The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-05-14 00:00:00

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Now
I,We deem it right to state that we do, not at all thnell
Identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.
It is not a particularly pleasing sign of tha
approach of summer that the police authorities
at Scotland-yard should recommence the issue
of statistics concerning the presence of mad dogs
in the metropolis. The figures which have been
given for the month of April show, unfortunately,
that rabies is again on the increase in the metro-
, s politer] poliCe district. They state that in that
time ten dogs Were killed in the streets as mad
or ferocious—seven by the police and three by
_ private persons, while another suspected of being
._ mad died at a police-station. Of these, five
were certified by veterinary .surgeons to have
been afflicted with rabies, as against one in
March and two in February; and an unpleasant
feature of the return is that, in addition to such.
ravages as these may have committed, forty-
sevee private persons are known to have been
bitten during April by dogs not suspected of
being mad. After this statement it may be ex-
pected that before long there will be raised a re-
newed demand for the muzzling or leading of all
dogs in the streets, and the destruction by the
police of every stray cur. Dogs are very agreeable,
and sometimes very useful companions, but pre-
cautions must be taken to prevent their biting
such of her Majesty's lieges as are peacefully
walking the streets. Sir Charles Warren, how-
ever, may not wish in this matter to bring down
upon himself the storm which raged around his
predecessor in the Chief Commissionership, Sir
Edmund Henderson, when he attempted to deal
with the difficult question of wandering dogs.
Marriage is a question that interests a very
large section of the population, and a curious
point has been raised concerning one phase of it
which has had the distinction of being settled
by no less a person than the Queen herself. It
appears that not long since an aged couple living
in a Leicestershire village, celebrated their
seventieth wedding-day; and the member of
Parliament for their division wrote to Sir
Henry Ponsonby, asking him to lay the
matter before her Majesty, and praying the
Queen to send the couple, who were very poor,
some slight token of her Majesty's regard and
interest in so unusual an anniversary as a
"diamond wedding-day." It appears that this
is a Royal custom in some parts of the Con-
tinent; but the Queen could not comply with the
wish, as she considered seventy-five years to be
the diamond period. The Leicestershire member
declares that he was too loyal to challenge the
Royal word, but he could not help consulting
various authorities on the point, and the result
of his investigations is of interest. He states
that he has learned that "a quarter of a century
and half a century, two profane periods, are
generally held to constitute the silver and golden
wedlock; but that a sacred period, the threescore
years and ten allotted by the Psalmist as the age
of man upon earth, is held to be the period of a
true diamond wedlock." Whatever may be the
correct view, and it would be interesting to have
It settled, the old couple about whom the contro-
versy originated will not be able to participate in
the solution, for the wife has just died, at the age
of ninety-two.
Sportsmen, and especially those to whom "the
twelfth" is dear, will regret to learn that
disease has broken out among tho grouse on
various moors in Scotland and northern Eng-
land. On the Fells in East Cumberland many
birds have been picked up dead, while in Ayr,
Lanark, and Peebles, as well as in the counties '
of Aberdeen and Perth, large numbers are being
found by the watercourses dead and dying. The
outbreak of the disease is the more noteworthy
as the prospects for sportsmen on the moors had
*appeared exceptionally bright up to the middle
of April; but if the malignant distemper which
now affects so many birds continues and spreads,
the sport of grouse-shooting will be almost non-
- - existent this year. This will not affect as many'
" people as if partridges or pheasants were in
similar danger of disease, for the rent of moors
is so high that grouse-shooting must continue
the sport of a comparative few. But it is one
part of the total of shooting which is so dear to
the heart of the sporting Englishman; and
even those who are under no circumstances
likely to see a grouse-moor will sympathise with
.such of their fellows as may be deprived of a
portion of their pastime this year.
Englishmen who purpose paying a visit to tha
Continent during the coming summer had better
be careful how they produce their pocket
or make any notes in them when taxa—
the great military frontiers. The arrest
Schnaebele indicated with what jealousy ,he
German Government look upon anything that
can possibly be construed into treason against
the Empire; and on the French side of the
frontier, there is an amount of suspicion con-
cerning possible spies which bodes ill for
foreigners who may be thought to be taking
notes. Sketching, especially in the neighbour-
hood of fortifications, is dangerous in the present
temper of the French people: and the most
innocent artist may find himself clapped on the
shoulder by a gendarme and incontinently
haled to the nearest police-cell. Any who are
accustomed 'to French judicial ways are
aware that it is easier to get into the
clutches of the Republic's police than to get
out of them. The magisterial mill grinds very
slowly, and if the luckless artist knows little
of the language he is likely to be so confused
and worried by the various examinations as to
be very tired of the whole business before he is
once more at liberty. But, easy as it is for
Englishmen to ridicule such extreme precautions
against possible treachery, we are bound to re-
member that the very existence of France may
depend, at no distant date, upon her fortifica-
tions: and that if strangers were allowed to make
drawings of them for the use of a foreign power
that security would be largely weakened when
the hour of trial arrived.
A rumour is curreat in political circles that
when the third reading stage of the Crimes Bill
is reached in the Commons a "call of the House"
will be demanded. This is a ceremony which has
becoms so practically obsolete that it is probable
that even many persons who are interested in
politics do not quite know what it means. The
" idea is that upon some especially important
question, it is not merely desirable but necessary
that every member shall appear in his place, and
the official roll of Parliamentary representatives
is read ito that it shall be known who are absent.
In days gone by, when such " calls " were com-
paratively frequent, punishment used to be
allotted to those who failed to put in an appear-
., ance. They were summoned to the Bar of the
House, and required to explain their absence.
If their statements were satisfactory they were
permitted to-go free, but those whose "excuse
waanet allewed of," were- ordered into the cus-
tody of the Serjeantat-Arms, to be detained by
him until the House should set them at liberty.
AS a rule, they were released in a few days upon
payment of the 'fees, and the punishment in no
case was a heavy one; but the House held that
on certain occasions it had the right to demand
the attendance .of-every member, and this was
the method it took to enforce it. In the case of
the Crimes, pill, however, the divisions at every
stage have been so large—in one every Conserva-
tive, every Gladstonian Liberal, and every
Nationalist ' member was accounted for—that
there does, not appear any particular necessity
for reviving what is practically an obsolete form
in order to secure a full attendance.
Mach -regret would be felt on various grounds
if public confidence in. the stability of our
savings' banks were shaken, but it cannot be
doubted that a feeling of disquiet has lately
been aroused because of the failure of some of
them, and the very eXtensive embezzlements
from others. Things cannot be altogether right
when it is possible for a manager to embezzle
more than eight out of the nine thousand pounds
invested, as wss the case in one recent instance:
and the fact that a very large bank of this kind,
which failed a short time ago, attracted its cus-
tomers by the words "Government security,"
while not possessing that valuable article, also
points to a wrong which wants a remedy. The
matter has been pressed upon the attention of
the Ministry by a member interested in the condi-
tion of the working classes; arid a conference on
the subject has been held, in which such
distinguished financial authorities as the First
Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer. Sir Rivers Wilson (as representing the
National Debt Office), the Registrar of Friendly
Societies, and the Accountant-General of the
Post Office took part. It is understood that, as
a result of this conference, the Government con-
template proposing legislation dealing with the
subject; but it is
.probable that an investigation
will be held into the conditions under which
trustee savings banks carry on their operations
before anything is attempted with regard to
those institutions. The majority of them will
certainly be found sound and stable; but it is to
protect the public from the faulty minority, how-
ever small that minority may be, that legislation
is admitted on all hands to be needed.
Hyde-park is within a few days of the respective
ti meets ' of the Four-in-Hand and the Coaching
Clubs—one will have passed as some read these
lines—and, as is always the case, if these assemb-
lies are favoured with fine weather. large

gathenngs ot the outside public may be expected.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, with
a host of other distinguished persons, make a
point of being present, if at all practicable, on
these interesting occasions; and all who go are
rewarded for their trouble with a very agreeable
spectacle. The finest specimens of coach-horses
in England are to be found harnessed in the
various teams; and connoisseurs in such matters
have ample opportunity for criticism and praise.
Coaching is, perhaps, scarcely so fashionable a
pastime among men of wealth as it was a very
few years ago, and this is to be regretted, for it
was an innocent mode of spending money, and it
was so far from a selfish pleasure that it gave
enjoyment to many persons besides the possessor
of the team.--Those who love the employment,
not merely because it is fashionable, will, how-
ever, cling to it still; and it continues to attract
a sufficient number of devotees to make a visit to
Hyde-park, when the two great coaching clubs
have their meets, a task worth undertaking.
A. F. R.