The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-09-13 00:00:00

3touttribge Ofperber.

SATURDAY, SEPrEMBER 19, 1873.

CLTERENT TOPICS.

An application for the extension of the hours of
closing on the day of the Rowley Wake, by the
publicans of the district, was granted at the Old
Rill Petty Sessions, on Wednesday last.

It is astonishing to witness to what an extent
female curiosity will, at times, overcome even the
semblance of that delicacy which is generally sup-
posed to be the attribute of the sex. This is con-
stantly demonstrated in the trials of indecent
assault and bastardy cases, at our local police
courts. Nor is it confiued to females belonging to
the lower stratum of society. During the hearing
of the infamous " Mordaunt" case, ladies of the
highest position sat out the trial, notwithstanding
that they wore frequently requested to leave, on
the plea of decency. We can hardly wonder then,
that the class of women who frequent the police
courts in this district should show the same morbid
craving for listening to the filthy details of cases
of the class we have mentioned. As a rule, the
Magistrates, not eympathising with their tastes,
order them out of Court at such times. It seems,
however, that those at Old Hill do not like to offer
such violence to their feelings, and allow them to
gratify their thirst for information to the" top of
their bent." At least it was so on Wednesday last,
when during the hearing of a pore than usual
filthy charge of indecent exposure the court was
crowded with women and. children; the Magis-
trates not having ordered them to leave the room
where the trials take place. In the case of the
women, perhaps no valid objection to this can be
urged, as it would be impossible for much harm
to be done to the morals of those whose sense of
delicacy is so blunted as to allow them to stay on
such occasions; but in the case of the children we
consider such conduct very reprehensible, as they
are net morally responsible and ought to be pro-
tected from such vitiating influences.

The Mayor and several members of the Corpora-
tion were present at the third anniversary dinner
of the Kidderminster Licensed Victuallers' Associa-
tion on Tuesday evening last. Inproposing" the
healths of the Visitors and Deputation," Mr. H.
Saunders, jun., solicitor to the association, after
showing that the Licensed Victuallers, in com-
bining together, were only acting in accordance
with the growing tendency of the age, said that
the people who tinkered, theorised, and experi-
mentalised with the trade with which they were
connected scarcely grasped the magnitude of that
interest, which produced in invested capital no
less than .£117,000,000 more than was embarked
in the cotton firms trade united. He referred to
the recent Act of Parliament with reference to
their trade, and denounced it as an Act which
satisfied nobody, and pointed to the difficulties
which had been experienced by Magistrates and
others in administering it. He called attention to
an article in the Tams which, though, in favour
of it, admitted that 'drunkenness has diminished
in but tew instances, and actually increased in
many,' and showed that as the preamble stated
that the intention was to diminish drunkenness it
had utterly failed to do that for which it was
brought into existence. He (the speaker) granted 1
that we now had quieter streets, but contended
that was not the purpose for which the Act had
been passed, as the Legislature could have pissed
a law for "sending the British public early to
bed," if that had been their object. He combatted
the idea that iucreased drunkenness was caused
by increased wages, but seemed to rather infer
that it arose from tie "secret thinking " which
hail been in vogue since the early closing move-
inent hal commenced. lie Li/twitted that there
lisd been an inersaae of wages i.e the iron tmele,
but argued that the commensurate increase in
the price of provisions quite made out for this.
He denounced in strong terms the "monstrous
bill a 1571," by which a British statesman had
the effrontery to attempt to compel the Licensed
victuallers, no matter what amount of personal
inconvenience and labour they had experienced in
getting together a connection—in ten years to
put then up to public auction to be sold. This
as a matter of course, greeted with loud cries
of "shame from all the licensed victuallers pre-
sent. After referring to the disqualification of no
leas than 53,000 public, and -13,000 beerhoas es at
once, he said that if those were the sentiments
made public by the leading organs of the land,
wuich no doubt assisted in ruling our Alinisters
and law-makers, it was high time that they should
continue to protect more closely that which they
regarded as their rights ; and concluded by stating
that English liberty was bound up in the principles
they were advocating, and that they were now
called upon to defend those principles which they
had enjoyed for so many years.

A sickening scene occurred at the execution of the
Convict J11.111i9t4 Connor, who was sentenced to des th
at the Liverpool Assizes for the murder of James
Gaffney. Calcraft officiated, aml the affair took place
at Kirkdale Gaol, on Tll•Witky morning last. On the
bolt being drawn the rope either snapped or became
unspliced near the noose, and the poor fellow fell at
once into the drop groaning heavily. There was at
one time a popular belief that if the rope broke
during an execution, the culprit wonld be let off, and
this seemed to have b.mn shared in to some extent
by Connor, for when the warders went to his assist-
ance he exclaimed, '• What do you call this? Do
you call this mord, r P After this you should let me
off ?" Afterwards he said to the chaplain Let me
off; surely this is enough. I stood it like a brick the
first time ; I should get off now." The rope was,
however, soon re-adjusted, and this time so effectu-
ally that on being—as Dickens's hangman (Denis)
would have expressed worked off" a second
time he died almost imme.liately. What an argu-
ment such a scene as this is for the advocates of the
abolishinem of evital punishment ?

Perhaps there is BO practice of onr Transatlantic
friends that has lioen more sneered at by Engdish
journalists Coot the passion which exists amongst
them for " interviewing' persons to whom notoriety
attaches, im matter from what cause. As usual,
however, we first begin by ridiculing and then adopt-
ing the same plan ourselves. A representative of
the /firmingltim Morning Netes waited upon M.
Bloielin,—who is now lo.r.ted in Birmingham—on
Tu,s lay evening last, for the purpose of interviewing
the "11,10 of Ni4gera,- aid is the columns of that
paper he giv,4 ad,engthmed description of what took
place. it. ePcits that Ronan is * Frenchman,
add that h_ took to ro;,-r.-a:: ii At the early are of
flor yenr.i. If.c meeive I ilea of crossing the
Falls of Niagara whilst on a visit there. nc says
that people at the time thonght him crazy, and
laughed at him. He also deseril el hi- cies dug the
" Palls" on stilts in the prese:,c, of the Prince of
Wales in the year 1660, and slit.•,l that it took him
20) or 25 minutes, but that aim's encumbered with a
ma' on his back the journey o,,,ipied 47 minutes.
Dariag hi stay at the Crystal Palace, bi London,
he frequently carried officers of the Horse Guards
across the repo on his bark. The officers used to
make bets on it, and the applications to he carri,d
cumil at length so numerous that he was obliged
to charge them for it. In fact, he made them pay,
as the reporter puts it, for" rdikins thaw lives." In
extenuation, however, Ilion MI ci Id tb..t some of
Pe.-m were 16 .1 1: ,t . I ! t; ~-.•• r
he cleied • he
Ho Intl Is Bam..in, "1 sic aOL Ulll,
and I do not wish to OXPOIO Woe. I Shia I am a

little bit too heavy." Blondin admitted that there
was a probability that the "Claimant" was right.
After speaking of the different royal personages that
had witnessed his performances, Blondin said that
notwithstanding he was accustomed to meet royalty,
their presence always made him nervous ; that he
would sooner cross iViagara on a rope than he would
meet a King. The reporter naire/y adds, that for
his part be should prefer the latter alternative, and
winds up with this excessively original remark,
" Verily we are fearfully and wonderfully made—
especially Blondin." This reminds us of the anecdote
of King Charles the second, who upon a man apply-
ing to him for a reward for having Mood upon his
: head on the weathercock of St. Paul's told him that
he would give him a patent so that no oue should do
it but himself.