The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-10-12 00:00:00

Our fonton Contspnbzut,

(We deem It right to state that we do not at all time
odeutitr °unwires ultra our Correspondent's opinions )

An item of news and an advertisement taken In eon-
neotion are suggestive. It Is stated that the Princese
Louise has consented to become the patroness of the
National Society for the Protection of young Girls, and
that there are now in the society's school between 70
aurl 80 young girls who are fed. clothed, educated and
trained for domestic service. And now for the adver-
tisement 'Thoroughly respectable young women
who have been carefully trained in arithmetic and
bookkeeping, and have received certificates of cow.
Potency, can be recommended by the secretary of the
Society for Promoting the Employment of Women."
Here are two inagertant facts bearing on these two
e&rts, both doubtless undertaken with the beat
Possible motives— first, that the supply of good
domestic servants is hes than the demand, and secondly
that the demand for clerks is far lees than the 'apply.
The training of otherwise friendless girls for domestic
service is a boon to society and a benevolent work for
the girLi themselves. The great majority of our
eervant Orbs enter on domestic service without any
training for it, and have everything to learn, whereas
a little lunching preliminary training would fit
them for their first place, and make it more
umfoitable to themselves and to their mietresses, and
it is certain that furs long time to come there is likely
to be a greater demand for such servants than the
supply will meet. But to train young women to be
clerks and book-keepers is to render still more fierce •
competition among unemployed clerks that is already
here, enough. When there are so many young men
who are competent clerks, but who cannot find employ-
ment, it seems • pity to train young women—and they
would require more of such training than young men
do -to the same oiwupestion.
While we hear so much of movements on the part
iif the employed for an increase of pay, • decrease of
labour, and sometimes of both combined, an important
movement on the other side demands attention. Notice
has been given at all the collieries and ironworks in the
districts of Merthyr and Aberdare (so that united
action has evidently been resolved on deliberately)
that all existing contracts will cease at the
end of four weeks ; and it seems that in other
neighbouring districts a 'similar resolution has been
arrived at ; the intention being to withstand the
demands of the colliers and ironworkers. The pre-
vailing opinion outside these trades appears to be that
wages have been artificially forced beyond a point
that is fair either to the masters or to the public; but,
without arguing this point, this movement on the
part of the masters is certainly important; and
when to this it is added that several large coal.
owners in the north have just repressed a demand on
the part of the colliers for another advance of
15 per cent, wages, it would seem that a reaction
is setting in. So many branches of industry are directly
and indirectly affected by the prices of coal and iron
that the attitude of coalowners and ironmestere is all
the more important, and the result will be carefully
watched. Meanwhile strikes and increased priced' are
still the order of the day, and it is worth noting that it
is not always the employed but sometimes the em-
pliyetu who act on the aggressive—for example, the
warder hairdressers and ditto chimneysweeps of SW-
field. It is said that if the latter should strike every
trade in that busy town will have struck in turn.
Perhaps the difficulty ere long will be to find any trade
or occupation in which somethieg approaching • strike
has not occurred, or is not about to occur.

Among the curiosities of the literature of strikes the
following is, I think, unparalleled. Two colliers got
into a first-class carriage of a train travelling north
from Manchester, they being in their working clothes
which were begrimed with alit and coal dust. When
the train stopped at the next station some die-
ixinifited occupants of the same compartment called the
guard, who demanded the Hiked tickets. They were
Immediately produced —first- class. and these gentle-
men colliers insisted—and rightly enough—that they
would stay where they were; soon after which
they pulled out a bottle of champagne which
they proceeded to discuss, boasting that they were
on strike, and were 'weir ing a strike allowance of ill
ad-ay. Supposing that this statement were true, it is
nion-itrons ; that men should have as strike money a
Si u at least twice as much as they ought to receive in
wages argues a most unhealthy state of affairs, while
the way in which these men were spending their money
shows•that such a strike is not likely to last very long.
Of course, such an incident as this is quite exceptional,
but still it cannot be disputed that men waste, in many
ways, large sums of money in connection with their
strike.
About the most contemptible thing in London life
is, under ordinary circumstances, a Sunday demonstra-
tiOnSM Clerkenwell Green, as the place is still absurdly
called. By the way why don't the Metropolitan Board
of Works change the "Green" into Square? But
feet Sunday there was a great gathering at Bibs place,
under infh iential auspices and furs noble object. Arch-
bishop Manning and several Roman Catholic clergymen
and gentlemen convoked a meeting, on the part of the
Catholic Temperance Society, and about three thous-
and men, women, and children responded to the codl.
l'he purpose of the speakers wres to persuade the
bearers to "keep from drink." Earnest, affectionate,
telling speeches were listened to attentively, and it is
impossible to avoid the conviction that much good
must thus have been done. And apropos of this
important subject I may add that, having taken
considerable pains to learn how the Licensing Act is
operating, I feel assured that it is doing good service in
repressing drunkenness. Here and there I have seen
statements to the effect that at such and such a place
there have been more convictions since the Act than
before. This simply proves that in these places the
new law is being more vigorously worked than was the
old one. And in many other cases the law is being put
into operation as a preventive measure, which is its
most beneficent characteristic. There may be some few
inconsistencies and difficulties in connection with the
working of the Act, but I am persuaded that on the
whole it is proving and will prove a great boon to the
public.
A company has been formed having for its founda-
tion a patent for registering the number of passengers
carried in omnibuses and tramway care, and for mark-
inc the distance travelled by these vehicles. I have
not seen the principle in action, and do not know that
it will practically work as stated, but if it does the
result will be important. It is said that in London
alone—but really the statement seems almost
beyond belief the losses to proprietors through
the peculation of conductors and drivers amount to
£lOO,OOO. That there is a great loss thus occasioned
is, however, certain, and I call to mind that at
/6 meeting of the London General Omnibus Company
a year or two ago the chairman said that if the com-
pany had received all the money that the conductors
had taken the dividend might have been double. Sup-
posing therefore that any invention can be applied to
vehicles which will register the information alluded
to, the working of the system will be important; and
if the registering of distance could be applied to cabs,
what innumerable disputes might thus be obviated !
A resolution which will produce a decided reform in
the management of a celebrated public school, the
Charterhouse, has jnst been arrived at by the new
r.. verning 'oily of that institution. It has been de-
cbled that instead of nominations to the foundation,
under a system of private patronage, there shall be
open competition for admission to the school. This
healthy system has for some time been in operation
at Eton, Winchester, and some other schools; and it
is cheering to see the Cloarterhouse now added to the
number. T hope to see, ' some day," Christ's Hospital
(the Bluecoat Scheel) adopt the same principle. Most
of our public schools, IVS is well known, were estab-
lished for the poor, and were not intended to fall
under the patronage of influential Governors, who of
course nominate their own poor relatives and de-
pendente. it is gratifying therefore to see the open
competition system gaining ground.
The "Claimant" will ere long occupy the renewed
attention of the public, on the occasion of a well,
known indictment being pressed against him. Lord
Chief Justice Cockburn will, if he is well enough, try
the ca., but unhappily his lordship is just now in
rather a bad state of health, The forthcoming case
will excite great politic interest, and speculations are
indulged in as ti its probable duration and results.
Whatever opinions may be entertained as to the jus-
tice of his claim or of the oh inability of the prosecu-
den now hanging over him, there can be no mistake as
to the continued curiosity to see him and to hear him
'peak, as was ec idenced the other (lay on his arriving
sit at Smatield, when so great a crowd assembled to hear
him that the barricades on the platform of the station
were brokun down. The new act in the legal drama
will necessarily be rather long, but the acute NM cool.
headed judge who will try it will prevent any needless
I.[pfllllllol2 if any one can effect that desirable object.
British newspapers have so often poked fun at the
French for their absurd bungling over names of persons
and places in our country that it might have been sup-
posed that the French would by this time have learnt
to be more careful; but they still go en in the old
style. 'the last curious instance of this is in the
Ga tdois, a high-clam paper. It tells us that when the
ex-Emperor and Empress returned to Chiselhurst they
were " received by the Lieutenant Attorney-General and
Lord Menerdey, who, as is known, occupies a certain
position at the Court of London." With all our faults,
we certainly do not make such absurd blunders with
regard to French persons and places.
From the mystic, stilted, and laboured poetry of
which we have had too much of late years, it is re-
freshing to turn to poems which here the ring of true

' melody and tbe too little prised quality of common
sense, combined with noble sentiments. I hare just
been reading with delight such a book, the collected
poems of Mr. Rowland Brown, issued by "the poets'
publisher." The Matter arid the manner, the themes
and the imagery, are alike admirable, and are in
pleasing contrast to the productions of certain poets
whom it lathe fashion to admire, but who seem to be
only admired because it is the fashion.