The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-01-07 00:00:00

OJR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.

[We deem it right to state that we do not at all times identify
ourselves with our Corresponden be opinions.]

As the day lengthen.% so the cold strengthens"
says tha old proverb, and it received additional
confirmation by the weather we experienced from
the shortest day being passed until the com-
mencement of the New Year, when a rise
in the temperature took place. A good
deal of skating has taken place in various
parts of England, and though it has been some-
times half humorously suggested that the fixing
of a date for a skating competition is a certain
method of ensuring a thaw, there have been some
matches on the ice, which have given occasion for
keen competition. For the young who are taking
their holidays at this season of the year nothing
more pleasant could be imagined; but it is not
all of us who are young or who are fitted by con-
stitution to enjoy cold weather. And there is
a large section of the community to whom a
frost is a very serious affair, and that is
the section which depends upon outdoor
employment for a livelihood. What is sport to
the young and the well-to-do it semi-starvation
to the labourer or artisan who has to work in
the open, and this is only another illustration of
the ancient truth that there are two sides to
every question. Those who can see nothing but
the enjoyable side of cold weather are, for some
reasons, to be congratulated; but it would be
better if they recognised the drawbacks. If they
did so, they would probably be more ready to
assist movements designed to mitigate the
misery which in many a home comes with the
frost.

Of such movements there are several in opera-
tion in London just now, and although they
can oniy be regarded as palliatives, yet the
relief they afford to the distressed is
very real as far as it goes. Soup-kitchens
and similar institutions are liable to be used by
impostors, but every good thing is apt to be
abused, and it would be sad to deprive the de-
serving many of a little extra food or comfort
because of the machinations of an undeserving
few. I u these times the dispensers of such aid
go beyind the mere distribution of soup, and
provide tangible dinners for small sums. Good
housewives, who have always prided themselves
upon their carefulness and economy, may be in-
clined to wonder when they hear of the con-
troversy which has been going on of late
as to whether it is possible
sto provide
dinners at a penny a head, and not
incur any loss by the transaction. But it has
been proved to demonstration that this can be
done, while others go further and show that a
filling meal can be given for three-farthings
a-head, and some even cut down the sum to a
halfpenny. This last figure surely touches the
extreme limit of economy, and when the ac-
counts upon which it is based are examined, it
will be found that, as a strictly commercial
transaction, this would not pay; for nothing is
allowed for labour, comparatively little for fuel,
and only about a penny a pound for meat. It
is, of course, obvious that philanthropic effort is
required to assist these movements, and it is
much to be desired that the requisite aid should
be given. Naturally, it is better that a sum,
however small, should be charged for such
dinners than that they should be given away;
for that which is paid for is always the more ap-
preciated. And as the cheap dinner movement
is, therefore, not a pauperising institution, it
deserves hearty recognition and continuous

support.
Just as in the summer we are continually hear-
ing of bathing fatalities, so in winter we are
horrified at the frequency of deaths from drown-
ing caused by the breaking of the ice. Already
this season there has been a larger number than
usual, and about Christmas the number was
well-nigh appalling. And the worst of it is
that many of them were absolutely preventable.
As long as the world goes round we may expect
a large proportion of its inhabitants to be
foolhardy; but when the foolhardiness endangers
life i 1 is surely the duty of all men of calm
sense to stigmatise it in the strongest of
terms. On the face of it, no course is more
calculated to invite disaster than for a person to
jump upon it in order to try whether it will
"bear." The result, if he has erred in his calcu-
lation, is so likely to be fatal, that no one ought
to take such a risk, for there exist other means
of solving the problem. And yet, so reckless
are many people, that despite every warning
they will continue a practice which always puts
their life in peril. It is notorious that the
keepers in the various London parks where
skating can be indulged in have the greatest
difficulty in keeping persons off ice which is in-
secure. They warn and threaten and beseech,
but, despite all their efforts, the reckless and
the foolhardy will try by every means to
defeat their well-intended endeavours. As a
matter of fact, it appears to be considered in the
light of a huge joke to "dodge the keepers,"
and men and boys rush on to the ice, though it
may be rotten, out of a spirit of mere bravado.
But this is a spirit
,which every sensible person
should do his best to discourage, and, if every
sensible person did, we should hear less of
fatalities from breaking of the ice.
Though the population of London is growing,
and its business is certainly not diminishing,
there has been during the half-year which has
just come to a close, a marked decrease in the
traffic returns of the two underground railways
which serve the metropolis. This, of course, is
to be partly accounted for by the cessation of the
series of exhibitions at South Kensington, which
attracted many thousands to the respective lines;
but that does not explain all the shrinkage in the
traffic returns. THIS fact is that the competition
of the omnibuses, both as to cheapness and
speed, has increased at such a rate that the rail-
ways were bound to suffer. It is not only that
most people prefer to travel in vehicles where
they can breathe an approximation to fresh air,
rather than in those which pass through the smoke-
laden and suffocating atmosphere of an almost
continuous tunnel. But there is this further
reason for the preference just now being shown
for the omnibuses; these latter pass throuo
the main throughfares and pick one up (It
set one down just where one pleases. As
long as the 'bus service was intermittent or dear,
so long did people rather wander away into the
side streets in search of the railway, but now
that cheapness, speed, and regularity are the dis-
tinguishing Latures of the omnibuses, the under-
ground railways are having comparatively a less
cheerful time than ever before.

One cannot just now visit any metropolitan
place of amusement, especially at a morning
performance, without being struck with the
number of juveniles in town. They literally
swarm among us, and their shrill laughter and
hearty applause bring a sense of fresh-
ness even to the most jaded pleasure-
seekers. Parents and guardians, perhaps, be-
come more than a little tired of all this excess
of high spirits by the time the holidays are over;
but it is a part of the penalty they pay for
holding such responsible positions; and, 'plough
they may often grumble concerning it, it is to be
doubted whether in their hearts theyfeel so strongly
as their words might seem to be taken. As to
the most of us, we are positively refreshed by the
sight of so many happy faces as are to be
encountered m London in the holiday season. It
is a poor heart that never rejoices, and he must
be a cynic indeed who would grudge
all the honest pleasure they can glean
to the young folks, who swarm around
us from school. A distinguished " entertainer "
has lately declared that there is no audience he
better likes playing to than one of schoolboys,
for their appreciation is at once so hearty and
sincere that he is stimulated to renewed and
even higher efforts. This is a testimony indeed,
and grumblers should lay it to heart when again
they think of complaining of the vigorous
applause of our young friends.
Although it had been an open secret for two
or three weeks that Parliament would re-assemble
on February 9, it was not until the Queen attached
her sign manual to the formal proclamation of the
fact a few days ago, that it was right to take it
for granted. As all who are personally acquainted
with members of the House of Commons are
aware, they grumble a good deal during the
session at the work they are called upon to do
and the long hours they are required to sit; but
it is singular how weary they become of the
recess, and how glad they are when the portals
of St. Stephen's are once more opened and they
can again sit upon the much-coveted green
benches. For, whatever dismal stories of hard
and long work members may pour into the
sympathising ears of their constituents, there is
no doubt that there are many compensations in
Parliamentary life. If there were not, it
would be difficult to account for the number
of members who, having no hope and pe.rhaps no
desire of securing political distinction, cling to
their seats, and go on year after year silently
working and regularly voting "just as their
leaeers tell 'em to." And when such representa-
tivcs lcse their position they wander about in
the most unhappy fashion, and wish for a return
to the Parliamentary pastures from which they
have been driven by an adverse fate. That is
why it is that those who know the conditions of
life 011Nestminster smile a sceptical sort of smile

when they hear a member deploring the hard-
ships of his lot.
The year upon which we have just entered will
be one of popular rejoicing in connection with
an event closely affecting the Royal Family, the
date of which will speedily arrive. March 10
wili be the twenty-fifth anniversary of the mar-
riage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and
already there are signs that this "silver wedding"
will be appropriately and enthusiastically cele-
brated. The Corporation of the City of London
is taking the lead in regard to one side of the
matter, and has already decided to make their
Royal Highnesses a very handsome present
in honour of the occasion. Other public bodies
are likely to follow suit, and there is little
doubt that the auspicious anniversary will be the
signal for an outburst of loyalty throughout
the country. It hardly seems possible to believe
that close upon five-and-twenty years hav
elapsed since the "Sea-King's daughter fro
over the sea," as Tennyson called her who w
then known as Princess Alexandra came to
these shores to become a daughter of England's
Queen. From the moment of her landing until
now, her popularity has been great, and the
general love for her has deepened with the years.
And we may be certain that the roar of acclaim
which greeted her landing will be renewed when,
with her husband and grown-up children around
her, she celebrates on March 10th the anniver-
sary of that happy occasion of a quarter of a
century ago. A. F. R.