The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-01 00:00:00

KIDDERMINSTER TOWN COUNCIL.

The Mayor (Mr. D. W. Goodwin) presided at the
monthly rat eting of the Council on Wednesday.
Ile Town Clerk announced that M ssrs. H.
Herring and W. M. Roden had bre] elected mem-
bers of the Council since the last meeting.
The Drainage and Improvement Committee's re-
ports were retid and passed.
Mr. D. Corbet, Medical Officer' of Heal h, re-
ported that there hal been 40 deaths during the
month as compared with 72 in the con esponding
month last year. In the same time there had been
31 deaths, or nearly 16 6 in the thousand, against
36 or 18.4 in the thousand in the corresponding
period last year.

- Alderman Coxon read the report of the Baths
Committee, which stated that the receipts during
the month from the Turkish Baths had been £ll 9s
and from the ordinary baths £5 16s,
In answer to, a question trom Mr,. Chadwibk,
Aldtrman Coxon utated that the Surveyor had giit
out la ground plan for the proposed new swim-
ming baths in hand+.

MT. reaves proposed that Mr. Alfred Penny -6. e
appointed litrarlan, at a salary of £B5 per annual.
He acid ihere had been thirty-eight applicants tor
the office, and after carefully considering all their
testimonials they had decided to rcconnuend Mr.
Penny for the berth.

The motion was seconded by Alderman by W. H.
Green, and carried unanimously.
The Mayor proposed that Mr. Beddoes be elected
curator of the Town Hall and Municipal Buildings.
at a salary of .2140 per year. There had been sixiy-
three applications fur the office.

Ihe ;notion was seconded by Mr. Jeffezies, and
carried unanimously.
Mr. Talbot gave notice that he should move at a
future meeting of the Council, "That this C uucil,
with a view of dividing the borough into single
wards, do petition the„Queen for an alteration of
the wards " He said that to carry that resolution
it would be nece,sary to have a majority of two-
thirds of the Councii in favour of it.
_ _

A. motion, of which notice had been given by
Mr. Potter, in favour of opening the Free Library
to the public on Sundays was adjourned.

CLAIM UNDER THE EMPLOYERS'
LIABILITY ACT.

At the Oldbury County Court, on Wedneslay,
—before Mr. W. D. Griffiths (judge)—an action was
brought by a labourer, named Joseph Franks, ei
31, Brornford Road, Oldbury, against Elijah Hunt
and Thomas Hunt, trading as Hunt Bios., at the
Griffin Foundry, West 13romwich Street, OlciDury,
to recover £lOO, for per,onal injuries suvained
whilst in the service of the defendants on the 26 h
May last. Mr. J. S. Sharpe appeared for the plain-
tiff, and Mr. Shakespeare detended.—Mr. Sharpe
explained that orithe day mentioned the plain iff
conjunction with one of the defendants---Mr. Elijah
Hunt—and two other men were about to remove a
defective casting from (ne part of th) works to
a-other. The proper way to remove a casting of
that des,ription was to put it on a t olley and
wheel it, but the defendant Elijah Hunt refused to
have it put on a trolley, and toe men proceeded to
roll it. Whi!st they were doing so, the casting
"tipped.' over and fell upon the plaintiff, crushing
his legs severely.—The medical evidence was to the
effect that the plaintiff w u d never be able to fol-
low his former emi loym int —Mr. Snakespeare
drew attention to tule 15, framed urohr the Em-
ployers' Liability Act, which stat( a-that actions can
only be brought under the Act when the injury of
which the plaintiff complt.ins has arisen by the neg-
ligem e of any persons in the service of the ilef.nl
ant, md which also stipula es that the p4rticulars
of the claim ,hall give a description and name of
such person ; but thelpl:d tiff had only stated that
the injury was caused by the negligence of the de-
fendants or one of them —The Judge said this was
a common law action, and not one which could be
brought under the Employers' Liability Act, and
a., it wAs an action for more than £5O, he had no
jurisdiction,—Mr. Sharpe contended that the ac'ion
was brought under sub-,ection 3 of the Employers'
Liability Act, which stat,d,"Wh, le personal injury
is cans: d by reason of the negligence of any person
in nis employ, to whose orders the workman at the
tune of the s.nju y is bound to conform."—The
JudL,e held that it was an action which did not re-
quire the new Act to recover damages, and non--
suited the Plaintiff,

B ROMSGROVE
BOARD OF GUARDIANS.—At the meeting of this
Board on Tuesday, Mr. Wright presidi ig, in com-
pliance will a request from the Local Government
Hoard, Dr. Carey made a report on the effect ot
giving a dinner of fish once a weFli He considered
it was benefic al to the general hellth of the in-
, in,it s.—Mr. -Humphreys (cl-rk) pr sented a retirin
of indoor and outdoor expenditu, e for the relief of
th.-? pnor for the half-year ended Miehaelmas last,
the figur, s showing—lndoor, £966 ; outdoor, £1,971.
For the corresponding half of last year the figures
were—lndoor, £1,024 ; outdoor, £2,032. Mr.
Humphreys also read a statemcnt by Mr. Longe
(Poo -law inspector) of the state of lauperism in
his district.—Mr. Booker proposed, pursuant to
notice, that the tramps in the house be allowed a
pint of gruel or broth each. The motion was se
conded by Mr. Fetherston and 1 at, four voting
for and sev,n against it.