The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-10-16 00:00:00

Air Nonlfon CorrtspoOent.

fiVe deem it right .to state that we do not at all Vl:2f;
' Irdentify•ourselves.with out Correspondent's opinions.

"Chill October," so graphically depicted on canvas,
has made its presence felt in a way which offers an
extraordinary contras', to the corresponding month
in 1879. That was one of the driest upon record, and
those whose holidays had been late were compensated
for, the shortened days by fine weather. A higher
barometer, a calm atmosphere, and little wind—such
were the characteristic of October last year. Now,
however, the meteorological records have hid a
different story to tell. Violent storms, heavy rains,
and disastrous floods—the latter converting rivulets
into rushing torrents, turning meadows into lakes, and
giving the valleys all the appearnce of inland seas. Such
have been the chronicles which have filled the news-
papers during the early days of October in this year.
The rain-laden gales from the Atlantic, whilst work-
ing destruction and causing loss of life upon our
coasts, have changed the face of nature far inland
from the shore, and stripping the forest trees of their
foliage, have scattered the withered leaves in thousands
upon the ground, as a testimony that the place which
they filled in the economy of Nature knows them no
more, that their brief day is past, and their work is
done.

London to Paris! The change, always great, is
never more remarkable than in the late days
of autumn, when the British capital has already

put en the mantle of fog and smoke, while
Paris is still under the blue sky and bright sun of
summer. And yet, taking the route from Newhaven
to Dieppe, and passing through the Vale of Normandy,
through the quaint city of Rouen, with its grand old
cathedral, the broad green meadows mile after mile,
the thorn hedges, the orchards, and the pollards, the
traveller can almost imagine himself still in England,
so similar is the rural scene on both sides of the
channel. In Paris itself there is, very naturally, no
much deception, least of all on the south side; for
round about St. Genevieve—a district sacred to
students of all countries and tongues, from the
days of Abelard till now—the streets and houses
in great measure escaped the attention of Napoleon
the Third's Prefect of the Seine, and there is to be
found ol'll Paris—the Paris of the Bourbons, the gay
capital of France before the successive storms of
revolution burst over the land. It may be added
that in Paris it is still summer, and the trees
and flowers in the gardens of the Tuileries are
fresh and brilliant yet, though their first bloom has long
passed. On a fine afternoon the Boulevards and the
Avenues are filled with people, and at times become
well nigh impassable.
While England and Ireland are discussing the yield
of the grain crops and potatoes for the year, the sub-
ject of keenest interest for the southern half of France,
at least, is the continued decrease in the wine harvest.
The devastations of the phylloxera of late years have
assumed enormous propertions, and the question how to
,meet and destroy the insect has become one of vital im-
portance. Some idea of the terrible extent of the disease
which has nearly ruined so many thousands of the
small farmers of France will be gathered from the
fact that in four years the yield of wine has fallen
from 2,232,000,000 gallons in 1875, to only 800,000,000
in 1879. This is a very serious matte)/ for the resources
of any country ; and a conference of wine-growers and
scientific men has been held at Saragossa (the plague
having spread to Spain), to which M. Tizard, the
French Minister of" Agriculture, has sent a special
representative to report to him on the subject. The
French Academy of Sciences, brought almost to
despair, offers the substantial prize of 300,000 francs
for the discovery of a remedy. Thus far the
only plan which has shown any sign of succeeding
is like that now being tried in Ireland for the potato
blight, namely the importation of. American plants,
which offer a more vigorous resistance to the ravages
of the insects than the native European ones.
Those of our politicians who have gone to the
United States to study the incidents of the Presi-
dential election have just now an ample opportunity
of contrasting that struggle with the contest which
was going on in the United Kingdom just six months
ago. The mode of procedure differs widely
oo the two sides of the Atlantic, the Ameri-
can Processions 15,000 or 20,000 strong, the
torchlight displays, the serenades, and the grandiose
style of oratory so common there, being entirely un-
known on this side of the ocean. The supporters of

General Garfield on the one side, and of General
Hancock en the other, appear to be making every
effort to secure the success of their candidate. A
Republican or a Democratic President—that is the
question before the citizens of the United States.
'The descriptions fail to corwey the meaning attached
to them in this country, where the words Re-
publican and Democrat would signify pretty much
the same thing. In America they mark out
the two great parties in the State, which have
long striven for the mastery. At several recent
elections the Republicans have won the victory ; but
the fact that in 1876 the votes of the States were 185
to 184, the Republicans thus winning by only one,
now induces the Democrats to put forth the most
strenuous efforts in order to be successful.

The Parliamentary Recess in this counts, although
not characterised by the enormous political demon-
:,trations of twelve months ago, is still manifesting a
considerable degree of activity. Last year each party
went forth to educate the people in view of the general

election which both4sides knew to be impending. The
. . .

House of Commons gad sat six full Sessions, and no one
knewwhen the dissolution might take place. Especially
was the month of October marked by vast gatherings
ti both parties in Lancashire, the Pomona Gardens•
at Manchester being the scene of addresses to immense
assemblies by the rival leading men. The forces were
then marshalled in preparation for the battle which
has since been fought. But although in this recess
there is no such bringing together 'of tremendous
hosts, these is a good .deal of public speaking. Time
flies ; general elections with more than six years
between them are very rare, and it is scarcely probable
that such an interval will again elapse separating one ,
new Parliament from another, during the remainder
of the present century.
The civic bancikset at Guildhall is this year looked
forward to with more than ordinary interest. Always
an important political event, as affording the Prime
Minister of the day an opportunity of making a

declaration oif his policy in mid-recess, the aspect of
the Eastern Question will now invest Mr. Gladstone's
utterances with 'greater gravity than usual. It will
be remembered that the outgoing Lord Mayor, Sir
Francis Trurcott, had invited her Majesty's Ministers
to a banquet at the Mansion House on Saturday,
August 7th; but this had to be abandoned in conse-
,ltence of the serious illness of the Premier. Now,
however, for the first time•since the 9th November, 1873,
Mr. Gladstone will reappear at a Guildhall dinner
representative of the splendid hospitality of the, city
of London. The new Lord Mayor, Alderman William
McArthur,. one of the Parliamentary representatives
of Lambeth in the ilduse of Commons, is a colonial
merchant, and has manifested much interest in the wel-
fare of the aboriginal inhabitants of the British colo-
nies and dependencies. Last year, will this abject, he
made a special visit to the islands of Fiji, which were
brought under British rule seven or eight years ago.
-_,:eldona has the City of
.London bestowefl its frau-

chise upon a more worthy recipient than Sir Henry
I3essemer, whose discoveries in steel manufacture have
made his name famous throughout the civilized world.
A &cording to Sir Henry, the age of steel has suc-
ceeded that of iron, as surely as the age of iron
succeeded that of bronze. When his invention was
first introduced into Sheffield, the entire make of steel
was 51,000 tons.rer year; but in the last year we had
made nearly 830,000 tons of Bessemer steel, being
sixteen times what was •before the whole produce
of the country. On the Continent it was antici-
pated that this year the entire make would
reach 2,000,000. tons, and our own manufacture
1,000,000. The value of these three million tons of
steel, taken together, might be fixed in round
numbers at £lO per ton, or thirty millions sterling.
Had that material been worked on the old process it
could not have been brought into the market under
£5O a ton, or one hundred and fifty millions sterling:
These are figures which throw the old legends of the
golden age quite into the background, and more than
realise the fable-, of Midas and Pactoius. Wicth steel

frit. the permanent way of our great railway lines 3 and
with it inceafiFing uze in the construction of battle-
the•phere cf its usefillnees may well be deemed
•

The A.itrahan cii,:kete•r, who are (las at ...d.ekide
about the 15th icv,, ciessr7e ay.ch a recsption at the
hands of their fellow-countrymen asshculd recognise
to the full the splendid success of their play in Eng-
land during the past season. Taking part in thirty-
seven matches, they won twenty-one, drew twelve, and
Were beaten in four, the victors being Eleven of
England, Eleven of Nottingham, Eighteen of Scar-
borough, and Eighteen of Stockport. Such a career of
success has rarely been witnessed. The presentations
made to the colonists before they left testified to the
good feeling with which they were regarded in the
motherland•at home; while the speech of the captain
of the team, at the banquet given to the cricketers by
.the Lord Mayor of London, showed that physical
development, to however great an extent it might
have been carried, had not interfered with mental ex-
cellence; and that there was a genuine intellectual
calibre in the men who had travelled so far and done
so well.

S.UCCZESYCIL PAK I Vali T.4.SY ORILIc4L—One who
always gains the "bear" of the ilouse.—Funny
Feb,


FEARFUL RAILWAY ACCIDENT IN
AMERICA.

A Times telegram says :—"At Pittsburg on Satur-
day night a political demonstration had attracted
great crowds, who filled all the out-going railway
trains when the meeting. was over. A crowded local
train on the Pennsylvania Railroad was running east
M two s.ections. At midnight the first section stopped
at Walls Station. The platform was very crowded,
and the signal lights were obscured. The second
section ran into the rear car, entirely wrecking it.
Twenty-four people were killed and fifty-seven were
wounded. The injuries were chiefly caused by the
escaping steam."

NW IToBz, Oct. 11, Evening.
According to the latest reports,twenty-seven persons
have died from the injuries they sustained in the col-
lision at Pittsburg. Several more are not expected to
rviv e.