The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-07-30 00:00:00

Oar fnbou Cartsponbtut.

rWe deem it right to q' ate that we do not at all tines identify
ourselves with our Carrespoudent's opinions.]

With the great naval review at Spithead the
last of the Jubilee celebrations has taken place,
and it was a worthy conclusion to a historic
series oi evep_ts,,,Yer the payy. is not only
..a.
bUtWark of 'England to whin!' vöfliTok for pi•ii-
tection, but it is a service of which every English-
man is proud. To the patriot, as to the lovers
of_ the .picturesque, the scene presented last
Saturday was most imposing. The calm blue
waters of the Solent bore on their bosom such
an assemblage of ships of war as had never before
been gathered by this country, and one which
could not be producel by any other nation in
the world. Every description of craft dotted
the fair expanse of water from the greatest men-
of-war England can boast to the small torpk d )
boats which have sprung up so lavishly into
being within he past few years. The sight
presented to the tens of thousands of spec-
td.tors on the attendant ships and the adjacent
shore WO one or which iv! nation could
well be proud, and the feelings of the
Queen can be imagined as the Royal yacht
steamed slowly through the lines; and yards
were manned, and sailors cheered, and the whole
surruundings wee aglow with life and euthu-
siasin. The illumination of the fleet at night
was as imposing in its degree as the review itself,
and the spectacle Well repaid the trouble of those
who had stayed to see it. Some compensation
of the sort was certainly needed by the indi-
viduals who had travelled from London early in
the morning to see the sight, and who stayed •
until late at night to enjoy the whole. The day
was allot and. tiring one, the railway journey
slow and wearying, but the
_whole fevietv was so
successful that he Must have been hEird indeed
to please who did not feel satisfied with what he I
had seen. "
As surely as summer wines around, so surely
do there arise rumours as to the insalubrity of
_ _ _

some or other of the best-known watering-places,
and this'year it is -onizi of the most popular of all
to Londoners which has come in for this kind of
condemnation. It is always the case that, no
sooner is an accusation of this kind launched,
than the conflict of testimony, medical anl
official, becomes overwhelming. The local prae-
titioners are of necessity up in arms against a
charge which in some sort reflects upon them-
selves, and they are always ready to produce
abundant figures to show that the complaint is
is not well founded. If the result is to cause
greater precautions to be taken by the local sani-
tary authorities,the lodging-house keepers,and the
medical practitioners themselves,thecharge,even if
not as completely proved as those who brought
it promised, will do good. We go to a watering-
place with our families for rest, enjoyment, and
the benefit of our health; and if we are worried
when there with suspicions of unsanitariness we
get neither the rest nor the enjoyment, Enid our
health is likely to be injured. No town ought
to be so jealous of its reputation for its salubrity
as a seaside resort, and none ought to be more
ready to adopt means of improvement if its
sanitary state is not as perfect as it ought to be.
The misfortune is that such places often resent
fair criticism as if it were an uncalled-for com-
plaint, esnd obvious precautions are neglected
rather than an appearance of an admission that
something had been wrong should he made. But
such a wrong-headed policy brings its own
punishment, for in this, as in many other cases,
the old saying is true, that, if you give a dog a
bad name ybu may as well hang him; and a
watering-place which has once earned a reputa-
tion for unhealthiness is doomed.
Another
.customary accompaniment of summer
is a ruineur aesto the prevalence of rabies among
dogs, and, as a consequence, of hydrcph )bia
among human beings. Not so much, however,
is being Ilford of this in London during the
presentssummereas in some recent ones, because
the Police order which directedthat all dogs in
the etreets should be muzzled or led has been
allowed to expire, and there seems no immediate
prospeict, of
,its revival. From quite another
quarter-, however, and that not far removed from
the metropolis; a siinilar order has just. come, for,
by order of Prince Christian-, the 'Ranger, the
following • announcement has been posted
within the past few days at the gates of
Windsor Geeit Park`
."-Rabies having
appeared am-1)g the deer in Richmond
Park, and several deer in Windsor. Great Park
having been bitten by dogs, notice is hereby
given that all dogs in Windsor Great Park are to
be muzzled or led." There is not likely to be much.
dispute about the- necessity for such an order,
•• Leers' ee taatf Icwo = 4.. C....--.—...
would be hard, indeed, if the deer in such a
place as Windsor Great Park were harried and
worried by visitors' dogs; and it would be
equally hard if all visitors were excluded
because the dogs of some of them proved to
be nuisances. The muzzling and leading
order is, therefore, justified as a reason-
able compromise, and people generally will
agree that, if folks 'choose to be accompanied
by their dogs to such sprts, they ought to be
compelled to take proper care of them. Deer
are sensitive anima's, and a single obstrepereus
dog may do more harm among them, if allowed
to work its own sweet will, than a whole season
of quiet will repair.
Fatal accidents end appalling crimes owing to
the increased use of the revolver are becoming
alarmingly common, and scarcely a day pas ee
without the newspapers containing some further
illustration of the truth of Shakespeare's saying,
"How' oft the means to do ill deeds makes ill
deeds done." Now it is some lad, who, in a
moment of anger and simply because he has a
deadly wehpon within handy reach, perpetrates
murder ; then it 'is an equally passional-0
eolith who. berame he is crossed in some dear
'design, and has the same murderous instrument
at hard-, donut-ifs suicide and Es,gain it is sense
perfectly innocent person- who -picks up a re-
volvt r, not dreaming it to be loaded, and While
bin' ling it is killed. Are culiarly sad fe ample
of ti is last-mentioned fatality occurred in one of
our largest tewns only a few days ago. A servant
girl who had ben cleaning a bedroom cams upon
a revolver-which had been hidden under a chest
of drawers; he picked it up and, with natural
cerioAity, was examining it, when it went off. the
con- ents entering her stomach; and, afterlineee jog
in great agony for a few hours, the I,oor
whose case had bsen h_oeelecs from the first, died
in ho-pital. Perhaps it is too mudh to expct
von so sh 'eking a case as this should pre-
vent riliinally thoughtless people from leaving
about 161cled revolvers; 'but it is the det v o all
heads of tarn sto see that such wespons are
not brousht into the house by the young and
insautious. Even if this slight amount f pre-
caution were undertaken good would result.
It is not-, however, only the young who are in-
cautious; many of us who are old enough to
know better frequently appear to be lacking in
those elements of common-sense which dictate

p-ecau: ion against obvious dangers. Thousands
of householders' ever'Y dilmmer and autumn leave
their dwellings for two Oi three weeks at a time;
with no better protection. than a few easily-
picked locks, easily-shot bolts, or equally easily-
turned window-fastenings. The consequence in
many cases is that they return to find that the
enterprising:burglar has been playing one of his
old tricks, and that they have been depzived at
a single sweep of more valuables than would
have sufficed to retain a caretaker for a quarter
of a century. The metropolitan police autho-
rities are Particularly emphatic in warn-
ing householders • against reeving. their
dwellings shut up and untenanted ; and
it is obvious that the most complete
onstahulary systenx.which the ratepayers are
likely to pay for-or tolerate will not suffice to,
sbsolutelyprotect every single house that is left
4-
empty dpiqng the holiday season. The remedy
is so obviousvand on the whole so cheap; that
those whi? are robbed because 'they'. Will not
employ a caretaker, are little to be sympathised
with; and yet the police'reportawill show that
the number of such isYdrY large in each succes-
sive year. . .
Paris is not yet to hayeari underground rail-
way; so, at least, the French Parliament within
Vie last feW days decided. The French capital
wll thus. .retaiaib without a--great contenieride
(whatevar; may be:
..ne_rtairCifl 1S dra.yvbacka)
which tile EilishAiptirdP9l4, „has,' enic;Yed fer,
some twetitY-fOur yeara;., and it is not much
wonder that itreltizens •grumble'rat the deeisinn •
• to which the Chstalier.of Deputies. has Come. ,
One of the main reasoo fcii; thcil6jeq-tiOn of thp:.
scheme sounds singular to pnglitMaiip, and yet it
is one the use of which can b'e•nuite,understood,
it being that, in case of a revolUtionary move-
ment, the tunnels might be used* for defensive
ity. or destructive purposes. When one remembers '
that the principal reason for straightening-some
*I of the streets of Paris and laying them with'
sunhalte was that cannon could sweep through
th-u-n and paving stones be no longer available
for barricades, the force of the reason' ng regard i ng
possible revolutionary use of an underground rail-
way is apparent. But it may be that even this
objection will at no distant date be obviated.
.Even to the most casual visitor, a better means
of inter-communication is clearly apparent. The
system of omnibmses and tramcars may be very