The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-10-25 00:00:00

Xota I aith gidrict 405.

TIIE INCORPORITION QUESTION.

W-THDRAWAL OF THE WHOLE SCHEME
. .
On Tuesday morning, the Hon. T. H. W. Pelham
attended at the Corn Exchane'e, Stourbridge, to
hold the enquiry directed by thee Privy Council to
be made respecting, the petition to her Majesty fur
the grant cf a charter of incorporation to Stour-
bride, a nd th etajoinine parishes of Upper Swin-
ford, Lye. Woltescote, Wollaston, Amblecote, and
part et WorilFley. There was a large attendance
of persons interested in the enquiry. Mr. Jeune,
Q.C., (instructed by Messrs. Harwards, Shepherd,
and :anis) appeared for the promotors of the scheme;
Mr. Alfred Young (instructed by Messrs. Corser
and Walker), for the townships of Upper Swinford
and biecot e ; Mr. Freeman (instructed by Messrs.
Bernard and King), for the Stourbtidge Canal Com-
pany and the trustees of Lord Stamford; Mr. A. F.
Gcdson (instructed by Messrs. Homfray and
Holberton) for Wordsley; Mr. R. E. C. Kettle (in-
structed by Mcsa.s. Gould and Elcock.) for Wollas-
ton; Mr. Jeston Hoinfray, for the Lye; Mr. T.
Wall, for t::e Rural Sanitary Authority of
the Stourbridee Union ; Mr. G. Perry for certain
ratepayers and owners in Stourbridge ; and Mr. P.
R. Smith for the Great Western Railway Company.
Mr. Jeune's address in opening the case for the
petitioners occupied about three hours and a half.
He said that the object of application was to corn-
bloc together several conterminous districts into one
stnsle municipal urban authority, and it was hoped
and believed by the promoters that the result of in-
corporation would be to confer on all the inhabit-
ants of the area not only the ordinary advantages
of good municipal government, but especially to
confer upon them the advantage of efficient sanitary
administration. The places it was proposed to
amalgamate were Stow-bridge itself, with a popu-
lation of 9,757, and rateable value of £27,537; the
Lye, with 6,323 population, £ll,OOl rateable value;
Wollescote, with a population of 2,414, and £5,304,
rateable value; Wollaston, with 3,060 population
end ..Q3,388 rateable value; Upper Swinford, with
3.203 population, and £12,245 rateable value. All
these places were in Worcestershire, and it was pro-
posed also to include in the incorporation area
Amblecote, with a population of 2,808, and with a
rateable valuable of 1C13,945, and part of Wordsley,
with 4,800 population. The total population of the
corporated area was 32,365, the rateable area £75,432,
and the total area 3,665 acres. The new borough
would be considerably larger than 19 of the
:boroughs incorporated since the Act of 1871. The
whole was within two miles of the centre of Stour-
bridge, and Mr. Juene pointed out that the district
could be conveniently supplied with gas and water
from the same centre, and the fact that Stourbridge
had power to buy up both the ga-s and water
' undertakings pointed to a reason why there sheuld
be a laa ger incorporated area than that of Stour-
bridge itself. Where these undertakings had been
acquired by municipal authorities elsewhere, it had
proved to be to the adtantage rhe population and
to the benefit of the municipal authority in regard
to the profits the undertaking yielded.. Of the
telegraph and postal services of the neighbourhood
Stourbridge was the centre, and the educational and
other institutions of the towns were also referred to.
The map before the Commissioner would show that
the proposed borough would form an excellent and
natural drainage area, except possibly some small
part of Wordsley. At present all the sewage which
escaped at all flowed into the Stour. The suitability
of the district for joint drainage purposes had been
recognised by the fact that Stournridge, -Upper
Swinford, Amblecote, and Wollaston had already
been formed into a main drainage district, and n.
was important that the whole district should be
amalgamated for drainage purposes. Althoueh the
outlying townships were under the Rural Sanitary
Authority, the district had completely outgrown a
rural form of government, and was practically an
urban dist, jct. Mr. Jeune showed that the density
of populatn_ a completely established the urban
character of the district, and said he believed there
was no other district in _England with sucha popula-
lion as that uuder a Rural Sanitary Authority. Re-
ferring to the death-rate of the district, he pointei
out that there was a high mortality from zymotic
disease, and he quoted from succeesive reports of
Dr. Ballard and Dr. Parsons to the Local Govern-
ment Board, to show that recommendations they
made for the sanitary improvement of the district
had received very inadequate attention, The
Guerdians evidently felt that they were overweighed
with the work devolving upon them, and a resolu-
tion had been carried in favour of cutting the union
into two halves. It might be said that the sanitary
deficiencies of the district might be met by the
Rural Sanitary Authority arming themselves with
additional powers under the Public Health Act, and
sr, it might, but they had not chosen to do so.
Various petitions had been lodged against the
scheme of the promoters, and there .w.se one thing
which ran through most if trot all of them. They
thought they were going to have to pal( iw,icit
higher rates. Ile could not help thinlzi.git.w. soixt
was what lay at the real root of the objection to the
scheme, anti some of the opponents carried it even
further, and said that Stourindige wanted to relieve
itself from its burdens at the expense of the sur-
rountling district. Mr. Jeune said that Stour-bridge
did not desire to do anything of the kind, and could
not do so, and though there might be increased ex-
pense for the increased benefits secured, it was
estimated that the increase in the rates in conse-
quence of incorporation would not amount to more
than twopence in the pound. If the scheme was
adop:ed in its entirety Stourbridge, too, would be
largely overbalanced by districts joined with it, and
it a eirld be powerless to act as the opponents of the
schene alleged. Mr. Jeune coneluted his opening
by 5..)-ing he was unfortneately in the position of
and.ree for the incorporatiort ofperaene the majority
of whom cLd not wish to be incereorete a If
had only to deal with other reasons for tneorpera-
, ;ion that would be another matter, and if the ques-
tion was decided on its merits apart from the wishes
of the people, the urgent need of sanitary improve-
ment must have great weight. But the wishes of
the population were entitled to con-
siderable weight where they were asking, for self-
government to be conferred upon them, and were
asking for it not by method of Act of Parliament or
private will, but by petition to the Privy Coun it.
For that reason he had stated his case more fully
than he otherwise would have done, because he
bought he could prove all he had opened as to the
death-rate, and as to want of sanitary machinery.
Ms case was practically proved by the figures he
had laid before the commissioners. That was the
petitioners' case. If it was answered that the great
mass of the people did not want this, that they did
not want to govern themselves in this way, no
amount of argument could alter the fact—he should
not contest it. If that was so, and if even when
what he had stated was proved, it would not be
sufficient for incorporation to be granted by the
Privy Council then. He thought it desirable it
should be known to all parties as soon as possible,
It was not desireble to enter into details wiltout
there was to be a practical result, If the result of
his proving sanitary administration was ineffi-
cienty managed was to be incorporated, then he
would go on and prove his case, but without it was
to have that effect it was useless. He admitted
that the majority of the population were against it,
and he could not get over that fact. He would
leave the matter in their hands, asking, at any rate
as ft,. as Stourbridge was concerned, for the Court
to say the scheme ought to be adopted; and as to
the district around, if it was thought the case he
opened was sufficient be would try to prove it, If
the wishes of the population were to beo mnipotent,
that was an argument he could not venture to dis-
pute.

The Coninit,,sioner said, in comparing the figures
of these who had signed fi.r and against incorpora-
tion, he noticed that in the Lye there were 442 for,
and 703 against. At Upper Swinford 215 in favour,
and 306 against. At Wollescote 50 in favour,
and 689 against. At Wollaston there a ere 109 in
favour, and 317 against. At A.mblecote there were
69 in favour, and 331 against. At Wordsley there
were 39 in favour, and 669 against There was a
considerable majority both in number and rateable
value agai• st the scheme in their outlying places.
Now, having regard to the desirability of somewhat
the principle which might guide the Privy Council's
deciaion. more especially as re.:!arded the outlying
townships, and as the enquiry if full conducted as .
to the 1% hol, area mast, it appeared, be a long one, COUNTY COURT,
he agreed that it was desirable to state, if it; could MATTHEws v. THE HALTaOWEN LOAN AND INVEST.
be done, the principles which would auida the Privy • aramT :-,'OCIETY,—At the CeuntyC,, oi.t:trllt
aornriS:tu:cdia.ey:
r
Council in this ease. It should be remembs:ed ththatbefore Sir IL Kettle (judge,) Charles Matthews
a charter granted by the Queen was a naatte 01l brought an action against Benia,j
grace. It was never granted to an unwil.lag ca•ne- tary to the Halesowen Loan and Investment So-
munity. The Privy Council, in advising beat. well for ..£125 money
I paid into the society.—Air.
Majesty as to the grant of charters, was bssuEd to 0 Waldron was for the plaintiff t:nd Mr. Nathan, in-
include only such places the inhabitants of wai37.l ! etructed by Mr. Goodman for defendant —Air,
are willing to accept a charter. A petition for a 1 Nathan said the money plaintiff had paid to the do.
charter was not exactly a proper rnor:e 07 zi,trying 1 fendant was only :e22.—His Honour then questioned
out an extensive sanitary or improvemant acharne, 1 the plaintiff who said he thought tne Loan and In-
where there was a &Ere:a:nee of opini. az Rrao-Az the vestment Society was a benefit so•!i ty. II a tris
p?ople of the places to to included. The proper did not take the first two or three pounds. When •
course in mica cases appeared to him to be to apply : he entetau the society ' a paid his money an,. lie i.e.
to Parliament for the extension of the urban s&rl try ceived the book produced, which was numbered and
district, and then when that had been extended, to had his name on. He paid the money to the society
petition. her Majesty to grant a charter to the ex- upon the book.—Benjamin Harris said that he wai
tended district, or to petition her MajeetY, in the secretary to the Halesowen Loan and Investment
I
first place, to grant a charter to the central ellstrict, Society. He received instructions from members
and when that was granted afterwards to exii-md fr,. , The shares were sold by auction. They sold ech
There were two objections to the proced2r4 .(5.,:z• a i share separately. They could not pay the money
chartar, when it was proposed to include taatit'3:b.g out of the society, because they haa not got art.,.
diAricts, however advautageous or des:::ziNia it , muds left. Tne bond notes were kept by differei,t
might be from a sanitary point of viaw. Tiiv gaNt persons,—By Mr. Waldron: He acted as secretary,
tv,s that a charter was only granted to thaaa aahao He received £l5 or £l6 for his services. lie ro-
wan, wi110.4 t i rei,e it, ant :hat the ''..r:rir ceiv,(l 15s. Or every 50 members. He wrote to :a a
ti.tua,-.:il ..tt : :tat :La ae..ii, lanai au °Oda% 60'3":,:, Waldron saying the suoieti had no Linde in llaWl
LW NaUltaly wants of the district, nor, caw it to

v•-a, insolvent. The money was paid to him
As the money was received each club night it was
counted up, and the committee gave him instruc •
tions what to do. The money did not remain in his
hands, and he had no power over it. They were
about £250 in arrears of fully paid up members.
Mr. Nathan had plaintiff recalled and said he did
not havc a copy of the rules. He did not have a
copy for many months after. He knew there were
rule:. He never read them. He knew the money
Was put up for auction. There was another case
c died, similar to the above case ; except that the
plaintiff was supplied with a copy of the rules. In
t••is case John James Matthews claimed X2—His
Honour reserved his judgment. —Charles Matthews
was again called and said he belonged to a sick club.
He did not know whether he could summons the
sick club if they did not pay his money. He did
nut know if it was legal or not. He knew the Loan
and Investment Society was not a sick club. He
did not know if it was an illegal society.—By Mr.
kValdron :He expected to get his money back. He
did not know the rules.

WILFUL DAMAGE.—At the Police Court, yester-
day, befor Messrs. ET, 0. Firmstone, T. D. Thomas,
and W. J. Turney, Richard Simms, George Glez
zard, Thomas Farmer, and Henry Brettle were
charged with wilfully damaging a window to the
amount of 2s, on the 20th just, at Cradley, the pro—
peity of• Messrs. King and Co. Defendants were
fined 2s Od including costs. _ _

DEUNKENNESS.—Vrederiek Pearson wtls fined
2s 6ci and costs for being drunk on the 19th inst at
Cradley.—William Brettle was charged with being
drunk on the 21st inst, at the Lye. P.C. Powell
proved the case, and defendant was fined 5s and
Costs; in default 14 days.—Thornas Howie was
charged with being drunk on the 18th inst at
Blakedown. P.C. Holloway proved the case, and
defendant was fined 2s 6cl and costs; or 7 days.—
William Aston was charged with being drunk on
the 18th lust at the Lye. F.S. Cope proved the
case and said defendant was stripped and was fight-
ing with another man. There were a large numbcr
of previous convictions against the defendant, and
he was fined 10s and costs; in default 14 days.
Squire Taylor was charged with being drunk on the
18th inst at the Lye.—P.S. Cope proved the case.
Fined 5s and costs ; in default 14 days.—Patrick
Kilcoyne was fined 10s and costs for being drunk
on the 14th inst.—Margaret Leveson was charged
with being drunk and using obscene language on
the 19th inst. P.S. Jones said he saw the defeni.ant
drunk in Coventry Street, and she used the worst
language he ever heard. Defendant was fined lOs
and costs; in default 14 days.

ALHAmBRA THEATRE.—Miss Maud Malvern and
Mr. Julian Malvern with their celebrated "Saved"
(lramatic company have occupied the boards at this
place of amusement during the week. There have
been fair audiences, and we hope that to. night
(Saturday) they will have a "bumping' house,
which they well deserve. In coasequenee of the
success they have met they have extended their
sty for six nights longer. The acting all round is
fairly o. d, Mr. Malvern being well worthy of
special mention, and he is ably supported by Mr.
G. Rathbone, Mr. P. Lonsclale, Miss Maud Malvern
Miss Isabel Harrison, and Miss Kate Kirwan.
WOLLAsToN WORKING MEN'S CLUB,— Ibis club
was started at the end of December last, mainly
though the instrumentality of Captain J. Hammond
and his brother, Mr. A. W. Hammond. By the kind
perndission of the vicar the Rev. G. Gilbanks, the
infant's school room is used for a club room. The
hours in which it is open beieg 6.30 p.m. to 10.30.
To usual daily papers and games are provided, and
there is a small library available. The present
winter season was inaugurated on Monday last by a
public entertainment in the club room, in which the
following ladies and gentlemen kindly gave their
services :--Mrs. G. Mills and Messrs. Bache, A. W.
Hammond and H. Pugh (songs), Mr. J. Smith
(recitation), Miss Mills (pianoforte solos), Mr. H
King (flute solos), and Mr. 11. M. Jackson (ac-
companist). There was a fair attendance and the
whole of the pro.lramme was pleasingly readered,
Mrs. Mills and Mr. King obtaining encores. Mr.
Smith also, t.o pleased the audience with his pathetic
recitation "The Golddigger'e Story," that lie was
requested to give another later on, which request
he responded to with a humorous piece. The Rev.
G. Gilbauks presided.
Seiroor, OF ART.—The subscribers to the Stour-
bridge School of Art held their annual meeting at
the Stourbridge Associated Institute on Wednesday
evening, uoder the presidency of Mr. T. D. Thomas,
J P. The report was by read Mr. G. Perry,and it ap-
peared from it that 124 students had attended the
night class and 32 the morning class. Branch classes
had been cariied on at Brierley Hill; 274 attended
the evening class and 2 the day class. There had
been in addition 180 pupils receiving tuition from
the elementary schools at Stourbridge and Wollas-
ton, At the examinations three of the Stourbridge
papers were Marked "excellent," and obtained
second grade prizes ;23 passed, and 74 failed to
pass. At Brierley Hill one paper was marked "ex-
cellent," and obtained a second grade prize, and 16
passed, whilst 20 fc iled to pass The percentages of
failures at Stourbridge were 70, and al; Brlerley
Hill 54. Four students at Steurbridge gained six
third grade prizes and two Queen's piizes, There
had been exhibited at the international Health Ex-

hioition 112 articles in glass manufacture, designed
by past or present pupils of the school, The com-
mittee considered that the number of pupils attend-
ing the Brierley Hill class during the first year of
its existence and their success at the examination
justified its establishment. The Midland Associa-
tion of Glass Manufacturers had promised £lO a
year for prizas to be awarded to pupils at the school
from local glassworks, The 'committee had received
from the Committee of the Worcester Exhibition
£l4O 5s 6d, and the Science and Art Departrnen
had promised a grant nOt to exceed £4lO is for im-
provements at the school which were now being
carried out from plans prepared by Mr Getbing.
The finances of the school were in a fairly satis-
factory state. The committee expressed regret at
the loss the school had sustained by the death of the
Rev. D. Mao°iunis and Dr. Walker. The report
was adopted, and officers were afterwards elected
for the ensuing year.
Messrs. W. H & H. Le May, Seed Factors, 68,
Borough High Street, London, report:—There is
very little doing
.on the Seed Market to-day. Clover
seAs of all descriptions will he low in price this
season, as also grass seeds. No demand/for winter
tares. Trade ;or bird seeds dull. White and brown
mustard seeds at last week's prizes.—OetobE.d. 22nd,
1884.

PRAYER BOOK REVISION SOCIET V.-A meeting in
connection with this Society was held in the Un'on
Hall, Stourbridg, on Tuesday evening, Mr. William
,berts presiding, He was sapported by Mr. S. A.
Brooks. An interesting address was delivered by
James Butcher, Esq., the secretary to the Society.
Mr. Butcher, who spoke fur an hour and a quarter,
was very eordia.ly received and frequently applauded.
A re,olution was unanimously passed in favour of
a revision of the Book • of Conunoa Prayer in a
scriptural direction.

BOARD OF GUARDIANS.-Tir-! weekly meeting of
this Board was held yesterday, Mr. Raybould in th,-
chair. Admitted into the house (luring the we,k
18, discharged 13, remaining 548, against 549 in the
corresponding week last year. Onr-duor
Kingswinford district £43 2;; Gd, Stourbrid6e .t 32
Os lid,, flalesowen £23 12s 91, non-resident paupers
.4 17a 2d, total .4.-:98 15s sd, again £92 15s id last
ear. Mr. J Chance, lorawrly of the Lye, was ap-
pointed Schoul floard officer in the place of Lio,,vi.t,
deceased.

tioSPITAL-SUNDAY.-7-We beg to call the attenton
of our readers io an advertisement on our front
page referring to the Hospital Sunday collections,
whicn will mire place in this neighbourhcod to-
morrow (Sunday).