The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-03-05 00:00:00

.'4lt. ur fonluni eartspodent.

rWe deem It right to state that we do not at all timell
Isentify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.)

An earthquake which entails a large loss of life
is always a sufficiently startling event to attract
general attention but that which has just
occurred in the Riviera has special points of
interest to English folk. For the Riviera in the
winter is a favourite resort of invalids and of
those who wish to avoid our snow and invalids,
and
to pass their time in a more agreeable climate.
The consequence is, that always at this season
of the year, a large number of English people
are at Nice, Cannes, and neighbouring places; and
the further consequence is that, if any disaster
occurs in that district, it arouses greater atten-
tion in our own land than similar catastrophes in
other pszts of the world. In the most recent
instance, additional interest was evoked by the
fact that the Prince of Wales and his second son
were at Nice at the time the earthquake took
place; and after the first news arrived, much
anxiety was felt until it was certain that their
royal Highnesses had escaped injury. Inquiries
were frequent at the London newspaper offices
by those who had relatives or friends at Nice,
Monaco and Monte Carlo, and who wished to
be assured that they were still safe. It happened
that it was the villages of the Italian Riviera,
rather than the pleasure resorts of the
French Riviera, which greatly suffered from
the catastrophe. The number of lives lost on
the French side of the frontier was small, but
the total of those who were killed on the Italian
side was appalling. In some places with only a
small population, hundreds of persons were hur-
ried into eternity; and the sad story of the
disasters which befell those unhappy beings who
fled for shelter to the churches, as being the
strongest buildings, and who were buried under
the ruins, will long be remembered.

England has been so free from earthquakes
that we can scarcely imagine the feeling of horror
which overpowers those who are subject to such
visitations. The utter helplessness which over-
comes them is described by those who have felt
it as the most dreadful experience through which
they have ever passed. The powerlessness of
man to combat the forces of nature, when these
are put forth in all their strength, is in nothing
more clearly shown; and it is little wonder that
in lands which are liable to be thus visited, that
sensation of helplessness should greatly strengthen
superstition. But although England has, hap-
pily, been free from the worst forms of earth-
quake, it is not to be imagined that that immu-
nity is certain always to continue. Only three
years ago a great portion of eastern England
was shaken with disastrous results. Churches
and houses were wrecked, and so much damage
to property was done, that, had it not been for
a timely public subscription, many poor people
would have grievously suffered. Scotland,
strange to say, appears more liable to earthquakes
than England. Scientific men possess instru-
ments of great delicacy, which indicate with the
utmost precision the least traae of what is called
seismic disturbance: and it is said that there is
one spot on Scottish soil where the earth is never
still, and where, although to the casual observer
nothing out of the cpmmon is to be noted, the
seismic instruments record a ceaseless tremor.
But, although our scientific men can go as far as
this. they are unable 3et to agree as to the
probabk cause of earthcli akes, ind utterly unable
to tell us %, hen they may be e)pected. Perhaps
with the continual development of knowledge,
we shall be able to tell something more of what
earthquakes really are; but even that will not
enable us to fight against the strongest forces of
nature put forth suddenly, and without warning.

The doctrine of averages is always an in-
teresting study, for it is curious to note how in
events which on the face of them are the most
purely accidental, a level average appears to be
struck. Of all accidental things, fires stand out
to the fore, but an examination of some recently
published statistics shows that even these strike
a strangely level average day by day, month by
month, and year by year. It appears that from
the time the London fire-engine establishment
was fousded until the end of last year 66,158
fires occurred in the metropolis. Of these 9397
took place on Sundays, 9085 on Mondays, 9587
on Tuesdays, 9632 on Wednesdays, 9538 on
Thursdays, 9243 on Fridays, and 9676 on Satur-
days. The average here is singularly close. ',it
not more so than it is in the case of th,..!;1 months
during which the fires happened! .12or there were
5800 in January, 4997 Pebruary, 5557 in
March, 5087 in Ary:ii,"-5533 in May, 5496 in
June, 5821 ii July', 5820 in August, 5256 in
SeptemlNQ., • 5025 in October, 5505 in November,
wet 6261 in December. The curious fact about
these figures, in addition to their closeness, is
that most fires took place during the hottest and
coldest months of the year. One can easily un-
derstand a greater liability to fires in January
and December, but it is puzzling to find such
a very large number in June or July.
Improvements in the metropolis are COD
tinually progressing, and a map of London
which might have been a good one only three or
four years ago, would now be found to be so
misleading with regard to certain important dis-
tricts that it might fairly be considered out of
date. It is not long since Shaftesbury-avenue,
the new thoroughfare from Piccadilly-circus to
Oxford-street, was opened to the public; and
now Charing Cross-road, which ris from Charing
cross to Tottenham Court-road, has been giver_
to our use. Those who wish to proceed between
the two points last mentioned will, therefore,
no longer need to travel through the narrow
St. Martin's-lane and the unsavoury region
of Seven-dials, for they will have a broad,
well-lighted thoroughfare through which to
pass, and one which, when it is built along
its whole length, will be a fine addition
to the streets of the metropolis. No one
who does not know the districts thrown
open by Shaftesbury-avenue and Charing-cross-
road can imagine the number of rookeries swept
to*.the winds by these improvements. Narrow
lanes through which an honest gust of fresh air
never seemed to pass have been abolished; and
districts which for centuries had scarcely known
the sunlight have been thrown open to view.
Apart from considerations of public convenience,
the opening of these new streets is a distinct gain
to London from a sanitary point of view, and
that is a point which, in such a crowded city, is
of great importance to us all.
A feeling something akin to dismay must have
overcome many a volunteer as he read the speech
of the Duke of Cambridge at the recent meeting
of the National Rifle Asspciation, for that speech
was a distinct indication of a desire to remove
the great annual rifle meeting from Wimbledon.
The Wimbledon meeting is so bound up with the
history of the volunteer movement that it is
difficult to imagine it being held anywhere
else with a fair chance of continued success. It
was in 1860, when the force was not a twelve-
month old, that the Queen fired the first shot on
Wimbledon-common; and every July since that
date has witnessed the collection on that spot
of the picked representatives of our fine auxiliary
force. If it should prove that removal is un-
avoidable, it can scarcely be hoped that the
affectionate attachment which has bound so

many thousands of volunteers to Wimbledon
for over a quarter of a century can be trans-
ferred to another spot; and it will be wished by
all who have a kindly feeling towards the force
that means may yet be taken to obviate the
necessity for moving. The National Rifle Asso-
ciation ought to strain every nerve to prevent
what might very conceivably prove a catastrophe.
Sentiment must of necessity enter largely into
the constitution of such a body as the volun-
teers; and that sentiment has distinctly been
ministered to by the existence of the annual
rallying point at Wimbledon. If that be re-
moved, and more especially if in the removal the
volunteers should in the least consider them-
selves slighted, the consequences to a most de-
serving force nriy be disastrous.
In connection with the discussion of the new
Procedure Rules for the House of Commons, a
point has been raised which is a curious indica-
tion of how that assembly is gradually being re-
moved from its old position of being "the finest
club in the world." Time was when the whole
of the members, being wealthy men, dwelt
almost in the precincts of Parliament, for the
West-end is so close to Westminster that it may
be so called. But in these days many of the
members are far from rich, and, therefore, feel
the necessity for living in some less highly-
rented part of London. On their behalf it is
sought to make the hour—half-past twelve—
proposed for th 6 compulsory closing of the
House midnight, or even half-past eleven, so
that the last trains to the suburbs may be
caught, and the members still have been present
at the whole sitting. The fact that a hour for
compulsory closing should have been proposed at
all is a noteworthy sign of the times. Of late
years the prolongation of almost every night's
business into the small hours of the morning has
become established; and the majority of mem-
bers are asking to be protected from the minority,
which insists upon talking until daybreak. A
significant proof of the feeling which is entertained
regarding these late sittings by an important
section of regular attendants at the House is
afforded by the name given by their brethren to

those reporters who have to stay on after mid-
night ; they are known as "the victims," and
anyone who has ever seen the conditions under
which they work will agree that the title is w‘dl-
deserved. And they are not the only victims;
with most members staying until the adjourn-
ment is purely voluntary, but it is different with
subordinate members of the Ministry, who are
expected to make a House and keep a House
from the time of meeting to that at which the
Serjeant-at-Arms propounds in the lobby the old
question, "who goes home :?"
One of the most striking displays which will
mark the celebration of the Jubilee will be the
naval review at Spithead. According to the
rough plan, as at present drawn up, 43 vessels,
including gun-boats, but not including torpedo-
boats, will be commissioned for review, and will
co-operate with three squadrons of ships already
in commission. No idea as to the number
of torpedo-boats to be employed has yet
been formed, but as a naval review in these
days would not be complete without a good
display of them, it may be expected that many
will be forthcoming. The review will be one of
the most imposing in the history of the navy,
and it may be anticipated that, if the weather is
at all favourable, it will be witnessed by tens of
thousands of people. Englishmen have a love
for the navy, whichis much a matter of tradition
and largely one of sentiment; and they never
lose a fair opportunityfor exhibiting it. Modern
artillery has caused a vast difference to be made
in the construction of our men-of-war, and the
days of "wooden walls" have disappeared. But
although much of the old picturesqueness has
been lost in the substitution of iron or steel for
wood as a material for building ships, and of
steam for sails as the means of propelling them,
the old belief in the gallantry of our sailors is as
strongly-rooted as ever. And as it is largely
upon the qualities of our men that we should
have to depend in case of a conflict, it is well that
such an opportunity as is promised next June
should occasionally be given for English people
to show their admiration for the navy and for
those who man it, and by their admiration stimu-
late to even higher efforts the sailors who !lorrn
our first line of defence. A. F. R.