The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-12-31 00:00:00

S.ATrItDAY, DECIKHER SI, 1870.

more than twenty years. Have examined the horse on
We.lneaday. and twice this day. In my opinion the horse
is tis to work by adopting precautionary means; that is,
by taking the bearing off the sore places.—Mr. Spooner:
Do you mean to tell me that if you put a finger within •
hall finger's lenghth, and the horde begins to tremble,
that that horse is in a fit stole to work.—Mr. Blakeway :
Yen; and have seen horsirner by putting the hand
towards them, without h any sores.—Bergsant Bre-
ton was called by the Ben d said that he aim the
state the horse was in, and it was unfit to work.—Mr.
Spooner said he would fine the defendant the highest
penalty he could to give him an opportunity of appealing.
D..f,ndant was then fined £5 mid costs; in default two
months hard labour.—William Hook, the driver of the
horse, was next charged with working the horse whilst in
an unfit state. The same evidence was given, and the
I defendant WWI fined 20s and coats; in default three weeks'
I imprisonment —The money was paid.
, BREACH OF THE PEACE. Thomas Hodgetts and
George Skidmore were charged by Superintendent Mills
. with committing a breach of the peace by fighting on the
'23rd instant, at Quarry Bank. Police-countable Hand
proved the case. Hodgetts was ordered to find two sure.
ties in £2O each to keep the peace. Skidmore did not
attend, and a warrant was issued for his apprehension.

At the worst, then—assuming that all the oth.ir five
schools are efficient—Strawbridge would be req.lired to
make only a very small addition to its school avin.inmo.
dation.

But the very important question of attendance at
school remains to be considered. We have, in Stour.
bridge, as estimated, a population of school-going age,
requiring public elementary school accommodation, of
1 580. Of these there were on the rolls of our six ele-
mentary and three adventure schools 1,153, and present
about 900; from which it appears there are in Stour-
bridge—aseuming that the numbers present on census
day represented only an average attendance (which may
be questioned)-900 who attend regularly, 253 who,
though on the roll, do not attend, and 427 who are not
even on the rolls of our schools. It is probable that
some of the 427 go to schools in the adjoining pariabee.
Suppose we reckon their number as equal to that of the
children who come from other parishes to our schools,
namely. 78; and there will still rermain 349 of our chil-
dren of the elementary school class and age, whose
names even do not appear on our school rolls..
Our. returns, then, shew that we have in Stourbridge
342 children who never enter a day school, and 253 more
who in effect appear only on the school rolls. And, were
the Ragged School given up these numbers would be
considerably increased. On its roll there are 131 scln.
lam Suppose one half of these do not find their way
to other echools, we shall then have the 349 raised to
414. I did not expect, I confess. that our school i.tatis-
tic, would reveal such sad results.

-
The question is how we are to get these childien to
hoot' They do not stay away beeause there is no
room for them in our existing schools. The returns
she. that in four of our six schools there is room for 312
dr, addition to the numbers on the rolls, and for 549 more
than were present on census day. It must be evident,
ti reform, that the mere addition of another school shoi-
r to those we already have would not of itself recder
m -pp/reelable service in gathering in the non-mhool
o • Them cannot be adequately reached by any agency
,e, than • School Board.

We do not seed much additional school accommods-
flan. It appears to me, how ver, that the Board will re-
quire to provide one school sobstitation for the pre-
sent Sagged School 11', secommodatimi in the
other five schools in teas. of .qairements, it would
be found necessart to orovide noel. chool for the wails
of onr lanes trj courts.
_ .

The retaii.s, I frankly conCiss, mei stronger ci.e
'or. a School Board for Stourbridgr Wan I anticipated.
tun, .t•••

lICONOMPIT.

Stourbridge, Dee.

Notices of Births, M&rHae t.
-f."71,14
A uth enticated , will be inserts
charge.