The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-09-16 00:00:00

our .ranbnit Corrtspianbtni.

riVe deem It right to state that we do not at all tittlea
identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

Visitors to Calais and Boulogne will be familiar
enough with the lack of good harbour accommodation on
the northern coast of France—a lack which has proved
a serious inconvenience to Englishmen as well as to
the rest of Europe. Those who have made the passage
accross St. George's Channel must have contrasted the
splendid boat service from Holyhead and Kingstown
with the little pitching and tossing steamers which ply
between Dover and Calais, and Folkestone and
Boulogne. The tedious delays in landing, owing to
the state of the tide, the wretched pier accommoda-
tion, and the condition of the harbours themselves,
made any incident of the journey which fell within
their jurisdiction :one of a generally unpleasant
character. The inhabitants of the towns troubled
not to effect a reformation; the French Government
was too much occupied in Imperial concerns to think

of dealing with purely local interests. Of the two

harbeurs,-perhaps-Boulogne was in the worst odour with
the British excursionist. Gradually, however, the pro-
mised construction of the submarine tunnel, threaten-
ing as that undertaking does to supersede the necessity
for steamers at all, has awakened the people of Boulogne
to-a due sets. of the position, and the municipal
authorities as well as the inhabitants generally have
arrived at the conclusion that the immediately este-
blishmentof a line of cheap, swift, and comfortable boats,
plying to London and Folkestone is the best way of
retaining the popularity of a place which many an
Englishman knows so well. Accordingly a grand new
port has been designed, the !plans have received the
sanction of the Government, and it is hoped to render
less necessary the building of the Channel Tunnel by
supplying the public with that accommodation which
they ought to have had many years ago.
Recollections of dates sometimes bring up strange
memories. For instance, this month of September is
not unproductive of events which are written in other
chronicles. On the 2nd of September 1870, the late
Emperor of the French, at the head of 80,000 men, sur-
rendered to the King of Prussia at Sedan; and in that
incident the French Empire was dissolved, and the
German Imperial edifice rose upon its ruins. On the
4th occurred the Revolution in Paris as a consequence
of that capitulation, and this was followed by the flight
of the Empress. Carrying the mind back a little
further, it will be found that the Bth of this month,
one and twenty years ago, witnessed the capture of the
Malakhoff, and the consequent fall of Sebastopol. The
siege of that Black Sea stronghold had lasted 349 days,
When on the morning of the Bth of September 1855, the
French made a rush at the Malakhoff, and carried it
by the impetuosity of their attack. On the 11th of the
same month, through the laying of the telegraph be-
tween this country and the Crimea, the morning news-
papers made the welcome announcement—" Sebastopol
is in possession of the Allies." The news was the occa-
sion of great rejoicing, and on the 14th Lord
Palmerston, who was Prime Minister at the time,
made a speech, in which he stated that, after what had
occurred at Sebastopol, it was impossible that the war
could be brought to any other conclusion than that
which would secure to Europe safety against the future
aggression of Russia. The middle-aged man of that
time has become elderly to-day, and remembers the
high hopes which were formed respecting the regenera-
tion of Turkey at the conclusion of peace shortly after-
wards. These hopes have proved as unsubstantial as
the wind; and now we have all England ringing with
Indignation at the sets committed by the troops of a
Power for the maintenance of which England poured
out her blood and treasure twenty years ago.
In the lorg, drawn-out battle waged between guns
and armour, victory teems to rest with the former,
seeing that the Admiralty have as yet brought forward
no vessel capable of standing against the 81-ton gun.
The 1,2001 b. shot thrown by this monster is in singular
contrast to the armaments familiar in the time of the
• Crimean war, to which reference has just been
made. I well remember the pride with which
the fact was then referred to, that in the
Baltic fleet many of the ships carried guns
capable of throwing 961 b. solid shot. What
kind of execution would a 961 b. shot be likely to
effect against the armaments of to-day? Or what
would the Lancaster gun be against the rifled ordnance
of the Armstrong and Whitworth type? If there has
been so much difference in only a few years, what was
the proportion between the calibre of the arms in the
Russian war, and thafpf the weapons used in the long
war with France early in the century? It would also
be interesting to know what our skilled artillerists of
to-day would think of the cannon used at the battle of
Cressy? The latter must have been popguns indeed,
but the 81-ton gun, prodigious monster as it is, has never
yet been brought into requisition on the field of battle.
After all, the guns of less power and range have the
merit of portability.
Those who look upon the discoveries of gold in any
land as being a certain means of wealth would be sur-
prised to read a passage in Consul Rumbold's report on the
condition of Chili. This is one of the most prosperous
of the South American Republics, and its exceptionally
flourishing condition is explained without hesitation
by the English consul. One of the chief reasons is the
absence of gold, guano, nitrate, and other accidental
sources of wealth which have enervated the natives of
other states. Consequentlza necessity arises for put- ,
tin g forth strenuous labour, which is amply repaid by the I
fertility of the soil. Visitors to the Crystal Palace
will have noticed an immense pyramid of gilded wood,
representing the quantity of gold which has been
raised in Australia since the discovery of the precious
metal in that colony. Casual observers look upon i
as the addition of so much to the national wealth; but
besides attracting to the antipodes large numbers of
characters with whose services the colonists would
willingly have dispensed, it has had the effect of
a;
diminishing the purchasing power of the sovereign,
for no one will declare that one can buy the same
quantity of articles for the same amount of money as
could be done twenty years ago. The depreciation in
the value of silver is a cognate subject, and there can
be no question that the enormously-increased develop-
ment of the Nevada mines has largely augmented the
supply of this metal, and that to keep pace with the
rapid rise of production it will be necessary for the
world to find additional means for its absorption.
The animal report of the state of our training
colleges has disclosed some facts respecting the health
of the students which are of a gratifying character.
Most of us know how an ailment, apparently slight
and trivial in itself, affects the nervous system
and produces a degree of irritibility which is
anything but conducive to satisfactory results from
mental labour. It is easy, therefore, to see that
good teaching depends on good health. The reports of
the medical men at the various colleges speak of the
excellent condition of the colleges so far as sanitary
requirements are concerned; and it appears that the
occupations of the inmates are exactly adapted to their
capacities. More attention is now paid to physical
qualifications than was formerly the case, and a
"sound mind in a sound body" is evidently the prin-
ciple upon which our training colleges are regulated.
It is remarkable to note how much misery is inflicted
upon some highly-wrought mental organisations by
noise; and of this the teachers in some descriptions of
school-s have to put up with a great deal. There are
tens of thousands of persons in London to whom, if
they are to prosecute their daily work with anything
like ease and comfort, quietude is absolutely indis-
pensable; and there are hundreds of thousands to whom
it is at least very desirable, and whose working powers
are nearly exhausted nearly as much by the distracting
sounds aroand them as by the labours in which they
are engaged. This is a fact which will be disputed by
no one who is competent to form an opinion on the
subject, yet it is one which neither the law nor public
sentiment will recognise.
At this season of the year there is much interest in
the yield o 2 the crops; and although we are not so
dependent upon home supplies as we were thirty years
ago, the quality of the harvest generally oceupies a
considerable share of the public attention. Un-
doubtedly, the crops were at one period in great peril.
There was a very wintry seed-time, and this was
followed by an inclement May and June. May was
even more unseasonable than usual, and that is saying
a great deal. Up to the very end of the month there
were frosty nights and cheerless days, with cutting
east winds, and we were fairly into June before a tide
in the affairs of the agriculturists was discernible
which, if it did not lead to fortune, at all events
carried them away from the dark-flowing river of
adversity. July was a month of extreme heat and of
some refreshing showers; and what the greater part of
August was like most of us remember. The cereal
crops were thus hurried on, though not at all prema-
turely; and altogether competent judges look upon
the harvest as a fairly good one. Years have been
known in which the quantity has exceeded that of the
present year, but the quality is excellent, and upon
many a farmstead this autumn will the celebration of
harvest time be carried out in a way which will show
it to be no mere empty form.
The tramway system has now found its way into
many of our large towns ; and as the lines are worked
without interference with other traffic, much of the
prejudice that formerly existed against this system of
travelling has worn off. So far as London is con-
cerned, tramways have been in work a little over six
years, the first, connecting Kennington with Brixton,
having been opened in May, 1870. North, south, and
east the tramways have gradually environed the little
spot known as "the city," but both the civic authori-
ties and the Imperial Parliament have hitherto pro-
nounced against any invasion of the city boundaries
kV, the trazawfiy COMPAllielli The Legligature will not

allow them to cross the bridges, and those that are on
the south side of the water must stay there. The
Court of Common Council has refused permission to
those running in the eastern sections of the metropolis,
from coming further cityward than the boundary line
at Aldgate. The mode of travelling over smooth rails
Is preferred by vast numbers who used to be driven
nearly wild by the jolting of the omnibuses over stone-
paved streets. The loss of nervous power to people of
sensitive organisations was very great. This is now
saved, and the once wasted force being now husbanded
and applied to useful purposes, the world is undoubt-
edly wiser, and perhaps happier.
Post-cards were introduced into this country about
the same time that tramways made their appearance,
and some modifications in their sale have lately been
suggested which would assimilate on our system to that
In force upon the continent. A traveller in Germany
may purchase a single post-card for five or ten pfennigs,
as the case may be, and writes his message without
more trouble. Bat in England a packet of at least
half a dozen cards must be bought at once; and if
while on a journey you have occasion to use only one
you have to carry the other five in your pocket for the
remainder of the day. It is, of course, not easy to pay
for a single card when the price of a dozen is Bd. but
many would prefer to buy one card for a penny rather
than pay fourpence for six, well knowing that it might
be some time before he wanted the surplus five; and if
the supply of post-cards could be made analogous to
that of telegrams, by which a single one may be
obtained, many would be inclined to look upon the
alteration as an improvement.