The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-08-22 00:00:00

Our i'onboß o:ortrsponbtd,

ohs deem it right to st,te that we do not at all times
Slai
mt Lily ourselves with our 141 eevoudeut's opinions] ,
. Illiopolis of,tha—aLTlEmpire, In the middle
.itigast, is in a political as well as in a social sense,
t tnparatively dull arvi uninteresting place; at least
, tipears so to the ordinary resident,' who, having
'lived, moved, and had his being for a whole twelve-
month either underneath the shadow ot St. Paul's, or
within a radius of four miles from Charing Cross, now
counts the days when a change of scene may be en-
joyed. But to the large number of excursionists which
pour int., I In during the months of Augast-ond
:4,.i.trialber front usury part, of the provinces; the
int city lin scut.; all the xs;,ects of int.-rest uhich
trio city can afford. Thousands pass through King
William-street, and over London Bridge every day,

who never think of glancing dawn the little thorough-
fare 'to the emtward. That is Fish-street-hill, and
there stands the Monument, erected to commemorate
the breaking out of the great fire of 16613. Yet that is
a point for which the visitor to our capital invariably
makes. Again, countless hosts pass up and down the

river in era.ftof all sizes, who, if they bestow a thomen.

„
tary gaze upon the grey battlements of the Tower,
allow its hist ric reminiscences to have not the slightest
effect upon their minds. But did you ever know an
excursionist to London return without going over this
asninfive castellated fortress, and knowing all about the
quaint dresses ,f the beefeaters, the dungeon where
Raleigh was confined for thirteen years, the crown
jseselp and the armoury? The tradesman in Cheapside,
the shoptnau in Newgate-street, the warehouseman in
cannon-street, and the omnibus driver, whose daily
revocation takes him so often round St. Paul's, have
.14),er in their lives ascended to the golden ball of that
cathe,lral, and looked down upon that wonderful
wield of London stretched three hundred feet beneath
them. They have found no time to ascend to that
height, and there contemplate a picture which once
seen call never be forgotten- the busy thoroughfares
aotersectiug each other in all directions, the moving
mares of people like so many ants, the railways, the
ournibusires, and tile steamers presenting the appear-
ance of In in iatime toys ; the ricer slowly winding through
the mighty town like a tangled skein of thread; the
immovable masts of the shipping in the miles of docks,
like sr many walking canes; the bridges, here looking
thin, narrow, and puny; the steeples, from many of
which is rung forth the softened melody of church
belts. Yet such a spectacle as this is not missed by a
very considerable proportion of those who run up to
I,ond4m for a holiday. I might in this way run over
one institution after another—the British M useum,
the National Gallery, the Houses of Parliament,
Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, Kew
Gardens, aud other places, with the names of which
the ordinary inhabitants of London is perfectly
familier, but Lie knows no more of them than of the
contents of the Emperor of China's Summer Palace
His country cousin comes up to spend a fortnight
with him, and is able to tell him more about the city
wherein ho dwells than he has found time to pick up
in a lifetime. Well, we are always glad to see our
visitors, and are immensely interested in their stories
of adventure. They can telt us what really many of
us did not know before, that in this month of August,
so tame and dull to us, there are actually eight
theatres open in our midst, to say nothing of music
halls, and they vastly do enjoy the Promenade
Concerts which are going on just now at Covent
Garden, and are the nightly source of pleasure and

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recreation to thousand.
It must have often been the fortune of visitors from

tile country to travel to Richmond Ly a river steamer
and to run aground. At such times the unlucky pas-
sengers have either to go ashore in little boats, or to
wait for the rising of thetide. Two plans for deepening
the water have been before the Thames Conservancy,

viz.,' the construction of a lock and n weir just above

Ricfmoond, and a resort to dredging. The Conserv&
tors have selected the latter, and as their decision in
based upon the best engineering opinion, it is hoped
that the means adopted may be effectual in removing a

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serious inceuvenience, which ought to be taken in
hand without delay. The river in the neighbourhood
of Kew and Richmond becomes more shallow every
year, partly owing to the immense quantity of water
taken from the Thames for domestic purpose, by
cerium; towns higher up the stream, awl partly from
the effect produced by the construction .if the embank-
ment, which by narrowing the channel and increasing
the scour of the tide, causes a larger amount of deposit
to he earned up to those places, which, already suffi-
Ciently shallow, can ill afford to receive it.
Several months affo, in the expectation that the
.inffiiiiitnre At wield he put into force next Novem-
ber, a committee was appointed to draw up the neces-
sary rules of pro ether'. It comprised the best lawyers
upon the English Bench, selected from the various
tribunals now in existence, assisted by three eminent
oraughtsmen. This committee sat intennitter,tly for
three quarters ot a year, s suspension of their labours
having been found necessary whilst many of the judges
were absent upon circuit. There has been seine anxiety
in the legal profession respecting the result of the sit'
tog., for it was in the power of the cominiesionera to
give either a wide or a narrow effect tu the more sweep-
ing clauses, and to a certain extent to stultify the in-
tention of the measure. The point at issue was whether
distinct progrese was to be made in the path of legal
simplification, or was there to be a mere substitution
.if new for old regulations of an intricate and perplexing
character ? The publication of the rules has, however,
ad all doubt at 'rest, for they are marked by a sim-
plicity and an absence of technicality which is altogether
new in legal phraseology ; and raise high hopes of the
better administration of justice under the new system.
Mr. (hailstone's letter to the chairman of the Metro-
politan District Railway Company has attracted con-
siderable attention. The right hon. gentleman thinks the
great object of a Board of Railway Directors should
he the fullest development of the traffic within the limits
the carrying powers of the line. Mr. Gladstone's
financial experiences has convinced him that "as a
rule the State, or individual, or company, thrives the
hest which dives deepest down into the mass of the
community, and adapts its arrangements to the wants
of the greatest number." This is a principle which
has not hitherto extensively prevailed upon our rail-
way lines. The third-class trains were timed at the
most inconvenient hours, and every conceivable
obstacle was thrown in the way of this description of
traffic. Now we find a man who has been the Prime
Minister of England telling the Directors of a line in
which he is a shareholder that he hope.; they will ad-
dress themselves to the means and wants of the
labouring and lower middle-classes. The Midland
Railway Company long ago saw matter', in a
similar light, attached third-class carriages to all
trains, introduced Pullman's sleeping cars upon
their line, and initiated the practice of purchasing
railway tickets at any hour of the day instead of caus-
ing a crowd of excited persons to struggle for tickets
in front of a booking-office window within a few
minutes of the departure of a train. The Midland
Company is one of the most enterprising in England,
and its vast terminus at St. Pancras, with the magnifi-
tent hotel attached thereto, is one of the sights of
Landon. When I was a youngster I always looked
upon the Great Western terminus at Paddington as
the embodiment of immensity, but in height and Ruin
-if roof, as well as in size, St. Pancras has borne away
the palm.

The value of an efficient Fire Brigade watt fully
tested at the recent outbreak at the General Post-
office, when, although the flames had full possession of
the telegraph store-room, containing much inflammable
material, the attaching of a length of hose to the
nearest hydrant was followed by thd extinction of the
fire in twenty minutes. The Metropolitan Fire Bri-
gade is admirable in discipline, but small in numbers.
While we base an army of about 14,000 police, those
who protect the city front tire are less than 400. To
be precise, the number is 396, and of these 90 are em-
ployed on the several watches kept up specially during
the day, and 181 by night. Of the rest, about 50 are gene-
rally either sick, injured, or on leave. How many hese
we then left available for general work? Only 750 rail
ranks, and this in a population of more than three
millions. In every twenty-four Fumes in London, the
Brigade is; on an average, called to fifteen fires, and if
one of these threatens to assume large proportiot,
there is a danger of the force being called away front
the others. There hen lately been 3 demand for an
increase in the numbers of the Brigade, and few will
be inclined to declare that it is unreasonable.
The frequency of boating and bathing accidents as.
early in the autumn has elicited many suggestions for
the prevention of such calamities. In particular Lord
Howard of Glossop throws ont some hints respecting the
construction of pleasure-boats which deserve attention
at the hands of those who are able to superintend the
building of their own craft. It is really sat-prising
how small a proportion of the population of a maritime
country take the trouble to master the art of swim-
ming. Our islands are surrounded by the sea ; eur
great towns are intersected by broad rivers, yet as a
rule very little is done to cultivate an art which is as
health-giving as it is valuable in a time of danger.
A report has been published, in which a committee
of the Social Science Association make various recom-
mendations on the local taxation question. They
believe that there should be an entire transfer to the
State of the cost of repressing crime, as also the ex.
pinnies connected with the carrying out of the Yacci.
nation Act, and with the registration of births, mar-
riages, and deaths. They would extend to the indoor
pauper a subsidy from Imperial sources, equal to half
his maintenance, as has just been done by the Govern.
ment in the case of lunatics. The report urges the de-
sirability of employing other means of local taxation

subj
not
MM
while
een..jukt
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besides the unbending one of a direct rate on im-
movable property. A consolidation of rates is sug-
gested, combined with a simpliefication-of the 'Dacha.'
nery of assessment mid collection. The irlwat't
ha/. been beihrel the &nutty, odl3
for some yie pasty and th ore i eti
this Corsini may ully

aile the Government 4s preparing that scheme of
reform promised for next session.
The annual gathering of the British Assodation has
.been.„,not inapprpp.riataly ter:wed...the Parliament Ai
Science. It WWI elitAbliAild by Sir Meld 'Brewster,
Sir Roderick Murchison, and others, in 1831. Professor
John Phillips VIM secretary until 1863. The first of
its_yearly meetings was held at York on the 27th Sep-.
tember, 1831, and since that time it has pitched its tent
in many at centre if our arts, our industry, and our
religi..n. Some of lor IllOst eminent public men have
been its Presidents, the late Prince Consult being
amongst the honoured lint. One of its main objeets is
"to promote the intercourse of those who cultivate
science with each other." It appoints commissions,
and makes pecuniary grants for scientific research ; and
Publishes overy year a volume containing the rep eta
of its proceedings. Her Majesty has taken great in-
terest in the work of the Association, and presented
Kew Observatory to its members in 1812.

The meetings of the Palestine Ex ploration Fund show
that few great undertakings have been Bo successfully
carried out at such a small outlay. Last year the total
expenditure was less than £5,000; yet for this sum aeon-
siderable amount of information was added to that
previously in our possession respecting a land sur-
rounded with such historic memories. Yet if the public
interest in the work is to be measured by the am suit
of money raised, it cannot be very much. In glancing
over the list of subscriptions I find that the little
Himalayan station of Simla contributed £24, a sum
proportionately larger than was sent by any other
place.

The Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund has
amounted to £29,500, and it has just been distributed.
Of the entire total £14,727 is allotted to Hospitals, and
0,172 to Dispensaries and kindred institutions, thus
leaving a small balance in hand for the necessary ex-
penses. No hospital or dispensary was allowed to par
ticipate which did not submit a return of income and
expenditure during the last three years. The London
Hospital was the largest recipient, £3,812 falling to its
share; St. George's received £3,050, and the Middle-
sex £2,287. Those with rich foundations, such as
Guy's and St. Bartholomew's, get nothing, it being
considered that they are amply provided for already.