The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-09-11 00:00:00

KIDDERMINSTER TOWN COUNCIL.

The monthly meeting of the Council was held on
Wednesday, the Mar,r (Ilderman N.ylor) in the
chair.

Mr. Chambers, borough auditor, presented his
classification of the bornigh accounts for the past
financial year, and it was resolved to obtain tenders
for printing the same.
The Mayor alluded to the death of 11. n.. W. Cowen,
J. 1):, which occurred on Monday, and moved' "That
this Cottimil desires to express its sympathy and
condolence with the family of the late Mr. Council-
lor Cowen in the loss they have sustained by his
lamented death; and also its recognidon of his ser•
vices as an active and useful member of their body
during a long period in the course of %% hich he has
three times filled the office of chief magistrate of
the borough."
Mr. Greaves seconded the motion, which was
carried.

The Mayor mentioned the hour of the funeral on
Friday.

Alter the reading of the Drainage Committee's
report, Mr. Jeffeijes askei if any contracts had yet
been made with rlga:-1 to the drainage of ;the sew-
age faria

-Mr. 11. Dixn said no contracts had yet been made.
The necessary papers had been received from Mr.
Pritchard, and would be forwarded to the Local
Government Board, who would be asked to send
down an Inspector. The whole matter would he
laid before him, and if there was any objection to
the scheme then would be the time to make it. Any
ratepayer would have a perfect right to appear be-
fore the inspector, an I urge any points he liked.
On another point—tha asphalting of the bottom
of the reservoir—Mr. P. nixon stated that if it had
not been asphalted it would have b3en impossible
to clean it out, whereas now it was cleaned out
tegula,rly once a fortnight.
The Improvement Committee's report st tted.
among other matters, that £1,939 had beenrecetv.d
on account of the general district rato since the
last meeting, and that £328 had been receiveu from
the county treasurer in r, spect to the repair of main
roads in the borough.
The plans of thirty-five new houses and of two
extensions of factorita had been passed.
rhe committee recommended the purchase of land
in Clensnaore Street, for street improvement; at a
cost of 5s pa. yard.
The surveyor said about 400 yards were t ) be
purchased.

The report was adopted.
The sanitary Coutraitte's report led to some ex-
planation as to a recent purchase of horses for the
purposes of the Corporation, which has been subject
to some strictures in print. The purchase was
justified by members of the Council, and it was stated
that the Corporation would have subjected them-
selves to a prosecution if tiey had continued work-
ing the old horses, whift; the hire of horses n afound
too expensive an item.
Tito Free Library Co:nmittee Bskect to be em •
powered to make a I urchase of books which they
had select:xi, to the value of .250., and recommended
a further purchase at an early date.
Tce r, port was adopted.
The tunclilal officer (Mr. D. Corbett) reported that
there Mid been 59 births last month vgai.j4 60 last
year; and 40 deaths, or 231 per 1030, against 39
or 23 per 1,000 Lts, y,ar. ThLre had been 12 deaths
from diarrhcea, and 5 from consumption; of the 40
deaths, 19 were children under one year.
&nue discussion ensued on the health of the town,
and Mr. Corbett said he thought they were in quite
as good a state as they could expect to be.
Lie Mayor said there was gelieraly diarrhoea at
this season of the year, and the sickness might arise,
no so much from defective dr,inage, as from inju-
cl,cious diet. If people were. Inure cLtreful in hot
weather when fruit was in season, probably their
IL.alth would be bett-r.

The question of the p-;st office site then 0,-,ine on,
and the Town Clerk reported that at a committee
of the wh( le Council. on Teesday, a resolution was
paksed by 12, to 6 rectantnenuing the Council to ap-
prove the Exchange Street site for the Post Office,
A long discussion followed, in which tl-e respec-
tive merits of the Exchange Street site and the old
site in Church Street were thoroughly thrashed out.
Theplayor moved ;.the adoption of the report,
which was seconded by Mr, H Dixon.
Mr, Tovey moved as an amendment that, havil4
regard to the convenience of the public. the Counci
was of opinion that the Post Office should not be
removed from its present central and accessible
position in Church Street.
This was seconded by Ur. Herring, but was neg-
atived by 14 to 5, and the original resolution was
carried.

Mr. Herring moved that, before the recommenda-
tion was sent to the Post Office aut oritie, a pub-
lic riveting should be convened on the question.
The Mayor ruled that this resolution was not in
order, and it dropped.
The Council rose after a prolonged sitting.

KIDDERMIN STER.
GitaAT INFLUX OF TgB.3lF3.—At the meeting of
the Board of Guardians' held on Tuesday, Mr.
ouperintendent of Police, called the atten-
tion of those present to the very great inereasJ:
lately in the number of tramps passing through
Kidderminster. Daring the last fortnight there
'ad been 426 provided will lodgings, compared
‘vith.l6l in the corresponding p: iiud last year.—
Tie chairman remarked that of that number 233
,had been relieved in the Workhouse, as compared
ciuh IS4 in the corresymidiug period last year.—
In the course of a disc'd ,sion which fol lo d Mr.
flaigh stated that the Mayor had ciciired him to
call the attention of th,: (iuurd.ialis matter.
Workh.,us-.' had on;y aceouthionvicn. for 14
tramps in the Casual Wart, and when there were
wore y went to the police station. an the police
wcre oblig..al to pay for uadi;imis and food for them
ai, the ciiii,:rent lodging-houses in the town. He
believed that when it became known at these places
that the Workhouse would ancolunolate no more,
the tramps who were in them itnmediatAy went to
tie Wo; khouse and afterwards received from the
plies a ticket for lodgings and food at some of the
ludgiughouses. It waS true that the police always
:-.earched them before giving them these tickets, but
.4 old hands" were prepared for this, and took
mesures for leaving their money in a safe place
before coming to the station.---Mr. Brinton (,he
Chairman of the Board) said it was a very serious
question of expenses, as each tramp costs the
authorities 10d. for food and lodk,ing, and it had
amounted to something like £5 per week. The
tine weatuer and the quantity of hops this year was
a great temptation to large numbers of persons to
go tramping, and no doubt many of them impused
upon the authorities.—lt was finally decided that
the Chairman of the Board (Mr, Brinton, M.P.),
Mr. James, and Mr. Binnion should be a committee
to inquire into the matter, and to report at the next
meeting of the Board,—Mr. Arthur Prichard, of
Stockport was elected schoolmaster at the Work-
house, at a salary of .C. 3 per year, as well as board
lodgings, and rations. There were fifteen appli-
cants for the office.—A complaint was made by the
auditor, through the Local Government Board, of
Mr. Smith, rate collector, and the IL tter had sent a
letter in reply to it. Mr. Smith was asked to at-
tend the next meeting of the Board so that he
might explain the matter.

- - WORDSLEY.

_
.. --
BATHING FATALITY.—On Tuesday, at noon,
Joseph Bate (12), son of Mr. George Bate, of
Camp hill, Wordsley, Naas bathing in the Slour-
bridge canal at that place, with another boy named
Alfred Thomas Hall, of about the same age, when
the former got out of his depth and was orowned.
His dead body was recoverLd by a man named
Spear. Many persons have been drowned in the
same portion of the canal, which is much frequented
by ha Lers, despite the warning notices which the
Canal Company have posted in the locality, that
people lathing there are liable to proQecution.