The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-05-29 00:00:00

TRAVELLERS' GRIEVANCES.

It is a very co ninon remark that people are
very fond of going to fareign countries to see
scenery infeiror to wliat they have Lit behind in
their owe country ; and they like to study f4r•
eign manners and customs, though they know
little by experience of the peculiarities of dis-
tant localities in their native land. As far as
England is concerned the anomaly is no doubt
true eteeteli ; but, without going very deeply
Into the theory of the matter, there is one cause
which undoubtedly leads to Enelishmen prefer-
rbig, as ea many do, to travel MI the Continent
to travelling in their own land; and that is the
extortionate charges at our Imtels. A corres-
pondent of the Times writes to complain of the
extravagance of au hotel bill at C:ruhrid,oe. Six
persons desired to take their eativ: in their inn for
a short time. They arrived in the afer part of
one day and left on the ramming of the next, anal
their little bill amounted to 1.!8 s Ibl. Naturally
it would he expected that they lived during this
time with luxurious extravagance, hut it appears
they did nothing of the kind. But they paid
with luxurious extravagance if they did not en-
joy it. Six dinners were charged t.ls each. This
may or may not have been fair, but je•lgiug by
the other items they paid far too much, far we
find they paid Ss for a bottle of sherry, and a
guinea for two bottles of champagne. This,
again, may have been fair, for wines have fancy
prices, but the presumption is that the victims
paid 100 per cant, too much. Bait what possible
excuse could even a special pleader offer for this
itein—one fire anal candles, 7s? Surely the
company did not eat candles, or stick one in
each window-pane ? And then "apartments,
Li iFS4 lid," and " attendance, 10s;" and, above
all, the total, amounting £1 7s fkl each, are
monstrous. Can we wonder that Englishmen
avoid English hotels, and fly to others that they
knew not of, but where they know they shall not
be fleeced in this etyle? The complaint of this
correspondent is by no means a new one. Every
season—and the travelling season has not yet
commenced—we hear tales of extortion of a
similar kind, and there must be much more that
only the victims themselves know of.
If we are to encourage tourists to spend
money at horns we lutist have fair and moderate
hotel charges and cheaper railway taavelliug
And it would be well if we could have another
little reform which a trial in the Court of
Queen's Bench proves to be much required. A
gentleman registered his luggage from London
to Paris, and it was lost. Though registered,
the company denied their liability, maintaining
that they were only liable if lost in England,
and that the luggage had been landed in Fiance!
Learned 4argauteets wale adduced in support of
this view, and the Court deeided that it was
right; but common-sense says the compaey is
wrong. It is too bad that a holiday maker
should have to choose between extortionate
charges at English hotels and losing his luggage
if ho try to escape to a foreign laud. The lat-
ter grievance, it is true, is not of frequent occur-
rence, tin I the railway service to Paris is, on the
whole, admirably managed. II at the grievance
eztoetonete hetel eh Eng!xn,l is an
41.1 one tlaat all t 144 • xre•-•nre has h.a' la-
liii 'kiwi'. The re the evi', however, is ex-
posed, Um wore lik :iy is it ac li. eQdiediel.