The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-02-03 00:00:00

Our fonbau Corrtspoubol

We deem it right to state that we do not at all riCoVJ
identify ourselves with WIZ Correspondesit's opinions.]

The chronicles of the new year seem laden with
continued disaster, and of every description. Storm
and fire and shipwreck will long cause the first month
of 1883 to be sadly remembered in our domestic his-
iory. So far as the enormous population of London
Is concerned, one which is accustomed to the fearful
visitation of stifling fogs so often in the winter, a
strong wind passing over the great province of houses
does little harm beyond sweeping away the loose tiles,
while it purifies the stagnant atmosphere by carrying
the impurities sway from the crowded town far out
Into the country, where they can do ne injury and are
bound harmlessly to disperse. But the same storm
which clears the air of the busy town and contributes
to the health of millions of people, is at the same time
a startling reminder upon the sea of the perils which
beset those who go down to the deep in ships and do
business in the great waters.
The disasters by sea as well by land have given rise
to grave apprehensions as to the contingencies which
beset those who travel, notwithstanding that all the
resources of modern civilization have been brought to
bear in the direction of ensuring safety. The increase
in the number of ships has rendered the mean on the
great lines over which pass the fleets of our mer-
cantile marine as crowded as a busy street in
London. Looking at its vast expanse, people are fre-
quently inclined to think that there surely ought to
be room for two ships without one sinking the other
at a sacrifice of hundreds of lives; but the lines of
thoroughfare across the sea are as clearly cleaned
as is a street in a great city. There are some
parts of the ocean which may well be described
as "the lone lone sea," for they lead no whither,
and are. altogether out of the track of ships,
just as Salisbury Plain is completely out of the
way of vehicular traffic. There are others, such
as the routes between Great Britain and the
United States, or England and the Continent, which
are as frequented as a London street. In such
crowded tracks the perils of navigation are immensely
increased when a dense fog obscures the signal lights
which give both guidance and protection. The
splendid Atlantic steamers can weather the fiercest
storm which ever blew upon that tempestuous main;
but the fogs of the Newfoundland coast are the special
peril of the mariner, and the capacious bays of New
York are liable to the same terror.
Whilst England has been rejoicing over the con-
tinususce of a mild temperature, by way of contrast
with the terribly severe weather of two years ago, the
_ _

fluctuations in some parts of the United States haye

been of the most remarkable character. 111 New York
and Massachusetts the thermometer fell twenty-two
degrees in twenty-four hours; at Chicago, which is
open to the breezes of Lake Michigan, it sank from
fifteen to twenty-five degrees while at Winnipeg a
reading is said to have been recorded of forty degrees
below zero. Some writers ignorantly confound zero
with freezing point, which is probably what is meant
here ; but seeing that there is a difference between the
two of thirty-two degrees the distinction is rather a
material one. Forty below zero would approach the
frightful cold of the Polar regions, where there is no
sun for nine months together, and consequently no
chance of its rays making any impression upon the
frigid atmosphere; but there is no part of the United
States which does not get a very fair share of sunshine.
One of the most remarkable apartments in an
historic building has been the scene of a gathering of
national interest. The Egyptian Hall of the Mansion-
house is unique in its way so far as the City of London
is concerned. From its peculiar kind of architecture,
every glimmer of daylight is excluded from the hall,
which is capable of seating several hundreds of persons;
ea that whatever business is being carried on within it,
artificial lights have to be employed. Very strange
and weird these look on a July afternoon, when the
beams of a brilliant sun are being poured upon Cheap-
side and King William-street, Lombard-street and
Threadneedle-street. But on a day at the end of
January, such as that on which a gathering was held
there for the purpose of raising memorials to the late
Archbishop of Canterbury, the brightly-illuminated
Egyptian Hall seems quite an agreeable contrast to
the murky gloom without; and with one of the
Queen's sons in the chair, the attendance is certain
to be a gcod one. The Duke of Albany presided on
the occasion referred to; and Churchmen of all schools
of thought, as well as prominent Nonconformists like
Mr. Samuel Morley, took part in the movement for
perpetuating the life's work of the departed Primate.
Mr. Gladstone seems to be reaping the full benefit
of his sojourn at Cannes. The soft and genial climate,
the beauty of the situation commanded by the villa in
which he is ttaying, and the classic associations sur-
rounding the spots within actual view of his windows,
are refreshing alike to the mind and body of a states-
man, whose delight even in his maturer years has been
in Homeric studies, and who has delighted in the
history of those Isles of Greece, "where burning
Sappho loved and sang." It will be borne in mind
that the Premier has no constitutional ailment from
which he is suffering, no wasting disease from
which to recover. He is simply affected by overwork,
and although a man in his 74th year has not the
recuperative power of one who is younger, there can be
no doubt that he is a well-preserved man, and has
always taken great care of his health. The perfect
rest which he is enjoying now may be estimated frcm
his own declaration that this is the first complete
holiday which he has taken for years.
The Licensing question promises to occupy the atten-
tion of Parliament in the coming session to a greattr
extent than it has hitherto done since the present
House of Commons assembled. People have spoken of
it as the New Parliament so long that it is difficult to
believe it is now about to begin its fourth session. It
has already run half its course, for very few Parliaments
run over six working sessions. The year after next
than, if nothing happens meanwhile, would bring us to
the practical end of its labours. Hitherto Irish busi-
ness has been almost its sole occupation; so that unless
It pulls itself together during the next two years it can
scarcely hope to make that impression upon legisla-
tion which was expected from it at the time of its
election.
As to, the issue of licences the Secretary of State
for War, in addressing his Lancashire constituents,
made some observations which have since attracted
considerable attention. He pointed out that if It be
'thaiiht better to leave the'granting and renewal of
licences in the hands of the magistrates, it might be

„possible that this should be done but at the same time
ert• the hands of the magistrates may be strengthened in
the exercise of what would no doubt be an unpopular
/r,”
duty, if they were called upon to reduce the number
of licences by the expression, in some shape or
another, of a popular opinion in their district,
- that such a reduction was required. This seems
to Point to the revival of a proposition made
by Lord John Russell when he introduced
the Municipal Corporations Bill in 1835. The
first draught of that measure eontained a clause
placing the licensing authority in the hands of Town
Councils; but this was struck out by the House of
Lords, and was not insisted upon by the Whig Ad-
ministration when the measure came back to the
House of Commons.

Westminster Abbey is a structure which is of not
merely local interest, and confined to the metropolis..
It is one of the sights which must be seen by every
country visitor, and the same remark applies to those
who come across the Atlantic to have a look at the old
"buildings in the mother-land at home. If it be asked
- what have they, the fathers of to-morrow, to do with
,the relics of the past, it may be replied that ate the
:* existence of the United States as a nation is but a
little over a century old, the study of such a building
Westminster Abbey, with its history and traditions
• of 'a thousand years, is one so utterly opposed to the
experience of their own great cities, that it becomes
_invested With the deepest interest. To them and to
us, therelpie, it is somewhat disquieting to be told
that the_ external wads of the venerable Abbey are
gradually crumbling away. florrosion by smoke and
weather is doing he work, and the exterior stonework
• is said in many cases to be eaten entirely away, so
that the rubble forming the interior layer of the wall
escapes. It-is feared that a complete re-casing of parts
--of the side walls, and especially of the north transept,
may become imperative; but this description of
• reatoration however necessary will be anything but
agreeable from an archaeological point of view.
Of the places which, for more than twenty years
have been selected for the Easter Monday Volanteer
Review, Brighton has been the favourite upon the
• whole. Portsmouth and Dover are occasionally fa-
voured, and Alderehot is at times suggested; but
Brighton is ,within easy reach of London, its train
service is excellent, and the admirable manner in
which the men are conveyed to and from the metro-
polis would-meet the greatest of national emergencies.
Porn sear or two some time back no review at Easter
was held; the Volunteer force was lightly regarded,
',Da some of the railways did not care to sacritice their
Easter excursion traffic to carry our citizen army to
and from the scene of mimic warfare. The Brighton

• Railway.directors have, however, always shown- con-
.. =- -,-aidexable public spirit in this matter, and have proved
that although there is but,one-line - from London to
Brighton, it is equal to all the exigencies of the
traffic.

The disastrous fires which have lately taken place
in London have suggested the establishment of a court
of inquiry into the causes of them) Calamities. A
committee pf the Metropolitan Board a Works has

reported in favour of the institution of such a
court, and the Board will advise the Home
Secretary in its favour when the Cabinet Ministers
come to town to prepare for the approaching session.
This cannot be long delayed. Hints have often been
thrown out that a Coroner should investigate the
causes of fires in the same way as the inquiries into
the causes of deaths which are not the results of
ordinary disease, but the Board of Works suggests
some other official. To the public, however, the con-
sideratisn as to who holds the inquiry is not of such
importance as that a responsible official should be
appointed and the work thoroughly and systematically
dons.