The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-08-30 00:00:00

4t gitottrtribge Ohsertur.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 1878.

CURRENT TOPICS.

to will mu readers attention to the feet
that the time for tbe annual election of the Town
Commissionere is close upon its. Our object in
doing this is to attract a little more attention to this
snliject than it usually receives. Ordinarily this
affair is treated with AO Much apathy by the rate-
payers that the very Willie Of " eleCtioll," as applied
to it, is a misnomer. In fact, it is on record /hat on
one occasion a Commissioner, who was acting as
Returning, Officer, was obliged to elect himself and
two other gentlemen, as 110 other ratepayer put in
an appearance. This shows a want of public spirit
un the part of our townspeople in every way repre•
healable ; for, idthongh we know that both the time
and day selected for the election is very awkward
for the majority of ratepayers, it is beyond dispute
that a very respectable minority might make it con-
venient to go to the poll if they felt enough interest
ill the matter ; and this apathy on their part is not
only hurtful to themselves, but discouraging to the
Commissioners, as it leads them to believe that the
townspeople do not appreciate their efforts for good
local government. This iippareut want of interest
seems very hard to aceonut for when it is borne in
mind that those who are elected have to lay out the I
money of the ratepayers, and that it depends solely
on their good judgment and business capacity as to
whether the same is expended judiciously or other-
wise. But, this is not all. They Lave also, to a
considerable extent, the health of the township in
their handS, and surely these considerations ought to
be sufficient to excite some little interest in their
election. And if the recommendations of Br.
Ballard, the Government Sanitary Inspector, are to
be carried out, then it will make a vast deal of differ-
ence to the ratepayers w hether the same are put into
operation with the greatest reprd fur efficiency and
economy, or otherwise. One of his recommendations
was to the effect that "in pursuance of the advice
given to the Commissioners by their own Surveyor,
the sewage of the district should be intercepted from
the River Stour, and dealt with in such a manner as
to prevent it for the future polluting this stream or
its tributaries." Now, if this injunction is to be
complied with, some plan of disposing of the, sewage,
—on the irrigation principle will have to be resorted
to, and laud will probably have to be purchased for
this purpose. This alone will entail an expenditure
of some thousands of pounds, and it will depend very
munch on the wisdom of the way in which this is
carried out whether it results in a source of ultimate
profit—or whether it becomes a permanent drain on
the resources of the township. 'We think we have
said enough to show that the election of the Com-
missioners is an event of public importance, and
hope, accordingly that it will, on this occasion,receive
that attention which it deserves.

A melancholy affair occurred at Old Hill Station,
a few days back. A man named Samuel Macaulay,
who was returning from Birmingham by the 7.30
train, on arriving at Old Hill Station, stepped out of
the carriage onto what he supposed was the platform,
but which turned out to be the wall of a bridge, and
was precipitated to the earth, and killed almost
instantaneously. It seems that the bridge in question
is contiguous to the platform, and that a long train
not only overhangs the latter, but goes alongside the
parapet of the bridge. At the inquest it was stated
that the night being dark, and there being no light
on the bridge in question, it was almost impossible
to distinguish it from the platform. This difficulty
was rather heightened than otherwise by the fact
that there was a light in the carriage, for on looking
out into the darkness the eyes were apt to be some-
what dazed. This was so ninch the case that a
witness named George Chance, gave it in evidence
that he, mistaking the bridge for the platform,
stepped on to it, and would, doubtless, have shared a
similar fate to deceased had he not been pulled back
by some of the passengers in the carriage who had
become aware of his danger. This, is we believe,
the third occasion on which disastrous accidents have
occurred from similar causes at this station; and it
now becomes a question as to whether the company
ought not to be compelled to do something towards
ensuring the safety of passengers. We know it is
commonly said that a railway company will never
move in the matter of providing means for the security
of passengers until either a bishop or a director falls
a victim to their carelessness. We hope, however,
that in this instance such a pressure of public opinion
will be brought to bear upon them as will compel
them to make some alteration, before such a con-
tingency as that spoken of arises. It is all very well
for Mr. Ledbrook, one of the railway officials who
gave evidence at the inquest, to say that the line
was passed in 1867 by the inspector as safe." We
think the accidents that have happened there abund-
antly prove that the bridge in question is not safe,
for it is not even hinted at that any of tho persons
who have been victims to it were intoxicated at the
time of the accidents. We are decidedly of opinion
that the parapet of the bridge should be built so high
that it would be impossible for any one to step upon
it in mistake for the platform ; and so as to make it
as different as possible, it might be constructed of
tinted galvanised iron, on the same principle as the
bridge at Snow Hill, in Birmingham. There should,
also be a light on the bridge whenever it was dark,
and then, we venture to predict that we should hear
no more of passengers falling from it.

Our local Stipendiary, Mr. I. Spooner, came down
heavily on the defaulters in weights cud measures at
Brierley Hill on Thursday week. A couple of
centuries ago the dishonest tradesman was liable to
be pilloried, mulcted in all his goods, imprisoned,
and otherwise severely dealt with for such mal-
practices; and even at the present day we believe itis
not unusual in Algiers to see a defaulting shopkeeper
nailed by the ears to his own door-post. We aze
afraid that if such a practice were to obtain in
England at the present day there would be so many
placed in that ignominious position that there would
Is, scarcely any one left to serve the customers, and
that • Ftaguation of trade would result. Happily for
the shopkeeping fraternity in this country, they form
such a powerful section of the community that it is
very improbable that ally very severe enactmentswill
be passed in Parliament to mulish theirdelimnencies.
In the meanwhile, our worthy Stipendiary is deter-
mined to do all in his power to put a stop to Coil-
nefarious practices. In the name of their victims
we hope that other magistrates will follow in his
footsteps, and do all that the law will allow them
towards protecting the interests of the public.