The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-10 00:00:00

THE STOTJRBRIDGE OBSERVER.

not to repeal au i of them without putting something it. place
of them. Complete protection must be afforded to sots
unionists, and to effect this special legislation was necessars.
The question should he dealt with wisely, comprehensively,
and just y. and at the opening of the next session the tb.vers-
ment would lay upon the table of the House suc ri a bill.
Mr. Samuda would not oppose the reading of the bill, hut
thought it would be advisable to accept the suggestion of the
Home secretary, and let the Government undertake the re-
sponsibility of bringing in a measure.
After a few remarks from Mr. nonhani-Carter,

Lord J. Manners said he regretted the Home Secretary had
not advised the House upon the second reading of the bilL
He urged that the hill should be withdrawn.
Mr. W. E. Forster said that if the bill should be pressed
to a division, the Government would vote for the second
reading because they thought the time bad come that the
House might affirm that there was nothing in trades unions
which should deprive them of protection.
Mr. Henley regretted that the Government had deferred
dealing with this matter for anozber session He thought
trades' unions had been hardly, and almost cruelly and un-
justly dealt with.
The hill was then read a second time without a division.
The High Constables' office Abolition, dm., Bill, as amended,
was considered.
The Lords' amendments to the Beerhouses, Am., Bill were
agreed to, as were the amendments to the Public larks,
(Ireland) Bill.
The Tuam Lands Rill was read a third time and passed, and
the House adjourned.

AMONG THE TENTS AT WIMBLEDON.
The following interesting description of the Camp at
NVimbleilon, which is looked forward to every year
with considerable interest, is from the Special Corre-
spondent of the Morning Star
The opening day at Wimbledon is not the day that precise
and methodical folk should select for a visit to the great
volunteer camp. It is scarcely fair to the doughty host of
citizen soldiers who enact parts in the great military spectacle
of loulteen days' duration to' drop in" on them .0 5000. It
should be hurtle in mind that the dramatis person, are not
professionals, but in many cases shy and modest amateurs,
who resent your prying behind the scenes.

TENT LIFE.

This is a wide-spread difficulty, every volunteer owning a
booth of his own, or at most sharing it with one or two com-
rades. It is the eiderly volunteer who suffers most from the
sacrilegious gaze of the stranger. The younger members,
buoyant f mind as well as body, set about the business of
tent arrangement as though it were mere fun ; it is the care-
ful man of years and breadth, the father of a tinnily, the
husband of a watchful and careful wife, that feels his
position most acutely. Warm, as it were, frosts the domestic
hearth, he cum but a forlorn figure cast on a common,
and given a tent, some bedding, a washstand, a shav-
ing glues, a bath, a hamper, three chairs, and a few
cooking utensils, to construct a house out of. It is good to ob-
serve hint and his chums pottering about the tiny establish-
ment, and endeavouring to set it in order ! They are jolly
hilarious almost, but the laugh is marked with the sweat of
hopeless bemuddlement, and the joke blighted at Issli lohmm
by the sudden developnient of some uncompromising diffi-
culty that renders it necessary to undo all that has been drone
and commence again. This is particularly observable
amongst those plucky members of the order, who, scorning
distance, have travelled a hundred or two hundred miles
rather than their corps should be unrepresented at the great
annual gathering.

TENT " SIGNS !"
You may always know from what part of the country the
tenant of a tent and his comrades hail, for it is the custom to
extemporise a name plate out of a bit of card board, inscribed
with the said particulars, and affix it near the tent entrance.
Sometimes the tent itself is christened. In one lane thickly
hedged on either side with these white canvas houses, may be
mind "Arcadia Lodge,"" Bachelors' Hall," and '• Laburnham
Villa" Other tent sojourners besid. these guileless men from
the country bestow little on their abodes, and with a taste that
is more questionable. There is one "row" in particular that ill
were a volunteer camping out and desirous of passing my even-
ings in peace, I should avoid the vicinity of. One of the tents
in question exhibits a coarse daub of painting by means
.4 which the inquirer is informed that the "Rollicking
Rants" live there, and depicted beneath there appear the
said Rams " rollicking " In a state of brutal intoxication, in
process of being conveyed to the station-house. Next door
to these are the "Jolly Dogs," hailing, if I remember, from
Whitechapel, and not ashamed to own it. In the immediate
neighbourhood are the "Busy Bees," who likewise exhibit
their good sense and wit In pictorial embellishmeut. There
you see wreathed in a quotation from good Doctor Watts,
" How doth the little busy bee," arc an individual of the
"rollicking rant" breed, staggering drunk as he swills from a
quart-pot. To say the least, these flights of humour are
coarse, vulgar, and silly, anti have a smack of music-hall
snolibishnesa that is quite out of place amongst the tents of
decent men.

THE DIFFERENT "STILES" OF THE TENTS.
There are the tents of the "swell," and the tents of the
plain man and the hardworker ; tents that can boast of a
hoarded floor covered with a rich carpet, and furnished with
gorgeous couches and lounges, and musical instruments, and
others that have no more than a strip of cocowniatting
spread on the frowsy grass, and just a mattram to lie on, and
is table to sit at, and a chair or so to sit OIL North country-
men these for the most part, and small pleasure-seekers ;
men who have soberly in view the main purpose of the
gathering—the shooting test and the best mall% reward. You
may know them at a glance from among the knots of
competitors wailing their turn at the target. They do
not smoke cigars and sport fancy coatumea They are
solemn men of serious visage, and whisper each other
In confidence. When, rifle in hand, they kneel down
as if, instead of being about to shoot, they were going
to be shot ; they could not look more grave or more appre-
hensive for the result. And being on the subject of shooting,
to me a strictly non-military man, it seemed very told—the
position the shooters adopted. A few knelt, but the majority
lay down either flat on their belly or on their side, with their
knees raised a little, just as is commonly a man's position
when a bed. In the most curious way, too, in most cases the
shooter fidgeted about, cuddling down to the grass, as it were,
as though comfortably disposing himself before he dropped
oil to sleep : anti thus he would lie silent and quiet with one
fist sure gripping his piece, and the other waiting on the
watched trigger, when bang—pinge ! and he rouses to instant
wakefulness to see the result of his venture. Ile does not
discover it instantly, and when the contest grows close and
warm these few intervening seconds; must be trying ones.
Though some invisible agency, if the shot is a bull
that is, if it has struck the little square black patch in the
middle of the white disc—a tiny red flag appears waving to
and fro lithe heart of the bull's-eye itself is struck, then
there appears at the spot a sort, of gigantic muffin covering it,
and after hovering there for a few seconds, disappears. hut
with ordinary shooters it generally happens that neither the
rod flag nor the white nintha are called into requisition. The
disc, iustead of the centre, has received the bullet, and then
there tires out of the earth, apparently, an oniin. its-looking
black.headed mop that gropes blindly about till it finds the
place of the mis.aimed shot, and pats it with the white brush
that is at the other side of it, giving the said mop the appear-
ance of a deprecatory block heal, wagging a repreof to the
unlucky marksman, and enjoining more care for the f uture.

BATHING A LUXURY OF TENT LIFE.
If any evidence were required that we are in our bodily
habits more cleanly than our forefathers, It is furnished for
all men to see at the great Wimbledon camp. However
scantily a mae's tent may be provided, nineteen times out of
twenty it contains that imlispensable to health—a bath for
sponging. in economical tents, turned upside down en to a
trestle, in the day time it seems as a table. Of water their
appears TM lack lu every direction there are stand pipes, at
which those who require it may help themselves, and, as
though to show that there is enough anti to spate, water-
carts perambulatipg the dusty ways, driven by jaunty red-
jacketed carmen, that contrast strangely with our familiar
picture of a watercart man There are plenty of baths and
plenty of water, though, perhaps, it would he morein accord-
ance with strict military training if at Wimbledon the supply
of the latter were limited, so as to inure the volunteers to
what they would have to put up with it called on to
perform real service. I am the more disposed to favour
this view of the case on account of a visual experience of no
more remote date than last Saturday week, the occashm being
the review of the Household troops, and the scene W Molter
Park. No men there assembled were smarter, or of more
soldierly bearing, than the Fusiliers A company of these
square-abouldered sons of Anak formed her Majesty's guard
.4 homier on the Occasion, and one could not but admire
them on account of their evident healthiness and apparent
cleaoliness. I say apparent, for personally I was not very
well assured of the fact. The Fusiliers in question hid en-
camped in the pack on the previoue night, and to while
away an hour, I hail on the forenoon of the review day
sauntered amongst their tents. And mightily busy were they
with whitening and blacking, brushing and polishing, anti
cleansing. until, loosely attired as they were inn trousers
and shirt all loose at the throat, the sweat poured down their
grimy faces. As need not he mentioned their hands anti arm.
were several shades dirtier than their visages. and then
came the important operation of washing; and this, all on
the open glade, was how it was effected. In the first place, a
soldier produced a little leather bucket (capable, possibly, of
holding a gallon and a half stoat three-quarters ull of clean
water. Making the pigmy vessel look still more inadequate
by spreading his brawny frame over it, the soldier soaped
his dirty flats and laved the grime from them, no that, clean-
handed, he might tackle his head, face, and neck. Evidently he
was a man used to the little bucket, and spilt marvellously lit-
tle, not more than a pint perhaps, with all his pulling and bow-
ing Then a second soldier took his place, and in hie comrade's
dirty suds essayed to make of himself a dainty sight to set
before the Queen. As the first had done, he went through
the form 01 washing arms, hands, face and head, anti then
turned over the diminished puddle to a third man. Anti now,
indeed—that is to say, when the third solder had fully
evened hitese(f of the stuff in the bucket—l made sure that
the water supply would be renewed. but no; merely
grumlling briefly as to the thick-nets of the solution before
him, a fourth soldier dipped into it aud spread it over him,
including his head and hair, and wiped it off again, and there
lie was, a washed man. And, as before mentioned, remark-
ably spruce he and his comrades looked, with their coats
buttoned up to the chin, and their white gloves on, and her
Majesty evidently was very proud of them, and the people
murmured audibly, "What splendid fellows !" arid clapped
their hands , but, for my part, I should have enjoyed the
spectacle much more had I been able to banish from my
mind the remembrance of that illamed leather bucket, and
what the fourth noble Guardsman threw out of it after he
had completed his ablutions.

THE CANE A FLOWER GARDEN!
In this rambling, disjointed sketch tif what the Wimbledon
camp is like, at the present writing, I must not forget to
make mention of the desperate attempts at floriculture
Indulged in by almost everybody with a canvas roof over his
head. As regards the "swell" tents, florists' vans from
Cniswick and Brentford bring loads of blooming rarities, and
there they appear prodigally heaped in dazzling sweet-smell-
ing banks by the doors. At the abodes of the working-
men volunteers the passion exhibits itself quite as fiercely,
though it necessarily has less to show for it. Flower ,
hawkers' carts three i through the canvas lanes, and volun-
teers, gently disposed towards their brethren as regards
all else, ho ly contend with their brothers for "first
deal" with the welcome vendor of geraniums and
heartsease. To such a pitch of amiable insanity has this gar-
den mania wrought them, that it has been found necessary to
post in every direction great placards prohibiting them from
denuding furze from the adjoining open, or "carting gravel"
to aid their purpose. Whichever way you look (excepting
towards that quarter in which the Rollicking Rams reside)
may be seen bold volunteers, and middle aged, and those of
young volunteers of mere sweethearting age, urging men
with spades to di,t holes for them that they may deposit their
garden pots, or perlorniing the same office for themselves—it
all resulting in abounding ornamentation that is exceedingly
pleasant to contemplate.
THE NEW " REFRESHMENT' TENT.

Just one more note in conclusidn. Conspicuous amongst ,
the Lew features that distingulihed the Wimbledon gathering
of 11369 from any of he Pt edeceisors, is an extensive building, ,
nearly a hundred feet deep and two hundred and twenty-live
feet in length, devoted, under the management of Messrs.
Spiers and Pond, to the vending of creaturecomforts, in-
cluding, of course, beer and spis its. It is a good-looking
building enough, prettily decorated with ?lags and flowers,
and manned apparently by a whole army of waiters and bar-
MuldP, attentive and civil . the only thing pertening to it
that is questionable is the policy of ennitting such an
iiss abashment within the hoarding that enel.,,es the en-
campment? 'lf a serious amount of inconvenience aris-
ing (roils the-want of such on establishment has hitherto
been felt, the public were not aware of It. since the sound.
ingot the cant on the commin it bas never appeared that
the loyal tenants of the tents suffered very much from
drought or famine, or that, denied the social glass a hen work
was done, they crept to their beds at gloomy gun-tire, not
cheerful, but sternly resigned to their hard fate. Undoubt-
edly it is very convenient for thirsty volunteers and their
visitors to be able to " drop iv" for a glass of bitter or a
"cooler" of lemonade and sherry, especially as the prices
charged are ordinary public house prices, and the same
ease and freedom from formality prevail at Messrs. Spiers
and Pond's bar as though it were just an ordinary public-
house in an ordinary London thoroughfare, lint it is
from this, its charmingly accommodating aspect,
that it may be fairly objected to. To say the least, the
setting up of nn immense sirinking.shop in the midst of a
large holy of men voluntarily devoted for a time to a novel
nsid restlem state of existence, and actively engaged In
striving and competition, with all the excitement inevitably
attendant, cattiest be attempted without incurring consider-
able danger. Then, again, it cannot but further relax the
bonds of military discipline essential to the volunteers'
soldierly education. It cannot be denied that from the com-
mencement the said bonds have been sufficiently elaetic. The
original Idea that prompted the Wimbledon Institution was,
. that volunteers would be better for roughing It a little; that
mince camping out in grim earnest might one day be their

lot, it wouid on wise to give nem an annual drilling in camp
life and its hardships and inconveniences; and that the men
might be induced to make the temporary sacrifice of time
and comfort, m izes for good shooting were offered them. As
to the hardship of tent life on Wimbledon Common, it for
many years past has been a joke to be soberly enjoyed over
the harmless pipe and tho moderate draught. Let us hope
that by adding to the joke to the extent of the vast new
drinking.bar, its proper bounds may not be exceeded.

The results of the shooting, on Monday, which pos-
sess most interest for the public, are given below. It
will be seen that Corporal l'eake, whose name was
very prominently before the public last year, distin-
guished himself by superior shooting :
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OF WALES' PRIZE.
Five Shots each at 200, 500, and 600 Yards.

Points. Ponds.
Winner of Cup or £lOO. I Winners of £5.
Corp. Peake, oth Laucash. 45 Private M'Kenna, 3d Ayr 38
Winners of £5. Col-Sergt Westlake, 16th
Pvt. Gittens, sth Leicester 42 Dem, • •
.. _. • • • 38
strut. Anderson, Ist Forfar 42 Corp. Tucker, Sin Berks.. 38
Pvt. Allen, Civil service.. 41 Pvt. Wheaton, let Wilts . 37
Private Bacon, 24. Oxford 41 Corp. Hesilton, sth E.
Lieut. Hall, lot Aberdeen 40 York .. . .. .. .. 37
Private Burton, 2d Inver- Private Tikialy, sth Beds 37
ness .. .. .. .. .. 40 Col.-Sergeant Brown, let
Private Easton, lit Lanark 3 51 idloth'n .. .. • . • • 37
Colour Sergeant Bird, 18th Druni-Maior Hutchins, let
Salop . , , , , , 38 Glocester .. .. .. .. 36
Sergt. Wortliam, L. It. Bri. Cot-Sergeant Taylor, sth
~,,de , , , ~ 38 Hereford .. . .. .. 35
Col..Sergt. Buchanan, id. .
Qm.-Sergt Pritchard, 7th
Argyi,,
..
~ ~ „ go Monmouth .. .. .. 35
FIRST STAGE ALEXANDRA PRIZE. Five Shots, 500 Yards.
Points. Points
Winner of £2O. Winners of £3.
()var.-31. Sergt. Nicholls, ICorp. Snith, 3d Aberdeen 17
10th Stafford .. .. .. 19 Private Buxton, Bth Derby 17
Winners of £l5. ,Sort. Knox, list Durham 17
.111. in
.thoine,
17
Sergt. French, let War-
delleg.e
wick • • • • • • • • .IgPrivate flawk 23rd Mid:
Insist Boris 17
Sergt. Gray, fa • h Salop .. *lBprivyt„,
Winners of £lO. coin .. .. . .. .. 17
Lieut Illackburne, 114010- Corporal Good, 9th Essex 17
eestor .. .. . vis Pvt. Morgan, 11th Glamor-
Sergt Somerville, lit LS; 1 Esh ... _ -,.._ . • .. 17
nark .. .. .. , 581 Corp. l'airitefl, 4th War.
Lieut. SI ayman, 251;h ir. wick ..• • • • 7• • .
... 17
York .. .. . . ~ 5 Pvt. Wilson, 11th North.
Pri.v.aaltel Pollar..d,l3thl::orn:
.....is Cpu.mPb.rursiganlodve, 12.t1 Derby. 1177
Private Dunlop, Ist Inver. 181Sergt. Hayes, London,R B. 17
Private Laurent, 13th Lan- ISerist. Barnes, Queen's
cubire
~ „
~ .. 58 Edinh. . .. .. .. 17
Corp. Jollifie, Ist Isle of
Winners of £5 . Wight .. .. .. .. 17
Pvt. Gunn, 19th Lincoln. 1E L -Corp. Abbey, let W.
Pvt. Stanley, 10th War- 1 York .. .. .. .. .. 17
wick .. .. .. .. .. 1131Sergt. Ferguson, lit Inver-
Pvt Kethro, 4th Surrey 161 nese .. .. .. .. .. 16
Sergt. Pineney, 12th Luz- *rat. Locook, 23rd Middle-
ham sex
Col. -Sorg. Clews, 3d *Ken- Pet Tyerman, Ist Lamas-
, from .. .. .. 17 .hire .
.. 1,
1 Sem Young,Queen's.giest:. Qurt..masterSergt. W 006.-
11
' minster .. • .. .. 17 cock, ltd West York .. 16
Serg. Anderson, 'lst Forfar 17 Corp. Mightier, 40th Lan-
Capt. Waller, 11th NI idsx. 17 cashire .. .. . .. 16
Pvt. Wallace, Dit Lances. 17 Ensign Fuller, let Middle-
Pvt. Mills, lit Middlesex 17, sex
.. .. , .. .. 16
Lieut. Idol!, 17th W. York 17 Pot. Dighton, 12th Middle-
En. M'llityre,7th Dumbto. 171 sex .. .. .. .. .. 16
di ierg. Logan, Queen's En 174. -Corp East, 36th West
Pvt. Cleniiston, 7th Numb 17 York .. .. .. .. .. 16
Capt. Tinges, 7th Regt, 17 Sergeant Pace, 26th Kent 16
Pvt. Fraser, 21st Middle- Maj, Mulliner, Isl Lance-
sex .. .. . .. .. 17 shire, Eng. .. .. . .16
Pet Harland, sth E York 17 Serg. l'oulter, London, K.E •16
Sergt. Lucas, 38th Middle- !Pvt. Wellborne, 24 Leices.
1 "Ties

. *l6

FORGERY OF A POST-OFFICE ORDER
BY A DISAPPOINTED LOVER.
At Leeds, a young fellow of 10, named Francis For-
bisher, has been charged with forging a post-office
order, with intent to defraud the Postmaster-General.
In the course of the evidence it appeared that the prb
soner was the eon of Mr. Forbisher, who formerly was
the postmaster at Selby, in Yorkshire, and during
that period the young man occasionally assisted his
father in the capacity of a clerk. When For-
bisher's father left that employment, the prisoner
continued in the same service in the office until a
successor was appointed, and then he left--a period of
about two years ago. Since that time the prisoner has
visited the present postmaster on various occasions;
and on the 31et of May he was at Selby in the course
of one of these visits. On the lot of June young
Forbisher left for Leeds by the 3.30 p.m. train. Two
days afterwaids, Mr. Glew, the postmaster at Selby,
missed an order from his stock in the office, the advice
number being No. 1,550. Mr. Glew found that this
had been abstracted, and he at once communicated
with the post-office authorities in London. On the 7th
June, prisoner, whose handwriting was identified, posted
the following letter
"To the Secretary of the General Post-office, London.
" Sir,—l write these few lines to say that lam guilty of
making a post-office order out for a:I0, on Marsh Lane, Leeds,
from Selby. 1 airs really sorry tor what 1 have done, but by
you get this note I shall have killed myself by drowning.
May God have mercy on my soul, for I am in misery, no my
youthful days have come to grief, and it has been all through
. a girl, named —. )Prisoner had been recently employed at
• Dewsbury as a clerk, and this reference was to a girl living
in that town.) Ido really love her, and if she had only con-
sented to have toyed me as she did once I should not have
dune this. Tell my dear father, mother, sister, and brother
not to cry, but be cheerful, and try to forget me. It
is for the best. My last signature, FRANCIS FORB/811ER.
My poor soul. My father's address is Savile Town, Dews-
bury." . .

Prisoner, however, did not carry out his threat of com-
mitting suicide, but turned up in Leeds, on Tuesday in
last week, presented himself at the central police-office,
and gave himself into the custody of Sergeant Butle,
to whom he communicated the whole of the circum-
stances attending his crime. He stated that when he
was at the house of the Selby postmaster, on a visit,
he obtained admission into the office, and abstracted
the advice note, filled up the order, and placed the ad-
vice in the Leeds letter bag. Prisoner called at Marsh
Lane, in Leeds, on the 3rd June, and got the £lO. He
now admitted his guilt, and was committed to take his
trial at the forthcoming Leeds assizes.