The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-07-02 00:00:00

CONTEMPORARY HISTORY

THE people of the present age enjoy oppor-
tunities and advantages far saperior to any
possessed by their forefathers in the way of
being actual eye witnesses of the chief
events in oontemrorary history, or of becom:
ing acquainted, day by day. with what is
taking place throughout the country and in
distant parts of the earth. Witnout the
marvellous means of rapid conveyance
on land and sea now in use, it would have
been quite impossible for such a vast array
of visitors to augment the crowds in the
streets of London on Jubilee week, and es-
pecially on the great day that added an-
other historic memory to the numerous im-
posing ceremonies of which the ancient
Abbey at Westminster has formed the scene
from the remote era of Edward the Confes-
sor down to the present time. Equally
impossible would it have been found at
former periods, when inns and family hotels
were few in number and small in size, to
furnishlaccommodation for the thousands of
strangers who flock to the metropolis from
far and near. But the Effect of one great
change is to bring about other changes.
Inns of the old type in London, such as the
Bolt-in-Tun, the Belle Sauvage, and the
George and Vulture, have been displaced
by the Grand, the Metropole, the Victoria,
and other huge hotels of the same class.
with their 'hundreds of bed-chambers and
hydraulic lifts for guests' -luggage and table
supplies. This remarkable charge is the
direct result of improved modes of locomo-
tion, and the stimulus thereby given to
travelling enterprise. The wealthy Penny-
alvanian or Virginian, who is desirous of
witnessing some important event in this
country, has it in his power, by telegraph-
ing to one of the great hotels, to make sure,
before leaving the other side of the Atlantic,
that he will be provided with comfortable
quarters during his stay in the British metre-
polis. The telegraphic system, by putting
the world, as it were, in a cage of wires,
has given a wonderful expansion to the
range of our knowledge as regards contem-
porary history, and has enabled us to learn
something about events taking place in a
widely-separated quarter of the globe only a
few hours after their occurrence. On Jubilee
week, by means of submarine and overland
telegraphic communication, intelligence ar-
rived of simultaneous celebrations through-
out our Colonial Empire, and in towns con-
taining British residents situated in Europe,
Asia, Africa, and the United States of
America. Puck, who could put a girdle
round about the earth in forty minutes,
was electrically agile no ',doubt ; but his
wonderful feats are far excelled by tl:e
marvels in telegraphy of the modern press.
In the present day the newspaper, which
provides raw material for the historian, is a
very different thing from what it was in the
time of Cowper, who, nevertheless, praised
the "folio of four pages" for its nsefaineFs
and the varied and interesting nature of its
contents. The ordinary daily journal may
have in its columns, in one issue, telegraphic
messages recording a destructive whirlwind
at Winnipeg; a revolutionary rising at
Venezuela; a volcanic eruption in Hawaii,
accomparied by fatal earthquake shocks in
Honolulu; an outbreak of coolies in the
Mauritius; another attempt on the Czar's
life at St. Petersburg; and a refusal by the
French Government of permission to any
German officers to attend the autumn
manceuvres of :roops in the depqt tments
selected by General Bonlanger. In uRr
time the graphic descriptive accounts of
marches, battles, sieges, and general opera-
tions, transmitted in telegraphic dispatches •
or postal packets by special correspondents,
impart a striking vividness and immediate-
• les of impression to contemporary events
excite deep and widespread interest.
People had to wait patiently in the days
preceding the advent of the war correspond-
ent and the telegraph until they received
intelligence of important events occurring
abroad. During the period of the Peninsu-
hr War, it was the laurelled mail coaches
running from London into all parts of the
country that spread tiding of the victories
of Salamanca, Talavera, Vittoria, and other
brilliant successes of the British arms in
Spain. The war correspondent, who shares
in the dangers and hardships of campaigns
in whatever part of the world they take
place, is the Froissart of the present age.
His descriptions of battles are embodied in
histories of the Crimean, America, Franco-
German, and Russo-Turkish wars. An in-
genious American writer, acting on the hint
thus given, or on an underived happy
thought of his own, has presented the
history of England in a new form, making
it consist mainly of extracts from the work;
of authors who lived contemporaneously
with the events which they describe and
record. Light is cast, for the benefit of
posterity, on the reigns and the periods
which are fortunate enough to possess such
diarists as Pepys and Evely, and such
memoir writers as Greville and Benst.
two series of "Leaves from the Queen'w
Journal in the Highlands" will show to
future generations that her Majesty, who
has enjoyed the rare distinction of celebrat-
ing her Jubilee, was as kindly and consider-
ate in her treatment of tenants and cot-
tagers as she was assiduous arid earnest ie
the discharge of the responsible dut',
attaching to her supreme position in the
State. Contemporary history, as regards
the proceedings in the Leeislature, is far
better known in the Victorian than it was
in the Georgian era. Until the press, after
a long and hard struggle, secured the
privilegs of reportincr the debates in beth
Houses. the people were left in comparativf,
ignorance as to what was taking place in
Parliament, and could consequently bring
little influence to bear on the conduct of
public alTairs. When reporters were freely
admitted, and sat in the places allotted to
them with pencil in hand, the Parliamentary
re`orms, which enlarged our liberties, all
carn,-, as they were bound to do, in due
con,.se.

COMMENTS ON CURRENT NEWS.

THE spell of hot weather is beginning to
make our legislators langni,h for the free
air of their country seats, and long to leave
Lon-lon and thP tiring and tedious round of
society life in the season. A shot t time
hence all the Jubilee fel:twin:B and cere-
monials will be ove-, I,ondyn will
speedily empty of a!: n.,: save tho 3.,
imprisoned by duty. Yet. the light buriis
above the clock at Westminster, and law-
making is much in arrear, the Closure being
placed on even the &Tort stage of the
Act, and still legislation lags on the way.
Money votes mnst be made or the Queen's
Government cannot go on. A good sug-
gestion has been has been offered--that
there should be an autumn sitting arranged
purely for the pur,.ose of taking Supply,
with a view to adjourn rig the regular
Session with a 3 little d •lay ns possible, so
that oar M.P.'s way begin holiday-keeping
with the holiday welther.

IPRINCE ALBERT VICTOR OF WALES, who,
should illit life be spared, vrill ono day 1:1101111G

th. !throne of this realm, has been represent-
n his Rovnl grandmother at the Jubilee
rej )icings in Dub in, and has there met with
ucla gratulations as should give him joy.
Politically the people of Ireland are at this
prsent moment much heart-torn, but there
is a well of loyalty to the throne in the
rational character of the dwellers in Erin,
an..l the sight of a popular Prince quickly
makes the crowd enthusiastic. Prince
Albert Victor, like his father, is now a
Knight in the Most Illustrious Order of St.
Patrick, and the rising hope of the Royal
house of Britain is thus bonnd with a new
link to Ireland. lie and his sai'or brother,
Prince George, were made much of by
Dublin s •ciety, and received an ovation at
the big review in Phcenix-park on Tuesday.

DURING the Jubilee commemoration foreign 6
complications and political difficulties at
Lome—even including Irish afflirs—have
kept obligingly and conveniently quiet, and
thus spared us from a jarring nuts in the
joyful music. But the Eastern Question
now threatens to break out airesh with
acuteness, and has given cause' for grave
anxiety t,-) the Cabinet and to the country
generally. It is to be hoped that the delay
on the part of the Ottoman Government
with regard to the ratification of the Egyp-
tian Convention will lead to no further
hitch.

THFRE_ are rumours_ of an impending ab-

dication by King :Milan of Sera, and the
visit of that somewhat insecure!., -thioned
monarch to his poweriul adviser, the Anstiiu
Emperor, has given use to a great deal of
comment, tspecially as wrich hrs ot late
been heard of domestic nnd d:piomatie
dissen• ions in the terrian Royal hors(l9ld.
It remains to be seen what even.ualtes will
arise out of King Milan's trip from Belgrade
to,Vienna. Meanwhile the mighbouring
state of Bulgatia continues in chaos, with-
out a ruling head.

THE long drought has had serieus conse-
quences at Cardiff and elsewhere in Wales,
in Lancashire, and in in: ny other parts of
the country. A galkin of water lifis been
exchangeable for a pcnny in the Son h
Wales port, and hard to obtain at +hat ;
while very impure water has had to be
drank in some districts. Root crops have
suffered very seriously, peas have dried up
and fallen half ripe from the plant, while

acres of grass have been destroyed' by the
tropical sun. Farmers cry ahati for rain
on the land and for the cattle, and unless
we have a general downpour ere long the
consequences will be grievous wl.en coin
harvest-time arrives. Hay is being "got"
just now almest everywhere, and proves to
be a very fair 3 ield on the whole.

THE Lord Chancellor's Land Transfer
Bill is likely to be made way for in the
Commons, and shortly become law. The
measure had a good thrashing ont in the
Upper House, and se9ms acceptable to most
folk in its present form, Sc is not likely t.,
evoke a great deal of opposition. Lord
Halshary's legal acumen has not therein
been exercised all in favour of his own prl-
fession, as is too often the case with legisla-
tors who have practised at the Bar, hence
his Land Transfer proposals are some cf
them of considerable value.

Another modest measure, but of mucl,
moment, has far prospect of inscription on
the statute hooks of t:•e reahn. We refer
to the First Off,nders' Bill, introduc€d
Mr. Howard Vincent, late ot the Crimiral
Investigation Department, a man who knows
as much as most men about habitual breakers

of the law. Mr. Vincent's bill passed its
Third Reading early on Tuesday morninv,
.in the Commons, and should, quickly and
' harmlessly be got throu2b. the Upper
Chamber. Its aim and object is to keep
convicted crimminals free from the prison
taint whereever advisable in respect of their
first offence, and so give them abetter chance
of recovery from their moral downfall. It
seeks to empower magistrates and judges to
temper justice with mercy. Mr. Vincent is
rightly convinced that over severity with
those who have made one false step, has the
effect of training them into irreclaimable
gaol birds. He is quite correct in his con-
clusion that the first offender is usually
capable of reclamation by considerate and
judicious treatment; but if hardened by iron
discipline aud association with the hopelessly
vicious, he quickly becomes a moral leper,
beyond the cure of the pliiiatithropist's
physic,