The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-03-06 00:00:00

Our Yuan gorrtsponbun.
[We deem It right k state that we do sot at all dant
Adentify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

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The intensely cold winds which have recently
been prevailing are a sharp reminder that winter
cannot yet be said to be past, and the season of
1885-S6 will continue to the end to bear the
character it has had from the beginning of being
one of the most severe we have experienced for
several years. This fact has had effects farther-
reaching than many at first glance might
imagine. The old proverb of the boys and the
frogs, with the ejaculation of the latter, "What
is sport to you is death to us ! " may well be
applied to winter. The young and able-bodied
find enjoymentin that very weather which brings
loss of work and consequent privation upon
thousands of their fellow-countrymen. This
is an old story, it is true, but it is especially
worth bearing in mind at this moment,
when there is so much talk of the dis-
tressful poor. The pinch of hunger is never
so keenly felt as when intensified by cold
weather, and the cry of distress is never so
clearly heard as after a severe winter. When
the spring is here, when building operations are
once more in full swing, and when all outdoor
work can with comfort and profit be resumed, we
shall have less distress to cope with; but that
consideration does not relieve us from the neces-
sity for alleviating such ds now exists.
Funds at the Mansion House for the relief of
distress in all parts of the world have come by
this time to be accepted as an almost necessary
part of a corporate existence. It is satisfactory
to find that familiarity with them does not
breed lassitude, and that the latest opened—
that for the aid of the metropolitan unem-
ployed— has been liberally subscribed to.
From the cheques for a thousand pounds
sent in by wealthy firms (Iwn to the
pence which the oporest individuals have
dropped into the bw: outside the Mansion
House, the subscriptions have been welcome and
have proved of great use No temporary effort
can assuage the whole of the distress which exists
in such a vast city as the English metropolis;
and, however much those of tender heart may
regret the fact, the saying from of old that the
poor we always have with us is as true to-
day as when it was spoken. But that does not
relieve those who are possessed of worldly goods
beyond their present needs from the duty of
assisting in some degree their distressed brethren,
and never was that duty more generally recog-
nised than in the days in which we live. It is a
distinct gain to humanity when this is so, and
it cannot be too often insisted upon that such
voluntary effort as is now being given to the
relief of the distressed is of the greatest value in
strengthening the bonds between rich and poor.
In works of mercy, as in so many other matters,
the proverb that "one volunteer is worth twenty
pressed men" is literally and emphatically
true.

At times like these, when, however much
we may try to escape from the topic, the
condition of the unemployed constantly thrusts
itself upon our attention, the subject of emigra-
tion is one which always provokes much con-
troversy; it is surprising, indeed, what an
amount of heat is imported into it by those who
discuss the question; for, on the face of the
matter, it is one to be debated quietly and with
soberness, and not to be made a pretext for
polemical harangue. Yet those who mix among
the London masses—to take only one body of
those interested in the matter—constantly meet
men who hold, and even violently hold, the most
opposite opinions as to the wisdom of emigra-
tion. This will account for the friction often
displayed at meetings held in London for the pur-
pose of discussing the question. It only shows of
course, that in matters of human controversy there
is always the "other side." No such thing as
unanimity of opinion is to be expected, or, per-
haps, ever to be desired, for it is in the free
clash of thought that truth becomes evolved.
But it seems somewhat a pity that so much heat
should be imported into a question which con-
cerns the happiness of so many. Undoubtedly
all emigrants do not succeed, and it would be one
of the most remarkable facts upon record if they
did, but a very large proportion of them do;
and, however much we may sympathise with the
spirit of those who would like to keep all the
good men in our own country, it must never be
forgotten that it is to the colonising instinct of
Englishmen that this nation owes much of its
greatness.
Advantage is being taken of the present over-
stocked state of the labour market to do a great
amount of work in the improvement of London
open spaces. This does not so much affect the
parks, which have their regular staff of la-
bourers, and are never allowed to be neglected,
but it has a potent influence upon the disused
churchyards and other little patches of waste
ground with which the metropolitan area is
• dotted. For in London we have to make the
most of such materials as we possess in the way
of open spaces, and although a graveyard may
not sound a very agreeable place for public re-
creation, we are glad enough to avail ourselves
of such as can be turned to that use. In the
more crowded portions of the city, where the
only playground for the children is the streets,
• it is a positive boon to find a churchyard which
can be so arranged as to be thrown open for their
use. Not only the moral but the material effect
of this process is good. The poor, stunted
children of the thickly populated areas have an
opportunity, which otherwise would be denied
them, of playing free from the chance of accident
from passing horses and carriages; and the in-
fusion of a little additional joy into their lives is
worth all the money and trouble involved.
Some new point of interest is always coming
before our courts of law, and one of the latest is
certainly one of the most curious. In the course
of the trial of an election petition affecting a
metropolitan borough, the votes of several who
had polled were objected to on the ground that
they were aliens. It was then argued on their
behalf that, as either they or their parents were
born in Hanover before the separation of the
Crowns on the accession of Queen Victoria to
the British Throne, they were entitled to be
considered English subjects. The point was so
novel and, at the same time, so curious that the
two judges presiding at the trial were unable to
settle it off-hand, and it has been reserved for the
consideration of a full court. It is certainly
singular that, at a time when traces of the
Hanoverian connection are daily becomingfewer,
such a point should havebeen raised. Those of the
present generation can scarcely realise that it
is not fifty years since the "white horse," the
• symbol of the House of Hanover, stood in the
-centre of the English Royal arms; and to recall
• the fact must seem as strange to them as to
remember that not a century has passed since
the Frenehfieur de us appeared on the same
coat. It was at the union with Ireland that the
old and long obsolete claim of our sovereigns to
be "King of France," as well as of England. was
formally dropped, and that the English Royal
coat was simplified, to be still further simplified
when by the Salic law, which prevents a woman
ascending the throne, Hanover became lost to
this country.
So many statements are circulated to the din
credit of the police that, when anything which
, distinctly resounds to the advantage of the force
is placed upon record, it deserves the widest cir-
culation. Only a few days since such an instance
came before a London magistrate, and
it shows that policemen, accustomed as
they are bound to be, to all forms
of human suffering, are still keenly alive to the
miseries of their brethren. A than was charged
with begging, and it appeared from the evidence
that histale of wretchedness had had such an effect
upon one constable that he gave the suppliant
some money with which to procure food, and
upon another that he visited the man's house and
founa the wife and children in such a state that
he instantly furnished them with food also. As
far as the general public is concerned, the moral
of the story is not only that policemen are not
as grim and relentless servants of the law as they
are often represE.nte4, but that personal investi-
gation will often bring to light an amount of
wretchedness which, when merely heard of, is
scarcely believed. It is, perhaps, impossible for
all of us thus to test the tales we are told in the
streets, but much imposition would be detected
and much want be relieved if, where it can be
accomplished, personal inquiry is made.
It has been announced with some show of:
authority that the first pile of the proposed
bride across the Thames close to the Tower of
London will be driven on the Queen's birthday;
4 and a work will thus be commenced which will
not only be important to dwellers in the metro-
polis, but will be of more than common interest
to, Englishmen generally. The erection will par-
take, indeed, of a historical character, for it will
beithe first'attempt to throw a highway across
the Thames below London-bridge. For centuries
that structure was the only one of the kind
which spanned the river within the metropolitan
area; and although several have been added
'sine° a start in that direction was made, they
have all been " above bridge." But now that a
population exceeding that of Liverpool and
Manchester put together dwells "below bridge,"
it is felt that an effort must be made to meet

all se .f.
Mr.— -w

their wants in this direction; and although
many in terests.had to be won over, and much delay
was thus necessitated, it is gratifying to those
who know how valuable such a bridge will prove
that the date for its commencement has at

length been fixed.

A. F. R.