The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-10-12 00:00:00

Ete3tottaxibge ellstrtar.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1878,

DISCUSSIONS IN CONGRESS.

The Librarians, the Sanitary Reformers, the
Social Scientists, and various religious bodies,
regularly meet in Congress every autumn, and
after a fushiou of our Parliamentary institu-
tions discuss their respective positions, and
make suggestions for improvement and reform.
The custom is a wholesome one, and daring the
past twenty years has been increasingly adopted
Men differing in views and varying in tastes
assemble from all parts of the kingdom, and by
giving their fellows the benefit of their expe
riences, and by hearing the experiences of
others, much good is effected in many ways.
Men are never too old to learn, and there is no
doubt that at these gatherings they learn a
great deal. The information imparted is cum-
mnnicated to the public through the press, and
much of it is of interest outside the circle more
immediately concerned. The Librarians, for
instance, have just been adding to the list of
complaints periodically before the public. We
have heard of the necessities of the physician,
while the grievance of the clergyman is a
chronic one. For a long time the association of
poverty seemed to belong to theicurate by
indefeasible right. Now, however, the librarian
come forward to declare that he is the most
injured man of all. He has to preseve the
books committed to his charge, and at the same
time liberally communicate them to the public.
his knowledge of the vast stores of literature
committed to his care is supposed to be com-
plete. Take, for incence, the iierary of the
British Museum, cue of the most famous in the
world. Tier after tier tee Looks se ranged,
one rising anove the Myr, each numberiug tens
of thousands, the mind being lost in bewilder-
ment at tho spectacle. The catalogue itself is
a marvellous monument of industry. Yet it is
only for the reader who has the privilege of
extree to hand in upon a written form the title
of any volume in the catalogue which he may
desire to peruse, and in the course of a very few
minutes it is brought to him by a courteous
attendant. The great wealth of literature in
the place is totally under control. Of course
there are very few libraries at all like that of
the British Museum. But in any case a
library must be well and systematically ar-
ranged, and the person in charge of it should
be possessed of at least an average amount of
intelligence. fie should have some knowledge
of the contents of the works under his charge;
for it often happens that those who belong to
libraries have no clear idea of what they want,
so:they ask the librarian to recommend them an
interesting book. Yet some of the facts have
COitlb Out. of the Librarian's Couterence have a
a decided air of novelty about them. In one
town each set of the staff employed in selecting
books, registering those lent, acknowledging
gifts, and so on, was recompensed by a little
over a farthing for his pains; whilst if calcu
lated by time their remuneration fell far short of 1
the historic tenpence an hour. in the Perim- 1
mentary returns the salaries of the librarians 1
and charwomen are lumped together. The
highest salary was £l5O, and the lowest £2O,
and thus it comes to pass that the physicians
and the clergy are for the moment thrown
into the shade, so far as their grievances
are concerned, by the grievances of the i
librarians.
The mention of books and of amusements
almost naturally to a consideration of one of 1
the subjects discussed at the Churcn Congress,
and this was the attitude which religious com•
munities ought to adopt towards popular litera-
ture and recreations. What is the value to be
attached to thtatrical representations? Are
they calculated to arouse the tender emotion of
man's heart and to soften the spirit of his life?
It uas been said that all the world's a stage,
and that men and Aumen are but the actors;
but we have h:en told thal. since ilake!...peare's
day the stage ass sauty negeuLrati, that the
real has given way to tue ideal, ad the aense-
Liens! has taken the place of Lust vihich was
intended to convey 'maul lessons inustrative of
human progress through the world. Every few
years there is an outcry against the degeneracy
of the modern draws, and as regularly as this
turns up we are referred to Shakespeare. Why
it is asked, cannot theatrical managers give us
the plays of the immortal bard, whose birthplace
at Stratford-upon-Mon is a shrine to which
pilgrims are attracted from all parts of the
world. The theatrical manager replies that,
admirable as are the lessons conveyed in Shake-
speare's playa, magnificent as is the language,
and grand the imagery, the tastes of modern
life are not altogether those of the days of
Queen /4llizebeth. Existence three centuries
ago was a very different thing from what it is
i now. A town n those far off, instead of push-
ing out beyond its boundaries, covering its
suburbs with houses, and dotting the surface of
the land round about it with the life and energy
which it possessed, was often surrounded by a
wail, and guarded by entrance gates, which
were closed at night, so that the whole of the
population might be within hearing of the foot-
steps of the pacing sentinel. With very little
enterprise, there 'was very little excitement ;
and Shakespeare's conceptions, which possessed
not the sensational characterists of modern
dramatic creations, were the very things for I
order loving people. But in our own times Oh '
rapidity with which men live seems to call for
some counteracting influence that for a time
can wean the mind from the contemplation of 1
wordly cares. To many so engaged, two or
three hours of theatrical representation seem to
them a national and healthy form of recreation.
Perhaps there is no question upon which people
have for ages so systematically differed as th,
morality of the stage. Plato, more than two
thoasaud years ago, came to the conclusion that
the drama must always contain in it mingled
elements of good and bad; and as nothing with
even an admixture of bad in it was to be
*dewed in his ideal state, he, like the Puritans
of the Commonwealth, came to the stern resolu-
tion to banish drateetists altogether. The con-
troversy A Lich so exercised Plato is not yet an
cud; but so long the earth remains it will con-
tain amongst its population men of the opinion
of Mr. Sleary in Hord i irlt4B . iLak 44 people tuns!
be amused somehow." With this profound oh
servation few will be inclined to quarrel. Of
it truth there can be but little doubt. rantO•
mime will force its attention upon the mind,
t raelindenptaui calcshansiidnes the consideration of the diffe-
; and opera bouffe, to many a
, well regulated intellect, will occasionally push
aside those thoughtsasopfte. T
that higher life
fe o which
it is our drity
to ir let those-
who believe in the drama endeavour to make it
more vigorous than it is, to give it more back-
bone and strength, with fewer comedies with
nothing to recommend them but the talent ot
the actors; and fewer burlesques depending
upon their success entirely upon stage and
scenic effects. Let the stage of human life be
swept and garnished, for the sake of both pre-
sens and sucosedWg generation&