The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-11-18 00:00:00

GRAND BAZAAR AT DUDLEY.

On Tuesday afternoon, the bazaar in aid Of. St.
Luke's Church, Dudley, and for which great %repara-
tions had been made, was opened at the Public Hall, in
the presence of of a distinguished company. Upon the
platform were the Earl and Countess of Dudley. Lady
Weal, Viscount Ednam, Lady Edith Ward, the Bey. Dr.
'Covens, and Mr. Joseph Stokes (chairman of the com-
mittee. ,
In opening the proceedings, the Rev. Dr: Cozens
briefly sketched the occasion which led to the erec-
tion of a new church in Dudley, and thanked Lord
Dudley for the support he had already given to the
undertaking.
The Earl of Dudley then rose and said the Vicar
must be proud of having carried the work to which he
had alluded so far, and was now labouring with others
who were taking part in the undertaking to render it
complete, and to do that which very rarely happened te
a new church, viz ,to open it without debt. He (the
Vicar) had reason to be proud of the efforts which had
been made and the support which had been given him.
(Hear, hear) Allusion had been made by the Vicar to
the fact that no church had been built in Dudley since
the year 1840. Seine years previous to that—nearly
half a century—a church was built—and a very fine
church it was—the parish church of St. Thomas. It
was curious to note the difference of feeling at that time
and to compare with that which prevailed at the pre-
sent. There was a difficulty then, as there was now, in
Vie building of churches. Churches were in these
days, built by the voluntary feeling of ;hose who
• acknowledged the necessity of further church accom-
modation in certain increasing districts. The Church of
England was the only State Church that received no
assistance from the State. He was not talking of any-
thing in the way of endowments; but it was well known
that the State threw upon voluntary feeling in any par-
ticular locality all that was necessary to be done in the
way of church building. When St. Thomas's Was built
a rate was struck to clear the remainder of the sum
that was not forthcoming; and then, what he thought
would be the greatest drawback to a work such as that
in which they were engaged was done, viz., the appropria-
tion of pews to all subscribers, and to subscribers
according to the amount which they gave. The'conse-
quenoe of this was that any one who happened to be
richer than another got a greater hold upon the church.
That they must see would be a serous objection in these
' dam and to show them to what extent this principle
was tarried, he found from some notes that had been
handed to him that to his own family no fewer than 82
seats were reserved—(laughter.) That being so, the
family must have been very much larger than it was
iionc--(thore laughter) ; but he found that .after some
, years they consented to give up these sittings. He sup-
posed in fact, that it became a scandal that the pews
should always be empty, and that in the face of an in-
creasing population it was high time they should no
longer be appropriated to a family who attended Divine
service elsewhere. In the present day it was very
different; that which he now considered a matter for
congratulation was that a work of that sent should have
been carried out, and that the church should be per-
fectly free. He would say, however, that he bad always
thought that a discretionary power should rest with the
incumbent as to how far the seats should be appropria-
ted. Ile did not think anything like the fee simple of
the seats, should be claimed, but that an arrangement
should be made by which those residing in the neigh-
bourhood might, U they chose to come to church, be
sure to find a seat to which they might always go
(Hear, hear.) That would be a sort of half-way house
between that was done when the eighty-two seats were
kept for his family, and that which was carried out in
many districts, viz., the making of a church perfectly
free. It that course of providing what he called, a half-
way 'house thould lead to a better understanding, and
I ea a ICter understatdiog to an enlarged aubsoriptiou,
all he could say was that it would be folly to ran
counter to it. With regard to the bazaar, he must say
that he considered it was only necessity which would
render a desire for thus raising lands for a church
justifiable ; but necessity had no law, and there was 110
real objection to a bazaar in itself. If the funds were
forthcoming from the free gift of the people, he would
repeat that it was not well to supplement them by any-
thing like that which brought them together on that
occasion. If anything, however, which he had said
should have any erect on purchasers at the bazaar, he
could only say he was about to offer himself as a victim
to the etallholders, and therefore, as often happened,
his principles and his prastice were totally opposed to
each other—(laughter and cheers.)
The Countess of Dudley, who was received with
great cordiality, then rose and spoke as follows :
"After what has already been said upon the subject of
the subject of this bazaar, I think I need only add that
I hope it will be very successful for the object in
view, and I now declare it to be open '!—(loud
applaiise.)
On the motion of the Rev. Dr. Cosens, seconded by
Mr. Stokes (ex-Mayor), a vote of thanks was accorded to
the Earl and Countess of Dudley.
Mr. Ffrench Davis's band having played the National.
Anthem, the attention of visitors was directed to the
stalls. They were elected by Messrs. Legge and Co., of
Birmingham, and are decorated in the Oriental style,
with awning alternately of crimson, and blue, and;
white ground, trimmed with amber bullion and Maim,
and surmounted by a Royal crown, the flags of all,
nations, and bannerettes. The stalls are relieved with
valences of crimson cloth. The walls of the Pnblid
Hall are decorated, but in meagre fashion, with trophiegi
of flags.
The Vicarage Stall is presided over by Mrs. Cosens„,
Mrs. Wyncoll, and Mrs. Noott. Upon it are exhibited
articles of rare beauty and considerable value. They,
include a pair of Pate aur pate vases, valued at 15
guineas. They stand ab3ut 15in, in height, and are
of splendid design, the subject of decoration being the
Passion fib Per. There were also displayed on this stall
perforated ()palate ornaments, beautifully gilded and
ornamented with vignettes of dowers. In the centre
of the stall was an oval minor, bordered by most
exquisite leather works, which has been executed by
Bainton.
No. 1 Stall I. presided over by Mrs. Dawes, Mis..A.
Jones, Mrs. Marriott, and Mrs. Goodwin. Amongst the
articles displayed was a splendid deouner in Worcester
china, from the establishment of Mr. George Grainger.
It is very elegant in design, and valued at ten
guineas.

- No. 81.e11.—This is presided over by Mn. S. Bagott,
Mrs. Bagott, Mrs. E. Bagott, Mrs H; Bagtitt, and
Mrs. Lett. Upon this stall were two valuable drawing.
room chairs, elabor.tuip upholstered ia satin, with a
eentre piece of needlework. Ono of them was marked
10 guineas and the other 14 guineas. There were also a
considerable number of fender ottomans, corns, and
ornaments in society.
No. 3 Stall--This attractive stall was under the
superintendence of Miss Smart, Mrs. W. Wilkinson, and
Mrs. W. Thompson. A numeroas and splendid array of
artiles were here offered for sale;
No. 4 Stall was presided over by Mrs. Job Garrett,
Mrs. H. Bridgwater, and Mrs. Holt. Most expensive
goods were displayed upon this stall. There were
magnificent fire-screens valued X 5 5s each, a drawing.
room chair marked £l2 12s, and exquisite
.woolyvork.
There were also two water-colour drawings upon this
stall by Sydney Herbert, a local of celebrity, whose
pictures are now realising high prices. A meritorious
oil painting by Mr. Chaplin, of High Street, Dudley, is
also here exhibited.
No. 5 Stall.—The ladies presiding were Mrs. Stokes
(wife of tha.ex-Mayor), Mrs. J. Russell, and Mrs.
Roper. -Upon this stall there ,was a magnificent and
valuable assortment of useful and ornamental articles.
Amongst them was a lady's easy oliair,:teautifully
embroidered with silk filosille and beading, the work
of Mrs. Russell. There were handsome cushions and
ottomans, the work of Mrs. Stokes. Novel and pretty
features of this stall, too, are the " handscreens of sea
gulls," a baby doll, exquisitely dressed, and a white
satia cushion, embroidered in silk.
No. 6 Stall.—The Misses Jones and Mrs. Westley
here presided, and had for sale handsome sofa cushions,
fender ottomans, needlework, and, amongst various
other goods, a lady's easy chair and a drawing-room
chair.
At the refreshment stall Mrs; Matthew Allen, Miss
Stokes, Miss Russell, and Miss B. Russell presided.
, ,The sales effected on Tuesday were very numerous,
and a large sum was realised. The Rarl of Dudley and
his party contributed nearly £3OO. By them large
amounts were left at each 'tall, for which articles were
not asked in return. Altogether upwards of £5OO was
taken on Tuesday.
•

LINES ON FOOTBALL.

Shall ive give up our game because "Fair Play"
And " Father ' hiding closely from the day,
Now hurl their thumden, ling their sharpest darts,
To Nom with terror all the "Iltpalpowas " been.;