The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-11-01 00:00:00

COMMISSIONERS' MEETING.

The usual monthly meeting of this Board was
held in the Commissioners' Room, Corn Exchange,
on Monday a,iternoon, Mr. W. J. Turney presiding.
There were also present Messrs. Platt, Haskew,
Collis, Wllingham, Woolley, North, Parkes, Pear.
son, Cadwallader, Patch, Perkins, Gillatn, Jones,
Griffin, Palfrey, Walker, and Ilicklin.
The minutes of the last meeting were read and
confirmed.
Mr. H. James made the usual declaration and took
his seat at the Board.

The Chairman read the following report ot the
Incorporation Committee. "Incorporation of
sto urbridge.—Gentlemea, The corn tnittee appointed
to act iu tne matter of the petition for incorporation
beg t : report that after the opeein ; speech of the
couu-el for the promoters, the Coninissioaers made
a statement as to the principles on which the Privy
Council acted in cases where majorities in the several
districts were adverse to the proposal, and that
after conferring with the counsel thefcon they de-
cided to withdraw the petition as to the rural
townships, and asked time to consider the course
which tney should take as to proceeding with Stour-
bride alone. This matter was discus3ed. with great
care. It was at first supposed that it would be best
for the town and fully,m accordance with the wishes '
it the inhabitants to proceed with the petition for
stourbridge alone, but some of the Commissioners
entertained C.oubts on that point, and some of the
inhabitants of the town, who hEd signed the peti-
tion, expressed dissatisfaction at that course. Up
t.) thts point the proceedings had been supported by
the unanimous approval of the Board, and by the
practically unanimous approval of the town, but
when this matter came on for discussion it was
found that some were opposed and some thought
that they had not had sufficient time for considera-
tion to arrive at a satisfactory opinion. It, there-
fore, appeared to thc, committee, that the course
best calculated to respond loyally to the views cf
to iubabitanZs was to withdraw the petition as to
Stourbridge also for the present,: and it was with-
drawn sccordingly,"
Mr. Turuey said, as their chairman, and as the
initiator of toe scheme, he felt sure he expressed
the convictions of every member of the Board in
sayin; that it was to be regretted, in the true in-
terests not only of the towa butof the whole dis-
trict, that they had not been able to carry it to a
successful issue. (Hear, hear). That the case was
unanswerable from a public health point of view he
was as sure of as he was of his own existence. They
had all along been le I to believe that it was almost
entirely a question of the public health /hear,
car)—and that everything else would be considered
quite subordinate, but they found at the last
moment that the public health and other public in-
t! rests were no factors in the ease at all—that it was
simply a question 01 numerical strength. He could
not help thinking this might have been made known
to them much earn, r, and SO they might have saved
valuable time and mosey. It was not or him to
say whose duty and business it was to acquaint
them with that fact. Surely it was known before
the enquiry commenced ; there was no secret as to
how many had signed the petitions for and against.
The majority in the town in favour of incorporation
was 73 to 1, but the majority against incorporation
in the outlying parishes made the total majority for
the whole parish and district 21 to 1 against the
he r Commissionernv yCouncilmade known
would
consid.er the a,oplicat ion, he used the discretionary
e.
power given to him by the Board, and stopped the
ts litchue upon As
s whatoon a3linesthe t
prucectlings immediately. Some of their opponents
had not been quite as generous as they might have
been, and they lost sight of the merits of the case,
and allowed ptrsonal ieelings and interests to rule.
(Hear, hear). Such a state of things was to be
ref.-.lreted, on account of the public interests sacri-
ficed. He was supposed toy some weak-minded
iudividuals to have had no other motive in promot-
ing toe si:heine than to be the first mayor of Stour-
bridge. Well, after all, he took it that it was -a
laudable :alibi:tun to desire to be the first mayor
of any liatottottr, but the truth was that no such de-
sire entered tnind till their oppoaents began to
talk about it. cad made it a personal matter. The
promoters hid only one idea, and that was to benefit
the whole parisa and district, They could only
hope that those who opposed the scheme, and per-
suaded others to oppc.se it, would take such intet est
iu the district as to secure for it a representative
ihe collapse of the scheme was
government sue, as a densely populated district
y. (Hear,•hear).
like
rti.iaptlitsthtotai2odueg",t
:i,
next door to a:3 ,1.,;c1J1. There need have been no
secret made of it by the Privy Council, and if
numerical strength was to decide the mater they
might as well Lave been told so at the outset. If
Mr. Pelham did not know it when he was dowa in
July, he ought to have known it. Ile answer he
gave to a question by Mr. James Swindell, when in
Stourbridge in July, deceived the Board. The pro-
moters had gone in IT the well-being of the whole
community, Their opponents had gone in for vic-
tory, and to gain it they had championed dirt and
disease, filth and sualor.
After remarks from Mr. 11. Billingham and Mr.
11, Turney, the report was received.
In reply to a quest on from Mr. H. James, the
Chairman said that Mr. S iepherd had had a cheque
for £3OO on account cf thl,xpenses of the iueor,.or-
ation proceedings.
The Finance Commit lee repo led that they had
appointed Mr. F. j. Ilaskew chaieman for the encio.
ing year.
The treasurer's balances on the several accounts
at this date are as follow :—.tigaway account, allsi
78 ; Improvement account, £6O 14s 11; Urban •
S..thitary account, £lO9 0, od. Your committee
hivlng examined the following aceouat,r, rind
them correct, recommend that they hn paid, viz
Highway :account, 1:04 iSs 11l ; lmpt.„ art•
count, 1;13 7s Si ; Urban Sardetry ae ;rant,
11d.
Your committee instructed the clerk to write to
the Clerk of the Peace for tin: 'Jenny of Worcester
inquiring when the contaibutious -from the county
towards the renairs of the main muds will be paid
to the treasutei..

The report was adopted.
'l.'he General Purposes Committee have elect .d
Mr. H. Billingham chairman for the ensuing y, a-
The Medical Officer of Health reported the num-
ber of births registered in the town:hip of Stour-
bridge fro:n September 22nd to oi:tuber • 20t w.is
19, 11 males and 8 females. The number of deaths
in the same period was 7. The officer slid he did
:.ot suppose that any district in Enhland could pro-
duce a lower death-rate than Stouroritige, for the
past month it being the lowest.ever ic.own. Out
cf the 7 deaths which occurred one
.was an acci-
dent. During the month the water in 8 mills had
been tested, of which seve were bad and o.w doubt-
ful.

The journal of the Medical Officer o! I 3 ealth was
laid before your conunittee.,
Premises in &wine Street, Hill Street, High
Street, Coventry Strek-t, and Bowling Green t,„."
have been insp.:cited and instructions given whidi
have been etaried out, or in progress, ...th On
ception.

Eagar attended the treetilig f our commit-
tee.

The Town Offi tez's Report. The number of
nuisance s teicoved. 73, remaining 19, 135 privies,
98 tishpli.4, 4 cesspools, belonging to 201 hens !s
Ii ive 1.) :en emptied and cleansed, qua their come its
re,noved, nuipuer of loads 173. To regist re tnig.
Lig house:, ishiuhter hous-s, and ealceiious,2s, are
Liported to cc in a good sanitary c inditiun ; erea t
two, the occupiers of which are under notice to

abate the nuisances found thereon. The number of
lodgers in the lodging houses during the month
overage daily 66, weekly, 490, total in the month
4,966. There have been no complaints.
'Report of special inspection made by Henry
Williams, sanitary inspector, en wells and house
drains, in the township of Stourbridge.—lnspected
the pr ,mises of Mr. H. Mills, No. 30, Bowling
Green Lane, found no sewage drains into wells It
runs into the open channel! out in the road. Mrs.
Oakes, No. 28, Summer Street, found no sewage
drains into the well. The drain is properly con-
nected with the town culvert.—lnspected Henry
Perks's premises, 29 and 41, High Street No sewage
drains into well. Years back it did, which was %
altered. The well was cleansed out and the drains
properly connected with the town culvit,—The
premises of George Salt, 91, High Street, the
prAnises were inspected and could not detect any
drainage running into well. Mr. B. Wooldridge
the owner, assured inc that it did not run into the
well, but that the drain was properly connected
with the t.)wn culvert.—Mr. A. Hopton's, School
Street, was inspe;:ted, no sewage runs into well,
The drain is properly emirteted with the town
culvert. This is not a dwelling hou-e, but stable.
Signed, Henry Williams, sanitary inspector.
Your committee instructed the clerk to write and
acknowledge the r,!ceipt of the letter from Mr.
Blalioway, and to inform him that the subject re-
ferred to them has been thoroughly investigated
by them, and furdier that the matter referred to
was not a part of Mr. Williams' duty, and trust-
ing that this explaination would be satisfactory to
him.—Your committee have decided to place a
lamp in Victoria Passage.
Mr. H. Turney said that in reference to the
special r3port made by Mr. Williams. was beceuse
of a statement made at the last meetine by Mr.
C. H. Collis about drains being turned into disused
wells. The statement had caused some excite-
ment in the town, and the affair had been in-
vestigated with the above results.
The Surveyor, Mr. IV. Perry, stated that several
holes had fallen in High Street in consequence of Mr.
Seavons, in laying down the deep drainage had
undermined the old surface drains. It was very
dangerous for traffic, He recommended that the
old brick drains be pulled up and pipes be substi-
tuted.
The Chairman said it would not do to interfere
with any of 11Ir. Jea.vons' works, or it would take
the responsibility oti him.
The Improvement Committee have elected Mr.
11. Turney as chair man for the ensuing year. Your
Surveyor having rep.rrted the bad state of Bank
Street, your committee recommend that it be pro
perly made. Your committee have instructed the
surveyor to take up the crossing at Hagley-street
and make it good with macadam. Your committee
recommend that the eight swing windows in the
Corn Exchange be altored so as to fall back into a
frame, and so be what are termed "happer" or
"gussett" windows. The cost will be A. Your
committee recommend that the footpath in front of
Messrs. Kay, Underhill, and Green's houses be
paved. Tue surveyor, having; reported the pro-
ceedings at several meetings held in the neighbour-
hood in reference to the proposed new railway be-
tween Kidderminster and Wolverhampton, your
committee are of opinion that any scheme which
dos not include Stourbridge would be unsatisfac-
t >ry, and they therefore recommend that ato wns
meeting be called at the earliest date for the pur-
pose of promoting the interests of the town in the
matter. Your committee recommend that the plans
be passed for the alteration of Mr. Saunders pre-
mises, L )wer High street, subject to being in com-
pliance with the bye•laws. Post office accomoda-
lion. Your committee have carefully considered
the memorial ore this question refer:ed to them at
the last meeting of the Board. Early in 1883 a
sub-committee was appointed to make enquiries
and communicate with the Post-master General.
The present post office was inspected and corres-
pondence opened with the Post-master General, who
expressed himself willing to take into consideration
any site the commissioners would recommend. The
commissioners, however, made no report as they
were „not prepared to recommend any site. Your
committee hive appointed another sub-committee
with instructions to make a thorough inquiry into
the post office in.:con:iodation of tae town, and re-
port.

The report was adopted.
Tee following letters were received and referred
to committees :—St. John's Vicarage, Mr. Taylor,
"I should be very much olc.ikd t) you if you
would bring before the Improve'nent Commissioners
at their next meeting a great want which is felt by
the inhabitants in this part of the town, and by
many worshippers at St. John's Church. It is the
want of lights in the Vauxhall Road and neigh-
bourhoxi. It is indecent and dangerous for ladies
to be out in the evening in these roads. The want
of lights at night tends to increase immorality, and
thus, this part of the town becomes a public nui—
sance. Besides, the road leads to the Junction and
is used by many people I hope the commissioners
will be able to sea their way to put up at least three
new gas lamps at suitable points. Yours very truly
L. B. Penley," Stourbridge, Dear Sir— 'As an
owner and ratepayer of Stourbridge, I give you
notice not to pay any costs or charges incurred by
ho promoters or petitioners for incorporating
Stourbridge ad adjoining districts. If the com•
missioners have paid any money in respect of the
petition, I intend to object to such payment unless
it is satisfactorily proved the commissioners were
legally justified in doing so. I will thank you to
lay this letter before the commissioners at their
next meeting. Yours truly, C. W. Collis.
Surprise was expressed by the commissioners at
the letter from Mr. Collis as he signed the petition
for incorporation.
There was aiso another letter from Mes3rs.
liar-
wards, Shepherd, and Mills, asking for the pay-
ment of £43 3s oi, three small expenses incurred
Tue subject was referred to the committee.

FATAL ACCIDENT.—On Thurs lay night last, about
5 p.m., a fatal accident occurred to a min named
Thomas Fox (61), a farmer, of Bourneheath, new'
Bromsgrove. Deceased was riding on the shafts
of a wagon loaded with coal, ani when near th:
Prince of Wales Inn, Ilagley, fell olf and th
wheels passed over him and broke his leg. Dr.
Hobbs attende 1, but the unfortunate man died
within an hour from the time of 'he accident. Tne
body now lies at the Prince of Wales Inn, awaitlng
an inquest.

D RTNKENN ESS. --At the Poqee Court yesterday,
before Major Cochrane and Mr. T. D. Thomas, Henry
Griffiths was charged with being drunk, on the 19th
ult, at Wollaston. P.C. Cartwrig;ht proved the
case. Fined 2s 6d and eists.—Williain Archer was
fined 2s Gd and costs for being drunk and disorderly,
CU tile 21th ult. P.C. Heath proved the case.—
David Hart was chargol with 'being drunk, on the
25th ult. P.C, Powell proved the case. Fined 2s 6d
and c ,sts,—Levi Bingham was on the evidence of
P.C. Joue, fined 2s 6:1 and costs for being drunk and
disorderly on the 28th ult.—William Timmins was
ctiarged \with bAng drunk and disordley and assault-
ing P.C. Heath.—The ufficer saAl that he saw the
defendant who was drunk, struggling with a man
Ile went up to him and defendant struck him in
the mouth and kicked him on the legs.—Joseph
Southall gave cortoborative evidence.—Mr. Coch-
rane said it was a very serious offence, and should
fine him 104 and costs for the assault. The other
case was withdrawn.--Thomas Barlow was charged
with being drunk and disorderly and assaulting P.C.
Wright, on the 25:h ult.—The defendant was drunk
and challenging people to fight. The officer re-
quested hint to go home when he struck him in the
mouth. Tne officer closed in with him and they
fell on the ground. The defendant then bit the
officer's fureJiuger to the bone. Fined 40s and
costs.; in delau;-t one month.—Joseph Stevens was
charged with beim; drunk and disorderly on the
27th -Sept. I).C. Cartwright proved the eale.
Fit e 1 5 and cos Moore was charred
witu being drunk, ot th., 27th ult, at•Cra,dley The
case was adj.wrned. —Peter Chaw, was charged
wit: being drunk on the 25th Wt.—Defendant sad
that he was s:ru,l and knocked sense!es —The
officer admitted seeing someone stikerhim. The
CA :41

BREAC TUB PEACE. —llenry Brettell was
charge,' with c mitnitting a breach 2 the peace by
lighting at the Lye.—The c Ise was withdrawn on
payment of costs, 6s 61.
WH,ratr, DAmson —Timms Reynolds and G ,orge
Thomas were charged with damaging. a fene,, the
property of Mr. Foley, on the 26th ult —A., itidttr-
Iceoper saw time defendants break a f moo to get
otiesmins olt or tho Rai, TO2 cover.—Fine 1 ..55
inelaumg cost4.—Dauiel rearsoa was charged with
damaging a fenve, the proper y of Mr. Foley, on the
26th ult.—Fad Os iueqading costs.—lsiac
George Edwards, and James Abbott were also tine 1
Os and costs each for datuogiug fences, the property
of Mr. Riley, on the 23th ult
Poor:, 11ATE DEFAULTER. John Shilcock was
summoned for not paying a poor rate. De'cndant
was ordered t ) pay in 7 days
&mom, 30.A.R.D CAscs.--A number of persons
were bututnond for not. sending their children to
iout.—ire usurl flees were indicti-id, an one was
j earned.

i_:AurioN To .APPIZENTICES.—John henry Bradley
was suannooed by fhomas 11111 to show cause why
hi should not fuliii his inden.—Mr. Wall was
for the complainant. —Defend Int said th 9 complain-
ant had ordered him off the works.—Defendant was
ordered to go back to work and pay costs. S dici •
to 's fe.) was printed.

OtUTION TO Boys.---James Timmitis was charged
with tr. spasiiug on the Great West ru ltailw iy by
loicering about and rernsin; to quit, on the 2ad
:ibepher.l appeared L., p.o.icoutt!.—The
,iefeadana was soil by a porter named John Potts
to loiter about the Stourbridge Town Station for
about tA o hours. Defendant also refused to leave
when requested..—Defendant said be was sent by