The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-03-16 00:00:00

ear X6'l/fin tantspoismt.

(We doom It right to state that we de nopt at times
Idsotits ourselvst With our Correspondent's .1
Her Majesty, it is stated, has given instkactions for
Su preparation of a volume which is mainly to consist
of a reprint of newspaper reports of and comments on
the proceedings on Thanksgiving Day. It is to be
hoped that Mr. Arthur Helps, or some one equally
eoluPetent, will carefully edit the work, as such •
volume will be a valuable permanent record of one of
the most pleasing events of our time.
The Volunteers of the United Kingdom, as well as
all those who take an interest in their welfare, may, I
think, be congratulated on our citizen soldiers having
gained • peaceful victory over the Regulars in connec-
tion with the forthoominglEaster Monday review. For
some time past there has been a great effort on the
part of many of our military authoritiee to secure
the control of the Volunteers on this great review day,
but the Volunteers have succeeded in ietaining self -
oommand. A meeting of metropolitan commanding
&hoer, has been held, when a resolution in favour of
strict discipline, and requesting Volunteer officers to
enforce amongst their men the duty of conducting
thetailelvell as good soldiers on Easter Monday, has
been adoptedin preference to an amendment in favour
of the Volunteers being subject to military order and
discipline. This is a Volunteer victory so far, and it is
tip be hoped that the review will lose nothing of its
thoroughly voluntary character, and that at the same
time it will prove one of the most effective we have
over bad.

111 may judge by the articles I have read on the col-
levee of the Tichhorne ease, and by the conversation I
have heard on the subject, we English must be a re-
nisarkably clever and far-seeing people. The collapse of
the case appears to have been just what every-
body expected—" just what I said, you know"—
and nobody seems to have been "surprised to bear"
the result. Pour 'Nor, lam delighted the trial is over,
for it had become a ponderous and tedious nuisance,
which I shall not increase by doing what so many other
writers have done—commenting on the case. Another
phase of the affaire Tichborne, as the French call it,
will mum revive public interest. What if we have
another 103 clay.' trial, at £l,OOO a day? But this is
not very likely.
A. subject which has long demanded, but which has
never yet received parliamentary attention, will obtain
it at lest, an hon. member having given notice that he
will introduce a bill for the better protection of persons
tinder 21 from the solicitations and frauds of money-
lenders. There is great room for reform in this respect,
though it will be very difficult to secure it. Few
people have any idea to what an extent young men at
the Universities, in Government offices, Ste., are per-
secuted by the tempting and fallacious offers of persons
who live on the necessities or fancied wants of young
gentlemen of "great expectations" but little means.
But a measure to be effective ought not to apply only
to persons under age, but to those who have nominally
at least arrived at years cf discretion. The whole sub-
jsct, however, is 80 difficult, that I shall be curious to
ase bow it is proposed to deal with it.
Duels among French journalists appear to be again
sinning into fashion. These duels seem to amuse
them and don't hurt anybody else or themselves. In
fast, it is whispered that in most cases they are
cleverly ananged affairs, in which there is very little
probability of either so-called duellist getting injured,
and that the only object is notoriety. Obscure writers
who fail to secure a name by the aid of their pens, seek
"the bubble reputation in the cannon's mouth," or rather
the mouth of the pistol ; the affair becomes the talk of
the town for a short time, and then comparative
obscurity returns. But still a bad example is thus set
to society by those who ought to be its instructors, and
U France had a really strong and wise Government
these scandalous meetings for the alleged purpose of
taking life would be prohibited.
For years past there have been discussions and
negotiations between English and French capitalists
and engineers relative to some other mode of communi
cation between the coasts of England and France than
those uncomfortable little steamers to which people
making the passage now have to submit. The
Franco-Prussian war stopped all progress in the
matter, but with the declaration of peace the
discussion of various projects revived. M. Thiers
and the French Government are heartily in
Invent of some improved mode of communication,
bull they frankly say France has enough to do to pay
her debts, and cannot afford any money. Now a sub-
marine tunnel is simply a question of money, and that
little difficulty will not stop us. We mean to have a
tunnel, and money is now rapidly being raised, by
voluntary subscription, in aid of the work. What
Immense facilities of intercourse will a submarine
railway effect The avoidance of the discomfort of
sea-sickness is only a part, though not an unimportant
part of the whole subject. It will very materially
influence the merchandise traffic between England and
the whole of the Continent. And how will it affect
the chances of "invasion," a subject that every now
and then disquiets us? But we can safely remit the
answer to this till we see a probability of the tunnel
being completed.

Another "trapezist" killed! A boy of about fourteen
was performing on the trapeze at Nottingham, and
"fell heavily upon the back of his neck on the mattress
below." Poor little fellow—what a cruel and prema-
ture death! Would it be wise for Parliament to in-
terf ere to prevent the pobibility of such " accidents"
in future! For one, I think it would. Meanyvhile it
is not easy to apportion the blame in connection with
such performances. The people least to be blamed
perhaps are those who are occasionally the victims, for
they nightly risk their lives to gain a living. But
managers and public are oertainly not free from fault.
Bo long as the former provide such sensational enter-
tainments the public will go to witness them, and so
long as the public will patronise, the managers will
provide; so that it is a circle of evils. Legislative in-
terference seems the only remedy.
That many lives have been saved through the agency
of fire-escapee is a truism, but it is certain that many
more might have been saved had not fire-escapes been
cumbrous, unwieldly, and liable to take fire. A new
escape has been tried here, and has not been found want-
ing, and, after auccessfulexperiments, sixty of them have
been ordered by the Metropolitan Board of Works,
The chief improvements are lightness and portability,
together with the " shoot " being incombustible, while
the ladders are so constructed that a greater height
can be reached than with the former escapes. The
adoption of this invention will much lessen the chances
of being burnt to death; but London, like many pro-
vincial towns, requires further improvements in coping
with fire. It is positively astounding what negligence
there is in many places in this respect. Perhaps the
example a the metropolis will produce a beneficial
effect.

It is authoritatively announced—reader, prepare
yourself for a shock ? - thst Covent Garden theatre
will have the French diapason next season; that the
Exhibition pitch will be that of Stuttgart; and that
the Philharmonic, Saered Harmonic, and Drury Lane
will retain the o'd pitch. " Strange that such differ-
ence should be mai le 'twi xt tweedledum and tweedleilee
But there is e. decided difference. As half an inch on a
man's nose makes a great difference, so half a tone
when you get above the stave (if you can get above
ID is a very important matter. As an example,
some of our tenor singers can sing A in France, but
not in England, simply because to do the latter would
virtually be to accomplish B flat The facts I have
quoted are strange when we bear in mind what columne
of discussion there were some time ago on the musical
pitch. It is strange, too, that we have no many
Standards in England—or, T should say, none at all—
while France has one uniform pitch, as definitely
decided as are the weight of her coins.
A French gentleman in London patriotically appeals
to other French resident!' in the metropolis for aid, to-
words paying off the 120 millions of pounds sterling
still owing by France to Germany. Wishing him all
success, I cannot believe that much amistance will
some from this source. We have now in London more
Front& people than ever we had, but a large proportion
of these ars in more or less severe distress, and many
unfortunate French families are on the brink of
starvation. Appeals have more than once been made
to the British public to relieve this distress, but money
comes in very, very slowly. It may be patriotic
aid praiseworthy to subscribe towards paying the
enormous indemnity that still remains, but surely it
would be still more so to subscribe for the relief of the
distress and suffering of the half-starving French re-
fugees in the metropolis.

EDUCATION GItANT/L-1f appears from a par-
liamentary return just issued that the total number
ef building grants applied for by managers of ele-
mentery ec.hools during the year 1870 was 3,330. Granta
to the number of 444 have been made for the enlarge-
ment and improvement of existing buildings, and 362
fer the building of new schools and the conversien of
old buildings. The number of applications undisposed
of on the lit of January, 1872, was 2,077, but in the
treat majority (1,424) of time cases the applications
have been approved, Mit the plans or trust deeds are
itlfl under oonidderation. The number of withdrawals
bee been 194, and 263 applications have been refused.
The applications sae damnified all follows :—Church of
Inghnid, 2.885: British, 100- Wedeln's', 96 ; Roman
Catholic, 82; Congregational, 9; United Methodist
Free Church, 7; Baptist, 6; Primitive Methodist,
•4;
Unitarian, 3; Methodist New Connexion, 1; Englsh
PresbyterMn, 1; Jewish. 1; undenominational, 135.
Under this last head, it is stated, are included several
applications for grants in aid of denominational schools
in mid= =denominational deeds have been adopted In
Ito wane of effielal eoprespcalenee.