The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-04-05 00:00:00

KIDDERMINSTER.

TD3 ATTENDANCES OF ES-OFFiCIO GUARDIANS.—
Mr. J. B.:into-3, M.P„ presided at the meeting rf the
Gualdians on Tuesday. Th's being the last meet-
ing of the Board before the election, a list of the
attendances of the Guardians on different com-
mittees was read by the Clerk. Messrs. Boycott
and Hilnes headed the list with as many as fifty
attendaitees each on some of the committees.—Mr.
Milnes a-ked if it were possible to request the Local
GJvernmant Board to take away from the Board of
Guardians certain ex officio members who did not
attend, and to allow their places to be filled up by
elective Guardians who would perform the duties
He read a list of names of gentlemen who rarely,
and in some cases never attended the meetings of
the Board.— The Chairman said whilst be did not
wish to apologise for the absence of any Guardian,
as he thought everyone ought to be there to at-
tend to the business as mneh a.: possible, still there
was a differenco netween the two kinds of persons.
The ex—offisios were simply Guardians by privilege,
whereas the other Guardians were elected, and
came there as a matter of duty. If the latter did
not attend to their duty they would have to go
before the ratepayers who sent them to the Board.
The ex-officios were many of them gentlemen who
gave time and attention to public dw les in many
ways. It was true there were others who might at-
tend if they were disposed to do so ; but he did not
think they would do much good by applying to the
Local Government Board.—Mr. Mimes: The Act
of Parliament would have to be, repealed before
they could make an alteration.—The Chairman':
The attendances at the Board havr. been so good on
the whole that we have been able to carry on our
bu9iness to the satisfaction of the public.—The
matter then dropped.—The Clerk stated that in
rep y to the letter he had sent to the Overseers of
Lower Mitton, the ,R9l left unpaid on the last calls
fcr that parish had been paid.

FUNERAL OF A PENINSULAR VE FERAN

AT DUDLEY.

On Sunday there was interred at the Queen's
Cross Cemetery, Dudley, the remains of Joseph
Clayton, 91, who resided in Steppingstone street,
and was one of the few survivors of the Peninsular
campaign. At the time of his enlistment the
method of pressing men was in force, and Clayton
was offered large sums of money to act as a
substitute, but refused them, preferring to go as a
volunteer. Ile was in most of tha hatt'es in the
great campaign that ended in Waterloo, and no—
thing gave him grater prid,3 thaa to gather round
him a circle of young men and recount his exploits
on the ensanguine field. At Water:oo he was
wounded in the thigh anl arm. Be retired from
the army at ni early age, and worked as a brick-
layer in his native town until, at 86 years of age,
he was disabled by a pariletic stroke Then, and
not tilt then, did he apply for the small pension
which he enjoyed till his death. There was little
display at the funeral, the colonel of the regiment
to whom deceased belonged not wishing to attract
any great concourse of people on Sunday. A large
number of people, however, witnessed tlLa sad
ceremony. A small detachment of the Dudley
Volunteers fodowed the departed warrior to his
last resting place. The coffin was covered with the
Union Jack, with deceased's medat on the top, and
was borne on the shoulders of four st al wart riflemen.
There was no firing party. Deceased was said to
be the only Du iley man who returned from Water-
loo out of 29 who went out to the war. He leaves
three sons and one daughter.

KINGSWINFORD SCHOOL BOARD.

The Rev. J. Stone (chairman) presided at the
monthly meeting of this Board, held at the Moor
StreA Board Schools, Brierley Hill, on Tuesday.
The School Management Committee reported
that her Majesty's Inspector's reports of all the
schools, with the exception of Pensnett, had be n
received, and the amounts of grant earned were as
foll, w :—Mount Pleasant, £6O 2s 6d ; Quarry Bank,
£613 11s id ; Bent Street, .£395 8s 84; Bretton-lane,
£l7O Os 6,1 ; Moor Street, £674 7s 7d.
The Finance Committee r,comme!ided a payment
of £640 to Mr John Hall for purchase of land at
Audnam. The same committee recommended that
a precept be drawn on the overseers for £2,500,
payable by one instalment of .21,000 on June Ist
acd three subsequent instalments of £5OO, the last
LO be paid by th, 29th September,
Both reports were adopted*
Mr. G. 11. Claughton, the vita-chairman, sub
inittel a renott of the work of the Bosrd during
their first year of office. The report, atter alluding
to the r(vi-i ,n made by the Board in the scale of
eachers• salaries, by which a considerable reduction
took place, and a maximum salary of £250, de-
potident upon results, was fixed upon, and, noting
that the reduction was accepted by theaottfetah2eeh4e2orBs
in
coLcillatory spirit, went on to speak of the new
chools kit Wordsley, now in course of erection, to
a .;commodate 400. It further mentioned that all
the school=, with one exception (Bent Street) were
,xamined in religioussbscNehwith
iotoolt knowledgean
ne books
accommodation
average buy
as
d ttnht cltaihon 3090.
The lope s9aaoo.
e rsntf
inspector, in December last, with sati,factory re-
sults.;a
vweTarslaige 3 average t,
luwhole
district, t
:1
ime 0, againstfc
tuodg r
le aoattn
abauyte
depressionfr
ea .g, attendanceiosoin e
throughout,anx
iet.
the v
IbB3. In conclusion, the report stated that the
bilay of being compelled to erect more schools P SBl.
district, as was the case at present.
The report was adopted.