The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06 00:00:00

Carr took his famous eleven to Australia in 1863.
ASCY
3.:(Mbfin ttorrtspontrent Every department of the game is covered by the selec-
tion—batting, fielding, bowling, long-stop; and the
TWo deem it right to state that we do sot at all Gate; game such a deserved avourite in this country, that the The Ber
-I.entify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.) contests of our cricketers with those of the new world succeeded
M. Reine
Often as it has been declared that the principal
cannot but be regarded with very great interest. gentlema,
section o'
topic of conversation with the PocTle of these islands The lamented death of Sir Rowland Hill, at the
is the weather, it seldom happens that it has absorbed advanced age of a, has brought to the memory of the
awshcennhta;2l
so much attention as it did last week- With the Present generation the record of the splendid services horn or
closing days of August there are associations of hot which he rendered to the cause of postal reform, It or 13,2
sunshine, clear skies, and the ingathering of the seems a strange reflection that within the reign of steep e
her Majesty the postage upon a letter conveyed 15 Years
harvest. But the last week of August, 1879, seemed
miles was feurpence, and that a gradually increasing
ti eilotne
to mark the climax of a strange and disastrous season,
and to suggest to many minds the idea of a national scale was charged until a rate was reached involving aft,
visitation. It was not enough that since the 24th an impost of thirteenpence for the carriage of a letter slid
. 7
July, 1878, there had not been seven consecutive days from London to Edinburgh. Mr. Hill's propoal to 6
without rain or hail; but at harvest time to have
adopt a uniform penny rate throughout the United rs
the land, from end to end of the kingdom, covered
Kingdom, distance being no matter of considerailon c
with calamitous floods, with rain still falling pitilessly, whatever, was regarded as wild and revolutionary, I
and the wind sweeping with a melancholy howl and there was a long and arduous struggle
through the dripping foliage of the trees, was a more before it was adopted. Of its complete success
depressing spectacle than even our agriculturists, with there can be no better testimony at this
all their viciesitudes, are commonly accustomed to time of day than a single comparison. In
face, That these destructive inundations should have 1838, the last complete year of the old system, the
carried off bay in enormous quantities shows the number of chargeable letters delivered in the United
extraordinary backwardness of the crops at this time Kingdom was seventy-six ; while in 1878
of the year. Hay harvest in September, a month to was more than a thousand millions / Of all the bene
which tradition assigns partridge shooting, and when cent reforms which have contributed to develop f
the reapers are supposed to join in singing, "All commerce of the country, this is perhaps the most
among the barley!" is a steeling phenomenon which, niarkable. It is only for us to think how we sh
for the sake of the pro3PerllY of the country, it is like to go back to the old system of a fourpenny
earnestly hoped will be exceptional. The last wet for fifteen miles and a graduated scale of in(
year which in any degree approached 1879 was 1860, according to distance, in order to thoroughly
but it was not so bad as this; for already we have had ciate the value of the social revolution wrought
111 inches of rain more than the average for the first perseverance of the veteran who has just been c
eight months of the year. his rest,
The weather has naturally turned the attention of
the people to the prospects of the harvest; for to no THE HARVEST AND CORN SU
class in the community can the condition of the
Kinagri-
cultural interest be a matter of indifference,, In edomagrlscultoueroaldsnituattoiotnhtehlugarlr
ai
London itself, with its wide-spreading acres of houses, fraught with gravest alarm. The dam
you have not to g far before obtaining a sight of a the recent heavy rains is irreparable, as w
field; indeed the Earl of Mansfield's park at High- weather can prevent the outcome of
gate can be plainly seen from some of the busiest pot, wheat crop proving most disastrous bot
Hone of the northern side of the Thames. In our great andciaanreve . The root
fromrootcr crops
1 are
nhonrk
potatoes
e
provincial towns a view of the fields is of course more from all parts ofn
the country during th
easy than in the metropolis; while in places of lesser have tended to deepen rather than ITV
size the associations suggested by the presence of the lug gloom. It is, however, pointed o
agricultural interest are ever with the people. There-
of how little this country relies upor
fore ere must exist a strong community of feeling be- darainthliatttleno
if
ist hn syt annhdainn
change
es s ctle;
there
tween the country and the town; and when it is known price of wheat, supply having ant'
that the loss to the farmers through the deficient mand owing to the enormous outwr
yield of the crops is likely to exceed fifty millions American Atlantic ports.
sterling, no elaboration is necessary to show the very
serious condition of affairs, coming as it does after five THE YELLOW FEVER
indifferent ,hazvests. Except in a few favoured dis-
tricts the corn is still green, and the date of harvest The American papers state tb
uncertain. The low temperature of the past two of Health have been investig
months has had a most baneful effect upon the wheat fever at Memphis, and the
germs have been introduced.
crap; and thousands of acres grown several hundred medical man, who has been (
feet above the level of the sea are now not likely to re- that the germs were import
ceive sufficient warmth and sunshine to ripen. Thou- Indies, that they passed the
sands of acres more are grown upon stiff soils which and arrived in Memphis in
have been soaked in water since the beginning of last The Howard Associatiot
winter, and to which additions have been made by the 196 families, 120 of whom
heavy and incessant rains.
There is no better indication of the prosperity of a Daring the past week
country than the flourishing condition of its railways, yellow fever in this city
When trade is good, there is not only a large traffic in
merchandise, but an increased number of passengers, At Memphis there w
who can well afford to travel either on business or on tosurdedaetaiitshsono Slttiuorndde
pleasure; when the commerce of the country is there was onencase ar
depressed, it is just the reverse. The longest of our
railway systems is now the Great Western, for it
has about two thousand miles of line, one of its THE ED
branches extending right down to Penzance, within The Paris Corresp
a few miles of the Land's End. At the half- lowing particulars
yearly meeting, which was held a few days ago at Telephone in Paris
Paddington, the Chairman stated that during the fasenbauelt. glels
first six months of the year the decrease in receipts conversation cs
was £60,000. They had carried 23,500 fewer by tioned at fifty r
first-class passengers, and received less from them achievements
£19,000. There has been 65,000 fewer second-class put together.
passengers, and £7,000 less in amount. Of the third class stioine twelreegera
ph
of
the number conveyed was 275,000 less, and the receipts the Rue St.
were smaller by £41,000. In the two weeks at Whit- wonderful it
suntide and Easter, when the company had, as a rule, regards th
a large increwq of revenue from pleasure traffic, the Company
tar
pany
receipts were lids year £22,000 less than in the cor-
responding period of 1878. _ A singular fact mentioned Saint
by the chairman was that 95 per cent, of the permanent being sc
way of the Great Western system was now laid with seventy
steel mile, more costly in the first piece, but far more tawAng:
enduring than iron. the so
The an- iversary of the capitulation of Sedan on the only (
2nd Sep a .aber, 1870, is invariably celebrated with been
great rejoicings at Berlin; for on that day the French then
empire was dissolved, and the Empire of Germany egne
rose upon its ruins, Few who were in London upon the
the reception of that intelligence will forget the in. ea
tense excitement which it caused, seeing that only S
six weeks previously the Emperor of the French, who
had been accounted one of the most powerful sovereigns
of his time, was the first to declare war. It was on
Sunday, the Fourth of September, that the revolu-
tion broke out in Paris; and only in the few years
which have since elapsed great changes have been wit-
nessed. The Emperor and his only son, the "Chili
of France," now lie side by side in an unpretendin
church at Chislehurst, the latter slain by eavag
in a far-off lend, in a quarrel not his oe
Since the destruction of the Empire, the Fre'
military authorities have devoted themselves urn
ingly to the reorganization of the army. The sue
manoeuvres are now taking place all over the con
Wherever there is a camp, strategy is being pre
on a large scale; where there are ordinal', ga
of one or two regiments, the soldiers are being
to march, skirmish, advance, and reconnoitre
withstanding the disasters of 1871, the Frencl
thorough belief ire She military destinies of theb
and they have paid so much attention to I
forces that at this moment, in case of nece
could put into the field 800,000 men.
As to celebrations of military victories,
cannot be said that the English have a
such commemorations. One reason is '
seldom go to war with a great Europe*
against whom a triumph would be wort
ing. But even when we do, the victo
pass without much notice after it has
us take a remarkable illustration of
of September is d double event in our
comparatively few will connect that
of transcendent national importanc
1854, we won the battle of the Air
in the Crimea; and, in 1857, the
the capture of Delhi, of which
taken possession. The Alma (I(
of our almanacks, of which word
name; but Delhi is mostly for
of them being commemorated
question. But a far greater'
the capture of Sebastopol lay
1855; but how many of c
They can tell the date of ti
of Trafalgar; but the dah
mistress of the Euxine aft
and the loss of thousands
the recollection of many
—receives but scant atte
it deserves.
The return of Lord
promotion to be a K,
and the congratulatie
suggested the quad(
the House of Lord/
way as the Comm
commander on his
As a matter of '
taken his seat as
title, in the auto
Major-Gencral
father was the
filled the office
last at the age
Commonsrec
vices in a for
log characte
of the G,
OPpositior
while thf
thanked
the priv
occasioi
witnes
one o
Crim
alwa
I-tor
ker
at
•
•
'•
•


Carr took his famous eleven to Australia in 1863.
Every department of the game is covered by the selec-
tion—batting, fielding, bowling, long-stop; and the
game such a deserved avourite in this country, that the
contests of our cricketers with those of the new world
cannot but be regarded with very great interest.
The lamented death of Sir Rowland Hill, at the
advanced age of 83, has brought to the memory of the
present generation the record of the splendid se: vices
which he rendered to the cause of postal reform, It
seems a strange reflection that within the reign of
her Majesty the postage upon a letter conveyed 15
miles was fourpence, and that a gradually increasing
scale was charged until a rate was reached involving
an impost of thirteenpence for the carriage of a letter
from London to Edinburgh. Mr. Hill's propo=al to
adopt a uniform penny rate throughout the United
Kingdom, distance being no matter of consideration
whatever, was regarded as wild and revolutionary,
and there was a long and arduous struggle
before it was adopted. Of its complete success
there can be no better testimony at this
time of day than a single comparison. In
1838, the last complete year of the old system, the
number of chargeable letters delivered in the United
Kingdom was seventy-six millions; while in 1878 it
was more than a thousand millions I Of all the benefi-
cent reforms which have contributed to develop the
commerce of the country, this is perhaps the most re-
markable. It is only for us to think how we should
like to go back to the old system of a fourpenny rate
for fifteen miles and a graduated scale of increase
according to distance, in order to thoroughly appre-
ciate the value of the social revolution wrought by the
perseverance of the veteran who has just been called to
his rest.

4
THE STOURI3RIDG-13 OBSERVER._

The horses had meanwhile been taken from the
carriage, and, accompanied by the escort of cavalry, it
was drawn by hand to the door of Colonel Bailer's
house, where, after more cheering, the ceremony so
far as the public were concerned came to an end.
The date of the county demonstration is not yet
fixed, but it has been decided that it shall take the
form of a banquet, to be held at Crediton. It is ex-
pected that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord
Devon, Lord Portsmouth, Lord Fortekcue, and all the
leading gentry of Devonshire will ha present. The
sword of honour whi.;h is being subscribed for will be
given to Colonel Buller on that occasion.
Colonel Boller received orders on Tuesday to attend
on her Majesty, and to give an account of his expe-
rience in the Zulu war. He will proceed to Balmoral
on Monday next to comply with the Queen's
command.