty of 3 per cent. on all personal property of any
person who died. Suppose a man had by his intellect and
industry accumulated ZlO,OOO. That would be a taX of £3OO
at once. Another man died leaving £1,000,000. The duty
upon that sum would be £30,000. To the family of the man
who left £lO,OOO the duty of £3OO would be a very consider-
able reduction, but te the family of the man who died
leaving £1,000,000 the duty of £30,000 would be a fleabite.
(Hear, hear.) The bulk of taxation was put upon articles
of daily consumption (hear)—on tea, coffee, tobacco, beer.
On tobacco, which was practically a necessity to the work-
ing man, the duty was between 300 and 400 per cent. Upon
beer it was about a farthing per pint. If ever the working
classes realised, and the day would come when they would
realise, the amount that was withdrawn by taxation from
their weekly earnings, they would demand to be told the
reason why. We subjected working men who earned from
Al to £2 a week to a duty of 25 per cent. on one necessary
to a duty of between 300 and 400 per cent. on another, and
so on. We subjected these men not only to a heavy
burden of taxation, but to an unequal pressure of taxation
(hear) which no other class in this country paid. The day
would come when they would ask in unmistakable terms to
be relieved from that injustice. (Hear, hear.) Therefore,
we ought to be prepared for the day when a demand
would be made for a serious reduction in what he ven-
tured to call the present extravagant expendhure of this
country. He had intended to make some observations on
remarks made by the Prime Minister during his memor-
able campaign in Mid Lothian if the right hon. gentle-
man were present. No one spoke in stronger terms
of the extravagant expenditure of the late Administration
than the present Prime Minister. He believed the right
hon. gentleman was the most economical Chancellor of the
Exchequer that had ever had power in this country.
(Hear.) He believed that if the House of Commons, which
had too often urged further expenditure on the Govern-
ment, would back the right hon. gentleman, he would be
prepared to carry out those principles of financial adminis-
tration which he had professed during his official life, and
upon which pre-eminently he took office last year. He did
not ask the House to pass any censure on the present or on
any other Government, but simply to affirm the fact that
the expenditure of this country had recently increased, and
to express their opinion that it was the duty—he thought it
was the first duty—of her Majesty's Government to take im-
mediate steps to diminish that expenditure." (Hear.) The
lion. gentleman concluded by moving—" That, in the opinion
of this House the recent increase in the national expendi-
ture demands the earnest and immediate attention of her
Majesty's Government, with the view of effecting such re-
ductions as may be consistent with the efficiency of the
public service."
Mr. Fowler spoke throughout in a thin House, and towards
the end an ineffectual attempt was made to count-out the
House. Mr. Uhliders had risen to reply when a second
attempt was made, and this time, there not being forty
members present, the House adjourned at a quarter to nine
o'clock.

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