The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-06-04 00:00:00

MR. C. S. READ ON FOREIGN
COMPETITION.

Last Saturday Mr, Clare Sowell Read addressed a meeting
at Nottingham of the Chamber of Agriculture and of
Nottingham manufacturers, on the subject of foreign com-
petition, as affecting British trade and agriculture.

Mr. Read said that looking at the United States,
he saw there a competition fierce and increasing, and
he feared that arable agriculture in this country could
not stand against it. Mr. Pell and himself were com-
missioned by the late Government to go to the United
States and to Canada to make a report on the state
of agriculture on the North American continent.
They were instructed to prepare a report on the
existing state of things, and were not asked to give
their opinion as to the future ; but he might say that
he thought in all probability that the Americans
would hereafter send wheat here and sell it at 40s.
per quarter. With regard to beef, he thought that
the American would be a most formidable competi-
tor, and if the development of the ineatrgrowing
powers of America continued they would be able to
send beef into this country and sell it at 6d, per
pound. He believed if in England farmers did not
get some assistance beyond what they might expect
from good harvests, arable agriculture in this country
would be almost crushed ot,t in the course of years.
We had found? after 30 years' experience of free
trade, that no single civilised, nation had adopted its
doctrines ; on the contrary, the whole world had
hostile tariffs against us. He urged agriculturists
not to make the mistake of being the first to originate
a protectson movement, but to let such a movement
Come from the great pelltres of industry.

THE FRENCH DERBY.

The Paris Correspondent of the Ste/MOM gives the fol-
lowing description of the French Derby, which was run for
on Sunday
The racecourse of Chantilly was once more enlivened
to-day by the annual Prix du Jockey Club, or, as the
French, in their flattering imitation of England, now
commonly call it, the French Derby. Beyond this
similarity of name, however, the gathering at
Chantilly bears little resemblance to that at Epsom.
The ground is too far from Paris—about twenty-six
miles—to admit of everyone being present, and lovers
of popular sporting sights must wait till the Grand
Prix at Longcharnps takes place to be able
to see anything approaching the great national
contest in England. Nevertheless, the meeting
at Chantilly is always worth a visit, for there
is abundance of amusement to be found there.
Unfortunately, this year the weather was the reverse
of favourable, and the field, on the whole, was con-
sidered a Door one by those initiated in horse racing.
The rain began to fall at midnight, and when Paris
and Chantilly rose this morning it was still coming
down with cruel persistency. Umbrellas and ulsters
were, therefore, in general demand, and the majority
of the fair sex set aside those light costumes which form
such an attractive feature in equestrian fetes, but in
spite of these drawbacks the attendance showed little
sign of falling off. From early morn the Northern Rail-
way Station was besieged by gay and hopeful crowds,
who were rapidly despatched by express trains to the
scene of the races. On the way down everybody
discoursed glibly on the points of the different runners.
The amount of turf knowledge displayed by novices
of both sexes was most remarkable. The absence of
representatives of M. Delamarr's stable from the race
it has carried off so often appeared to cast a gloom,
over experienced patrons of the Turf, and but for
M. Lupin and some smaller owners, Count Lagrange
was rightly expected to have it all his own way.
The names of "Albion," " Promethee," and " Ver-
sainville," coupled with strangly worded challenges,
were bandied about in a manner quite unintelligible
to the outsider. In the midst of hoping, prophesying,
and betting, the course was duly reached.
The ground is charmingly situated on an immense
" pel6use," with the forest on the left and the chateau
on the right. Happily, towards noon, the weather
unproved; the sky grew less leaden, and the rain
ceased. This fortuitous armistice in the elements
brought down fresh batches of spectators by the later
trains, so that by the time business began the
course was well filled. The tribunes were
crowded, but not inconveniently. The Jockey
Club stand was au grand complet, and there
were more handsome toilets than might have
been expected from the wet weather. Conspicuous
among the many distinguished personages present
were the Orleans Princes and Princesses. The Duke
d'Aumale, the Prince de Joinville' and the Duke de
Nemours took deep interest in the rulining. The
Duke d'Aumale looked particularly delighted, and
between the races held a kind of reception which did
not seem to please the Republican observers.
The result of the great event caused little or no
surprise. Eleven horses ran, of which four belonged
to Count Lagrange. The excitement, however, was
none the less intense, and as Albion reached the
winning post the crowd became literally delirious. It
was a brilliant forlorn hope for the other horses. It
is not astonishing, therefore, if the race displeased
veteran turfmen, one of whom, paraphrasing the snot
of the French general about Balaclava, said, " C'est
magnifique mais ce n'est pas le sport."