The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-09-25 00:00:00

Our foam Corrtspodtnt.

[We deem it right to state that we do not at all times
identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.)

Among the things for which 1886 promises to
be remembered must be reckoned the extent of
the fruit harvest, which, with regard to certain
kinds, is the largest for some years. Plums par-
ticularly have been plentiful. Complaints have
been heard from various districts devoted to
their culture that the cheapness born of abund-
ance has been such that they scarcely paid for
picking. Careful housewives, with an eye to the
condition of their larder during the winter, have
consequently enjoyed themselves to the full,
within the past few weeks, in the manufacture
of Jam; and children fond of that commodity—
and what children are not ?—may look for an
ample supply in the months to come. The
fruiterers shops in London have naturally been
affected by the plenteousness of the yield; and
Covent-garden, always one of our "sights,"
though requiring too early rising to see it at its
best for it to be extensively patronised by the
curious, has lately been more striking than ever.
Autumn is the season for many things, and
among them for musical festivals. That of the
"Three Choirs "—Hereford, Gloucester, and.
Worcester—is just over, as also is that at Wolver-
hampton, while that at Leeds is soon to come.
Many music-lovers in London, who are some-
times tempted to think that the capital
monopolises the best of everything in science and
in art, do not know the value of these
provincial 'festivals." The triennial displays at
Birmingham and Leeds, for instance, are not only
marked by great excellence of execution, but
they have been productive of some celebrated
musical works. The name of the Birmingham
Triennial Festival will always be identified with
Mendelssohn's "Elijah," first given to the work"
in that town, and with Gounod's "Redemption,'
which also in the great Midland capital first fel'
on the public ear; and though Leeds cannot
boast the production of such an immortal work
as the" Elijah," a list of those which its festival
may almost be said to have called into being
would contain works known, loved, and honoured
by every musician. It is something upon which
our large provincial towns are entitled to be
congratulated—this proved devotion to musical
art. The results are before the world; they
afford not only present, but in many cases, per-
petual gratification.
None but those who have occasion to move
about London during the night can riglitly ap-
preciate the services of the police; but some
figures just published, which show that, during
the month of August alone, 186 members of the
Metropolitan Force were commended for meri-
torious conduct, should tell even the most
ignorant on the point that our constabulary are
a body of men of whom we do well to be proud.
The details of these commendations are worth
study, as showing to how many and how varied
risks policemen are exposed. Ninety-nine men
were commended by Sir Charles Warren, the
Chief Commissioner, and 13 by judges and
magistrates for courage and skill in the effecting of
arrests; while for courage and determination in
stopping runaway horses at considerable per-
sonal risk, 37 men—four of whom were injured
—were commended by their chief, 12 being
similarly praised for the courage and promptitude
they displayed at fires. Beyond these 22 re-
ceived commendation for courage and deter-
mination in killing or seizing mad or ferocious
dogs at personal risk, two of the men having
been injured while performing this perilous
duty; one was praised for a rescue from drown-
ing, and two for rendering prompt aid in cases
of accident. This is a record which does very
great credit to the police; and it should teach
those who are ready to grumble at any failure of
duty on their part to know that, though there
are black sheep in every flock, the proportion of
white ones is overwhelming.
Evening schools have to a large extent gone
out of fashion since the Education Act was
passed, for they mainly provided for the ele-
mentary teaching of those who had not had
such opportunity for learning as is now fur-
nished in almost every parish in the kingdom.
But the London School Board for the past few
years has conducted a series of evening
classes, and the fifth session will commence
in a few days. These classes are specially
designed for those who, when at day
school, did not reach the higher standards;
but they are also valuable to those who have
forgotten much of what they learnt in earlier
times, and to those who desire more advanced
education than in a more youthful period they
had had opportunity to obtain. It is gratifying
to know that success has crowned these well-
meant efforts, and that the average attendance
has greatly increased year by year; but it is
believed that, were the advantages of the system
more, widely known, the increase would be
marked, in a larger degree. Not only are the
"three R's "taught, but languages, science, and.
art; and in the more advanced classes, wood-
carving and modelling are among the subjects in
which instruction can be sought. Some pro-
vincial school boards have adopted the same plan
as that of London, and its advantages are such
that they need not be enlarged upon. Complaint
is often made that children forget the bulk of
their learning as soon as they leave school, and
any movement that shall diminish this waste
deserves to be encouraged.
This is the third summer that cholera has pre-
vailed to an alarming extent in various parts of
the continent, and England still remains un-
touched. We can scarcely be sufficiently thank-
ful for this continued freedom from the scourge,
but in our thankfulness we should not withhold
our sympathy from the nations suffering under
the pestilence. It is curious, and yet painful, to
note how the same superstitions, the same
doubts, and the same disturbances characterise
the people wherever the cholera breaks forth.
We are just now hearing from Austria of
attacks upon doctors on suspicion that they
are poisoning the victims—just as we
heard of them twelve months ago from
Spain, and two years since from France. And
England cannot boast freedom from such
barbarous ideas, as the records of the first visita-
tion of cholera will show. The terrible effect of
the prevalence of such a superstition can easily
be imagined. In their dread of the doctors, the
people hide from outer gaze those stricken by
the disease, and in many cases the population of
a whole village has been swept away when, had
timely application been made for medical aid, the
greater portion would have been saved. Some
very shocking examples of this have been
furnished by Austria within the past few weeks,
and it is difficult to see how they could have
been avoided.
It is not good news for the English farmer,
whatever it may be for the English manufac-
turer and consumer, that, in spite of bad seasons
and low prices, there is no falling off in the wool
production of our Australian colonies. The
returns of the present season indeed show an
increase in New South Wales, which has at
length elbowed Victoria out of the first
place. It is not only England which purchases
Australian wool, for large quantities are yearly
sent to America; but the mother country re-
mains the greatest customer, and is likely so to
continue. Those who know the district of which
Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, and
Dewsbury are the most important towns, will be
aware of the immense amount of wool consumed
annually in its manufacturing establishments.
Dress-pieces for ladies will characterise one of
these places, coatings for men another, and
blankets for everybody a third, but all alike deal
with an amount of wool which a century since
would have been considered fabulous. The con-
nection between the immense plains of Australia
and the manufacturing districts of England is
thus a very close one; and a drought on the
former, as causing the destruction of myriads of
sheep, might bring distress to thousands of our
operatives in the north. A. F. R.