The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-06-12 00:00:00

ur (111' Olthn Corrtsfonbtnt.
(We deem It right to state that we do not at all times
'lentil:, ourselves with our Correspondent's

When the days are at their longest and very nearly
at their hottest—when the rays of a fierce sun are
beating down upon a dense and busy population
continually moving to and fro—then is the time when
that which is called the London season may be said to
be at its height. The middle of June finds the me-
tropolis very full indeed; and those who move in the
upper ranks of Society often find it difficult to make a
selection from the host of invitations showered in upon
them. Hyde-park, on a fine afternoon, is a highly
popular place of resort, for within its precincts lies
Rotten-row, where, more especially between four and
six o'clock the representatives of rank and fashion con-
gregate by hundreds—some riding, others driving, and
all apparently enjoying themselves. Up and down
the whole length of the Row are vast numbers of
loungers, who point out a notability here and there;
and whose importance is thereby materially heightened
in the estimation of the less-initiated bystanders.
Sometimes, in these matters, a bow is drawn
at a venture and persons of eminence are
named, when in fact the person indicated bears a very
different name; but the recipient of the information
is in blissful ignorance of the real facts, and no harm
is done. On such nights as We are having just now,
Buckingham Palace occasionally resumes the gaiety
which reigned within its walls in days of yore; and
hundreds of the aristocracy gather at a State Concert
or a State Ball, as the case may be. Garden parties
in the day; receptions, parties, and " at homes" far
into the night, follow each other in quick succession
now, and this will be the case until the month of July
begins to wane, when the grass upon the lawns be-
comes parched and thirsty, and the leaves upon the
trees are drooping and languid under the intense and
fervent heat. For the heat in London is at times
almost overpowering; not, indeed, upon the banks of
the Thaaies, where the air-current supplied by the
motion of the river supplies a cee,ain degree of cool-
ness to the atmospbere; ,int in the narrow and stifling
,susss. ,sf #b City, where very few breezes penetrate,
and where not even the shadows of the lofty gaunt-
looking houses temper the force of the hot and blazing
sunahine. A day in the City, under these conditions,
is an experience which a stranger would not easily
forget.
The creation of three new peerages reminds me that
practically there is no limit to the number of
members in the House of Lords. One minister after
another goes on adding to the rolls of the peerage, and
during Mr. Gladstone's five years of office, thirty new
peers were made. At the same time it must be under-
stood that these are by no means all permanent
additions. Some are merely elevations from one grade
to another—a baron to an earl, or a marquis to a
duke. In other cases again the eldest son of a peer is
called to the -Upper House in the lifetime of his father
as was the late Lord Derby by Sir Robert Peel;
Earl St. Maur, by Lord Palmeston ; the Marquis of
Kildare, Lord Eliot, and Viscount Enfield, by Mr.
Gladstone; and Lord Grey de Wilton by Mr.
Disraeli. In each of these cases, the addition to the
peerage is merely temporary, lasting only as long as
the life of the father. Again, peerages are continually
becoming extinct, being merged, left in abeyance, or the
possessors of the titles are minors for a long term of years.
The little Marquis of Camden will not attain his ma-
jority until the year 1893; and, of course, can neither
sit in the House nor vote till that time. Eight years
ago, the earldom of Beverley became merged in the
dukedcm of Northumberland, the lesser title naturally
disappearing from the roll. Add causes like these to
the extinctions which are sometimes recorded, and it
will be seen that notwithstanding the successive crea-
tions of prime ministers, the ranks of the peerage do
not materially increase. During the long reign of
George 111., four hundred new peerages were called
into existence, a very large proportion of which have
by this time disappeared.
While, however, no limit is placed upon the number
of the lords temporal, the greatest reluctance is mani-
fested in increasing the ranks of the lords spiritual, in
other words, the prelates. The two archbishops, and
the bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, take
their seats at once upon consecration, for they occupy
what is termed the five primary sees. But in any
other case, the new prelate has to wait for a vacancy
before taking his place izr the House of Lords; so that
the bishop last appointed is always without a seat.
This arises from the working of the Act which called
Into existence the bishopric of Manchester, and which
provided that the new prelate should have no seat in
the House of Lords until a vacancy arose in another
diocese. By this means the number of the episcopal
members of their lordships' house was not augmented,
and as the principle is applied to every vacancy which
arises, the newly-made bishop has generally at least
twelve months to make himself acquainted with his dios
cese before the death of some other prelate causes him to
receive a summons to Parliament, and then he has to
live half the year in London. The House of Commons,
too, jealously guards the number of its members at
658. At present, however, they are but 652, all told,
four boroughs returning six representatives having
been disfranchised in 1870, and the seats have not yet
been appropriated.

One of the most attractive places in the metropolis,
as long as it remains open, is the Horse Show at
Islington. It is held in the first week of June, in the
same building--the Agricultaral Hall—which, in the
first week of December, witnesses the Cattle Show.
Nowhere is the difference between June and December
more strikingly seen. Bright skies and gaiety have
taken the place of fog and gloom; the sun, and no
longer thousands of gas jets, lights up the vast building;
and an air of cheerfulness is imparted to the scene
which even the approach of Christmas cannot show.
The Royal family is always in great force at this Horse
show; and this year it has been visited by the Prince
and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edin-
burgh, Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse, Prince and
Princess Christian, Princess Louise, and the Duke of
Connaught. The crush of visitors on the great day
was tremendous; and so great was the excitement
manifested in shouting and applause, that the prize
animals occasionally became restive in going through
the leaping performances. Still, the green turf and
the water jump made the people feel quite rural at
Islington, and there can be no doubt that the thousands
who attended this exhibition thcroughly enjoyed them-
elves. Meanwhile, large numbers went to the Crystal
Palace Dog Show, where about 1,500 specimens of the
canine species are to be seen. The Prince and
Princess of Wales were amongst the exhibitors. Ex.
ceedingly fancy prices were placed upon some of the
dogs; one mastiff, for example, being valued by his
owner at £10,000; another figure being the compara-
tively moderate one of £5,000, the first sum being a
year's salary of a Lord Chancellor, and the second that
of a Prime Minister.

- -
There is a good deal of patronage just now for the
Floating Swimming Bath, which is moored just along-
side the Charing-cross Railway Bridge, just at the foot
of the street leading from Charing-cross itself. Some
objection has been made to the presence of the struc-
ture on the ground that it blocks the view of the river,
but we may perhaps set off against that its practical
utility. It is by 110 means unsightly, and although
not so ornamental as similar erections on the Seine, is
far more substantial. The London swimming season
is at its best now, before people begin to go away to
the seaside. In one respect the Seine possesses an
advantage over tho Thames, inasmuch as it is a
clean stream, equally as clear and just about
as wide as the Thames at Richmond. The
Seine, as it flows through Paris, conveys an excellent
idea of a city of pleasure, with the excursion steam-
boats, covered with awnings to protect the passengers
from the rays of the sun, plying up and down its
placid surface. The Thames, on the contrary, at
London Bridge, and along its miles of docks, tells you
of a city of commerce. There are little steamers
moving to and fro, it is true; but the West India
mail boats and the stately liners, tell you of a traffic
which is not confined to the seekers of pleasure, but
is carried on upon distant seas, and amid perils totally
unknown and unthought of by the light-hearted popu.
lation of the French capital.
Two of the social measures of the present session
are now in a fair way of becoming law, the Artisans'
Dwellings' Bill having passed both Houses, while the
Friendly Societies' Bill is through the Commons. It
having been represented to the Chancellor of the Ex-
cheqmer, in whose charge it was, that the measure
might possibly affect the operations of the Life 2-Issur-
ance Societies, the right hon. gentleman promised to
consider any clause for putting this matter right. One
was accordingly drawn up providing that no company
or office, corporate or incorporate, which depositedlits
annual statement of accounts with the Board of Trade,
in conformity with the Life Assurance Companies' Acts
of 1870 and 1872, shall be affected in any way by the
provisions of this Bill. The tendency of legislation of
late years towards the better protection of the pro-
vident and those possessing forethought, has been
very marked. Those, therefore, who desire to
see a greater security for the savings of the
humbler classes, are glad to see that this Bill, has run
the gauntlet of Committee. Its passage in the Lords
is a matter of course.

The Sultan of Zanzibar is a potentate whose name
has often been heard in connection with a Treaty con-
cluded with him two years ago by Sir Bartle Frere for
the suppression of the Slave Trade upon the East Coast
of Africa. While there is no doubt that the Sultan
himself has acted in good faith, we have been told from
time to time that the rein which he keeps upon his
subjects is not sufficiently tight to accomplish the
object of Sir Bartle Freres Treaty, and that the East
African Slave Trade is by no means extinct. However,

the Sultan will be in London soon, and will have an
opportunity of giving direct information to the
Foreign Office as to how things really stand. It is,
however, remarkable how the interest in the arrival of
the sovereign of another country has fallen off since
the visit of the Shah this time two years. His Persian
Majesty exhausted the excitement in that direction
for some time to come; and now there is that inevitable
re-action which is certain to follow a highly-wrought
condition of the nervous system. To say nothing of a
Sultan of Zanibar, it is doubtful whether an Emperor
of China or a Tycoon of Japan would just now create
anything like the attention devoted to the Shah, whose
sojourn amongst us will be remembered for many a
year to come. Still, the Sultan will be welcomed, and
there can be no question that any man of intelligence,
whether white or black, can, if he pleases, always
leave London wiser than he came.