The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-02-14 00:00:00

sdo

From the Election retarns we are way from Drury Lane,
tabled to form a tolerable idea of what the who throng the alleys
Rousso( Commons is likely to be. At the irows debouch into %hie
it is not cheerful to note the predictions of those who • ot 'find thereseensary fends where,
declare that there will be another dissolution of Par Vial to ride to Battersea Or to Victerlt Park. There
lament within two years. A general election Is such is no Moro miserable sight than the of the meagre,
a disturbing element in trade, and emits' suck WOW wart, Pincbliel little crestovelleetille milleiblYmth of the
pinions as In many ewes to lead to rioting and blood- visgtdopenekpplep fraraegoaskfm to tigroxigh:
shed, that it is desirable to have as few such e;ellif as ,F. byway of soine"nario* abort-Mr thee they
we possibly can. We see that, even with tie Bigot, me'spefa the paying-stones, with their cheap toys, their
the strife in some places hashed fatal results. This iis skipping ropes, their whipping-tope and go-carts, their
In some degree attributable tothe fard.that thelleclara 0p,,,,04 ibad imp_ wooden Pope, &tog, tbeig best in
lion of the pollies been Midi at i iota 'lke at their little way to bear up against the world of want
night. LsOlaoldlldeLhaveiesswilistind under cover and misery into which they have been born.
of diskitess property has been attacked, and life has
As there is so much interest in political matters just
not been safe. in London, in the 'celerity of instanced,
now, aliow mete give your readers • few flout es show.
the returning officers wisely declined to begin counting
leg the number of members returned for the three
the vote, until the,morning of the day sure:seeding the
di s idiom of the United Kingdom. Slue the. dia.
Poll. The eager partisans, therefore', knew that it was
franchiament of Beverley, Bridgwater, Cashel, and
of no use to seeable In large numbers outside the
Sligo in the year 1870 the House of Commons has con-
plus of declaration end to wait far into the night. The
dieted of 652 members. Of these, Ireland returns 103,
work Mit thus dodo by daylight, and viz my:it..wasrule w , 61 for counties, 37 for cities and boroughs, and 2
completed belies deckls' e' set in. '''''
- ei. for Labial University. England antlWaleareend-489
Notwititetariebiate excitement Of Ili general election, representatives, in this proportion: 187 for counties,
bet"iit.„ V"i=4o, • y COO' Di for cities and boroughs, and 5 for the Universities
r
damn the e mt • r ' sailing of Oaf ard, Cambridge, and 1. mdon. Scotland returns
'hi", 41 nbit",../fleich was ' ' '"' 4 " eel 760 members, and of these, 32 sit for Month's, Dr for
10
brought tinder an
public attention ,
~ i. „„.. •. by the cities and boroughs, d 2 for the four Universities of
diwwww" ""Ineloir lwiween ".; ; •,.. ' ' Havre Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Glasgow, and Aberdeen.
and the Lochearn. _
.1111 rule . ,i , ~. rtt is The National Assembly of France isysther larger than
7al4i with "Iwww" " "es" ' shifil our own, for it numbers 750. .
wiring alkcluothal is titat the fo '. , " -. to keep
A scheme is in contemplation for uniting the South
out of the way of the latter, which ' '''
-°° the''... Western and Chatham and Dover system' which, if
mums. It has beentrepresen .- -.. e., • • Trade carried out will prove a great public convenience.
that if a steamer is tr keep out of as .ng ship's we)+, Hitherto, when a passenger has arrived at Waterloo
slie mast use the ship at the spliest possible monsint,
and to do-this it is absolutely fuceseary that the 41p terminus, he has to perform perhaps three or four
miles in • cab before he gets to his distinction; bit as
Mainers. S 6 far lifeline net e
c"r3 'Ugh"britt "--IWWwl°h
trei ease, for e 7 both the companies I have mentioned use the station
at Clapham Junction, it is suggested that the South
- • steamer earrlewitt her malithakl a bright white ht
Western trains shah run on over the Ludgate Hill line
showing round tweet, poles/ of the oompestio: d when the new terminus of the engin= and Dover is
visible at least five miles oili feed* completed there. Ido not know if this is really to be
lights on the eider, • selling vessel carries only
carried cut, but it would be a great advantage if it could
-the-twolotterritghtsoned these screenedeo as to show
be. Passengers arriving at Paddington, Euston Square,
over Us points of the compass, and-the law only re-
St. Pancras, or King's Cross are within easy distances
(mired to be visible two miles off. The Board of i rade
of the Metropolitan Railway, but hitherto Waterloo
has been reminded that the vessel when business it is has been a long way from it, and it through the
to get out of the way should know at the earliest ma medium I have just stated, the necersary con.
anent what she Mae to avoid, but it is impossible that neJting link could be made, a great benefit would
this can be the case if sailing Mips carry no lights at be conferredwuhpeon.
tithes
tetrraLelulisngofputtielicehaNtlAammasia.yd
the masthead. It has been Nuggested that, for the te
Dover MI aliTe's at Blackfriars, on the south bank of
sake of distinction, sailing vessels should carry one the river, the directors determined to spend an eau-
masthead light, and steamers two, but ia any case mono sum to cross the Thames, and thus establish a
something should be done to guard against such terrible communication with the immense traffic of the under.
maritime calamities as those which occur simply from ground line. Before that time every too of coal
brought from King's Cross to the south of London,
want of proper precautions. had to be conveyed there in waggons ; now it is trace.
Curious to note • contested election in th City of ported by rail. Toe company has never been remune-
London under the operation of the Ballot, I went -rated for its expenditure, but the public have reaped
not,
benefit of this enterprise lithe shareholders have
Into the Royal Exchange en the day of the polling, and
found very few traces there of political excitement.
One reuon of this might have been that there were no
hourly return', of the voting, as on previous occasions;
at any rate, whatever the cause of this absence of
turmoil, there was no mistake about it, for the
mumbled merchants were attending to their every-
day affairs, apparently regardless of the com-
position of the new Parliament, or the fate of
the Administration. I may tell your readers that the
Royal Exchange is • very old and honoured city in-
stitution. It waves far back girths year 1563 that Sir
Thomas Gresham, a munificent merchant ot Lombard-
street, who traded largely with Antwerp, offered tbe
city authoraities to erect a Bourse at his own expense if
they would provide a suitable plot of ground, the great
merchant's load pride having been hurt at seeing
Antwerp provided with a stately Exchange, and
London without one. In the year 1565 certain houses
In Cornitill and in the ward of Broad-street were pur
ahead for £3,737, the amount having been subscribed
ler in small sums by about 750 citizens. The first brick
was laid by Sir Thomas Gresham on the 7th June in
the following year. It was pushed on rapidly, and
when completed was surmounted by a bell tower,
which summoned merchants to the spot at twelve
o'clock at noon and slx o'clock in the evening.
Queen Elizabeth, who held Greehern in high esti-
mation, visited the building in January, 1570, and
caused a proclamation ti be made by herald's
trumpet that henceforth it should be called the Royal
Exchange. In 1665, during the plague, great fires
were made at the north and south entrances of the
Exchange, to purify the air. The stoppage of public
business was so complete that grabs grew within the
area of the structure. It perished in the Great Fire
of the following year. Sir Christopher Wren then
drew up • great scheme for the reconstruction of
London, In which he proposed to make the Royal Ex-
change the centre nave of the capital. From it great
streets 60 feet wide were to radiate like sookeirin a
huge wheel. It was to stand free, in the middle of •
great piazza, and to have double porticoes, as the
Forum of Rome had. This design was not, however,
carried out, and the second Royal Exchange was
erected from the plans of the city architect of that time
at • cost of £BO,OOO. It was destroyed by fire on the
10th of January, 1838. The flames were clearly seen
at Windsor, '24 miles from London. The present build-
ing was erected from the design of the late Sit
William Tite (who died in the spring of list year) at a
out of £150,000. It was opened by Queen Victoria on
the 28th October, 1844, and upon the pedestal of Com-
merce is the inscription "The Earth is the Lord's, and
the fulness thereof." It la familiar as the first verse of
the twenty-fourth Psalm, and was selected by Prince
Albert.

ixenhc;xl. Lopion Is well
true, but they are all a '
and the unhappy little c
that like so many mho

creatures

IMMO

Urn.

bunows

Often enough, when a fashionable marriage takes
place, we read in the daily papers of the number of
wedding gifts presented to the bride. In the case of a
duchess or a countess, the enumeration includes strings
of precious stones, objects of art, and articles of resin;
while young persona who are not quite so high in the
social scale are content with plate and necklacte, ink-
stands, writing tables, and fish slices. In one respect
this practice of wedding presents is a return to the
&dome prevalent in barbarous countries. It is carried
out in remote and savage lands where a glees bead is
regardea: AB a precious possession, and where a white
beaver hat is regarded as a precious possession of the
sovereign himself. In Abyssinia, in Central Africa,
and amongst the Esquimanx, tinewedding gift is an
understood Means of rendering substantial assistance to
those who contract matrimony.
There is an impremaion amongst certain classes in
London who see nothing of the green fields, and know
little of agriculture, that the farmer's spirits are highest
when there is a loud outcry against the butcher, and
that he is never so happy as when rumpsteake are at
forirteenpeace, and legs ef mutton at a shilling per lb.
one thing, however, there can be no doubt. The
longeeontinued high price' of every article of
agriculitural produce in this country indicate that
the demands for food have increased to • vast
extent, asul that the supplies are not equal
to them. Under these circumstances it would appear
that the production of meat rather than the growing of
corn should be the great aim of the farmers of to-day.
We could be amply supplied with wheat from other
countries', but for her =Ulla food England depends
mainly on her owe resources. Say what we will about
the preserved meat which Is Imported from abroad, un-
questionably there is a deeply-rooted prejudice against
ti anmaget large numbers of our people. This may be
unreasonable, but that does not do away with the foot
of its existence. The agriculturist of to day is very
different from his prototype of even • generation ago.
Then he himself followed the plough, and sowed his
corn with his own hand. Now he is a man of business
am well as • practical farmer, and he would not find it
answer his purpose to speed all his time over such •
mechanical matter as guiding the coarse of the
plough. He conducts his business more after the
mariner of the resident in the large town, taking stock
at the end of each year in order to amontain him posi-
tion, and governing his operations by facts and figures
rather than by prejudice. Looking at the demand for
animal food, the business of the farmer, to us unlearned
persona who dwell in large cities, ought to be • highly
remunerative one, considering the continued com-
plainta which are made respecth.g the price of meat.
Loudon hae been truly called • world of contrasts.
Who has not heard of Drury-lane? The very mention
of the word Is suggestive of a magnificent theatre.
upon whosie boards have appeared some of the most
eminent tragedians of our time, and upon whose stage
has been displayed some of the most splendid scenery
which the theatrical enterprise of this capital ham pro-
duced. Royalty itself often visits Drury-lane, which is
thereeortof the noble ancl the wealthy, as well as of those
who are not quite so fortunate n possessing such a
share of this world's good thing,. And yet, not ny
hundred yards from this grand building, some grim
lion railings look into a dismal plot of ground, which
was originally a burial yard, it we may believe the
evidence of a few tumble-down gravestones. It mud,
however, have been long since disused, for within
living memory it ham been locked up, and seems con.
deraned to perpetual solitude. No one bag ever volun-
teered a history of this singular piece of land. It is
insetted in some maps of London, but it bears no
name. There it lies, wedged in between Runoff-street
and Long Acre, a sort of " No Man's Land," nobody
icnowiog or oaring anything about it, It is a miser-
able square of black earth, without • single patch of
green to redeem it, shut in by blank walls on
three sides, and by a couple of dilapidated horses
On the fourth, The latter are, however, about

laror.ts t °"dd,
wri
eithe des
Gears -