The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-05-24 00:00:00

half a generation before the passing of the
first Reform Act, and remained there now,
we shall have some idea of what the reign
of George 111 was like. Two entire
generations of men had passed away since
toe king came to the throne in 1760, when
as a very young man, he declared in his first'
speech in opening Parliament, "Born and
educated in this country, I glory inthe name
of Briton." The German partialities of the
first two Georges had been rather too
conspicuous to please the English people, so
this declaration on the part of the new king
gave great satisfaction in this country.
There he VMS then with three score years of
rule before him. Events of extraordinary
importance and interest were concentrated
into that time. Our American colonies
declared themselves independent, and erected
themselves into, the mighty Republic known
to-day as the United States; the French
Revolution swept away one of the proudest
and most ancient monarchies of Europe;
and we had engaged in a war with France,
which lasted three-and-twenty years. All
this time the reign of George 111. continued,
and his Jubilee was celebrated in 1819 by.
only a very small proportion of those who
remembered his accension. The infant of
1760 was a grey-haired man half-a-century
afterwards, and knew nothing of the
rejoicings which had welcomed the new
king to the Throne. After the Jubilee
George 111. was little seen, although
nominally hit reign was extended over
another decade. The malady by which he
had been attacked rendered it impossible
for the aged monarch to take part in public
affairs ; and for ten years, wandering from
room to room of his palace, the light of
reason gone, the old king presented a
melancholy contrast to the energy and
vivacity of his youth. in 1819 when the
Queen was born, the flickering flame of life
was well-nigh exhausted. A few months
more, and it had vanished. Then came to
the .throne the Prince Regent, who for ten
years had practically exercised the duties of
sovereignty; but as he was sixty years old,
it was impossible that his reign could be
long. It lasted just a decade, and then his
younger brother, the Duke of Clarence, took
the Crown and Sceptre at the mature age
of 65. Here again the demands of nature
were against a long reign, and that of
William IV. was only seven years in length.
Early in the morning of the 26th of June,
1837, there was a voice heard in Windsor
Castle—" The King is dead! Long live the
Queen !"
The prayer of the herald, as it fel: upon
the ears of those assembled in the palace on
that fine summer morning, has been
answered, "Long live the Queen !" Well,
more than forty years have passed since the
echoes of that voice resounded through the
corridors and passages of .the stately castle"
where the remains of the departed King
lay; and the Queen is, still amongst, her
people. he maiden of eighteen is the great-
grandmother of sixty. The hair, no longer
auburn, has become whitened in the service
of the State. The Queen's youngest child,
Princess Beatrice, is four years older than
her august mother when she assumed the
sovereignty of this realm. Nearly eighty
years had rolled awry sincea young monarch
had come to the throne, and when, in 1837,
Queen Victoria was proclaimed, there could
have been very few out of the vast multitude
if her subjects who were enabled to recollect
the accession of George 111. seventy-seven
years before. it was a wondrous change
for the people to have a young sovereign
after a succession of aged kings. What
matter of surprise then that tumultuous
acclamations hailed the coming of the
youthful Queen to the Throne? Many who
are still amongst us can yet remember that
stirring time, can hear again in imagination
the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon,
can recall the proclamations in the market
places of the towns, the cheering! the eager
hopes, the bright anticipations. There were
none who did not wish that the life of the
new Sovereign might be as cloudless as the
summer sky outstretched above them, and
as full of cheerfulness as the rays of the
meridian sun, then at their longest and
hottest. Mr. Tennyson has written of the
"fierce light which beats upon the throne,"
and there can be no doubt whatever of the
truth embodied in the sentiment The fierce
light has been shining upon the Queen
during the long period of forty-two years,
amid the strife of parties and the bitterness
of sects. May it continue to do so. There
are only eight years more to the Jubilee ;
the Sovereigns of the House of Hanover
have all been long-lived, and there is no
reason why Queen Victoria should not
celebrate the fiftieth year of her reign. She
will then be a dozen yeart younger than
George 111. when he was gathered to his
fathers. Meanwhile the prayer of the people
remains t e same, Long live the Queen r

TUE IRON TRADE.

WOLVERHAMPTON, Wednesday.

TI ere vats a very small attendance on
'Change this afternoon, and the orders in
regard to finished iron were of a limited
character. Makers of part-mine pigs sold
with a little more briskness, but to do this
they had to give way in the matter of price.
Cinder pigs were exceedingly cheap, owing
to a system of underselling which prevails,
and which before long entail heavy losses
upon the smelters. Some of the firms en-
gaged in this business will not increase
their stocks, and, being unable to dispose of
their make at reasonable rates, are patting
it in the market at a considerable sacrifice.
Fencing bar makers are doing pretty well,
and cooperage hoops are a little more sought
after. Wire makers, however, are worse off
than ever for orders, and tip iron and other
smaller sizes are declining in demand. Tin
plates sold pretty well to-day at firm prices
and strong sheets are in better inpuiry for
export. The marked bar hoases have
secured but few orders during the past fort-
night, but they are able to keep their works
going regularly in producing iron contracted
for early in the quarter. In foreign pigs
Derbyshire and Northamptonshire received
most attention, scarcely any Cleveland iron
going off to-day. North Staffordshire iron-
stone was in increased inquiry, but all classes
of ft.el were sold but to a small extent, and
at cheap rates.

BIRMINGHAM, Thursday.

There was little animation at the iron
market to-day, and prices were very unsatis-
factory. Transactions were effected at less
than £3 for unmarked bars, and their
nominal price of £7 lOs was not generally
realised for branded bars. Sheets are in
tolerably steady request for India and Ans-
tialia, and nail-rods are in slightly better
demand for China. The pig iron depart-
ment is quieter since the resumption of work
by the Durham miners, which has led to an
increased make of Middlesbrough pig, and
consequently to a severer competition with
local -makers. Household coal is in less de-
mand since the warm weather set in, and
forge and furnace qualities are little sought
after, notwithstanding the reduction in price.
Furnace coal is selling at 8s a ton delivered
into boats. .