The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-12-02 00:00:00

Our yonbon bump°Ont.
ilVs deem It right to state that we do hut at all times
dantify °umbra with our Corrrapundaut's

The recent court martial on the captain and officers
of the Mcgara arrived at a conclusion which might
have been foreseen by any one who read the captain's
narrative of the circumstances under which she WAX
beached, and the narrative of two of her crew. The
Court told us what most of us knew before, that Cap-
tain Thrupp had done his duty ; but will the royal
commission tell us other things which we should like
to know? The commissioners are all men of high
standing, and we may expect fair inquiry as far it
goes, but there is one ominous phrase in their instruc-
tions. They are to inquire, "as for as may be ex-
pedient," into the official history of the ship. Query,
I LW/ far will toe commissioners think this expedient?
And whatever be the report if the commbisiou, will
that report be csrried out 7 The number of reports of
royal commissions that have 1401 been carried out,
would be worth inquirMg into,

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rock informs us,
has requested the attendance of the Ilish 0114, at Lambeth
Palace, to consider a bill to be introduced into Parlia-
ment, to carry out the recommendations of the Ritual
:'ommissioners, and to consider the subject of Cathe-
lml reform. The friends of thel hureh of England must
.:01: forward to this conference with some anxiety. It
may be that the dignitaries ::f the Church, seeing how
many attacks are now made up:n her, consider it high
time to effect reform where it may be needed, and can
afely be effected ; and certainly there is great scope
.or reform in regard to our eathedrals, which n sane
respects are one of the glories of the land.
The Railway Amalgamation movement e,td.,es
teength, and this blending of railway interests set at to
Or to the undoubted benefit of the shareholders ha
several concerns, but whether the public will gain t
is not quite so clear. Amalgamation certainly has a
tendency towards monopoly, and if we have many
.noes announcements of making up a "joint purse,"

it is highly probable that Parliament will have to
devote special attention to the matter. There are not
wanting those who bail these amalgamations with de-
light, inasmuch as in their opinion they lead the way
for the State taking the entire control of the railways.
But in any case it is likely to be a very long time be-
fore we conic- to that. Whilst referring to the subject
of Railway Amalgamation, I may just say that
scarcely any language can be too strong in con-
demnation of that contemptible class of people who
delight in hoaxing the public. The last instance
of this kind of thing is serious. An announcement,
purporting to be official, was made that an arrange-
ment had been effected for amalgamating the Midland
and the Manchester and Sheffield Railways ; but
the announcement now turns out to have sim-
ly been a forgery. A stockbroker, writing to The
Times, points out how serious have been the effects of
his forgery. He says, "Ott the faith of this telegram,
ransactions involving minions of money have been
entered into, and a state of excitement has been pro-
duced in this and other Stock Exchanges which has
not been witnessed for sonic years past. It is Masa-
.ible adequately to describe the scenes which took
'dace soon after the announcement, and subgequent'y
m its denial. Brokers and dealers shouted themselves
marse in their almost frantic efforts to enter into
mirgaMs far their clients, and at one time the scene must
nave nearly resembled that of the gold-reom at New
liork at the time of the great gold speculation." If any-
hingcan be done, surely Bought to be done, to put some
heck on the transmission by telegraph of false news.
in this ease very serious injury has been done to many
'nnocent persons, and in a way that admits of no re-
lress. It seems clear, however, that the false news
alight have been contradicted sooner than it was.
Although Mr. Bright does not, it seems, intend to
address his constituents, there appears to be little
,1 'nil that he will, in due time, address the House
l'mmon, I should -...that most people, whatever
be their politics, are rather glad of this. The House
scarcely seems itself without him. Os dit, that he is
more Conservative than he was, that he will cer-
tainly be less "pronounced," and that some other well-
known men have so " advanced " that his opinions will
appear to have changed, though they maybe the same as
ever. But whether such speculations are true or not,
the country at large will welcome his return to the
house of Commons, and whatever we may think of the
opinions he may utter we shall at least respect the
speaker.

A great paper like The Times may say what minor
journals would not like to say, and which, if they did
say it, would certainly not have similar weight. lam
glad, at all events, to oce the Thumlerer at la.3t C,11111;
It with a 'ion{ protent u..aiost the in,:dinate 121y,th
the 'field...me ta Lk For upwards of fifty days it
has, " like a wounded snake, draggrd its :dew length
along," an 1 the case in apparently far from
Mrminatcd yot, c Itjc W haoo all the other side to
come, the 9,e,clies of counsel, the summing up —what
an awful cas3 i:. will in to smo tip —and the verdict.
The leading jeutnal now judiciously rarrns that the
time of a Chief Justice in public time, and that the
public has a right to complain if this time is to he
engrossed for months, perhaps for years, by one trial.
It also points out several canae of delay, among
them being the constant recurrence if altercations
between the Bench and the Bar, but it gives the Judge
credit for the best motives in checking digressions
which seem to him frividous, and ciounsels him to lie
even more firm in the future. It is to he hoped that
this cautiously written article will produce a good
effect, and tend to curtail the inordinate proportions
of this monster trial, which is now pretty generally
being voted a bore.
Whatever opinion the reader may entertain about
the election at Dover, general approval must be ex-
pressed, or at least felt, at one step which the rival can-
didates took. Through their election agents, they
issued a manifesto diaconntenancing bribery, treating,
and undue influence, and repudiating any bargains of
this kind that might have been made in their names.
..Nrw why shonlii not other election agents do the
same? It would be an fair for one candidate as for
another, and Emnurable to all. But, speaking gener-
ally, how ninth have we improved in this matter of
late years ! Bribery and corruption, of course, still
exist, but to nothing like the extent that they did only
a few years ago.

The Early Closing movement is making steady pro-
gress here in workshops and factories, and in whole-
sale and retail establishments. There is something
contagious in this movement, and I suppose envy has
a good deal toslo with it. If the assistants at the shop
of Mr. A. get away from the counter at eight, instead
of nine, at night, the assistants at Mr. B's shop
somewhat naturally ask why they should not do the
same ; and an the movement spreads. As to the Satur-
day half-holiday, though this is far from general in
London, it is very largely adopted, and is becoming
more and more so. It is extremely difficult now to do
any 'business on Saturday afternoon, awl this fact in
itself has a strong tendency to develope this feature of
the early closing movement. So far as the assistants
in retail shops are concerned, their hours of labour are
certainly, as a rule, too protracted, and the efforts they
are now making to close earlier deserve encouragement.
The directors of the Crystal Palace have kindly
granted storage room for the hooks sent as a gift to
Chicago, and I hope a goodly number will be received;
hot one cannot read anything on this subject
without being apt to think of Mr. Disraeli's
remark, when asked to help towards a" free library"
for Chicago, that the Americans would always possess
a free library of English hooks so long as there was no
Anglo-American copyright. When the British pre-
sent is t awarded to I 'Mew', would it not be well to
send with it a is-us rial in favour of such a copyright
lids might I, .1 .1 cately d.c.e, without offending any
awl inn e, we Great Britons are not wholly five
n,m blame in the matter. A (sops of the I rystal l'a!ace
I .iee that the directors cl,sirt: to sell the facsimile of

Shakgpeare'l Izoa4e, which was built for the trieen-
b nary celebrati,n. 1 thi not wonder at it ; it now
• ,t-inA incontTnoni and out of place. But who will
Lay it? Of what earthly it”.lA it? That remaina to

seen. tilthlt,t,tic admirer of the
Lan! of Aven seth Ily it, 811.1 -ro-siwt it in his park.
bmt this wo:A.I to his ptt.sti nas a lover of the
" poet of all tinic h"
The Chancellor of the Exchequer frequently " ac-
knowledges the rcee!pt " ttry paltry sums, which
certain conscientious and serupuje‘e, peeo„ send
him, but he now acknowlerlgcs something worth
while —CM " conscience money." You and 1,
dear reader, will be just an infinitesimal trifle
Letter off by this 1;500 going into the national
purse. You don't see it, you may. But depend upon
it, we shall ; 'holy we must not launch out to- extrava-

gantly on the strength of it! By the way, I supposethis
1:500 is for unpaid income tax, and that reminds
me that we shall probably have some chanv,e proposed
next session in the mode of levying the tax. One thing
at least will be attempted, if my information pro. e
correct the imposition of the tax on clubs and co.
operative societies. Many clubs make large profits
practically as private hotels, and yet pay no income-
tax, while co-operative associations escape under th
Benefit Societies' Act.

On behalf of Mr. Mapleson, an—application WM on
sattirday made to Vice-flaw:010r Wickens for an injum that
t restrain Mr. Bentham, the well known tenor singer, from
Moging at a public concert at Bri-liton, and from intlitenc:ng
his wife to sing at the same entertainment, In violation of an
agreement. The Judge declined to grant the Injudctlon, on
the ground that it would necessarily Inflict a considerable
ammim of injury upon the defendant, while, as it did ant
appear that any engagement for the forthcoming season ban
ten entered into by Mr. ltlapleson with the I Wend, at, no
damages well he anatalned by Mr. Mapleson for which he
c..ci.• ••• Nll.ll.oqi hy an action at law