The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-04-01 00:00:00

HABITUAL DRUNKARDS.

In London, on Monday evening, at a meeting of the
Social Science Association, held at their rooms, Adam-
street, Adelphi, Dr. Lyon Playfair, M.P., in the chair,
a paper was read by Dr. Alfred Carpenter, "On the
Legislation which is required to meet the case of the
Habitual Drunkard." Those, he said, who would take
the trouble to read the report of and look into the
evidence taken by the Select Committee upon habitual
drunkards which sat in 1872 would soon be convinced
that present powers were useless for the purpose in
view. The report of the Select Committee stated
distinctly that "there was an entire concurrence of
all the witnesses in the absolute inadequacy of
existing laws to check drunkenness, whether casual or
constant," and the opinion of the Committee was most
that "fresh legislation upon the subject was
and that the -law Should be made more
simple, uniform, and stringent." Considering drunken-
ness as a disease, he contended that the establishment
of industrial reformatories for inebriates had become a
necessity, and he hoped to see them take their place
side by side with our reformatories for crime and our
industrial schools for children of criminals and the
destititute wandering Arabs of our streets. A
clause in the Licensing Act, 1872, gave power
to the police to take proceedings against any
one found drunk in places of public resort. Let
this power be extended to individuals having
a bona fide interest in the reformation of the victim,
either as guardian, next of kin, heir-at-law, or bead
of the establishment in which he resided. Let the pro-
ceedings be always taken in a court of summary juris-
diction, and let them apply to drinking in private as
well as public. Let the magistrates have power, if
they thought fit, to give costs against the pursuer if
they were of opinion that it was not a bona, fide case
for inquiry, and let the magistrates determine the time
during which the patient should be under treatment,
and they had nearly all the alteration of law that was
required.
A discussion followed, in the course of which Mr
Edmunds, and several of the other speakers, expressed
the opinion that Dr. Carpenter had n-,tade too light of
the practical difficulties of founding such establishments
as he proposed; and Mr. Kinnaird, M.P., suggested
that any legislation Which was attempted should be
tentative and partial, and then, if that were found to
succeed, further legislation would become po.sible ;
and this suggestion was generally approved. One of
the speakers, who said he had kept a private establish-
ment for 15 years, in which ladies and gentlemen of dis-
tinction and title had entered, said he had not suc-
ceeded in curing any who had got beyond a certain
point, and he believed them to be incurable.
A doubt having been throwuby Mr. Storr, one of
the speakers, on the statement that private drinking
was very prevalent, Dr. Carpenter said, in his reply,
that be knew, from the statements of medical men, that
it was very prevalent, and that he had himself in one
fortnight had to sign the certificates of death of four
ladies who had died from drink.

I decided that
I neceesary,:_and

ras
ten

At the conclusion of the discussion a vote of tharks
was given to Dr. Carpenter for his paper.

CATS, RABBITS, AND GUINEA-PIGS AT
THE ALEXANDRA PALACE.
A show of cats, rabbits, and guinea-pigs, which attracted a
large attendance, was opened at the Alexandra Palace on
Saturday—The Standard gives the following account of the
exhibition :

The exhibition takes place in the great central hall,
along which, from end to end, are arranged three bays,
with a deuble row of pens on either hand. Here the
creatures, which number considerably over 450, are c DM-
fortably housed, in a light not oppressive, and admi-
rably regulated temperature. The cats, which are
accommodated with crimson and purple covered cushions
from which they blink lazily at the crowds who gaze ad-
miringly on them, are given an unlimited supply of new
milk and cat's meat "of the very best quality.' At the
back of each cage is spread a layer of mould, sprinkled
with carbolic powder, for disinfecting and deodorising
purposes, and thus the atmosphere is preserved from
being in the least degree offensive to the visitors. The
rabbits, not being, it is supposed, so dainty in their
habits as the " pussies' " are accommodated with hand-
fuls of hay, in which they hide themselves when not
occupied in the process of of nibbling the oats and
carrots with which they are liberally supplied.
The prizes consist of £l5O in money, divided into first,
second, and third classes, and nine silver cops, the
cups being bestowed upon those animals which were
adjudged the best in all the classes to which they
belonged, the prizes being awarded according
to merit amongst the sub-classes. The cup for
short-haired he cats went to Mr. Newland's Beauty
which took the third prize at the Birmingham
show; and the cup for short-haired she cats to Mr.
Walter's Siamese Mymie, which carried off the three
first prizes at the Crystal Palace. Mr. John Somerton
took the cup for the best pair of short haired kittens
under six months old; Mrs. Sargeant for long-haired
he cats, and Miss Hales for long-haired she cats. This
collection of cats is, beyond all question, a very splen-
did one. Some there are with heads as large as those
of middle-sized bull terriers, whilst others are so
diminutive that they look as if they would scarcely
nerve as luncheon for a rat of ordinary appetite. In
every variety of colour are they, from the spotless white
to the equally spotless black, tortoiseshell, brown, red,
blue, and spotted. Dressed in all sorts of coats, too,
from the rough bristly fur of the gentleman who doea
not attend atermuch to his toilette, and who lives is
great portion of his life upon the London tiles, to thi)
silver-streaked silken drees of the Persian b!,ltutyi,
There are also to be seen two of those wonders in' the
feline world, a red she eat and a tortoiseshell he. The
prices set against each cat by no means represent the
relative value of the animals, but rather the affection
in which they are hald by their owners. Some are set
down at a very low figure while against others is set
the prohibitory price of 2100, and very many are adver-
tised as not for sale. In the majority of cages the
highly-prized social pets are not the public prize takers.
The rabbits, too, are also of all sorts and szs, some
of the finest specimens of which are those known as
the lop-eared, and which, strauge tçi ay,- •leafviei neve
seen the country, being bred almost exelusifely
London working men, who have their rabbit clubs
hold half-yearly competitions. The silver grey ch.
is particularly good and numerous, and the Himalayan,
with their perfectly white body and black ears, nose,
and feet, attract general attention. The Belgian hare,
in colour resembling the wild English rabbit, shows.
very favourably • whilst conspicuous by its marking,
which can be bred to a pattern, is the small and pretty
Dutch rabbit.
As to the Guinea pigs, they are very small in
number, but very rich in quality, amongst them beirig
specimens almost unique.

and

• 7711 11. 1:!, r•—• s
•
THE ROYAL TITLES
▪ •
The Times bas published (amongst others) the fol-
lowing letters on the Royal Titles Bill :
" . " writes to us :—" I do not know whether you will
consider Hot sufficient importance to mention, in illustration
of Mr. Anderson's fears that the title of Empress will become
acclimatized in England, that, in anticipation of the Prince
of Wales's arrival in Portsmouth from India, designs for
illuminations are being exhib.ted in the plumbers' shops
containing the words Welcome to our Future Emperor'
surmounting the Prince of Wales's feathers and a crown.",
"Civia" writes :—" Is it superfluous to inquire whether
Her Majesty's new and unwelcome title may not be ietro-
duced on the coinage of the United Kingdom? Surely it
would be satisfactory to receive some guarantee that the
present superscription will not be injured by the addition of
Ind. Imp. after F D"
sto .t..a $61,4
"C M. D." writes from Essex-court, Temple :—" Thereiht,
a good old-fashioned .tune called Gopl save the Queen,' said
to have been written a long while ago by one Dr. John Bull,
whose familiar strains have been known to send a thridl
through the breasts of Englishmen when far rotity,fitm ho e.
on a foreign shore. In the event of her Majesty. dadopttig
the title of Empress of India m
,' we shall. I presume, have to
substitute for p-rfermance in India some modgincompatsi-
tion in place of the old tune. As I suppose that-th6old tittle
will still be occasionally played by the bands of British regi-
ments in India, it is not impossible that the question of pre-
cedence between the two tunes may be raised, and that in
the Imperial domain the new may have priority over the old.
May I suggest us a title for the new tune Partant pour les
Indes. as one calculated to inspire British soldiers with
enthusiasm, and as having the true Imperial ring about it?"

The Spoctator writes :
We would fain hope that her Majesty, in the week which,
still remains before the proclamation is issued which ex-
hausts the Act, will ponder well what is the nature ot the