The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-01-14 00:00:00

COMAENTS ON CURRENT NEWS

THE opening of Parliament draws neah )
bu t the prospect 13 0f,., the promised "Britis
Se ssions"— by -which we have been led t
expect general legislation for the United
Kingdom—do not at all improve. The im-
prisonment of the Irish Nationalist leaders
is sure to form tho subject of animated and
lengthy discussion in the Rouse of Commons
to the stoppage of law-making. It can
hardly be expected that Government action
in supporting the metropolitan police in
their suppression of the Trafalgar-square
meetings, and all the subsequent police-court
proceedings, will be permitted to pass wlth-
out debates, and very likely divisions also,
raised by Radical members. The Lewis
Crofters, whose raids this week have fur-
nished material for sensational reports, will
, also claim attention in Parliament; while
the Welsh tithe agitation will no doubt be
kept well to the front, since cavalry have
now to b 3 employed to assist the auctioneers
in carrying out distraints. All these occur-
rences rase very "contentions" questions
indeed; and we shall be very much suprised
if any material progress can be made with
lany new measure of importance until there
has been a good deal of excited speechmak •
ine•m at St. Stephen's respecting the events of
the recess. -

_ 4

—to express my gratitude

for a grcat benefit, and to tell a

short story- which cannot fail to

,
into good condition, from holding together
. for any length of time. The uncertainty as to you must know I had low,tp been
MR. WILFRID BLUNT has failed in his aP- the continuance of the frost accounts in part
more or le
peal against sentence of imprisonment, es iit
-for
the eager rush which is made to ponds s subject to attacks of
was generally expected he would do, and and other sheets of water as soon as tney got
bronchitis, a complaint that you
now be is in Galway gaol, wearing prison I frozen over, often leading to fatal accidents,
attire, and doing the convict's task work especially in the ease of boys from venturing are aware is very Common and
It remains to be seen whether penal visit- too soon on treacherous ice. Sliding is an
ations of this sort will have a deterrent amusement which gives immense delight to
troublesome in Great Britain in
effect upon the more active propagandists of boys, who accept falls and the risk of
Home Rule. Quite a large number of gen- being half-smothered under a pyramid certain seasons 0 f the year. Some
tlemen accustomed to luxurious living and of other fallers as constituting part of .
months ago
abstinence from anything like manual la,bour the fun of the fair. 'Keep the pot boiling"
are experiencing the hardships of p turn of it, worse, I think, than I
lank bed, is their cheery and constant shout as they . I 11,'_d a very severe
prison fare, loss of liberty, and irksomely scour one after another in rapid succession
inglorious toil for flying in the face of the along the slide, which has all the smooth-
i
had ever had before. It was pro-
new Irish laws for the prevention of crime. ntss of glasf. None of our winter sports,
* not even fox hunting, can be considered as .
* *
POOR Mr. Archibald M.'Neill came to a sad coming up to skating in its exhilarating and bably brought on by my catching
end at Boulogne, whether by misadventure invigorating influences when the air is frosty Cold, as we are all apt to do when
bracing, and clear. It calls( s .the blood,
or at the hands of the murduer ; and it is
some consolation to his relatives to know which cold might otherwise render sluggish, WC least expect it. Weeks passed
that both the French and British Govern- to circulate freely through the veins, and
meats are exerting themselves to probe the colou, es the cheeks with the ruddy glow of
by, and my trouble proved to be
mysterious matter to the bottom. Mr. healthy exercise. Ladies, who can glide
very 1)1; . te. It would not yield
M'Neill was a very able journalist in his own with confidence steel-shod oit firm sheets of o 6 111 a,
peculiar way, being one of the raciest note ice, find the amusement more inspiriting
writers on current events on the London than dancing at balls in briliantly-lighted
press ; but he was decidedly out of his ele-
saloons. They can even show their skid by
meat on hi mission to the recent prize fight going gracefully through quadrilles and
s
in France. It is a great pity that he was vases on their, skates to the resonant strains
chosen to execute a task which has so pain_ of music. Skating is performed under the
'ally ended his useful career. most pleasing, enlivening, and picturesque
conditions when a prolonged hard frost has
covered beautiful expanses of water like
Lake Windermere and Loch Lomond with
thick sheets of splendid ice. The environ-
ment of snow-clad hills with a background
of mountains similarly clothed in white en-
hances the pleasures of the pastime and the ,
animation and romantic beauty of the scene.
With such surroundings of spectral scenery,
moonlight or torchlight effects makes im-
pressions on the mind which memory loves
to recall, as if for the sake of contrast in the
leafy greenness of summer days. Skating
hockey is a spirited game, requiring skilful
and dexterous movements when the surface
of the ice is alive with people constantly
gliding to and fro. Front time immemorial
it has been a favourate sport at Duddingston
Loch, lying under the shadow of Arthur's
Seat, which is much resorted to by Edin-
burgh folks in hracing wintry weather.
Hockey on the ice, as we learn from the
Saga of "Gisli ths---Outlaw,----translated by
Or. Vasent, is also an amusement in which
the Norse settlers in Iceland took great de-
light. In Scotland curling is the national
winter sport which puts every other in the
background. All over the country curling
dubs abound, and the opportunity is eagerly
seized, when hard frost prevails, of airang-
ilk,-,s matches between members of clubs re-
Presenting the players of the north and
Bonth of the Forth. Some extensive sheets
Of water, with tho ice in capital condition, is
°elected for the purpose, and scenes of great
animation present themselves to the eye
when all the rinks are actively at work at
the same time, and the shouting of the
curlers, armed with their sweeping-broom. 3,
mingled with the rashing and rattlireg
sounds oF the Nveighty carling-stones Owing
to the unsteady nature of oar weather con-
ditions in these islands, we require to make
the most we can with the sports we possess
rof oar short spells of hard frost, feeling not
at all envioui of the long stiff winters of our
Canali in cousins, though their pastimes in-
clude tobeggaaing, sledging, and scou..in4
over S ib:!reta expanses of frozen snow in
fast-spinning ice-boats.

to medicine, and as I also began to

have violent racking pains in my

Limbs and back, I became greatly

alarmed. I could neither eat nor

If I had been a feeble, sickly

THIS week has witnessed the addition of
one more scene to the Napoleonic drama.
The ashes of the last of the Imperial Bona-
partes have been moved from Chislehurst to
a sumptuous tomb at Farnborough, hard by
the exiled Home of the sorrov,ing lady who
once wore the crown of France. The broken-
hearted wido vir weeps in a foreign land by
the remains of the erst mighty Third Napo-
leon, now slighted or forgotten by the people
he ruled in splenour. By the side of the de-
posed monarch sleeps the hope of his house,
who died sword in hand in England's ser—
vice on African soil. France has no corner
in her heart for those who bore a name which
will live as long as the world's history lasts,
no spot of ground to yield them a tomb.
Britain, the hospitable land where monarchs
driven from their thrones may find a peace-
ful asylum for their life's residue, and a
honoured grave when Death claims them at
last, has befriended the Bonap-trtes, and ex-
tended to them the sympathy which the r
own land denied.

sleep.

man, I should have thought less

strangely of it; but as, on the con-
trary, I was hearty and robust, I

'eared some new and terrible thing

had got hold of me, which might

make all my strength of no avail
against it. I say, that was the way

thought.

Presently I could not even lie
down for the pain all over my body,
askcd my doctor what he thought
of my condition, and he frankly said,
"I am sorry to have to tell you
that you are getting worse!" This
so frightened my friends, as well as
myself, that they said, " Thomas,
you must go to the hospital; 'it may
be your only chance for life!"

IT is long since so sensational a murder
case as that of Dr. Cross, the wife poisoner
of Cork, who was executed on Tuesday, has
occurred in such a sphere of society as that
in which the wretched man moved. The
faithful partner of many years was tor-
mented to death with long continued doses
of arsenic, and even before the perpetrator
of the foul deed had finished his fiendish
work, we find him in improper relationship
with the person to flurry whom he has com-
mitted the awful crime. This woman is now
the wiliw of a m3,n who only a little more
than six months ago slew his former wife,
and she, too, has a child, which, should it
live, will be branded by the thoughtless as
the offspring of a murderer. Of what avail
to soothe the anguish of her sad state will be
the six thousand pounds which Dr. Cross
leaves his widow ? An ungovernable pas—
sion has thus brought a man who had an
enviable position in life to the gallows and
has covered with infamy his kindred also.
Thus who innocently suffer with the guilty
in so painful a case should have the consider-
ate feeling of the world ; but, alas ! the
world has little consideration for heart
wounds.

he can possibly get along withou
,ioing it.

A NUMB Ell of police-court cases and other
reports which have been cropping up during
the past few days are bringing home to us
the importance of the Merchandise Marks
Act, which, despite the absorbing Irish
business, was carried through Parliament
last session. The Act is a protective measure
of a pronounced sort to British commerce
and manufacture, yet the most ardent Fi ee
Trader does not object to its provisions,
seeing that its aim is to prevent dishonest
dealing. There was a big business being •
done in goods of inferior foreign make,
marked with the stamp of reputable British
manufacturers. It was at these frauds that
the Act was designed to strike a heavy blow
and happily its effect is beginning to be felt.
The Customs authorities are stopping all
imported articles, the marking on which is
calculated to convey a false idea of origin ;
and a 'considerable confiscation has gone on
in the way of worthless imitations of one
sort or another which, but for the new Act,
would ere long been in the retail shops.
Those manufacturers and merchants who
apply a misleading trade description to their
400ds are also coming under the salutary
action of the new measure, and finding them-
selves called to answer before the magis-
trates for their double-dealing. This is as
it should be, for there are sadly too many
'suarns" in trade, got up with all the appear-
Ekice of genuine articles.

ength on the grond when it is as hard as I ;..i rTT A T . lr.. T n
ron. Notwithstanding the dangers that v.). '';,:.f t 1 f
.L.., Di ii NOT
~..,,GO ,
qt.. to football, under whatever rules it is 4 1 ..t.' - ,--1-- -€--
layed, th• 3 lovers of athletic sports take to i
with Zi 4 t., as it keeps their joints supple, 1 - T -ri T i rl, ii D T rip AL
ren gth3n4 their sinews, and quickens their :
E
ji 0
,L
~,'-'\) i 1 1.
tinning pace. In the quaint old capital of / H ....,.. 0- d" ....., IL a
he 01.1; ne is a football match, which is played ;
ut wit'i all the desperate energy of a pitched
at tie takes place every New Year's Day ~-..
et we i
ca the dwellers in the opposite ends of
.LEAP
u 4;
he town who have a fancy for trying their
mettle in that way. At the signal of a dis- • ,__-----------__--.___
charged pistol the ball is tossed up in the '
open space in the front of the ancient cathe-
dral, and as soon as i.*. reaches the ground it , ill_
is surrounded by a surging, heaving, whirl- '.
ing crowd. It generally happens that the
side in which seafaring men preponderate
carries the day, and the ball, alter the strug-
gle comes to an end, is planted, as a trophy
of victory, on the top ef the highest mast in
interest the feelings
harbour. some of the combatants, as they 0s of many others.
may be called, are in the habit of putting on ' It is all about myself, but I have
leggings or sea-boots to protect their limbs
from the bruises which are frequently intlic- remarked that when a man tells the
ted by chance kicks. But it is on the ice that '
the best and most exhilarating of winter honest truth about himself he is all
pastimes are enjoyed. This enjoyment is all ,
the greater on account of the variableness of the more likely to be of use to his
our climate causing sadden changes of weather
and preventing the _ ice, after it has got fellow-creatures. To begin, then,
_ _ ._. .

But I didn't want to go to the
hospital. Who does? when he thinks

I am a labouring man,

.svitha large family depending on

thoroughly to that department of art so that by and-
by their manufacturer might find it worth their
while to Leicester for assistance. The Flintlgen
r ' Association bad offered two classet of
prizes—one elas4 for those who were actually em-
-1 y. 31 in the manufacture of glass, and the other
class of pie for those emiloyed in other ways In
tie glass works; but he was sorry no one claimed
any ~f tit tirstnamed prizes.
Mr, 11, inton, after dieributing the prizes, con-
gi Wets el the fri-nde of the school upon the report
aue opon the progmss it showed. Looking at the
aekoent o cerepetetion :here was, ani the laudable
d telmineti n of th.• South Keusi igtoa Department
to p It up the standard of efli.:iency, ho thoueht on
the who' they were to be congrattletel that they
bad done so well in the past years. The Chairman
went on to say that he thougl.t through tie ir
sc o ,Is of art they had obtained a very sound
,e • em of teaching, anti that they had undoubtedly
ha 1 a la go itifluerve upon the manufactur rs of
the country. As an iesthice of this he reminded
!hen that the ex por s of.textile and other ornameatal
niattufacturoe from this country hid reaehed the
eno neeui total of 120 to 130 miThous per annum.
Figures so.netitnes failed to c nvey to their per-
ceptions ex •ei ly what they dse :el, but he thought
If they computed those figures will the exports of
the t%. five er hirtyesix years ago they should be
struck with the enormous bound in the export of
ornamental productioae. r is had been brought
about in sp to of the
,tuost hostile tariffs, and of the
competition and barrier • to trade they found
a road (He r, hear.) A trother point he would
cbme was this. At. he • r time they were
not dependent, he vm! ito say, than at aly
period upon Contin nt..
~coducere for supplying
them. with fabrice in th? ay of luxury or necessity
for either the palace or the cottage. Ile was rather
inclined to b .Itev tn it everyt tat in the wily of
artistic wok for at tieles of dreg r ant f domestic
use could now be supplied as well in this country
as by for ie:neri. lie co Id recall the time whPu
Frenc i arti :e anl designers were brought over
from Paris, or fr., tie Retitle towns, and did most
of the boa, r claea f carpet o(eie;ns in the neigh-
b uring t wit ot Kiddermine en, They had
changed al . hat Ile was not a a,are ofany
manu aeturer fc • pets who, at that moment, had
any Frenchman Italian, or German employed in
carpet deeignine. Tine was cot because of any
foolish national I,rejuti!ce ; it was because they could
n 'yr ed., a • ttip!yt of adm rable local talent. It
shoed how the qe.ekell..rd art intelligence of the
unty wtis ,seic:setl, and how these schools had
t 'us dt et tstes and capabilities of the people.
sir, le•ar.) lie had been greatly struck, in
readin4 the rep, rt if the Reyal Commission on
Tecenicai Eduzetion, that the gentlemen who made
o quirie i to tee system in fo;oe in various parts
of the Cultinent all came I ack fully impreseel with
the fee' that if hey were to aucceed in this country
thee twee.. adapt themselves to new lines. lo
realise the fu eat heiteti s if departmental organic-
ation, i hat he tholeht they n, eded was the ap-
po nun it of a re ii Edecational Minister, un le
-
whose charge s!- ou d b placed the elementary and
higher educ ,tioa of the country, all the arrangement
for ere ecienee retching, and all the technica
educ ,tion ef the c eintry. Many of them were
prohehly famih,r with the hotch-potch of dutir s
performtd by the Lor a of the Council, and among
other things the oversight of cattle disease was
combined e ith t se inspection of schools in that
depsrtmentt. (I. ughter.) What they wanted was
one pepartmen, in which should be fixed and
,:entte the wor of education. There was no
don)t. it at reforie in these matters was absolutely
need and we • euld not get anything in the way
of cou p:tte eft Uwe', or complete success in
t..chnicat irstruct.on till they had something of
, the kind Le had alluied to. ldr, Britttoa after.