The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-07-09 00:00:00

DIE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

The church will be able to accommodate 800 to 900.
The piece of land upon which it is to be built, and
which is worth at least I:3,500, wee given by the
MArquis of Westminster. The building will cost be.
tween £6,000 and £.7,000.
The Prince, with the Princess, arrived about four
o'clock, and was conducted to a dos, where the
Marquis and Marchioness of Westminster, Lord and
Lady EhurY, and the Archbishop cf York were
awaiting them. His Grace commenced the proceed-
ings by reading as address to the Prince, welcoming
him to assist in the completion of an undertaking
which, in the faca of many obstacles, had been in
operation for 30 years.
The Prince, in reply, expressed the great satise
faction with which he complied with the legit-2st
to lay the first stone of a building to be dedicated to
God's service under such peculiar circumstances. The
Princess desired him to say also how much plcs-
sure he felt in pairti ipating in the ceremony. He
himself, indeed, esteemed it a high favour to have
been called upon to aid in the prosecution of so
noble a work, which had rec2i-red the patronage of
the Queen and the magnificent gift of a site from the
Marquis of Westminster.
A beautiful b itirmet of fl /WU, Was presented to the
Princers by Miss \Yowl ward, a deaf and dumb lady.
The Achbishop of York intoned several prayers,
and delivered a I rief addrees A number of ladies
laid purses on the stone. The Uhaplain interpreted
the speeches, prayers, &c., to the deaf and dumb
present, as the preceedines progressed, by the won-
derful i-ystem of sighs, of which he is acknowledged
to be a_consuminate master.
. . . . . .

The Roy uotore were, both on their arrival Sod
departure, loudly cheered in the atreeta.

EARL RUSSELL ON BIBLE TEACHING.
The annual examination of the boys and girls of the
Warehousemen's and Clerks' Schools at Caterham took
place on Saturday, Earl Russell presiding and giving
away the prizes.
When the distribution wait over, Earl Russell ad-
dressed the children, and congratulated them on the
great profithency they had shown, observed that the
question of education was now before Parliament aired
the country, and the minds of all were naturally turned
to it as one of the most important that Parliament
could decide. He wished to say then that he was happy
to find that, according to the amended deci.ion of the
Government, with regard to those schools for which a
rate is imposed for the purposes of education, the B.ble
would Its used in them. He thought there had
been an unfortunate tuisapr.rehension with regard
to teaching chil lren the lrible. There bad been
disputes which arose many centuries ago with re-
spect to the exact nu ailing of certain dogmas
in the Bible ; and it was said by those who gave lig.
micas weight to the distinctions among Christians,
that it was no use teaching the Bible unless you gave
8011i13 declarative formularies that would be impressed
on the minds of children. Dr. Newman held that the
New Testament was addressed to the heart and the
imagination rather than to the understanding. He
(Earl Russell) thouzlit that that observation was per-
fectly true, and, bring true, it showed that to children,
who are more susceptible to impressions on the heart
awl imagination than to the clme and intricate pro-
cesses of reasoning, they might do great good bv ad-
dres-ing to them thme sublime lessons which Jeans'
Christ and His disciples gave to mankind. The whole
doctrine of the New Testawent might be said to be '
comprised in the words, "Love God, and love your
nei.ilibour as yourself." That was the doctrine which
Christ taught His followers, and which the youngest
child might well learn, and which rt. quired no
profound reasoning, no great effort of the imagination,
but went direct to the heart. All Christians inightimbibe
these sacred lessons, and afterwards when they went
to their separate churches and chapels, so b art the
doctrines on which Christians differ onetrom another's,
there would be that universal bond of love to unite
all creeds and communions. Be had no doubt that
the present bill passing th• Rome of Commons, nor
any doubt of its passing the House of Lords ; and he
hoped the not very distant effect would be to have
enuration thoroughly spread through the country. He
trusted that in adopting schools which may suit all,
lhero would still be left that liberty which school-
masters ought to enjoy. They ought th be left free to
their wan discretion in regard to the way in whica
they would avoid hurtirg the feelings of parents of
children noon points Ark:he/me disputed among
Christians.

the fiebis—an impossible feat--I rind the one decided im
menial I now huritedly record it that there will this year
be an average crop of wheat, made so by an excess on the
best lands, compensating for the deficiency that everywhere
arrests the eye when looking over light, skimy soils, where
the drills can be followed from headland to headland, and
no more than 2iirs. per acre is likely to be reaped.
" Any one engaged in agrculture will know how critical
has been the Mat fortnight, which has been unexceptionably
favourable for the blooming corn. There has been some hot
sunshine, oftener a cloudy sky, and the winds have been
'thee light or so calm that, when at Cambridge on the
Congest day, the anemometer over the Observatory Was
motionless, and the weathercocks of the several tolleges each
had distinct notions of the air currents they could not in-
dicate. For the whole fortnight there have been no storms,
het several showers, the mean rainfall of the last three weeks
, being one inch, while lit the east roast two inches
' had fallen before the two bourn' rato of tact Fdday. After I
such a period, and with ordinary Foamier weather, two eare
of wheat this year will be worth time etre of such years as
1867 I had wheat ears in bloona on the l4th el June, and
believe eating may be expected to commence by the 24th
lust., and will be general before the month is out.
"Ti reformn more detail to the different crops and localities,
I find my notes show in Kent the proportion of good wheat
fields were 90 to 34 of middling and If of bad, and the
probable yield will be trona 2 qrs. to 7 qrs. 'the battle is one
of acres—good land against poor land ; and I estimate thesoil
cultivated with wheat as three.fourths heavy, suitable land,
to one-fourth of shallow, poor ground, which the system of
rotation of crops misplants with wheat. The crops of barley
and oats in Kent and Surrey I should certainly not expect
to reach an average. Beans are also deficient of promise,
while peas seem likely to make a fair return The marsh-
lands of the Isle of Thanet look green and thanking ;
London and the ,nrrey hills having had, apparently, leas
rain than any other districts I have visited. With the hay
aim noticeably short everywhere, the fields of yellow clover
In Kent were thick and healthy, and the hops, clean and
strong, looked very promisieg.
. .

o The crops round London, say in Herta and Essex, 20
miles, have e.ny one good quality about them, and that is •
healthy colour—the wheat looking thin and starved; peas and
beans short and poor ; the hay crop, well saved, half an
an rage Ti, show the Beason there are fields of wheat where
strips awl patches of the soil are deeper than the common
area, and there the plant formed a strong contrast toils
neighbour a few yards distant. Round Kelveden and Col-
chester the wheat and barley fields were satisfactory, and are
likely to give a fair yield. Would Ipswich they are poor,
but Suffolk, as a county, I fully expect, will have an average
crop of wheat, barley, beaus, peas, potatoes, and roots In
Cambridgeshire the general aspect of the fields is healthy,
promising good crops without reserves or important excep-
tions, an opini..n which was toil vely endorsed by a resident
biddieg me visit a certain district as the only one he knew
"where the wheat did not look well." Here the meadows
and parks have fully recovered a green appearance. I
was somewhat surprb,ed to find the few turnip, rape, and
mustard seed crops all look well, with heavy tops Rar-
ity, peas, and potatoes were here and there especially
good crops. Round Ely, on the light black soil, I should
only call wheat, oats, and beans middling and fair. The
districts round March re important from the wide area
planted, awl, with exceptionally had fields, the several crops,
McMillin; flan and roust ,rd. will certainly, with • fair
summer, yield • fair crop, fine fields making up for the
poor ill-farmed ores; the latter being creditably few. I In-
clude iii the above remarks Whittlesea, Peterborough, and
Grantham district.. I did nit notice heavy fields, but
most of them were fair, the straw of wheat being stiff and
strong, bearing goal oars. Cinch of the land approaching
Lincolnshire, gravelly on sandy rock a few Inches below
the surface, recalled the phrase, • poor land, poor crops,'
hut a drive of 25 miles over Lincoln-heath, with its 50 and
-acre fields fenced with stones, showed a large area sown
ith turnips, the wheat and barley both even prornoing a
file yield, neither deficient nor heavy, the whole °fin:dry
bowing a happy medium between the Keetiah clay
soils and the shallow gravels of Norfolk, Essex, and
setfolk. I may mention that, in support of the view as
to toe general vigour of garden vegetation ex-
pressed in my last letter, I noticed on the seed
ram of Mr. Charles Sharpe, at Sleaford, every description it
teed—onion, turnip, waitron, parsneps, de —had. without
exception, matured, or Wati maturing, in the most satisfactory
manner ; arid 1 judge that if the want of forage had not
generally compelled farmers to feed off their Clover and
other fields, the yield if seed MOIMI have been excellent.
There are many rebel I could wish to add of the ehtrichi
roiled Boston, Spalding, throughout Norfolk and Suffolk, by
different routes, hot as they do not modify the above impres-
Sin., and as I propose to refer to foreign as well as hi me
prospects in a future !mkt, I may only add that at present
the late rains have given the eastern counties a kee,nd
spring-green appearance, the newly-In lerl meadows looking
as healthy as their occupiers can do-ire, while the ft rage
stacks of last year are far from being exhausted."

affairs then ,thoee which were connected with the name
Lof M. de eseeps. They hirtust go back to the great
achievement* of former times, and redielfiber the place
held in the memories of men who had achieved great
feats of discovery and enterprise, who had crossed
mountains and traversed oceans—before they could
find a parallel to the undertaking which had joined
two seas and made e new pathway for commerce.
Discovery had now taken a new form. They knew
pretty well the geographical features and the extent of
surface of the habitable globe. To connect distant
places and bring the inhabitants of the globe into
eattier and more frequent communication was now the
great want of scienee end the greet duty at the
discoverer. One of our dramatists; in a sarcastic mood
had put into the mouth of one of hid characters the
prayei—
'•Ye gods, anandate led tires and Space,
And make two lover, happy."
That which was then a jest had now become matter of
' sober earnest and everyday occurrence. Annihila-
tion was indeed a strong word, but the abbreviation
and reduction of space and time by the scientific dis-
coveries of the present day would make the nineteenth
cintury ever memorable. And certainly their honoured
guest would retain a place in the lint of those who
deserved that their names should be handed down to
posterity. It wan impossihle (Mr. Gladstone con-
tinued) to estimate the immense benefits that would I
arise in in his work. It had been given to the electric
telegraph to convey thoughts and ideals along the
amient highway, but not men or the commodities of
various countries. This had men achieved by M. de
Lesseps. Glancing at the material benefits which
would result from bringing Asia and Australia
into closer arid more rapid communication with the
millions of Europe, he said that the difficulties
which it would not become M. de Leameps to speak
of, he, standing there in the presence of men of prac-
tical science and experience, might praise, and ca'l
upon them to confirm his eulogy, It was tot for M.
de Leteeps to heighten the difficulties which he had
undertaken, and which he along with his able and
energetic colleagues had surmounted. But, while the
whole civilized world would benefit by the courage and
perseverance of M. de Lessepa, we who inhabited this
little island might feel it our duty to be foremost in
giving him the 'need of our admiration. He therefore
felt that his grace had done a wise and graceful thing
in bringing together to do honour to M. de Lesseps so
many of the representatives of science, comuteree,
stet on, birth, and political party, so as to enable them
to see that they sin-re net thoro in any of three apecitic
capacities, but aa Euglishmen, and as members of one
common family, grateful to NI. de Lesseps for the
great work of genius which he had achieved. (Ap-
plause.)

M. de Lhheepe, in the course of his reply (which was
spoken in French), said :- At the commencement of
the enterprise which has now been succesefully ac-
complished, Mr. Glwletone received me with the
cordiality which is habitual to him, aud said to me,
"111. de loreseps, do not preoccupy yourself with the
difficulties you may have to encounter in our country
or in other countries. Continue your work with per-
severance; and when you have succeeded, the Suez
Canal will be ho useful to England that you are sure to
meet in our country with the greatest support," Mr.
Gladstone kindly added what I do not hesitate to re-
peat, "It is here that you will be crowned with
glory." I have no such pretentious. I have
but the single idea and desire to prosecute a
great work and to earn the sympathy of men
of intelligence and heart. And I am happy
to see that this country, which has so vast
a commerce and so vast a navy, is to-day convinced of
the utility of the enterprise ant of the good which it
will do to the commercial community and the world at
large. On the day of the opening of the Suez Canal,
the great Foreign Minister whom England has had the
misfortune to low, whoee death has left so great a void
in this country, and is indeed a loss in which every
c 'sultry may claim to share—Lord Clarendon—wrote to
me a letter, in which, reminding me of the difficulties
that! had so succeestullyeurmounted, he congratulated
me on having accomplished a work so useful to ct
merce and to humanity, and destined to strengthen
the bonds which unite the nationsof the earth,
And, in fact, the words which NI r. Gladstone has just
uttered—words so eloqueut and so elevated, will do
more in the interests of peace—will do more to confirm
the high opinion which all mmit feel in the loyalty of
English policy, than all the events which have occurred
sires the alliance between France and England was
proclaimed.