The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-07-29 00:00:00

prlate texts of Scripture, written in large letters on strips of
paper, are pasted on the walls of these two rooms In the
ottice is a placard with the heading. " Sine Elms Laundry,"
and underneath it are the following rules --" The inflates of
this house are women who have undergone penal servitude,
and on discharge Irian convict prisons are received here to
earn a character. Inmates must do all the work required of
them in order to eani their food. NO intoxicating drink
allowed. Inmates can have no money in their posses-
don. Purchases can be made to the extent of each
woman's allowance, at the discretion of the Superintendent.
Inmates only to go out and else in by leave of the superin-
tendent. Any women coming in intoxicated, or refusing to
obey the rules. still be summarily dismissed."
At the hack of this house, in what had formerly been a
gout-sized garden, are long iron sheds, ill which clothes are
disinfected, washed, mangled. and ironed. . . The washer-
women are female convicts who have been dischanted from
prison. Sillllo of the women reside inn the Home, but the
majority if the worker', conic at eight in the morning
ani go away at six o'clock in the en-inning. bringinir their
i dinners with them. Tea is provided in addition to their
: wages. Three Wolliell earn, on all average. Is. nil. a day. A
The Paris cinwesponilent of the Daily News thus discourses , lodging Call be obtained fir them nit a 'dace in connection
m the death of A celebnited Paris grocer , with the Home at the cost of fourrence. 'I him they are able.
' If they please, to maintain themselves, with the prospect of
Then Pontin is dead. Who in Pontiff? Pontiff is : improving their condition should they conduct themselves
the great grocer of Paris. Now, be it remembered that well and give promise of continued amendment. The work
Frenchmen take a peculiar interest in the grocer—not performed is of a two-fold character. IM the one hand,
regular and not unhealthy employment is proVided for the
merely material interest arising front the necessity of
purchasing so much sugar and so much coffee every r, WOllle
it ll wh
go, on
th leaving t
PrIAOII, eilllllot easly (hid Ain. Awl".
week: that is nothing--but a moral interest. The I I,4,4liieoit‘=pon,reoxnle,esri
lthoneittin'; twil.gii:iegr.dtobseedaitnil'nuoulteY
grocer is in France a type. He is the type of all that in overcome.
in fat an•l flat in human idea, of prosiness, of common- The writer then proceeds to describe the tasks of
place, of thick-headed absurdity. He is the French- women who labour at the washing-tub, and the means
'hall's idea of a l'hilh'thie• Now }Aix roftiff, wh" taken to disinfect clothes of families who may have had
sold groceries in grea.t abundance, made for himself infectious diseases, and continues :
a great name in Pans by the combined cheapness
A forewoman who after servMg a long terni of penal ser-
and u goodness of his iNreA. He hadwo t 14hops, o Vtne . • talite, min given tosens in. amendment, presides over and
in the west end in the Boulevard Alalesherbes ; 41Irects the workers. lier conduct may Ine meritorious, but
the other, the principal nine, farther east in the her ways are rough. She bib! no how, on the morning of our
Boulevard Sebastopol. Tins Pontin was evidently a visit. she had effectually cleared the furnace flue id soot lny
very intelligent inan, con•lucting his business on , nutting gunpowder In the ginte awl ignitingsit. The workers
lit
tla, racist enlig.,l principles ; but the small wits of are nf 11,1,
I hdhoving that rhetorical 4levice which the sdend- 't'•lnt'i'r7ms iii
110 W Mc; look Nlost of then, hare blimite4l and
1 s ”nks recommend as a means of enlivening discourse blotched faces, which unmistakably hetray a passion for
namely, to substitute particular in w general ideas, spirituous liquors. All have an extraordinary similarity of
awl proper names for colintion ones, got into the way expression. They have animal look in their eyes
44 calling. all gravers Pontin, and 44'th:fining all the
heaviness if feature is common to them all.
.e to the squaws of the savages
tuna-al characteristics id a devotion tin grocery under the
11,11'n'ant t t hese lin e s hn s seen between the It 41e ki
1.4 Potinism. And 1141 W IS dead. Ile was monntane, and the paem,.. impreneed him. 11,,e
a great man during the siege- a very great man indeed, grey-haired and bareheaded old winninn, who slunk about
with all his tins of preserved meat; and he deserves all with downcast eyes, Was the exact counterpart of an aged
the articles which are being written, if not in his praise, and helpless squaw who once excited ills ColllllaSSion in the
, yet cm his account heart id the great AllicriCall Desert. lilte faces of these
women were dyed a copper-colour, and if they were dreased
hi the nondescript garnient of the female l'te or Shoshone
Indian, they would pass for genuine savages In reality they
ore ant mueh better. Very few can read or write. Of
religion and iiimulity they may have learned linne-
ts the annual report of the 3leteorological Committee of thing in prison, but, at the best, their ideas on these subjects
the Royal Society, tin which a sum of t:10,0m) is voted annually are very hazy. Their only divinityis the policeman. If they
by the nletennr.ninngieui Department of the Board id Trade, the can evade his clutches, or begnile him by some tale inf deceit,
hdlowing remarks are made w ith regard to storin signal- they are perfectly satisfied. To ask them to abstain from
ling : committing nmrder mr robbery either because the ciim is a
" The issue of warning messages is conducted strictly sin or is a breach of the law, is to appeal to sentiments which
are IlOrmant or non-existent. They can Ire tamed by kind-
on the Inincipkin which have been mg :lathed in ftwmer ne.. like the lower animals. When the ladies, who are
reports. EaCh case of such issue of a warning, and everY I atriving to civilise these outcasts, speak to them about refl.
storm which is felt in these islands, is made the suhjectof gion they sometimes receive strange answers. The Bible
careful study, with the view, of, if possible, discovering narratives affect them as interesting, stories, notch in the
the atmospherical conditions which indicate at any time same way that a book of fairy tales impresses a child. Such a
that astorm is eitheractually existing, Or is ill princess nf eis a nll i my, f
wl I e lel. 1,1, t
One
bwmati,m, th:lllgh an yet it has not reached out- sh• :res. un'tt .eve.ii heard that there wits such a sacred lush
Themoreexperienceisgained,themoremludthe extreme , as the interrupted the reader and said, " I don't wish
complication of the problem to be solved impress itself , to offend pm. Miss, but I Mull believe a word of that." The
on the mind of anyone whose attention is directed to ' sui•je,•t 44-ss the account of Elijah. In their own peculiar
the interpretation of the causes of our weather changes. fashion they are very grateful for what is done for them.
Situated, as these islands are, ann the outposts of Europe ti;,fathy.thgee
in the Atlantic, they partake in part of the climate of Weather was impioving, it would be well to get S.M. cotton
the Continent, though far more frequently our weather print vs-herewith to make summer frocks for the children,
is governed by that prevailing over the ocean out.side, offered tin procure a piece. The Superintendent, amazed at
Of this latter we can unfortunately gain no intelligence the lir
Opo.l_, 1112,e by OM whose OWil garments were ill rags,
my telegraph, although the 'intim:mil extension of our a tett hato:i shLeeivmlailserf„,ozni‘to It-lily
system to the Hebrides and Shetlands respec- lI'S. e hairoften. ! Hail she II ti 1giV:1;
tively may be expected in some measure to improve our Mahout being detected, she would have thinught she hail 'wen
knowledge of it. It is of course possible, though the clever she been found out awl punished, she would have
process is costly, tO keep ourselves informed of the admitted that she had llone wrong.
changes which are taking place in the weather over The saddest and most disheartening part of the case is,
Europe ; but, unless in rare cases, the Connection be- that the difficulty of reforming the younger women is almost
tween these and I,tir own weather is tin,' it tai • , R,l 811111,11111111111. Tile,re-I,ollVieilolll,4 females are much more
1111111,01ln than int males.l Moreover, the wino. pmfess to
not very remote, yet certainly very intricate. We are •
enjoy thinroughly the wid career of crime. After conduct-
, almost alwadys unab' le judging from the reports from ing themselves with perfect propriety for a year in. a limier
, Norway an central Europe, to speak confidently as period as domestic servants, they will suddenly leave their
, tithe probability 'of a southerly or westerly 4111111 begin- places and resume their old habits, or, in their own slang,
ning on our extreme western coasts, although these have a fly." One of them, living remonstrated with for her
same reports give us fair gnnunds for drawing conclu- conduct, retitled with emphasis, " Oli, miss, but there's a
great !leal more.lif,e in it." PMniiiiig and performing a mb-
sions as tO WhetiliT :Mal stium will tr ava eastwards
boy is as exciti and agweable tO theSO an a
and
-
and be felt over the North Sea or not." nic party omr
a ball is tin fashionable young ladies. .. . Ex-
perience proves that the percentage of than permanently
reclaimed, that is, ten per cent., is drawn almost exclusively
horn the older offenders. 'The p g girl, if reasoned with
replies that when older she will try to Inc good, but that site
is determine.] to " have her fling" meantime. This is a female
version of the wild oats theory, which, when practised by
yinung men of fortune. is not unfrequently accepted as tho-
roughly SOIIIIIi and satisfactory.
The bloated faces of these women have been footed This
is the hides of their special failing. In hardly a single case
is the fondness tom spirituous liquors not a rallne of degrada-
tion :nut a hindrance to reformation. lilt were possilnle to
keep these women habitually sober, it would Ine comparatively
easy to render them useful members of society. Sin long as
they remain in the Home they are docile and obedient. The
danger is lest on leaving it, they ta,te strong drink and
relapse into their old state. More than ime girl who gave ,
pnonise of being turned from her evil ways has been trams-
fornwil inte a criminal under the hillnence of a gla.,s of gin.
Herrin consists the problem which the ladies who conduct
(Ink Home mute to solve. Its ti.AUtioll giOCS slot ten ii ill ate
with the women themselves. Many of them are
pantile.. and their children appear to inherit an ale
mnmmrnnnul taSie fine vice. Attl2lo,oB made to
rescue the children. But the mothers manifest reluctaiwe to
part with thou The ladies report :--" It is with great diffi-
culty thnit we can prevail on these winmen to give their little
girls out of their halals, and with dismay we note that it is
not a mother's love that induces limes inn withhold theml it
boa cruel thirst for profit, through their means, when they
shall themselves met-mute incapable of ministering to their own
wants." " The inothens are insensible to our sense 41 their
guilt. Some smile at us I many are finite annoyed at our sug-
gestions. Sonic have violently resisted our attempts to rescue
their own ilangliters from defilement" Notwithstanding these
impediments. many children have 'wen preserved from a cruel
lot Shire this part inf the mission was undertaken, forty-
nine children have been separated from mothers who were
not supporting thein lw honest labour. Twenty-three have
been restored to mothers whin have abandoned crime and in-
tercourse with eriminal en ompanions. Gmnil situations have
becn found for tile older girls. The task of ilealilig with the
younger children in very trying. They arc sadly
ill Wickedness. The ladies say that "at taelvv IllolithS they
have come to us odishing intoxicating liquor from which or-
dinary babies would shrink. In very tender yeamo they are
familiar with horrible forms of vice. They are adepts in
thieving almost as babies, and in language and habits express
much that is distressing. Their health, too, is very ticte-
rii prated."
The writer concludes his article by ,sving that the
facts lie has given are cakulatod to startle as well as
inform the public, and adds
" Lack of fllllllB wherewith to meet the necessary expenses
is the chief obstacle to the extend.' success of the under-
taking. In case any of onr readers al lil feel disposed tin
help tin rennin,. that obstacle, we rimy add that Mere-
llith in the honorary treasurer, and that her address is
'Nine Elms House, nç ihiper Belmont-terrace, Wandsworth-
rowl, London, s.'"

violent shocks which rent the air with reverberations,
and which steadily increased in strength until at last the
ground bunst asunder and an opening was left 1,500 feet
long. Smoke awl ashes, earth and stones, were thrown
tip and covered the surface of the ground far and near.
Then succeeded a long pause, but only to be followed by a
stillgreaterthroesif nature. About seven o'clock, MS dark -
nessvia.s aisppinglihw, the explsssion came, followed by a
shower of fire. Sad to say,- about 200 persons who,
tempted by curiosity, had thoughtlessly collected round
the crater, were buried under the matter which fell.
At the time of sending off this letter sixty dead bodies
had been extricated. The woo Is over a large area
caught tire, and the flames, spreading rapidly and with
much sus dre, drove men and cattle before them. The
spectacle LI said to have been frightful."