The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-05-28 00:00:00

riVe deem it right to state that we do not at all time
kienfrify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

"Cast not a clout till May be out," is one of
those traditional relics of the wisdom of our
ancestors which is worth bearing in mind even
in these scientific days. The ancient distich has
certainly received striking confirmation of its
truth during the May- of, the present year of
grace. When we had left April behind, and had
got rid, as we thought, of the chill rains and the
easterly winds which had been so common in
that month, the sunshine of some of the early
days of May came as a most welcome change,
and it may be said to have been greeted with
something like enthusiasm. But the sunshine
lasted only long enough to be tantalising, and
in the third week of May we were called upon
once more to put on our overcoats and
winter- wraps, and to read accounts from all
parts of the United Kingdom of violent
storms and even of falls of snow. But
although snow in May is not unprecedented,
it is,,to say the least, unusual, and it is an ex-
perience which the generality of us would not
care to see frequently repeated. The heavy falls
of hail also have had a disastrous effect upon our
fruit-trees and gardens ; and so many promising
trees have been stripped of their load of blossom,
that the-fruit-crop this year is not likely to be
as heavy as had been expected. Wintry weather
at winter time is quite sufficient discomfort to
many of us without our wishing it to be repeated
during months which should rightfully belong to
"ba my spring."
T iese are days in which there is a revival of
many an old fashion. In a great number of
easel; this is simply on cesthetic grounds, but
occasionally it is for more practical motives.
The latter must assuredly be said of the experi-
mental trip which has been made within the
past few days by some of the head officials of ,
the postal service, who, starting from the
General Post Office, at St. Martin's-le-Grand,
drove by coach to Brighton, by way of Croydon, ,
Redhill, Crawley, and Cuckfield. The object '
of the journey was to assist the depart-
ment in arriving at a decision as to
reviving mail - coaches in connection with
the parcels post, as it is believed that in
certain districts that work could be done
more cheaply by coaches travelling on the
Queen's highway than by rail. Whether the
result will be to satisfy the Postmaster-General
that mail coaches can be revived with profit to
the State has yet to be seen, but the mere ex-
periment is interesting, as showing that we may
not always be right in discarding the methods of
our fathers, and that, at theleast; it may be open
to question whether all that is modern is an im-
provement upon all that is old. The mere talk
of mail coaches comes upon us as a whiff from
former times. The thought recurs to guards
with blunderbusses, passengers trembling from
apprehension, and crape-masked highwaymen
stopping the mail. Even if mail coaches are
revived, we are not likely to see these accompani-
ments again, and what many regard as romantic ,
accessories will be found to have disappeared. 1
This is fortunate, for the romance would speedily
fade away if highwaymen were revived in reality.
An intimation has been published that much
interest has been excited in legal circles in Berlin
by Dr. Aschrott's new book on the "Penal
System and Prisons in England." The work I
embodies the results of the author's careful local
studies of the subject, and is the first exhaustive
treatise on the English penal system that has
appeared in Germany. Prisons are not pleasant
places, and are not meant to be so, but England THE BIGGEST BLAST ON RECORD.
-
has no reason to be ashamed of the fullest infor-
mation The greatest piece of rock-blasting. ever yet under-
It being published concerning her gaols.
taken was successfully accomplished on Saturday at
It was not always thus, as those who have read
the accounts of our prisons "published by John the Llanberis Quarries, aild
of Snowdon,
soaorwgedoghatfheeer.ing
the
Howard a century since or by James spectators upon heightsthethe
shattering of the maisnsge .
s of
Neild 30 or 40 years later will be able to testify. quarries, witnessed
Those who have not read them can scarcely rock
.0 the other side of the lake. Between two
workings o the quarry ran a mass of rock which
imagine the sum of accumulated horrors which endangered the lives of men if further excavations
then marked the English prison system, and it were made, and for two years operations have been in
is to the credit of our countrymen that when progress with the object of bringing down the barrier.
once a full exposure was made, comparatively Four hundred thousand tons of worthless rock had to
little time was lost in providing a remedy. As be remeved, and for this purpose a tunnelllB feet long
in all cases of reform of abuses, the tendency for was driven into the base of the rock. This branched
a period was to go to the other extreme, and out into six deep chambers, each terminating in a
criminals, from being neglected and allowed to shaft. Explosive gelatine was built into these shafts,
lie in squalor and wretchedness, were treated and a fuse so arranged that all could
ebe
with a consideration which was beyond their explodedof attahtiesa m ein instant,
two
o tons
of
Thirty-six
hundrd
deserts. Now, however, we appear to have settled
weight gel equal t gunpowder,
was used. Notice gelatins,
was issued in the district,
warn-
down into a normal method of treatment which ing persons that doors and windows should be
is preventive without being cruel, and which. I ' -"..epen, and that all residents -sf houszs within a
though punitive, affords opportunities- for `Wren should leave L... .. homes during the
clamation. For these reasons England has ise tin.. , .explosion was exoected. Consequent on this,
occasion to be ashamed of the fullest investiga- a large area was deserted, even cattle being removed
tion any foreigner may make of her prison system; from the fields, while all fragile articles, such as pie-
and although perfection has not been attained, I tures, china, &c., were packed away. Shops were
there are Continental countries which are so far closed in Llanberis, and the highways barred by
-
behind us that the present state of our gaols can Police. The result, however, proved tfiat these pre
furnish excellent lessons to them. cautions were not necessary. The explosion was, to
For a time it seemed as if, although the Queen the fullest degree, successful, but no great dispersion
tobf
es tfouns
ee swaan,dfisrsebdeisanw de. Soon after one o'clock
had chosen June 21st to be the Jubilee Day,
, das2Omminutes later the outburst
various localities would think for themselves on
of stones and earth showed that the gelatine had, ex-
the matter, and select the day about that period ploded The extent of dispersal was little more than
which suited them best. But now that an the width of Llanberis Lake, and the sound of the
official proclamation has appeared in the London blast not much greater than that of the ordinary
Gazette Appointing that day as a Bank Holiday, everyday shots which quarrymen fire. All the force
it may be taken for granted that it will he of the gelatine took effect in the interior of the rock,
observed throughout the country. For, as the which was shattered, and brought down in a mass into
experience of the Bank Holidays Act proved, the quarry workings and lake below:
little business can be done when the banks are
shut, and, if there were no other reason for a
general holiday on June 21st, this point would
weigh with traders. But one day's holiday will
scarcely suffice for a great number of the lieges,
for it is impossible that all the Jubilee celebra-
tions can be packed into one day. In London
they certainly will not be, for in addition
to the official jubilation on the 21st, 25,000
children are to be entertained at tea in Hyde
Park on the 22nd, and this latter festivity is
certain to attract an enormous; number of on-
lookers. It is one of the happiest ideas in con-
nectioe with the celebration of the Jubilee
which has yet been put forward. The Queen so
highly approves of it that she will herself give
away the first cup of tea; and as every child
present will be allowed to carry away the special
mug from which he or she has drunk, the
memory of the festivity will not die away with
the day.
. The Board of Trade has just issued a patiet
which is of direct interest to all classes in this
country. It is a return of the immigration of
foreigners into the United Kingdom, from which
it appears that during the ten years from 1871 to
1881, the number of foreigners resident in our
land rose from 113,000 to 135,000, and the increase
has become more marked within the past few
years. The "labour correspondent" of the Board
of Trade adds an appendix respecting foreign im-
migration into the East-end of London, and this
is of peculiar importance to the metropolis; for
it shows that in some trades, and baking is the
most noteworthy of. them, the influx of Germans
into London has been so great that Englishmen
are being gradually forced out; and when it is
mentioned that (4.4000 master bakers in the
metropolis one-half are Germans, who employ
nearly all German workmen, it will at once be
seen. how significant these figures are to English
working men. And it is not only Germans who
• libminct in the East-end; for in some of the
c,•
..1 ..
a,tieets of that district the whole of the shops
:-..•
.es and stalls are in the hands of foreign
r% Jews The presence .of many of these
, latter 'among us may be accounted for
the Eesti-Sernitic agitations which have been
-A.,'
,goitiftoil for some years in Germany, Roumania,
Mid Russia; but, whatever may be the reason for
their-presence, it can scarcely be wondered at that
it is not particularly like by their English cofn-
petitors. The question, in fact, is becoming a
burning one, and will soon be forced upon the
attention of our leading politicians.
St. Margaret's., Westminster, has for centuries
-13eeri known as "the church of the Parliament,"
but it was several years ago that it witnessed
such a scene as on last Sunday, when the House
of Commons in its corporate capacity worshipped
under its venerable roof. The occasion was
-in celebration of the jubilee, and the Speaker,
accompanied by the leaders of both parties
and some hundreds of their followers, proceeded
from the House to the sacred fane. Centuries
ago this was not so unusual a circumstance as it
is to day, for in Puritan times the Commons
frequently attended St. Margaret's, on some
occasions as early as seven in the morning, and
the sermon preached before them was often con-
sidered to be co good that it was ordered to be
printed at the nation's expense. If these were
delivered in the same form as they were pub-
lished, the patience of the Puritan members must
have be 311 gresit indeed, for they would certainly
take three hours in delivery, and, in the
view of these times, that was two and a
half hours too long. But, whatever the length,
they- were highly appreciated, and St. Margaret's
has been the scene of many an important gather-
ing of members. Nestling as it does under the
very shadow of the venerable abbey of West-
minster, it has been held, by the comparative
smallness of its size, to show off the more dis-
tinguished building to greater advantage, and
when a proposal was made some few years ago to
remove it, this was one of the reasons urged for
its retention. But there were other reasons,
and one of them which annealed with peculiar

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