The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-22 00:00:00

1011=1" DECEMI3 ER 22, 11116$.

the complainant have plenty of time to get his potAtoes
off the ground, hot they were not yet all off. Ile believed
the defendant did bike possession of the ground. Ile
considered the defendant the tenant from Michaelmas.
Witness had also offerad to fin.l the complainant a garden
equal to the one hail; and it would have boon better Inc
him, as it would have been much nearer. Mr. Lee said
it was quite clear no felony was committed. The pota-
toes were taken away in the open the daylight, and Use
defendant was under the impression that he was doing
right. It was a question for a civil court, and they most
dismiss the case.
ASSAULT.—On Monday lost, af the Pnblie OffiC,', Ed-
ward Iludson, glass maker. 'sac charged by Samuel Wylde
(a little buy), with assaulting him on the 7th inst. Com-•
plainant said that he was at liodgetta's Glass Works, and
was making a pipe, when the defendant charged him with
keeping -Id off him. Bolenlent afterwards struck hint on
the mouth and made it bleed, and loosened three of his
teeth. The Bench considered the ease proved, and fined
the defendant Ii finl; in default 7 days.
AsSAULTINO a LITTLE Boll.—At the Petty Sessions,
on Monday teat, Thomas Petkins was charged by Alfred
Lowe with assaulting him on the 13th inst. Complain-
ant said that he had a little dog, and defendant picked it
up by the legs, and said that he would roast it- Defend-
and put the dog down, bet afterwards picked it op by its
ears, and threw it into complainant's face. He afterwards
struck complainant on the ears stud nose, making his
mouth and nose bleed. In defence, it was IIIIN(0K1 that
complainant was very impertieeet and threw a stone at
him. The Bench consult-rod the assault proved, and fined
the defend:int Is and coats; ins default 7 days.
DRUNK AND Itiorous.—At the Petty Sessions, 011 Mon•
day last, John Parr and William Searla were charged by
Superintendent Attila with bAng druuk mid riotous on
the 15th inst. Mr. Burbury defended. Police-constable
Bevington wad that he was on duty in Brockmoor. Just
before twelve o'clock, aud near the Commercial lan, the
defendants were making a great noise, cursing and swear-
ing. He told them to gin about their business, but they
refused. Searle was very abusive, and refused toga, and
he took him into custody. Police-constable Wright was
with witneas. While they were taking Searle Farr fol-
lowed them, and dared them to take Lim into custody;
and cm the way Police-constable Wright took him into
custody. Both prisoners wero very abusive, and cursing
and swearieg. The Bench did not consider they were
, riotous, but there was no doubt they were abusive, and
ought to have gone about their bosinesa when told. If
they paid the coals, they (the Bench) thought the ends of
justice would be met. The costs were paid, and defend-
wig left the Court.

erated—has all the experience of these past 56 yeans te
I,' laid at the foot of a despotic hmlv. As well might
oin have aked les/e to stem the title as.kave to strike tor
such a purpose. No, sit, rio wanted nothing of the sort
to sti;nulate us, wawa could stand it no longer. The em-
bers Were only einouldcrlng. For rdghteen months 114
Wit suffered sad aeon su;lieient to drive ias to the rewue
of one that had alway; been a friend to the great bitty at
stonemasons, and he knows it. Who gave us five shil-
lings per day at the list request, when the wages in the
neighbouring town were fear and sixpence Who en.
tamed in his employ the masons of Burton who were on
strike in the from of the Builders' Association, after being
requested to discharge them ? At our desire did he leA
pat himself to considet able expense last winter ',thee
I than reduce our wages, altnnigli he ennld secardlog tu
i his agreement with us in ;manner have dune Do laet
lour every request has been complied with since the Hs
! started, and for preventing as Isr as lay in our power sack
I an employer from being ruined by a mat regardless ol
! what expense he pats upon our work so lig as he gets
I his own selfdih ends met.

Never in the whole.C.o.arse of my long ears ;care as
mason forty-five years, have I met such is man ai•
Clerk of the Works and this in the person you 1W has
falfilled his duty to the sati,faction of the Couitaitlas
This, sir, I deny, as had no opportunity of explaining
our grittiness bet. ire that Committee, therefore they
heard only one side of the question. It is an old saying
iin,l a very true one, that birds of a feather flock logemer.
Ile was most anxious when discharged from Toast' to
know the reason. It was not for doing too much tarns,*
the erection of the church, but for spending too mucksf
his time in conversation with the Clerk of the Works.
And further, he cannot have forgotten his attempt to film
two masons tea ats.llsiaga each for doing the same quantity
of work in one day thiit hewn. two days and is hilt over.
He don't seem to have forgotten thin, hence his Attain!
to supplant its at Yoxall. ILis the Clerk of the Works
promised him the foreman's jib in the event of Mr. lfe's
uot finishing the Contract? Is this the troth, or only
conjecture on my part? I trust the latter. He is •
spouter on Democracy, is thin the lesson his political god-
father the late Mr. Fergus O'Connor taught him, Sc
I price a fellow creature of his bread. Supposing a inedis
um could in 14 single whisper claim the attention of pass
al Fergus to the effect that one of his pet childreu, ono
of the trade that bad the honour to roll the mousier I°-
petition upon the floor of the House of Commono had so
disgraced himself as to lag a fellow creature of th'm
earth leave to toil.
Never were truer word than
" Man's inhumanity to man,
Makes countless aged mourn."
Henceforth blush for shame, and accept from me on be-
half of the noble men now on strike at Yoxall.
Emperor of the Tamworth Block Lodge.
ONE OF THE STRIKE COMMITTER.
Great Dadford, near Bromsgrove.

WINTER.

71) the Editor of the " Observer."

DEAR Stn,—Allow me to make a few remarkd oil the
an called poetry on the above subject, of We Bur. J.
White. now appearing in your paper.
Whilst I write, I have not before me the paper mullah's.
leg the first instalment of his eMmions, but es that is
written in the enme style as that appearing in your lad
edition I notice the Litter only.
I a the firet —and in Liet thronhout all the versos—the
author seems to think that rhyme is quite an itumAterid
part to the proper construction of verse. But porhaps
he burro es a transatlantic pronunciation and pronounce.
" are," air, to make that ward rhyme with the word
•'

The tantological expression made use of by Mr. White
in the List line of the third verse io gait, unpardonable.
If lie will refer to hio dictionary he nilfiad that the words
'merry' soil "gay" no,,su the same thing. That the
writers of the trash in penny song books should adopt
such a course as this to make a rhyme is not surprising,
bat that a gentleman such as Mr. White should de so is
astonishing, rather.
Arcording to the fourth verse, the robin seeks the rots
tsr:e door during such time out: as the ground is curcred
moth snow. If Mr. White will' take • little more notice
of the characteristics of that bird he will find he is tuts.
taken.

Again, for the purpose of hatching a rhyme, tautology
is committed that would disgrace a schoolboy. Sorely
ktr. White cannot be much acquainted with J 01111.0,1,
Walker, or :toy other lexicographer, or he would know
that the words 'mirth and " glee" hare the exam
.wuhiug.. .

Is it tde beggar-man who is benumbed with cold. or
his "tattered clothes and visage wan." 43 tueutioned in
the sixth verse? According to Murray's rules it must lax
the latter.

Dant Mr. White know how to pronounce the syna
If be does, he either alters it to tualc is consu-
lt:wee with wan, or he calls the latter'• mos." In either
eitae he taken au unwarr.wtable liberty with the queen's
English.
. . . .

111 the seventh verse our depicter of winter gives
another instance of his power of rhyming by making tin
word "boll " rhyme with " roll."
The author in certainly • poet, but some people wonhl
sav sith the Atha "taster." It would certainly conduce
more to hid knowledge to study the works of Johnson,
than to write and send such rubbish to occupy • spwre is ,
your piper which might be 141,1 with something more
edifying to your readers thou the childielt twasidlc M. it
at the pains to compose.
1 am, dear sir,
Tours very truly,
XX.
Stourbridge, Dec. 21st, 18tt6.

" MIT ARE THE NAIL FORGERS LOOKED UPON
AS THE DREGS OF SOCIETY?
To the Elit,a of the "66sereer."

Sta,—Will you allow me, through tha medium of your
journal, to give • public answer to the above often asked
.piestion? I have been solicited repeatedly to give pate-
iicity to soy view on this suLject; I now comply hoping it
may benefit my fellow-men some little at least, as that is
the only end I have in view in writing.
Some people suppose that the reason the nailmaker is
so lightly esteemed by his !lapel lora, is because his vowel
see I inc. Ns,/ this appears to me a very vulgar notion,
and fraught with profound ignorance. In the first place
I call it vulgar, because there is not a particle of sense is
it; mod it is fraught with ignorance because it is entirely
errone One. Why ShOOli • man's wages affect Jr;,char-
acter! A man is a man though he combats shilling a
day. A man is a LOW though he lives on three meals&
-lay. A man is a man though lie eats meat but once.
week. A inan is a man though enveloped in rags, and
tormented with an aching heart and an empty stomach
Yes, he is'a man after all. There are others who regard
Me noihrrn trade as a mean and unskilled occupatioa.
which requires little or no mechanical knowledge to be-
come proficient workmen. This idea is also founded us
ignorance of the trade, and ignorance of the mechanicel
skill of those who work at the trade. I can find ?nen is
liolesoav n—self -taught men, or men who have mutually
taught Cools other—who are able to stand side by side
with any other class of mechanics in the world in point
of mechanical skill, that is in their own trade. There
are many Bailers who are almost as much jobbing [smiths
or blacksmiths as nailens. Draw the shape of a nail or
rivet on a piece of paper or on a slate, or even on the
warehouse counter ; such a nail or rivet that the nailer
never saw or heard talk of before, sod Inc will go and
actually make a net of tools, and that without the aid 01
the regular toolmakers machinery, and at once cora-
meuee to snake the newly-introduced nail without a single
instructor except his own head. If he requires any
heavy tool or tools thst he cannot possibly make for want
iif proper tools and assistance, lie will go anal stand lip
the toolmaker and give him a most complete and cirenni•
stantial description of the tool Inc requires for his pun
pose; and what more can the most accomplished media.
nil: do T

Why then are the nailniakers looked open as the dreg,
of society ? Not berau,o they earn small wages, nor
cause they they are unskilled workmen; for some earn good
wages and ale very skilful workmen, and are a credit to
society and an honour to the coaatty. It is very true
that come millers earn but little wages—indeed it is I
terrible struggle to exist with such wages—but then in
many cases this is owing to want of regular work sal
good tools to work with. It often happens, too, that
"firing "—that is coal and " gleeds," as we call them—
is very expensive, and so detracts from the "gets' el
the workman.

Nor is it because their occupation requires no skill, for
they are • match for any body of mechanics in this OF
any other country. Where then is the secret?
Why, in my opinion, it lies in ourselves to a great en.
tent. If we respected ourselves more, if ivo SV, r.• more
intelligent, if we were better informed, and if we ewe
ducted ourselves in presence of our superiors with more
courtesy and grace, we should elicit the respect of Ma
.• Powers that he," and in a measure have a realiss,ion of
the old adage "Mend your manners, and that will wend
your condition."
I am, Sir, yours respectfully,
T. SIIILVOK, JUL
Halesowen, Dec. 181. h.