The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-12-18 00:00:00

MR. DALE'S IMPRISONMENT
JUDGMENT.

The Queen's Bench Division gave judgment on
Monday in the case of the Rev. T. Pelham Dale.
Lord Coleridge, in his judgment, dealt seriatim with
the various points in the argument of the defendant's
counsel. It was first said that before Lord Penzance
was entitled to exercise any judicial functions as
official principal he should have taken the oaths
and subscribed the roll according to the canons.
He .was of opinion that there was nothing in
that point ; that it was conclusively settled by
the 37 and 38 Vict. ; and on a consideration of
the-facts he was of opinion that the matters in the
case were taken within the province of Canterbury,
and Mr. Dale's offence was committed within that
province. The first point, therefore, entirely failed.
On the second point he was also of opinion that Lord
Penzance had authority to issue the writ of con-
tumacy. He was the properly appointed judge,
and the matter decided was within Lord Pen-
zance's jurisdiction. With regard to the language
of the monition and inhibition, he was of opinion that
it set forth with sufficient particularity the facts that
existed that gave him authority to issue them. The
rules, orders, and forms were not inconsistent with
parliamentary authority, and the documents fol-
lowed the words of the Act. The objection taken
to the misdescription of the judge failed. He passed
on to the statutory proceeding in the case, which
he looked upon as one of substance, and with re-
gard to one part he said it was difficult to per-
suade one's self to the belief that a clergyman would
consider that disobedience to the law was a moral
obligation. His lordship said that he was clearly of
opinion that the signifitavit was properly issued. The
13th sec. of Geo. 111. gave exclusive power to commit
for disobedience, and that power had been properly
exercised by Lord Penzance. The writ had been
brought into the Queen's Bench and properly recorded
according to law. After referring to one or two
minor points, his lordship said that his judgment
was in favour of the Crown on the rule in which Mr.
Dale was the defendant, and for Lord Penzance on all
he others.
Mr. Justice Field gave a lengthened and elaborate
judgment to the like effect, entering into every part of
the case, and giving the same opinion upon each, and
for the same reasons.
Mr. Justice Manisty also delivered a similar judg-
ment, which, he said, he should not have prepared if
he had had the usual opportunity of reading the judg-
ment of Lord Coleridge before he prepared his own, as he
entirely concurred with Lord Coleridge's. In conclu-
sion, he expressed an earnest hope that clergymen
would no longer disobey the law on account of
decisions of which they disapproved, but would
rather resign their benefices. There was here some
applause from the back of the court, on which
Lord Coleridge indignantly exclaimed " Order ! "
If there be any expressions of that kind we shall be
obliged to show that this Court can commit for con-
tempt.
At the close of the judgments, Lord Coleridge said:
The result is that the rules are discharged with costs
to the promoters, and the prisoner is remanded into
custody.
The gaoler accordingly withdrew with Mr. Dale in
his custody as before.

The application for a writ of habeas corpus, com-
manding the Governor of Warwick Gaol to bring up
the Rev. Mr. Enraght, next came on, and was refused,
and the rule discharged with costs.

RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.—The death-roll of railway
travellers in Great Britain during the first nine months
of the present year is unusually heavy compared with
that of 1879. Eight hundred persons were killed and
2,881 were injured, although, as Engineering points
out, amongst the former number are included fatal
casualties from carelessness, such as alighting from a
train in motion, crossing the line, trespassing, or
suicide, and the actual deaths of passengeratfrom acci-
dents to trains only amounted to 23. Still, loluring the
same period last year, not one fatal cas resulting from
accidents to trains wee repurted, while the number of
railway offitials killed and injured was considerably
less. Up to September 30 last 1,656 accidents, failures,
and collisions occurred, including 91 collisions, 4 loco-
motive explosions, 10 failures of bridges or viaducts,
and 56 cases in which the train left tie rails.

MR. FAWCETT ON THE PROMOTION

OF THRIFT, Bcc.

In London, on Tuesday night, the Right Hon. H.
Fawcett, Postmaster-General, and Mr. J. Holms,
Junior Lord of the Treasury, the members for
Hackney, addressed their constituents at the Towri-
hall, Shoreditch. Mr. Fawcett gave a gratifying
account of the success which has attended some recent
alterations in Post-Office administration with a view
to the promotion of thrift, and spoke hopefully of the
prospects of a reduction in the telegraph rate and the
establishment of a varcel post.—We give the following
extract from Mr. I awcett's speech :

You will remember that a few weeks since a scheme was
brought into operation by which the poor can intrust their
pence to the safe keeping of the State. Any child who has a
penny with which he can buy a postage stamp can obtain
free of charge from any post-office a form on which this
stamp can be pasted, and when the form has been thus
covered with twelve penny stamps it will be received at
any of the 6,000 Post Office savings-banks as a deposit of a
shilling. (Cheers.) When it was first suggested that this
scheme should be given a trial, objections poured in from
all quarters. The children would steal the stamps; the
forms would be handled by such dirty hands and be kept
in such dirty homes that the stamps would become so de-
faced and disfigured that it would be impossible to tell
whether they had not been already used. If the forms had
thus to be returned there would be great discontent, and if
they were not returned the Post Office might be defrauded.
I am bound to say I did not much believe in these objec-
tions, but I thought it was perhaps prudent to give this
scheme a trial insnly a small part of the country in the
first instance, and, therefore, it was only applied to ten
counties. The re.sult of a seven weeks' trial was so entirely
satisfactory that about a month since it was extended to the
entire country (cheers); and now I will tell you some of the
results. Short as has been the time, more than 83,500 of
these forms, or more than 1,000,000 stamps, have been re-
ceived, while more than 58,000 new savings-bank accounts
have been opened by means of these forms. (Renewed cheers.)
How many of them do you think have been dirty or defaced?
Not a single one of these forms has had to be returnbd •, in
scarcely a single instance have the forms beqn even soiled,
and dirty as may have been some of the hands through
which they have passed, andipoor as are doubtless the houses
in which many of them have been kept, I am informed by
those whose duty it is to examine these forms that in almost
every instance they are as clean and-the stamps have been
placed upon them with as much neatness as if they had
been documents which had never left the best managed
commercial house in the City of London. (Loud cheers.)
With regard to the fears that were so widely ex-
pressed about fraud, Mr. Fawcett said there had not
been one single complaint of a theft having been
committed. One case of suspicion had arisen, three
perforated stamps having been used; but upon
inquiry it was fou'nd that they had been honestly
obtained. In future, however, perforated stamps will
net be accepted by the Post (Vice in form of savings.
Mr. Fawcett proceeded :
I hope you will not think I am occupying your time with
facts which are unworthy of your consideration. I cannot
help feeling that it is sometimes well to turn aside for a
moment or two from the heat and excitement of political
conflict in order to dwell upon facts which show glimpses of
the life of millions of our poorer fellow-countrymen.
(Cheers.) And I confess that to my minclethe facts which I
have just mentioned to yoa-are full of hope. They show, at
least, how amply trust in the people ic repaid. (Cheers.)
It cannot, I venture to say, be too constantly borne in mind
that self-help and self-reliance are the only sure guarantees
for social, material, and, I may add, moral progress.
(Cheers.) Legislation which encourages the people rather
to rest upon State help than to rely upon themselves,
however well-intentioned, will prove incalculably mis-
chievous in the end, and to every me,asure which
is brought forward with the object of improving the con-
dition of the people, this simple test should be applied,—
Will it tend to encourage them to rely more upon self-help?
(Hear, hear.) I believe in many ways such a department
as the Post Office may, by affording various aids to thrift,
most powerfully stimulate the people to emancipate them-
selves from the dependence of pauperism and charity.
(Cheers.) In proof of this I may mention that, although
this is a period of the year when usually the with-
drawals from the Post Office savings-banks are excep-
tionally large, at the present time the number of new
accounts which are being opened at these banks is in-
creasing at a rate at:_which they never increased before.
During the last week, the number of new accounts
that were opened exceeded the total number that had to
be closed through death and all other causes by 14,400.
This will represent a:yearly addition to the number of Post
Office savings'-bank depositors of about 750,000, and
although it would not be prudent to calculate that such an
increase would be maintained for the entire year, yet if I
have the pleasure of addressing you from this platform a
year hence, I believe I shall be able to announce that the
number of Post-office savings-bank depositors has in-
ceased by at least 500,000. (Chders.) It is almost impossible
to over-estimate the good which may result from so large a
numkter having taken the first step on a path which, by the
practice of thrift, is the surest way to lead them to inde-
pendence. All this greatraddition to the saving classes will
be secured entirely by an act of free-will on the part of the
people themselves. For one, I would never willingly con-
sent to see thrift compulsorily enforced. (Hear, hear.)
It has always been, and I. hope it will always continue to
be a characteristic of our countrymen that they may be
led, but they will not be driven. (Cheers.) All schemes
for promoting thrift should be spontaneous and self-sup-
porting. Nothing, I think, could be more regretted
than that any class should be encouraged to save at the
public expense. Those who are constantly demanding that
the State should do this or that should be careful to bpar
in mind that the State has not got a shilling of money
except what is obtained from the taxpayers of the
country. (Hear, hear.) When account is taken of the cost
of collecting taxes and of the impediments that taxation
throws in the way of trade, I believe I am well within the
mark when I say that every shilling which the State spends
represents at least is. 3d. taken out of the taxpayers' pockets.
If, therefore, any scheme which is intended for the benefit of
a special class is not self-supporting, but has to be assisted
with public money, a forced contribution is just as much
levied as if a State official appeared at one of your homes
and said, "Of the pound a week which you, A, are earning,
I shall, whether you like it or not, take Gd. or is. a week
and give it to B." (Hear, hear.)

And, now, havingpentioned to you how a child who has
a penny may commence his first saving, I will briefly refer
to the facilities which are offered by an Act which was
passed last Session to enable any one who has saved £lO to
become a Fund-holder. Hitherto investments which enjoy
the advantage of State security might really be regarded as
the privilege of the few. The obstacles that were placed in
the way of making small investments in the Funu were so
serious that whereas £730,000,000, which represents our
National Debt, is held by not more than 230,000 people,
there are more than 4,000,000 of the people of Franceulio have
Invested in their Government stocka. (Cheers.) Hencefor-
ward, however, any person in this countfy who wished to
pay £lO into the Funds may do at any one of the 6,000 post-
offices at which there is a savings-bank. He will obtain his
stock at the current price of the day, and for any amount
which he may purchase between £lO to £25 he will only
be charged 00. commission, between £25 and £5O, is. 3d. ;
and the commission will increase by 6d. for each £25 up to
£lOO. On each £lO of stock purchased interest of Is. each
half-year will be received for him by the Post Office free
of all charge. The scheme has been such a short time
in operation that it would be premature to predict
to what extent it will be taken advantage of, but in
different parts of the country many hundreds of people
have already made investments through this agency, and in
no single instance has there been the slightest hitch or
difficulty. (Hear, hear.) It has been often said that this is
a Conservative measure, and I have even seen surprise
expressed that it should be so much favoured by a Liberal
Government. A Liberal myself, I can only say that I
shall cordially rejoice if I should be in any way instru-
mental in encouraging the particular phase of conservatism
which is likely to be promoted by an increased number
of the people becoming poesessors of the national securi-
ties. (Hear, bear.) It would no doubt in One sense make
them more conservative, but I should rather say it would
Introduce a steadying influence into English politics
which would make the English people, by giving them a
more direct pecuniary interest in the maintenance of the
national credit more carefully calculate the cost of am-
bitious schemes and rash enterprises. (Cheers.) Nothing
can be more perilous than that the majority who, with
a democratic suffrage, decide in favour of a policy should
not be made directly to feel that they will of necessity
participate in the cost which the carrying out of that policy
will entail. (Cheer) If I were not afraid of weary-
ing you (cries of "Go on "), there are many other
questions bearing on the social condition of the people and
which are connected with the administration of the Post
Office to which I should like to refer. Thus I cannot help
thinking that the facilities it offers for life insurance and
for the obtaining of annuities in old age by the payment of
an annual or monthly sum are not as widely known as they
ought co be. I feel this so strongly that lam at the present
time preparing a short pamphlet, which will be only a few
pages in length, and, which, I trust, will in the simplest
possible language describe the various aids to thrift which
are now offered by the Post Office. I hope that by the first
week in January this pamphlet will be ready for distribu-
tion and in cllder to give it as wide a circulation as possible,
I intend that it shall be obtained free of charge by any
applicant at any post-office in the United Kingdom.
(Cheers.)
Turning to the question when will the price of tele-
grams be reduced, Mr. Fawcett said the net profit of the
telegraph service in the present current year would be
£500,000 on a capital of £10,000,000 and a halfpenny
word rate (including the address), with a minimum
charge of sixpence could be adopted whenever
the GOvernment felt' itself in the position to afford
a temporary sacrifice of £170,000 in revenue.
This would reduce tHeir profits to about 3 1-3 per cent.
on the capital. The negotiations with the railway
companies for a parcel post had, thanks largely to
Lord John Manners, his predecessor in office, proceeded
so satisfactorily that he had reason to believe in a very
short time it would be established throughout the
United Kingdom—(cheers)—and it might then be
possible to engraft on it an international parcel post.
On the subject of Ireland, Mr. Fawcett said that
widespread satisfaction had been caused by the
announcement that the Government were determined
to maintain law and order. At the same time they
would not be deterred from doing strict justice to
Ireland. The right hon. gentleman adverted to the
land question in England and Scotland, to the need
for reform and redistribution of seats, to the opera-
tion of the Artisans' Dwellings Act in London, and
other subjects.
Mr. J. Holms next addressed the meeting. Both
the members were very cordially received, and a vote
of confidence was passed.