The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-12-27 00:00:00

Ely ,3toubribge 063crber.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1873.

CURRENT TOPICS.

The Tiehborne trial, which has of late, de-
veloped some rather sensational episodes in
connection with the evideite,e of the witness
Luie, promisesdlif the correspondent of the
GielSgOie /leered is correct, to furnish the pup°
witn still more. Aceording,to him The Janie
episodi , already fertile in Imprimis, promises to
be eucceeded by otner trials. Finding it to his
advantage to speak the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, Litie has, in vulgar
phrase, made a clean breast of it. The particu-
lars he has divulged have, of course, to be care-
fully verified. It Appears, hawever, that he has
rendered their verification easy, and the result
will be much more satisfactory to him than to
some other persons. No time will be lost in
beginning the new proceedings, so that the pub-
lic may not have long to wait for revelations which
will probably prove curious as well as discredit-
able."

! In these days, when crime is on the increase,
and " red•handed-murder " constantly stalks
abroad seeking for fresh victims, it is reassuring
to find that so far as our local magnates are
! concerned they are determined to do all in their
power t) arrest its progress. Ass proof of this,
wo can point to the praiseworthy action of the
magistrates at Brierley lull, oil Monday last, in
the case of one Benjamin Jones, who was
brought before them. This man was detected
in the act of committing a terrible crhne; one
no less than that of sleephig, in al tsb•hole in
Mr. J. Hall's brickyard. When charged, this
malefactor actually had the unblushing effron-
tery to lulu& his guilt; but, added, by way of
extenuation, that he had nowhere else to go to.
Of course, the Bench could not allow themselves
to he misled by such a weak objection as this,
which they rightly regarded as an aggravation
of the offence; but, on his promise to in future
seek a lodging elsewhere, they relented suffi-
ciently to discharge him with a "severe repri-
mand." We wonder if the thought will occur
to these" Napkinses " as they are mingling in
the festivities of this Christinas-tiute, that there
was One born nearly two thousand years ago,
who like the poor man whom they havo had
before them, had not " where to lay his head."

The case of " Brown's Executors r. liPy of
the Valley Lodge of Odd-Fellows," which was
decided by Mr. Rupert Kettle, at the County
Court, on Saturday last, is one of some import-
ance as affecting Friendly Societies. It is well
known that the Foresters, Odd Fellows, and, in
fact, most societies of the above description
have a rule to enable their members to nomi-
nate who shall receive the money to which they
become entitled at death; and, in case the
member fails to nominate the rule provides that
the money shall be handed over to the nearest
relative. This, till now, this been the usual prac-
tice ; but it is evident from the decision of Mr.
Kettle that in future it will not be safe to Jo
this unless the officers id the societies have pre-
.iously ascertained that the deceased members
have not made wills in favour of some one else.

Whilst on the subject of Friendly Societies,
we may state that there has been added to the
ordinary Foresters' society of this district, an
institution, called the Widow and Orphans' So-
ciety. This excellent institution, although allied
to the Foresters is in some respects an entirely
udependent club, having distinct funds of its
own. It has hardly achieved that success in the
way of enrolling members—considering the
laudable object it has in view—it deserves, and
with the intention of giving more publicity to
it and also of increasing its funds those connec-
ted with it have determined to give a grand
concert in the Corn Exchange in this town,
shortly. We are informed that the promoters
nave succeeded in obtaining the services of Mr.
S. Sicums; and also that the principal lady and
gentlemen amateurs of this district have kindly
proffered their services. As the time progresses
we shall give our readers further information on
the subject ; and in the meantime we can only
say that we wish the projectors every success in
their undertaking.

A robbery, remarkable for the daring and
brutality of its perpetrator, was committed in
this town on Monday evening last. The parti-
culars of the affair are chronicled in another
)luwn; but what we wish to call attention to
here is the extraordinary conduct of these by-
-
tenders who saw the thief beating Miss Russell
with such violence that she swooned, without
offering to go to her assistance. Whether it
was cowardice or stupidity that caused their in.
Action it is not necessary for us to speculate
upon. It is sufficient to have to acknowledge
tbe disgraceful fact that it is possible for any
ruffian to enter a shop in our principal thorough.
are during an hour when there is plenty of
traffic goi4; on, commit a robbery, and, if caught
in the act, to beat and maltreat those who would
stay his progress—especially if it should be a
woman—with impunity. Truly, as Burke has
said, "the days of chivalry are past," and instead
of the Knight of old who would undertake any
adventure, no matter how perilous, where a lady
was concerned, modern civilisation can boast of
the ruffianly wife beater and the equally cow-
ardly poltroon who can litaud calmly by whilst
; a woman is being gross:y maltreated.

The Lincolnshire District Lodge of Good
Teniplars has resolved to memorialise the direc•
tors of the various lines of railway running into
that county to discontiuue the sale of intoxicat-
ing liquors on their premises, believing, as the
memorial sets forth, " that such a course would
to the safety and comfort of both passen-
gers and employes, and n:aterially promote the
interests of the shareholders."

A serious railway collisiou took place at Earle.
town Junction, midway between Liverpool and
Manchester, between the 31.40 Chester express
and the 2.10 Liverpool express. Through
some misunderstanding or inattention to signals,
the two trains arrived at the junction at the
come time, and both engines came into violent
collision. The Liverpool eugine-tender, guard's
van, and one carriage were knocked down an
embankment, 10 yards deep. Ihe driver,stoker,
and guard, and one passenger, a priest, was
hurt. The other engine was much knocked
about, and traffic was stopped three hours.

The next School Board meeting will he held
on the evening of Monday, the 29th instant,
by which time the Board will doubtless have the
architect's report before them, with reference to
the available school accommodation, and its
adaptability for the purposes of the Board.
We trust that they will then take some decisive
steps towards supplying the necessary school
accommodation, and not allow their time to be
wasted in useless discussion as kith° expediency
of doing this. This question was practically
decided long ago, by the Education Commis-
sioners, and discussion upon it now is worse
than useless. Without wishing to anticipate the
decision of the Board, we cannot help remark.
log that. in our opinion, it will be much better
—both from an economical and utilitarian point
of view—for them to at once build an efficient
ichool within easy access of the locality indica•
ted by the Education Department, than to
patch up a sort of temporary accommodation at
' the existing s, ~,,, .s.. To do this latter in such
a way as to meet the approval of the Education
Department would coat a considerable suns
! perhaps, with the purchase money, amounting
to more than the erection of a new school would
come to. Besides this, there would have to be
two separate sets of teachers, thus entailing
double expense; whilst, ultimately, a new school
would inavitably have to be built, to meet the
growing requirements of the town. We think
from the foregoing it must be patent to any un-
prejudiced person that the wisest course to adopt
wit I be to build a school, and, we, therefore,
trust the Board will not allow themselves to be
teeterred by any factious opposition from doing
their duty in this matter,