The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-03-01 00:00:00

appeal to the cotultry on this subject ? I think go.

The continuance of enorrinuely high prices for Coal,
though prices of course fluctuate a little, will
render it a matter of general congratulation that the
government have assented to
.the appointment of •
Select Committee to inquire into the demand for and
supply of coal and the causes of its dearness. As the
Home Secretary declared, when consenting to the pro-
posal for this committee, we must not expect that the
result will be any government or parliamentary inter-
ference with the production of coal, but we shall at least
have ample inquiry Into and a thorough knowledge of
the facts relating to this important matter. We indeed
already know much about some undisputed causes of the
dearness of coal ; we know that the large demands for it
on the part of the iron trade chiefly, and other trades
subordinately, the demand for higher wages to the
colliers, and the decreased output in some districts,
have tended to enhance the price of coal. But in what
ratio have these causes acted? What have the alleged
combination on the part of colliery proprietors and
coal merchants, and the high rates of railway carriage,
had to do with the enormous price of coal? These and
other questions we may hope the Select Committee will
answer for us. Meanwhile it is satisfactory to learn
from Mr. Bruce—who, as the author of the Mines
Regulation Bill, may be credited with • knowledge of
the subject—that colliery proprietors are gradually dis-
covering that it is not wise to paralyse the manufactur-
ing industry of the country, and that colliers are learn-
ing that the trades union theory of diminishing the ,
supply in order to raise wages is a mistake. It is
cheering, too, to learn that great efforts are being made
throughout the country to economise the use of coal,
though on the other hand it is sad to think what pain-
ful efforts at economy the very poor have to make.
But spring is struggling to make its appearance, and
the delicious rays of sunshine will soon have an effect
on the coal market.

The continuous development of the Postal business
of the country is manifested, amongst other ways, by
the additional requirements of the metropolis at the
bead-quarters of the post-office and telegraphic depart-
ments. The strike in the building trades caused so
amok delay in carrying on the works fortthe additional
leffildings, opposite the head office, that they will not
be ready till the end of the year. This new establish-
ment, which is • handsome, massive pile, will be de-
voted to the telegraphic business, and we are to have
yet another large building, to be appropriated to the
money-order, savings-banks, dead letter, and registered
letter departments. The New Poet-Office, as it is com-
mordy caned, will be opened towards the close of the
year with • staff of nearly 900 young ladies, as we
must by courtesy call them, in the telegraphic depart-
ment, and it will not be long after that till at least
1,000 are thus employed. Weldeducatecpyoung women
I may remark, are found to be better adapted to this
kind of work than the other sex. They like the em•
ployment, and they do the work carefully and well,
while the position is by no means an unpleasant one,
the occupation and the pay being regular.
Our citizen soldiers as a body are, I believe, chag,
rined and disappointed at the resolution at present ar-
rived at, that the proposed annual field-day on Easter
Monday shall be abandoned As to the presumed
difficulties owing to the coet of the railway conveyance,
no doubt that little point c wild soon be got over.
Whichever railway might have to be employed, the
directors of that line would, doubtless,4see their interest
in low fares for the Volunteers. And am to the
apathy or opposition of some of the commanding
officers, I cannot see that our Volunteers should be on
this account deprived of their Ender Monday field day,
an institution which has done much towards popular.
lying the service. Abolish the Easter Monday review
and the Wimbledon contest, and our Volunteers would
have no red-letter days at all ; and such occasions as
these are necessary to keep up that etprit de corps
which is the life and of the Volunteer service. At
the time of writing it is by no means certain that the
Easter Review will not be held after all, but if it is ir-
revocably decided that it shall not take place, permit
me to suggest that it would be well to have
an annual review on Whit-Monday, when the weather
im more likely to be finer than at Easter. At all
eventa an annual field day is almost absolutely essen-
tial to the welfare of the service, and I am sure that
Volunteers and public are in the main of this opinion.
M. Thiers, it is said, is suffering from a slight cold.
This homme Eminent may congratulate himself that
it is only a slight cold. Colds severe and slight, colds
of every variety of degree and intensity, colds simple
and complicated, colds revent and confirmed, are the
crder of the day and night. In London we are once
again suffering not so much from the severity of the
weather as from our miserable helplerernees whenever
we have a fall of snow. The City authorities deserve
our thanks for a fair amount of activity and intelli-
gence in dealing with this visitation, but as to the rest
of the metropolis we are manifesting all our old dull-
ness and stupidity, and feebly lamenting, as we have
so long done, that we have not • municipal govern.
rnent.

The Newspaper Press Fund, though it prospers to a
certain extent, can scarcely be deemed so prosperous
as it deserves to be. At ita annual general meeting just
held, it was stated that the society now cmisists of 195
metropolitan and 69 provincial members, together 284.
But I see from the Newspaper Press Directory that there
are now published in the ("rated Kingdom 1,536 news•
papers, so that it takes rather morethan five newspapers
to send one re preeentati ve to the Newspaper Press Fund,
an association, be it remarked, established by the press
for the press, and having no other objects to promote
but the interests of journalism and its professoce. The
N. P. F. may be regarded as a benefit society im the
principle of honourable confidence and secrecy when
relief is granted, in this respect differing considerably
from ordinary benefit societies. That the association
does much in this direction is shown by the statement
that the number of cases inquired into last year was
thirty-one, and that relief was granted to the amount
of E 425.

Most of Us well remember the occasional seizure of
goods for nompayment of church-rates. Whether these
compulsory rates were wrong or right, need not now
be'discussed ; but it is pretty generally admitted by
Churchmen as well as Dissenters, that it is a good
thing that these diitraie. its have become things of the
past. But now we have similar distraints in relation
to the non-payment of school-board rates by Noncom
formiats. This is by no means an agreeable illustration
of history repeating itself.

_ -
I have been reading with great pleasure Mr. Anthony
TroHope's new work on "Australia and New Zealand."
This book will give to most readers a better idea of the
trade and commerce, the social and domestic life, the
institutions, and the resources of these colonies than,
I s'ould say, they ever before possessed ; but I refer
to the work chiefly to direct to it the attention of in-
ending emigrants. Mr. Trollope clearly shows that
there is yet ample scope and range enough for large
numbers of mechanics, artisan., and labourers in
various departments. I fully expect that the book
will do much to promote emigration, though there is
no evidence of its being written with that object.
I am glad to observe that the Lords of the A Matrality
have informed Dr. NV. G. Bennett that they intend to
have his "Songs for Sailors" used in the naval train-
ing ships. This is an honour that the poet well
deserves. Dr. Bennett's nautical poems are admirably
adapted to popularise the naval service, and are worthy
of England's maritime prowess. There are ports
whom it would be easy to mention, whose works it is
the fashion to admire, but who have little hold on the
great ma sa A the public. Of a very different order
are these "Songs for Sailors," that have already
achieved great popularity, and will nsw become more
popular than ever.

_ _
To the ordinary list of "births, deaths, and mar-
riages," some of the American papers, I believe, add
" divorcee." I can see no harm in this, any more than
reporting the trials in the Divorce Court, and by the
way, one newspaper may be complimented on the good
taste with which this is done. A decidedly objection-
able feature, in my opinion, has been added to this
department of journalism, an ecclesiastical paper hav-
ng introduced "engaged," under which word are
planed the names of ladies and gentlemen who pre-
sumably send them for insertion. This sort of thing
is scarcely likely to be adopted to any considerable
extent, and the only wonder is that it was ever com-
menced.

IMPERIAL GENEROSITY.—The Emperor of
Austria, King of Hungary, has recently afforded an
example of patriotic divinterestednms. The Rekbarach
of Vienna had voted an augmentation of the Civil Lim
proposed by the Government. The Hungarian Ministry
deemed it ita duty to make a similar prop sal to the
Mcgyar Diet, an the King and Court now spend a con-
siderable portion of the year in Podia and de environs.
According, however, to an official paper, the Pesti-
Rapt°, the Emperor-King intimated to his advisers that
In consideration of the increased public expenses awl
this recent bad harvests he resigned the augmentation
offered him. The Dist would not be behind in gene•
rog37, sod voted th• bums, by 22ff PAM lab* lie