The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-04-19 00:00:00

Pnr yonbon Contoptrabad,

,111 Gam .t right to st_te that we do not at all tL
6iselify ourselves with our Correspondent's viola:al

None are so ready for play as those who have just
escaped from hard work, and the " House" is not to
assemble again until the 21st ink.. It may be very
well in its way to remark that only ten statutes have
been passed ewes the commencement of the Session,
I
but it is the opening of the discussions upon import.
sat subjects which has occupied the time and labour
of the members. I have a dim recollection that our
present Prime Minister used to expend his spare
physical energies, a few years back, in " felling" trews
down in the country during the recess—an active
amusement for en active man, and one calculated to
remove the ill effects of late hours at his duties, but
who could have dreamt that the words of the Psalmist
would thue have been realised, "a man was accounted
famous according as he had lifted up the axes against
the great trees."
The Budget has not failed of its usual criticism, but
every one feels satisfaction in having an interest—
quantum talent—in such a nice surplus as form millions
and three quarters, over and above the pride of form-
ing an unit of such a prosperous nation. The reduc-
tion of the sugar duties is the only remission
which has met with much public question, and
this principally on account of the untue severity
of the change upon the refiners, upon whom it
comes too suddenly to enable them to forearm them-
selves: however, in order that they may not be losers
by the sudden transition, and from the peculiar ad-
vantages which would accrue to the foreign refiners,
the Government has allowed them twenty days' grace,
so that the change does not take effect in their case
until the 28th of May. To say that the consumer will
not reap a benefit by even so small a reduction of the
duty on sugar cannot be absolutely true, but the
difference may not be appreciable except in the aggre-
gate. The payers of Income-tax are certainly fortu-
nate in Its having reached 3d. in the pound, for this Is
stated to be the lowest rate ever paid since 1790, with
the exception of the early part of this century
In that year (1799) it was ten per cent. ; but this two
shillings in the pound only brought in six millions,
something lees than the sum collected last year at 4d.
—what a change in the condition of the country!
Seventy years ago the rate was a shilling in the pound
on incomes of £l5O and over. The tax upon hote.
servant, was surrounded with objections which the
Chancellor of the Exchequer considered unanswerable,
and so he took the opportunity of this surplus in
hand to remove the burden. While looking with
cheerfulness upon the past year, notwithstanding all
its disturbing influences, and with good hopes for the
present one, I cannot forbear to glance at the means
by which half, or thereabouts, of our national income
is derived. Beer, spirits, wine, and tobacco bring in
over thirty-four and a half millions, this including
the licensee to manufacturers and retailers of these
articles. Beer pays the Exchequer nearly eight
millions, spirits eighteen millions (of which about two-
thirds is for British made), wine lees than two
millions, and tobacco nearly seven millions. The
total of thirty four millions is about a sovereign ahead
over all the inhabitants of the kingdom—men, women
and children. If this is the only duty, what is the
coat? It is not fair from theee figures to brand the
" working man" for a sot, although the bulk of all
this is consumed by the masses; but they do indicate
an immoderate vise of stimulants, take Society
throughout, and the increase in these items of revenue
during the last year is not very reassuring of the
virtue of prosperity. The reliance for national in-
come, in so large a proportion, from this source of
indirect taxation, is truly a feature for the considera-
tion of our ruler., but we cannot blame them on the
score of encouraging the use (or shall I say abuse) of
liquors and tobacco by making them cheap. The tea'
coffee, and anger taxes donut press very heavily upon any
of us. No figures are at hand to prove it, but cgs comfort
tqlourselves more than sea rebuke to them. I fancy the
Scandinavians are more intemperate with their shun pp
attd branhenn than we are with our beer and gin; at
least so it appears on the face of it. Probably they
argue like Dame Marjory in the old song, "They must
take a something to keep out the cold," as they live so
far north. The impost on spirits in Sweden is ten
millions of rikedalens, which is greater than the ex-
penditure for the Army, and nearly twice as much as
the cost of maintaining the Church and public instruc-
tion. We who live in glass houses mustn't throw
stones however.

Some nix years ago the loss of the London sent a
shudder through society, and so strong was the im-
pression that it has not yet died away; many have
good, sad reason to remember the circumstance from
the loss of familiar and friendly faces. That ship, too,
with troops on board bound home from the other side
of the Atlantic, but was never heard of more, cart a
gloom over us; but the opening of this year has
witnessed one of those accidents which never fail to
call forth the public sympathy—the foundering of the
Fortlylset in sight of land, and but a few hours out of
port. Such is human nature th st our feelings are more
stirred by what is proximate, than by a much greater
calamity at • distance; the drought, famine, and death of
hundreds of thousands in India never caused even a
remark or • notice from 111, who dwell insulated from
the darker sons of Noah, our Eastern brethren, though
ruled by the same Sovereign. And it is the distance at
which the calamity of the loss of the Atlantic is re-
moved from us which has softened the blow, together
with the knowledge that a large number of those who
have perished were foreigners. Who was it who re-
marked that the anticipated amputation of one's own
little finger, would cause more real uneasiness] by day
and restlessness by night, than the thought of the im-
minent destruction of the whole Empire of China, with
It, almost innumerable population? Whatever may be
the final verdict of public opinion upon the Commander
of the Atlantic, there is no doubt that the genius of
sailing • ship without danger or accident is not born
with every man, and cannot be readily acquired, and
that ordinary care and foresight often omit some Little
Item in the estimate which wrecks the whole. Ten-
nyson puts it, "it is the little rift within the lute, the
little pitted speck in garner'd fruit," which ends in the
final destruction of the mass. Some may remember
the Sarah Sands as a wonderful instance of what can
be done by a commander of courage and capacity.
The ship, with • large number of troops on board,
sailectinto port, some 700 or 800 miles, being on fire all
the distance, with hatches tightly closed. She was but
a shell when she arrived, and fell to pieces—literally
collapsed—when .he had finished her work. Almost
daily our attention Is called to some serious calamity at
sea, and our ships being so numerous now, it Is hardly
to be wondered at, even when all la true and sound
with them. The disouseicaui, however, now taking
plane upon our shippins have much to do in giving
these accident' a colour which they would not other-
whoa posters.
There in some remark about passports being neces-
wry for those who are going abroad; although they
are not absolutely compulsory, it will be desirable for
redone reasons that evert the tourists on the Continent
should this summer be so furnished. Of coruse, the
old traveller who is always on the move has a well.
furnished pocketbook full of consuls' and other officers,
signatures, seals, vises, and permits, and each • collec-
tion should be worth some little money to the pro-
prietor of it, if the "cost of production" in fees on
all sorts of occasions is regarded. Travelling from
country to country is no longer the expensive, la-
borious, and time-spending proceeding it used to be in
former days, and the passport is becoming rather an
obsolete form of verifying an individual, or of ascer-
taining his native country. While upon the subject of
the voyageur, our Transatlantic coining will be re-
membered as forming such a large moving class
throughout Europe, especially in our own country.
They are a little restless to be sure, but spite
of their vehemence against our "institutions,"
and old-fashioned ways, they like above all things a
peep at the little island whence have originated the
vast numbers of Saxon-speaking people, by whom the
whole earth is overspread. An American gentleman
remarked but • few yearn ago, that the dearest treasures
he took back with him to the new world were some
leaves from a tree at Hampton Court. We have had a
large accession of American visitors lately; in some
parte of the country they are, together with the Ger-
mans, the mainstay of the summer season coach and
steamboats traffics. They come here, notwithstanding
the joke that our island is too small to take a walk
before breakfast without a fear el falling off into the
sea

There has been at times objection made to the Civil
SOTVICO Clerks occupying themselves in their leisure time
insane pursuits which accommodate themaelves to their
pockets or their penchant, but for which it is remarked
they should have no strength left if they did their duty
to the State. When such occupation when off duty
should ever be deemed unbecoming in public *errant',
freer the highest to the lowest, what, falling off there
would be from our literature. Our hardest worked
statesmen find, even among their multitudinous and
arduous duties, • spare half-hour now and again to
devote to the pen—and this implies a greater number
of hours sacrificed to reading and thinking.
They give us poetry, history, ClallailA, :ye, and
theology, logic amid what not, each decade. The int.
Lord Derby =need his quiet hours by editing ifolatr ;
and Mr. Gladstone is an intimate friend of the rather
et Poets, (it is fact a standing joke that he reads hire
"day and night" by his own acknowledgment) besides
bag the author of Jimmies Munch. Look boron the
Channel and we use M. Thin., now the great ruler
epee the gweat Idetvelan ; and the late Napoleon 111.

when Emperor, could not abstain from writing his
hiitory of Julius Cresar. Lord Brougham was a
notable indium' of the combination of the public man
and the man of letters. The Duke of Somerset has
lately taken up theological controversy from the
sceptical side ; and Earl Russell's.book, " Essays on the
Rise and Progress f the Christian Religion" is only
just from the press, within the last few days. The
work is mare of an expradon of opinion on the events
of Church History, than a naration of those events,
and he has couched his conclusions in the form of a
series of essays. His view extends firm the birth of
our religion to the present day, and from its author's
position and ability it will command pretty general
attention.

Men of all creeds and denominations can join in one
common act of beneficence in the case of the hospitals,
and at a meeting which was held at the Manson
House within the last few days, there appear to
have been representatives, of well known reptile,
from almost every worshipping body in the
metropolis. We recognize, in their deputies, the
Anglican, the Romanist, the Nonconformist of all
shades and teneta, the Greek Churchman, and the Jew.
Suggestions for keeping the hospital Sunday had been
sent to 2,623 ministers of all denominations in the
metropolis, and only nine refusals to co-operate bad
been received. Without any undue self-congratula-
tion, it must be admitted that our English hospitals
are on a magnificent scale; they are the means of sav-
ing an untold number of lives, and an amount of
misery and suffering which would be simply immea-
surable. The gratitude of many a mat of small means
would end in something more substantial than praise
were this movement carried out of making collections
in the places of worship. The wealthy give largely,
and among them we must credit the Jews with a
liberality of donation which could not conscientiously
be applied by them to most of our national religions
charities: but the numerous pence, sixpences and
shillings which would flow in from large, but com-
paratively poor congregations, would make an increase
to the incomes cf the hospital., which, I dare to say,
would be quite unsuspected in its amount when tepre--
gated. It would to many be a real pleasure to give
their mite in this way, which they could afford, who
would not be found to swell the list of donors in
annual reports. Accident, and even violent death,
are not far from any of us—we see the necessity for
free and open hospitals almost daily in walking the
, streets.