The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-15 00:00:00

THE STRIKE AT YOXALL.

In reference to this strike, which our readers
are fully aware of, a letter appeared in the Daily
Pust from Mr. Harding, Secretary to the Tam.
worth Branch of the O.S.M. Society, which is
to the effect that the course of action 'wetted
by the stonemasons at l'oxall Church, is repu-
di.ited by the Operative Stonemasons' Society,
because it is foreign to the constitution of the
same ; and tlint the society does not recognise
the principle of " shelving under provocative
circumstances between the employers and mem-
bers ; much less, then, should they countenance
it through an unnecessary interference on a
unestionable point between a contractor and a
clerk of works. And to relieve Mr. Ifo and the
Building Committee of any further anxiety, begs
to inform them that masons can he procured to
execute the works, both at Yox.ill and at Stour.
bridge, either for Mr. Ife—or if it is found ne-
ccasury—tor the Clerk of the Works.

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.
in reference to the above, the Builder'i Trade dogs. Tffil large deg was within three yard. of the
Circa/to' has the following ! hare and it afterwarda calight the have. I know the no.
,
'‘ The first thing that strikes tie in this letter, foefranatewell, and
iZia have recognised him 003 yarda
11li , said he saw the
is the cool assumption with which Mr. Harding defendanlgand ice'twher; c a ttleome imfro inY• cart, bythat the Tree Urea
ventures to speak for the stonemasons generally. house. Defendaet got out of the cart, and over a hedge.
It would almost seem, to judge from the letter, lie had two dogs with him. Wanes' shortly after heard '
that no stonemason in this country has any right a rabbit or a hare cry out. I
Tie
dog
hiludthi:sisodhisk
n: mouth.eh ..i
to pursue a course independent of the Operative li/teofie,ntdhaett took i!i out;3,! I
thie :2t,sanm,ll gailopeil off with
Stonemasons' Society. lint we apprehend that, it.-14r. 13'arlai for the defence, contended that his
in the present instance, Mr. Ife's stonemasons client did kill a rabbit and take it away, but not a hare;
are non-society men, which willfully account for and the rabbit was left at the tollgate. According to
the fact that their conduct does not meet with ...ll,l,tillanli. 005 evidence` lie wee three hundred yards
Mr. Harding's approval, off, and would most likely be mistaken.—Williarn Ellis,
farmer of Clent said he waa with the defendant in a
Mr. Harding says, speaking for the Operative e
Stonemasons' Society, that 'they do not recog. dogs :ill i n=o OnengJi cl:ft'otrhe:t,gr..lnlech.t ll,it? :;,a,,d
htm
nise the principle of ' shelving' minter provoca- and turned up a rabbit. Defendant went into the field
tive circumstances between the employers and and killed it. They left the rabbit at the toll gate, Old.
their members.' swinforel.—James Barnard said that the defendant left a
rabbit in his house, wrapped op in a handkerchief. It
It is easy to write to a newspaper and disclaim Iwas quite warm, ail if it had been receutly killed.—Mr.
the principie of ' shelving ' under provocative Littlewood said the weight of evidence VMS in favour of
circumstances; but it will not be so easy to in the defendant, although some of it Was very contradie-
duco the public to put faith in the disclaimer, tory. Ile would give defendant the benefit of the doubt
whilst proof to the contrary will occasionally an:i,izi.iirsot,..
11.:\ ''.:11e1INO TOT.L.—At the Petty Sessions,
ooze out from the jealously guarded pages of the
Fortnightly Return Sheets, which circulate yeiterelay, George Thomas Jones, farmer, residing at the
Brake, was charged with evading payment of toll, at the
darkly and secretly amongst the members of the Oldswieford gate, on the 7th Mat, Mrs. Barnard said
Operative Stonemasons' Friendly Society. that the defendantudifd..adot, pay. S.lLowaesrkwed
tliiri,tu
charge,
pay,
Their authors fear the light of day—they dare
!Titd tahadtrohveeloiand. roniked to'gy at the Heath gate‘.7e,
not appear at the bar of puldie opiniim. Mr. had since done et!, and had got the ticket. It was not
Harding may readily prove this assertion to be his intention to defraud them. Mr. Culludine, toll-gate
wrong, by sending us copies of the Fortnightly keeper, at the Heath, said that the defendant come
Return Sheets for the last twelvemonths. We through his gate on the night of the 7th inst. He did
willingly plead our cause before and cheerfully vtleasys then,„rat
treitoto r. tireotwicink
6e t
tohtei
rTo uweasd aay
Bttr:
bow to the decision of that supreme court of op - moor out. i'lle Bench all it w.." t/wir opinion that
peal, the public opinion of this country; and under the net he ought either to produce his ticket or
We shall be pleased to afford the Operative Stone- pay the tell. He must pay a fine of Is and costs Ile.
masons' Friendly Society, and opportunity of Cu inn OF SETTING WIRES FOR TIIE PURPOSE OF
doing the same. Let them come out into the LI:INO GAME.—At the Petty Sessions, yesterday, John
, es was charged with setting wires on the I.3th inst, for
wholesome light of day with manly weapons in then purpose of taking game. Benjamin Whittaker,
their hands if they will insist upon fighting, keeper, mid that he saw the defendant set the wires for
We prefer treating' and at resort to arbitration, the purpose of catching hares. He had also seen him
but open fighting, however desperate, is far bet- oars previous occasion. The case was proved to the
ter than shirking about in the dark, biding a satisfactiontlf.t::::lthittzdaVOtnitlwaoene
s:,,liirt(etacei•nd
cowardly stiletto under a cloak and using it as YlO for iliS good behaviour for twelve months; in delimit
cowards are ever wont to do. six months.
We have received a letter in answer to the one ASSAULT.-I'..at,nlay, at the Public Onle, Timothy
,of Mr. Harding from Mr. Finley, stonemason, Brooks was charged by Ann Brooks with assaulting her.
I, rom th" l
evideuce it a ears thee bad some words shout
of Dadford, but on account of an unusual press
.0
of matter we are compelled to defer the publica- when theefendani strnck her with a ham.
men:-.8 Tenfeet'elatit denied striking Ler, but admiyed
tion of it till next week, pushing her. Ordered to pay 'ls 6d coats.
CIIAROIi OF TIIREATENINO.—Yeeterday, at the Public
Office, Robert Pedley, tailor, was charged with using
threatening language to Mrs. Griffin. Mr. Barrett, re.
lieving-otlicer, stated that his attention had been called
to the defendant's conduct, and as he was reported to be
of weak intellect, he thought it his duty to bring him be.
fore the Bench. Mrs. Griffin htuted that the defendant
had a knife in his hand, and threatened to kill her chit.
dren. Defendant alleged that they were constantly
throwing stones and brick-ends at his door, which an.
noyed him. Ile did net intend to do them any harm.
Mr. Campbell, surgeon, said be hail exaniined the eiefen•
dant. Ile did not apprehend any danger from him. Ile
was a little loquacious. Defendant was then cautioned
and diacharged.
STKALINO FIRE COAL.—Yesterday, at the Public Office,
John Mallen, Silas Dunn, Harriet Clews, and Plio,be
Guise were charged with stealing tire coal from tlw kilns
of Messrs. Perrime and Harris ~,,, brick manufacturers.
The ease was not pressed, and they were discharged on
paying is 6,1 each, the coats.
A Biters OF a lllTNRANl,—Yesterday, Itiehierd North,
spade maker, of the Lye, was charged by Betay North,
his wife, with assaultiug her on Saturday night last.
Defendant did not appear. From the evidence of cub.
plainant it appears that his conduct had beea very bad;
lie having frequently beaten her ill 311 unmerciful manner.
On Saturday night last he attack her on the bosom,
knocked her desu, and otherwise illtreated her. On ii
former Oeellsion lie had been sentenced to -10 days' im
prisonment for his brutal conduet to her. The 11.-iieli
sentenced him to three inouthis! imprisonment with hard
labour.

—hut will prefer to base their opinions on the writte n
statements—not of anonymous writers—bat of well-
koown medieal men, whose reputation is staked on the
accuracy of what thoy write. The following are some of
the conclusions at which some of the most eminent
writers on this subject have arrived :
" 1. Alcohol is not food, and can mr,nl no strength or
nourishment whatever. Justus von Itiebig declares, 'Beer.
wine, spirits, &a., furnish no element capable of enter-
ing into the coniposition of the blood. muscular Shoe, or
, any part which is the sent of the vital principle.'
! Alcohol is not fuel, and does not impart warmth.
Dr. Edward Smith says, Alcohol is not a true food ; it
neither warms nor sustains the body.'
'• 3. Alcohol is not force: it weakens instead of
strengthens. Dr. %V. Brinton, Physician to St. Thomas's
I Hospital, says, • Careful observation leaves little ibmbt
I that a ntoderato dose of beer or wine would in most
cases at once diminish the maximum weight which a
healthy pirsint could lift to something below his teetotal
standard. Is like manner it is not too much to tay that
mental acuteness, accuracy of perception, and delicacy
of the senses, are all opposed by alcohol. A single glass
will often suffice to take the edge off both mind and
body.'
"4. Alcohol is neve.' digested or assimilated, bat is
expelled from the system unchanged. D. 'l'. K. Chani•
hers says, 'it is clear that we must cease to regard alco-
hol twin any sense an aliment, inasmuch as it goes out as
It went in, and does not, solar as we know, leave any of
its substance behind it.'
"5. Alcohol retards digestion by precipitating the pep-
sine of the gastric juice. This has recently been veri-
fied by Dr %fame. •In gastric juice and water, freely
minced lice( was in ten hours dissolved like soup; but
in gastric jitive and alcohol, and in gastric juice and pale
ido, at the end of ten hours the beef remained solid, and
the pepsine of the gastric juice was precipitated.'
"li. Alcohol ditninishes the change of tissoc which is
absolutely necessary to life and health. Or. Chambers
says, •On the whole we may conclude that the effect of
continued small doses of alcohol is to diminish the vital
metamorphosis, to make it irregular, and induce in
healthy psrsous the necessity for crises of evacuation.'
" 7. Alcolial impairs the function and structure of the
organs of the body. Dr. C. B. Williams speaks of the
' pernicious effects' of stimulating drinks, especially on
• the stomach, the liver, the kidneys, blood, heart, and
brain,' and soya, • the unsound state of these organs thus
enlaced peculisrly impairs the powers of the body to re.
slat or throw off disease.' _

"The careful experiments of Professors Lallernand
and Perrin, which we have only spu;c to mention, estab-
lish many facts respecting the physiological actiln of
alcohol, all of which tend to the conclusion expressed by
Or. Edward boom ' Since alcohol in every torm acts as
a disturbing agent in health, its use under these circum-
stances must tend to injury.'
One or two extracts will show that when used as a
medicine alcohol is a dangerous and destructive drug.
Dr. T. K. Chambers shows that in his practice the ordi-
nary treatment in fever resulted in 1 death in 5 ; under
the improved restorative method, 1 death in 40. Dr.
Henderson reports that the new stimulating treatment of
fever reduced the deaths from 28 to 7 per cent. Dr. %V.
T. Gardiner, Professor of Physic in the University of
Glasgow, published some statistics in lite Lancet. show-
ing that a redaction in the quantity of wine and brandy
administered to fever patients was followed by a reduc-
tion of deaths from 17 to 10 per cent, and that out of
210 caws under 15 yearg of age treated without alcohol,
" • ...covered. John Higginbottom, F.It.C.S.,
- rli year, without

all but 1 recover-ed. John- Iligginbottom,
has treated fever patients for more than 50 years without
alcohol, and says, • I discontinued it iu typhus typhoid
and other fevers, with the most marked iuml beneficial
result.'

" Many similar testimonies might be adduced. L. M.
Bennett, M.8.C.5., declares it to be his opinion, that
the irritability in disease, will always be in proportion to
the amount of alcohol used in the treatment, slot that
the entire disuse of it as a medicine would prove highly
beneficial to mankind.'

" This leper must conclude with onr, more important
extract from ler. Cheyne, who says. Those deep-rooted
partialities which exist in favour of strong drielis, are
prejudices unworthy of any rational creature. This part
of the subject especially belongs to the Faculty, inas-
much as we are insole.: measure accountable for opieions
very generally held relative to the inocuousness of wines
and ardent spirits; and hence we ought to make every
reparation flour power for having so long upheld one of
the inost fatal delusions which ever took possession of

COMMISSIONERS' MEETING.
The monthly meeting of this body was held in the
Corn Exchange, on Monday last, Mr. Akroyd in the chair.
It, re were also present Messrs. King. Al(sop, Stringer,
Packwood, Nash, Ilaskew, tie. Thorne, Webb, Brookes,
Billingliam, Adams, Perry, and Wallier.
The Chairman said the committee appointed for the
revising of the bye-laws had held several mectingn, and
hail deterntined upon recommending for adoption the bye
law, which lay before them. They had consulted the bye
lawn of other places, and had eadeavoured to extract
what seemed applicable to their own town. The com•
mittee were Hailer very great obligations to Mr. King for
the great pains lie had taken, and the assist..., he had
rendeced in thin nutter Happlause). The committee
thought it would be hotter, lo,foro they were acted upon,
that the Commissioners: should take the opinion of
Counsel us to their powers to make bye-laws in the way
thy had done.
The bye-laws were not read, but Mr. Biliingham moved
a resolution approving of them, and instructing the
clerk to submit them to Mr. Glen, for his opinion on
them; whkh was seconded by Mr. Stringor, aod carr.ed
j unanimously.
! The Chairman said the next question was that of the
01,1swinford drain, which the oei•rseers of that parish
wanted to discharge into the culvert of the Commissioners
by Mr. Mimi's.
Some discussion arose on this, and Ur. Ito moved that
the further discunsion be atijourued for the purpJee of
examining the drain.
Mr. Aliso', remarke I that it had been said that the
solid matter would fall In the bottom, but there wait •
great deal of ashes, aui that would float and soon choke
up the drain; an I suggested that proper grates be pat
down to prevent that getting into the culvert.
The Cliairman remarked that as a portion of the drain j
war eighteen inches, it would bean well ti have the whole j
of it of the same site; bat considered it oairmuely dim -
colt to deal with, the fads not being buftwo them. •id
they were not ill a position to deal with the question.
lie thoutlit it would be much bettor ti p atpuue the
question until they had the whole of the facts laid before
tOl.lll.