The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-07-17 00:00:00

Our iireithon Corresponbtat.
We deem it right to state that we do rct at all timel
lientify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

London has been seriously perturbed on the
subjects of shops, play, and politics. It was
greatly feared that the interposition of a general
election in the midst of the season would have a
serious effect on trade and amusement. But the
apprehension seems to have been groundless,
and, on the contrary, the political situation will
probably be to the advantage of the West-end
tradesmen and the thousands of people dependent
upon or affected by them. In the first place the
electoral contests in the country have not with-
drawn from London the families of peers, who
are prohibited from taking an active part in the
elections, and, consequently, the round of
garden-parties and receptions has been little, if
at all, contracted. In the second place,
an autumn session of Parliament will prolong
the season much after the usual time,
so that on the whole the metropolis
will have little to complain of. The splenchl
weather of the past week came very for-
tunately for some of the chief public events
of the year at which wealth, youth, and beauty
are represented. Henley regatta, the University
and Eton and Harrow cricket matches gave
opportunity for the display of those light
summer costumes so well suited to the un-
rivalled complexions of English girls.
The prettiest sight for the season probably
was the garden party given by the Prince and
Princess of Wales at Marlborough House on
Saturday. This was primarily arranged as a
compliment to the distinguished Indian and
Colonial visitors at present in this country.
The Queen, who has lost no opportunity of
doing honour to these representatives of her
distant subjects, came specially from Windsor
to be present. It was at one of the Marl-
borough House garden parties some years ago
that the Queen had a long conversation with Mr.
John Bright. The gracious dignity of the
Sovereign, and the stately figure of the states-
whito uncovered head.
made a picture which attracted no tittle atten-
tion. The Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs.
Benson were to have hold a garden party on the
same day as that at Marlborough House, but in
consequence of the latter it was postponed kr a
few days. These gatherings at Lambeth Palace
are always attended by the elite of London
society. In addition to the charming ground's
the palace is one of the most interestins,
of the many piles of buildings in the
s metropolis, both historically and architec-
thralls-. Few people who pass it on the
river-boats would imagine there was such a
IMge open space in the heart of a crowded
district. At various times movements have been
started to get the grounds thrown open to the
public; although this is not done nominally it is
-practically. Many cricket clubs have the privi-
lege of practising- there, among them being one
connected with Mr. Spurgeon's Tabernacle, which
is not far distant. Speaking of the Tabernacle,
that building is now more than ever crowded
every Sunday, the congregations being largely
composed of the many visitors from the provinces
now in town.
If politics have not become a weariness to the
flesh, a word or two about the metropolitan
contests may not be uninteresting, seeing tha.
London, including the University and the divi-
sions of West Ham, which to all intents and pur-
poses are in the metropolis, returns sixty-two
members, or a little less than one-tenth of the
entire House of Commons. It used to be a
reproach that the masses in the centre of the
Empire took almost no interest in politics.
The fact was that a borough of half a million in-
habitants, with no local-government Corporation
to give it cohesion, was too unwieldy to bring
.candidates and electors into touch. The division
of the old boroughs, however, has remedied that
state Qf things, and the amount of enthusiasm
shown in the recent contests was without paral-
lel. In most cases this statement would not
seem to be borne out by the circumstances that
the polls show a decrease in numbers compared
with the last elections. But this is explained by
the number of removals which have taken place
during the three quarters which have elapsed
since the registers were last made up. A very
large proportion of the population is always flit-
ting, to a much greater extent than even in the
chief provincial towns, and, once out of the dis-
trict, the elector is lost almost beyond hope of
rosall. He is swallowed up in the vast ocean of
humanity, and only a gas company's collector or
a sheriff's officer is able to rescue him from
A reference to the Indian and Colonial repre-
sentatives, who, to judge by the number of
entertainments in their honour which are being
given in London, will return to their homes
with impaired digestions for the rest of their
lives, is a reminder of the naval review which is
to be held for their pleasure and information
'towards the end of, this month at Spithead. It
is not yet settled whether the Queen, who at-
• tended the recent military review at Aldershot,
will be able to be present at this demonstration
of England's maritime strength in the chief link
in the chain connecting-England and her distant
dependencies. Thd exigencies of foreign service
will .prevent anything- like a representative dis-
play;. but the naval authorities, who at first
doubted the feasibility of assembling sufficient
ships, are now determined to make tho spectacle
as im,pressive as possible. Naval reviews on
such a scale are so infrequent that the forth-
cenaing event is sure to be witnessed by the
leaders of official and Parliamentary life, it is to
be hoped such a mistake will not be made
as occurred at the Spithead review in
the presence of her Majesty, which took place in
April, 1853. On that occasion the members of
both Houses of Parliament were to have been
present to take up a prominent position, but a,
succession of mishaps and bad arrangements pre-
vented them from reaching the spot until the
display was nearly over. It will be interesting
to compare the armaments of the present
day with that of the Spithead Review of 1853,
when a feature was made of the fact that the
largest guns threw 84-pound shells. This looks
ridiculous beside the guns which now can send
half a ton of metal hurtling through the air for a
distance of five or six miles.
The twenty-seventh meeting of the National
Rifle Association at Wimbledon, this year, is a
greater success than on any previous occasion.
This is probably explained by the circumstance
that every year there are young volunteers
anxious to achieve fame by winning the Queen's
prize, while those who have previously visited the
common find the conditions of life under canvas
there so agreeable that they continue to enrol
themselves, although many of them long ago
gave up hope of distinguishing themselves, and
are well content if they secure enough in prizes
to pay their expenses of a very happy and
healthy form of holiday. The number of entries
in the chief competitions is larger than ever,
but, apart from the men in tent, the meeting
interests a very considerable number of civilians.
Not only from Putney, Wimbledon, and the
adjacent neighbourhood, but from London itself,
a visit to the camp is a favourite outing. The
middle Saturday and Sunday are the popular I
days for visitors, and the camps of the London 1
Scottish and the London Rifle Brigade are the
rendezvous of the friends, male and female, of
the volunteers in those regiments. This year
. the gathering is more interesting than usual,
from the fact that for the first time representa-
'tives of the volunteer force in all parts of the
•s- 'Empire will take part. With the Indian and
• COlonial Exhibition, the:Anstralian and Parsee
crieketers, and these teams at Wimbledon,-the,
' federation of the Empire goes on apace.
The cricket season. has been nearly as fruitfed
of surprises as the elections. In ordhiary circnni-
stances if A beat ,B, and B beat C, therefore A
would beat C' but a trial has ,shown that C has
• beaten A by •an innings and a score of runs.
This, or something very like it, is what has oc-
curred. It would therefore be rash to make any
conjecture as to which would be the premier
county at the end of the season. Dwellers in
South London were hopeful that Surrey would
• take that place, but after the way in which the
team has gone to pieces on one or two occasions,
the point as very doubtful. It is evident that
the game has lost none of its popularity, but t he
tour of the Australians is not such a " draw " as
in the case of former teams from the Antipodes.
As for, the Parsecs they have ceased te be
seriously regarded in cricket circles. It is to be.
I-loped they will not feel disappointed at this;
as a matter of fact they have been well
received and excellently entertained at
every place they have visited. This is not
surprising, for they have proved themselves very
good company. With the exception of one member,
t'ley speak excellent English, and some of their
after-dinner, luncheon, and supper speeches would
do credit to the native-born Britian. They N, -
play a match at the Oval before the season ei -3es.
and it is not likely a strong team will oppose
them. • It was thought to have been a pity and
bad policy to have beaten them so signally as they
were at Lords.
It looks as if, at no distant date, the metro-
polis will come to be regarded as a health-resort,
and that invalids will fly from seaside homes

rbnd rural scenes to seek restoration in the sweets
pf Seven-dials or the shades of Bethnal-green.
Anyone who has watched the Registrar-General's
weekly return of the average mortality in the
twenty-eight great towns of England and Wales
must have been struck with the low death-rate in
London. The metropolis is now not only the
healthiest capital in the world but one of the
healthiest towns in the United Kingdom. The
explanation of this mustlie in the clearing out of
the slums, the better system on which modern
houses are built, the enforcement of a certain
amount of air-space for each dwelling, the full
and uninterrupted supply of water, and the con-
stant flushing of the streets and sewers. What-
ever the cause may be, during the last few
months the death-rate has been abnormally low;
on an average it has been about half that of
Preston. It is evident that careful attention to
sanitary details has had a marked effect on the
health of the people, and that many towns in the
provinces could profitably take lessons.
For a long time the building sites on the
Victoria Embankment have remained a dreary
waste, but at last there is some pros-
pect of the erection of buildings in keeping
with the fine block on the Thames side of the
Temple and of the City of London School.
Close to the latter the new Zion College, in the
ecclesiastical academical style, is receiving the
finishing touches; the National Liberal Club is
emerging from its forest of scaffoldpoles, and the
Examination Hall of the Colleges of Physicians
and Surgeons, of which the foundation stone
was lately laid by the Queen, is being rapidly
pushed forward. Blocks of residential and other
chambers with imposing frontages have also been
commenced. It is surprising that the most
exorbitant price for the land should have kept
the builders away so long, seeing that as the
sites abut on the Embankment gardens and over-
look the river, there is no possibility of building
in front of them and thus shutting out the
prospect. The Embankment gardens are now
looking their best. Some of the beds contain
the finest blooms it is possible to conceive, while
the intermixture of broad-leaved palms and
other tropical plums
appearance to thPce nomf ortably-seated resorts.
A. F. R.