The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-06-10 00:00:00

THE STOUREMIDGE' OfISEBVEIi.

good, and there can be no doubt that many
branches of industry become forced up and
stimulated at the time of a foreign war. Our
national dockyards and arsenals are, for in-
stance, in fell and active employment, and so
great is the strain upon the former that con-
tracts for the construction of ships are given
freely to private firms, thus increasing the
facilities for making money which fall to the
wages-earning classes. Therefore, at the peace
of 1815 was followed by widespread distress
through the extinction of the demand for some
industries and the creation of none which could
take their places, so that of 1856 was succeeded
by gloom and depression; and this, comb:qed
with the over speculation which then ran riot in
the United States, brought about the financial
collapse of 1857. The results of this were
neither so lasting nor so serious as were those
of ten years previously; and with a wise ad-
ministration of the public finances there was a
diminution of the national burthens and a
revival of trades. From 1861 to 1865 were
years of considerable prosperity ; but at the
end of that period a spirit of speculation border-
ing upon recklessness seemed to seize the
people, who were rudely pulled up by the panic
of 1865. This left the country the poorer by
hundreds of millions sterling; for stocks and
securities which at a time of confidence, would
have commanded good prices, were now totally
unsaleable and consequently worthless. This
depreciation in the vale of investments was felt
not only in the metropolis, but throughout the
kingdom. Its immediate effect was to paralyse
the shipbuilding trade upon the Thames and the
Medway ; and more especially with reference
to the former the distress in the East End of
London was very great. In the country large
numbers of investors who had put their money
into this or that particular stock, found that,
instead of receiving a promised interest at the
rate of 7 or 8 per cent., they lost not only
interest but principal as well. When a com-
petency has been reduced to a pittance, there
must of necessity be less money to be spent,
and when the fall is so generally felt as it was
in 1866, all branches of trade must inevitably
suffer.

Ten years have passed away since the time of
which we speak, and although we have had no
financial panic in the meantime, no one can now
deny that our trade has fallen off, or that its
prospects are cheering. One cause of this is
undoubtedly the increased cost of living in this
country. People in all grades of life find that
the prices of necessaries have augmented to
an extent which to many is nothing less than
alarming. The purchasing power of the
sovereign is no longer what it was. If we go
back only ten years we cvn see easily enough
that at that time if a working man's wife went
out to maket on Saturday night with a pound in
hand she got her pound's worth for the coin,
but now she would get nothing like the same
quantity of provisions for the same money.
Not understanding the cause thereof, but being
a constant witness to its painful consequences,
she represents the state of affairs to her liege
lord, who finds, on speaking about it to his
shopmates. that their experience is precisely the
same. Not only does animal food rise to a pro- "
hibitory figure, but coal—a necessity of life—is
also run up to an abnormal quotation, and Parlia-
ment passes an Act declaring that all parents
must send their children to school under pain
of fine. What is to be done. Here are expenses
increasing upon every hand, and the old money,
on which the family had gone on so comfortably
is totally inadequate to meet the demands upon '
a stationary income. So as the individual
workman is powerless to place any pressure
upon his employer, combinations and strikes
are resorted to in order to get more money;
and the capitalist, compelled to yield, naturally
seeks to recoup himself by raising his charges
to his customers. But the latter often enough
reply that Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and
the United States supply an equally good article
at far less cost; in fact often enough the expense
of manufacture and freight combined do not
come to the cost of production here. So the
customer leaves his own market, and takes his
money to a laud where living being cheaper,
and the people being enabled to subsist on less
expensive food, considerably less money is
necessary to the existence of the : humbler
classes. That is one main reason why trade is
depressed in our midst. Iron of quality equal
to any made here can be imported from Belgium
at a cheaper rate rate than would have to be
paid if the order were given to one of cair own
capitalists, but the manufacturer finds it im-
possible to help himself because, as he says, he
has to pay so much in wages. If you go to the
workman, and expostulate with him for making
such demands, he asks you what he is to do in
the face of the increased tariff shown to him by
the butcher, the baker, and the greengrocer.
And if you remonstrate with these worthies, you.
are told that really the fault is not theirs, that
they get no more profits than when things were
more reasonable i nprice, and that whoever may
be to blame, they certainly are not. It would
be unjust to censure any one particular class of
the community for the heightened charges and
the falling-off in our trade. We are paying the
penalty of an advanced stage of civilization—
rather a heavy one it must be admittei —and,
instead of casting reproaches right and luft, it
would be much more practical to face a difficulty
which may develope into a serious evil. The
broad truth stands out in all its stern reality
that our trade is drifting into foreign hands, and
how it is to be retained is one of the most im-
portant social problems of the day.

following day, and her mistress said "She should
not go, if she did, she should have no wages and
not come back again. She then told her she
thought she was very hard hearted and went
away to write a post card but she would not let
her do it. She asked her to pay her 14 days
wages:due to her, and she said she would go away.
Defendant said "She should not let her go until
the end of the month." She then asked her mis-
tress to give her back the charaeer she brought
with her and gave her. She said-" She had torn
it up." She said it wa3 a beastly action for a
lady to do, when defendant fled at her, slapped her
twice on the face, and grinned at her with passion,
Mad began to pinch her on the arm and wrist until
her wrist bled. She did not strike again and she
had the baby in her arms at the time. She asked
defendant for her wages and clothes. Defendant
said "She should not have them." Cross-ex-
amined: She did not call defendant a dirty beast.
The dog did not jump at her. It was defendant
thatpinched her arm and wrist till the blood ran
all down her hand. The two servants saw her
arm pinched. Miss Salt and the police saw the
injuries but the servants wou'd not come to give
evidence.—At this stage Police-constable Philpott
went and fetched Miss Salt, who said she saw how
complainant's arm had been pinched and she was
bleeding at the wrist from a deep pinch, it was not
the scratch of a pin.—The defence was that com-
plainant asked her to let her go to the funeral
and she refused. Complainant told her that her
brother had died from a stroke and defendant told
her if she could get a certificate to prove that he
had died from a stroke she may go, but she did not
believe it and refused to let her go, thinking there
might be fever in the house and bring it home
for she had two children with that complaint.
Complainant called her a beastly thing and she
at once shouted to her husband who was in the
garden but he said he was busy and refused to
come. The dog fled at her. She did not strike
complainant. Ladies were not in the habit of
striking their servants. Complainant deliberately
cratched her hand and made it bleed, saying "See
what you have have done, I will make you pay for
it."—Complainant was recalled and denied what
defendant, had said and exhibited her arm to Mr.
Freer, who said the arm was bruised.—Lord
Lyttelton said they had no doubt an assault had
been committed but not a serious one, and fined
defendant 2s 6d and costs.
CHARGE OF THREATs.—Edward Rutter was
charged with using threatening language to Bessy
Jordan, on the 2nd ult. Complainant said that on
the night in question defendant was dragging his
wife several times and threatened to shoot her,
She begged him to let her alone, when defendant
went to reach down the gun, and threatened to
shoot her, and she was afraid of her life. Defendant
has a double barrel gun kept loaded and capped,
and is continually beating and threatening his
wife. Defendant was bound over to keep the
peace for three months; himself in £2O, and one
sureity in £lO.

days.
BREWS OF ma Pitacs —Henry Homer and Samuel
Price were charged with committing a breach of the
peace by fighting, on the 30th ult.—Po'ice-constable
Cooper said he found the two defendants fighting in Mr.
Whitmore's liquor vaults at the Five Ways.—Defendants
were bound over in one surety of £5 to keep the pea.te
for 3 months.

CARD PLAYING.—Joseph Hodgetts, Isaac Smith, and
,Thomas Rhodes were charged with playing at cards on
the highway, on the 3rd inst.—Police-constable Wick-
stead proved the case and defendants were fined is and
costs each.