The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-09-11 00:00:00

Cur Fonbon Caraspoubtat.

, tWe cleem !t, rzii t, ttate that vs'e tr.,' not at all ti..l:ft
tientify eu.l-3.;;lves with oar Corresponatit's opinion 3.

The outburst of heat that accompartioa the
close of August and the opening days .of Sep-
tember appeared the mere surprising as it fol-
lowed what, on the whole, had bees a cool
summer. The fact tlnst it culmirnsted just at
the period that an earthquake swecit across the
northern shore of the Mediterranean, and that
it again came to a height as anoater earthquake
devastated the Atlantic seaboatsi of the United
States, cannot be forgotten when the extra-
ordinary heat for such a tame of year is being
discussed. England is fortunate in having
escaped any trace of the earth-upheaval which
did such harm elsewhere. but this cannot lessen
the sympathy that is felt *for the victims of the
calamity at Charlesten. The chief city of South
Carolina had suffered more than one severe
visitation beforethis, for during the Civil War—
though it was not utterly destroyed, and its
site sowed with salt, as was recommended to the
attacking General by the more violent of its
enemies—the bombardment did a vast amount
of damage which took long to repair. One must
Le callous indeed who could read the accounts
which have been telegraphed of the ravages 0E
the earthquake without feeling the utmost
sympathy with the sufferers; and it is little
wonder that in the United States relief funds
have been largely and readily subscribed. The
destruction of Boston and Chicago by fire is still
fresh in thapublic mind;
.but awe-inspiring as is
tire, still more awful is earthquake, for whereas
against the one ordinary precautions and
mechanical appliances can do much, against the
other human skill is without avail.
This is the season for the assembling of Con-
gresses, and the recent meetings of the British
Association at Birmingham and the Trade
Unions at Hull are a reminder-of the fact. It is
nearly 'a month, however, before the Church
Congress comes together at Walzefield, and one
that years ago locked the 'hardiest of hardy
annuals, -the Social Science Congress, has now
altogether dropped out of the list. But for
those who wish topics for learned talk, the
meeting df the British Association supplies an
abundance. The geologist can feed his mind
on the Presidential address, with its
speculations en the origin and destiny
of the Atlantic, the chemist on the utter-
ances of Professor Crookes with regard to the
-earliest stages of hydrogen and the other
elements, and the anthropologist on Sir George
Campbell's remarks upon courtship and marriage.
The latter, in fact, are of such general interest,
and are so little a matter of pure science, that
the old Social Science Congress would have been
delighted with them; and it is a pity that such
an -entertaining paper •should be buried in a
volume of "Transactions," which is placed on
the 'library shelves and never opened. Sir
George Campbell is not' the first by many who
has attempted to treat' the question of marriage
from a merely scientific standpoint, but the mis-
fortune for all who think like himself is that the
majoriq of the human race decline to think
w4tls them. There is a quality known as love
DJI asserts itself over every scientific con-
sideration, and as long as it exists it will profit
little if at every succeeding meeting of the
British Association the subject of marriage is
discussed, as if science alone had anything to do
with it.

A return of the expenditure of the varlon3
candidates at the general election of 1885 has
been issued to members of Parliament within the
past few days, and, though another general elec-
tion having since taken place it seems a little out
of date, it is worth study. The point which will
most clearly strike those who go through it is
the cheapness of contests in these days compared
with what it used to be. Even until a very
recent time it was not exceptional to find a
candidate - spending £OOOO, k:7000, or k!8000
upon his electoral Cattle, while as lately as 1865,
a Single contest in the North Riding of Yorkshire
cost the competing candidates close upon
-..160,000. It will, therefore, bo some surprise to
many to find that the costliest contest in
1885—that for the City of London,

did not entail an expenditure of quite
:e4OOO, while the highest amount that any
individual candidate spent throughout the
country was only just a little over £lBOO. Com-
pared even with this amount, of course, the
disbursement of the gentleman who fought acon-

stituency for --c.:96 (60 of which was paid to the
returning officer) seems triumphantly small, but
the latter amount was certainly exceptional.
Yet, despite the reductions all round, mainly
necessitated by the stringent provisions of the
Corrupt Practices Act of 1883, the general elec-
tion of 188:5 cost the competing candidates over
1,000,000 in all, and that is no insignificant sum
to pay for the luxury of a dissolution.
Hop-picking is always a marked feature of
certain definitely-limited portions of the country
in early September, and it was commenced this
year under favourable circumstances. The rail-
way companies which run into Kent carry down
from the metropolis an immense number efi.
hop-pickers, in special trains at cheap rat(,
every year; and seeing that this class of person
is drawn from the poorest of all, it is littk
wonder that extraordinary scenes are witnessed
at the gtations from which they start, and per-
haps even more extraordinary at those at which
they alight. This year, for instance, there was
almost a riot at Faversham because a large
number of the pickers had arrived without
tickets, and, on an attempt being made to obtain
their fares, a great disturbance occurred. But
it is pleasing to know that it is the unanimous
opinion of the ministers of religion in the hop
(listricts of Kent that there has been a marked

improvement in the character of the pickers of
late years ; and it is to these same ministers that
much of this is due. With great zeal and self-
sacrifice they labour in the hop gardens daring
the picking season, and by constant ministration
do much to elevate those among whom they so
faithfully work.
There is an engaging sound about the words
"treasure trove" which never seems to loso its

charm, and when we read of any being turned
up in various parts of the country, the mind
always reverts to ancient coins and medieveal
medals and other articles of interest and value.
As is generally known, the Crown has a complete
right to everything found in this fashion, but as
it-is desirable, not only that the finder should
be rewarded, but that the reward should be
placed on a fixed basis, the Home Office has
issued an intimation on the subject. This states
that the Treasury is willing, as an inducement to
finders to promptly report their discoveries to
the Government, to hand over to them articles
not required for national institutions, and the
sum received from such institutions ftS the
antiquarian value of the articles retained, sill:-
ject-to a deduction of 20 per cent. from the anti-
quarian value of such coins and objects of interest
as are retained, and 10 per cent. from the value of
all a'rticles discovered as may be hersefter de-
termined. This arrangement, which is a tenta-
tive one, will not, of course, affect the ancient
rights of the Crown, but it will place the regula-
tions affecting "treasure trove" upon a more
satisfactory basis.
No visitor -to France can fail to lave been
struck with the number of trees whicli arc
planted in almost every town: and many an
Englishman has come back to-his native country
with the feeling that more ought to be done here
in the same direction. More.has been done 01
late years -than ever before, and on 'the Thames
Embankment London can show-some very satis-
factory results of arboriculture. In several pro-
vincial towns, also, much is being done in the
matter of tree-planting, but more remains to ho
done, and a suggestion has junt been thrown
out which will not improbably have the
effect of helping the movement along. It is
pointed out that young trees are so cheap that
everyone who has a piece of garden or vacant
ground can plant one for himself at very little
cost. If .even this expenditure is more than he
can afford, the twigs that in the spring bind the
bundles of carrots, turnips, and rhubarb, could
he planted, and if well watered and given tho
requisite attention -they would grow into trees.
Further, there are the kernels of fruit, the seed
of figs, and the seeds of laburnum, plane, and
sycamore, all of which if sown would produce
trees; and it is obvious that, with a very little
trouble, arboriculture could be made to flourish,
even in the most unlikely spots and under the
most um.romising eireumstaneas, as it never has
flourished 'before. The suggestieKis may seem far-
fetched to some, but if only half .of them are of
value, they are worth adopting in the hope that
good may be done.
It is a truism that no one can guess the varied
and indirect effects which may flow from a given
cause, and a piece of news that has come to hand
from Australia furnishes another illustration of
it. The ever-growing number of rabbits its that
continent has long been a pest to the coloiissts,
and ultimately a Marsupials Destruction Act
was passed by Queensland as an endeavour to g4ta
rid of them. The result has been not only that
a vast number of rabbits have been killed—that
was to be foreseen—but that the condition of the
ab)rigines in many parts of the colony has been
*proved, and thab oeytainiy was not fcroseen,

ReWtt.tds are pall by tha owners of. the sheep-runs
fcr the rabbits destroyed, the production of the
scalps of the victims being the test applied; and
the tribes in districts where these animals abound
and constant employment in their slaughter. The
natives knew by cow the value of money, and
with that which they receive for the rabbit-
scalps they pay for all they require, manage to
get themselves fairly clothed, and instead of their
old huts dwell in calico tents. These are im-
provements, indeed, and what has long been
known as "the rabbit-curse of Australia" will no
longer be considered as altogether deserving that
title, when it is the indirect means of partially
civilising the natives. A. F. R.