The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-03-27 00:00:00

ntisallantons
HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

THE ISLAND OF TRISTAN D'ACIINTIA.—The follow-
ing letter has been addressed to the Leisure flour :
" Her Majesty's ship Comus, the Cape, Feb. 16, 1880.
—Dear enclose a letter from Peter Green, the
chief of the interesting little colony which I had the
pleasure of visiting on the 6th inst. They are in a
flourishing state, 109 in number, the largest that the
community has ever risen to. They have plenty of
cattle, sheep, and poultry, and seem to be living a
quiet, orderly) and contented life. The only thing they
want is a resident clergyman. The people would sup-
port a man and his wife, as far as lodging and food go,
if one of the many societies in England would guarantee
a salary. lam sure the Admiralty would give a pas-
sage from St. Helena, from which it is a fine-weather
voyage of ten days only. The climate is perfect. The
clergyman would have to act as schoolmaster as well
as chaplain. Our chaplain baptized five infants born
since the last visit of a man-of-war. The island is
much more visited than formerly; and now that they
are beginning to export cattle to St. Helena communi-
cation with England will not be so difficult. —Yours
faithfully, JAMES EAST, Captain R.N.
RACY.—Little Maggie: "Mary, dear, if there is a
collision I hope our train will win."—Fun.
THE WEATHER AND AGRICULTERE.—A finer week
than last for tillage operations could scarcely have
been desired, and already barley sowing is consider-
ably advanced in most districts, farmers being anxious
to take the fullest advantages of the favourable circum-
stances of weather and soil, and there being no large
breadths of turnips to feed off, even the land can be
ploughed and sown as is the case in most seasons. On
the heavy soils, however, the land is getting a little
too dry and cloddy, for which reason a few storms
of rain will do much good. Probably a little downfall
would also bring down the cold, for the only draw-
backs to the favourable nature of the present situation
the severe frosts at night, which check vegetation,
so greatly needed to be advanced just now that there
may be something for ewes and lambs to eat. March,
on the whole, however, is turning out a most favour-
able month, and if we only have a warm, showery
April to follow, the prospects of a fruitful season will
be greatly advanced. —Chamber of Agriculture Journal.
EMIGRATION FROM GERMANY.—Conformably to cer-
tain promises made last session, Prince Bismarck has
presented to the Imperial Parliament a paper on emi-
gration from Germany during the year 1879. From
statistics therein tabulated it appears that no fewer
than 33,327 subjects of the Empire, nearly two-thirds
being males, took ship last year for foreign ports at
Bremen, Hamburg, Stettin, or Antwerp, by far the
greater number going to the United States and British
North America. After these countries Australia and
Brazil seem to be the most attractive. This emigra-
tion total is the largest since 1874, when the figure
was 45,112; 1872 and 1873, immediately after the war,
showing the formidable results of 125,650 and 103,638
respectively.

I are

THE QUESTION SETTLED.—She Butdo not you think
that too much smoke is injurious to the mind ?—He:
I cannot say I do. In my own case I have found it
rather to increase than lessen the mental vigour.—
She: Oh !—Judy. •

THE COMET.—The Melbourne Argus says :—" The
tail of a large comet was discovered in the south-
western heavens near the horizon, on February 2,
soon after sunset. The nucleus could not be seen
either on the 2nd or 3rd, but about 25 deg. length
of tail were visible. Owing to the misty state of the
air and the closeness of the comet to the sun, no
favourable observations could be made in Melbourne
on the first or second night." The Argus of the sth of
February, says :—" Owing to the presence of clouds
and a hazy sky no continuous observation of the comet
could be made at the observatory last night. The
best view of the visitor was obtained at 25 minutes to
9 p.m., when it extended 32 deg. above the horizon.
Occasionally the sky cleared, so that a view could
be obtained nearly down to the horizon, but the
nucleus of the comet was not visible. The tail had
slightly diminished in brightness from the previous
evening, and was rather less curved. It appeared to
be almost perpendicular to the horizon, and had moved
slightly to the northward. Its length had considerably
increased since Tuesday evening. Until the nucleus
has been observed no' knowledge can be obtained as to
the direction in which the comet is travelling or its
actual position in the heavens. It will probably be
two or three-weeks before any definite information on
these points can be obtained. We have received the
following telegram Perth, Feb. 4. A long stream
of lustrous light, resembling the tail of an immense
comet, is visible a little above tlie horizon in the
western heavens. It appears to be making ait easterly
course.'"

-How ANCESTORS ARE MADE.—Elder sister. Yes,
darling, grandma is rather fidgetty ; but then think of
her age—over ninety—nearly a hundred! What
would you be if you were a hundred years old ?—Ada
(promptly). Why, I should be older than grandma.
Judy.

DISASTERS AT SEA.—There were 27 British and
foreign wrecks reported during the past week, making
the total for the present year 355, or a decrease of 118,
as compared with the corresponding period of last
year. The approximate value of property lost was
£520,000, including British £495,000.
NOTHING FOR THE WATTSES !—A Mexican paper
says that a young man stopped at a, post-office the
other day, and yelled out, " Anything for the
Wattses ?" The polite master replied, "No, there is
not." "Anything for Jane Watts?" "Nothing."
"Anything for Ace Watts? " "No." "Anything
for Tom Watts?" "No, nothing. No, nor Dick
Watts, nor Jim Watts, nor Sweet Watts, nor any
other Watts, dead, living, unborn, native, fore.e
eig,
ni
civilized or uncivilised, savage or barbarous, _al
female, white or black, franchised or disfranchise
oildr
;naturalised or otherwise. No, there
nothing for any of the Wa.ttses, eitherisindrldn
positively
severally, jointly, now, and forever, one aa 1
in-
in if there is
in astonishment, and said: "Please lo
separable." The young man looked at the postmaster
anything for John Thomas Watts?"
you t
awafrinello3u,-,o._ur
G
OUR GENIAL CLIMATE.— ood night, Fred.—Good
bn
eg
shst
d Jack;haud
sb übte hr
ey tyhoeud etua ckee dt
Ugh !—Judy.
AN EVEN THrNG.—The other day two strangers
were toasting their shins on opposite sides of a big
and it was noticed that
stove in a ferry wharf salono
other as if almost certain
esrterabuegfeoz I've seen . oanfeacoef
that they had met
they often looked asoti:;:xl
just
ou ever have a, brother them got up and so:di_le
almost like vour3. Pi 9
raan ge r ago,,?
ve'sailed
winiuthedyot
"Yoe .ivas lie a sailor. "He
Con
atraffected, "I'
-we were wrecked together on the Pacific,
about hear o fetehertylgea last aa b
.oyou t , ,
s 3, et
came I had to kill and eat him ! I
lfdthbeerfßoreill
mustlae related. • I'm awfully sorry it was knew you
other, and though I was driven to it and the law
your br
't touch me, lam willing to pay you damages. Be
iinnder fair with me, for Bill was old and tough. About
w much do you think is fair?" The other wiped a
'help
tear from his, eye, and replied: "Stranger, where is
your dad?" Been dead these twelve years." "Died
Nevada„ didn't he?" "Yes, out there somewhere.'?
"Well, I killed him! I knew you were his son the
minute I saw you. He and I were in a mine, and one
day as we were going up in the bucket I saw that the
old rope was going to break under the strain. When
we were up abott two hundred feet, I picked up your
old dad and dropped him over. It was bad on him
but it saved me. Now you ate my brother Bill, and
I murdered your dad, and I guess we'd better call it
even, and shake to see who pays for the drinks." They
shook, drank, and the old lake captains who could not
tell a lie had to sit back and realise how sad it was
they were born with such tender consciences,

Tnt TOPOPPIONE.—A new instrument, called by this
name, has been experimented upon and described by
Professor Morton in his report to the Lighthouse
Board of the United States, by which the exact direc-
tion of sound given by fog-horns or fog-bells may be
ascertained. The machinery is very simple, and con-
sists of a vertical rod passing through the roof of the
deck cabin, to the upper end cf which are attached
two adjustable resonators. Below these is a pointer,
set at right angles to the bar, While rubber tubes pass
through the cabin roof and are connected with a pair
of ear tubes. The whole apparatus can be turned
towards any direction, and the result is that any per-
son sitting in the cabin, by turning round until the
least sound was perceptible, would bring the pointer
to within ten degrees, or less than one point, of the
direction. The experiments proved that it was easy to
ascertain whence the sound came from a distance of
four to six miles.
A WARNING WORD.—Land and Water remarks :
By the bright gleams of sunshine with which we have
lately been favoured the temptation to cast aside
winter clothing, or at least some portion of it, becomes
exceedingly dangerous. Sealskins or heavy coats are
certainly not pleasant attire when spring fashions en-
gage the attention of ladies and summer suits that of
gentlemen, but the , Lancet in a seasonable warning de-
clares that probably in the whole circle of the seasons
there is not a more treacherous time than the present.
The temperature is, for the most part, genial, and the
sun condescends to shine; but the winds are cold and
the afternoons chilly, even more so than the evenings.
It will be more prudent for some weeks to come pr?-
bably, to bear the weight and inconvenience of what is
called 'warm attire,' than to risk the danger of un-
accustomed exposure. Habitual exposure, the result
of training during the vigorous periods of life, will be
natural, and therefore inocuous ; but exposure such as
is dared with exhaustive strength and a depressed tone
of the system, after a long and dreary winter, can
neither be excused nor explained except on the prin-
ciple that impatience under the ills we have often
tempts the short-sighted and unwary to face greater
dangers—unsuspected because unappreciated."
BANDS OF WILD HORSES IN COLORADO.—Writing
to the Greely Sun, General D. B. Harper states that
the prairie fires on the Rickaree and Republican have
driven the wild horse bands into the Platte country,
within twenty miles of South Platte, and that there
are a half-dozen bands, the largest containing fifty
animals, ranging the country. He, with others, con-
cealed themselves in the long grass, and, after some
time, one company of horses grazed up to within 200
yards. There were a number of mules and American
mares in the crowd, which had been enticed away in
the past from civilisation and are now apparently as
wild as their associates. While thus watching, Mr.
Harper saw these horses satisfying their thirst. In
one place, on Payton Creek (a dry stream), he saw
them pawing with their hoofs in the sand, and after-
wards found that the holes were thus dug to obtain
water. In many spots water can be found six inches
or a foot below the surface, and their instinct enables
them to find it. A large band of buffalo was in the
country a few days ago, and several came into Harper's
sheep camp, about ten miles from the river. Hunters
went out and killed twenty or more.
AN ORIGINAL FORM OF PRESCRIPTION.—There has
been much controversy from time to time as to the
proprietary of p. patient using again a prescription
after the occasion for which the medical attendant
gave it and received his fee. Such a question would
be hardly likely to arise in the case of a very large
form of prescription, of which the National gives the
following account :—According to that journal, a medi-
cal man of Chalons being sent for to a case in a neigh-
bouring village, forgot to take his memorandum-book
with him. Apparently, elementary education is not
enforced in that part of the world ; for, when
the doctor asked for pen, ink, and paper to write
a prescription, nothing of the kind was forth-
coming, nor could writing materials of any de-
scription whatever be obtained in the neighbour-
hood. Tired of waiting, the doctor seized a piece of
charcoal and wrote a prescription on the barn-door of
the farm where the patient lived. The relations,
however, of the sick man naturally found themselves
unable to read what had been ordered for his benefit,
and thus another difficulty arose. At last, the bright
idea struck them of taking the door off the hinges and
sending it bodily to the druggist. This was accordingly
done, and the pharmacist in the neighbourhood was
considerably astonished by the apparition of a cart
stopping at his establishment laden with a huge door.
It was impossible to take this novel form of prescription
into the shop; so, realising the situation he propped it
up on the pavement, read the formula, and returned
the door with the medicine ordered, of course taking
proper precautions that, should the ordonnance require
repetition, he would not again need to see the original
prescription.—British Medical Journal.

THE LAST FALLOW DEER IN HYDE PARK.—It may
be of interest to your readers to know that I have in
my possession the horns of the last deer that were in
Hyde Park, and although they are not full grown, I
value them highly as relics of London of the past. To
show that I am probably correct in my statement, I
will state how they came into my possession. Some
years since my much respected friend, Mr. Herbert
Williams, who was for forty years superintendent of
the Royal Humane Society's Receiving House in
Hyde Park, gave me these antlers, stating they had
been given him by old Henbury, the park keeper, who
had had charge of the deer, and in conversation after-
wards with Henbury, he said it was quite correct, as
he had killed the deer himself, and long after had
given the antlers to Williams, finding them in his way.
—Lambton Young, in Land and Water.
AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The following
are the average prices of British corn for the week
ending March 20, as received from the inspectors and
officers of Excise :—Wheat, 465. id.; barley, 345. lid;
oats, 235. 3d. per imperial qr. Corresponding week
last year :—Wheat, 40s. Bd.; barley, 335. 9d.; oats,
21s. id.

A REMARKABLE FISH !—A number of Americans
were telling stories in a hotel coffee-room, when a
gentleman from Kentucky remarked, "That reminds
me of a fish that I had. It was a gold-fish. I reckon
it was the most remarkable fish anybody ever heard
tell of. We never noticed anything peculiar about
it until one bright sunshiny day, when it jumped
up on the edge of its globe and began to sing, for
all the world like a nightingale or an ()Hole. We
had a canary close by and you never saw such an
astoni:Thed bird as that canary was. When he heard
the fish a-singing he wilted right down, and seemed
to say, "Well, if that don't beat me !" And it
did too, for the bird was no singer. After he had
finished his tune, the gold-fish yanked his head
around under his fin and scratched himself, like a bird
would do, and then the canary, that hadn't got over
its surprise, seemed to say again, "Next thing, you'll _
be laying a pigeon's egg." Well, that fish used to jump
up on the edge of its globe and sing just ag reg'lar as
the day 'ud come, sometimes as often as a dozen times
a day. When we wanted it to sing for company, all
we had to do was to set a sheet of music where it could
see it, and out that fish 'ud come and tackle it, whether
it was 'Yankee Doodle' or an aria from an Italian
opera. I could have got it a situation in the church
choir, at a good fat salary "—after a pause—" only for
one thing. We never could teach the blamed thing to
turn its own music."

THE AMERICAN AND CANADIAN FOOD SUPPLY.—
During last week seven steamers reached th Mersey
from the United States and Canada with fresh meat,
bringing 8,351 quarters of beef, 2,140 carcases of
mutton, and 1,059 dead pigs; and five with live stock,
bringing 1,216 live cattle and 330 sheep. The arrivals
of live stock and fresh meat were much larger than
those of the previous week.

A MEDIA!!VAL MANUSCRIPT.—A manuscript Psalter
has just been discovered at Freiburg, in the Grand
Duchy of Baden, which archeological experts assign to
the second half of the Bth century. It presents all the
characteristics of the later Merovingian and early Carlo-
vingian period, and is presumed to have been 'originally
the property of some monastery on the left bank of the
Rhine.

A NEW WAY OF HEATING RAILWAY CARRIAGES.
It is reported from Lyons that the Compagnie Paris-
Lyon-M6diterranee is now trying a new method of heat-
ing in express trains. The method was proposed by
M. Ancelin, an engineer, and consists simply in the
use of acetate of soda in the foot-warmers. The sub-
stance has considerable latent heat; dissolving at a
certain temperature, it thus absorbs a large quantity
of heat, which becomes sensible during crystallization
in cooling. All that is required is to fill the ordinary
cases with a sufficient quantity of the acetate, close them,
and place them in a stove at about 100 deg. The cooling of
a case thus charged and heated takes 12 to 15 hours. The
warmers are thereafter taken from the compartments
and placed in a stove (where the crystals of soda acetate
are re-dissolved) ; they are then ready for fresh
use. The advantages of such a system are obvious—no
necessity of changing warmers every two or three
hours, or of maintaining a numerous body of men at
stations to attend to them • economy in cost of heat-
ing, &c. Moreover, most Of the existing foot-warmers
can be utilized. Acetate of soda is not very expensive,
and it could be easily manufactured in much larger
quantities than at present if the demand required it.
The new system has been tried on the express train
No. 5, leaving Paris at 7.15 and reaching Perrache at
4.31. The compartments were each supplied at start,
ing with two warmers containing acetate of soda. At
Perrache most of the warmers were still so hot that
one could not apply the back of the hand to them.
From Lyons to Marseilles the train was heated on the
ordinary system.

NATURE ASSERTING HERSELF.—It is a pity that
nature and art should be so often, as they are, in op-
position to each other, and that a theory of beauty
1 which satisfies the demands of one should outrage the
demands of the other. It was not not riatural that a
girl's waist should be immediately under her arms, yet
in former times that was considered indispensable to
true grace. In later years it was equally unnatural
that waists should be compressed to a painfully small
circumference, but this again became a habit ; and there
exists others equally false and mischievous. Now and
then, however, nature asserts herself, and gives a salu-
tary hint that she is not to be maltreated with im-
punity. This, it appears, was lately the case at Bos-
ton. A young lady living there found that her
eyesight gradually became worse and worse, and
and after a time she adopted the sensible course
of consulting the best oculist in the neigh-
bourhood. To him she told her sad story.
She had always enjoyed good health until
lately; but now she could neither read, nor
work, nor play, Riding and driving were out of
the question, and she was in terror of becoming blind.
The oculist asked her about several things, and sud-
denly said, "Put out your foot." The request, strange
as it was, did not seem altogether disagreeable to her,
for her feet were small, and were encased in a delicious
little pair of French boots with, as a matter of course,
heels like little stilts. The doctor looked at it stolidly,
and then said, "Yes. Go home and take off those
heels, then come to me in a month's time and we'll see
how your oyes are." She did as she was told—with a
slight pang, it may be, but without hesitation; and
gradually the eyesight became stronger and stronger. At
the end of a month she visited the doctor to report
improvement, and he explained to her how certain,
nerves and tendons communicated with other nerves
and tendons, and how injuring some injured the rest ;
all of which she did not understand, but• gathered
sufficient information to comprehend that high heels
develop unexpected dangers. In this girl's case nature
was having her revenge.—Evening Siandiara.

MR. BRIGHT AND MR. CHAMBERLAIN
ON THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.
A deputation from the Brmingham licensed victtiallers aX4
beer retailers waited on Mr. Bright and Mr. Chamberlain orr
S.,fraturdn_ Y in last week to ago:Wean:l their views on questions
I,"Zeainirthe drink traffic. The deputation was introduced
._C. Edwards, secretarrto the Licensed Victuallers'
„ aQuonal Defence League, who said that upon the questions
''andaY closing and local -option the trade would be glad
to know the precise views of 3fessrs. Bright and Chamberlain,
thelatter of whom had stated that if he applied the principle
" cc/nPulsotT acquisition of licensed premises he Ehould
give no compensation.
PMr. Chamberlain denied that this was so, and corn-
ained generally of the manner in which his opinions
nad been misrepresented.
Mr. Bright then said —Upon the question of Sun-
day closing I have voted in the House of Commons, I
think, in favour of Mr. Stevenson's Bill, which
accepts that principle in the main. I told Mr.
Stevenson that I thought there would require to be
some alteration, and that the Bill as it stood would
not be acceptable to the House or to the country. I
do not know what it will be when it makes its appear-
ance again, but probably some change may take
Place. With regard to the Forbes Mackenzie Act,
there is one conclusive answer to the objections which
rnanY Englishmen make to it, and that is that
in Scotland I believe you would find hardly any-
one throughout the country who now objects to that
Act or would consent to its being repealed. I go a
great deal to Scotland. I suppose I have, since that
Act passed, been there every year, and I never met with
a person who complained of it, and scarcely such a per-
son is to be found; least of all do I consider that you
could get any considerable number of sellers of
alcoholic drinks to petition Parliament to move in any
Way for the repeal of the Act. The fact is that they
feel what you must feel, although you don't tell it to
us. You must feel that the present system, under
Which you are deprived of the customs of the country,
by a wish to make money, and by the habit
of your trade, of the benefit of a quiet and
z.traalquil day in the week for yourselves and your
families that it is one in which it would be a great
advantage if a change could be made. Why, the
Nie7 last time I met with a deputation of your trade
.11
j3irininghara, I think there were more than one of
the deputation who said they had for a long time not
°Pened their houses on a Sunday, and I think it was
stated that more than 100 keepers of publichouses of '
one kind or the other in Birmingham then objected to
open their houses on a Sunday and found a great
advantage from closing. You must be aware that in
the canvass which has been made by the temperance
People in a great number of towns the majority of
the publicans themselves have expressed their approval
of Sunday closing, though they said, "We cannot
afford to shut up our houses if the thing is not made
general by law, because if we shut up our houses on a
unday and another man opened his where a man
could go and get what he wanted, then probably he
would not
and the only go on a Sunday, but on the Saturday
Molday,
altogether." .11. d we should lose his -custom
The opiruons of the publicans throsighout
the country are by no means unanimous; they do not
approach unanimity. My own impression is
that if the publicans throughout England and
Wales were canvassed as to the propriety
of having a general law for shutting publichouses on a
Sunday, probably more than one-half would be in
favour of such a change. To assume otherwise would
be to impute to them a carelessness about their own
pleasure and enjoyment and the interests of their
falnilY. I don't think it would be just to suppose that
they think it is right for them or good for them that they
Should be the only people in the country who attend to
business seven days in the week, and a business which
is particularly unfavourable in families to what we
!eau family and social life such as is enjoyed by people
in other trades. Judging from the canvass as far as
it has gone, there is an enormous majority of the house-
holders in all the towns, so far as I have seen, in favour
of Sunday closing ; and generally I have noticed there is a
Very large number, and in most cases a majority, of the
Publicans themselves who have been in favour of it. I
cannot believe they differ so much from the rest of their
countrymen as to think they can be benefitted by carry-
ing on a trade on a day which other people devote to
family life, or pleasant recreation, or some regard for
religious observances and duties. But, of course, in a
Matter of this kind Parliament can only go as far as
Public ?pinion sanctions. It may be that public
Opinion is not up to the point which I think it will
reach, and very nearly has approached, but when
Public opinion has reached it Parliament will find
acme mode of settling the Sunday question, which,
Perhaps, just now, in the present mood of the country,
may not be satisfactory to you, though I believe that
when twelve months had passed and you had enjoyed
it, you would be like the publicans in Scotland, and
would not, under any consideration, ask Parliament
to return to the system. Then as to the Gothenburg
BYstem. I will not say anything about that be-
in my opinion, the proposition is one involv-
ing so greats? change, with such great difficulties,
that I do not think it comes at present, and I do
not look forward to its ever coming in this country
Within what I call the line of practical politics. There-
fore I will not discuss it further. 'With regard to local
option, you are aware, I dare say, or I hope so, that
More than forty years ago, when the Municipal Reform
Bill Passed, by which this town had municipal govern-
ment and many other towns in the country—a law
Which has acted, on the whole, so well—the House of
Commons put in clauses transferring the whole power
of licensing from the magistrates to the corporations.
It was discussed at length in the House of Commons,
and by a considerable majority that plan was agreed
to. It was rejected in the House of Lords, as they
rejected other matters in the Bill, such as the ap-
pointment of
gagism
trates by the corporations. In
cotland, as you know, the magistrates in the
tgyoug Ialls; are what we call the aldermen, or what
in th the bailies, and they have almost entirely
in th
'jr own hands the arrangement of the licences
eir
time—morespective boroughs. It shows that at that
s. . . re. than forty years ago—there was great
utssatistaction with the magisterial exercise of their
fund'
wt. ens, and the Liberal Government of that day,
-t was a great majority in the House, considered
!. wise to hand this part of the duty over to the corpora-
R°lls. Now, at that time, as far as I can recollect,
corpora-
the publicans made no objection; they did not become
their
Political party, forgetting everything else but
own special trade interests, and, as far as I know,
ere
was no rising or deelaration that they would turn
eve
rYo hd,
Th out of Parliament or anything of the kind.
e whore thing was agreed to as a matter of policy
Which most people thought desirable, and which no one
thought particularly injurious. But the House of
Lords rejected it, and the present system continued
until this time. My idea of local option remains the
same. The first time Sir Wilfrid Lawson's Bill was
Ibrought into the Hous I do not recollect the year, but
think my speech is to be found in the newspapers, and it
is in the published volume of my speeches—l protested
I.lgainst the principle of the Bill, and recommended
that if any change were made—and I thought a change
Wag desirable--we 3hould revert to what the House of
C"anions did some years ago. Mr. Edwards draws a
dreadful picture of what corporations would do if you
Put such power into their hands. My opinion is that
the more power you put into the hands of the Corpora-
rations, the more will you give them authority, the
snore Will you give them dignity, and the more regard
Will the have for the true interests of the population
they govern. Mr. Forster, when he brought in the
School Bill, proposed to give the management, instead
of to the School Boards, to the corporations. I think it
Was a great misfortune that the Bill was not carried in
that form; and if I were to make any change—but the
first question to consider is if we are to make any
change—I would transfer the licensing, according to
the Municipal Reform Bill of more than 40 years ago,
from the magistrates to the corporations. Mr.
Edwards thinks it would cause great disruption
and party feeling, and so on ; but I do not
observe that that takes place in our corpora-
tions. There are politics in the corporation, but
In point of fact it does not appear to me to make
very much difference in the working of a corpora-
tion itself. If you take Glasgow, or Edinburgh, or
Manchester, or Birmingham, or Sheffield, or Leeds, or
Bristol, or Norwich—wherever you go you find in
/joule of the corporations a large majority of Liberals,
In others a considerable majority of Tories. But as
far as regards the working of the corporation and what
it has to do nobody calls in question generally the
wisdom of the course pursued; the corporations and
the different towns are satisfied with their local govern-
ment, which, on the whole, I think, has been admir-
able. If you add to it the licensing question, if you
add the Board schools—public schools—the corpora-
tion would be guided in every town. not by the view of
men whom people call extreme and fanatical, but by the
general moderate sense of the whole community, and you
may rely upon the general moderate sense of the whole
community to make it impossible that any
injustice
could be done to any particular trade, and especially
to the trade which has so many friends as you have,
a trade which with the present habits of the people
is so necessary to their comfort, or their necessities, or
their indulgence. My opinion, therefore, is that you
have no reason at an to fear. The worst that could
happen to you under any change of system—whether
it were by an increase of licence duty, or by the sup-
pression or removal of public houses, or by the refusal
to grant licences--would be this: 'rhere are, as you
know, a good many men in your trade that the respect-
able people wish out of it, and repressive
Measures of any kind would only fall upon the houses
Which were disreputable and injurious to the public,
'which you feel to be so, and know to be a weakness of
Your cause, and which, in point of fact, are the main
cause of All the attacks made upon then. But if
any of those houses which we should wish not to
exist were suppressed, it would leave the rest of the
houses fewer in number, more respectable in their
Character, and, I believe, more profitable in their
results, and at the same time more secure from any
Other attacks that might be made upon the trade. If
I Were in your business the last thing I would do
Would be to enter into your agitation, because at pre-
you are joined in the &fence of what is inde-
fensible ; it is the lowest part of your trade. ( " No,
no.") I say you are not intentionally, but you are in
fact, because that is the only portion of the trade that
Would be effected by any change in measures or the
Making of more stringent measures, You join in the
defence of such houses, and the result is that you are
throwing yourselves Into the hands of one political
Party,
i and are creating a widespread feeling of hos-
tility n another political party, which, after all, is the
Most powerful party in the country, and may be in
'3lfice before two months later, and all this you are
doing in defence only of a class of houses in the trade
'et Which you yourselves would be glad to get rid, and
Which the public have a great interest in having closed.
...rj.tha regard to the question of compensation, Mr.
,4,l;.sivs rds may have read my speech the other night on
Lawson's resolution. I voted for his reso-
utlun, and shall vote for it or some similar resolution
Again if it be submitted to the House. But I
Ifred there that I was quite sure that the plan
„ a Bill which did not recognize, at any rate,
• latinciple of compensation was one that never
,iteeepted by the population of our great
8. To shut up in Birmingham I do not
(Vcnee---- 1117 how 1110417 persons there are in your trade—
are" 2,000 ')—if there are 2,000 houses, and there
]Li Pe "2,000
no less than those in Manchester and
thovseer ,71, it is impossible that you could shut up all
Sides compensation, The thing is incredible
With s being unjust, and therefore I could not agree
the a Proposition a that kind. I should say that if
magistrates, the corporation, or any elective Board

on authority of any sort that Parliament might sub-
stitute for the authority which now exist, undertook
to close houses which were not closed on the ground of
their igringe4neiAt of the Jaw, in those cases, as a
matter of course, fair compensation would be paid to
those who were so dealt with. My own impression is
that a very small number would be so dealt with, and
thete *mid be no grievange of any, magnitude felt on
the part of the trade in regard to that. Mr. Edwards
has complained of another kind of compensation—
that under the Artisans' Dwellings Act. If the owner
of a house were to give notice to his tenant that
within six or twelve months his tenancy would be out
—he might not think the man WaS a suitable man to
keep a house, and did not keep it creditably, or he had
a more respectable man to put in, a man who did not
get drunk himself, and he gave him notice to leave—
that man would have no claim to compensation from
the owner of the house. That is clear; therefore, the
argument seems to me rather weak when you insist
upon it that the occupier of the house who is not the
owner should have compensation if the house is closed
by reason of changes in the town. I do not insist upon
it; it is a matter of very little consequence all over the
country, and whether Parliament would deal with it
or not, .it is a very small portion of the grievance
which causes you to band yourselves together as a
great political trade party differing from anything else
that exists with regard to any other trade in the
country. I do not know where there is any other.
Even now I am surprised at the demands which Mr.
Edwards has made. He says there is option. He
says at present the magistrates will not grant any
more licences. That means, of course, that among
the public—as he admits, and nobody can deny—
not among Sir Wilfrid Lawson's immediate followers,
but among the general public—there is a strong feeling
that the publichouses are too many, and very few
others as population advances, shall be granted; and
now he says that no more licences are being granted.
What is the result? Don't you all know that, if you
omit the last two years when trade has been bad, and
in which you have suffered like all others—don't you
know that publichouse properly during many years
past has been increasing very greatly in value, and
that the profits of your publichouses have increased so
greatly that there is no class of persons which has been
more prosperous during the last, I will say, ten or
twenty years than keepers of publichouses? And
all this is going on at a time when public opinion
has been forcing the magistrates to grant fewer
licences. Why, all this temperance feeling in the
country is to your advantage if you would not rush
into a violent opposition to it. The temperance feeling
is not suppressing your houses—net one has been sup.
pressed by it ; but it is merely preventing the addi-
tion of numerous other publichouses to interfere with
your monopoly, and it is preventing also the granting
of licences to low houses, and vulgar, and careless, and
improper men, and thus it tends to keep your business
more respectable than it would otherwise be. The
whole action of the temperance feeling of the country
during the last twenty years has been to improve the
character of your trade, to lessen the number of low
and bad houses, to give to your property a greater
value, to your business greater profit; and all that you
are doing, in my opinion, is the mere blindness of men
who have some sort of monopoly fear, as all monopolists
have when affected. The landed proprietors you know
—I was going to say used to curse me and my friends
because we wanted to abolish their monopoly. The
result has been that within twenty years, according to
Mr. James Caird, who is the greatest authority probably
in England upon that question, the value of land in
England has risen by more than 000,000,000 sterling.
That was the land of the very men who mobbed us and
abused us in every form of words, who set every kind of
machinery at work to make us despised for that act by our
countrymen. Our labours conferred upon them this
enormous gain, and you at this moment are fighting in
this violent and political manner against the tem-
pera,nce people whose action hitherto has been only to
improve both your character and your profits and the
value of the houses in which you live.

Mr. Bright then proceeded to give one or two in-
stances of the great increase in value of public-houses
in his own neighbourhood—which increase was going
on all over the country.—After alluding to the invec-
tives which were frequently used by temperance
advocates against licensed victuallers, and which he,
Mr. Bright, condemned very strongly, because there
were a great number of most respectable men in the
trade, and he thought with the present habits of this
country the trade was essential.—l have received my-
self so much kindness and attention and so many com-
forts from the people who manage inns and hotels in
all parts of Great Britain and Ireland (said Mr. Bright),
that I should be unjust to say a wood against those
who have offered me a home on moderate terms on
many hundreds of pleasant occasions.
Mr. Bright concluded his speech by saying: From
all past experience, the Liberal party, whenever it
deals, if it ever does deal—l do not suppose that
it will deal with any severity in, any way with you
—with the liquor question is, you may depend upon
it, the last party in the country that will ever do
anything that will be in a pecuniary sense unjust to
your interests. What it deprives you of in the public
interest it at any rate will compensate you for and
endeavour to do justice, as it does to the whole country
and to every interest. You may depend upon it, it
will not be unjust to the licensed victuallers and those
who are concerned in the sale of these things, which,
unfortunately, it appears necessary in some degree to
control. Ido not know that I have anything more to
say on that matter. I shall leave you without any
expectation, I tell you, that I have changed your
opinion a bit. I find that argument goes a very little
way with people who have got an idea that their own
interests are to be served in a particular direction. We
never convinced the landowners, we only beat them.
I dare say a good many of them are convinced by this
time, after thirty years; and I hope as years go on and
you consider this question more, and it is more and more
discussed, that you will find out the violent and, I think,
irrational mid passionate action which you now take is
not wise for sensible men, and that it is not of any
advantage whatever to the interests that you are
trying to defend. In the House of Commons. as one
of your representatives—if lam again a representative
for Birmingham—l shall take care whatever is done
for the public interests shall not ioe done at the ex-
pense of injustice to your trade. 'That is what I have
to say, and I hope you will consider that, if it does not
perhaps answer every point and go into every detail,
still it is a frank expression of the opinion that I have
upon this liquor question.
A member of the deputation having intimated that
the trade were much divided in their political feeling
in Birmingham, Mr. Bright expressed his satisfaction
at the intelligence, and hoped that the Liberal feeling
and spirit of fairness which existed in the town would
manifest itself in the liquor trade. In reply to the
correction of another member, who stated that 95 per
cent. of the trade in one ward were opposed to the
Sunday Closing Bill, Mr. Bright said that he had not
pretended to lay down a general rule. lie only said
that in a great number of cases the canvas showed
that a large number of publicans were in favour of
Sunday closing.
Mr Chamberlain expressed his general concurrence
with the remarks of Mr. Bright. He was in favour
of licensing matters being left in the hands of the
people as represented by the Town Council or by
a new representative board, instead of being left
to the magistrates. The Gothenburg scheme he re-
garded as the only practical one that had ever been
proposed, laying down distinctly as it did the
Principle of compensation. He thought the tem-
perance people would have been glad to give a trial to
the scheme, but he found outside Birmingham no sup-
port for it, and he had not the slightest intention
of taking it up again. With regard to compen-
sation under the Artisans' Dwellings Act, the
matter has been altogether exaggerated. The corpo-
ration had only taken about fifty-six licensed houses,
and of those it was only proposed to abolish nineteen.
He did not yield to any of the deputation in the
desire to be fair and just, not only to the trade, but to
every class of the community.
Mr. Edwards, in thanking Mr. Bright and Mr.
Chamberlain for receiving the deputation, remarked
that he had reason to believe one-half the trade were
Liberals. Their action in the matter was not sur-
prising, seeing that their very existence was at stake—
a statement which drew from Mr. Bright the remark.
"They are a thousand times more frightened than
hurt.'