The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-11-11 00:00:00

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(Our fontion Qtoruspontnt.
ilVe deem It right to state that we do not at all times
Licht Lb ourselves n ilk our Correspondent's opinions.)

At a time when disputes between capital and labour
are so rife and some of them so serious, Mr. Blanchard
Jerrold's exposition of the constitution and working of
the French Courts of Coneiliation deservedly attracts
attention, especially bearing in mind that a committee,
of which Mr. Gladstone is president, has been formed
for establishing such courts in this country. It seems
that there aro four of these friendly tribunals in Paris,
"where disputes between employer and employed are
arranged by a bench of judges, composed half of em-
pl Tem and half of employed, with an independent
Paveident, nominated by the state." These tribunals
Lear the complaints of masters and men, without the
aid of barrister or attorney, and for a few pence—what
a difference aa compared with our costly trade quarrels
- settle a dispute about wages, or an apprentice, or the
price of work, or wrongful dismissal, or trade marks-
About 50,C00 disputes a year are thus deeided, there
Icing only about 50appea1s to Tribunals of Commerce.
There is, however, one very impirtent fact—that in
France workmen "arc not permitted to strike for
shortening the hours of labour, nor for higher wages."
But still, even with this great difference between
English and French law, Qs question arises
whether we could not c.aablish similar friendly
tribunals in our own tountry, and thus obviate
a good deal of evi.:',nsive litigation and no little ill.
feeling in regaol to the relations ,if capital and labour.
I am salliPi.;ne enough to hope that in due time this
11'w,thlei Will be answered in the affirmative. Concilia-
tinia would at any rate never do any harm.
These are days of Congresses and Conferences, and
we are shortly to have an international coup-Las on a
matter of undoubted importance—on Prison Discipline,
with a view to the BUppreßdioll of crime. Dr. Vines
come. MI a commissigmer from the United States, and has
secured the preliminary co-operation of several dis-
tinguished persons in our own country, ad well as the
assurance that the Government of many European
countries will tend repmentatives to the congress.
With the exception, perhaps, of education, there in
no subject On which there are so many and such con-
flicting opinions Sc' on the treatment of criminals. It
is a problem that is being continually offered for
solution, and is never.eolved. But in the multitude of
councillons there is wisdom, as there ought to be, and
this international ci ingress nlay possibly tench the
world the lesson that it certainly has not yet learned—
how to punish the crir,,inai classes so that crime may
be diminished. tubjeut of more interest to society
at large it wo:Mil be difficult to find.

Follo.'s-hig closely upon the disastrous news from
et.mago, we have intelligence of the most cheering
tliaracter. The Americans seem to have the cat-like
quality of falling on their feet, and their energy and
enterprise in righting themselves after any great cala-
mity are remarkable. Take as an instance of this the
great tire of New York, which burst out on the 16th
of December, 1535. During that conflagration 674
buildings, stores, warehouses, &e., were destroyed,
1.000 firms were dislodged, and property to the tune
o,f 20 millions of dollars was destroyed, the fire cover-
ing an area of 52 acres. And yet before six months
had elapsed the whole of this grouad was covered with
new and handsome erections. The burnt out inha-
bitants of Chkago are acting with at least equal energy.
The city is being rapidly rebuilt; 100 car-loads of wheat
per day are being brought into the town; and business is
in many cases being as actively resumed as if the fire had
Ime,pened ten years ago. Much of this of course is
owing to the generous and ready help that has been
afforded to the sufferers. There is a kind of fashion in
relieving distress, and to subscribe to the Chicago fund
seems "the thing to do." And a very good fashion, too :
but then other great calamities are comparatively uu.
tared-for. For example, the Forest Fires in the West
destroyed far morelives than were lost in Chicago, nd
at any rate an enormous amount of property; and yet
very little is al. me to relieve the distress thus caused.
The three funds now being raised at the Mansion-house
exhibit some eurimis facts. While the fund for Chicago
now reacher nearly 1:50,000, the snm subscribed to the
Persian fund is under £l,OOO, and the West India
lurricane fund is still less. When we consider the
harrowing details that have bem published with rela-
tion to the two last-mentioned calamities, the contrast
Li certainly worth pointing out.
The rambler about the neighbourhood of the Holborn
Viaduct cannot fail to be struck by the deserts of waste
ground that have resulted from,this grand engineering
work, I Fundreds of houses have fallen under the pick
if the navvy, and new streets, with houses yet to come,
are in triers of Cm:nation. It will be of general
interest to harms that the Corporation authorities have
termiued that some of these houses shall be adapted
Or working families, an .1 even for that lower grade
that may Is styles! theta...ming class—a class that the
realssly trustee., ',meths:4ly ignore. If this L.:form
ran lw carried ont it will be a great boon not only toour
poorer residents but to that numerous class of labourers
who are continually gravitating towards the metropolis
in search of employment.
When it was publicly advertised that " the furni-
ture and effects lately the property of the liev. J. S.
Watson" would be disposed of by auction, and that
admission to the premises could be obtained by the
purchase of a shilling catat que, it was at once evident
that on the day of sale the house would be thronged;
and so it proved. The morbid curiosity of some por-
tions of the public in relation to such matters is well
known, and it was painfully illustrated in the present
instance. What must be thought of people who
actually carried away twigs and bits of shrubbery from
the front garden ! And yet it is remarkable what low
Maus Were brought by artieles which, considering this
morbid feeling. one would have thought certain
articles would have been knocked down for. For
example, that much-talked of iron-bound chest, which
cost 255., sold for 75., and that arm-chair, in which it
is stated the unfortunate lady was seated when she was
attacked, fetched only 165.

A scheme is on foot for bringing sea-water to the
metropolis, for establishing swimming baths, and sup-
plying the water to purchase. There are to be Laths
at l'iinlie. as a first experiment, and the water is to
be entirely changed every alternate day. The mode
of bringing us the water will le in lighters, towed up
the Thames by steamtug% 1)f course there is no
particular difficulty about it, nor wouhl there be any
obstacle to bringing sea-water by railway in tanks, but
the question is whether the scheme will pay. The
cost of carrying water in large quantities must be no
joke. But I hope the plan will be tried. Under any
circumstances, a sea-water bath in London most be a
C ery different thing to "n dip in the briny," as the
Uhrase is ordinarily understood. We shall miss the ska
air, the str, 11,a; the beach, the niggers on the sand,
and all that sort of thing; but still these baths would
not be a bad substitute.

The amalgamation of the North-Western and the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways has been speedily
followed by that of the Caledonian and North British,
or rather with a preliminary agreement with that
view. There is no doubt this agreement will receive
parliamentary sanction, and that there will ke union
nad strength, where for a long time there has been
reckless competition, to the injuryof both companies.
It may be said that these amalgamations will gradually
teml towards the railways being taken ever by the
State and being worked under Government control, as in
Belgium, for example. Perhaps an, but we are a long
way yet fo-nt any such a result, and even if it were to
occur, shneeledders, as a rule, might have occasion to
rejoke. eynwhile, the intere,ts :liarebolders and
of the public generally are served by judicious
amahmmations, thus obviating useless expenditure
and ruinous competition. Such a result must
have the influence of example. Railway iimalga.,
'nation, in the North will be followed by amalgama-
tion in the B,mth ; and already there are nunoors
iointing in that direction. Of course this is a policy
which may be overdone, and too much amalgamation
ansy mean 41iiiiinishml traffic aceonowslation or higher
Fare, but there appears no danger of either just yet ;
while as to Sir K Watkin's ally exisoindeol scheme of
universal amalgamation avid united management,
why that, perhaps, will Is: a ,juention that our children
may have to consider. At present the country gene
rally can congratulate itself on the improvement of rail.
way property and al undoubted reforms in the railway
system, the two things being closely csamected.

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If there were any hope, or fears of a winter session
they are removal by the official notice of the proroga-
ti• sit Parliament till We Ines lay, the 27th of I).s:em-
ber, on wl,ieh day it eertafilly will not meet with. art We
have a resolution, or some little matter of that sort
" for the dem patch of I msi less." There are no signs of the
Legislature meeting before the accustomed time, when a
fitful ray ,•1 sunshine now am! then 01,14 us the earnest
of returning spring, Meanwhile let us hope that the
season of political calm and commercial prosperity
which we now enjoy may continue. Here in London
we have the accustomed prognostications of distress
but distress to a greater or less degree is perennial in
our poorer quarters, and we have no special rearsm just
now to dread even such severe distress as we have fre-
quently had to csmtend against. The disputes between
capital and labour are undoubtedly unsettling trade to
some extent, but be our opinion on these disputes what
they may, it must generally be admitted that they are
being settled somewhat more rapidly than heretofore.
The Tines, perhaps very judiciously, declines to
devote its columns any further to the copyright ques-
tion, remarking that the correspondence is becoming
too heated, and that the controversy will be best con-
cluded in the (INA atmosphere of a court of law. And
it seems that we are to have an action arising out of
this correepondence. Meanwhile would it not be well

for a few English, German, and American authors and
publishers to meet, or correspond, with a view to an
International copyright conventi, ? It is high time
that the present system of freebooting and pillage

were put an end to. Hut one very curious fact of
quite another character has been made public through
this e, rrespondence. In America, for some year past,
works have been publiAhed, purporting to have been
written by Miss llradilom though the lady never
wrote a line of them, and only learnt that they were
attributed to her on seeing them in print, while re-
peated denials and repudiation were totally unheeded.
This is cool, very—even for "the smartest nation in
all creation."