The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-09-04 00:00:00

COMMISSIONERS' 11


The 'petal monthly tneetilry, of this Board was
held in the Board rolNl of th, (.IJra Exchange,
on Wednesday list; Mr. Stringer in the chair.
There wen: :ilso present Messrs. Hughes, All.
sop, Newnani, Packwood. Young, Maurice, slid

... ..
hard. corking country. Richards.
The most violent opponent of trades anions The Clerk read over the minutest of the last
must adinit that the proceedings of this coafer- meeting, which Were confirmed. He al,o m-
enet, were remark dile for their orditily, mode- ported that the balance in the hands of the ire.,-
ate, and intelligent character. We are 110 Apo- sorer on the improvement was £283 be 1,1; on
logists of trades unions, nor do we intend to at. the highway stem:tit Lidditti be 4.1. The level-
taek them ; but we woold rather take it retro- ling, elhinvelling, and the repui!log of of H
*poet of this Congress its an important annual street mid Middle-street, wi re reported to 6,
gathering of men, who are, for fij,, most part in almost finished, and a claque was signed for ti,,
laconic of such unions, and who are yet willing payment of the COutraeol., to be handed to him
to intones the whole subject in thin light of day, when the work WAS completed. The Clerk stated
Anil with it knowledge that all the prominent that he ILA reeJlited a letter from Mr. Shepherd,
feat ores of the iliscossion wiltilti he reported in at ding that a copy of the Board of Trade war.
the press. Taking these proceedings as a whole, ra,,inior the abionlonieent of the branch railway
looking at the papers that were read and at the into Poster-street, could Ins had for 10a Bd.
di,enssienii which ensued, the conclusion is hie. Mr. Hughes considered it conk' not be of
yitable, that those who took an defies pert hi noel' liSe 1.0 theta, as lie SaW thAt the Great Wee-
the Congress hued shown an advance in honer- tern Comp illy had only last year received a great
tiglity, and broad, liberal views. os compared extension of time—tire y ears, lie believed, so
with the teiel.,A tinion lists of a few years aigo. that there was very !Wig like'ihnoil of their hay.
The f.lOl-.-if it be a feet, as win :Ida it is—lß all hie it railway station in the town for some time
the more enenitragieg. inasumeli as the men of to collie. •
the Birinhichani • 'otigreit may lin regarded ini •
flie Cirri; ssid there might be some Inform..
ronresentativea of the wOrkina o.•heleA. We be: thin in the 11.1ard a .1-rade wsrrent, whirii it
lit,ve Ow the resolutions leisied at Ws iinlifer• woeld be weli for the Commissioners to be in
eliCil WOOII he indorsed, not lodeed, liv the whole I pc,,,,,,,i0., of.
working el %se, bat by the mijority of that ohm I Moved hy Mr. Haulier., and meow-led by Mr.
thconghnitt the country ; and whatever WI mai I Newmui, that the Secrotary of the Board of
think of the reantetions themselves, we mrl'a ll'i• I Trade be applied to for it copy of the ‘vareant,
Mit that they were arrived it after eslin dellher• I A ceminittee wls evigiiiited to runionite and
'Moo With All all. tree Or holleat (lea;re to errlYC aen that ail necessary reealra were done to the
at the troth. The soil-et:4 dismissed were large I town clock. The rpleetioa of the drsluage of
end varlial tint they were mostly these very anti- I the Heath Wit distil:Natal, and the Ciiirk was in.
Pets on which fineahns Rod listeners ninst hive 1 atructed to make it survey and an estimate of the
felt komily, and the iiiiiinkers of the Collgvoio• I cost of the works beeeiketry, and lay the same
therefore, deserve high praise for the general before a foture nteetink
teme of moderation unit tolerance if opposition The Clerk reported that the GAS Committee
whieh ch,raeterised the proceedings. So no- npeointed at the last meeting had met, and after
morons were the points brought under debate taking bib> consideration the terms of the
that we can lint allude to a few of the inure Ile- Stimibridge ats bet, 181;5, in reference to the
portant, lint it will be seen that even thelni at lightiog of the town, were turinintoslyi of °pie-
which we shall glance involve gy,reat social pies. ion that the figs Conipany shonld be called up.
thins affecting the rights of capital and lab air out to light the public lamps without aby &due.
and therefore the welfare of the industrial tions before, at, or after the full moon. Thin
Classes. Gas Compuny had complied with the request of
if such , the C, iiSSionerS to light the lamps at the last

It is encouraging to note that a man ot ,me Commissioners to ixen. muips at I•••
great influence with his own class as Mr. George full mom but they wished to have an interview
Potter could boldly attack the drinking, habits with the Commissioners' (his Committee on the
of that class as being productive of many of the subject of the public lighting.
evils which affect them. By no means agreeing • Mr. Hughes thought that there was no neces-
with many of his incidental remarks, we con- ! sity for an interview. All they wanted wog that
gratulate him on exerting his influence against the Company should carry oat the terms of their
the ever-productive evil of intemperance, one of , own act. If they had other issue to raise, it
the curses of this country and the especial curse was competent ha• them to come before the
of the working classes. It robs the working man Commissioners. It was stated to be obligatory
of physical and moral strength ; it makes hint , on the Gas Company under their Act of Parßa-
the prey of attendant evils' it makes his home went to light the Loops for nine mouths of the
wretched ; it prevents his assnming the compar- year, for .V 2 per lamp, and for twelve months at
atively independent attitude of the temperate 1:2. 10a per lamp, and the Commissioners con-
workman, and therefore lowers his social p tsi- template having the lamp, la some parts of the
Con. Ulna rendering him—looking at the matter town lighted all the year throngh, instead of for
from a trades-union point of view—a feeble Rik- nine intoitlo, as at present.
tagoniat of the power of capital. No wonder The .Clerk read a report as to the state of re.
therefore that Mr. Potter decries intemperance pairs at Beauty Bank, Union-street, Queen-
as the working man's special enemy, as indeed street, and Wollaatomroad, and the work was
it is ordered to be carried out.
A letter from the Rev. W. J. J. Welch, toaster
The raper read by Mr. Owen. secretary of the
of the Gramutar School, to Mr. Dorricutt, the
Potteries TrtOle Council, on courts of arbitration
Inspector of Nuisances, complaining of the
and conciliation, considered as means of promo-
aitia peace between capital and labour, was stench arising front Mr. Turney's Glue Works,
which are at the back of the Grammar School,
thoughtfnl essay on a great and increasingly im-
portant theme. TAM," this in conjunction was read.
The Inspector said he had visited the works
with the resolution which was aubseqeently
that morning, and found these was no stench
adapted by a large majority of the delegates
which he thought could be complained of. Mr.
pr-sent, we regar.l this es the most significant
Turney was doing all he could ht prevent any
lettuce of the Coegress. The arguntenta iu
cause of complaint, and was now fitting tanks
favour of such courts were on the whole Main-
for the refuse with air-tight lids. Eli, beiieved
trovertible, and naturally paved the way for a
that some sniell had arisen through Mr. Firm.
of which declared that the establishment
stone, with whom Mr. Tommy had made a con-
of such (anima " %mild catly conduce to the
just and
(tact for the removal of the refuse from his
tween employer a t-aceable settlement .4 all disnutes be-
works, bemg so busy with the harvest that he
n.! empleyed, and be the means
of preventing strikva an.l leek:inert, its well as could not send for it.
After some other unimportant business, the
being conducive to the iminstrial cotumer-
cial enterprise of the milieu." The high moral meeting separated.
tone of this reselution cannot be mistaken.
Otte speaker well characterised the indirect
moral effect of Finch courts quite independently
of their main object, which oral or may not be
arrived at. " lie had always found, ' he re-
marked, " that , ben two bodies of men were
brought tog, (her fur mutual reasoning on a sub-
ject in di-omte, with a mediator by whom the
weakto-,e; and preja- lice of both sides might he
overcome, there was ,{ general anxiety for for-
berrance and concession.- No doubt of it; bat
can we say the same of strikes and locks-out?
No, instead of a general anxiety for forbearance
and concession, there is on either side an anx-
iety for victory and nothing short of it.
We dissent from notch in the paper read by
Mr. Shorr.e4;:: ,et leg ttion on tradt R uniimuma
MA the (3,1,111i•.101,t5. Wi,Ort. bat WO 1116110
to tee heti, f th it the total aim- iition of ill"
Cotelthowinn Im vs might i.:tfel• be of •^trq
cut-
•itlerifl the hafauve.t wee ieulhtg 0., the