The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-10-15 00:00:00

•ihur fonbon Correspognit,
[We de am it right to state that we do not at all times identify
enraelves with our Correspondent a opinions.]

The time is rapidly approaching for that
annual change in the composition of the Town
Councils throughout the country which cause
the municipal elections. We in London are
practically unacquainted with these; for, in the
City, which possesses a Corporation, the " ward-
motes " that are held, not on the first of
November but the twenty-first of December, are
usually very quiet affairs, while for the remainder
of the metropolis there are only the vestry elec-
tions, which come in each succeeding May, and
are even quieter. But, as all people dwelling
in the country towns know, the municipal
elections in places where Town Councils exist
are subjects of very keen interest, not only
on the day upon which they occur but for
weeks beforehand. Much of this doubtless
arises from the fact that political partisan-
ship is thrown into the struggle, and
we are all well aware that whatever
party spirit touches it enlivens to a con-
siderable degree. But, in addition to this,
there is no donbt a' very keen interest felt
in our municipal boroughs in the management of
the local affairs; and the leading men in each
are both proud and eager to show how well they
are able to serve the town. And this is an ambi-
tion which no lover of his country is likely to
deprecate.. It is because of the public spirit
begotten by an active participation in local
matters that the Imperial affairs of England
have been so well conducted; and although the
cynical may say that there is nothing in common
between paving and patriotism, the student of
social phenomena will be able to prove that
there is much more than the superficial can
think.
By the death of Mr. Grierson, who for so long
had been general manager of the Great Western
system, the Englislisrailway world has lost a
well-known and, it may be said, a distingnished
servant. Mr. Grierson was a familiar figure not
only to railway men but to frequenters of the
parliamentary lobby, where he was often to be
seen when some scheme affecting the interests-of
his company was before a committee. With the
resignation by Sir James Allport, of the general
managership of the Midland Company a few
years ago, the disappearance by death at
more recent periods, of Mr. Forbes and Mr.
Knight from a similar position 'on the London
and South-Western and London, Brighton, and
South Coast systems, and now the decease of Mr.
Grierson, the old order of railway managers is
becoming extinct. All these, and more who
could be mentioned, have left their mark upon
the commercial history of the country. It was
under them and such as them that the network
of railways which now spread through the length
and breadth of the land took shape and substance.
They had a heavy battle to fight, and the railway
men of to-day have entered into the fruit of
their labours. Most people, even of limited
reading, are acquainted with the romantic in-
cidents which attended upon Stephenson's
effort to make a railway from Liverpool to
Manchester, and the filling-in of Chat
Moss has turned into a popular tale.
The successors of Stephenson and of Brunel
had not to overcome such mighty obstacles, and
the romance of their struggle was less apparent,
but they had to do much which will never have
to he done again; and, as they pass from our
sight, they deserve respectful recognition from
those who profit by their work.
When velocipedes once more came into fashion,
less than twenty years ago, no one could have
dreamed that, as bicycles and tricycles, they
would have become so extensively popular and
so decidedly useful. For a long time these
machines were looked upon as mere playthings
which, when the gloss of novelty had worn off,
would be speedily laid on one side and their
places taken by some newer hobby. But
as time has gone on, the machines have
been improved, their capacity has been
rendered more complete, and although most of
• them are still ridden for pleasure, many are de-
voted to purposes of business. And now not
only are pleasure and business served by the
'cycles, but even armies are being supplied with
them. A few days ago a large number of our
military officers witnessed some interesting ex-
periments with various types of what are known
as "war cycles," in and around Aldershot Camp
The roughest ground had been selected for the
trials up and down bill as well as canal-fording;
and four varieties of machine were tried in
order to see which would prove of most use in the
heavy work of a campaign. As might have been
expected, those machines which commanded
attention for fancy and speedy riding appeared
least able to battle with the rough work with any
degree of certainty; but the experiments can
scarcely be regarded as final, and it will be neces-
sary to await the report which the chief of the
officers engaged has to make to the War Office
In connection with the proposal to add a cycling
department to each regiment in the service.
All lovers of peace—and which of us in his
heart is not—will have been rejoiced to learn
that the latest "frontier incident" which
threatened to mar the relations between France
and Germany has been amicably settled; and the
terms upon which it was arranged, and the calm
self-possession of both countries at a stryiug
moment, are alike honourable to each. But the
uneasy sense has been left that incidents of this
kind may happen once too often; the pitcher
that goes frequently to the well is apt to he
broken at last; and when two neighbouring
nations are in such a state of tension that the
blunder of a single foolish game-watcher may
bring them within measurable distance of war,
the fear cannot but be entertained that at some
time the constantly bent bow will snap. We in
England,whose frontier is "the silver streak,' can
hardly realise the position of countries whose
frontier is merely a forest path of three foot
wide. Too often are we apt to imagine that a
frontier is a much more tangible boundary than
this, and to wonder why it is that any disputes
can ever arise concerning its violation. But
any who know the actual state of much of the
dividing-line between France and Germany will
recognise the extreme difficulties of the situa-
tion.
While France has had the frontier incident to
settle, she has had also to be thinking over a
problem outside her own borders, which inti-
mately affects thousands of her childrer, and
which touches, through their pocket, many
Englishmen as well. The construction of the
Panama Canal continues to be pushed f( rward,
hnt it is becoming more and more difficult to say
when it i likely to be finished. The natural
obstacle in the way of its completion are enor-
melee and are far greater than M. de Lessens
contemplated when he set his hand to the work.
Yet, with a perseverance and an energy which
are well-nigh indomitable, and which are espe-
, daily noteworthy in a man of his years, the great
'engineer is pursuing his task in the most lively
faith that he will live to see it triumphantly
accomplished. Comparatively speaking, no great
amount of Panama stock is held in England,
but in France thousands of small capitalists
. have a little, and if aught untoward occurred,
.. the 'et:aah„aerosa the Channel would be fearful
se, ss.s.boiiipi.fc. If for LIU biicr rockann, ono
would be glad to see the canal completed rather
than that such a catastrophe should take place:
but there is an additional reason why one 'would
wish it, and that is for the sake of the commerce
of the worlds
The official announcement that a tender has
• been accepted for the first portion of the found a-
- Con •of the Imperial Institute, shows that the
promised building at South Kensington will (300411
- begin to appear. For a long time the success •
of the. scheme hung in the balance, and it *as
.• not until tbe.Queen herself, in the midst of the
julsilee celebratiens, laid the foundation-stone
that many people could be brought to believe
that it would ever come to fruition. Even when
iter
that stone had been laid there were not wanting
objectors to point out that nothing further had,
been arraoged for, not even the foundations
then,sselveti- But now that a tangible beginning
is being made, not even the most sceptical can
134:0100.
,to deubt that at no distant date the I
Impeiial Institute will be one of the sightsof
London. Its promoters, of course, hope that it
will be much more than this—a centre from which
futitructietf will 'radiate, a visible proof of 003
• maitysefs. the 'greatest Empire the world has
aver seen. And it is allowable to hope that
• the views of these promoters will be realised. It
is a worthy—it may be said a noble—ideal that
they have placed before them, and even -if only
a portion of it be reached, much good may lee
• sdone.
,Englishmen -might' to know mora than
•,1 • they do of the resources of our Colonies and de.-
. pendocies. The ignorance which exists -upon
the subject may, considering the. enormous
interests • involved, be fairly described as
ro'.appalling ; and if the Imperial Institute can do
%es anything to dispel it
>rauch:good will he done to
, the hole
,community
-
02 X Itsist almost viith a feeling of despik that a
person turne from contemplation of one., of the
s highest to one of the lowest sides-Of our national
life; but it would be useless to disguise the fact
fifrothat; amobg a considerabJ,a iofaur popu,
!salon, there is just now a recrudescence of feel-
_ _
s • 's‘s, ses- '

•

mg in tavour ot prize-fighting which is alarming
in a degree. The country may not suffer from
this disease to the same extent as the town, but
no one who moves among the masses in London
can doubt that pugilism is being more exten-
sively praised and patronised just now than it
has been for years. Under the very eyes of the
police, and despite the fact that prize-fighting
in any form is absolutely illegal, arrangements are
being made for a "championship battle;" the two
partie3.to which are being feasted and treated as
if they-were heroes. Words almost fail one to
express the disgust which all decent and clearly.
minded people must feel at this attempted
revival of the most debased form of so-called
"sport." In these days not even the element of
personal bravery or professional. skill enters into
the question, for it is notorious that all these
" fights " are pre-arranged affairs, designed to
deceive a too credulous public, and that the
knavery which attends upon them is a neces-
sary portion of the whole scheme. If the police
were only alert, and magistrates woull but do
their day, these professional champions, instead
of fewt ing on champagne and popular applause,
w.,Lild he made to do some honest work on the
treadmill. and oakum-picking would be their
chief reward. A. F. 13,.