The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-04-20 00:00:00

fonbon Corresponlamt.

rW doers tt right to state that we de sot at all Units
allseil 111411.11,110 with our Correspondent's opinions I

The statements of Lord Granville in the one House
and of Mr. Gladstone in the other appear to have

producedumme good effects on the public mind, but
not much. From these statements we learn that in
opposition to the American "case," our Government
has presented to the Geneva Tribunal a counter case,
which "does not contain any plea or argument with
respect to what may be called indirect claims," and
that this is accompanied by a note on the part of the
British Government, "for the purpose of reserving all
rights appertaining to her Majesty on this arbitration,
so that future negotiations may be in no wise fettered
by the communication rf this counter case." Of
course, till we know exactly what this counter case
is, we are not in a position to thoroughly under-
stand the position of affairs; but we know this
that the ltritish Government continues to ignore
and repudiate the American indirect claims, and
that it has now—indirectly, if not dim-etly—told
the United States Government that Great Britain
never entertained these claims and does not mean to
entertain them. The reply of Mr. nib, therefore,
will be eagerly looked for, and meanwhile there is
some ground to hope that the United States Govern-
ment will not endeavour to maintain the untenable
position it has taken up. The Stock Exchange is per-
hope, after all, the best guide to the state of public feel-
ing in this country on the occasion of any important
ministerial announcement, and it is important to note
therefore that on the morning after the declarations
in Parliament the stock markets opened firmly, and
that Consols improved one-eighth. Of course, no one in
his senses believes there will be any war arising out of
this quarrel, but it will be a mercy to have this miser-
able dispute settled.

The .
Monday

--- -
The House of Commons—l mean the building—is
notoriously not large enough for its members. It
will not comfortably accommodate much more than
half, and when two-thirds of the members are a.ssembled
the chamber is inconveniently crowded. The question
whether the room shall be enlarged has often been dis-
cussed, and I suppose that some day this course will be
decided on. But meanwhile there is a powerful claim
for the representation of India in Parliament. A
conferenoe, most influentially attended, has been
sitting at the Society of Arts, and has decided
that members for India, for each of the great
Presidency towns, should have seats in the House
ef Commons. Now supposing this is carried out some
Ins day, the natural carollary will be, that Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, &c., should be represented.
What a monster assembly the House would then
become! What interminable debates we should have
in Colonial questions! But we may depend up m it
that it will be very long before we corns to this state of

affairs.
The recent advance in the Bank rate of discount has
had one effect which has not been made public—it
stopped several limited liability companies "coming
out." And this result on the whole is one on which
the public may be congratulated. In good !moth we
have quite enough companies already. Indeed, till
the advance in the price of money—a carious phrase,
but a correct one—the companies were coming out
80 rapidly that there was a probability of the con,-
munity once wain drifting into a company mania.
Legitimate enterprise is one thing; over-speculation
is another and a very different thing. Speculation of
late has been so active, that it was evident to those
who pail attention to the matter, that it was being over-
done. The check that has been given therefore to the
profession of company-making— for it is a profeesion,
and a very profitable one to the promoters—is to be
rejoiced at.
The old adage, "much %mild have more," is
always being illustrated by the demands made on
the Post-office. The last demand is—it haviaz
been arranged that private cards with written
communications on them shall pass for one
halfpenny—that adhesive stamps a be avail
able. But the Postmaster General says no, the ex -
elusive use of impressed stamps must be insisted on.
Why even this should have been decided on is rather
puzzling:for there certainly has been no great agitation
for the halfpenny private card system. Perhaps the
next demand will be for halfpenny letters. May we
not, however, go rather too far in this matter of cheap-
ness?
The public bare for some time past been entertained
with all sorts of rumours, surmises, contradictions, and
corrections with reference to that awful murder in the
aristacratic neighbourhood of Pack-lane; but all this
I.as been happily followed by the definite statement of
the capture of the accused and her confes.sion of the
dreadful crime. What but arrest could this woman
have expiated ? Her plans for escape were posi-
tively transparent. Her track was marked out by
herself, awl the pursuing detectives had an easy task.
This awful crime must have produced a saddening
effect on the rebid of everyone who has read the narra-
tive of it, and there must be a feeling of relief that the
accused is now in the havale of justice.
Whatever may he thought ef the merits of the dis-
pute in the agricultural world, there can he no denying
the fact that we are coming to what may be called a,
very respectable bucolic revolution, and that the move-
ment is rapidly spreading t various parts of the country.
Ac we cannot ignore this fact, the question arises, how
shall it be dealt with Conciliation and arbitration—
that is what is wanted; and it is satisfactory, there-
fore, to find that the Warwickshire Chamber of
Agriculture has been discussing in a matter-of-fact
and conciliatory spirit this labour question. and has
decided that a conference shall be held between
representatives of landowners, farmers, and labors era,
and that the Chamber has meanwhile recommended
payments in coin and the adoption of piece-work wher-
ever practicable. We are all deeply interested in
this agricultural revolution, and whichever side we may
take--whether we side with masters or men—we must
all be desirous of an amicable settlement of matters in
dispute. A conference, with all parties represented,
is the fairest way of arriving at this desirable result.
The labourers have put in their" case;" let the
farmers put in their "counter-case." It is to be hoped
that other Chambers of Agriculture will fellow the
example of that of Warwickshire.
We shall soon forget Arthur O'Connor and his in-
tensely stupid, but none the less criminal attack on the
Queen. The result of the trial must be pretty generally
approved of. Had he been declared insane he would
of course have been confined in a criminal lunatic
asylum during her Majesty's pleasure, which simply
means for life, and then be would have been a great
erriminaL Now he is only a little criminal, treated, as
he deserves to be, contemptuously. A year's im-
prisonment will give him time for reflection, and he will
emerge from durance vile sadder and wilier, while the
whipping with a birch rod is just the contemptuous
pani-hment that he merits.
Consiler;riz that we are a maritine nation, it has
Dag been matter of surprise that we have so few op-
petuaities for learning the plessant and valuable art
of swimming. The metropolis is very badly off in this
respect. Commenting on the fact that the First Com-
missioner of Works has given permission to establish
erne swimming bath off Battersea Park and another
saw Waterloo bridge, the Pall :Mal says, "London
is not only the one capital, not only the one city, but
actually the one large town in Europe. which is
absolutely without swimming baths." This is an
error. We have Si6MlTling baths in Lambeth and
Bentonville, but still these are ridiculously inadequate
to the rsquirements of our town. The intended
swimming baths will be on a large scale, and will be a
great boon to the Londoners, while they will aLso set
a good example to other towns. No town should be
without its swimming bath, which would promote
health and cleanliness besides tending to wave his by
teaching people to swim. Perhaps we shall 'pane day
aarive at the accomplishment of natation being so
general that no man ar boy will be allowed to enter on
a 'seafaring life till he proves that he can swim ; but if
we were now to make this a vac qua non, why—we
should have very few sailors.