The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-04-26 00:00:00

Copia of ttt pal/.

(By an Occasional London- Corrapo— ndent.)

IThe remarks under this head are to be regarded as the ex-
pression of Independent opinion, from the pen of &gentleman
1111 whom NV ;lave the greatest confidence, but for which we
tavertheleft do not hold ourselver responsible.)

If there is no more hard-worked population in the
world than that of London, surely there ia none which
knows better how to gejoy Its holidays. Take for in
stance the aspect of the metropolis on Easter Monday.
Bright sunshine, a fresh breeze from the south east, and
a clondl,ss sky brought out the people of the British
capital in tens and hundreds of thousands. Once more
was remembered with gratitude the name of Sir John
Lubbock, who, as one of the members for Maidstone,
was chiefly instrumental in passing that Bank Holi-
days' Act which gets more and more obeerved on every
occasion on which it is put into practice. The oft-used
expression "London is empty" would have been too true
had it been applied to tne streets on the afternoon of
Easter Monday, when the holiday-keepers bad got
fairly out of town. Probably on that day a greater
number of Londoners sought relaxation in
the country than for many an Easter past For
hours the steamboat piers presented a most
animated spectacle. Thousands up the river to
Kew—thousands down the river to Greenwich—such
was the order of the day. And then these were the
parks—Finsbury in the north, Battersea in the south,
Victoria in the east, Regents' in the north-west, Hyde
In the west, and Southwark for the inhabitants of a
dense and smoke-laden district—all of which were
crowded from an unusually early hour. Some idea of
the enormous numbers who enjoyed themselves on the
day may be gathered from the fact that there were
more than 43,000 persons at the Crystal Palace, nearly
43,000 at the Zoological Gan'ens, 35,000 at the North
Woolwich Gardens, 20,000 at the Bethnal Green Mu
serum 14,000 at the British Museum, 10,000 at the
International Exhibition, and nearly the same number
at the National Gallery. The theatres and other
places of amusement were, as usual, thronged in
the evening, although the splendid sunshine must have
sadly interferred with the success of the morning per.
formancee. Had the weather been cold and gloomy,
as on Good Friday, the theatrical managers would
have fared much better. But the whole of the metro-
politan population did not confine themselves to those
places of suburban resort beyond which large masses
of them can never go. A very considerable body
Indeed ran down for a few hours to Brighton, which
has been truly termed "London-on-the-Sea." The
proportion of visitors to Brighton seems to be in
creaming annually, and this is not to be wondered at,
looking at the beauty of the place, and considering
the enjoyment to be derived from the lovely sea breezes
which are so grateful to the jaded Londoner after spend.
Log months in an atmosphere of fog and smoke. You
can make the journey to Brighton in about an hour and
a half, and as the fare is so very reasonable, it is
not to be wondered at that London Bridge terminus
was besieged at an early hour. Brighton has not been
favoured with the volunteer review this Easter, but it is
evident that the town needs no artificial attraction to
draw strangers to its borders. During the day more
than 10,000 persons visited the Brighton Aquarium—
an institution which is rapidly attaining a popularity
thoroughly deserved.

I have incidentally referred above to the Interna-
tional Exhibition, which was first thrown open on
Easter Monday without any ceremony whatever. It
will be remembered that the Exhibition of 1871 was
opened by the Prince of Wales and the Princess
Christian, and that of 1872 by the Duke of Edinburgh
and the Princess Louise. Now, however, there was an
entire absence of ostentation, and when the public
were gist admitted there were barely 200 persons at
the ierious entrances. But later in the forenoon
every part of the building became crowded, and
It was evident that instruction was combined with
amusement by a considerable proportion of those who
kept holiday. The display of articles at South Ken-
sington will amply repay inspection by any of the
large numbers who run up from the country to pay
London a short visit during the summer. It has been
truly said that if this year's Exhibition does not con-
tain any objects of such rare interest 119 the jewellery
collection and the "Walter Machine" of last year, it has
perhaps a Ligher average of general utility which
allows no department to be passed over with indif.
ference. Amongst the principal attractions are the
' silk fabrics, which fill half the eastern gallery. Many
of the specimens are 300 years old, and are of gorgeous
design. Other objects of great interest are the car-
riages, of which there are several hundreds in the
oartern arcade, the southern corridor, and the French
Court.

A painful sensation was created last week, at the
rumour that Sir Samuel and Lady Baker had been mar-
dered,together with the survivors of the expedition,which
started from Egypt so long ago, in order to suppress
the slave trade. By those who were at all acquainted
with the nature of the taak which the intrepid ex-
plorer had undertaken, it was known that great diffl.
edifies had to be encountered from the first. One
of these may serve as an illustration of the kind of
work which had to be done. Whilst the expedition
was on its way to the fastnesses of the slave-holding
tribes, it was suddenly brought ta a standstill by the
unusual shallowness of the water in a stream bearing
the name of Bahr Giraffe. What was to be done in
the face of an obstacle apparently so insurmountable 1
Sir Samuel Baker did not hesitate for a moment. He
set his whole force to deepen the central channel,
and to build a dam upon both sides, so as to
send a large body of water down the channel;
and after much labour in this way, he was
enabled to pursue his course. The unfounded
stories which have from time to time reached
this country respecting the fate of Dr. Living-
stone, led many to hope for the best in the case of Sir
Samuel Baker and his truly noble wife, on the first
publication of the news of their massacre. Sir Samuel
received the honour of knighthood after his return
from the discovery of the Nile source Albert Nyanza.
This was second, not in importance, but only in the
order of discovery, to the Victoria Nyanza of the un.
fortunate Captain Spoke. This gallant officer perished
through an accident at the Bath meeting of the British
Ammo iation, in September, 1864, and Baker's discovery
was first made known by the Foreign Office to the
Geographical Society in June, 180.

The trials of the Derogation, which is at present
regarded as the fiehting ship of the immediate future,
have been watched with great interest both in and out
of nautical circles. But it appears that since the
completion of this formidable monster, steps have been
made in the progress of offensive naval warfare which
were not deemed possible two or three years ago.
When the Derogation was designed, there was reason
to believe that armour such as hers (12 inches in thick.
nee; besides backing) was impenetrable to the most
powerful guns need by any nation. Now, however,
the Derogation can no longerbe said to be impenetrable.
According to Sir W. Armstrong, guns can be produced
to resist which would require at least 20 inches of
armour, with suitable backing. Sir Joseph Whitworth
goes even further. Ho states his readiness to manu-
facture a gun of 11-inch bore t) penetrate 16-inch
armour at 1,000 yards, or a 13-inch gun to penetrate
24 inches of armour. Even if it were possible to con-
struct a sea-going ship with twice the thickness of
armour now upon the tiles of the Devastation, naval
architects might well consider whether even that is
likely to remain permanently impenetrable. Mr.
Bessemer has, indeed, produced plane for a gun which
shall throw a 5 ton shot at a very considerable velocity.
In the face of such facts, it may well be asked where
the competition between guns and armour-plating is
to end.

Coals are still quoted at a high figure in London,
although the expenditure on this necessary of life in
the bright days of spring, is not, fortunately for the
poor, so serious an item as it was during the bitter
winter weather which marked the month of February.
At such times it is interesting to note what was the
expenditure of one household upon fuel rather more
than two hundred years ago, and it will be seen that
although coals an, dear now, they are cheaper than
they were in the first year of the reign of Charles 11.
A writer in Notes and Queries tells us that amongst
the modes of laying out, spending, and embezzling the
money at Merton College, Oxford, one was—" Ry
burning in one year three score pounds' worth of the
choicest ' billet ' that could be had, not only in all
the warden's roomes, but in the kitchen among his
servants, without any regard had to cole, which
usually (to save charges) is burnt in kitchens, and
sometimes also in parlours." After making a large
allowance for waste and extravagance, fuel must have
been a very expensive article in these times. With
all the householder's troubles, he is not now very often
called upon to pay £6O a year for coal.
A distinguished American, Ralph Waldo Emerson—
is now on • visit to this country, and lately attended
• reception given by the Viscountess Amberley. Mr.
Emerson's first visit to England was paid in 1849, when
he met with • very cordial reception from the literary
and general society of the metropolis. Whilst here
he delivered a series of lectures, which afterwards
for med the substance of his volume entitled " Repre
'tentative men." The graceful style of his delivery
and the beauty of his language created a deep impree:
lion upon his hearers. Mr. Emerson is now 70 years of
age. He was the son of • Unitarian clergyman of
Boston, in the United States, and for seven or eight
years was the pastor of • church himself. Differences
of opinion, however, led to the severance of the con-
fliction; an I, abandoning the ministry, he retired to
the village of Concord, where he gave himself up to the

free investigation of the principles of theology, morals,
And philosophy, and with this his name has since been
associated.

The illness of Mr. Justice Archibald, who was ap-
pointed to the Court of Queen's Bench when Sir James
Hannen was transferred to the Probate and Divorce
Court in November last, is attributed mainly to the
had ventilation of the Liverpool assize court, but over-
work doubtless had something to do with it. He was
one of the judges who went the Northern Circuit,
which is about the most laborious of the whole. The
business of the assizes generally commences at nine in
the morning, and continues until six in the evening,
and it is easy to understand how week after week of
such work as this, conducted in crowded and ill-ven-
tilated courts, must tell upon the constitution. After
about two months of these duties, Mr. Justice Archi-
bald and his colleague. Baron Pollock, were compelled
to leave the work of the Liverpool assizes unfinished,
and had barely time to get back to London before
Easter Term opened. With three judges of the
Queen's Bench engaged on the Tichborne trial, and a
fourth suffering from illness, that tribunal is likely to
have many remnants on its cause lists at the end of the
term.

In the face of the great public interest which is felt in
the Tichborne case, a few historic details respecting the
family may be worth reproducing. The title of baronet
was created by Jam es I. in 1620, and the motto of the house
is " Fight for your country." The family, which was
of great importance in Hampshire before the Conquest,
derives its name from the River Itchen, at the head of
which it had estates, hence the demesne was c died
Itchenborne, since corrupted into Tichborne. Sir
John de Tichborne, knight, sheriff of Hampshire, on
hearing of the death of Queen Elizabeth, immediately
repaired to Winchester, and there proclaimed James VI.
of Scotland King of England. He was created a baronet
in 1620, the honourof knighthood having been previously
conferred upon three of his sons, while the fourth son,
Henry, was subsequently knighted. The third baron-
hazarded his life in defence of Charles I. in several en-
terprises. His estates were sequestrated by the Par-
liamentarians. After the Restoration he was sac.
cessively Lieutenant of the New Forest, and Lieutenant
of Ordnance. I may mention that Sir Joseph Rad-
cliffe, the husband of Lady Radcliffe, Roger Tichborue's
cousin, is the third baronet, having succeeded to the
title a few months ago, on the death of his father.
The family is of Saxon origin, and took its name from
the village of Radcliffe, in Lancashire. Far back in
the olden times, Richard de Rasiclyffe, "Seneschal and
Minister of the Forests in Blackburnshire," accom-
panied Edward I. in his wars to Scotland, and re-
ceived the grant of a valuable charter from that
monarch.