The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-04-17 00:00:00

THE EASTER RECESS.

MIRE is a pause in the political turmoil.
The voice of Mr. Gladstone is stilled for a
time, and legislators generally have ceased
to actively trouble themselves with the com-
plexities of the great Irish problem. A truce
has been sounded between Ministers and
Opposition, and all is quiet at Westminster
for a brief breathing-space. Those members
of Parliament whose sense of duty and desire
to hear the Premier's oration lured them to
St. Stephen's at earliest dawn the other
mornings are now seeking respite at their
country seats, or otherwise following the
bent and bidding of their own desires. And
it is not only the M.P. who anticipates
Easter with eager longing, for town-pent
people of every grade provincial as well
as metropolitan—hail the holiday of spring-
tide with joy. It is the first out-of-door
vacation of the year, and brings agreeable
opportunities of visits to friends dwelling in
the heart of the country, or of sho:t sojourns
by the sea-shore—needful enough to busy
men and women who toil in the workshop,
at the desk, or by the counter for long hours,
from Monday to Saturday every week.
And when Easter day falls well on in April
it is doubly welcome, not so much beeause
of its longer deference as because a late
Eastertide brings with it enhanced chances
of warm, summer-like weather, and so in-
creases the charm of the holiday. The year
1886 is remarkable as being one in which
Easter occurs on the latest possible day in
the calendar. Under the rule of the moon,
the great festival may occur as early as
March 22nd, but it can never be further on in
the year than April 25th, and the extreme
days in either direction are not identified with
the fixture more than once in a lifetime.
Certainly, from the holiday-makers' point
of view, Easter at the summer-end of its
tether is far to be preferred to Easter falling
just as the "sun had crossed the me," to
employ a familiar phrase. If the weather
behave itself passably well, hundreds of
thousands of townsmen, wornon and children,
will disport themselves during the space
interveiing from Thursday to Tuesday in
some favourite rustic spot or other away
from the urban smoke. There will be pic-
nics and primrose parties, and excursions
innumerable by road, river, and rail, of
almost every class and extent. And, always
supposing Old Sol to be in a bright mood
after his traditional Easter-morning dance,
unending enjoyment will be extracted from
the contrast between the fresh glories of
rural spring and the monotonous aspect of
town. Those who are fond of quiet com-
munion with Nature, and love to listen to
her secret -whisperings, heard only by the
' taithful watcher, will wander far away from
the beaten track and woo their inamorata in
her beautiful new-donned garb of growing
greenery. Out on the wild breezy moorland,
in the forest glade, by the shingly beach,
many an ardent Nature lover will be found
drinking deep of springtide delights this
Eastertide coming. Happily, though latter
day life is beset and besieged by less ex-
ceptional holiday entertainments than are
provided in Nature's boundless theatre,
there are still many who can yet say with
truth, "There is a pleasure in the pathless
woods ; there is rapture by the lonely shore."
To such, an Eastertide in the last week of
April will be a boon indeed. The voice of
the cuckoo echoes from the glade; the
earlier swallows skim along the rivulets;
every copse is bright with the advance guard
of the great floral host of the year; each
valley resounds with the warblings of merry
songbirds. The blackthorn bushes stand
out boldly in the hedgerows, their blossom-
laden, leafless branches looking like small
showers of snow stolen and held from the
winter past. In the hedges, also, the bright
green of the hawthorn leaves, the "bread
and cheese" of the boys, draws long lines of
refreshing colour across the country. The
bursting buds of brown and gold and green
of every conceivable shade, and the more
advanced leafage on some of the forest trees,
are also pleasant in the extreme to look upon:
while the gambols of the lambs upon their
soft carpet of esculent verdure are a source
of never-failing joy to the juveniles. The
little ones can tire themselves out, too, in
their quest for the violet that scents the
lanes, the pale meek primrose, and the
graceful wild wood anemone. Nor will they
at Easter disdain the wee modest crimson-
tipped daisy that dots the pasture lands. On
tile commons contiguous to the great towns,
where many people always congregate at
holiday times, there will be the usual added
pastimes to tempt the trippers, such as
donkey-riding, Aunt Sally, "shieing" for
nuts, archery and shooting-galleries, and
many other sports of a more or less exciting
,2haracter. The animation of great groups
of folk abandoning themselves to holiday
-glee will have its superior attraction for
thousands who would find waiting on Nature
wearisome. Then the volunteers will cele-
brate their great Eastertide festival, exten-
sive marching and military operations of a
useful and health-yielding sort being
arranged for the vicinity of Dover, Ports-
mouth, Aldershot, Colchester, and Maid-
stone, not to speak of more northerly
localities. This will furnish much sight-
seeing to the friends of the citizen soldiers.
For the full enjoyment of all these and every
other phase of Eastertide holiday-keeping
the kindly co-operation of the elements is
essential, and we trust it will not be hoped
for in vain, so that all indoor toilers may
have the opportunity of laying in a stock of
ozone to serve them until Whitsuntide.

EPP's CoCea.—GasTitirut Aso 0010011T13141.—y a
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a delicately flavoured beverage which may save us
many Leavy doctors' bills. It is by the judicious use of
suck articles of diet that a constitution may be gredu•
ally built up until strong ebough to resist every Seed-
ency to disease Hundreds of subtle miladies are
floating around us ready to attack wherever there is a
weak point We may escape many a fatal shalt by
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Cliocelate Essonce

COMMENTS ON CURRENT TOPICS
LORD WOLSELET'S patriotism is above sus-
picion, and his popularity as a distinguished
"captain of war" is deservedly great. His
love of his native Ireland is also, doubtless,
as strong as his devotion to the Constitution
and his affection for Imperialism. No one
will be surprised, therefore. to learn that he
resents the Government Irish proposals very
hotly. But apart altogether from the ques-
tion as to whether Mr. Gladstone and his
following or Lord Wolseley and those who
think with him are right respecting Irish
affairs, it certainly seems to us injudicious
that the General expressed himself so
warmly on this controversial matter in an
after-dinner speech the other evening. It
is a bad example for 9ne in high places to
set the army. A soldier should be a soldier
only, with no part in the strife and conten-
tions of politics. He is the servant of the
country, and should carefully refrain from
identifying himself with any faction. Pro-
bably no one is more dogmatic, or more of
a martinet, than Lord liVolseley in exacting
neutrality and silvern silence from the soldier
concerning things involving difference of
opinion between loyal subjects of the Queen.
If anyone, Premier or private member,
assail the safety of the Constitution bf wild
attempts at dangerous legislation, Parlia-
ment is strong enough and just enough to
crush the attempt, and will do so, without
hearing the views of the military. The
soldier is for action, and for that the nation
trusts him. Let Generals leave government
in confidence to statesmen, and not make
speeches calculated to distract the army by
countenancing the expression of individual
opinion in public on burning political ques-
tions.

LORD SHAFTESBURY'S sad suicide brings a
great cloud upon a noble family held in high
esteem by the nation. The earl, who bad
worn the coronet for but six months, was
associated much in the many philanthropic
labours of his illustrious father. Whatever
the mental trouble has been which resulted
in the tragic "taking off" of the earl, his ,
widowed countess and sorrowing children
will have a full measure of kindly public
sympathy in their unlooked-for bereavement
The ill-fated peer passed his early years in
the navy, and, subsequently, RS Lord Ashley,
sat in Parliament as member for Hull, in
conjunction with the late James Clay, of
whist renown. Later, his lordship repre-
sented the defunct borough of Cricklade,
but quitted St. Stephen's a score of years
ago.
•I.
, •
TUE Pimlico poisoning case has been the
cause celebre of the week, and so great was
the crush to obtain seats at the Old Bailey
that the court was crowded almost to suffo-
cation point, and although places were
allotted by tickets obtainable only of the
officials, and that not, without great diffi-
culty, such was the press of sightseers that
the reporters engaged in the case were much
, hampered, the arrangements being anything
but satisfactory. This morbid interest in
criminal trials, and eager anxiety to catch
glimpses of notorious prisoners is very repre-
hensible. It is scarcely possible to speak too
strongly of the bad taste displayed by seem-
ingly modest and respectable women in
crowding into Court, and listening eagerly
to catch every disgusting detail of crime and
sensation elicited in evidence of the most
shocking character. This is often enough
the case at Old Bailey trials. In the Pimlico
case perhaps greater interest was aroused
when it became known on the eve of the
opening of the trial that the Government
had abandoned the prosecution against the
Rev. Mr. Dyson, and that he would be placed
in the witness-box. How any one can take
such pleasure in seeing persons tried for
their lives is incomprehensible. It would be
well if some plan could be resorted to of ex-
cluding the morbidly curious, and at the ,
same time preserving the unsullied fame of
English courts of justice for fairness and ,
openness of proceedings.

THE end of the " Socialist" trial was a
relief to the public; and though the Govern-
ment doubtless did it for the best and in the
interests of order and peace, one is almost
sorry that the proceedings were instituted.
The case has resulted in scarcely anything
more than giving bold advertisement to the
opinions of the defendants, which are cer-
tainly very objectionable to the great major-
ity. The quartette made use of strong and
.
, inflammable language, as those of their
, extreme thinking are very wont to do, but
they did not it seems desire or designedly
incite to pillage and rioting,
.nor commit
themselves to sedition. They were injudi-
cious in the course they took, and so the jury
concluded that, considering the heated state
of opinion at the time the prosecution was
wisely undertaken, For their;injudicious
behaviour the defendants have had to pay
the penalty of defending themselves against
protracted and somewhat expensive proceed-
ings; but the glory of figuring so large in
the public eye will be accounted. it may be,
by them, as a handsome equivalent for the
incident inconvenience.

LOOKING back on these riots at this safe
distance of time, it seems to us that the
parties chiefly to blame are incontestably the
police. The so-called Socialist leaders had
no following. Those who wrought the
mischief were the ne'er-do-wells of London
—the lounger and petty thieves, and others,
doubtless, more closely connected with the
pronouncedly criminal classes. At the trial
of the four Socialists it was urged that they,
with the knowledge that whenever a great
ou.tdooi,meeting is held in London a danger-
ous mob mixes with it for felonious purposes
ought to have carefully refrained from using
language savouring of incentive to disorder.
Here is the kernel of the matter. The crim-
inal classes congregate at metropolitan mass
' meetings for nefarious purposes it is well-
known. Here were two meetings to be
held close tngether. The police knew of
them and seemed to contemplate the possi-
bility of a collision between the unemployed
and the Socialists, though there was little
danger of much trouble on that score. But
they ignored the "criminal class" alloy,
which it "was well-known," would be sure
to mingle with the multitude, and were not
preapared for a big rush of the lawless.
Thus, when the time for police usefulness
came, the officers were paralysed, and Scot-
land-yard in a panic. The rest the heavily-
rated tradesmen of West Ln!:clon can tell.
It is to be hoped that Scotlaild-yard, under
the rule of Sir Charles Warren, will be a
more resourceful institution than it has been
hitherto.

White many are anxious to probe and search into the
advances of science, it will be well to listen to Mr. T. C.
D.ibson, a gentleman connected with the London Sun-
day Tim's, who says he hal long suffered with a most
Ulll5 attack of neuralgia and eould find no relief. He
procured a bottle of a remedy reeentiv introduced here,
a few applications of which entirely cured this most
agonizing pain. Having a sister confined to bed with
severe rheumatism of long standing, baffling doctors,
he advised • trial. • A piece of cloth, saturated with the
remedy, was bound ` over the ofil.oted part. The first
spplieation of St. Jacobs Oil —the remedy referred Cr—
eased, and the second entirely removed the pain, which
has never returned in the slightest degree
8t Jacobs 01 is sold by Chemists at 2s. 6d., a bottle
or by pat 21.9 d.. from the Charles A. Vogeler Com-
pally, sole Proprietors. 45. Farringdon Road, London.
INB BOX nf CLAIIKIVS B 41 PILLS isvrarranted te cure
`-• discharges from the Urinary Organs, in either sex
required or constitutional Gravel and Pains in the back
Sold in boxes, 4s @4 each, by all Chemists and Patent
-vedicine Vendors ;or sent to an address for 00 Stamps by
at.kers Tux Lutcout it MIDLAND Uoutrints' Dana
A.UMTA.IIII, LinLoln, Wholesal4 Agoutis BAIGYAX it 8011
'3IICI th whalasariunum.