The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-10-22 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER

again filled with a lawless mob, which attaaked in-
dieoriminately houses and persons, tore up paving.
stones, smashed the windows of the Post-office, and
wrecked the residences of such advocates of law and
order as,it was found convenient to assail. The fronts
of the Friendlyßrothers'Club and several other houses in
Sackville-street exhioit in their riddled sashes proofs of
the successful practice of stone-throwing. When
bodies of police came upon the scene to restrain them
they turned their fire, with more damaging effedt upon
the constables, and as there was abundance of stones
in the street, the volleys fell thickly among the guar-
dians of the peace. They charged repeatedly into the
crowd, who, as usual, scattered and came together
again, the police making little more impression upon
them than if they were a bank of sand that the hand of
authority tried to clear away. Some of the mob flung
large paving stones at the police, and one constable re-
ceived a blow in the mouth. The police were obliged
to retreat and return in stronger force. Many of the
men have been rendered unfit for duty by the violent
treatment they received. As the chief strength of the
police body was centred in Sackville-street and its
vicinity, the other parts of the city were left with
very little police protection, and the consequence was
that crowds of from 50 to 100 fellows, chiefly young
men and lads, detached themselves from the mob in
Sackville-street and, passing through North Great
George's-street, they smashed the windows right and
left without any hindrance, and thence proceeded
through various other streets, their numbers swell-
ing as they went along, and scattered stones indis-
criminately at the windows. There was no dis-
tinction of class or creed. They broke the windows
of the Presbyterian Church and of several public.
houses, as well as the street lamps along the
quays, Capel-street, Parliament-street, and other
streets. The spirit of the mob was chiefly that
of wanton mischief; but in their attack on the
police they showed a very vicious temper, and when-
ever they saw constables alone assaulted them with
cowardly vindictiveness (says the Dublin Correspon-
dent of The Times). A policeman who became de-
tached from a large body in charge of the Chief
Superintendent was observed making his way rapidly
towards Carlisle-bridge, and he was at once pursued
by a crowd, who surrounded him. He took refuge in
a tramcar, which, unfortunately for him, was going to-
wards Nelson's Pillar. The car was stormed by the mob,
many of whom clung to it. Matters were becoming
very serious for the constable, when the body of the
police under the Chief Superintendent came to his
rescue. The police state that forty of their men are
now incapacitated for active service, Some of them
received severe cuts from the stones, which penetrated
their helmets, broke the metal straps, and left deep
gashes in their heads. On the other hand, four
persons have had legs amputated in Mercer's
Hospital.

At half-past eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning Mr.
Forster drove in his brougham to Dublin Castle under
the protection of an escort of mounted police. This
was the first occasion he has been so protected. He
was engaged all day with reports on the state of the
country.

The first detachment of the let Somersetshire Regi-
ment, consisting of forty men, under the command of
Captain Stanhope, and Lieutenants Lovett, Hillas and
Snow, marched on Tuesday from Raglan Barracks to
Mildmay pier, Plymouth, where they embarked on
board the British and Irish Company's steamer
Countess of Dublin, for Dublin, which is their immediate
destination.

Owing to the vast amount of extra work entailed by
the present situation in Ireland,. the War Office is con-
sidering the propriety of increasing the Staff of General
Sir Thomas Steele, and a number of experienced
officers are it is said, likely to be sent over for tem-
porary service until affairs assume a more settled
aspect.

Mr. A. O'Connor, M.P., addressed a large meeting
at Holyhead on Tuesday night, and explained that
his departure from Dublin was made at the solicita-
tion of the Executive of the Land League. He had
not attempted to evade the police, but was walking in
Dublin streets even after they had commenced search
for him. Before leaving bublin he visited Mr.
Parnell at Kilmainham, and spoke to several of his
colleagues there. Mr. O'Connor explained the prin-
ciples of the Land League and the Land Laws of 1870
and 1881. He had a patient hearing throughout his
address, and was cheered at its close.

Mr. O'Donnell, M.P., was present at a large meet-
ing of Irishmen, held in Liverpool on Tuesday night.
Great enthusiasm was exhibited at the denunciations
by the various speakers of the action of the Govern-
ment in Ireland, and a resolution protesting solemnly
against Government tyranny was passed amidst
excited cheering.

THE BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH ON
SUNDAY CLOSING.

On the closing day of the Peterborough Diocesan
Festival a long discussion took place on the Sunday
closing of public houses.

The Rev. R. B. Hull, rural dean, vicar of All Saints',
Nortbampton, moved—" That as the closing of public-
houses on Sunday has now been effected in Scotland
and Ireland with the happiest results, this meeting
earnestly desires that the same measure may be carried
out in England.".
The Rev. Canon Broughton (Leicester) proposed as
an amendment—" That while this conference earnestly
desires that a measure for the closing of public houses
and beer houses on Sunday shall be carried out in Eng-
land, it is of opinion that such houses should be allowed
to be opened at one o'clock, and for half an hour in the
evening, for the sale of liquors' not to he consumed on
the premises."

Lord Burghley, M.P., was opposed to both motion
and amendment.

The Bishop of Peterborough, at the close of the dis-
cussion, after some preliminary observations, said that
he should be very glad to state exactly why it was he
felt himself free to vote either for a measure for the
total closing of publichouses an Sundays or, under
certain conditions, for the naore limited motion of
Canon Broughton. He could see no objection on
principle to either. He should not feel himself
free to vote for the closing of publichouses on
Sundays with a view to the promotion of a
better attendance at church. He should not,
also, vote for any measure on the principle of remov-
ing temptation out of the way of the people. Nor
could he agree with the argument that clubs should
be dealt with on the same principle as publichouses.
He did not think they were entitled to shut up a club
or a publichouse because it was occasionally abused
by drunkards. The abuse of what might be lawfully
used was no reason why publichouses should be shut
up. He would not shut up a place which a large
number of persons used innocently becaue a minority
abused it. He would eertainly not shut up publichouses
on account of drunkenness on Sundays, because the sin
of drunkenness was not greater on Sunday than on
Monday. The real question to his mind was, not
whether publichouses should be closed, but why they
should be opened on Sunday, because the law as to
Sunday required the closing of all other places of busi-
ness. If other businesses were obliged to be suspended
on Sunday, he wanted to see a sufficient reason why the
publican was to keep his house open. The question
was not one of imposing an exceptional restraint upon
the publican, but of conferring an exceptional privi-
lege upon him. The whole difficulty, to his mind, was
whether there was any such exceptional character
about the trade of a publican as to entitle him to have
an exceptional privilege. The publican was placed
upon his trial, and he was bound to show there was
that in his trade which entitled him to keep his place
open while others were bound to be shut. That ap-
peared to be a question of fact, not of principle. If
the statistics were correct, it seemed to be clear that
the public generally, who were most interested, did not
want the convenience, and therefore there existed no
such exceptional need which should give the publican
such an exceptional privilege; and for that reason he
should be prepared to vote (according as he could
ascertain the real wishes of the community) for the mea-
sure of partial closing or total closing. In the present
circumstances he was disposed to go in for partial
rather than total closing. As a question of right, of
principle, and of justice, he saw no difficulty in voting
either for the resolution or the amendment. (Cheers.)

On putting the amendment, it was lost, 'and the
resolution shared a similar fate.