The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-12-24 00:00:00

C YAMENTS ON CURRENT NEWS.

CHRISTMASTIDE has brought us respite from
the flood of political talk, for which relief
much thanks. Lords Salisbury halted the
Conservative forces for the holiday bivouac
by his Derby speech on Monday, which was
more important than the addresses delivered
by statesmen of even the highest rank gen.
erally are, in that it did something to quench
the flame which the scribes and diplomats of
jealous Continental nations have been sedu-
lously fanning. It was a speech of special
value, too, from a party point of view to the
Conservatives ; for it showed a firm front on
a question which, managed with a feeble
hand, would ere long sander English poli-
ticians into more sections than we have at
present—we mean the Fair Trade question,
The Premier never was a Protectionist, and
now he has adroitly, when they were be-
gining to get clamorous, set back those of
his supporters who would ameliorate what
they call "the curse of Cobden," with the
time-gaining invitation that they should state
their case for consideration. The noble mar •
quis's attitude will deprive his critics of the
Opposition of one shaft which they were
forging for use against the party in power,
had it officially given sanction to a retro-
gressive policy as regards import duties.
Sir William Harcourt at Gloucester fired
the last ante-Yuletide Gladstonian volley
into the Tory ranks, on Tuesday, and as is
his wont, quite prodigal of hot rhetorical
shot in his attack upon the standing of his
right hon. adversaries, making points which
evoked especial applause from his friends
'hen aiming at the Governmenl's Irish
p ,sition. After Derby and Gloucester we
had, however, the order from either camp to
"cease fire" for the season. Let us say to
partymen of widely varying views here, as
Tenniel of the facile pencil makes "Mr.
Punch" say in his this week's cartoon, to the
chief political bell-pullers of Britain : "Now
then, my lads! All together for once !
Christmastime, you. know! ! Let ne have
the hush and the steady purpose of unity
folthe nation's good, the patriot chime in
place of party strife which sounds ever, no
matter how earnest the speakers, "Like sweet
bells jangled, out of tune and harsh."

Two men from London, one English and
one American, on Monday went to an island
in the Siene, uot far from Rouen, and brut-
ally assaulted one another in the presence
and for the delectation of about a hundred
Englishmen of position, among them a
goodly sprinkling of persons called by birth
to be our rulers and law makers. For full
two hours and a half these men pounded
and pummelled each other with naked fists,
and wrestled for an advantage in vain until
the light faded, and the battle had to be
given up. Both men were badly bruised
and much disfigured about the face. It was
a prize fight, of that disgraceful sort which
an enlightened majority in the Legislature
happily made illegal in England years ago;
and stakes were said to be for £2,000 while
for the privilege of witnessing the degrading
exhibition some of our "noble" and "gentle"
sportsmen paid sums of from £lO to £56,
besides the expenses and trouble of a visit to
the Continent. And the enormous stake re-
ferred to as at issue between the pugilists
was certainly not money of their own earn-
ing or inheritance. It would appear then
that this revival of the brutality of darker
days owes itself to the patronage and en-
couragement of those to whom we are accus-
tomed to regard as our exemplars, and to the
bold advertisement given to the denizens of
the prize-ring by sensation-hunting news-
papers. Such nurture of lawlessness and
vice by those who owe it to the community
to observe order, and such unseemly glori-
fications of brutality and swindling on the
part of journalists canaot be sufficiently re-
probated by all decent folk. The "prize-
ring" and all its low surrounding of gam-
bling and chicanery should ba sternly dis-
countenanced from the pulpit, from the
platform, and by that part of the press
which has regard for public morality. If all
newspaper proprietors would, instead of
printing columns of sensational descriptions
of the "mauling" these pugilists give each
other when they meet in the "roped arena"
to make sport for plutocrat and aristocrat,
combine to dismiss the disgraceful affairs
with the barest mention of their occurrence,
accompanied by a wholesome denunciation
of such sickening sights, and gibbeting by
name of all the persons of any reputation
aiding and abbetting at the melee by their
presence, pugilists would soon find their oc-
cupation gone.

BIRMINGHAM has no disposition to give up
its letter-receiving on Sundays. It does not
know how it could rub along through the
Sabbath hours without a perusal of its
customary correspondence; and does not,
moreover, consider that a cessation of Sun-
day morning delivery work would be bene-
ficial to anybody concerned. It is some-
what late in the Christian era to have to
argue the utility of a rest day ; and as to
other Birmingham objections, tho best
answer is that London—a place with a com-
merce and connections somewhat larger
than those which the War wickshire hard-
ware town can boast— neither has, nor
wishes, a Sunday letter delivery. Surely
provincial industrial centres should scarcely.
fear to follow in the adoption of what Lon-
don with its working millions and mer-
chants dominating the markets of tho world
find at once workable and beneficial. The
only residents in L nylon who have any long-
ing for Sunday letters are those newly re-
moved from the provinces, and even they
soon hail impunity in one morning out of
seven from the postman's knock as a dis-
tinct boo a.