The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-02-18 00:00:00

Our f. °Om torrtsponbcnt,
'
rWe deem it rhit to State that we do not at all ting 4
tffy ourieirea with our correspondent's opinioui J

There la still ample reason to hope that the editing
,arretstice will be developed into an agrsement Ka to
the terms of peace—peace which is now ardently
longed for throughout France and Prussia, and only
less ardently desired in other countries. Meanwhile,
It has been decided that the armistice is to be prolonged
on account of several candidate, having been
returned in different place; thua rendering new
elections neceseary. The convocation of a Na.
Coned Assembly 'kill be eagerly looked for in two
respects—to see on what terms France will be com•
polled to accept peace, and what will be the form of
her futoe Government. As far as can at present be
see:, the tendency apt, are to be towards the mon-
archy, and only a few days ago it might have been
thought that the ex-Emperor has lost all hope of a
restoration of his dynasty. But now hie proclamation
shows that the fallen sovereign has not lost all am-
bition. Though fal!en he Us not dismayed, and "eon
In hie ashes live his wonted tires." Ilia manifesto tells
the French people that " there is but one Government
which hes lamed fr ,m the national sovereignty, and
which has the strength to restore to the aountry, in-
dustry, concord, and peace." What this Government
is need not be said ; but there seems not the slighteet
chance of Napoleon's new ambition being realised. In
fact him proclamation has fallen fl itly and tamely
i;tl the public ea.: of France. The chances eeem
lo lie between an Orleaniet restoration and a Ile-
htiblic, and of the two the former seems nuost likily
to be the result of the preeent transition throogh :
which unhappy France is passing.

One result of the war will, undoubtedly, be heavier
burdens on the British taxpayer. We may expect the
army and navy estimates together to I:fe some three
millions more than last year, (the army estimates alone
are £2 5e6,700 more than laet year), and as Mr. Lowe
will have very little to set off against thie we may look
for an unpleasant addition to the income tax. But
we must "grin and bear it;" our national defences, it lx
generally agreed, require strengthening, and the., of
course, means mor, t ixation. The chief consolation
that perhaps will o,eur to most people is this, that It
is " the cheapest iu the end."

After an entire recess occupied with war end
rim( urs of war, du, ,ng which public attention has been
almost wholly devoted to battles and sieges, military
movements anti the claims of the sick and wounded,
the opening of Parliiment must produce a general
Rime of relief. It is i - amant to see the old familiar
parliamentary names in the records of the debates, to
see old topics revived, and long•promiaed refornm again
put forward with a fair prospect of being this eeseion
develepei into actual facts. I will not enter on the
party politics of the day, but may remark that the
session has commenced cheerily and with good omen
for a fair amount of work. There had been rumours
of an amendment to the Address, but the with retest
have been father to the thought, mid the Miniatry,
whatever may be in store for them, have commenced
the session under favourable conditions. The opening
of Parliament has been so fully chronicled and the
Royal Speech so largely commented on, that I refrain
from dwelling on either ; but looking ahead only, it is
evident that an active, busy session is contemplated,
and some of the legislative measures foreshadowed
will probably call forth the &met political strife.
May this conflict tend to the national rood.
Perhaps most of these people who have endeavoured
to understand the d:spute between the Unite I States
and ourselvee, with regard to the Alabama claims, have
by this time become quite wearied with the subject,
while probably not one in ten, even among that secticn
of the public that tikes an interest in international
questions, can be said to have mastered the details of
the question. The same remarks are applicable to the
Canadian Fisheries dispute between America and our
own country; but still we must all rejoice that
an organised eff, t is cow to be made to settle
these disputer, A mixed commission, with repre-
sentatives from both countries, will enter on the whole
euhject, and we may fairly hope, considering the recent
conciliatory attitude of the Washington Government,
and the continued willingness of our own Government
to agree to amicable terms, that the quarrel may be
arranged, and that John Bull and Brother Jonathan
may become firmer friends than ever. The unsettled
state of Europe renders this a consummation most
devoutly to be wished.

With the patronage and aid of the Earl of Shaftesbury,
Lord Lyttelton, the Countess of Warwick, and many
other ladies and gentle men, 11Iiss Faithfull is about to en.
deavour to carryout a reform which has long been needed,
and which perhaps was never more ri.pnred than now,
while at the same ttme it is gratifying to know that
the public are becoiLing keenly alive to the necessity of
this reform. I alh.ele to a project for establishing a
ladiea' hotel, or club, or institution—the exact name
pr%bably depend on the details—for training girls
to dcuiestic service, and especially teaching them the
art of cooking and the economical treatment of food.
This will not be the first attempt of the kind; but, from
what I have learnt since the scheme was first broached,
this new effort will he made en a lamer scale and with
greater prospect of eucceog than my previous effort
in this direction. The importance of training up girls
for domestic service ia very great. There is a great
deal to be learnt, and which can very well be taught,
under proper conditions, in the detaile of household
management, and it can scarcely be denied that not
only our domestic servants, but also their mistresses in
many instances, have much to learn. We cannot haie
an institution for training the latter, but we may for
trainini the formee, and paterfanailim and mater.
familiaa must heartily wish the projected institution
eucceek

'What a large amount of work the Society for the Pre.
vention of Cruelty to Animals has before it is illustrated
by a recent prosecution against the parochial autho.
ritiea of Marylebone, for cruelty to horses in leaving
broken granite on the roads, and I am sorry to add
that this failed. The monstrous system of road.
making here, by which horses are thus lamed and
delicate carriages shattered, has often been commented
on, and it would have been pleasing to find that this
prosecutim had succeeded. That broken granite does
produce cruelty to horses cannot be denied, but in
the present case the prosecution failed on technical
grounds. It is strange how slow we are to introduce
steam road•rollers, which are most effective.

The success of a Pt!le book, " Tre Fight in Dame
Europa's School," has been marvellous. More than
160,000 copies have been sold. And yet it is said that
the author waa for some time unable to get a
publisher for it, though he offered the copyright for a
guinea. "At last," says the Echo, "it was printed by
a local printer, on the understanding that one-third of
the profits should to to the author, one•third to the
printer, and one.third to a London publisher who lent
his name. For this not very onerous burden the last.
named will receive about .000." SO much for the
opinion of those literary tasters whom publishers call
"readers,' and who give their judgment as to what
will sell and what will not. This suggests the thought
how many other books might have sold enormously
had they been accepted by publishers. how Milton
got only 1:15 for his " Paradise Lost" has often been
told— though, by the way, many people erroneously
say £5, andothers kill; and some of your readers may
remember that it was only at the earnest entreat, of
Dr. Johnson, who said the author was starving, that
Mr. Newberry, the publisher, gave .c6O for the
"Vicar of Wakefield," and that even then he kept the
manuscript three yeas in his drawer without caring
to look at it. And yet millions of copies of this
book have been sold.

Some facts stated at the meeting of the Industrial
Dwellinge Company, just held, are worth special
notice. The compLuy ifo a purely cotomercial specula-
tion, as any other c,,mpany may be, though its in-
thremse on the working classes is decidedly beneficial;
and it is found to be a thorough success, paying 5 per
cent. This contrasts very favourably with the Pea-
body Buildings, but, not to dwell uwii this, let me
note other facts—that the death-rate amorg occupants
of the former buildings is one-fourth lent than that of
the parish in which they are situated ; end that less
than £4 out of 427,ti:,:, has been lest In had debts torrent.
It will be very surprising if such facts as these do not
exert an influence towards the erection of similar
dwellings elsawhere. Though builders might not besatis-
fied with 5 per cent. for their capital, a number of in-
dividuals in our various towns might combine to erect
such 'improved industrial dwellings," and they
would have the satisfaction of knowing that they
would thus materially benefit the condition of the
working classes, without bong any money; in fact,
that they would ob,ain a fair per-centage for their in-
vestment.

An institution of the most benevolent character has
just been established here, in the crowded neighbour-
hood of Stepney. Thanks chiefly to the Society of
Friends, there haw been instituted a crtrlic,,,r, infant
asylum, adapted for children even of tender months,
to parody a hackneyed pirate. These little sprigs of
humanity receive the kindeet care while their mothers
ars out at work. This very same system has been
found to work well on the Continent, and why it
should not work well here it is not easy t 9 see. The
Society of Friends verify their name.

lomones quanta. es of provisions of all kinds, And
supplies of clothing, thoth &c., bare been forwarded from
Liverpool direct for Havre 'On Saturday moron.g, the screw
üboam.rK.dtihron flail left Liverpool, for Havre direct, with
6"""' 1,000 t•"ni Of store. • and the steamer Sweden also
entleA at the 'me tua., for themu. plice.
low of oupplks. with about 1,200