Page images
PDF
EPUB

334

NOTES ON THE MONTH, & MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

SPIRITS.

The opinion, once so predominant, that spirits are necessary for the fishery, or to fortify against wet and fatigue, is fast vanishing away: many hundred physicians, of the highest character, have come forward lately to testify that such an opinion was perfectly unfounded. Nearly 1,000 American vessels now trade to all parts without spirits; and there are from 20 to 30 begin to sail from the Clyde without the former allowance of rum. Great numbers go the whale fishery without ardent spirits; and the testimony of mail-coach guards, and the guides to the high mountains in Switzerland, and even that of boxers, prize-fighters, and racers, all goes to prove the error of that view which considers spirits as truly and finally beneficial against cold, wet, heat, and exhaustion. It is well known that ardent spirits, though they excite the animal powers, for a little time, yet, after a short space, only leave the frame in a state of depression, during which, any extra cold, wet, or fatigue is dangerous. The taking spirits in extremes of cold, in high latitudes, in ascending very lofty mountains, or in travelling on frosty nights on the roofs of coaches, is generally prohibted by the best of judges; and during the four months of training boxers, prize-fighters, and foot-racers were not permitted to taste a drop of spirits, lest it should impair their strength and activity.

THE GIN PALACES.

Let any one enter these showy pandemoniums and survey the countenances of the congregation there assembled: the inebriated eye and sallow cheek will meet his view on all sides, proving the magnitude of the evil; at night, more especially, intoxication having gratified its thirsty propensity, stalks forth primed for violence and ready for crime-vice and folly hold the court with them, and are rendered trebly vicious and foolish, by the copious libations furnished from the vile tubs which, as it were, form the battery of these vilanous holds, so thickly are these traps set to catch the roaring drunkard, interspersed in all directions, that half reeling and irresolute as he winds his way, staggering homewards, at every turn they salute his vision, and breaks his sober resolves; he takes them in rotation, and finishes his guzzling march by an introduction into the station-house, or into a ditch. How much the health and morals of the lower classes in the metropolis are deteriorated by the consumption of the stuff vended in these wholesale laboratories of liquid fire, the medical practitioner knows too well. Delirium, tremours, indigestion, and an endless train of diseased livers and other viscera, claim this as the cause; while the immense excitement produced by throwing large quantities of ardent spirits (or some compound which sets analysis at defiance) into the stomach, lead to results mischievous in the highest degree to morality and decency. It will be inquired is there no remedy for this crying evil? We fear not; unless people can be pursuaded to their own good-sometimes a very difficult thing to accomplish. The government might, seeing that the proprietors of these splendid Bacchanalia realize vast profits from the concoction and brewing of this commodity, lay upon their back the whip of taxation more heavily. The licence might be had under a fine computed with reference to their annual receipts, instead of according to the rent, which is now the case. It may be urged that the liquor is sufficiently taxed already; but we answer, that they have within their den a transmuting talisman, which trebles whatever quantity enters into it. Let them be taxed accordingly.-London Medical and Surgical Journal.

SLOW AND GRADUAL EDUCATION.

"Pour water into a vessel of a narrow neck-little enters: Pour gradually, and by small quantities, and the vessel is filled." Such is the simile employed by Quinctillian, to show the folly of teaching children too much at a time.

NUMBER OF BOOKS EXPORTED TO AND FROM FRANCE,

M. Moreau Jonnes, has published a statement respecting the number of books exported from England to France, and from France to England, between the years of 1821 and 1831. In 1821, the value of the French books exported to England, was 407,534 francs; in 1825, it rose to 914,528 francs, but gradually declined in the succeeding year, until 1832 it was 435,328 francs. The books exported from England to France amounted, in 1821, to 110,375 francs; in 1830, to 154,276 francs; and in 1832, to 131,318 francs. The number of volumes which France sends to England annually, is 400,000, consequently at the rate one to every 55 inhabitants. France receives from England 80,000 volumes, or one to every 400 persons.

Though the value of books decreased from the year 1825, we think it was through the books being brought over in boards, or cheap bindings; but not any decrease in the number of them, as persons could receive them in that state, and have them bound afterwards according to fancy. From this account it appears that French is more generally diffused in England than in France: not that we would wish any decrease, as it enlarges the sphere of knowledge, and the works can be read in the original-the beauties of which are often lost when translated, and in some instances a translation is not to be obtained.

From what is rumoured, there will be a more general diffusion of this knowledge, by the construction of rail-roads. The one from London to Greenwich is to be extended to Dover, a steam packet from thence to Calais, and another rail-road from the latter to Paris, where the beauties of this language is spoken, by which a person may almost breakfast in London, and dine at Paris.

CHILDREN'S FRIEND SOCIETY.

The first festive celebration of the anniversary of this most praiseworthy charity took place, on Thursday evening, at the London Tavern, Bishopsgate Street, Sir Charles Lemon, Bart., M.P., (in the absence of the Lord Mayor, through indisposition) presided over a very numerous meeting of the patrons and friends of the society. The number of children received during the year just expired has been 276 boys, and 39 girls, making the total number of 315: 213 boys and 37 girls have been embarked, and are at this time in the way to gain an honest livelihood in the colonies, having been apprenticed there by the society, upon such terms as to secure their future success in life, if their own conduct deserve it: 35 boys and 2 girls are under the society's care, and 28 have been removed and provided for by their parents or friends. The subscriptions, we are happy to add, amounted to between £300 and £400.

THE JOURNALS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

A German publication gives the following statement of the proportion between the journals and the population of the principal countries in Europe:In Rome there is one journal to 51,000 persons; in Madrid, one to 50,000; in Weimar, one to 11,000; in London, one to 10,600; in Berlin, one to 4,070; in Paris, one to 3,700; in Stockholm, one to 2,600; in Leipsic, one to 1,100; in the whole of Spain, one to 864,000; in Russia, one to 674,000; in Austria, one to 37,600; in Switzerland, one to 66,000; France, one to 52,000; in England, one to 46,000; in Prussia, one to 43,000; in the Netherlands, one to 40,450. The number of subscribers to that of the inhabitants is in France, one to 437; in England, one to 184; in the Netherlands, one to 100.

PROFITS OF PAUPERISM.

A pauper died on Sunday se'nnight, at Donnington, near Lewes, who had been in the habit of receiving parochial relief for upwards of 30 years, who bequeathed to his daughter no less a sum than £200.—Dover Telegraph.

EXCUSES FOR DRUNKENNESS.

The following are among the excuses which are made by the individuals, when brought before the magistrates at the different police offices in the metropolis, charged with being drunk in the streets. Many of the excuses are made indiscriminately, both by males and females, that a friend, that my mother, that my sister have been wounded in the head, had a child die, being in great distress, broke my leg, being old, an old soldier, an old sailor, being out of place a long time, just recovered from a fit of illness, being looking for work, had a little business to transact with a friend, just come out of prison and a very little liquor takes effect of me, had my brother transported, my mother died very lingering, burnt out, had a quarrel with my wife, just apprenticed my child, buried my wife, married the day before, very hot weather, very cold weather, been to a christening, been to a funeral, &c. in short it would appear from the statements, there is not a single occurrence in life that is not considered an excuse for this all-besetting sin. As if all these things could not be done or endured without liquor.

THE LABOURER'S FRIEND SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of this society, was held on Thursday, April 9th, at Exeter Hall, the right reverend the Bishop of Bath and Wells, in the chair; on the platform we observed 3 lords and 3 members of parliament; the secretary read the report of the society, during the last year, which was of a very gratifying nature. The liabilities of the society over the fund now in hand, were stated to be upwards of £170.-Resolutions were passed for the purpose of extending the operations of the Society, to the advancing of loans, and the establishing Agricultural Schools; and a liberal subscription was entered into for furthering the objects of the Society.

DRINKING.

An Historical Chronicle, in the British Musem, notices that in the year 1736, a proposal was made to the House of Commons, " for laying such a duty on distilled spirituous liquors as might prevent the ill consequences of the poorer sort of people drinking them to excess," whereon it takes occasion to produce the following fact: "Various signs have been observed, where spirituous liquors are retailed, with the following inscriptions :— "Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for twopence, clean straw for nothing." This record establishes the reality of the inscription in Hogarth's fearful print of "Gin Lane,” and marks a trait in the manners of that period, which, to the credit of the industrious classes of society, has greatly abated. Drunkenness appears nowhere but in the vicious or in the irresolute. Give a poor man work, and you will make him rich; give a drunkard work, and he will only keep sober till he has earned enough to get drunk again, and get poor; while he is drinking, he robs himself of his time; drinking robs him of his understanding and health, his money, his friends-in fact, his all. When he is unfit or disinclined for work, he will lie to avoid it, and if he succeeds in deceiving he will probably turn thief. Thus a drunkard is not to be relied on either for true speaking or honest principle, and, therefore, those who see that drinking leads to falsehood and dishonesty, never attach credit to what a drunkard says, or trust him within reach of his property; as a drunkard will do anything under the influence of liquor, or to gain it.

NEWSPAPERS IN SPAIN,

At the beginning of last year there were published 98 newspapers; at the commencement of the present year (1835), only 77. The total expense of the 77 papers is estimated at 11,600,000 reals, and the receipts at 10,315,000, this is enough to lessen the number: how little authors are thought of! nevertheless, when scientific knowledge gain ground, political will creep in.

EDUCATION SOCIETIES.

There has been adopted with considerable success, by the working people of Bath, a plan received from the excellent and indefatigable member, J. A. Roebuck, Esq.

Plan.—“ All permament advantages to the people must be the work of their own hands. Any institution which depends on the favour of the rich or the kindness of the benevolent, whatever may be its immediate good, bears within itself the principle of decay and ruin; and in no case does this truth appear more evident than in institutions for the education of the people. None but those which emanate from the people, and are maintained by them, can either be rendered thoroughly efficient or lasting in their influence. For this reason, the promoters of the people's education society, propose that the persons educated, or rather that the parents, should maintain and also should govern the institution, and that this maintenance and government should be according to the following plan. The funds of the society are to be derived from three sources-1. From the daily payment of the scholars; 2, from the weekly payments to the reading room; 3, from the subscriptions to the institution fund.

"It is proposed that each child shall pay 1d. per day for its instruction, and every subscriber to the reading room shall pay 2d. per week, for the use of the reading room and library. It is proposed also that the society shall consist, 1st of those who send any child to the school; 2nd, of those who subscribe to the reading room; and 3rd, those who subscribe £1. per annum or upwards to the institution. The persons thus composing the society, shall meet once every six months on days to be agreed on, and then will choose by ballot, a president, a vice-president, 5 governors, a treasurer, and a secretary, and discuss the affairs of the society generally. It will be the duty of the president, vice-president, and the 5 governors, of which 3 shall form a quorum, 1. To superintend the money concerns of the society-2, to choose and dismiss the school master and mistress-3, to watch over the teaching of the children, and the conduct of the reading room-4, and generally to superintend the affairs of the society.

"It is believed that if there be constantly from 150 to 200 children attending the school, all the expenses which need be incurred will be provided for; if the society should also have the same number of persons subscribing to the reading room, not merely will all expenses be provided for, but the efficiency of the institution will be greatly increased. In time, and with care, a good library will be formed, and periodicals and papers regularly obtained. There must necessarily be two rooms for the use of the children during the day, viz. one a boys' school, the other a girls' school; of these one during the evening, may be used as a general reading room, and the other may be appropriated to the use of such as may desire to form classes, for the purpose of self-instruction. It is suggested also, that in the general reading room, there be arrangements made for the furnishing of tea and coffee, on moderate terms, to the persons attending."

COTTAGE ALLOTMENTS.

An intelligent writer in the Gardener's Magazine, who signs himself SELIM, and dates his communication from Wiltshire, makes the following remarks on Cottage Allotments: "As a sincere well-wisher to the labouring classes, I, of course take an interest in the success of the Cottage Allotment System, which is especially calculated to increase the comforts of the poor. Hitherto, I believe, the System has succeeded, and should it fail eventually the failure will arise, I think, from the impoverished state of the soil, which is cropped annually without the necessary dressing of manure. In most places the cottagers cannot procure animal manure, beyond what is produced in their own pigsties, and the little they can collect in the roads; and this will be found inVOL. I.-May, 1835.

U U

sufficient to afford a slight dressing to the garden and allotment, every alternate year. How then is this insufficiency to be supplied? I answer, principally by good management, which will often do as much as money; and with respect to management the labourers are, in too many instances, lamentably careless and ignorant; but a sensible man will generally take a hint from a superior in rank and information; and those who wish well to the Allotment System will promote it most effectually by hints, as to management, and by pressing on the occupiers the necessity of collecting every description of manure, if they would be certain of remunerating crops. To show what may be done in this way, by good management, I will instance a garden I am well acquainted with, which is made almost to manure itself; and I believe I may safely assert, that for the last 20 years, it has not had the benefit of a cart-load of yard or stable dung, yet the crops are abundant, and the vegetables of good quality, though the ground is cropped thickly, and seldom has a third part vacant during the winter months. It is managed in this way: all the refuse of the garden, such as cabbage-leaves and stalks, bean and peastalks, weeds (which are removed from the ground before they seed), leaves, rubbish, and flower-stalks, mowings of grass plots, &c. &c., is carefully collected together in a heap; and to this is added, the soot from the chimnies, lime rubbish (should there be any), the contents of a drain from the kitchen sink, and the scrapings of about 200 yards of a frequented road; upon this heap the chamber slop pail is emptied daily, and the whole is repeatedly mixed and turned over till it is thereby decomposed and fit for use. The garden I allude to has a good dressing of this compost once a year; some parts of it twice a-year. The ground is dug deeply, and the few vacant spaces are thrown up into ridges during the winter-the result is an abundant crop of every thing. The vegetables are of a good size, and generally free from canker, and as well or perhaps better flavoured as those produced in gardens which are constantly dressed over with stable manure. It may probably be imagined that this sort of compost will increase the crop of weeds, but this is not found to be the case, as the weeds are generally hoed up before the seed is formed. The mixture of flower-stalks in the manure causes a few flowers to grow up among the crops, as weeds, but most of the flower seeds perish during the process of decomposition. Now should not every cottager make his own garden produce its own manure. I can speak confidently of the success of the plan, having observed it in the case alluded to for the last five years; and I strongly recommend it to the attention of those who have the management of Cottage Allotments. Were this plan adopted for the garden, all the straw dung produced in the pigsty might be laid upon the allotment, and this would probably be sufficient to give the whole a tolerable dressing every alternate year. The land would thus be kept in a productive state, and abundant crops would remunerate the labours of the industrious occupier. I, of course, suppose the cottager to be never without a pig, that he does not sow the same crop on the same plot two years following, and that his ground annually produces some kind of grain besides a crop of potatoes."

EDUCATION SOCIETIES-TO BE ESTABLISHED, GOVERNED, AND
MAINTAINED BY THE WORKING PEOPLE.

"Education is the best gift of parents to their children, and without it all the advantages of fortune are only evils in disguise."

Objects of the Society.-The objects for which an education society is sought to be established, are twofold; 1st, to impart a solid and yet extensive education to children; and 2nd, to afford to adults, by means of a reading room, a source of recreation and instruction; and it is believed that this may be done by existing means.

The sum that is now spent by such working men, as endeavour to have their

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »