The Warwickshire Herald. — 1890-12-25 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

MIDLAND COUNTIES ADVERTISE(.  THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25, 18£0.  ONE of those good old couplets with which we have been faindlar ever sinc3 we can remember, says that  " Christmas comes but once a year, And when it comes, it brings good cheer."  This, like most old sayings, is, in the main, true. Christmas brings good cheer to the schoolboy, who impatiently throws his books into the school copboatd, to lie there for a season like the proverbial skeleton that they are, and goes home with glorious visions of unlimited plum-pudding, mince pie, and skating to be enjoyed in the immediate future. It br:ngs good cheer to the middleclass belle, as she exults in the prospect of the concerts, the balls, the flirtations, the conquests, to which the Christmas season will give birth. It brings good cheer to the jovial tradesman, who sees his business brisk and prospering; while to the jaded professional man it brings relaxation and rest. Christmas this year comes as a grateful break in the harrassing life of a politician. He is enabled, at this festive season, to lay aside for a short time the anxieties and discomforts attendant upon a Parliamentary I career, and to retire to his country seat, where, in a purer and freer atmosphere, he may indulge in those joys of private life which are only adequately appreciated whenl they are lost. Even to the sailor upon a wintry sea, and to the soldier on a foreign shore, the joyful influenc3s of a time like this extend, in the shape of unwonted comforts and home memories. In short, throughout the whole civilised world, the air seems full of sentiments of hapriness, and goodwill. But these rejoicings are not unmixed with mourning. Death is no more a respecter of seasons than of persons. In the brightest scenes of Christmas gaiety his grim form appears, and his fatal dart finds victims. On Christmas eve, 1863, the greatest of English novelists passed away, and that same night witnesses the death throes of many obscurer individuals. Disease and Danger, Death's foster-brothers, are also present amongst us, and many a wasted or shattered form acts as a foil, and sometimes as a reproach, to the mirth and jollity of others. The evils abovementioned are such as iright be experienced by those in the highest stations of life. But when others, in addition to these, have to be borne—when, to siLkness, misfortune and bereavement are added poverty and destitution, the utmost limit of misery appears to have been reached, and it is difficult to imagine how, under such circumstances, human life can be supported. This, however, is the lot of many people, for whom, as a rule, the prosperous, either from thoughtlessness or callousness do not make proper provision. There Is, indeed, the workhouse, but to the majority of Engliskmen the idea of entering this institution is so repugnant, that, sooner than seek refuge within its walls, they would starve in the streets. By ' the outcasts who comprise this class are perpetrated most of the suicides, the murders, and the other crimes which fill the columns of the newspapers, and which indicate the various excesses of human depravity and despair. Viewed in the stern and piercing light of morality, and commented upon by those in happy circumstances, these actions seem as unaccountable as they are horrible; but when the temptations which beset the poor creatures are thought of: when it is remembered to what extremes madness and want will urge suffering humanity, these occurrences may be regarded with less wonder, even if they still be deemed inexcusable. Such outbursts, repulsive as they are, often serve to direct attention to the misery from which they spring; and the interestof philanthropists being excited, these evils are sometimes ameliorated, if not entirely removed. Many of this unfortunate class, however, lack the desperation or the wickedness to rush into crime. They attract ro 3 from the world, and struggle on, 'Wed and unrelieved, beneath an almost intolerable burden of wretchedness, which eventually booming too heavy for them, imam them into an ignominious grave. And at no tins* is the condition of the poverty I fveista!,.liy  . IMBER '25, 1801  stricken and the destitute more deplorable than at this merry Beaten, when mirth and happiness light up the houses of comfort and luxury. "What a doleful topic for Christmas!" will no doubt be the exclamation of some of our readers. It may be; but we think it our duty to remind them that while they are happy, others are sorrowful: while they are I well, others are sick: while they are feasting, others are starving. The presence of many miseries is owing to the fac!:. that those who have power to rel-eve them tve not aware of their existence, or have forgotten that they have any. We therefore take this opportunity of reminding those who are rich that they owe a solemn duty towards their less fortunate brethren, and that they are responsible for the comfort and happiness of thoee whom circumstances have rendered poor and miserable. Were this responsibility felt more deeply by all iich men, there would be less abject pover!.y, fewer desperate crimes, and there would be more reason for hoping that all men would spend a merry Christmas. That the rich are awakening more to their responsibißies is abundantly manifest in the hospitals, rafuges, working men's clubs and good artisans' dwellinghouses, with which we are confronted wherever we turn. When the evils undergone by the poorer classes to-day are compared with those which they suffered years ago, a marked change for the better will at once be perceived. The philosophy of philanthropy is becoming more perfectly understood, and the upper &Asses see that the better they treat the poor, the more secure will their own position be. It is, of course, impossible, and it is undesirable that all men should be equal in riches or in anything else ; but it is possible, and it is right that there should no be these depths of poverty, which degrade to the level of the brutes, thoce who aro unfortunate enough to sink to them. To put an end to such a state is, we take it, the true aim of philanthropy, and we cannot help thinking that humanity is advancing every year to this happy goal. We trust that it may soon be reached; and we will conclude by wishing our readers the compliments of the season, in the hops that the coming year may prove a not unimportant step in the march of the ages.