The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-06-26 00:00:00

Our -3Eunutt Correspoiltute
(We deem it right to state that we do not at all .tinial
41.ent1fy ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.)

Our distinguished visitor, the Sultan of Zanzibar,
has, in moving to and fro amongst the people of
London, created a favourable impression, and his
journeyings have been regarded with a oonsiderable
degree of interest. The marvellous activity of the
British capital, the vast extent of its area, the miles
of shipping which he passed on his way up the river,
the miles of human habitations intersected by the
streets, the colossal public buildings, the enormous
wealth represented in the little radius covered by the
Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, the crowds
of well-dressed persons at such places as the Alexandra
Park and the Crystal Palace, the multitudes always
in the more frequented thoroughfares, the subteranuean
railways, the busy steamers upon the Thames, the con-
stant rush of vehicular traffic though the main arteries
of
,the metropolis, the everlasting tramp of the
throng of pedestrians, the memorials of our
national greatness such as the Nelson Column
in Trafalgar-square, the stately palaces, the
noble hospitals, the broad open parks, with
their fringe of splendid mansions, the carriages, and
the horsemen—all this, presented to the astonished
gaze of the sovereign in an ever-shifting pano-
rama, made a deep effect upon his mind. "The
greatness of this city was not reported to us," he re-
marked; and one can easily imagine what a contrast
the entire scene must be to a potentate accustomed to
a life upon the east coast of Africa. His Highness has
been received with very general respect by the people
because it has been understood that he made the long
journey for a definite purpose—to consult with our
"Men of State," as he calls the Queen's Ministers—
respecting the best way of putting down the slave
trade. It is well known that with this view he signed
a treaty with us two years ago, but it appears that the
Arab dealers have endeavoured to make matters as un-
comfortable as possible in the hope that they may one
day be permitted to revive this infamous traffic. The
Sultan, knowing something of the power of Great
Britain in the East, determined to talk over matters
personally with our statesmen; and as slavery in any
form whatever is repugnant to the minds of the British
people, there is no one who will not wish his Highness
every success in his efforts to extinguish a trade which
is a reproach and a disgrace to all who are in any way
connected with.it.

.Associated with the election of the sheriffs of
London, which always takes place on Midsummer Day,
is a curious fact which is not generally known. The
sheriffs of London, I may say, are also sheriffs of
Middlesex, and they axe the only funetionaries of this
kini in the kingdom who are chosen by popular vote.
All the others are appointed by the Crown, with the
exception of those for Cornwall and Lancashire, who
are nominated respectively by the Prince of Wales as
Duke of Cornwall, and the Queen as Duchess of Lan
caster. The derivation of the word sheriff is from
shire-reve, the governor of a shire or county; and
London had its own sheriffs prior to the Norman
conquest. William, Duke of Normandy, had no great
love for the citizens of London, for he built the Tower
to keep them in subjection; but he did not take
away their right of electing their own sheriffs, which
they enjoy to this day. The post is considered to be
of such importance that no alderman can become
Lord Mayor unless he has performed the duties of the
shreivalty ; and of the twenty-six members of the present
Court of Aldermen, there is only one—Mr. Alderman
Knight—who has not passed through the office,
although there are several waiting to ascend the steps
)f the chair of mayoralty. The twelve months of the
hreivalty generally cost each of the gentlemen holding
It about £3,000.
The expediency of returning to Triennial Parliaments
has been before the House of Commons more than
once of late; and it may not be out of place to remark
that in centuries gone by, these formed a part of our
legislative system. In the time of Edward I. a
Parliament was held every two years; and in the fourth
year of Edward 111. it was enacted that a Parliament
"should be holden every year once," but it is likely
enough that this would be represented by our annual
sessions. In the early days of the Stuarts, before
the House of Commons had asserted its supre-
macy in the State, and when its very existence
In freedom and independence was regarded
as incompatible with the monarchy and the "Divine
right of Kings," people troubled themselves very little
with the duration of Parliaments. In fact, in the
time of Charles I. it became a question of their actual
continuance. Upon the approach of civil war it was
enacted that Parliaments should be held once at least
In every three years, but this law was repealed by
that which is known in history as the Long Parlia-
ment, which lasted until it became the instrument of
the victorious Puritan army. After the revolution of
1688, a return to Triennial Parliaments was regarded
as highly popular and constitutional; but this measure,
passed in 1694, was repealed in 1716, soon after the
House of Hanover has ascended the Throne. A statute
was then passed, known as the Septennial Act, which
is still in force. The longest Parliament of recent
times was that called by Lord Derby on the 31st of
May, 1859, and dissolved by Lord Palmerston on the
6th of July, 1865. During the present reign the
average duration of Parliaments has been four years.
When the question of amending the Bank Holidays'
Act was before the House of Commons a little while
ago, a suggestion was made that Coronation Day—the
28th of June—should be added to the number of lega-
lised holidays, or, rather, should be substituted for the
first Monday in August, as at present provided for. It
was urged that Coronation Day is a general holiday in
naval, military, and dockyard towns, when the Odd
Fellows, the Foresters and other orders of brotherhood
turn out in grand processions, and hosts of banners,
waving gaily in the wind, attract the admiration of
delighted multitudes. To this, however, there was
the obvious objection that it would crowd the four
bank holidays of the year into six months—the 26th of
December, Easter Monday, Whit-Monday, and the
28th of June. There would thus be an embarrassment
of riches for the first half of the year, and a dreary
blank for the second. So it was resolved to adheko to
the first Monday in August, as furnishing a break,
though only a single one, between the long period
separating Whit-Monday from Boxing-Day; and few
will be inclined to doubt the wisdom of the decision at
which Parliament thus arrived.
•

The popularity of the horse amongst our country-
men has long been proverbial, and no greater proof
of this could be adduced than in the fact that within
a fortnight two great horse shows have been presented
to the people of London—one at the Agricultural
Hall and the other at the Alexandra, Park. Each of
these was open several days, but the interest of the
public seemed never to flag; and at one of the day's
exhibitions at Muswell Hill, the Sultan of Zanzibar
was there, te say nothing of twenty-two coaches of
the Four-in-Hand Club. When it was seen that
railways were to supersede the old Quicksilver mails,
it was feared that the days of the horse were, com-
paratively speaking, numbered. Yet at this moment
there are 2,000,000 draught and pleasure horses in our
midst, with 100,000 agricultural horses, the whole
consuming the produce of 7,000,000 acres. It is now
about sixteen years ago that Mr. J. S. Rarey, an
American, made a great sensation in the metropolis
by taming vicious and wild horses, and even
a zebra from the Zoological Gardens. His system
was founded upon a profound study of the dis-
position of the animal, and upon kindness. Mr.
Rarey initiated many illustrious persons, Lord
Palmerston included, into his method; delivered lec-
tures to the London cabmen, which were well received.
was voted a sum of money by the Society for the Pre-
vention of Cruelty to Animal-, ; and was engaged by
the War Department to instruct cavalry officers and
riding masters in the army. Men of intelligence in
all ages have taken a pride in the horse. The people
of Thessaly were excellent equestrians, and probably
first among the Greeks to use cavalry in warfare.
Those who are acquainted with sacred history could
tell us of a time—a thousand years before the Chris-
tian era, and referred to in the 4th chapter of the Ist
Book of Kings, wherein it is recorded that "Solomon
had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000
horsemen." Byron has supplied a very graphic,
though necessarily a fanciful description of the destruc-
tion of Sennacherib's army—
" And there lay the steed, with his nostrils all wide,
But through them there rolled not the breath of his pride ;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating slid.
"And there lay the rider, distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his.mail ;
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,
The lances unlined, the trumpets unblown."
I will just add that the Greeks and Romans had some
covering to secure their horses hoofs against injury;
but it was not until the Norman conquest that horses
. were regularly shod in this country.

The importance of preserving our ancient monu-
ments has often been insisted on; but it is doubtful if
a considerable proportion of the people really know
the extent of their possessions in this respect. For
instance, at the north-east end of the little stone bridge
which crosses the Serpentine in Hyde-park, there
stands in the corner a short distance back from the
railings, a semi-Greek erection of a monumental
character, crowned by a shallow stone crater, or bowl.
There is a dim inscription which tells that the spring
cowered by that conduit stone belongs to the manor
of Hyde, and that the use of it was given by
Edward the Confessor to the Abbey of Westminster,
and was used by the Tnonks thereof until the Re-
formation. It was then taken from them, but
restored to the use of the Abbey by Queen Elizabeth.
It seems a long way back to the time of Edward
the Confessor, who died in 1066, only seven days after

the dedication to St. Peter of that historical church at
Westminster, which he had rebuilt from the very
foundation, and under whose roof his remains still lie.
Yet, amid all the changes of eight hundred years—
past the Houses of Plantagenet, Tudor, Stuart, and
Guelph—past the successive annexations of Ireland,
Wales, and Scotland—past a long line of sovereigns of
varying complexions—bad kings like John and Richard
111., wise kings like Edward I. and James I.—warlike
kings like Edward 111. and Henry V.—murdered kings
like Edward 11. and Richard IL—weak kings like
Henry VI. —crafty kings like Henry Vll.—cruel kings
like Henry Vlll.—good queens like Elizabeth, Anne,
and Victoria—in the midst of all, and amid the nume-
rous wars which have marked our progress as a nation,
here, in a frequented part of London, yet stands the
stone placed there more than eight centuries ago to
mark the gift of a Saxon king to the Saxon monks of
Westminster.