The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-10-04 00:00:00

Our Tonbit (forrtsgoAtnt.

[We deers it right te kat* that we do not at all time
Identify onrsalres with oar Correspondent's opinions.]

The approaching visit of Prinoe Leopold to Shef-
field wilt give another proof of the desire of the
members of the Royal family to further, an far as in
them lies, the work to which the Prince Consort de-
voted so mush of his attention. Sinoe the days when
the husband of our widowed Queen first took up the
cause of Art Education, very much has been done to
bring England to the level of the Continent in this
matter, and although at first derided as impracticable,
It has now become a fashion too deeply rooted to be
lightly east off. The most casual reader of the
newspapers must see the result of this almost
daily appearing in the shape of the establishment
of Science and Art Schools in one part or another of
the country; and as, at the same time, technical edu-
cation is making rapid strides, there is great hope for
the cultured future of the English nation. The ques-
tion whether the main body of the people should be
taught at all was long a battle-ground for sects and
parties, but it has passed that stage, and we have
almost left behind tie the further point of the neoessity
of a higher education as well as that of the " three
It's." Such an example as Prince Leopold's will
bring home to many who had not previously thought
much of the subject, a knowledge of how deeply its
Importance is recognised by all those of the upper
classes who have the interests of the people at heart.
The mention of Prince Leopold acts as a reminder
of what must have struck many as a somewhat extra-
ordinary fact—that the fourth and youngest son of the
Queen has not as yet received any territorial title.
The heir-apparent is, of eourse, Print* of Wales, Duke
of Cornwall, Bari of Chester, Lord of the Isle; he who
was formerly best known to us as Prince Alfred is
Duke of Edinburgh; and the Prince Arthur of yore is
merged into the Dike of Connaught. All the king-
doms are, therefore, represented already in tho
titles of the Queen's sons, but as the Prince of Wales
is practically only known by that appellation, there
Is not much doubt that when Prince Leopold takes a
title it will be an English one. He may follow his
maternal grand-father and becomeaDuke of Kent, or
his maternal great uncles and be Duke of York or
Saner, or his mother's predecessor and be Duke of
Clarence, for where there are so many cognomens
from which to choose it is seemly likely that
another will be invented. And yet it seems
somewhat worthy of consideration whether the
metropolis should not be connected In some way
with these princely titles. True, Lambeth and Fins-
bury, Southwark and Marylebone, Chelsea and the
Tower Hamlets do not carry with them any very
lofty sound, but many lees euphonious titles than
Duke of London have been conferred in days gone by,
and this one is such a title as even an Emperor might
be proud of.

The agglomeration of boroughs which got. make up
this metropolis, and over which the name of London
has all-embracingly spread, present many features
of interest to the observer, The seemingly arbi-
trary nature of their divisions, the curious differences
between one constituency and another, the con-
trast between Chelsea and Westminster on the one
side and Southwark and the Tower Hamlets on the
other, all tend to make the interest stronger. Although
the number of Parliamentary electors in each is only
a rough list of the number of householders, it Is some
guide, and it may surprise many to learn that Lam-
beth, which Is the largest in point of electorate, con-
tains about two and a half times as many voters as
Westminster, which is the smallest. Hackney comes
next to Lambeth, with Finsbury and the Tower
Hamlets close up, and then a very distinct
gap elapses before Marylebone is reached. Chel-
sea is the next to be considered, then the
City and Southwark (within one hundred of each
other), Greenwich very near to these last, and, as be.
fore mentioned, Westminster at the lower extremity
of the list. It may be noted that these constituencies
return two members each with the exception of the
City, which as the heart of the capital of the Empire,
has a privilege unknown to any other portion of it—
that of sending four representatives to Parliament,
thus having the advantage of Liverpool, Glasgow,
Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds which return
three ar

A strong effort is being made just now in London
to check the dangerous driving which threatens to be-
come a habit with far too many. It is a very difficult
matter to deal with, for one who driveth furiously is
by no means an easy individual to follow and remon-
strate with. Perseverance, however, has accomplished
many things in this world, and it nay yet lessen the
dangers of the London streets. The clear-headed and
the active have, it is true, but little to fear, but it is
palpable that a very large number of those who are in
the Metropolis on business or pleasure will scarcely
answer to those designations. It is painful to see
at a crowded crossing timorous folks standing
shivering on the brink of the pavement, not daring to
launch themselves into the seldom-ebbing tide of
traffic, and so overcome by nervousness that it is a
positive charity to assist them across the street. When
such as these venture upon crossing without aid, they
they are the likeliest victims of the heavy van or the
swift hansom. Accidents of this nature are so common
that all who have to travel much through London
streets will wish success to any organisation which
makes a serious effort to lessen their number.

The time may come in India, au it has oome in
England, when wild beasts shall be things only known
In legend or in exhibition; but latest returns would
seem to indieate that for that "good time coming"
the inhabitants of our Eastern dependency must
"wait a little longer." An official paper states that
last year no fewer than 852 persons and 5,350 cattle
were killed by wild beasts and snakes in the Madras
Presidency alone; and when it is reflected that in
Bombay and Calcutta there may probably be an
equal number, the total becomes appalling. It
is satisfactory to find that active means ere being
taken to rid the peninsula as far as possible of all
pests to man and beast; for the Madras Govern-
ment, in the year mentioned, paid 17,854 rupees for
the destruction of 185 tigers, 538 leopards, 75 cheetahs,
143 bears, 27 wolves, 128 hyeanae, and 5,930 "other
animals," If this rate is kept up, it should surely
have some effect upon the wild beast population, for
they cannot increase and multiply to any alarming
degree when this rate of slaughter goes on. Such an
Investment as that on the part of the Indian Govern-
ment must prove the truest economy; for a country
overrun by ferocious animals cannot possibly have its
resources developed to the full, and that is what India
needs more than anything at this juieture.
The visit of the English cricketers to Canada and
the 'United States will do somethiag to revive in those
parts the old admiration for the cricket of the mother
country which had somewhat faded before the prowess
of the Australian team. Daft's eleven are by no means
"sensational ;" they are a good representative team in
which batting, bowling, and fielding are well-balanced,
and neither is made such a specialty of as to spoil
the chances of the others. The past has been
a very bad season for cricket in England from causes
over which the lovers of the game had not the
slightest control, for the oontinnous downpour of rain
through many days which should have seen good
matches, caused even the most ardent to temporarily
lose heart. The English team has, however, bean
better favoured across the water, and there seems
little doubt that their achievements there will do
very much to oompensate them in every way for the
disappointments of what will be known in °ticketing
annals as "the rainy season."