The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-10-26 00:00:00

Our NoOon 6fartsgodati.

[We deem it right to state that we do not a:; all times
wally ourselves with our Correspondent's oplaionsj

Wayfarers in Westminster, as they pass by Parlia-
ment-square, often gaze upon the statues of departed
atesmen which adorn the enclosure hard by the
alace of the Legislature. Canning, Derby, Palmer.
on, Peel—there they stand, struck into stone, re-
oved by a few yards only from those Houses of Par-
- ament where they made their careers and immor-
aised their names. To the present generation the
me of Canning is but a tradition, for he died more
, a--century ago; but Derby, Palmerston, and
eel many of us can remember. We can call to mind
at early July day in 1850, when Sir Robert Peel was
irown from his horse when riding up Constitution
:in, was taken to his residence in Whitehall Gardens,
id after lingering a few days, expired amid the re-
-ets of the nation. But more still can recall the
me, half a generation afterwards, when the news of
ord Paimerston's death, succeeding a. few hour's illness,
as raised abroad throughout the land. It was on the
.th October, 1861, and a circle of fr:ends was gathered
Prockett Hall, in Hertfordshire, to celebrate the
rime Xii•.ister's birthday, for on the 20th he was to
. Jmp ate the 8.1,,t year of his age. A stern decree
itervened to prevent the commemoration; and on
• lat October day of drenching rain, forth-eight hours
efore the date fixed for the festivities, the news came
.p to London that Lord Palmerston was dead. The
enial old man had filled so large a space in the
-iinds of the English people for so many years, and
le intelligence came so suddenly and unexpectedly,
hat at first its truth seemed difficult of realization.
Vhat was to be done? If the shock of war were
) convulse Europe, the Premier would keep the i
sful silence of his death-chamber. His hands
/ere crossed upon, his breast, the resolute Foreign
ecretary of former days would no more indite
•1 espatches which would make the name of England a
gror to foreign natiops. For a few days there was a
•linisterial interregnum, and then a new Chief of the
• itate took the helm in the person of Earl Russell, who,
. las since likewise followed his veteran colleague to his
• -est. On the day of the funeral—the 27th of October,
'' 1865—a vast multitude gathered in the streets of
• London to witness the passing of the cavalcade from
• .1 the noble lord's town house in Piccadilly to West-
er minster Abbey, whose "long-drawn aisles" protect the
coffined sleep of a lengthened array of philosophers
is • and statesmen. But the lesson which was then learnt
by the silent crowds who assembled in the thorough-
fares, was that, however eminent a man's public ser-
vices might be, however exalted a position he may hold
•611.!I above his fellow men, and whatever may be his value in
the counsels of the Crown, a successor is certain to be
.6.41
found when Death claims him. The world's arrange-
ments never can depend upon the life of a single human
6E4611 being' an Whether he is in the meridian of his days, or
, soak
travelling down the steep of time towards declining
age, or gathered to his fathers in the fulness of his
years, there can be no suspensioa of the world's
activity. The earth continues her eternal revolution
round the sun, the tide ebbs and flows; the 63. k spreads
• t. her giant branches to the breeze; the dew nightly
a' descends from Heaven; the wind continues to blow
• upon the land; the ships move up and down the vast
shining bosom of the sea, and moon and stars fulfil
their mission in the planetary system. The ever-
-- lasting moving on of the resistless forces of Nature
constantly reads to man the inevitable lesson which
was put into such chaste language by Edmund Burke:
"What shsidows we are, and what shadows we
pursue I "

- In connection with the opening of the football
los es er--.3
sewn, it may be of some interest to point out that
the three great centres of the game—London, Shef-
field, and Glasgow—play according to what are known
+
as Association rules, which are rapidly displacing the
old Rugby system. The advantages of the improved
• mode of play seem to be so apparent that the general
adoption of the revised rules appears to be only a
question of time. One of these lays it down that the
, recreation is appropriately termed football because the
use of the hands is not allowed, except in the case of
the geal-keeper, who may with his ha ids prevent the
ball passing through between the p( sts. It is re-
garded as foul play to impede with the hands
the progress of either player or ball; and in
this way much greater scope is given in the display
yfei of skill with the feet. But with the Rugby
rules a man may seize his opponent and throw him to
the ground; he may lift the ball and throw it, or run
with it, and thus physical strength has often taken
the place of skill. The Association game is played by
the hest clubs in the kingdom, and is rapidly growing
in favour with those who prefer the skilful application
of the intellect to a favourite recreation rather than
. • call in the use of brute force.
2 The Australian cricketers were over here several
months, and after giving us some excellent specimens
of the quality of their play, have been visiting the
United States. By way of returning the visit of the
Australians, an English team has just started for the
•' great island of the south. They are expected to arrive
at Adelaide on the 6th December. and on the 12th will
play a match with sixteen of Son, 2 Australia. On Box-
ing day they will encounter at lelbourne the eleven
a colonial cricketers vf1;o made suet famous play here,
and who by that time will have returned to their own
land. Subsequently the Englishmen will play at
Ballarat, Sandhurst, Sydney, Lanceston, Hobart
Town, and other places; and taking the March
mail for England, hope to arrive here early in May,
in tithe for next year's cricket season at home. There
- are ten gentlemen and two professionals in the English
team; which is the fifth that has set sail for the other
side, of the globe in order to test the capacity of the
Australian players. The first went out in 1861, and
was composed exclusively of professionals; the next
left in the autumn of 1863, and is described as having
beenthe beat which weever sent out. There was another
in 1873, and one again in 1875. During the stay of
the Australians in this, country in the present year,
the utmost good feeling was manifested towards them,
and there can be little doubt that similar sentiments will
prevail in respect to the English players who are now
ou their way out. They will arrive at their destina-
' tipajin the Australian mid-summer, and if they return
4144 to our shores in May next will be in time for our
. • own.

• When Lord Macaulay wrote of gas lighting up the
streets as brilliantly as the sun did at noonday, he was
more rhetorical than literally correct. Yet gas, at
a.
the time of its introduction, was looked upon as an ex-
▪ traordinary innovation; and eminent men laughed at
• the idea of "a lot of fellows trying to light up London
with coal-smoke." The rapid progress of the electric
light has shown that what gas, as now used for the
illumination of the streets, is to the old lanterns used
two centuries ago, the electric light is to the ordinary
gas lamps now in use. The experiments which have
been made in the Avenue de l'Opera in Paris, and
in some parts of London, as well as in one or
two of our large provincial towns, have brought the
public acquainted with the existence of a most bril-
liant agency for lighting up our public thoroughfares.
. Whether it is equally capable of application to private
, dwellings hai yet to be proved; but the fact remains
"a•as. ; that we are face to face with an agency of marvellous
'.• • power and importance. There are many still amongst
"" us'who can remember the early years of the present

century, the days of stage coaches and of night watch.
. men,
.of streets lit with oil-lamps, and of voyages to
Australia in stately liners which took six months to
accomplish. The intellect of man has made the
civilized world a different place to-day, with the
t•:.4•assistance of gas, electricity, and steam. The tn.-
. -I
Teller may now pursue his way over the- troubled
valleys of the sea in defiance of wind and tide;
' and electricity is now utilis 'd to convey human
thought to the uttermost parts of the earth in a
11X, space of time which to our fcrefathers would
have been deemed incredible. Now, after more than
half a century of the reign of gas, is presented to us
the electric light, which really justifies Macaulay's
description quoted above. The old saying, which
Sophocles twice impresses upon the readers of his
tragedies, and which Solon is said to have earnestly
~ enforced upon the mind of Crcesus, when that wealthy
sovereign of Lydia showed him his treasures, that we
omr.ht to call no man happy before he dies, may be
borw in mind with a little variation of the moral.
4' rich as Crcesus "is a saying which has passed
Alnto a proverb; yet the Lydian king died a cruel
death at the hands of his enemies, and when upon the
hurning pile to which they had bound him, remem-
hewed-the words of wisdom, and exclaimed " Solon !
-) moo !" And in our own times, although we have
witneesed wonderful inventions and improvements,
experieece has taught us that none of these can be
called perfect, and that in the widely-ranging he
traversed by the human intellect there can be no such
thing as finality.
Although great national disasters often overpower
every other subject as a mat!er of conversation, there
are few topics which retain such a hold upon the public
attention as the weather. Independently of the extent
to .which it contributes to or interferes with our coin-
fort, it will be seen at a glance that immense interests
depend upon the state of the weather. First there is
shipping, and then there is mining, a very large per-
centage of the explosions in coal mines occurring when
the barometer is low; for when the pressure of air is
lowered, the fire-damp—heavy carburetted hydrogen
gas—rushes out from the crevices in the coal beds with
great rapidity, and accumulates in dangerous
quantities. In its effects upon shipping a sudden
and unfavourable turn in the weather is even more
,disastrous in its oonsequences. Meteorology, one of the
youngest of the sciences, Is now attracting amok attest-

iiihe • •

Von, more especially in America; and the warnings,
which we receive from the other side of the Atlantic
are often found exceedingly useful. Cyclones in the
British Isles as a rule come up from that tempestuous
ocean, and pass over England in an easterly direction.
Situated as we are in the westernmost part of Europe,
and directly in the storm track from the Atlantic, we
know but little as to the rate at which a gale is moving
upon us; and this could only be ascertained from a
station situated 500 or 600 miles to the west or south-
west of Valenge. It has been estimated that could
such an arrangement be made, and the station be
connected with the Meteorological Office by wire, 99
out of every 100 storms which ravage these coasts
could be foretold with certainty; but independently
of the expenses attending such a station, the problem
of mooring a vessel in 1,000 fathoms of water, so that
she might be available for telegraphic purposes, has
yet to be solved.
Paris is the political centre of Europe. Such was
the declaration of every enthusiastic Frenchman years
ago; and although by the war of 1870, Paris was
shorn of some of her importance in the counsels of the
Continent, the result has not been, as many antici-
pated, to transfer the balance of power and influence
to Berlin. Paris is also the centre of fashion and
amusement for the civilised world. Large numbers of
Americans, who have made their fortunes at home,
come to Paris, and settle there during the remainder
of their lives. It is also a favourite resort for the
members of various Royal families, except those
of Germany, for the relations between those two
countries are not of a cordial character. But the
Grand Duke Constantine, the commander of the
Russian navy, has jut been there, and no sooner
had he left than the Prince and Princess of
Wales paid a visit to the French capital—by no
means their first this year. There is no more
popular man with the Parisians than the heir to the
British Crown; for his frank open-hearted manner
wins its way to all hearts, and his amiable consort
seems to be as much of a favourite across the Channel
as she is here. It is no easy matter to stand in the
fierce light which beats upon a Throne year after year,
and to retain that large share of the public regard and
esteem that should always surround the wearers of the
robes of Royalty. For half a generation the Prince
and Princess of Wales have stood in the forefront of
such a light as this, ever ready to assist in the cause
of charity and benevolence; and if any one ever
wishes to ascertain in what estimation they are held
by the humbler classes, it is only to go to the East-end
of London when they pay a visit there, and there will
not be much doubt upon the mind as to the loyalty of
those classes to the British Crown.
Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest! Lord
Dufferin is coming home from Canada, after a success-
ful rule of six years as Govesnor-General there, and the
Marquis of Lorne, with the Princess Louise, is going
out to take up the work which has to be done in those
far-off latitudes. Lord Dufferin's reign over the
Canadians has shone out so conspicuously, and has
been so marked by moderation, wisdom, and justice,
that especial honours are in store for him on his return
to this country. He is not only a skilful administrator,
but a ripe scholar and an eminent scientific man. No
wonder, then, that he is to receive tokens of con-
sideration from his fellow-men apart from his
merits as having filled one of the most respon-
sible posts under the Crown. As to the Marquis
of Lorne, he goes out with all good wishes that
he may succeed in emulating the reputation
which has been gained by his predecessor. Another
will now be added to the dispersions that have taken
place amongst the members of the reigning House
daring the past few years. The Queen's eldest
daughter lives at Berlin, her second daughter, at
Darmstadt, and now her fourth daughter is about to
cross the Atlantic, amid the autumnal storms which
sweep the surface of that boisterous ocean, to take up
her home amongst a people which, although living on
the borders of the greatest Republic of the day, form
one of the most loyal of our vast colonial possessions
in their attachment to the Throne.