The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-07-04 00:00:00

etr onbo,iC.orrtsponbtnt.

INVe deem It light to state that we do not at all times
Identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

In all probability Parliament will not be prorogued
until the Usual time-the second week in August. It
is true that last year it took place a few days earlier,
hut as a general rule the date of release runs to about
the 10th or the 12th of that month. It was antici-
pated a short time ago that the business could be
wound op with comparative speed, but the discussions
on the Liceneing Bill has taken much more time than
had been foreseen, and in order to complete the work
at all it will be necessary to lighten the notice paper of
more than one meneure with which it is nightly
crowded. At this time of the Session it is not 'm-
et-1111111M for thirty bills to be entered for consideration
at a single sitting; so your readers may conceive of
the chances thus presented of turning out good laws
which shall take their places upon the statute books
of the land. You often see in the papers that
" the other orders were then ditposed of, sad the
House adjourned." This means that a list of
measures have been read out by the Speaker, and
passed through their various stages without word or
rommeat from a jaded assembly. Very likely the House
has been sitting continuously for ten hours, with the
exception of twenty minutes respite between nine and
ten to enable Mr. Speaker to refresh himself over a
hasty chop and a glass of sherry. For it must be re-
membered that this high functionary, although lodged
in a splendid residence within the Palace of West-
minster, with an allowance of £l,OOO a year, and with
the certainty of a peerage and a penxion on his retire-
ment, is after all but mortal and a man of like
passions with ourselves. If he takes the chair at a
quarter to four in the afternoon, and goes in until
half-past nine, a brief interval ter light refreshment LI
not unreasonable. But it hi only brief, for he is keeping
the House waiting, as nothing can be said or done in his
absence. See how the First Commoner in England is com-
polled to be content "Atha repeat which many a City clerk
would laugh at. Of mum this is so only on four days
of the week, for on Wednesdays the House always
rises at six in the evening, and with the Friday night's
adjournment the coast is clear until Monday afternoon.
Even in the session there are the Easter and Whitsun On Monday morning Frances Steward, who was
holidays, and after the prorogation there ie the long convicted and sentenced to death at the last sessions
nix months' recess for enjoyment and recreation. It i:fertlleefeth'etni.t.eraleeld'erlionainaleeffCe'eoe‘urtfa teh.eteetfeulpemeuzlteyr of
of
is a sight long to be remembered that of the math- • the law within the walls of the goal of Newgate.
faction imprinted upon the countenances of theidlicials ,Ilie circumstances of her crime were remarkable.
in the legislative palace when the Royal message Pro- The ',limner, who WWI a widow, and had lived with
roguing Parliament is read. They are free to go where le-r daughter soil son-in-law in Chelsea since their
they like and to du what they please for the ensuing marriage two years ago,
Ist, r 2etie,:yienle ne•an hei
eix menthe, and are in the fortunate position of receiving
lie7t.wnelevewirthenoTitt' C.Y.M'ge 27th er.‘l'praYl she la'ad
a year's 'salary for half a year's work. How many of 1 a trifling quarrel with the father, and in the evening
us are similarly favoured? she and the child were both missing. The parents,
A few nights ago the three chief figures in t. 'pre- who were dbtracted at the lone of the infant, heard
sent Aciministratitin -Mr. Disraeli, the Earl 'if Derby,
rnothing of a
litette or h
the prisoner fer.twe days, when they
ceivml r tn er handwriting in these terms • -
and the Marquis of Salisbury received the freedomof the
r have just left Mr.. Sparville. If you cat your
Merchant Taylors' Company, one of the richest .
of the wife hail -
adcome there you wonld have found your dhild. It is
city guilds, and were afterwards entertained at a the only thing that I min do to make your heart ache, as you
foir:o
splendid banquet. It may not be generally known eth—is mainn duttenn tialVhree
that Nome of these city companies are of essentially address with us. I hope you will ne.er forget me.--FANNY
political a character as many of the clubs in Pall Mall. STEWART.
As the Carlton is the headquarters of the Conservative ' The statements in the letter must have been untrue
party, and the Reforni ie the trysting place of the Liberals., at the tteitene, for theielZsoeneeffeciin tthhe
the ,ehllidght that
no the Merchant Taylors are as consistently Conserve
the
dtlivinwrelose to the parents' house, 'l. hadnsuPnpnpear
tire as the Fishmongersare uniformly Liberal. When a with her. In the course of conversation she mentioned
ConservativeGovernnient is in'office, the announcement that she and the baby hall xlept at t ulham at the
rune "Ministerial Banquet at Merchant Taylors ; " house of a Mrs. Sparville on the previous night, and on
when their rivals are in• Downing-street, you read in the being rebuked for this she said, " Oh, the boy's all
, right, bless his heart; he loves his granny, and she
papers a large head-line " Ministers at Fishmongers
hives him." She then left, as was thought to go home,
Hall." Thus Mr. Disraeli has been made a Merchant but nothing more was heard of her until the Ist of May,
Taylor, and Mr. Gladstone was long ago a Fish- two days later, when she went to a house where her
monger-both these distinguished names having younger daughter was in service and threw into the
been inscribed upon the rolls of the respective area a letter in these words:-
guilds. Only within the last few days Sir Charles an .d• lIWU-std'47; toCe"imv:m'eUtinlo=lillisliineualt7en:. rhaiteiFe
Lyell, the eminent geolegist, has been admitted killed Me dear boy. Come new. -From your mother,
to the freedom of the Company of Turners. Many tre:::2ceiae.nteLeteetri twa.thebr.drM lihaensetwohL August,
of these organizations are possessed of immenee The daughter
at once went with her to a police-station
wealth, and although some inquiring spirits are occa- and gave her into custody. Being charged with stealing
usually asking what they do with it, that, I think, is the child, her statements as to the murder being then
mainly the business of the companies themselves. 1 disbelieved, elle said, " Very well. I tied a handker-
chief &wind its arm with a card attached." When her
have reason to know that not a few of these do a great
soil-in-law was called in to identify her she pointed
deal of god with their motley, especially in the ad- to her heart and said " Here's my 'heart and there's
vancement of education yours," and before the magistrate she stated that she
It is often the unstom to abuse the citizens of had taken away the child to snake her son's heart
as ie had made here. The eliihre licitly was
Lomlon ag pel lie who do little beeitles pile up the e'en
ht the riverolf Nlillwall en the 7th I d :Hey After
and enjoy good dinners. I speak of eoneee of the City wards, when in New_tate, the prisoner sent .fir the
-
proper, Iseinded on the one land by London Bridge, mother, and, having told her that. a"de had "done it,"
and Upga the other by Temp'e Bar. Yet this descrip- said that she was on the Albert Bridge, and had been
the is not altogether the truth. Undoubtedly the walking all ilay Id all night ailed there was seats
emit.e•ottelette.tvaitinclAuenne;
,Hfi.ttiebreehg
citizens are adepts in the art of providing for a rainy
an tom the geantniirel
day, and they vastly do appreciate the good fare which of the bridge, ;mil that the child slipped from her
is so frequently set before them. Yet they are always seats into the river. The jury appended to their
ready to come forward and help the racism' of charity verdict a strong recommendation to mercy, on the
The Mansion Seise, shouling almost immediately ground of hem! age and of the great mental excite-
nient under which she laboured when she committed
opposite the Bank of England, is as much the centre of the deed.
benevolent effort as the other institution is the embodi- At first the prisoner exhibited mood deal of moreee.
meat .4 :solid wealth. On its eh ecek you may read one nett, and evidently believed that, in censer; nence of the
reornioes plueard alt.,. ate !thee, announcing that the retsinnlientlaitien to mercy, her life would be epered
Lord Mayor will predde at this, that, awl the other As the 'lay approached for her execution her manner
meeting within its walls in aid of some charity requir- InftrAlmailertatrieedoit-ILI; o7VeewrgnattetenltStlntn
ing relief. I was at one of these gatherings a few dap' the last few days of her existence she conducted her-
ago, which wee held in the Egyptian Hall 'if the self in a becoming manner, and expressed a etronghope
building, a noble room with stained gime windows. that the should be forgiven for her crimes, and par-
mud tteeulzry,
wheiT,tethealtaseet act thittashleethteweltcmimuidtiteettd,hatened
a ceiling of elaborate ornamentation. The Duke
of Westminster, Lord Shaftesbury, Lord Hatherley,
the mother‘ of the 'ce!hilr ennittre' ating her to forgive her.
Sir Sidney Waterline, Mr. Forster, and Dean Stanley She slept oniv for a very short time on Sunday night,
were anionget the speakers. I have often thought that and wheu the was visited by the ordinary shortly
life in London presents Koine curious contrasts, and I after six o'clock tin Monday morning she appeared
never w itneesed a greater than upon this oecaeion. f f
jom theaitenlttamdir shBetaßrteltranyftrteerawta'redanl n
Under the same mof is the justice room, where petty Me Sheriff Whethatn and Mr. Sheriff Johnson, accom-
offenders are dealt with, and only a few minute!' panic.' by Under Sheriff Beard arrived at the prieen a
before the Lord Mayor was utherell into the Egyptian little before eight o'clock, and they were accompanied
4' Mr. Jonas, the governor, to the cell of the prisoner.
Hall, he was sentencing delinquents to various degrees
of punishment for theft, and some of the richest in the I gUenitthitnektedeetkeenui
tfhere
etlgeike;Telifietshee
'ihne•iiisonmin srine(Ceeisvheed
land were at the same moment covered by the roof had been confined there, and then quietly submitted to
. .

which sheltered a score of criminals.
Articles of Japanese manufacture are rapidly finding
their way to this country, and at a recent distribution
of prizes which I attended at University College in
Gower-street, two young men, natives of Japan, took
• very good position. Japanese tops and Japanese
kites are favourite sources of recreation in our parks.
The influence of intercourse with the western world is
gradually having its effect upon the natives of that
far-off country. The external signs of the old civiliza-
tion are being rapidly east off, and in many cases the
people are parting freely with rarities which a little
time ago no temptation would have induced them to
nen. A large number of valuable artistic treasures are
now thrown upon the market, and foreigners easily
obtain possession of that which is nolonger cherished
and admired. Thus beautiful specimens of art manu-
facture are passing to Europe, and the taste for them
there is certainly spreading.

the operation of being pinioned.
The officeof executioner has been resigned by Calcraft
for some weeks, and the person who is now performing
the duty is a man named Mirwisid, who has
for some time been engaged in a similar manner in
the Midland counties district. He set about his work
with a vast amount of coolness. The prisoner exhibited
extraordinary firmness when bniught from her cell, and
she walked 11 p the Asps leading to the scaffold without
the least assistance, and hwrdly a muscle of her face
appeared to move. The rope used for the occasion
was much thicker and longer than thatemployed by the
late executioner, and the prisoner had, at least, a drop
of three feet. The fall was so great that some of those
who witnessed the execution fancied that her feet must
touch the ground. This was not, however, the case;
but notwithstanding the great fall, death was not
so instantaneous as might have been expected. The
kuot of the rope seemed to have slipped round to the
back of the neck, and this probably accounted for
death not taking place so quickly. The prisoner ap-
peared to struggle for two or three minutes, if not
longer, before life was extbuit.
- -

It may not be generally known that a large amount
of English capital is invested in the districts round
Xeres, in Spain, free which we, presumably at least,
import our sherry. In that locality there are 30,000
acres under cultivation, the vineyards producing
annually about thirteen million gallons of sherry. The '
present coat of a vineyard on the best soil is about
L'2oo per acre, and the expense of cultivation is an ad-
ditional tenth of that amount. Allowing for the probe-
bility of one deficient vintage in every five years, the culti-
vator does not usually make a large profit on his
venture. The exceptic nallv q,sd deficripfi us of wine,
which fetch high prices in this country, can be prof
duced from grapes grown only on first-rate soil. This j
necessarily command• a high market value, and adds
to the figure placed upon the best brands.
The Queen's Letter which was read at the jubilee
meeting of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, accompanied as it was by
a donation of £lOO. will, it is hoped, be of im-
portant service to that organization. It was in
every way worthy of her Majesty, and if more
of its humane and tender spirit could be diffused, there j
would be no necessity for such an as.socirition as that j
which has just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. '
There can be little doubt that although this society
does much good, its efforts reach but a small propor-
tion of the cases of cruelty which are actually com-
mitted. The instances of prosecution are, as a rule,
of a glaring character, :mil the offenders are mostly
ignorant and unlearned men. But there is little doubt
that cruelty prevails in some processes of slaughtering,
in overdriving and overworking animals, as well as in
the transit of sheep and cattle by sea and land, which
no society can easily take hold If. Sometimes the I
offence is due to thoughtlessness, but oftener to an
innate brutality which requires all the exertion of such
an association to repress. Let us hope that the
Queen's sympathy will stimulate it to increased
activity, and that the gradual elevation of the masses
through the spread of education will result in a more
general knowledge of the Scriptural doctrine that "a
righteous man regardeth the life of his beast, but the
tender mercies of the wicked are cruel."
The anniversary of the Queen's coronation, which
took place on the 28th of June, 1838, has just passed
over our heads, and although there are vast numbers now
living who had then no existence, those older in years
often linger with affectionate regret over the memories
of that day. The celebrations were not confined to
the metropolis, but there was scarcely- a town in the
kingdom which did not in its own way commemorate
the event. The morning dawned rather untowardly
in London, but the weather cleared up in the
forenoon, and as the Royal proefiesion passed through
the streets between Buckingham Palace and West-
minster Abbey, her Majesty, just then turned nineteen
years of age, was received with immense enthusiasm
by the enormous number of spectators who had crowded
the route. Many a country visitor to the venerable
Abbey has gazed upon the antique chair in which the
Sovereigns of England have sat for centuries to be

-
At the moment of the execution a black flag was
hoisted in front of the gaol, and soon after a certificate
was posted outside the entrance of the gaol that the
sentence of the law had been carried out. In the
course of the day an inquest was held upon the body,
in accordance with the provisions of the Private Execu-
tion of Criminals Act.

The last woman executed in Newgate was Catherine
Wilson, for murder by poisoning, and there was a
rather peculiar incident in connection with her case.
She had been tried on a previous occasion for admi
uistering poison with intent to murder, and the evi-
dence was very strong; but she had the good or rather
bail luck to be acquitted, as for this offence she could
only have been sentenced to penal servitude. After
her acquittal she was put upon her trial for the murder
which was alleged to have been previously committed,
and being convicted id that offence, capital punish-
ment followed.

en,wned, and where Queen Victoria took her seat on
that memorable day. The ceremony was one of great