The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-04-11 00:00:00

THE PRINCE OF WALES AND MUSIC
HALLS.

It is the fashion just now in cynical society—(re.
marks the Exiirces)—and all society has become tame
or less cynical—to ascribe to the heir to the Crown a
taste, amounting to a preference, for the entertain-
ments of the music-halls. We have no desire to be a
self-constituted defender ef, or apologist for, the Prim*
of Wales, but we cannot help feeling that, because he
has on one or two occasions visited a music-hall, and
listened to the humours of Mr. 'Arthur Lloyd, "The
Great Vance," "The Jolly Nash," and " the
Irresistible Leybourne," it is neither just ncr generous
that his tastes shmild he identified wit', those ppular
performances. The Prince in a constant patron of the
theatre; he frequently visits the opera it would be
more charitable to say that his taides he in that direc-
tion, and it would be more just; for ids visits to music-
halls have been few and f .c. 1. Th.- matter,
then, reeolve“ itself into a question whether a person
Occupying the Prince of Wake' positilin 'night ti gi, to
a music-hall at all. We can see no t-reat harm in his
making himself acquainted with the style of perform-
ances peculiar to those places. It is no new thing for
kings and caliphs to go among the horrildeet of their
subjects to see and learn for themselves what is going
once the ranks beneath them. The practice has been
commended, indeed, as tending tu enlarge and
improve Royal minds. We will not say that the
Prince's mind iA likely to be either enlarged or on-
proved by the contemplation of the art of the music-
halls ; but it is certainly better that the Prince, while
be is young and untrammelled by the highest dignities
of State, should go about and make himself acquainted
with human life in all its degrees and plusses', than
that be should should shut himself up in a Lull awl
exclusive atm-sphere, which is too often destructive of
all human sympathy. We have grown hard to please
as regards the conduct of royalty. Some people found
fault with the late Prince Consort because he was too
punctilious; because he stood too much upon the
dignity of his position. For years past society hen
been ringing with appeals to the Queen to return to
London and give life and gaiety to the ('sort. Awl at
the Name time the Prince of Wales is censured because
he exhibits a frank and free disposition, and takes a
share in the amusements of the people. If he is a true
man in all other respects, we think the Prince sill la-
no worse a king for having listened to the Great Vance
and the Jolly Nash once sir twice.

A BOLD SCHEME of RAILWAY RE F 0 RM.
A UNIFORM PASSENGER RATE.
A most interesting paper on the question "How to
make railways remunerative to the shareholders, belte-
&jai to the public, and profitable to the State," has
been read at the Society of Arts, in London, by Mr.
Raphael Brandon.
Mr. Brandon's proposal is that Government shoold
ava,l itself of the power it possesses, and unite the
whole of the railways under one general management,
so that they should become a recognised branch of the
public service, avnilable for the whole population— a
passenger being enabled to travel one journey of any
distance in one given direction at a sum little more
than nominaL He supposes that the numbers at
present travelling would be increased sixfold if they
could travel one journey of any distance in one direc-
tion for the sum of threepence, which is the mining=
soul he has based his calculations upon. Existing
fares und,r, the proposed minimum priors may remain
as at present; they are comparatively few, and would
' not affect the calculations. He finds that during the
year ending 1863, passenger trains to the number of
3,448,509 ran over 71,206,818 miles, carried 251,959,862
passengers, and produced ti 4,724,802 ; this gives an
average of neatly 21 !Wes, and 73 passengers for each
train, that is, about 3i passengers for each mile, the
average fare paid by each passenger being is. 2d.
Six times the number of passengers could be
carried for a very small (if any) additional expense,
I and if an universal fare of 3d. was charged for any
I distance.for each person, at
,a very moderate compute-

times the pigpen— number would travel
would produce 218.896,98,, being £4,172,187 in excess
of the present receipts. Thio calculation is made sup-
posing that each pecson pays only a 3cl. fore; hut as
it would be neceasary to divide the passengers into
different ela.eiies, a much lacier receipt may be
reckoned upon; fir ads puriame he would divide the
traffic first in half. supposing that half the passengers
, would travel by single fares, mod these lie would sub-
divide into three chains-s as follows : at one shilling
for firth-class, sixpence for second-clam, threepence for
third-class. The other half be considers ....old take
yearly tickets, which would be issiicd for first and
second-class psasenzere at £25 and £l5 each respect-
ively, ivin. the holders the pritilel, of travelling
any diatance in any direeti, in, in carriages provided
pre:ely for their Use. Wit II respect to 1..t.i0,14 ti attic,
he has not thought tit to enter into any calculations.
Doubtless it would increase, but he does not think it
at all likely to increase in the same proportion as the
parseaster troth,. For the Government to take up
the railwa% rile, money would be iiceded • each share.
bolder would receive in return for his sharps t loVerli-
ment railway stock, bearing interest at 4 2.sths per
cent, guaranteed by the State. The idea of carrying
a Pi...eager from Loudon to Edinburgh for 3,1. may be
said to be pi eposterous' hut -we most remember that
it was not until Sir Rowland Hill had shown its
feasibility that any one thought it reas•diable to take
a Ictier from London to Edinburgh for the same charge
as front London to Richmond, it may be said that
the analogy does not exist, that the half-ounce of a
letter is nothing, but that a passenger ia really heavy,
and makes some different* in the coat of running a
Ie reply, be says that the delivery of a letter
is the most el:pensive part of it.. void to the Poet-other,
whereas a passenger takes himself away ; that the
average of crania run could each carry six times as
many passengers 111 are now conveyed by them, and
though the expense might be slightly increased, the
increase could be but extremely small, while the re•
ceipts would be enormously augmented. The public
wo• Id speedily reap the advautages of a complete and
burumnious system of management, with regular and
continuous trains runuieg in all directions, and a
general diminution oh expense, traits would be bene-
fited enormously by the increased facilities if traffic,
while the effect upon the money piarket of at once
converting £453,00C,000 of sunk capital into readily
convertible securities would be a stimulus of enormous
value to the country.
A long and interesting discussion ensued, and the
proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to Mr.
Brandon and the chairman.