The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-05-16 00:00:00

THE LICENSING ACT AMENDMENT

BILL.
In London, last Saturday night, an open-air meeting was
held on Bethnal-green, near the Museum, to enter the pro-
test of the working classes of this thickly-populated place
against what was termed the " After Midnight Drinking
Bill." The borough members—Professor Fawcett and Mr.
flolnis—had been invited to attend. Mr. Fawcett had tele-
graphed that though ho could not attend he desired to hear
what was don, ; and it was stated that Mr. flobus had also
expressed his regret that lie could not be present.
A working man named Nicholls presided anti said this
measure was uncalled for by the wants of the working
classes, but it was realty started in the interest of the publi-
cans, who desired to have more time to get the hard earnings
of the working classes Even the hour of twelve o'clock was
too late for the wants of the people, who ought by that time
to be getting the rest they require for their nExt day's labour ;
but the publicans desired that the half-drunken working
men when stupefied with beer before midnight, should
have the opportunity of entering upon a debauch with
spirits, which was the class of business which pada the
publicans best. Any working titan who stayed out uhtil
twelve o'clock even was not able to get up in the mondne to
his work, and this led to the loss of ' 'quarter-n" (a,quarter
of a day), or Of "halves," of which employers at bitterly
complained. Ile spoke on behalf lif the poiplorn'S on the
tlet-at Eastern Railway in that n ighbourhood. and they num-
bered some thousands, that they were altogether againFt the
keeping open of publlc.houses litter, as they knew they were
an enornmus temptation tual were not needed for the supply
of any real or supposed want.
'Jr. Bateman urged that if the people who came front
theatres and music-halls needetl refreshments after leaving
those places, it would be better that those places should
finish an hour earlier than that the terrible evil of an open
public.huuse should be prolonged for an hour after mid-
night.

Mr eftrpenter moved A resolution declaring that the men.
sure of the Government was uncalled for and protesting
against the proposal.

-
Mr. lillton and others spoke, and resolutions in support of
the sentiments of the meeting were passed, and it was said
that good friends of the people on both sides of the House
of Commons would oppose the Government measure

At a special meeting of the Executive of the Hackney
Ad-ram:ea Liberal Association, it wa unanimously resolved
"That this executive, considering the expressed opinion of
magisaatea and police authorities, both in London and
,hroug,hout the country, as to the great good effected by the
recent legislative restriction of hours in the sale of intoxica-
tn., drinks—an opinion which the intelligent portion of the
community, including members of the trade, fully endorse—
view with regret the proposed retrograde movement of the
present Government in extending the hours for drinking, and
emphatically protest against the measure"

A large meeting of the citizens of Manchester, convened
by the Mayor in compliance with a requisition, was held
on Monday in the Town hall, when resolutions against the
Chive nment proposal to extend the hours of sale of liquor
were adopted unanimously. One of the resolutions was to
ask the members for the city to endeavour to introduce
such 'amendments in the bill as would shorten the hours,
lessen the number of publichonses, and prevent the issue
of licences against the will of the inhabitants. It was then
moved by Mr. C. Darrah—" That the Mayor be iniked to
telegraph to the Premier and the Home Secretary a request
that the bill be withdrawn ; " but this motion was not
pressed. The Town Clerk (Sir J. Heron) pointed out its in-
consistency with a previous resolution. He mid it could not
be supposed their friend Disraeli would be frightened by a
telegram from the Mayor of Manchester ; he might as well
resign office at once as withdraw the bill. Government, with
a majority at their back, moult certainly go on with the
bill, hot this meeting had wisely resolved to petition for its
amendment.

A great public meetufg was held in the Birmingham
Town-hall on Monday evening, for the purpose of protesting
against the proposed extension of the privileges of pub-
licans. The Mayor of Birmineham presided. Letters
from Mr. G. Dixon, nk, and Mr. P. H. Muntz, M P.,
were read. Mr. Dixon expressed his disapproval of the mea-
sure, and promised to vote against it. Mr. Musts said he
did not much admire the new Bill, but it had some good fea-
tures. The Government were so strong that probably it
would be passed, but he should watch it carefully in the
interests of all concerned. (Hisses) Resolutions were
carried expressing condemnation of the proposal to extend
the time during which publicans transact business—a pro-
nasal calculated to utensil), the evils which the Licensing
Act was intended to abate. The meeting was also in favour
nf still further restricting the hours of talc. A petition to
PArliAment to thia client was adopted.

On gstinday evenin; a public meeting of women was ben
In the Temperanoo.hail at Bradford. for th, ptirpoge of pro.
testine acalimt the Government Licensing BilL A Mrs.
Newton presided Many 'poke In sopport of the resolntiona
vrhioli condemned the pronnital of the Government to extend
the hour for closing: pnblichonies as uncalled for. and as
threatening to multiply the evils of drunk, nness. The
speakers all evpreseed their siirprise ard disgust at the con-
dna. of the cp.vernment In this per f,,l`r, and called upon
all lottntborg at thleh sea to do Hd. a•:, at to recentad litlon of the "liall.bour." ii

A largo rair meettr.7, was MI Inst Sarnr.on'i-Fqua re,
attovins oullay evertxrattielle Govertuxte4t
Xr. T. lint Quit On

--
.RBADGE

the motion of Mr. n Pawson. a resolution regretting the in-
troduction of the bill was adopted aim, st.animously, and • A MASKED Batt. —An Ainarican papeArixteillsdo
:athtteeefen,Lledowithtneeg,
nizkAbdaallppaetr
on the proposition of. Mr. sale n it goillgreed to petition
',Parliament tp rovut, assent:, the cri!ition of timisLivermore,efellow aatnd sie
44 lsa:',CefrYs monkey, in which to shine at the
live entertaininent He doffed Ads habiliment, at
On Mon:reit public tine w held in Ex- 4.
, change-hall lack , Rea he Oo ment 'ng ote bl4ks distant, from the ball.roorn, ~ita
clergymen, two Roman Catholic priests. kree Met . °dusts te hall.. It was about ten e clock when he set forth,
afinnidme et the pla ther three yleh nned disgfise, intent Eng to walk in costume to
. and one Pre-byterian minister The Chief Con-table was snugly clad in his tight-fitting suit, and playfully
frequently quoted aa on authority by the various speak.rs swinging the caudal apendage, but he had not pro-
fit favour of. the last Lioensing Act. The find resolution
eeeded far when two huge dogs espied him, and taking
eulogteed the Act of 187'2, and denounced any attempt to
The bar-keeper eon e t the better p
Itag.thetumfteutnoirtumiTeitytr of drr.likldonlimiwg hours.
nAdwPeNatition ev\hoi.ng tintur alluge in inter oif
anomie
thud, sbttrttted foartr him
oi
valour would be to climb the high board fence at
At deinonstrat anointed b 15,000 ons,
Stephens's Nldls. He did so with marvellous agility, ail open-air ion, y pet-s
helki at Liverpool on Saturday, lankier the auspices of the and the shatellient comes fp4ll reliable autlb Thy that
Catholic Temperance League, resolutions against the ext.,. he was Compelled to sit On the sharp edge of that
mon of public-house hours proposed by the new bill were fence, shivering in the cold night air, for two hours,
passed before he was released from his predicament by people
passing within hailing distance.
FRUIT-GROWING IN CALIFOUNIA. —Mr. Brigg,
i of Yalui, City, California. has a solid block of fruit
trees covering 210 acres. The nil is a light sandy,loam,
and is constantly cultivated with ploughs through the
whole season. A correspondent of the Marysville
Appeal writes that it contains 8,000 peach trees of 16
varieties (4,000 being of one variety, the red may) ;
3.000 apricot trees of 12 varieties; 4,000 cherry trees
of 12 varieties; 7,000 plum trees of 15 sorts; 2,000
apple trees of only eight varieties ; 1,000 pear trees,
mostly Bartletts ; 1,500 cherry plum "(P. in yrabolana)
trees, and 150 June plum trees. There are also 1,500
walnut trees (Juglaas regal) of three sorts. The con
of the land was about 17,000 dols. (£3,400) ; total cost
for orchards laud, and all, is less than 30,000 dots.
(£6.000) ; and the estimated value is 50,000 dole.
(£lo,ooo).—Garden.
CAUSE AND EFFECT.— The London, Chatham,
and Dover Directors have fitted some trains with the
Westerham Breaks, in a laudable determination to
stop smashes. —Pisnoh.
THE "ALABAMA" INDEMNITY.-- The New York
Times of the 25th of April says
" The subject of the proper distribution of the suns
awardial at Geneva to the tinted States is now before both
Houses of Congress, the Senate Committee, through Judge
Edmunds. having yesterday reported the bilk which passed
the Senate last year. The bill provision for a Court for the
adjudication of claims, the Court to be made up of five com-
missioners. Wlother tins bill shall prevail, or whether the
claims shall be referred to some kale or more of the United
States' Courts, the] e are certain considerations as to the claims
is hich cannot be ignored without grave injustice. (like of
these is that the I. lilted Slates' Government is bound to
Impose upou any Court undertaking the distribution the
obligation to observe the understanding which the Govern-
ment assented to at Geneva. That understanding was that
the claims for extra or war premiums were not admissible.
It seems too plain for argument that if the tribunal refused
to adjudge war premiums a proper gromul for payment by
England, the nioney paid e 1111,4 in j.,tt -e go for those
claims. It may be said that England has nothing to do with
the distribution of the money. Rut that Is a quibble. If an
attorney collects money by suit for a plaintiff who has
suffered, and then pays it to a plaintiff who was nonsuited,
he does a wrong and ridiculous thing, and the wrong is not
against the defendant, but against the plaintiff who is
cheated."
MAD Doom IN LONDON.—The Commissioners
of Police have now deemed it expedient to communi-
cate with the inspectors at the various police-stations,
relative to the pleasures taken to prevent a repetition
of the alarm recently occasioned by some dogs in the
southern part of the metropolis. The commissioners
direct that a report be brought before them regarding
the matter, and whether the inspectors deem it advis-
able that all dogs, during the season known as the
"dog-days,' should be muzzled. Since the issue of the
late order by Colonel Hendersm, the Home for Dogs
in York-road, Battersea, has been made the receptacle
for no less than 700 canine animals per week.
A CASE OF CREMATION !—A Philadelphia joui
nal gives a long account of a ease of cremation tha.
recently took place in that city. The gentleman who
tried the everiment is described as a physician, for-
merly of Heidelburg, and the body burned as that of
his eon, a young man aged 21. Ihe operation was
performed in a cellar of the doctor's house, the appa-
ratus, an iron boiler-like contrivance, and a brick
furnace, being specially erected at a cost of 75 dollars.
To prevent the boiler bursting, holes were pierced on
the upper side for the escape of the gases. Fire was
kept up for ten hours, a cord and a half of timber being
consumed, costing twelve dollars. When the iron
coffin was opened, it is said that not a vestige of the
body remained, nothing but about a quart of whiteish-
gray ashes, which were collected and placed in an urn
Pi stand on the doctor's mantelpiece. Not a particle
of bone was found among the ashes, whereas nearly al
the burial urns of the ancients contain portions of bone
The Philadelphia paper says that no objeotion was
made to the burning of the body by the authorities
who were consulted. The experiment cost the doctor
nearly £2O.
THE SUBJECT OF EMIGRATIoN To AMERICA.
The Conrspondent of The Ti ~;co, writing from Phila-
delphia. says :
" telegram recently wan extensively published. dated
Lokdon, April it, stating that • placards are posted through-
out the agricultutral districts in England cautioning intend-
ing emigrants against going to the l kilted States. Those
placards state. upon the authority of t onthl Archibald, that
40,000 bands are :kt the present time ready to return to Eng-
land.' Consul-General Archibald, at New York. in a subse-
quent interview, said that Ike never made any such report,
Gal ignan es Messinger of Tuesday publishes details of awl thsst he Wa, nssicli astoninleid at t,l,Vathrtee'r".,T,, 505 the destructive (xmflagration which broke out on P
oin'in'ition.'of the working clasnes he're during the past winter.
Monday, in the Faubourg St. Antoine. 'Die flames Ile had received a great many applications for return pus-
first broke out in the teller of a colour-shop, from the sages, but a large proportion of these had come from pc-pie
ignition of a barrel of turpentine ; the first floor was above the station skf labourers, who fouts,l themselves desti-
in a few minutes on fire and then the entire building. tote. There were :klways large numbers of such applications,
Th,, flames spread with fearful rapidity, and in a short and generally but few were granted. He did not believe
, w there we, e 400 English svorldng people ill New York now
time several le ouses and the contents of the timber-Yaroi ho would seer. to England if given a free passage lie
were hurnin4 fast, the occupants flying in terror; many, felt sure there was some error about the report telegraphed
in their fright, abandoning their children behind from England."
them. In one case, two infants hail been left by their How TO CHECK COUGHS.—Dr. Brown-Sequard,
neither, who had gone out to work. Two men, at the in a late lecture delivered by him in Boston, United
peril of their lives, rushed up the staircase, burst in States, stated that there are many facts which show
the door, and rescued them. In another house, a boy that morbid phenomena of respiration can always be
six months old, who had been forgotton by his mother, stopped by the influence of arrest. Coughing, for
was saved by the firemen, who ascended to the window instance, can lie stopped by pressing 4)n the nerves of
by a ladder. In a third a sick child was lying in a the lip in the neighbourhood of the nose. A pressure
room on the third floor of a house, and when the
fact becanie known, the whole of the interior was there may prevent a cough when it is beginning. his
generally known that sneezing may be stopped by this
already in a blaze and the unfortunate little creature plan. but it is new to many that it can check coughing.
was beyond human aid. A number of horses Dr. Brown-Sequard, however, is a great authority, and
were in the stables of M. Delperrier, a veterinary
asserts it. He added that pressing in the neighbour-
surgeon, and several of them perished. Various other hood of the ear, right in front of the ear, may stop
accidents also occurred; a man was struck oil the head „o„Khi„g, It is also preventive of hiccough, but much
by a table thrown from a window, and had to be less so than of sneezing or coughing. Pressing very
carried to the hospital in a critical state ; one fireman hard on the top of the mouth inside is also a means of
was, seriously burnt in the face by an explosion of gas, stopping coughing, and to show that the will has ins'
and another had his shoulder fractured by the fall of a merle,: -power lie mentioned that there was a French
beam. The tire, which had commenced at ° oorse wit

_.e, ..,.,..., ......_ .ommenceo ~ about five nurse wli, , used to say, "The first patient who coughs
o'clock, no Only completely 1.p4 under when a! out here will be deprived :4 his food to-day." It was vi-
ten houses had been burnt down, but as most of the ceedinglY rare tliat a patient CUll' 'bed • Vedica 1P • .
quarter is built of the same inflammable material, it d ei„`„,„, ' ' . ' h"
was in danger of entire destruction. More than a , - '''' ~,
hundred families are made homeless, and have lost HMEItle AN ICI s es—The native wines pro-
almost everything, they possessed. Some large heaps lured in the United States are, sayA a New York
of furniture, clothing, and utensils saved from the Paper, estimated in round numbeis at 211 millions of
apartments are lying in the neighbouring street., gallons. California, the largest producer, yields one-
guarded by troops, but considerably damaged by water fourth this amount, five millions ; Ohio about one-
or by hasty removal. Several thieves were detected sixth, three and a-half millions; New York, three
attempting to plunder the unfortunate inhabitants, millions; Missouri and Illinois, each two and a-half
and narrowly escaped being lynched. midions ; and Pennsylvania, two millions. In these
six states are produced all the wines ilf the county'
, . , ....
exceptinr •allon,-- '