The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-06 00:00:00

k!)ui- it:onbon Cattsponbtnt.

We deem It right to state that we do not•at all tinkle
ntifrosrselvrs with ott, 0:111, Opithol.B.l

% Thelon-tides gtregreolarittee Artl

on tho

si in of Her Majesty's birthday have formed the subs
jet of some controversy in the newspapers, but pro.
1. Oily that was tartly attributable to the fact that they
were garotted at a time of great political stagnation,
and that there was very little else to write about. It
will have been observed that, following the example
s,.t in the precedents of the Prince of Wales and the
Doke of Edinburgh, l'rince Arthur derives a title from
...;.11 of the three kingdoms. The Prince of Wales is
1. ;1, of Cornwall, Duke If llothsay, siol Earl id
Prince Alfred is Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of
rider, and Earl of Kent. Prince Arthur is Earl of
S.LYS4IX, Duke of Connaught, and Duke of Strathearu.
'1 herein now only one more of Her Majesty's sons to
Ir formally inscrilssl upon the rolls of the peerage,
and that is Prince Lemsdil, who 13 !WU, just Of age,
and for who, separate establishment, in accordance
with custom, a grant will shortly lie made hy the
Donee of Commons.

In the midst of the perpetual discussions on the
merits of the disputes on often arising in the different
departments of industry between capital and labour,
there is one subject which seems to assume increasing
impatience. That is the question how we shall fill the
ranks of our army. Regimental authorities assure Ili
that never was Mr. 1 fisraeli's description of skelet
regiments and attenuated battalions more true than at
the present moment. It is not so much that men
cannot be obtained as that they will not stay in the
arsay after they have enlisted. The desertions are on
a wholesale scale; a very mall proportion of the men
who run away are caught; and even these make up
their minds ti be off again at the first opportunity.
.Formerly, a omit hakl to serve in the army 21 years,
'and he was then entitled to a pension ; then the term
if service was reduced t a 12 years; now it is six years,
with no pension. Whether that be the cause of
the increased number of desertions it is, of course,
impossible to say; but probably one reason is that the
aims ifetna which the army is recruited can now obtain
much better wages in the agricultural districts. The
mercantile marine, too, according to the evidence given
before the Unseaworthy Ship's Commission is very
badly it for want of men, very likely from the same
'ass,' as that which so thins the ranks of the army.
" If ow not to do it!" is is Haying which has passed
into a byeword. What will be thought of a matter
which has engaged the attention of seven select com-
mittees of the House of Commons, five of the House
of Lords, besides forming the subject of three reports
from the Board of Trade, and yet nothing has been
lane? I speak of than mlequate protection of the
metropolis (rem lire. It is manifest that the water
supply of London, instead of being in the halals of
eight private companies, ought to be under the exclusive
control of the central governing authority. But as there
is no government in London, of course it cannot
control the water supply. Each of the metro
plitan boroughs is ruled by a vestry, and of the
composition of this body not one inhabitant in ten
thousand knows anything. I have been a house
holder in London for years, but of the vestry, the
makers of the local rates, or of the guardians, who levy
the parochial rates, I have as much knowledge as of
the body-guard of the Tycoon of Japan. I suppose
there are vestrymen and guardians in any parish, but
never heard their names, nor where they meet, nor
how or by whom they are elected. A century ago the
American colonists successfully raised the cry " Taxa-
tion without arhirenraatation is tyranny !" But the
London householder is generally too MIA occupied to
trouble Manse's about abstract principles like these.
Very likely lie snakes a wry face when the demand
notes for the rates come in, but it soon passeth away,
and is gone. As as rule Ike leads a busy life, and while
he is making inquiries into parish matters, time is stile
ping away, and he is losing money. So he pays his
rates awl forgets all about it until the next demand is
made. How long would a little country town lie con-
tent under such a system as this?
The Central Chamber if Agriculture has been dis-
cussing the management anal maintenance of roads in
England, and has deelared that not only di, abuses of
management exist, but costly administration as well.
While it is admitted that the gradual extinction of
turnpike trusts is an object id great importance to
local ratepayers, it is seen that no general abolition is
practicable until there is a complete reform in the road
management system. What were once great high
rinds to Isisidon have, by the introduction of railways,
become of merely local finportance ; while sktne old
parish by-ways, through the opening of an adjacent
railway station, have suddenly lc-en converted into
great avenues id traffic. Then see the conflicting
jurisdictions. There are turnpike trusts, district
boards, highway boards, local boards of health, awl
town improvement ei iminiasioners —all uniting to make
up tine complex systeni. Manifestly the reform of
local taxation is one of the most weighty subjects which
ean engage the attention of the Legislature.

One if the most interesting features at the Interna-
tional Exhibition is the colleethm of ancient and modern
lace. Few out of the many kinds of this elegant fabric are
unrepresented, and stone of the articles are very costly,
as your readers will see when I tell them that three
flounces aro valued at 700 guineas. In one department
there is SiMie trite real pillow lace, which, awording to
the label, is probably the only specimen made by linen
thread for twenty-five years, every description of
modern la, being manufactured in cotton fabric. The
thread of which this la, is made was spun by the
hand more than forty years ag.,, and cost fifty shillings
an ounce. It is priced at eight guineas a yard. There
are some splendid pieces of Venetian lace, and beauti-
ful specimens of that which wears no long that it has
been called the "eternal Valenciennes." The manu-
facture of this is said to have begun in the fifteenth
century, and visitors to the Exhibition may see the
lace-makers of to-day at work in the eastern quadrant.

On the motion of the IT cite Secretary, and pursuant
to an order of the House of Commons, a return has
been presented to Parliament showing a remarkable
unanimity ,if opinion against the extension of the
hours for the sale of intoxicating liquors proposed in
the new Licensing Bill. The order-loving portion of
the community has not asked for it ; the respectable
ieensed victualler would rather be without it. While
upon this subject I may say that Mr. Bright's
remarks upon the temperance question, at a recent
meeting of the Society of Friends, have attracted
universal attention. It is much to be regretted that a
professional reporter was not present, for the account
which was furnished to the London papers was written
from memory by a Friend who was present, and who
was evidently an amateur at compiling reports for the
press. But that Mr. Bright hal been not only
a total abstainer for thirty-five years, but during the
whole of that time had neither decanters nor wine
glasses in his house, and had bought neither wines
nor spirits was certainly new to the vast majority of
the population. He began housekeeping in IS3O with
the firm resolve to do without wines and spirits, and he
has adhered to it ; but at the same time be declares
that so great has been the inconvenience in a social
point of view that, had lie tog() through life again, he
,loce, not believe he should repeat the experience. I can
readily understand it. At this time of day a gentle-
man who invites a friend to dinner without setting
wine before him, is totes' a poor creature, and one who
is utterly unable to appreckite the amenities f life.
Offer a guest a cup of coffee, a glass of seltzer, or a
tumbler of water, and, if he be not a teetotaller, lie
!nay think a great deal, although he would be
too well mannered to express his thoughts. Times
haw altered since Mr. Bright began housekeeping
_18:311; people now make noire money than
they did then, and can afford to have more
luxuries upon their tables than they could a
,eneration ago. Mr. Brig,ht's confession of total
abstinence came with ail the more surprise, inasmuch
it 11P hail rever made Any professions in that direc-
t in, and Ins never enunciated extreme views upon the
temperance question.

The name of Turner, the eminent iainter, h as just
sen prominently before the public. A few days ago
the sale of the engravings of his "England and Walet:'
at the rooms of Messrs. Christie and Manson, pro-
duced £4,414, and the tots realized for the whole of
the engravings was more than £60,000. These are the
more valual Is because it is said that they will be the
last of the kind obtainable, the plates having been
destroyed.
Down in the south-west of London, there is an in-
stitution known SR the Hospital for Consumption at
Brompton. wi:ich is the means of conferring great assis-
tance on the numerous class afflicted by this insidious dis-
ease. This is the season for the annual meetings of chari-
ties, and the hospital f which I speak has just held its
yearly gathering. I find that in 1873, out of 1,211
in-patients, 896 were either cured or greatly benefited.
In the same twelve months there were 12,000 new out-
patients. There is a story connected with this insti-
tution which is well worth telling. For many years
the country visitor to London saw just over Black-
friars Bridge, and at the south-western corner of Stam-
ford-street, three or four large-sized houses presenting
all the appearance of neglect and dilapidation. The
smoke-begrimed walls, the blackened window frames,
and the disappearance of every pane of glass showed
that years and years must have elapsed since these
tumble-down places were tenanted. I have passed
there of a winter night, when the rain has been borne
along in sheets upon the wings of a fierce storm,
and RP the wind has howled through these deserted
habitatious. the noilies have seemed to the knagi

nation to be of a singularly weird and ghostlike
character. The neighbourhood was one of the busiest
irc London, and the houses might have been constantly
occupied had the owner chosen to let them to respect-
able tenants. Ilut there they stood, monuments of
dyyjaptit.in r.igh and thritiogsite. A listluale •
ago the papers inn 4 wired one morning the death 1 4 a
rich maiden lady named Read, the eccentric owner of
this and a large quantity t,f, other hobse property
in London, worth about E 200,000. She left the whe
of sthis vast sum to the Consumption Hospital at
Brompton, and might have made it a great deal more
but for her insurmountable obstinacy in keeping vacant
the Stamford-street houses. She was the only child
of rich parents, who would never let the same houses,
and she followed faithfully their wishes in allowing
them to remain unproductive and to fall into decoy.

The governing authorities of the City of London
have been considering the salary which ought to be
paid to the officer of health who is to be appointed in
succession to Dr. Letheby, who has just resigned that
ilest, after holding it for many years. That gentleman
also discharged the duties of analyst under the Fed
Adulteration Act, and it was agreed that WOO a year
should be paid to his successor. Now the officer of
health for the City 1 London should he a man id great
skill and ability, whose work might well Is, a pattern
for the whole 4.4 the United Kingdom. Doubts have
been expressed whether the sum mentioned is sufficient
to attract the services of any highly-qualified gentle-
man who is to give his undivided attention to the work
of his office. A medical man in the metropolis
who is unable to make more than 1:1100 a
year cannot hold a very high position in his
profession, and an unknown person as medical
officer of health would be a great mistake. The top-
most members of this profession in London pull in
their £lO,OOO a year with ease. Of course we do not
expect Jenner or Gull, Fergusson, or Paget, to take
a position like that advertised, hut there is a vast dif-
ference between MAO a year and £6OO. Generally
speaking, the Corporation pay their servants pretty
well, and the allowance to the Recorder, £3,000 a
year, is not considered a meagre one. The post is a
dignified one, and the duties are not of an especially
laborious nature.