The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-04-22 00:00:00

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tir lonbea Torrtsponbrnt,

tde deem It sight to state that we do pot at All ttrie
Utify oursolv., SI ti, our correqp.iflit's 301110.

A little item of news, amongst a masts of other
Intrinsically more important intelligence, is strangely
euggeetive—" a shell has knocked off the arm of the
statue representing Peace on the Arc de Triomphe.'
And so the protective Goddess of Peace. whc was sym-
bolically erecting her beneficient influence over Paris,
has been as it were rendered powerless " The white-
winged angel" of Peace has been mutilated and chat-
tered, and this by men who had but recently escaped
from the horrors of actual war, and who were presumed
to be longing for the bleedings of peace. Parisiaue are
In fact doing far more injury to Palle than the Prus-
sians did during a siege of four monthe, and the state
of the unhappy capital is " horrible and heart.
rending." The inhabitants are deserting the ill-
fated city, which seems doomed to have to
undergo another siege at the hands of its own
people. Parisians are lighting Parisians, Frenchmen
slaughtering Frenchmen, and men of the same blood
and kindred are erecting barricades against each other,
and throwing shells to devastate each other'. homes.
IVhen this will end, or what the end will be, who shall
say ? There seems just SW ground to hope that the
party of order will ere lung triumph over the intim-
gents, lost the triumph is by no means certain, and,
under any circumstances, the restoration of order
among thia excieable people will be a work of time.
And wheel we read the painful and disheartening news ,
from France, with what feelings will mi et of us turn
to the accounts of that " demonstration " in Hyde
Park on Sunday last? Giving my individual opinion
only, I think it is high time that such demonstrations
were (Sr the future prohibited. No one valued more
highly than I do the right of public meeting ; but a
public meeting in a building, with an appointed chair-
man, and with successive speakers, be their utterances
what they may, is one thing; the gathering of a great
crowd in a park, with all the accessories of blasphemous
Litanies, mob oratory, and the wild and lawless ex-
cesses of the roughs, is another. Let the reader peruse
the accounts of this demonstration given by the
various papers, and judge for himself. Here is one
brief extract, for example, from the Daily News :
" The trees were climbed by adventurous men and
boys, some of whom fell 15 feet upon the heads of the
bystanders below, while others ruthlessly stripped the
leafing branches aml pelted their companions in the
crowd. The trees were, indeed, more damaged yester-
day than at a,y previous demonstration." Surely
such outrages as these, quite independently of all poli-
tical considerations, would afford sufficient ground for
the suppression of such de monstratious for the future.
"Bright May-day " will for the third time be eh:awl
for the opening day of an international exhibition in
London. The great International Exhibition of 1851
and the International Exhibition of 18132, were both
opened on May-day, and on the lot of May this year
will be inaugurated the Internat. ional Exhibition of
1871, by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Christian,
Om. It was hoped that her Majesty would inaugurate
the Exhibition, but the idea appears now to be aban-
doned. In some respects this exhibition will be more
Instructive and entertaining than its predecessors; it
will be at all events more systematically arranged, and
will be confined to certain branchee of manufacture;
but I fail to see why the season tickets should be issued
at so high a price as three guineas, thus contrasting
so unfavourably with the previous exhibitions. But
to the great mass ef Londoners and visitors ta Lon-
don this was a matter of little moment ; there will be
ample opportunities of visiting it for a shilling, and
no one can grumble at that.
Upwards of 500 emigrants have just net sail from our
shores for new homes in Canada. The British and
Colonial Emigration Society, under whose auspices
these men go out, is thus doirg a good work, and
while rejoicing at what society has done, is doing, and
will yet do, we may heartily wish this large emigrant
party "God speed," and this with reasoneble hot e.
Under ordinary circumstances it is a sad thing for •
poor unemployed workman or artisen to have to leave
his native country in search of dread, but, in many
Instances, the emigrants that go cut with this party
are husband, wife, and children. In aiding such families
to emigrate the right course is adopted, and far treater
benefit is conferred on society than in the case of
single men being helped towards a colonial
labour market. Wishing that these Emigrants
may speedily find in Canada what the men
have vainly sought for at home, the question naturally
occurs, "What are these am mg so many?'
Well, but little of course, but then every little help,
and such emigrant parties generally attract others
after them. Considering that there is stiff such a
prevalent want of employment in many branches of
Industry, would it not be well to encleevonr to de velope
the principle of self-help in the matter of emigration
snore than has hitherto been done; Emigration clubs
have as yet done but little, but they might do much.
Mr. Blanchard Jerrold writes to the papers to pro-
pew the establishment of what he calls "labour
markets." He thinks they should be formed in "all
the great centres of population, with a head or centra
labour market in London. His idea is that employers
wanting workmen would post their requile 'Lents, rate
of wages, ern, in the nearest market, and that, one
market communicating with another, workmen would
thus always be informed of the state Of the market
in their several trades. Should this plan be adopted,
it would not do any harm that I can see, and
might not beneficially in keeping the working
classes well informed on the matter that most
concerns them. But Mr. Jerrold seems to forget tie
agency of advertisements ; as matters now stand, with
newspapers all over the country, there is little, if any,
difficulty in masters obtaining workmen if the latter
are unempleyed, and if they are not, these labour
markets would not alter the state of affairs. But
still the proposal is worth cmsideration, so much
depending en its details,.
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The alleged intention of the Chancellor of the Ex.
chequer to levy a tax on hotel waiters in creating,
naturally enough, no little sensation among that class
of persons. This, doubtless very respectable body, of
men have always taxed as pretty considerably. The
coffee room waiter, the chambermaid, the boots, the
porter, are all so many tax-gatherers that prey upon our
purses. These people themselves are not on the whole ,
to be blamed, though there are among them exceptional
cases of rapacity combined with impudence on refusal
to comply with their demands, or cringing servility
when the demands are cheerfully met; but take the
waiters as a class, I think it must be admitted that
they are a respectable class. But however much they
may like to tax us (even after " attendance " is charged
In the bill) they evidently don't like to be taxed them-
selves and accordingly they have been holding meet-
ings to protest against any tax at all. But, strange to
say, when the waiters apply, through the secretary of
their society, to the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
that gentleman replies that "be has no intention cf
taxing the waiters, or altering the law as it now stands,"
So that all the meetings and protests appear to have
had no foundation!
The trial of Torpey for the famous (or infamous)
jereei robbery is naturally exciting attention, but there
can scarcely be any doubt as to the result of it. Now
that he is captured it Is easy enough for everybody to
say, how stupid he was to do this and that, and allow
himself to be taken ;but, really, Torpey does appear to
have been anything but clever in eluding apprehension,
and, had he been wise, would not have come to this
country at all. Ile might have known that hie wife
would be watched, and therefore that if he had any
communication with her the chances of his apprehen-
eion was greatly against him. Meanwhile, the des
tective inspector who captured Torpey is worthy
of praise for his perseverance in the matter. The
police are often praised when they do not deserve it,
and it is only fair that when they merit it they should
have it. A little bit of praise murt go a bug
way with a detective. While, however, we
may readily give to the detective the praiso that is
his due, it must he confessed that Tcr,rey and has
wife ramie the capture very easy. There is no
doubt that the interesting Ma. Torpey had been
carefully watched from the moment that she was
acquitted by the " intelligent " jo.ry to whom the pro-
secuting, counsel now satirically alludes, and it was
very naturally supposed that she would 1,3 in corn,
munication with her husband. And it has turned out
that her affection for him ha brought him into
trouble. His arrest, by the way, militates against a
very common notion, that there is no plate so safe for
a criminal to hid,, himself in as London, though It may
be said that he chose a very unsafe part of the metro-
polis.

HOW A LANDOWSFSR MAT IMPROVE.—The fol-
lowing account of the improvement by the late Lord
Walsingham of a tract of poor and thin land ought to
convey a Leeson to many owners of light land properties,
who want nothing but some slight knowledge of their
own business : .

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"At the time Lord W.ilsingham Succeeded t. the Merton
property, a considerable portion, 4,600 acres, was held
In large rabbit-warrens, one consisting of as much as 2.10
acres. ills lordshio's first object was to get rid of the warren
as the leeees fell eon, and that be effected in the course of a
few years. 1103 step necessitated the Minding farm-houses
and premises, °h.i the subdivision of the laud, and the hold-
ings here now range from about 600 to 700 acres, while pains
have been token of tato to reduce the rabbits. The main
Improvement necessary was to strengthen the staple of the
sandy eoll by marling or claying, for which there existed
every facility. This proceeded slowly in the hands of the
tenants, and large tracts were conse4uently token in hand
by Lord Walsingham himself, who at one time occupied In
all about 8,500 acres. Large portions have now been marled
or clayed at the rate of 10 to 100 loads per acre, or in acme
Instances, much more, and the arable land divided by fences.
Enough already has been effected to show that by liberal,
but not necessarily very expensive, cultivation anti :direful
farming, good crops may Le grown on land where formerly
the produce was tut tattle sou than rabbits."