The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-07-05 00:00:00

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What may be called the last public appearance of
the Shah to a Loudon crowd took place on Monday
evening 41:11ii very unfavourable weather. The most
extensive preparations had been male at the Crystal
Palace for the reception of the Imperial visitor, but the
raceme of the arrangements was sadly interfered with
by a heavy downpour of rain, which continued for
hours without intermission. At such a time London
IN very far front being a cheerful-looking place. The
smoke hangs in leaden pall' over the streets, which
latter are for the time converted into rivulets
of muddy water; people hurry past upon the
pavements with depression plainly marked upon
their countenances ; omnibusses rattle along to the
tune of "foil inside," to the discomfort of those who,
having sought refuge in doorways, make signals of dia-
betes to the conductors; and cabs are di iven at a rapid
rate, scattering sheets of mud upon the disconsolate
wayfarers. It was on such a night as thia that the
Shah was entertained at the Crystal Palace, and this,
combined with the thorough drenching received by his
Majesty on the evening of his arrival, effectually con-
vinced him that in the matter of climate as well as in
other important respects England differed e.eseutitelly
from his own bright and sunny land.
The reported assassination of Sir Samuel Baker,
which was circulated some weeks ago, is happily in-
correct. On the 29th ult. Sir Samuel was at Khartoum
Is good health, and we have hia assurance that up to
that date the slave trmie had been completely put
down. This intelligence is highly satisfactory in more
ways than one, for it shows how careful we ought to
be before accepting as true, the stories which we at
times get from the interior of Africa. Dr. Living.
stone, we all know, had by rumour been murdered
again and again before his discovery by a newspaper
correspondent eighteen menthe ago.
It is stated on good authority that the visit of the
Shah of Persia to this country, so far from having been
prompted by mere curiosity is likely to have an im-
portant effect in developing the resources of his own
empire. In replying to an address from the Corpora-
tion of Manchester on the 27th ult., his Majesty de-
clared that although he did not expect to create such
a seat of commercial ectivity in Persia he would
endeavour to incline the energies of him people in that
direction; not, he hoped, altogether without success.
It now appears that offers have been made to a number
of our skilled artisans to make a journey to the far East
with a view of instructing the Persian workmen in the
arts and mysteries of our staple industries. Similar
remits followed the visits of the Sultan of Turkey and
the Khedive of Egypt some yetirs ago. The terms now
ought to be very good to induce English worker, to
enter into &binding contract to serve &series of years in
Persia, to abandon their natioulity, and to agree to
foreign naturalization whilst the are away. Wages are
a great deal higher now than in 1867, for we were then
suffering from the effect, of the financial oriole of the
previous year. The Sultan and the Khedive, there-
fore, found little or no difficulty in obtaining ea many
of our artisans as they wished to engage. Whether the
yenta of the Shah will be equally fortunate ha. yet to
be seen.

The people of these islands are naturally proud of
their navy, and of all the sights witnessed by the
Sovereign of Persia whilst in England, that in which
the mass of the nation took the most interest wee the
naval review at Spithead. It was assumed at the
time that the gathering of ships was more powerful
than the combined navies of the world, but we are now
told by Sir Spencer Robinson that such is not the case.
This gallant officer it will be remembered, was Con-
troller of the Navy for several years, and left the Ad.
miralt7 early in 187 L Sir Spencer maintains that we
ought to have a more efficient fleet than we poems, and
this we could have if the money voted by Parliament for
naval purposes were carefully and intelligently ex-
pended. He contends that the sum of nine or ten
millions yearly is enough to give us a better navy
than we have now, and that the estimates are not
properly applied. I may, however, be allowed to
point out that this, at best, is a matter of opinion.
The navy has been in a transition state for many
year., and even now scarcely any two practical men
agree upon the kind of ship which shall combine sea-
going and fighting qualities. There is a council of
naval architects perpetually sitting at the Admiralty,
and we may depend upon it that if inquiries and
experiments can secure us an efficient vessel of war,
neither labour nor expense will be spared to make
our fleet of impels& • match for any possible com-
bination against this country.
On these warm summer days, the cricket-ground at
Lord's is a Once of favourite resort with the upper
and middle classes of London sodety and during
the recent match between the Universities of Oxford
and Csmbridge, the assemblage was • very numerous
and fashionable one, although an event which excites
oven more interest Is the annual contest between the
public schools of Harrow and Eton. I have often asked
myself who was the primordial cricketer—the inventor
of than, singular expressions which, like so much
Greek and Latin to the general public, are so well
understood at Lord's and at Kennington 0 vaL Pass a
few hours at either of these pleasant spots, and you
soon become familiar with such phrases as "a rare hit
at leg," "a fine catch at point," "four added by a
straight drive," "caught at mid-off." "moving the
total up in overs," "removing the leg bail from So-and
Bo's stumps," "driving one batsman to the on side,"
"sanding another to the square leg for four in
one over," "• grand hit to long leg," "dead on the
wicket," and a host of others too numerous to mention.
However, there are peculiarities of description in
every trade and profession, and I suspect that few
outride a printing office would understand the meaning
it the word " chase," for the interpretation thereof is
very different indeed from that attached to the ordinary
acceptation of the term No one can be surprised
that the gams of cricket is so popular in England. It
not only supplies healthful exercise and recreation, but
It is of infinite iiervice in enabling a young man to
attain a quickness of eye, and a condition of mu,-
solar development which cannot fall to be of value
to him in slier life.

London antiquarians have been lamenting the pros-
pect of toeing the old "Tabard" Inn, in the Borough, the
scene of the meeting of Chancer's pilgrims before they
set oat on their memorable visit to Canterbury. The
site of this historical relic is in one of the busiest
quarters of the metropolis, only about five minutes
walk from London Bridge, where, without exaggera-
tion, one may see the greatest stream of traffic to be
witnessed in any city in the world. Leave the Bridge
on its southern side, and go down the High-street in
the Borough, with all its reminders of the bustling
activity of to-day, eater an ancient gateway, and there
stands the "Tabard," as though to tell the hurrying
throng of the quiet world which existed centuries ago.
As one stands in the court-yard, gazing upon the
antique galleries which run round the sides of the
building, the mind seems to be carried back at least
fee hundred yeare—back through the reigns of a score
ot English Kings and Queens, to the digs when the
prowess of Edward 111, and the valour of his army,
won the battles of Creed and Poictiers against the
French. What a contrast to the life as it is to-day,
with its never-ending excitement and its weary
straggles; for the acquirement and the maintenance of
a position I Compare, if it be possible, the restless
energy of the present, the anxious look on men's faces
r they pass hurriedly through the streets, the shrill
whistle of the mighty locomotive, the swiftly-moving
steamers up and down the rapid tide of the Thames,
the vast array of shipping in the London docks, the
stores of accumulated wealth in the lofty warehouses,
the marvels of the electric telegraph flashing the
thoughts of men with lightning 'peed from continent
to continent—compare these with the simple life and
the uneventful existence of the people who once camein
and out the courtyard of this venerable inn Pais out
from the " Tabard," ty pied of the fourteenth century, to
the busy street, only a few yards off, representative of
the nineteenth, and what a difference between the
two periods ! Seeing how rapidly our interesting
relics are disappearing before the progressive req
malts of a utilitarian age, it is not to be wondered at
that a strong protest should be raised against the de-
molition of one of the oldest landmarks of ancient
London that we possess.
Mr. George Smith, the Assyrian explorer, bay sent
home an interesting description of • recent ride over
the ruins of Babylon. After a minute examination,
he oonfeeees himself unable to make out the positions
of various buildings mentioned by ancient authors.
In modern times learned speculation has 'pent its
strength in determining the sites, but having seen the
ruins himself, Mr. Smith is convinced that some, if
not most, of the speculators are wide of the mark.
He considers the excavation of the site of Babylon the
most important archreological work in the Euphrates
Valley. The Arabs, having learned the value of
antiquities, are always turning over the rubbish in
theme ruins, and extracting fragments of tablets
and other objects, while the trade in bricks from
the mounds has been carried on for hundreds of
years. Babylon, that great city so often mentioned
In the Bible, is owly disappearing, but Mr. Smith
toffs us that it i such a vast area, that it will take
centuries to remo e the remains.

Some particulars respecting the crabs of the Chal-
lenger have been supplied by the correspondent of a
New York paper, who went on board the vessel when
she was in Halifax Harbour. The Challenger, it will
be remembered, has gang on • voyage of scientific re.
search, which le to Let three years. Specimens of

marine fife have alreedy been found at the depth of
24,000 feet beneath the outface of the sea. Curlew
organisms have been taken apemen the bed of the mew
unlike anything ever previously discovered. Many
descriptions of marine flora previously unknown to the
naturalist, have been brought up from extraordinary
depths. As the most careful record is kept of the in-
aidente of the voyage, and as the ship Is filled up with
every facility for scientific investigation, there can be
no doubt of the interest with which the remit of these
explorations will be looked for amongst the members
of our various learned societies.

Singularly enough, just as the days are at their
ongest and hottest, coals have again begun to rise in
price, thus repeating the experience of lint year.
Twelve months age, when day after day the sun wee
shining brightly over the metropolis, people were
startled by a sudden and unaccountable advance in the
*ham. for coals, and as there was a general desire to
lay in stocks for the winter, a run upon the supplied
was the consequence, and this naturally tended to
maintain the high rates. Fortunately for the poorer
classes the winter was a remarkably mild one, and we I
had no cold weather worth rwaking of until the middle
of February, when in one day an increase of eight
shillings per ton was made, NVallsend reaching at last
the extraordinary figure 545. per ton. With the ap-
proach of epring, prices gradually fell, and for several
weeks, Wallsend stood at 36e. The fleet intimation of
an advance upon that was given to the Committee
of the Rouse of Commons appointed to Inquire into
our coal supply, and for the pest fortnight Walleend
has been quoted at 395. and 40s. There is no guarantee
that it will stop even there, and as we cannot always
expect such a mild winter as that of 1872, there is a
possibility that the high rates for such a necesaary of
life as coal may yet lead to much suffering and distress
amongst the labouting classes of the population. The
principal cause of the alteration is the immense deve-
lopment which has taken place in our manufacturing
Industry within the past few years. In 1851, the year
of the first Great Exhibition, when our works of
mechanical akill, our railways, and our steamboats
bore no proportion to their numbers to-day, the ruling
price of good coals in London was 12s. ed. per ton, a
third of what it is now, and a fourth of what it was
some months ago. Every new railway which is con-
structed, adds to the demand upon our ooal-beds, and
as there is reason to believe that coal is taken from the
earth much more rapidly than it is formed, there Is
little hope of price, returning to the figures which so
long ruled in the market
Every preparation is being made at Wimbledon
for the annual rifle competition, which opens on the
7th instant. This Is the fourteenth of these yearly
gatherings, which are looked forward to with very
considerable interest throughout the kingdom. The
Volunteers who camp out on Wimbledon Common
for a fortnight have occasionally met with singular
experiences as far as the weather is concerned. Some
years, as in 1868, not a drop of rain has fallen, and
there has been a cloullees sky night and day; at
other times, as in 1867, rain and tempest have ruled
the elements, and lively etreanilsta have ran through
the low-lying tents at night, as if to gme the occu-
pants some slight idea of what real campaigning
would be like. The metropolitan commanding
officers have resolved to hold a review of Volunteers
at Wimbledon after the distribution of the prime on
Saturday, July 19, and it Is hoped that the spec.
title will in some degree compensate for the absence
of a similar display at Brighton on Easter-Monday.