The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-13 00:00:00

Lwe in It right to state that we do not at all times
identify oursotves with our Lottwspoadtut's opinions.l

On Tuesday, at the Central Criminal Court. Lon-
don, Walter James Midwinter was indicted for un-
lawfully making is false declaration for the purpose of
The storage of rain water is not a question which is procuring a marriage.
likely to cause much trouble during the present sum- Mr. Poland (with whom was Mr. Bewley) conducted
user, which promises to be is hot and dry one, the prosecution, which had been instituted at the iii'
Properly to store it involves more trouble and expense stance of the Court or Chancery; Mr. Besley and Mr.
than the water is worth, that is to say, if any other Montagu Williams were for the defence.
It was stated that the lady with whom the defendant
supply is at all obtainable. Where there is no regular had contracted marriage was a Miss Laura l'oulmin, a
service from pipes, and the *Wage of rain water ward in Chancery, anti had a considerable fortune.
becomes a necessity, it should be kept in an under- Mr. Messer, registrar of marriages for the district
ground tank formed of brick or concrete, puddled out- of Islin:gton, proved that on the 21st of April, 1873,
side with clay, and covered inside with Portland tshte, notice of
thatsed Olarr.
h•Oagi iLaa. erYla
n b,- the testi:film-lent,
cement. Care must be taken that the pipes conducting `peiiiidnexPii' to themarril L.that the l`ll;raec.:ll3 a minor.
the rainfall to the tank do not drain either zinc roofs or ad that the consent 30-'e'
Laura Toulmin, which was
lead flats. Even while passing throughlthe air, rain pc- required by law, had been given. The defendant, on
quires certain impurities, and if these are to be coin- or about the 23rd of April, came to witness's office,
bined with lead draininge, the water becomes simply and saidoretinmiarrie ttgoelcaldbnoomtobetllso. le(rnnitzal
23rd
trshoef .
poisonous. In any case a good filter is essential, more Rirylltie defendant gavey a frel notice, and said he
especially as in manufacturing towns soot, oil, and sot- l wished to be married two days afterwards. He came
phonic acid form some ingredients of rain water. Dr. lon that day, accompanied by the lady. She was de-
Angus Smith tells lli that it can be filtered no corn- ' scribed as being seventeen years of age. Neither the
pletely through earth as to remove all impurities. 1 defendantw.norjehmembtroelef)l3.otliywrtihte,,neas c:,,tdaontdhetmhe
Still, I doubt whether the troublesome nature of the wilorns:!ree called in for the occasion. '
process will recommend it to those who can possibly I In croesaexamination, witness said the attention of
get water in any other way. 1 the defendant Was not called to a notice in the office
relating to the solemnization of marriages, and he
It has often been remarked how Blow our people are added that he knew nothing of the parties before the
to adapt the conditions of life to the extraordinary marriage. He knew the lady's father was dead, and
vicissitudes of temperature which are so characteristic ' that the step-mother was the lady's guardian.
'
of our climate. In winter, of course, those who can Mr. William Hickellomerintendent registrar of mar-
afford to do so take care to ensure sufficient warmth, lieges for
.thremlsloiiiittrat tiis,,ti,i,cf,c..ornovtel.tle t.l:,,at• theo"ti 7 July,
hut during the summer months little effort is made to ! na,:geth'at witness forewent his fees on the Occasion. l'cx
render place,' of public resort at all endurable. Dur- , laugh.)
ing these blazing days of June when the public see in ' Mr. Edwin Cox, a law stationer in Chancery-lane,
I
the papers morning after morning that certain members said he knew the late Mr. Toulmin, who died in July,
1 LB,fir.iieleesatirAeamwitsllasofafwtehriwcharrsttn.olsB waadLne ?nf the
of the Royal family visited such and such a theatre
on the previous night, the first thought ,A thousands I ('oust of Chancery for administeringptheeeestatf, which
must be that they would rather have gene miles away ' was a moderately large one, and the bride t ,ok, under
from it. To the ordinary mind this is just the time 1 the will, from about 1:850 to .1900 a year. The guardian
when theatres and concert-halls become well nigh tin,' a'aag awndhttireinig'3l a yeeoafr
the
that capacity,
Laura.
educat-
bearable. It is, however, the middle of the London oili'.
,ex 'naticonaZitness saair permissiong svas'aufiaa'venial
season, and every place of entertainment attracts one time to the defendant to write to the lady, but
larger numbers than at any other period of the year, not to visit.
Yet there is no time when iamb places are so positively Mrs. Emma Toubnin, a widow and the step-mother
insupportable. Much of the present inconvenience and gouiabrdit,ran ofltAladAestlantpetlolewttheoor wast
11(7eity.cars
arises from the excessive use of gas light, which might !
1 atonas, and in .IT'pril last came home for the vacatlaorga-
be reduced with advantage to the comfort of the I She returned to school, and came home again on the
audience and to the balance sheet of the proprietary. 19th of July. She returned to school again, and wit-
ness first heard she was married in the middle of
Captain Shaw, the chief officer of the Metropolitan :
October. Witness was never asked to consent to the
Fire Brigade, has been explaining his views to a Corn- marriage ; she was asked her consent to their corree-
mittee of the House of Commons respecting the pending and gave it, but nothing more. She heard
height and description of buildings which ought to be S afterwards she had gone to Jersey.
erected in London. He strongly objected to any Over , theßedi:ffncdra°lll-xaomortntelitlt witness said she had known
sixty feet high, unless provided with improved ex- ' to come to the house noweeined then eatwaaaparierctaYstalUide
ternal means of access. In his opinion, stone stair- had said she thought he would make her 'step-daughter
cases were a prolific source of loss of life during tires, a good husband, and she should have consented to the
fromthebreakingewikof the juiictions with the walls. marriage if she had been asked. She considered the
He certainly preferred a good stout wooden stair- defendant Was quite equal to the lady in station.
knew he was entitled to some money through his
case. Fires, Captain Shaw believed, were to mother, who was dead, but she could not state the
a great extent preventable, and lest year 115 amount.
conflagrations had occurred in the metropolis from Mr. Legge, a trustee under the will, said on hearing
lights carelessly thrown about, and 172 through sparks of the marriage the circumstance was reported to the
from fires. With regard to the great city warehouses, t.”'
c'hytidoefncceawanasaelLen to show that the defendant was
he advocated the tow of wooden flooring in preference arrested on the 19th of May at Jersey, where he was
to that d stone, unleas supported by iron pillars, living with his wife. On receiving the warrant he
repliedehe did not think he could have been touched
The question of providing a central arsenal has in Ime y, and that he intended to bring has wife to
lately occupied some public attention. One set of England'.
military critics advocates the establishment of a great Mrs. Esther Elizabeth Bennett said Laura (the
manufacturing arsenal in the centre of the kingdom, I bride) was her sister, and she first heard of the mar-
so far as possible from any point at which an enemy I riailee.in September, 1873, .
could make a descent upon us. Others object to i tinder age. cross-examined
She
hbwt hmw Zeosnedsaani
td
wase he alsocourting marriedtet
this scheme as being too costly, and would more ' sister, and her sister appeared to be very much attached
willingly witness the formation of a second-class to him.
arsenal, while a third party considers the exist- Mr. Poland, reviewing the facts, said whether the
log arrangements the very best which could '
~
law u:rloer wr
a hich the defendant had been indicted was
possibly be adopted. Fifteen years ago, when '
niFZ. It wasadp
asote;dityarttentgfzlathtoetjeuLtydtoondetteer
the late Lord Herbert of Lea was Secretary of State that if a person contracting marriage made a falseaede.
for War, he officially stated that the Government saw cla ration with that view that was a misdemeanour for
how desirable it was that the store of guns and war which he was liable to be punished. The law was not
like material should no longer be concentrated in one to
' i irh fritteredep u away; it was enacted for the protection
place at Woolwich, and the Royal Commissioners if minors and anyommigolzeizettc.liatliltyfofrtormitlei: protection
and living
then enquiring into the condition of the national , away from their homes,.
defence suggested Cannock Chase as the central depat. I For the defence :11r. 'Seeley urged that, although
No measures, have, however, been taken to carry , the defendant WaS himself conscious of having effected
this recommendation into effect, and in the divided ' a secret marriage, he had not the least notion as to
state of military and scientific opinion Deepecting its 1 sdvihetrietdcon)ttittuV
otheentostfelLeewLndebrotwhanichalim was in-
u;rer,
expediency, it is scarcely likely to find substantial . seeing that he had an ir:come which relieved ir

shape for some time to come.
A bill is now before Parliament to remove the
exemption from rates which woodlands now enjoy, and
a return has been furnished to the House of Commons
showing the varied proportions of the area of English
counties devoted to the growth of timber. Sussex is
the only county in England which possesses more than
100,000 acres of wood, or nearly 11 per cent, of its
entire area. The woods of Hampshire cover 87,000
acres, or 8 per cent, of the entire county. Kent comes
next, with 78,000 acres, then follows Surrey, with
18,1300. Contrasting these four south eastern counties
with Northumberland, Cumberland, Westmorland and
Durham, it is found that 9 per cent, of the former is
covered with wood, while in the latter the proportion
is only between 2 and 3 per cent. Each of the two
districts extends over about three and a half million
acres.
The annual gathering of the charity children at St.
Paul's is always an interesting spectacle. They assemble
in the cathedral from all parts of London, and this year
there were about 2,500 boys and girls present. The
quaint looking processions filed slowly aleng through
the crowded city streets, chiefly from the east end, and
it was curious to note the diversified dresses which the
pious founders of the charities had selected for the
recipients of their bounty. Many of the garbs were so
fantastic that one was led to wonder how they could
have been invented by the ingenuity of man ! How-
ever, the children, although thus conspicuously clad,
seemed ..leerful and healthy. The Bishop of Carlisle,
who is thoroughly at home in addressing little children,
preachel a short and appropriate Hermot ; and
drawing his illustrations from the cathedral
itselt, the inipressilin which he sought to make was
likely to be a lasting one. The friends and relatives
of the children assembled in the building numbered
more than 10,000, so that the Bishop's congregation
oonsisted of about 13,000 persons—a gathering equal
to the population of many a provincial town sending
two members to Parliament.

the necessity of working for a livelihood. He con-
tended, therefore that he had not been actuated by any
mercenary motives in contracting the marriage, and
that Mr. Poland had presented the case to the jury in
a cold mercenary spirit, with an utter absence of senti-
ment, and had taken no account of the innate feelings
of human nature in cases of mutual attachment. He
contended also that after the evidence of Mrs. Toulmin
, on the point of consent or no consent, there was an
' end to the ease for the prosecution.
, The Common Serjeant left it -to the jury to say
whether the statement to the Registrar was true or
fuse in point of fact; remembering that the defendant
had the consent of Mrs. Toulmin, the mother-in-law,
to correspond with the young lady. She had entirely
approved the marriage, and there was nothing under-
hand about the correspondence. It was, on the con-
trary, frank and manly, and went on with the consent
of the mother-in-law. Under such circumstances mar.
riage must have been contemplated and approved by
one who had a right to approve. Looking at the
whole facts, he left it to the jury to say whether the
declaration before the Registrar was substantially true
or other a ise. If their answer should be in the affirma-
tive, there was an end of the case.
The jury, in the result, after a very brief consulta-
tion, unanimously returned a verdict of Not G u illy, and
the defendant was liberated. The announcement of
the verdict was much cheered by people in court, and
the ushers had to interpose to restore order.

There is much activity just now in London in the
direction of bringing before the Government the
necessity of taking more energetic measures to sup-
press the East African Slave Trade than any which
have yet been accomplished. Sir Bartle Frere is one of
the moat energetic promoters of this work. One day last
week he introduced to Lord Derby a deputation from
the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, which
called the attention of the Foreign Secretary to the
insufficiency of the squadron now cruising upon the
eastern coast of Africa, and suggested that his lord-
ship should obtain a collective declaration from the
Western Powers to the effect that the Slave Trade shall
be condemned as piracy. On the next day Sir Bartle
Frere was one of the speakers at a meeting held at
the Mansion House, presided over by the Lord
Mayor, at which one of the resolutions declared that
the final suppression of the Slave Trade would be the
best memcirial which the country could raise to Dr.
Livingstone, who devoted so many years of his life to
earnest efforts for its extinction.

Macaulay once declared and with perfect truth, that
a broken head in the Tower Hamlets created much
more interest in London than the news of a mutinous
rising at Benares. It must be confessed that very
Mlle interest in the Indian famine appears to be taken
in this country. This is doubtless partly attributable
to the fact that the Government has succeeded in over-
taking the calamity which had threatened t sweep
over our eastern possessions like a scourge. But the
real secret is that Jndia is several thousand miles away,
and that it is really impossible for the English
people to work themselves up into a state
of excitement over the events which are occur-
ring in Durbung,ah aud .Ramnuggar. The Special
Correspondent of the Dail!, News is the only one who
went from any I.ondon paper, as that but for the en-
terprise of that journal the British public would have
known but little f the spirit stirring scenes which
Mr. Forbes describes.
Mr. Wilkie Collins has more than once devoted his
Powerful pen to the purpose of showing that the ex-
cessive cultivation of a taste for athletics at our
universities and public schools is a great and growing
evil, against which men of any degree of mental calibre
ought to net their faces. Still, while there is apparently
no diminution in gymnastics, pedestrianism, and
cricket, the Thames Boating Clubs were never in a
more flourishing conditim than they are at present. I
do not think that a taste for aquatics would come
under the category of those sports against the exces-
sive indulgence in which Mr. Collins has so strongly
written. As practised upon the Metropolitan river,
they are taken part in chiefly by young men engaged
in various sedentary occupations in city shops
and warehouses, who can get out only on a
Saturday afternoon. The expansion of the
chest consequent upon practice in the art of rowing,
must be in itself a great benefit to the constitutihns of
the young fellows who are in populous city pent all the
week mnnd, and no one can glance at the surface of
the Thames above Putney on a Saturday afternoon,
and watch the hundreds of little craft of all descrip-
tions darting hither and thither, without feeling as-
sured that the innocent recreation is thoroughly en-
joyed. •

A strike at lli,kilesborough ban been going on for
nye weeks, and, instead of there being any signs of its
coming to an end, the musters have intimated that. instead
of a reduction of INA a ton, they will insist upon Sd TraCe
Is said to be materially affected. and unless there Is a speedy
settlement it is auttcAsated that affairs will !sear a vet y
serious aspect