The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-06-14 00:00:00

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I can scarcely describe the painful sensation which
was created in London on Monday afternoon, at the
Intelligence that the Alexandra Palace had been
destroyed by fire. After years of trouble, of expense,
and of anxiety, the beautiful building, so full of attrac-
tions for every class of the public, had been opened
only sixteen days before, and I have already spoken in
your columns of my experience at the Palace on the
24th id May. Only a week before the destruction of
the building, sixty thousand of our Whit Monday
holiday keepers had gathered within its walls, and
upon its charming grounds, and it was terrible
to think that in two or three short hours, the
Palace itself, and most of its contents, had been
reduced to aiihea. By great exertions, many, if not
the whole of the pictures were saved, but this
appears to have been done at the peril of those
who attempted the task. There was a Lunent.ible
lack of water at the outbreask of the catastrophe, so
that, unfortunately, the tire had time to get a complete
mastery of the edifice before the engines could be
brought into play. The scene in Fleet-street, at seven
o'clock in the evening, upon the issue of the sdecial
editions, was a very animated one, for it had
been reported that there was • serious loss of
Ifs, This was happily incorrect; still there was a
general feeling of sadness at the sudden and unex-
pected end of an institution which required only time
to enable it to command a large share of the public
confidence. The Palace is to be rebuilt, and in the
meantime out-door amusements of various descriptions
are to take place in the grounds. A long time must
necessarily elapse before another such a structure is
raised as that which warn opened under such bright
auspices on the 24th ult. While the Alexandra
Palace shareholders have thus been brought face to
face with blighted hopes and disappointed expectations,
the Crystal Palace at Sydenham has been commem
morating the date of its inauguration. There was •
grand fire there on Tuesday, the nineteenth
anniversary of the opening of the building by
her Majesty and the late Prince Consort. The
day was not one of the most pleasant of the summer,
for the sun was surcely visible, and a cold wind blew
from the westward. But the attractions at the Palace
were numerous, and there was a large attendance at
this deservedly popular institution.

We are threatened with another strike in the Lon.
on Building Trade. Last year, when the men de-
manded an advance from Bd. to 9(1. per hour, a com-
promise waa effected after the men had been out several
weeks, by which they obtained Bid. They now state
that this was accepted on the understanding that if
trade was at all good this year, the original request for
9d. should be acceded to. The masters reply that
they are prepared to give the increase asked for on the
let of March, 1874, but that in so doing they would
require that the hoar for leaving work on Saturdays
should be one o'clock instead of twelve as is now the
rule with the masons. This condition is, however,
repudiated by the men, who state that they would
not accept the id. advance if offered at once
on such terms. Therefore the general body of
the masons have given notice that they will cease
working in July, unless the promise which they con-
tend was unconditionally made last year is carried
out. It is earnestly to be hoped that a settlement may
yet be effected, and that in such an important branch
of industry the summer will not be allowed to pass as
unproductively as it did last year.
Every summer the London daily papers open their
columns to appeals on behalf of numerous charitable
Institutions, whose object it is to take for "a day in
the country" large numbers of poor children, whose
only chance of seeing the green fields for even a few
hours in the year is to rough the agency of this form of
charity. To those who are free at any time to
take a trip to the seaside, or to enjoy a ramble
amongst delightful rural scenery, it is hard to
believe that in the crowded courts and alleys of
the metropolis there are thousands of poor children
who would never breathe the fresh country air
but through the kindness of those who are in better
circumstances. Similar appeals for Christmas charity
are made at that season of the year, but then the
pressure upon the columns of the daily newspapers is
comparatively light, and the insertion of these letters,
solar from being an inconvenience, is rather an assist-
ance. But it most be far otherwise at the height of
the London season when meetings of every description
are in full swing, and when the columns of the journals
are crowded with advertisements, Parliamentary
debates, and long reports of the Tichborne trial. At
such times, when space is so valuable, publicity is given
to such matters at a sacrifice which can be known only
to those who have to make it. Still it is cheerfully
done, and it is hoped that the results are commensurate
with the earnestness with which the cause of the poor
• is pleaded.
One of the most interesting features of the approach.
lug Volunteer gathering at Wimbledon will be the
reception and entertainment of the Belgian Gerdes
Civiques, who are to pay a visit to this country. The
subject has been taken up by the Lord Mayor, so that
there is little doubt of its being heartily carried through.
Nothing could exceed the warmth of the hospitality
extended to the English Volunteers when they went
over to Belgium, and there is no doubt that it will now
be thoroughly reciprocated. Thirty riflemen of other
nations are invited to enter into competition with
the Belgians whilst at Wimbledon, and communica-
tiona have been entered into with the Ministers of
other European Statee with a view to their sending
representatives for that purpose. The attractions of
the meeting will certainly receive an addition if these
arraagen,enta can be effectually carried out.
lite second vacation of the legislative year is at an
end, and both Houses of Parliament have now settled
down to steady work until the close of the session. If
any judgment may be formed from appearances, there
will be very little political excitement to mark the re-
mainder ef its existence. A visitor to the lobby of the
Commons on one of those sultry evenings which
we have had lately, could not fail to be impressed with
the general air of lassitude which prevails throughout
the oleos. The interest in the progress of the
measures which occupied the attention of Parliament
In its earlier years has died away. I have been there
during the manage of the Irish Church Disestablish.
mart Bill, and have seen the crowd of eager politicians
so great in the Central Hall that a passage for
honourable members was made with difficulty.
The debates upon the Irish Land Bill brought over from
the sister island a considerable number of the better
this of agriculturists. The Abolition of purchase in the
Army, the long discussions which envied upon it, raga-
laxly and attracted to the lobby a 'Numerous body of mill.
tary officers; while the Ballot debates were regularly
attended by election agents and town clerks from
many parts of the kingdom. Now, however, that
there Is no prominent question under the consideration
of our lawgivers, the lobbies are deserted, and often
at the adjournment of the House, there is no one to be
seen there. It may not be generally known that when
the Home rises, the Fierjeantat-arms always goes out
late the lobby, and asks In a loud voice, "who goes
home r The inquiry la now frequently addressed to
the statues and the frescoes.

Miss Manley, sister of the Dean of Westminster,
adepts a novel mode of rewarding those of the dewy-
lag poor who come within the sphere of her influence.
nil estimable lady diepenses what may be called •
kind of floral charity, and through the agency of dis-
atrict visitors, distributes large quantities of flowers to
the poor at their own homes. It would be impossible
to find any class of the community who do not take
pleasure in the cultivation of flowers, and no one can
doubt that, by giving the humbler classes of the people
opportunities for employing their time in this direc-
tion, Miss Stanley is performing • work of genuine
philanthropy. It is only to go into one of the metro-
politan parks on a Sunday afternoon in the summer,
to be sonvinced of the enjoyment which the eight of
the flower beds create amongst the immense numbers
who esagregate there, and it is very rare that
ma act of wilful damage has to be punished. A
suggestion has been made that hospitala have
• claim upon public sympathy in thi respect,
and that, as newspapers and periodicals are supplied
to the sick poor, flowers also might be furnished to
them. The idea is unquestionably • good one, and it
might be worked out so as to relieve the tedium of
the dreary hours which many are compelled to spend
in our public institutions. I may mention inciden.
tally that on Sunday, the 15th instant, simultaneous
collections for the hospitals of the capital will be made
in our plum of worship, irrespective of sect or deno-
mination. It will be the first "Hospital Sunday" in
London, and it is to be hoped that the experiment
will be equally as successful as it has already been in
nom. of our large provineial towns.

During the viait of the Shah of Persia to Berlin,
His Majesty received some scores of begging letters, to
which, of course, • general reply only could be given.
Is it too much to expect that our illustrious guest will
escape such importunities during hia brief sojourn in
this country? We are justly proud of our charitable
institution., but surely the wealth of our own people
ought to be sufficient for their maintenance without
forcing their claims non the attention of • Sovereign
who Is asked to partake of the national hospitality,
I mention this become it isa matter of fact that when
the Sultan of Turkey was here in 1867, numerous pee.
Mow of this kind were addressed to him.

We have lmown that for Borne Urno part the Amlaic
thalami ham ban hovering on the emtern frontier of
Peosnia, and it bat only been prevented front coning

westward by the great vigilance of the local autliori•
tine. A few days ago, however, a telegram announced
that notwithstanding the extraordinary precautions of
the Pruesian police, the disease had extended into that
country, and had appeared in a few villages on the

Polish boundary. Thin has x'ven rise to some little
anxiety when we remember fe number carried off by
cholera in London in the vi .tation of 1866. During
the month/ of July, August, and September in that
year 4,714 persons died of cholera in the metropolis,
and 2,298 from diarrhwa, making a total of 7,012. The
highest mortality war in the week ending the 4th of
August, when the victims of cholera alone numbered
more than a thousand persons.