The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-09-24 00:00:00

Our gonbon E;orresponbrnt.
0,1
(WC 4f4,111 it to nate that we do not nt all thump
t, ;gilty oun:ares with our correspondout's opluioun,l

Burdened as your journal will be, and very properly
PV, from an editorial point of view, with news relativs
to this disastrous war, lam unwilling to obtrude Any
personal views of the mighty contliek But I may note
the apparently prevailing sentiments on the subject.
If I say that the impermost feeling is one of heart-
sickness it will not be fez wrong. The awful slaughter
that has alreaely been envied and the further slaughter
that is threatened; the apparently desperate de-
termination on both sides; the charged and
earnest persistence of the Germans ; the insallste
thirst for revenge of the French; the impending
attack on the most beautitel city in the world, and
the self-devotion of the Parisi.ms in their prison-eh:i—
-s-ill this gives rife to a sickening sorrow 1-,r the past and
an almost irritable impatience for peaceful negotiations.
The obstacles which, at the time of writing,
delay these negotiations are bitterly deplored, and it
may be added that there is a feverish hope that these
obstacles may be at once removed. To say that mean- '
while the war news is not reint with deep interest would
be untrue, but it is a sadder interest than before.
People have become saddened by this fearful iteration
of the horrors of war; we are sick at heart, and what.
ever may be individual views as to the blame on this
side or the other, there seems to be a universal desire
—earnrat, ardent, and irrepressible-- -that this sangui-
nary conflict may be brought to an end by negotiation,
and SO strong is this feeling that very few people seem
able to speak calmly about the hair-splittings of
diplomatic etiquette to which the slaughter of two
nations is made subservient. Not less apparent than
this popular desire appears to be the fear that there is
no chance of immediate peace, and not much chance of
negotiations for it. Prussia obstinately insists on the
"material guarantee" of French territory, and France
as obstinately refunes. "Not one inch of our territory,"
said M. Jules Fevre some time ago; "not one stone of
our fortresses," The latter, hewever, France now
gives up ; she will destroy the fortresses of Metz and
Strasbourg, and she will do much beside, but "not
ciao inch of our territory" she still adheres to. The
situation of affairs altogether is painful in the extreme;
but still, there is a gleam of hope that the two peoples
now in such deadly conflict may have their differences
arranged, all bough it must be confessed it is not yet
apparent how this will be brought about.
So many, so definite, and so circumstantial state-
ments have been made relative to the manufacture of
arras and ammunition in England, and their export to
France, that we cannot disbelieve them. On such a
matter it may not be possible to get at the exact truth,
but that there statements are in the main true there
can be no doubt; and the mere's the pity. Very
strong language has been used in reference to these
transactiona, but we must bear in mind that they are
not absolutely illegal. These arms can be seized en the
high NM, as contraband of war, by either belligerent
Power, but not on lend. The export of armor, however,
may be prohibited by an Order in Council, and it is
rather surprising that this is not done.

While this ever to be lernented war occupies so much
of public attention, while it dwarfs all other subjects,
and stops the current of news in so many other chart.
nela, the oonntry smut really feel obliged to the city of
Elgin that it has presented its freedom to the Right
Hon. Rob-rt L swe, mid that the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer hae accepted it, inaernuch as this afforded him
an opportunity of making a capital speech of general
interest. It is really quite refreshing to get a long ora-
tion from a great public man, though it is sad-
dening to find that nearly half of this speech is occm
pied with the all-engrossing topic of the day. There
are, however, come other topica of general interest in
Mr. I.swe's epeech. He takes an amusing view ef
what be chooses to consider the public idea of what
Ministers might to be, to da, and to suffer at the
present time. "The general view of the Press," he
says, " eeems to be that we ought to pit all day round a
table covered with green cloth, with wax lights binning
perpetually, receiving and sending forth telegrams, and
deliberating upon every letter and every leading
article in every newspaper." 'Well, that is putting the
case rather strongly. Quite so much as this has not
been a ivoceed, although many organs of pu%lic
opinion may have said that it is a pity that, at such a
critical time as the past week or so, Ministers should
be scattered over the country, and the Queen in the
Highlands But, on the other hand, no one can read
fr. Lowe's speech and come to the conclusion that the
country has in any way suffered trim thie. "We ex-
hausted all the resources of diplomacy," soya the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, " in endeavouring to
prevent a collision between France and Prussia, and
we exhausted them in vain. We entertain no appre-
hension of being driven into this straggle, and as far
as we are concerned, no effort shall be wanting on our
part to keep you clear of it." These remarks most
commend themselves to the judgment of men of all
pditice. But, if we see clearly that Minieters did their
utmort to prevent this war, and have done and will do
their utmost to keep us out of it, not lees clearly smut
we see the force of Mr. Lowe's arguments- when he
maintains—alas ! with too much reasonableness—that
England just now can do nothing to stop the war.
"Two great nations," he says, "have taken upon them-
selves this tremendous shuttle ; they have appealed
from rieht to force—force must decide between them,
and by force they must be guided, at least ee far as
England is concerned." And must this awful war be
fought out to the bitter end? Unhappily, it would
seem so !

Shall Defoe have a monument? was a question asked
some time since, and the "boys and girls" of lineland
responded to it by raising a goodly sum, and now •
monument to this marvellous writer ban been unveiled
and as to be found in Bunhill Fields bond-ground,
where Bunyan, the "prince of dreamers," and so many
other eminent men lie. He died more than a century
and a half a- o , so that his country has been a longtime
honouring bin memory, exeept by honouring it in the
best possible way, perhaps—by reading his works.
"Robinson Crusoe," after all, is his best monument,
as the "Pilgrim's Progress" is Bunyan's beat memo.
riaL Nations are very arbitrary and spasmodic in their
erection of monuments. Sometimes a monument is
erected to a positive nobody; you may gee many such
memorials, for example. in St. Paul's Cathedral—
monumects to men who were nobodies while alive
and whose namsa would long since have perished but
for these atone mementoes. On the other band
many a great man—a world-renowned author, or a
puNic b-nefactor, or a discoverer remains with.
out any memorial to mark his last resting place.
But few will be found to carp at Deice Laving a
statue. True, it has been absolutely proved that "he
was guilty in his old age of acting an a spy for the
Government during the ministry of Lord Townsheud,
and that he took shares in Tory newspapers for the
distinct purpose of defeating the aims of the pro-
prietora with whom he was in partnerahiF ;" but we
can forgive this in memory of his wondrous tale which
is unequalled in the world. By the way, I may be
pardoned for correcting an error in Mr. Reed's ad-
mirable speech at the unveiling of Defoe's memoriaL
"Immured ire Newgate," says the speaker, referring
to Defoe, "ha quoted to some great one'.i who visited
him there, those lines of glorious John Bunyan, who
lies buried here beside him

'Stone walls do not a orison make
Nor iron bars a cage.'"
These lines were written "To Althea, from Prison,"
by Richard Lovelace, a Cavalier poet, who was Co.
temporary with Bunyan.
The Tramway movement in London is steadily pro-
gressing. New lines are being constructed in various
parts of the metropolis, and preparations for yet other
lines are being made. Nothing now can resist the
tramway reform; tires noluirig eundo and the new cars
speak for themselves. We are Lot the first town to
adopt a great improvement, and we very seldom are,
but now that we have tardily adopted the street railway
our influence will be powerful upon other towns.
It is painfully interesting to read about the Siamese
twice. V. hen in comparatively good health the sight
of them wasdepressing, so serious, so dull and dejected
did they look, one of them (the shorter) looking espe-
cially downcast. Now it is stated that this one has
bad a paralytic stroke, and that the health of the other
has not softened! Should the sufferer die ere long, as
is thought probable, their separation by the surgeon's
knife will be inevitable, and then the other is scarcely
likely to live lung—not frJm the immediate effects of
the operation perhaps, but from the violence of the
change. l'oor fellow,! They are deeply to be pitied.