The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-12-13 00:00:00

Our Dubmt Corrtsponbtut.

(We deem it right to state th,tt we do not at all times
.cientify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

The shops in the main thoroughfares of the metro-
polis, as Christmas approaches, are eminently sugges-
tive of the proximity of the festive season. Huge
bullocks, split in half, sheep and pigs suspended
whole, gigantic j Ants, fattened geese, and well-fed
turkeys, ducks, game, and larks hung up by the
dozen, sausages fresh from the country, all decorated
with the deep green leaves and brilliant red berries of
the holly, tempt the purchaser, and arrest the atten-
tion of the wal farer homeward bound. The grocers
make a display equally effective. Dates and figs,
candied peel and almonds, spices
.and raisins, are
piled up in profusion until the sight sets the
spectator thinking of the banquets in the halls of
City Companies, where the light that falls from the
waxen tapers is reflected upon the sideboards that
groan under the weight of ancient plate. And as the
severe weather has again suggested the idea of another
old-fashioned winter, and of the traditional Christ-
mas, with the hoar-frost covering the boughs of the
leafless trees, and the snow scattered thickly on the
ground, there need be no murmuring now, as there
was in the times of mild winters, that Christmas is no
longer what it used to be, and that its distinguishing
characteristics have passed away.
The wave of intense cold which has passed over
Europe has not spared the British capital; and al-
though the fall of snow was as nothing compared with
that which descended upon Paris, it interfered greatly
with the street traffic. A peculiarity in the London
atmosphere at the time of a snowstorm is a thick and
unwholesome darkness. Smoke, fog, snow, and mist
all combine to form one heavy cloud syhich settles
down ppon the big town, hides it from view, and
creeps from sky to house top, and so towards the
ground until it envelopes and clothes thevery thorough-
fare itself. Ordinary vehicular movement is out of
the question, and even foot passengers have to feel
titeir way as best they can, lathe city the clerks work
by the dim flicker of gas, the sickly yellow flame of
wkich hardly pierces through the thick fog. But
in the Parks, on the other hand, when there is a hard
frost, be the fog as thick as it may, all London is alive
as soon as the ice once safely bears. A glance at the
moving figures upon the frozen surface would dis-
pel the idea that, as a nation, we take our
pleasures sadly. We have little enough of it under
our north-western sky ; and life in these islands is not
as in the Bay of Naples, or in the sunny Archipela-
goes of the Pacific, a perpetual round of happy idle-
ness. But such pleasure as falls to the lot of
Londoners they revel in with all their might;
and for brisk boisteverts merriment one of the metro-
politan parks in the skating season will com-
pare favourably with any similar sight in either
of the other European capitals. True, the cold
and frost bring a cessation of work and a
certain amount of distress; but at such a time the
charity of London shows itself in full activity.
Even our workhouses at Christmas are liberal in their
fare, while the bounty of the City guilds is certain to
be of a generous character, liberally supplemented as
It is by innumerable agencies for the distribution of
private relief,

Among the Parliamentary notices which appeared
during the month of November was one of unusual in-
terest and importance to the people of London- It is
a Government measure under the form of an applica-
tion for a private BiII, and its object is to purchase the
Virater.works of the metropolis, and to place them
under the administration of a central authority. The
eight water companies of London represent a very large
and valuable property. Their actual capital is over
twelve millions sterling, and the market value
.of the shares is more than twice that sum. This large
amount is very widely distributed. The shares are ex.
tensively held by widows and by trustees on behalf of
families; and nearly the whole of the capital of the
companies is under the statutory limitation of a 10 per
cent. dividend. The average dividend amounted last
year to 7i per cent. The compulsory sale of these valu-
able and increasing properties is based upon the principle
of compensation. By the proposed measure a new stock
is to be created and to be distributed amongst the
shareholders in such a way as to give to every one the
same general value of his shares. The public will
gain by the transaction, and can therefore well afford
to be liberal in coming to terms ; while care will be
taken by the Home Secretary that the interests of the
shareholders do not suffer in the completion of the
bargain.
Well might the Czar of Russia look round his vast
dominions with a feeling of lonely despair. He has
done more for his people than any of his predecessors,
and effected a social revolution by the emancipation of
the serfs nearly twenty years ago. True, Russia is
now the only country in Europe without represent&
tive institutions; but the Emperor cannot create a
Parliament by the stroke of his pen. Even an
autocrat finds it impossible to make way against the
dead weight of inertia, as well as against the active
opposition with which he would have to contend.
The inertia is that of the ignorant masses of the
Russian empire; the opposition is that of the
privileged oligarchy. When we reflect that we
have had legislative institutions for 600 years, we might
well wonder at the - depth of political darkness
in which Russia is plunged even to this day. The
nobles, conscious of the possession of power and in.
finence, are not disposesd to surrender any portion of
It to a benighted peasantry. And so the vast
dominions of the Czar are torn by internal dissensions
which find vent in acts of the most diabolical character.
When the Emperor of Russia visited Paris in the
summer of 1867, we all remember the sensation caused
by the attempt to assassinate him whilst driving
through the city by the side of the Emperor Napo-
leon ; there was another attempt last April In St.
Petersburg; but the blowing up of a train as it was
entering Moscow is the most desperate effort of its
kind since the throwing of the Orsini bombs under the
carriage of the French Emperor in the Rue Lepelletier
on the 14th January, 1858. For months the Czar had
been living at Livadia, and no sooner did he return to
his ancient capital than a determined endeavour was
made to destroy his life. Uneasy must lie the head
that wears a Crown—more especially if it be the
Imperial Crown of Russia!

Closely following the great Cattle and Poultry Show
at Birmingham has come that at Smithfield, or rather
at the Agricultural Hall which has been held this
week, It is the eighty-first annual exhibition of the
Smithfield Club,—an institution which has done good
service in its day to the cause of agriculture. In the
closing years of the last century, just as we had begun
that great war with France which lasted more than
twenty years, a few of the more spirited members of
our landing agricultural classes started that emi-
nently practical organization which under the name
of the Smithfield Club has done so much to
advance the farming interest of this country. It is
often said that this is an age in which institutions are
called upon to defend their existance, and to show
good and sufficient reason why they continue to live.
Applying this teat to the Smithfield Club, there would
be no difficulty whatever in proving why it enjoys so
high a degree of prosperity. Comprising within its
ranks agriculturists from all parts of the kingdom, it
has made the sustenance of an ever-increasing popu-
lation the great object of its influential organiza-
tion. There is a saying that he who causes two
blades of grass to spring up where only one grew
before is a benefactor to his kind. The application of
the truth conveyed in this, to the operations of the
Smithfield Club, will chow at a glance the enormous
value of its eighty years of useful labour.

On one of the coldest days we have yet experienced,
the remains of Mr. Roebuck were deposited in
the little church at Bushey in the presence of his
relatives and a few of his more immediate political
associates. The right hon, gentleman, who has been
a conspicuous figure in Politics for nearly half-a-
century, was one of the three or four remaining
members of the House of Commons who were
returned to the first Reformed Parliament in 1832
Mr. Gladstone is one of these; Lord George Cavendish
was in the House shortly afterward,; but these
Parliamentary veterans are Reeve noW, as might
naturally be expected after the lanais of 47 years,
A new race of public men tcng since came upon
the stage, and the old faces have passed away.
At that time Lord Palmerston, afterwards de-
stined to be twice Prime Minister of England,
had reached middle life, and wee nearly fifty
years of age. Lord John Russell was in the prime of
his great intellectual powers, and was then 40; Sir
Robert Peel was between the two, for he was 44.
Then there was Sir Je.mes Graham, the same age aa
Lord John Russell, and the late Lord Derby, seven
years younger. With the exception of Sir Robert
Feel, who then led the Opposition, the whole of those
were members
b of the Grey Ministry; Lord Derby,
afterwards the leader of the Conservative party,
being at that time the Right Hon. Edward
Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Secretary of State for
the C°lonits- All are now gone 1 For nearly
thirty years the remains of Sir Robert Lord
have been in the family vault at Tamworth ;
Palmerston lies in Westminster Abbey.; Earl Russell
in the little church at Chenies ; Sir James Graham in
the church at Arthurst ; and Lord Ddrby in the
family vault at Knowsley. And now Mr. Roebuck
also has been gathered to his fathers, leaving the
Rouse of Commons all the poorer for the loss of
an individuality which was perfectly unique. His
speeches were models of composition. -The pure
641,X012 of his language, and the short, crisp sentences.,
were especially telling ; and, although Bfr. Roebuck
never held office in any hlinistry, he was an undoubted
power in Parliament and the country, which the Rouse
of (Ammons more particularly can but ill afford to
WlN't

THE LATE ZULU AND AFGHAN
CAMPAIGNS.

RECEPTION OF OFFICERS BY THE QUEEN. '

At Windsor Castle, on Monday, the Queen received
and decorated the military and naval officers who have
served with distinction in the recent campaigns in
South Africa and Afghanistan. Assembling at the
Paddington station of the Great Western Railway
about one o'clock, those who had been selected
quitted town in two saloons which had been
attached to the train leaving London at 1.30,
arriving at Windsor shortly after two o'clock. There
were about twenty in number, and were attired in full
military and naval uniform. The Lord Chamberlain
and the Mistress of the. Robes had come down by a
previous train to attend Her Majesty during the
ceremonial. A more modest, though not less in-
teresting, arrival at the same moment (remai ke The
Times) was that of Colour-Sergeant Smith, of the 90th
Regiment, one of the heroes of the Zulu expedition,
who had travelled from Hamilton, in Scotland, to re-
ceive his decoration at the hands of his Sovereign.
Stepping from the carriage, the sergeant, whose scarlet
uniform was shrouded by his gray military cost,
passed among the crowd almost unperceived, and
made unmolested to the friendly shelter of the Vic.
toria Barracks. Out of cqmpliment to the gallant
vititors, the Mayor of Windsor (Mr. J. Webb) and
Alderman Devereux were present upon the platform
to give them an unofficial welcome, while General
Sir Samuel Browne, who lost his left arm in India
during the Mutiny, and was about to be made a
K.C.8., was also in the throng.—We take the follow-
ing account of the proceedings from Tuesday's Daily
Noes :

"Her Majesty the Queen, having recovered from her recent
Indisposition, was able yesterday to receive the gallant
officers who have distinguished themselves in the recent
campaigns, and to invest them with the honours allotted to
tnem. The ceremony was a private one, and lasted but a
quarter of an hour. The various officers selected for dis-
tinction arrived at Windsor from Paddington shortly
alter two o'Clock, and after having been greeted by the
Mayor of Windsor, were conveyed in covered carriages
to the Castle This unostentatious arrival was not entirely
satisfactory to the small crowd who had assembled in
the hope of getting a good view of the officers; but
for what was concealed from the view of the spectators
they made amends by drawing in a lively manner upon their
Imagination. For example, the heroic Chard and Bromhead
were most positively recognised by this imaginative element
in the crowd, although fhey were certainly not seen in
Windsor Castle, and indeed were not expected there. The
speculations of the few onlookers were on one occasion right
as regards Colonel Pearson, but as a rule the guesses made
seemed more curious than well founded. Corporal Allen,
Colour-Sergeant Smith, Trooper Browne, and Pri-
vates Power and Roy, in whose intended decoration
the populace were apparently keenly interested, did
not appear at all. Their visit to the Castle is,
in fact, fixed for to-day. The officers were quickly
driven to the Castle amid the cheers of those who
had gathered about the entrance gates. As they entered tbe
Royal Palace a guard of honour, with band and drums, of the
2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, under Colonel Antrobus,
and Lieutenants Lord W. Cecil and Sir J. Drummond, was
drawn up in the grand quadrangle. This was the only ex-
ternal sign of any ceremonial in the Castle. At a quarter to
three the entrance of the Queen to toe White Drawing
Room was signalised by a movement on the part of this
guard, who presented arms and played the National
Anthem. Her Majesty was accompanied by their Royal
Highneu the Princess •Christian, the Duke and Duchess
of Connaught, Prince Leopold and the Princess Bea-
trice. General Sir H. Ponsonby and the other
gentlemen aud ladies of the household were in waiting. By
the Lord Chamberlain, attended by Sir A. Woods, the
Registrar and Secretary to the Order of the Bath, who
carried the insignia of that Order, there were severally intro-
duced to her Majesty Commissary-General Edward Strick-
land, Lieut.-General Sir Samuel James Browne, and Major.
General Michael Anthony Shrapnel Biddttlph. The Queen,
in recognition of the services of Generals Browne and
Bldclalph In Afghanistan, and of Commissary-General
Strickland in Zululand, invested them with the Order of
K C.B. In the case of Sir S. Browne, the ceremony of con-
ferring knighthood of coarse was not necessary, as he had
already received that honour, but he was now invested with
the insignia of his division in the second class of the
Order.

"The succession of the military recipients of the Sov-
ereign's marks of distinction was momentarily broken in
upon by the call for Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, who was
created K C.B. of the Civil Division of the Order. Rear.
Admiral Sir Francis William Sullivan followed to receive
for his notable service in connection with the South African
campaign a reward similar to that conferred on the
military officers already named. After this no fewer than
twenty. tour presentations were made to Her Majesty
for decoration as Companions of the Bath. With the
exception of Captain Shaw, of the Metropolitan Fire
Brigade, those who were thus received into the third
class of the Order, were officers who had dis-
tinguished themselves in the recent campaign; and princi-
pally, as will be seen from their now well•known names, in
the Zulu war. They were: Colonel Richard Thomas Giyn,
24th Regime.r. ; Colonel Cadwallader William Eigee, Royal
Artllier) servi,,ar.. 'hike war); Colonel Frederick
Witilam Edward Forestier Walker, Scots Guards; Colonel
Charles Knight Pearson, h p., late 3rd Regiment; Dent-
Colonel Alexander Hadden Lindsay, R yal Artillery ;
Colonel Frederick Samuel B'yth, h.p., late 40th Raglment ;
Colonel Robert Bruce Chichester, Brigade Dapot, late 81st
Regiment; Col. William Stirling, Royal Artillery; Deputy-
Surgeon General John ilenc ley; Major-General El ward
Newdlgate ; Captain Richard Bradshaw, RN ; Colonel Drury
Curz di Drury-Lowe, 17th Lancers; Colonel Robert Children
Whitehead, h.p., 63,h Regiment; Captain Henry John
Fletcher Campbell, RN, Lu. at.-Colonel Wykeham Leigh
Pemberton, 60th Rifles: Lient.• Colonel William Henry Dow-
ling Reeves Walman, 99th R-Riment ; Lieut.-Colonel John
Tatton Butler Brown, Royal Artillery; Lieut.-Colonel Henry
Parnell, 3rd Regiment; Lien'.-Colonel Charles Mansfield
Clarke, 57th Regiment; Dent -Colonel John North Crealock
951 n Regiment; Lieut.-Colons 1 Arthur Harness, Royal Ar-
tillery; Commlssasy Edward William Henry Webb, and Sur-
geon-Major Charles 118Donough. Cafe.

"To one or two of the all, rs known to her Majesty the
Queen addressed a few wows as she invested them with
their decorations, but the whole ceremony, and one which
intervenes between the creation of the Knights and the
Companions of the Bath—viz., the knighting of Colonel
Owen Tudor Burne for political services in India, and his
investiture with the riband, badge, and star of a Knight
Commander of the Order of the Star of India—was concluded
In the brief time already mentioned.
"Arms were again presented by the guard of honour, who
after once more playing the National Anthem, marched back
to barracks.

"Luncheon was provided in the Castle for the officers
whomjaer Majesty had honoured, and most of them re-
turneorto town by the 4.15 p.m. train from Windsor, leaving
the town of the Royal residence amid hearty cheers. Lord
and L,dy Chelmsford, Sir E. and the Hon. Lady Wood and
Sir Samuel Browne were to dine at the Castle in the evening.
"Lord Gifford, who brought to her Majesty from Sir G.
Wolseley the assegais taken in Cetewayo's kraal, is expected
to be at the Castle this week to receive the mark of distinc-
tion reserved for him by the Sovereign."

• DECORATION OF SOLDIER 3.
On Tuesday Her Majesty decorated at Windsor
Castle several officers and soldiers who had been
selected to receive honours in recognition of their see.
vices during the recent South African campaign.
The officers, noncommissioned officers, and men, who
had received the Royal sun:mons to attend at the
Castle, assembled at Windsor in the course of the
day in readiness for the ceremonial, which had been
fixed for three o'clock in the afternoon. Among these
were Colonel Lest, of the 13th Regiment; Lieutenant
Hart, R.E., and another officer; Lance-Sergeant
William Allen, of the 2nd Battalion 24th Regiment;
Colour-Sergeant Samuel Smith, of the 90th Regiment;
Corporal Roy and Private J. Power, of the Ist
Battalion 24th Regiment; and Trooper Robert Brown,
of the Frontier Light Horse.
Colonel Leet receives the Victoria Cross for his
gallant conduct at the Zlobani Mountain, where, at
much risk, he saved the life of Lieutenant Smith, of
the Frontier Light Horse. The party was hard pressed
by the Zulus while riding down the precipitous slope
of the hill, rnd Lieusenant Smith, becoming dis-
mounted, found himself unable to proceed from ex-
haustion. In this extremity Colonel Lest, whose knee
was crushed by a fall, placed the disabled officer upon
the pack-horse which he was riding and so rescued
hi tt from the enemy.
Lance-Sergeant William Allen, of the 2nd Battalion
24th Regiment, takes the Victoria Cross for bravery
at the defence of Rorke's Drift, where he was
wounded in the left shoulder, on the night of the
22nd of January, in this year, while serving under the
command of Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead ; and
Corporal Roy, who was engaged in the same memor-
able pction, has the distinguished conduct medal for
having, while a patient himself in the hospital,
broken through the wall and removed, under fire, six
of the sick to the laager.
Private Power, also of the 24th Regiment, gains a
similar honour for successfully conveying a despatch,
In the Zlobani affair, from Colonel Russell to Colonel
Buller, riding for some eight miles through a country
swarming with the enemy.
Colour-Sergeant Smith, of the 90th, served under
Colonel Wood, and, during an action, Captain Stevens,
who commanded the company, was severely wounded.
The command thereupon devolved upon Lieutenant
Saltmarsb, who was shot mortally ten minutes after-
wards, leaving Colour-Sergeant Smith in charge of the
company. This gallant non commissioned officer suc-
cesifully routed the savages, and for his cool bravery
has a medal, which brings with it an annuity of £lO
for life.

Trooper Robert Brown, of the Frontier Light
Horse, is a York shireman-, and acted as orderly to
Colonel Buller. He served through the whole cam-
puign against the Gaikas, Transkei, Secocoeni, and
Zulu tribes, and for his courageous conduct was awarded
a medal.

Ata quarter-past two o'clock the non-commissioned
officers and men left the Victoria Infantry Barracks,
escorted by Sergeant heath, of the 2nd Battalion
Grenadier Guards, the little party being followed by
a throng of the residents as they passed throuo the
town to the Castle, where upon arrival they awaited
the Queen's pleasure. Colonel Lest arrived shortly
afterwards, the other officers having previously reached
the Castle. Groups of spectators, notwithstanding
the wintry weather—snow still lying in the Grand
Quadrangle—gathered at the foot of the Round Tower,
anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of the ceremonial,
and watching the preparations for the departure of
the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, who were about
to leave for Bagshot, their exit from the Castle gates
forming a welcome break in the half-hour's waiting,
which passed slowly while the preparations were being
made for the reception.
Her Majesty, who was accompanied by Prince
Leopold and Princess Beatrice, and attended by Sir
H. Ponsonby, Colonel Du Plat, and the ladies in
waiting, proceeded at three o'clock to the corridor
where the party of officers and soldiers, in full regi-
mentals, were awaiting the coming of the Queen.
Advancing to the line of heroes, her Majesty put some
questions to them with reference to their services and
the injuries they had received in action and then
bestowed the decorations, pinning to the 'breasts of
the soldiers in turn the Victoria Crossea and medals to
which they had become entitled.
The Queen withdrew after the ceremony, when each
of the party was introduced to Prince Leopold and
Princess Beatrice, who had displayed considerable
interest in the proceedings.
Later on the non.comtnissioned officers and men
were entertained in the hall of the palace, leaving
about four o'clock on their return to the Victoria
Barracks where they have been located since their
arrival in Windsor. As they passed down the hill and
through the town the street& were thronged by a
number of the residents anxious to obtain a view of
the "Zulu heroes "—Trooper Brown, of the Frontier
Light Horse, in his velveteen and redbraided uniform,
boots, spurs, and grey "wide-awake' with-red riblion,
the very perfection of a border irregular cavalry
soldier, attracted much aktetedntitohne,
rtehme
eidniffdeerrenofee
the
et form and helmets of the
copartynnae
wear beg
wearing
line. thveersycarralear scarlet uniform
Lord and Lady Chelmsford and Sir Evelyn and