The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-11-08 00:00:00


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careful obssireation, asillmnis thoughts
tidy, are cultivated by lurid-working mos, an
intim* are °Mod apart from the remthie 6.
\ It hal be mitreeled that In digs saterin,
- sash sesisilee, odessa dams should be ferume.,
and when it la known that it is only by following this
advice, Government aid CSD be secured, perhaps the
hint will be taken in =my pleas, and • regular system
of training established, which will make men fitted far
original monarch. The deficiency of the ordinary
British workman In what is called technical education
has often, in these later years, been • subject of re-
mark. This is a want which science classes will do
much to remove. The more intelligent a mechasio
the more valuable are his eervime, and if by the study
of science he is enabled to increase his stores of know-
ledge, he not only beelefite himself mentally and
but as a producer,' adds to the
wealth of the community. In connection with
this subject I may mention that a movement la
on foot in the City for putting the revenues of the
ancient guilds or companies toe wider use and applica-
tion than bee hitherto been the cam. It would be too
much to say, with some of the more persistent as-
otii of three corporations, that the greeter portion
of their Income is devoted to dinners, balls, and other
entertainments, but there is • general feeling that the
money could be better employed than it now is. A
conference ham therefore been held at the Mansion
House, presided over by the Lord Mayor at which the
possibility of obtaining pecuniary assistance from the
City companies for promoting technical education, was
discussed at some length. The Trade Guild of Learn-
ing proposed to act through trade organisations, by
I; silting prizes and scholarships t misting schools for
efficiency in technical knowledge. The Lord Mayor
stated that if the city companies would give JllO,OOO, a
gasp might he erected near Holborn, and lectures
given. A committee was formed to escertain the in.
Nations of the companies, and it appeals likely enough
that something tangible will be the result.

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The pedestrian in London must have often been
struck with the disproportion in the amount of traffic
Sowing north and south, and that running east
and west. The route of the former is, of course,
across the bridges. At London Bridge the traffic is
certainly enormous, and at midday Is one of the sights
of the metropolic Four rows of vehicles and two
never.ending streams et foot passengers—inch is the
spectacle whisk, hoax after hour, and day after day.
I. presented to the wayfarer. London Bridge was
always a busy highway from the Middlesex to the
Surrey shores of the river, but of late years the crumb
there has been very materially Increased through the
great railway t•rmini which have sprung up on the
southern bank of the Thames. There I. no bridge In the
whole of the capitol which accommodates such a vast
population. Higher up the river there ia Southwick
Bridge, • "tractive which was rendered toll-free by the
Corporation nine years ago; but it is not so generally
used as might have been expected, because of its steep
gradients and indifferent approaches. Next, we come
to new Blackfriars, which was opened by the Queen
on the 6th November, 1869. Here there is • peat deal
of traffics, but nothing like thatwhich pamegover London
bridge. Blec.kfriare is the main route from King's-
cress to the Elephant and Castle. Its levels are not so
good as ars these of London, Waterloo, or West-
minster, • foot solely attributable to the lowness of the
river banks on both aides at the new structure. As the
banks could not be raised to the bridge, of course the
bridge must be brought down on either Me so ssi to
meet the banks; hence the awkward gradients which
are a sad worry to horses in slippery weather. Con.
tinning our journey, we field that Waterloo-bridge is
usually a desert on acoount of the toll; Westminster
is busy, and so is Lambeth to a certain extent, Vim-
hall, Battersea, and Chelsea bringing up the rear. But
even with all these bridges, I believe it will be found
that the traffic from east to west is largely in excess of
that which is poured across the river. Let us take
first the leading thoroughfares, and contemplate the
aspect of the streets between Regent-cirrus and
Bishopegste. There we find Oxford-street, Rol-
born, Newgateetreet, and Cheapside. Next, let
he look for a moment at the other great artery
from west to east—Charing-crem, the Strand, Fleet-
street, Ludgate.hilL Again, we have the new
thoroughfare known as Queen Victoria-street, running
from the Mansion House to the Thames Embank-
ment So much for the Roadway; but what of
the railway traffic First, her is the Metropolitan
proper, connecting Bayswater, Hammersmith, and
Kensington with Moorgete-str, et. Then we have the
Metropolitan District, a line running from the Mansion
House under the Embankment to Charing Cron,
Westminster, Chelsea, Kensington, and Brompton.
Again, there is the South Eastern, which has a line
between Charing Cross and Cannon-street. Farther,
there Ii the Metropolitan Extension of the bonder,
Chatham, and Dover, which conveys large numbers of
pamengers between Ludgate Hill and Victoria. Then
besides road and rail there is the river. Look at the
fleet of steamers continually plying up and down upon
Its surface • and weighing these several means of coni-
municatioi any one must he convinced that vast as is
the traffic of London north and scum, the stream flow-
ing east and west is immeamirably wreaks.