The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-12-22 00:00:00

Our Youbon eartspodtut.

[Vie ieeir tt right to state that we do not at all times Identif3
anwelees with onr correspondent's opiuienal

There is not much political new. jost now, but in de.
fault of this, there are plenty of rumours. A probable
Reform Bill has got almost beyond the region of
rumour, and may now be looked upon as a coming
fact. somewhat more doubtful, but still within the
region of probability, are two important rumours—
one to the effect that Government intend to introduce
• measure with regard to railway property which, it
e whispered, they mean to take into their own hands!,
with • scheme of compensation or purchame, ae a mat-
ter of course and the other that Government mean
to take also into their own hands the whole network of
telegraphs throughout the country, but the latter
statement, I see, is now contradicted. We may wirh
more confidence, however, look for meaenres on the
Poor Law and the Bankruptcy Law. It i. Paid that
111 r. Gathorne Harrig, the President of the Poosi.sw
Board, has been long engaged in settling the details
of the Bill which he will introduce.
The way in which Mr. Doulton, M.P. for Lam-

heth, was received by his " constituente" says very
little for the boasted freedom of speech in England.
Ile may or may not have been wrong with regard to
hie action en the late Reform Rill, but at least he wee
right in coming forward to give an account of his
parliamentary conduct. lam rather surprised that so
long II report of his speech appears in come of the
papers. I was within a foot or two of him on the
platform, and I could not hear one word that he
raid. I offer no opinion at all on Mr. Doulton's
alleged desertion of his political opinions, but I
think that such conduct as I POW on the part of
the meeting was absolutely disgraceful. The howling
and yelling, the hissing and stamping, and the hideous
noises generally, were worse than anything of the kind
I ever heard, and I have no doubt that, could a portion
Of the assembly have reached him, there would have
been personal violence. Ido not wonder that-rsorne of
the Conservative ;mullahs make all this an argument
against a large extension of the franchise, but it is
scarcely fair to class the reepectable working men with
the roughs who came for no other object than to insult
the hon. gentbman and prevent him being heard.

An important movement was commenced some short
time ago, which is to be confirmed energetically. I
allude to the advocacy of compulsory primary educe-
tion. Perhaps there is no subject in the world on
which no much difference of opinion exists. rope
'Ti. education forms the common mind;
Just as the twig Is bent the tree's Inclined.

But even th,s fundamental ILIiOI3I is disputed ; and
no matter what scheme of instruction or education is
proposed, it is sure to call forth opposition in some
quarter or other. Education, properly speaking, is
something more than instruction. Instruction is the
meatlll, and education the end ; Mutt, meaning the
leading or bringing out of the powers of the mini
The movement which has now been commenced, has
for it, object the establishment- of schools for the
children of the poorer classes, supported bylocal rates,
under local control, with legal power, in cases of
ns glect, to inforce attendance at echooL The gentlemen
who advocate this scheme have been able to support it
with splendid arguments, but the feature of it which
will call forth most opposition is the compulsion whioh
is proposed. Perhaps the Dissenting community
generally will be found to be opposed to this on prin.
ciple. but even many of them are convinced that we
have tried persuasion and partial opportunity long
enough. That is my own opinion, and of course I
give it merely as an individual opinion. I think the
ignorance of many of our poorer classes is disgraceful.
and although an immense deal has been done of late
years—notably by the action of the Educational
Department of the Privy Council—still a vast deal
more remains to be done. Of course any scheme of
primary instruction, especially if it contains the corn.
pulsory element, must not be made a sectarian engine,
and no one in fact would venture to propose such a
thing. Local administration would, in fact, be a safe.
guard against this; but, nevertheless, I cannot but
think that some bread elementary instruction in some
of the leading doctrines of Christianity might b.
agreed upon. After all, denominations do not differ
half so much as they agree.

The delegates from the British North American
provinces, who are now in deliberation at the West-
minster Palace Hotel, have a cilffioult task before
them, but it Is earnestly to be hoped that if we are to
retain Canada their deliberations may molt in some
scheme which Parliament can sanction, and which
America will have no ground to oppose. The ides is
that Canada, Nova Scotia, New Btuuswick, New.
foundland, and Prince Edward's Ts'sod phnt,l4 form
one great confederation, nnder the protection of the
m Aber country. This would be a great coup in regard
to the alleged agarandigng tendencies of America,
and would give the now-separated and independent
countries a common bond of onion. The whole sub-
ject will perhaps be diecosind next Session, that is to
say, supposing the Commissioners can mature their
plans during the next month or Co.

Now that the great Metropolitan Cattlu Club Show
is over, it is pleaeing to find that the opinion of sari-
cnlttnists generally is that, considering the great diffi-
culties with which the committee had to contend, the
show was a splendid one. Many of the London hot.
chers' shops now give agreeable evidence of the go,l
character of the meat that was exhibited, for after all
it was an exhibition of meat. The days of mere fat
have passed away, and symmetry as well as the
greatest proportion of meat with the least proportion
of bone are the order of the day in one cattle show&
As far as can be seen at present the feativities of this
Christmas will not be a whit behind its predecessor&
Not only the butchers' shops, but those of poulterer&
fishmongers, grocers, wine merchants, , are quite
gay just now, and Leadenhall and Negate Markets
which usually are far from attra rive, appear to have
some special charm, if one may judge by the crowds
that attend them.

The Cosmopolitan, which is becoming noted for Pe
largeness of idea—its cosmopolitan icleas—now starts
a scheme which is quite startling in its extent. It is
nothing less than a Cosmopolitan Bank in London.
The scheme," says your sensational contemporary,
"is a grand one—the grandest financial enterrrise
ever yet projected. The bank proposed is to have a
capital of a hundred millions sterling. It will be a
bank of discount and a bank of deposit, Its sight
drafts or cheques on its branches in New York, in San
Francisco, Australia, China, St. Petersburg, Amster-
dam, Antwerp, Paris, !cc., will duplicate the currency
of the world. The branches will also 1/4111e cheques on
the mother hank, and all will pane through the Uni•
versed Clearing House in London." Whether the
scheme is practicable, my tnimi is not sufficiently
either cosmopolitan or financial to determine.
When we beard some time ago that the three large
lunatic asylums of Middlesex were full, and that al me
lunatic patients had to be sent to Fisherton, it was
natural to come to the conchpion that insanity 'nylon
the increase, and it is satisfactory therefore to find,
from no good an authority as the Lancet, that this is
not the case. "It must not be thought," says our
contemporary, "that insanity is- increasing because
more asylums arm required. The improved modern
treatment has done much to diminish the number of
lunatics, who san not now in greater numerical pro-
portion to the population than they were tea years
ago." Another remark by the same jecinfil is worth
"A very general feeling has arisen," it is
said, "that the system of building enormous and ex-
pensive asylums has been carried far enough, and that
the lunatic and idiot poor may be better cared for, at
less expense, in smaller buildings or private dwell
This seems to stand to reason. I should think that
the very fact of a number of lunatics being confined
in an immense establishment, ticketed off as it were
as such, must haves depressing effect on each indi•
vidusl. But surely the total expense is thus
lessened?