The Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1865-12-30 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OF ELI SYKES.  necessarily produced inconvenience, and when they , a bit better than himself. Mr. Lorimer faces the were evaded or prematurely rescinded the Plague I difficulty with the ardour of an enthusiast and the gained ascendency once more. We have had the nun, subtlety of a Professor. From &declaration of equality, rain among us more than six months already, and yet he leads us on, step by step,. to a confession of init may be dallited whether the nature of the crisis is feriority. All citizens, he begins, are equally good— thoroughly appreciated except by the farmers them- put down one vote for that. Those who to citizenship selves. They, as we have seen, are prepared for any add "age and experience," are better than those who sacrifices, but they are in advance of their country. are young and inexperienced—three votes, therefore, men, and of Government too. for age and experience." A citizen who has been in The operation of the Plague appears, in many Parli ,nient must know more about political business respects, to be as inscrutable as ever. For the than those who havn't enjoyed his opportunities doctrine of pure contagion it may be said that in the therefore an " Ex-M.P" is worth three votes. A man majority of instances the introduction of the disease I with money is a lucky fellow, and vs goccl luck is into any particular district can be traced with ease always reckoned a kind of virtue, it is fairly entitled and certainty to the introduction of infected animals, U.) votes on its own account. It would be shabby to and the inference, therefore, naturally arises that if give less than one vote for a thousand a year—so these animals could have been excluded the disease , down go ten votes for 10,000 f. Citizenship, "age and would have been excluded too. We may point, , experience," and wealth, naturally lead us up to eduindeed, to the continued immunity of Ireland a.s , cation, a University degree (of course they don't differ giving strong proof of this theory, and yet there are in value) is the stamp of education—therefore four cases in which an outbreak of the Plague can only be votes for a degree. Then comes "profession." We attributed to contagion by assigning to that method of pay doctors to cure us, lawyers to wrangle for us, communication powers more subtle and extraordinary parsons to preach for us—we thus acknowledge their than were ever ascribed to it before. At this minute, Superiority to the common rule of men, and the bare too, we have evidence of a conclusive character to acknowledgement is worth something ; suppose we say show that the disease can either appear in a country four votes? And so, little by little, we get to the top spontaneously, or can be imported from sonic place of the mountain of twenty five cumulative votes; we other than Russia. It is actually raging with great leave the poor, insignificant, simple citizen shivering violence on the Neilgherry Hills—a healthy spot in at the base with his single suffrage; and we finally South-Western India.. There is room, indeed, for , realise the great philosophical truth that 'one man is the supposition that it might have been intro- as good as another ; and a dale loetther !" aced at one of the Western ports from some of the recently infected coasts of the Red Sea, but, on the other hand, it is evidently well known to the natives of the country as a familiar, if not indigenous, disorder. They have their own name for it in their own language, and their own remedies, so that it has not surprised them as it surprised us.