The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-05-03 00:00:00

Our YOINITt eurestlnkrtt.

[We deem it right to state that we do not at all times
identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

The return of Her Majesty from Italy, and the
opening of the month of May, the departure of the long
season of wintry weather, and the revival of an ac-
tivity which has too long remained dormant, all tell
us of life, light, cheerfulness, and better times. in
London, And as the metropolis is the heart of the
nation, the emnire, and the world, it may fairly be
hoped that the awakening forces of energy in the
capital will make their influence felt in various
parts of the kingdom, diffused through the agency of
the great trunk lines of railway which radiate east,
west, north, and south out from this great province of
houses. The Law Courts, too, have resumed their
sittings; and the forthcoming Levee and Drawing
Rooms will also tend to impart additional live-
liness to life in London. Another sign that longer and
brighter days are before us is the beginning of the coach-
ing season—the White Horse Cellar in Piccadilly being,
as in days of yore, the place of arrival and departure of
tho numerous vehicles which it was believed a
generation ago had The ever been superseded by the
locomotive, But to those who have time and money
the railway has for along while become too matter-ef-
fect, too levelling, too pitiless in its speed through
some of the loveliest scenery in this fair island, So
the return of the old coaching days are welcomed by
many who sigh over the departure of those far-off
times, when they were accustomed to snake their way
over hill and dale behind the clattering hoofs of careen-
ing horses, when the towns were entered at the sound
of bugle from the guard in scarlet coat who had
charge of the mails, and when the arrival of the
coach was the one great incident in the daily
life of many a provincial community. There are
not many of us who can carry our memories back
to the times spoken of by Lord Macaulay, who in
his History of England has told us that at the time of
the Reform agitation, "the people in the great towns
were accustomed to go forth in thousands morning after
morning to meet the mails, so as to ascertain whether
the battle of the people was lost or won." The four-
wheelers of the present day no longer carry the mails;
but this fact interferes not in the slightest degree with
the popularity of the mode of travelling. The undu-
lating scenery of the Home Counties, through which
the coaches bowl so merrily, is as fresh and beautiful
as it ever was; and Time, which has been described as
the devourer of all things, spares at all events the
glories of an English landscape. No wonder, then,
that a journey by coach from London to Brighton, to
Windsor, to Dorking, or to Tunbridge Wells, is so
keenly and so thoroughly enjoyed.
The taxpayer without distinction of political view is
often inclined to say of the National expenditure as
the famous resolution of a century ago declared of
the power of the Crown, "that it has increased, is
increasing, and ought to be diminished." The recent
debate in the House of Commons has brought this
Important matter very prominently before the atten-
tion of the people. The expenditure now exceeds the
enormous sum of eighty millions a year ; yet it is a
fact that a little more than thirty years ago it was less
than fifty millions. We almost sigh for the return
of. those days when we had not such heavy beirtbens
to bear. Within the time of which I speak, states-
men of all party complexions have filled the highest
offices of state—Protectionists and Free Traders, Whigs
and Tories, Coalitionists, Liberals and Conservatives;
yet the national outlay has gone on augmenting,
protests have been entered, promises of retrenchment
made, and hopes held out of financial reform.
Instead of the Great Exhibition of 1851 being a Temple
of Peace, it has been followed by some of the greatest
wars in history, involving the most mighty political
changes. And so long as Europe is turned into a vast
encampment, one nation vying with the other in pro-
ducing invulnerable ships and irresistible guns, so long
will great armaments be necessary and heavy expendi-
ture press upon the shoulders of hard-working peoples.
Ordinarily, a Committee-room of the House of Com-
MOUS has to deal with very prosaic work indeed.
The levels of a proposed railway, the situation of
some gas-works, and the best means of supplying
a township with water, embankments, viaducts,
bridges, and street improvements,—such are the subi
ects which come before the honourable gentlemen con-
stituting the Committees to whom private bills are re-
ferred for consideration. But the Committee on Electric
Lighting has been fortunate enough to obtain from Pro-
fessor Tyndall one of those luminous expositions which
have made his name so famous in connection with the
history of the Royal Institution. Dr. Lyon Playfair,
the chairman, and his colleagues, had the advantage
of experimental demonstrredon, as well as historical
facts and critical opinions. The eiectric light of
Mr. Edison was a subject on which many questions
were put to the Professor, who expressed his belief
that the invention had a great future before it, pre-
supposing that the apparatus for producing and
distributing it would be largely improved. At the
same time his firm conviction is that, valuable as the
electric light will be, gas cannot be beaten out of the
add, seeing that it is useful for so many purposes.
It is not often that a Parliamentary Committee is
afforded such a treat as that enjoyed by the one on
the Electric Light at its first sitting. Desirous of
tracing the new illumination to its source, the Select
Committee had summoned Professor Tyndall to assist
In its investigations, and the celebrated scientist per-
formed experiments in its presence which must have
afforded astonishment and instruction to the privileged
few. It is not recorded whether the professor gal-
vanised the members present, or even animated the pro-
ceedings with the faintest shocks, but one may be certain
that after he had finished, one and all felt they knew
a little more of the matter than when he first
produced his apparatus. It is only about a century
since that Franklin demonstrated the close connection
between electricity and the thunder-cloud by means
of a kite, a silk-handkerchief, a door-key, and a
shower of rain, jtdiciously intermingled; it is scarcely
more than forty years ago that the telegraph became
n any way practicable; and now anyone who paces
the Strand or Thames Embankment by night cannot
fail to be struck with the immense possibilities of the
electric light. The panic caused by its appearance
has passed away, and gas shares are resuming their
normal quietude, but Mr. Edison still pursues his
experiments, and time is on the side of electricity.
The high price of Consols has lately attracted con-
siderable attention in financial circles. Last week
English Government securities bearing this title were
practically at par-0O ti is not far off 100, at all events.
More than a quarter of a century has elapsed since

Consols touched three figures. In 1853, a few months
before the declaration of war with Russia, they stood
for a little while at 101, and have since fluctuated
between 85i and the figure quoted above. It was Mr.
Pitt who spoke of "the sweet simplicity of the Three
per Cents.," and from the way in which this descrip-
tion of security has risen lately, it would seem as
if it were a favourite with investors. It should
be borne in mind that of late years several
foreign stocks have proved a broken reed to those
unfortunate holders who depended upon them. One
year the holder might receive seven, eight, or even
ten per cent. interest on his money; the next he might
get no interest at all; and not only so, but find his
100 bond quoted at a very different figure to the
price he had originally given for it. When repeated
illustrations of this kind occur, those who have
a little money to invest prefer a safe 3 per cent, to
an unsafe and fluctuating return; hence the run upon
the purchase of Consols which has lately been wit-
nessed. When confidence revives in other descrip-
tions of securities, as it is bound to do, less money
will be placed in Consols, but the credit of the English
Government will be just as sound notwithstanding.
Threatened institutions, like threatened men, live
long, and years after the condemnation of Temple Bar,
remnants of that structure continue to cumber the
ground. Whatever force there might have been in
the pleas put forward for keeping it in its original con-
dition, it cannot be urged that either grace or utility
is to be derived from the retention in statu quo of one
of the foot archways. For a lcng time the Bar stood
upon crutches; then the centre arch was removed;
within the last few days the northern pier wag cleared
away; but the southern remains, an obstruction and
an eyesore. The difference made in the appearance
cf Fleet-street by the destruction of the major
portion of the Bar can only be realised by
those accustomed to that thoroughfare under
old conditions. There are more light, more air, and
more room for the surrounding properties, and loco-
motion is freer to those who use the thoroughfare fur
business or for pleasure. Temple Bar is of that order
of institution which, once up, is difficult to remove,
and, once down, is impossible to replace. Even those
who were its staunchest defenders among the conscript
fathers of the city, would shrink from suggesting its
re-erection, even on a more ornamental scale. York,
Southampton, and Lincoln are among the places
which still retain similar__ edifices in their main

streets, but whether they will long continue to possess
them probably depends more upon their increase of
trade than upon their decrease in antiquarianism.
It-has often been noticed that a crime of a striking
or novel nature often superinduces a flock of others of
similtir character; and what is true of crime is true
of suicide. The French theory that the majority of
English cases of self-destruction occur in the month of
November has been proved to be erroneous; but,
though statistics on the point are not readily pro-
curable, it may safely be asserted that more people
drown themselves from Waterloo-bridge than from
eitller of the other structures that span the Mattes.
Various reasons have been put forward to account for
this sadly strange preference, and among them the