Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-13
The House of Lords to Be Looked
 After as Soon
AS PARLIAMENT CONVEN ES
Mccarthy Party to Show Fight. Reporters Excluded From
 Armenian Investigations.

there has been so much speculation, were by no means as vtally important as was supposed. The council began with the arrangement of the parliamentary work for the coming session, the sequence meas- ures to be introduced and the manner Tn which they should be presented. These questions being decided, the con- strnction of the queens speech was taken up and exhaustively debated. These topics constituted all of the matters discussed by the council which were of public interest. The rumors which have been widely circulated of grave dissensions over the questions as 10 the advisaoility of early dissolution in view of the parliament tary situation and the order in which bills should be introduced are utterly with out foundation, and the storie that serious difficulties have arisen between Lord RoSebery and S.r William Harcourt are exactly the reverse of the truth. All of those well in formed adherents of the ministry know that the cabinet is united and in thorough accord as to the policy to be pursued, though the ministers have not yet decided upon the line of par liamentary tactics which will yield the re- suits.
 In minor matters the cabinet are united, but the leading and delicate question, how to mention the house of lords in the speech
 
 council and the various propositions sub- mitted were exhaustively discussed. 1T the omission of any reference to the house of lords from the queen's speech could thwart t6 the tee pposthon the Who are into de claring themselves upon this ques- tion early in the session, the m itter would be gladly ignored, but the majority of the cabinet, in view of the official utterances of Lord Rose ey and Mir. Campbell ID rl0sa T.f hn opinion that the government was already committed to a declaration, and must open parliament with formal announcement of their policy in regard to the upper house.
 Lord Bosebery aud Hon. James Brice are to speak at the universal suffrage con- gress at Cardiff on January IS, when 1t is understood that the premier promised the executive committee of the National Lib- eral federation a full statement of the gov ernments programme in regard to the house of lords. The congress will after wards wind up with the passage of reso- lution reaffirming the anti-1ords deciara- tion of the Leeds con ference.
 In regard to the dissolution the leading members of the liberal party recognize tho fact that the uncertainty of the govern ment's position may precipitate its fall within a fortnight after the resumption of the house. The ministerial whips report that according to the most reliable lnforma- ton obtainable the governments majority of sixteen in the house depends upon the adhesion of the radical wing to the ministry, the full vote Of the Me- Carthyites and the abstsntion of the Par nellites from voting with the conservatives. Still the government IS confident that It will be able to hold out till the popular budgets are introduced and these are relied upon to gain sufficient adherents to enable them to pull through.
 Sir William Harcourt expects that sur plus will enable the government to shape the budget so that it will appeal success fully to tho people in the next election and it is believed by the liberal leaders that their own discords will not prevent the McCarthyites from meeting in parliament with united front.
 MT. Healy, when the party meets in February, will resume his fight over the constitution of the Irish committee for the session hoping to overthrow the March vote when Arthur O'Conner and Flora O. Dris- coll were elected from the committee in Dublin. The repeated attempts to readjust the squabbles between the Dillonites and the Healyites have not been successful, but whatever the outcome of the feud may be the existing differences will not affect in the slightest degree the presentation of a compact front by the McCarthy party in the face of the English parties.
 The conference of the Federation of Miners has decided not to support the com ing trades union congress, which has been projected and sum moned on the eve of a general election. The congress was in : itiated by Ker Hardie, John Burns and other labor leaders with view of commit- ting the trades unionists to the support of the socialist candidates for parliament, and the decision of the miners congress is a serious blow to the hopes of the socialistic unionists.
 The report of the commission inquiring into the American atrocities is not ex- pected to be rendered for several months. The district in which the atrocities are al- legged to have been committed Is now cov- cred with deep snow and the temperature is almost unbearable to persons not accus- toned to the climate. The British consul at Erezroun has suggested tue advisa bility of preliminary inquiry at that place for the purpose oi hearing the testimony of refugees and otber wit nesses with d view of expedlting the work of the commission. Several of the London daily newspapers were about to send special correspondents to Armenia, but have been advised that the porte will not allow rep resentatiyes of the press to accomp pauy the commission of inquiry, and these journals have decided to institute an independent inquiry. In these circumstances the final reports may be expected to be conflicting.
 The Chronicle in an article on the sub- ject says the German government has re- fused to take part in the concerted action does not concern Germany, decision which it Is needless to say has given satis- faction to the government of Turkey.
 The mass demonstration of the repre- sentatives of the meat trade which was held on January8 has created very li.tle public sympathy, since it is well known that it was purely an agitation gotten up by jobbers and not for the benefit of either the retail dealers or the people. The job. bers' outcry that the Americans are trying to secure control of the meat trade here is ridiculed by the live stock journal, which suggests that in the event ofthe American shippers failing to agree, the butchers themselves shall open shop for the sale of American meats.
 The recent case of pluro- o-pneumonia at Glasgow in cargo of cattle from the United States, combined with the reports of the Belgian officer veterinary surgeons verifying the allegations of the presence of disease in American cargoes arriving at Antwerp and Brussels put the possibility of free importation of American cattle far into the future