The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-03-20 00:00:00

IS ur forcen CorrtspOtiii.

[We deem it right to state that we do not at all tiniee
Identify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.]

Her Majesty's visit to the metropolis has done
something towards awakening the fashionable quarters
of the capital into active life. Within three days the
Sovereign held a Court and a Levee, the Levee being
the first presided Over by the Queen since the death of
the Prince Consort. At a Court both ladies and
gentlemen are presented; at a Drawing-room ladies
only; at a Le/4e gentlemen only. Since the Prince Con-
sort died, now more than thirteen years ago, the Levees
. have been held by the Prince of Wales at the Palace
of St. James', and very often the Drawing-rooms by
one of the Princesses in the same building. But the
presentations to her Majesty are always roads at
Buckingham Palace, from whiCh the Royal standard
floats when the Queen is there. After a long and
severe winter, it did one's heart good to see the full-
dress carriages going to and returning from the
Palace in a blaze of brilliant sunshine, and the people
were delighted to sae the Queen herself in Rotten-row,
drawn by a carriage and four, with the Princess
Beatrice by her side. On the night of the
Sovereign's Levee there was a grand ball at
Marlborough House, in celebration of the wedding-
day of the Prince and Princess of Wales, so that,
altogether, the middle of March has found that end
of the town very gay indeed. It would be difficult to
convey an idea of the immense impetus to trade which
is given by these gatherings. Say, for instance, that 200
ladies are presented at a Royal Drawing Room, that
means a new dress at least for each, and this makes
Regent-street rejoice and every millinery establishment
in Bond-street be glad. There was only one draw-back
to the enjoyment of the crowds who turned out on
each of the occasions I have mentioned, and that was
the obstinate persistence of the wind in blowing from
the east. For a few hours there had been a grateful
south-east breeze blowing before it the rainclouds
from the Atlantic, but just as every one was congra-
tulating his neighbour that there were signs of
returning Spring, back went the wind again
to the east, shrivelling up the buds which had begun
to shoot forth, and rendering it impossible for green
things to live. Suburban gardens still look
bare and desolate ; the appearance of the shrubs is
stricken and woe-begone ; and the leafless trees in the
parks seem to wring their long, gaunt arms as their
branches are shaken by the merciless blast. Poor
Charles Kingsley apostrophised it as "the wind of
God," little dreaming that it was so soon to strike him
down, as more recently it struck down Sir Arthur
Helps, one of the kindest-hearted men who ever lived.
The enormous crowds which have lined the banks of
the Thames day by day testify to the interest which
our people show in any exercise tending to develope
the physical capabilities. The suspension cha.ins at
Hammersmith-bridge were well-nigh as crowded while
the University crews have been practising, as they are
on the day of the race itself. The Germans hold that
gymnastics, as a popular healthful recreation, possess
recommendations vastly superior to those of athletics.
The latter are, in a great measure, essentially
confined to a comparatively few, and these can
be drawn only from the middle and tipper
classes, and must be carried on by daylight. For
example, hunting is clearly impossible to any one but a
man of means; shooting may be placed in the same
category; boating is more accessible; and cricket and
football, though less expensive than the rest in the
matter of equipment, require large open spaces and
the light of day for their pursuit—a requisite difficult
of attainment to a large proportion of our working
population. On the other hand the practice of
gymnastics is even more congenial by gaslight than by
day, while a suit of flannels and a few shillings as
quarterly subscription represent nearly all the expense
that need be incurred. Gymnastics are, moreover,
almost entirely free from those trials to which the
more delicate machinery of the human body is exposed
in the preparation for athletic eompetitions.
Byron, who is so often quoted, and whose premature
death was a loss to the world of intellect, once wrote—
While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand;
When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall."
Let us hope, however, that the truth of the couplet
will not be exemplified in our own case, for the
Colosseum in London is to come down at last.
Vast numbers of country readers will remember it as
a huge building in the Regent's Park, and they will
further recollect what they were always told when
they came on a visit to LondOn—" Of course you are
going to the Colosseum ! " And go to the Colosseum
they generally did. There they saw caves and
grottoes and cascades; were stricken into awe before
the representation of Lisbon being destroyed by an
earthquake in 1755; and gazed with delight upon the
panoramic views of London by day and Paris by
night. It was built in 1824; its height to the glazed
dome is 112 feet, and the building is 126 feat diameter
externally. The view of London to which I have
alluded was painted on the canvassed walls of the
dome, and was completed in 1329 from sketches made
by Mr. Horner from the top of St. Paul's. This pic-
ture, which covered more than an acre of caiavas, was
repainted in 1845. Somehow or other the Colosseum
has never been a success, and after passing through
the hands of many proprietors, was finally closed in
1864. It is now actually in process of demolition.
Business is very dull upon the Stock Exchange just
now, and the floating of a new public company is an
exceptional incident. This falling off in the issue of
prospectuses has lately told adversely upon the
columns of many of the London papers, the &dyer;
tisements of this class being good paying ones. Of
the various descriptions of securities, home railway
shares are now in the largest demand, for although
trade is temporarily depressed, there is a prevalent ex-
pectation that railways will soon be earning much
larger dividends than they now are. Some of the
companies are spending large sums to double their
lines, and this is frequently a costly process. The
London and North Western, for instance, are sweep-
ing away a large amount of house property in St.
John's Wood, and in that fashionable suburb house
property has risen immensely in value during the past
few years.
The House of Commons will have been at work
nearly seven weeks when it separates for the Easter
Recess on the 25th inst., and the holiday of honourable
members is to continue ten days. I may explain that
the total duration of the recesses at Easter and Whit-
suntide is three weeks, and up to the last few years
it was the custom to take a fortnight at Easter, and a
week at Whitsuntide ; but latterly the Prime Minister
of the day has equally_ divided the time, and allotted
ten days to each. This is obviously the better arrange-
ment of the two, for it gives the members a shorter
holiday when they least want it, and a longer one when
they require it more. It is worthy of note that every
Administration—and I can remember several—sets
down estimates of some kind for consideration on the
first night the House reassembles after a vacation.
Sometimes they are for the Army, at others for the
Navy, and at others for the Civil Service; but there
thay are. Why is this? Well, you see that, coming
immediately back from a holiday, honourable mem-
bers are less inclined to be critical than on any
occasion you can mention, and thus it comes to
pa.ss that vote after vote is secured with but little
trouble. I well recollect that one night some
years ago, the House haying reassembled after
the Easter Recess, the Navy Estimates were
upon the paper, and it made the heart of the
Secretary to the Admiralty rejoice to find that, at the
close of the sitting, he had secured 88 votes on that
one evening alone. The total amount of ten millions
sterling required for the naval service is divided into
some hundreds of "votes," each naming a specific
sum for a distinct purpose. Therefore to net more
than four-score of these in one evening was a piece of
good fortune highly appreciated by the officials in
charge of that particular department.
A measure which has passed both Houses of the
Legislature with general assent, is that introduced by
the some Secretary for increasing the salaries of the
metropolitan police magistrates. The main reasons
for this step were the enormous growth of the popula-
tion and the rise in the cost of Wring since the scale of
remuneration was fixed in 1838. From that time to
the present the allowance to each has been £1,200 a
year, and to the chief magistrate at Bow-street,
£1,5C0. Now each will receive an extra £3OO per
annum, making
21,500 and £l,BOO respectivgy. The-
chief magistrate at Bow-street is always knighted;
the present occupant of that important post is Sir
Thomas Henry. There are two magistrates attached
to each of the courts.
During the past generation we have had a financial
panic on an average every nine or ten years. There
was one in 1847; another in 1857; and one again in
1866. Previous experience might, therefore, almost
lead us to expect one either this year or next if the
symptoms of the monetary barometer at all pointed in
that direction, but nothing looks more unlikely than
that at present. When it does occur, it is the natural
result of over speculation, and such is the wide-spread
ruin which has been wrought by these crashes that the
sound of the very word " speculation " is shocking in
some ears. Yet the spirit which leads to it is inherent
in the nature of the people of this country; and if
repressed in one direction it is likely enough to break
out in another. Nor must it be assumed that
it produces nothing but evil, for when res-
tricted within reasonable bounds, it tends to
the growth of commerce and to the development of
industry. Unless our manufactures speculated on
the chance of finding fresh markets for their goods
abroad, no encouragement would be found for the
productive forces of their factories; and the new
markets which they now secure, by the exercise of a
little boldness and foresight, would fall into the hands

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