The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-01-17 00:00:00

ur Yodo.ll gorrespontitt.
(We deem it right to state that we do not at all times
identity ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.)

Nearly twelve months, ago 'a steamer was making
her way over the sea from South Africa to St. Vin-
cent, bearing a terrible message. The tidings were
those of the disaster at Isandula, which took place on
the 22nd of January. At that time we were without
telegraphic communication with our South African
colonies; and between Capetown and St. Vincent, the
nearest cable station there was a distance of 5,000
miles, which represented a fortnight's good steaming.
The crisis was a reriowi one in the history of the colony
of Natal; but no sooner had the news been sent from
St. Vincent, than prompt measures were taken, and
in another week reinforcements were on their way to
the Cape. It reminded the public very much of the
story of the Indian Mutiny, when the intelligence
of the rising of the Sepoys took three weeks to
reach this country. But as India was soon
afterwards connected with us by telegraph, so
is now the Cape, although considering the import-
ance of the South African cable, it is remarkable how
little public notice has been taken of it, more especially
in contrast with the excitement over the laying of the
Atlantic cable fourteen or fifteen years ago. However,
there it is, the longest ocean telegraph line in the
world, in full working order, placing England in direct
communication with her growing possessions in South
Africa. Any important event occurring at the Cape one
day is known in London the next; and in case of future
complications in the colony it is satisfactory to know
that a steamer would not have to traverse five
thousand miles of ocean before being enabled to reach
a telegraph station so as to send the intelligence home.

- -
The seventh anniversary of the death of the Emperor
Napoleon having been commemorated by a religious
service at Chislehurst, the Empress Eugenie will leave
England with little delay for the purpose of paying a
visit to Zululand. Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean
Joseph, "the only son of his mother and she was a
widow," left Southampton on the 25th February last
in the steamer Danube for the Cape, and was killed
on Whitsunday, the let June. His funeral took place
at Chißlehnrst on the 12th July; and the Empress
now wishes to make a pilgrimage to the exact spot
where the Prince and a few troopers were surprised
on that fatal Sunday. A memorial cross or other
memento of the lamented Prince will probably be
erected upon a spat so full of melancholy interest to
the illustrious lady who is about to make so long a
journey on so mournful an errand.

March,

The mover and seconder of the Address in the House
of Commons having been selected, the remainder of
the recess will now rapidly disappear. The members
who have not yet addresred their constituents will
hasten to do so, in order to be ready for their Parlia-
mentary duties. The moving of an Address to the
Crown in answer to the Speech from the Throne is a
very ancient custom, and one which, having lasted so
long, no one would now think of disturbing. The
Address is a document paraphrasing the Speech
itself, and expressing the thanks of Parliament for the
Information conveyed in the utterances of the Sove-
reign, either personally or by Commission. The
mover is always a county member, and the seconder
is invariably the representative of a city or borough;
and to this rule there is no exception whatever,
nor under any circumstances, The mover and
seconder are in uniform, If a naval, military, or
volunteer officer, they wear the uniform of their rank;
If they hold no commission under the Queen, then a
Court dress must be brought into requisition. The
address is presented to the Sovereign by these two
gentlemen and a few members of the House nominated
for that purpose. In times of great national import-
ance, such as the celebration of a victory or the
recovery of the monarch from a dangerous illness,
both Houses of Parliament proceed to the Palace as
representing the whole body of the Legislature, and
make the presentation. The fact that the mover of
the Address is. and always has been, a county mem-
ber, and that a borough, no matter what may be its
size or populati)n, stands second, is a striking testi.
mony to the power and influence possessed by the land
in this country.
It is somewhat remarkable that on the fortieth
anniversary of the establishment of the penny postage,
a Committee should be sitting at the Mansion House,
in London, discussing the purposes to which the
Rowland Hill memorial should be applied, and
estimating its proper amount. On the 10th January,
1840, the penny post first came into working, and
within a few months of those forty years Sir Rowland
Hill lived to see the marvellous development of his
beneficent social reform. He died only in September
last, having witnessed not only the falsification of
the evil prophecies, but the fulfilment of the most
sanguine hopes which even he could have formed.
The Fund for the commemoration of his memory will
probably reach LlO,OOO ; tl..t it .h..ta be
applied to the BUCCOUr of aged and distressed post-
office employ 63 and to the assistance of their widows
and orphans, will occur to most persons as a most
fitting and appropriate way of perpetuating the name
and fame of one whose work has done so much to
expand that free intercourse which is the life and soul
of a great commericial community such as that which
Is embodied in the energy of the English people.
The Central London Arctic Committee has had an
interview with the Lord Mayor with a view of ob-
taining his Lordship's assistance towards raising a
fund of £30,000 for the equipment and despatch of
another expedition to the North Pole. The chief ma-
gistrate promised all the help in his power, and it is
likely that a public meeting will shortly be held in the
Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House for the purpose
of placing the claims of the organization before the
public. It is just five years since active preparations
were being made for the fitting out of the Alert and
Discovery, under Captain Nana, for the latest of
the expeditions which left these shores for the
Pole. The ships sailed from Portsmouth on
Midsummer Day, 1875 ; and, in October, 1876,
Captain Nam returned with an account of his
explorations. It was full of deep interest to a
people which has never grudged anything to promote
the cause of scientific research. Captain Naves was of
opinion that the four hundred miles of icy mountains
between the point to which he penetrated and the
Pole itself could neither be scaled by human beings
nor pierced by human agency. A novel and ingenious
way is now suggested of meeting the difficulty, viz.,
by dispensing with sledges and performing the journey
in balloons. The narrative of an aerial voyage in
those frightful regions, written by a vivid and pio-
turesque author, would be one of the most stirring
which has been placed before the public for a long
time; and there will be all good wishes for the success
of the promoters of this new venture, so full of peril
to those who will risk their lives in a hazardous enter-
prize in the cause of scientific discovery.
The enormous cost of London improvements has
received another illustration. The Inner Circle line
of railway is about to be completed, connecting the
Metropolitan District Terminus at the Mansion House
with the Metropolitan Terminus at Aldgate. The
distance is not a great one, but hitherto it has been a
break in the otherwise perfect system of railway com-
munication through underground London. In con-
nection with the railway a new street is to be made;
and towards this the Metropolitan Board of Works
will contribute half a million sterling, and the City
Corporation a quarter of a million. This is quite
independent of the cost of the railway, which running
through a populous district will be very great. The
expense of the new street will therefore be three
quarters of . a million sterling—just the outlay upon
Northumberland Avenue, at the top of which now
stands one of the most capacious and magnificent
hotels in the kingdom.
Of the hardships of a soldier's life whilst upon
foreign service there can be no question; and the
experiences of our army just now in Afghanistan are
enough to enlist the sympathies of all on the side of
our brave troops. At home, however, and comfort-
ably quartered in barracks, every attention is paid to
the soldier's comfort. A great advantage which a
soldier of the present day is the use of a good library
and recreation room, where he can sit during the
evening, aid read all the papers and periodicals of
the day. This is a great boon to a quietly-die.
posed man; and as the library is kept quiet, it
is the nearest approach to privacy which he en
joys. A private's pay in the infantry is Is. 6d,
per diem, but he does not draw the whole of this sum.
He has to pay 6d. a day for his rations, which consist
of a pound of bread and three quarters of a pound of
meat. He also has to pay aid. a day for another half
pound of bread for t a, coffee, sugar, vegetables, etc.
This reduces his available income to Bid. a day, but
he can seldom count upon having this to spend, as the
clothes with which he is served at his enlistment, and
which are renewed at rather distant intervals, seldom
last him the prescribed time, and have to be replaced
at his own expense. Besides these stoppages, one day's
pay per week is appropriated to a fund which is
handed over to the man when discharged, and
which at the end of his eix years' serviee amounts
to about £lB. Pay is served out weekly; men
who are frequently drunk or absent, or are otherwise
careless, are usually paid daily. After serving
two years without having incurred an entry in the
regimental defaulter book, a man is entitled to one
good conduct badge, with extra pay at a penny a day.
Four more years of this exemplary conduct ensures
another badge and another penny a day. Taking
altogether the life of a well•conduoted man in home
quarters, there is no doubt that he is well-housed, well-
fed, well-clothed, and generally well-cared for,
The gentler:awl to whom was referred the quell.

tion of the date for holding the annual Univer-
sity Boat-race, have decided for Saturday, the 20th
and thus precedent is adhered to, the
aquatic contest having for many years taken place
on the Saturday immediately preceding Palm Sunday.
There is an obvious objection to the race being rowed
in Passion Week, by which time under the present
arrangements the competing crews have gone to their
respective homes to spend the Easter holidays. This
year, through the action of the tide, the start will be
effected at an unusually early hour, namely at a
quarter to eight in the morning, and this is not un-
likely to have its effect in materially diminishing the
attendance of the general public. It is when the com-
petition comes off in the middle of the day, and the
weather is fine, that a great multitude pours out from
London and lines the banks of the Thames in the four
miles of distance between Putney and Mortlake, and
vociferously cheers the crews as they make their way
up the river, and are eagerly watched as with their
oars they are seen cutting the sunlit stream.