Chapter IX: Part 9

~Iron.~--In 1354 it was forbidden to export iron from England. In 1567 it was brought here from Sweden and Russia. A patent for smelting iron with pit coal was granted in 1620 to Dud Dudley, who also patented the tinning of iron in 1661. The total make of iron in England in 1740 was but 17,000 tons, from 59 furnaces, only two of which were in Staffordshire, turning out about 1,000 tons per year. In 1788 there were nine blast furnaces in the same county; in 1796, fourteen; in 1806, forty-two; in 1827, ninety-five, with an output of 216,000 tons, the kingdom's make being 690,000 tons from 284 furnaces. This quantity in 1842 was turned out of the 130 Staffordshire furnaces alone, though the hot-air blast was not used prior to 1835. Some figures have lately been published showing that the present product of iron in the world is close upon 19-1/2 million tons per year, and as iron and its working-up has a little to do with the prosperity of Birmingham, we preserve them. Statistics for the more important countries are obtainable as late as 1881. For the others it is assumed that the yield has not fallen off since the latest figures reported. Under "other countries," in the table below, are included Canada, Switzerland, and Mexico, each producing about 7,500 tons a year, and Norway, with 4,000 tons a year:--

Year. Gross Tons. Great Britain........ 1881 8,377,364 United States........ 1881 4,144,254 Germany.............. 1881 2,863,400 France............... 1881 1,866,438 Belgium.............. 1881 622,288 Austro-Hungary....... 1880 448,685 Sweden............... 1880 399,628 Luxembourg........... 1881 289,212 Russia............... 1881 231,341 Italy................ 1876 76,000 Spain................ 1873 73,000 Turkey............... -- 40,000 Japan................ 1877 10,000 All other countries.. -- 46,000 ---------- Total............ 19,487,610

The first four countries produce 88.4 per cent, of the world's iron supply; the first two, 64.3 per cent.; the first, 43 per cent. The chief consumer is the United States, 29 per cent.; next Great Britain, 23 '4 per cent.; these two using more than half of all. Cast iron wares do not appear to have been made here in any quantity before 1755; malleable iron castings being introduced about 1811. The first iron canal boat made its appearance here July 24, 1787. Iron pots were first tinned in 1779 by Jonathan Taylor's patented process, but we have no date when vessels of iron were first enamelled, though a French method of coating them with glass was introduced in 1850 by Messrs. T.G. Griffiths and Co. In 1809, Mr. Benjamin Cook, a well-known local inventor, proposed to use iron for building purposes, more particularly in the shape of joists, rafters, and beams, so as to make fire-proof rooms, walls, and flooring, as well as iron staircases. This suggestion was a long time before it was adopted, for in many things Cook was far in advance of his age. Corrugated iron for roofing, &c., came into use in 1832, but it was not till the period of the Australian gold fever--1852-4--that there was any great call for iron houses. The first iron church (made at Smethwick) as well as iron barracks for the mounted police, were sent out there, the price at Melbourne for iron houses being from £70 each.--See "_Trades_."

~Iron Bedsteads~ are said to have been invented by Dr. Church. Metallic bedsteads of many different kinds have been made since then, from the simple iron stretcher to the elaborately guilded couches made for princes and potentates, but the latest novelty in this line is a bedstead of solid silver, lately ordered for one of the Indian Rajahs.

~Iron Rods.~--Among the immense number of semi-religious tracts published during the Civil War, one appeared (in 1642) entitled "An Iron Rod for the Naylours and Tradesmen near Birmingham," by a self-styled prophet, who exhorted his neighbours to amend their lives and give better prices "twopence in the shilling at the least to poor workmen." We fancy the poor nailers of the present time would also be glad of an extra twopence.

~Jacks.~--Roasting Jacks of some kind or other were doubtless used by our great-great-grandmothers, but their kitchen grates were not supplied with "bottle-jacks" till their fellow-townsman, Mr. Fellowes, of Great Hampton Street, made them in 1796.

~Jennens.~--It is almost certain that the "Great Jennens (or Jennings) Case," has taken up more time in our law courts than any other cause brought before the judges. Charles Dickens is supposed to have had some little knowledge of it, and to have modelled his "Jarndyce _v_. Jarndyce" in "Bleak House" therefrom. It has a local interest, inasmuch as several members of the family lived, prospered, and died here, and, in addition, a fair proportion of the property so long disputed, is here situated. The first of the name we hear of as residing in Birmingham was William Jennens, who died in 1602. His son John became a well-to-do ironmonger, dying in 1653. One of John's sons, Humphrey, also waxed rich, and became possessed of considerable estate, having at one time, it is said, no less a personage than Lord Conway as "game-keeper" over a portion of his Warwickshire property. Probably the meaning was that his lordship rented the shooting. Ultimately, although every branch of the family were tolerably prolific, the bulk of the garnered wealth was concentrated in the hands of William Jennings, bachelor, who died at Acton Place in 1798, at the age of 98, though some have said he was 103. His landed property was calculated to be worth £650,000; in Stock and Shares he held £270,000; at his bankers, in cash and dividends due, there were £247,000; while at his several houses, after his death, they found close upon £20,000 in bank notes, and more than that in gold. Dying intestate, his property was administered to by Lady Andover, and William Lygon, Esq., who claimed to be next of kin descended from Humphrey Jennings, of this town. Greatest part of the property was claimed by these branches, and several noble families were enriched who, it is said, were never entitled to anything. The Curzon family came in for a share, and hence the connection of Earl Howe and others with this town. The collaterals and their descendants have, for generations, been fighting for shares, alleging all kinds of fraud and malfeasance on the part of the present holders and their predecessors, but the claimants have increased and multiplied to such an extent, that if it were possible for them to recover the whole of the twelve million pounds they say the property is now worth, it would, when divided, give but small fortunes to any of them. A meeting of the little army of claimants was held at the Temperance Hall, March 2, 1875, and there have been several attempts, notwithstanding the many previous adverse decisions, to re-open the battle for the pelf, no less than a quarter of a million, it is believed, having already been uselessly spent in that way.

~Jennen's Row~ is named after the above family.

~Jewellery.~--See "_Trades_."

~Jews.~--The descendants of Israel were allowed to reside in this country in 1079, but if we are to believe history their lot could not have been a very pleasant one, the poorer classes of our countrymen looking upon them with aversion, while the knights and squires of high degree, though willing enough to use them when requiring loans for their fierce forays, were equally ready to plunder and oppress on the slightest chance. Still England must have even then been a kind of sheltering haven, for in 1287, when a sudden anti-Semitic panic occurred to drive the Jews out of the kingdom, it was estimated that 15,660 had to cross the silver streak. Nominally, they were not allowed to return until Cromwell's time, 364 years after. It was in 1723 Jews were permitted to hold lands in this country, and thirty years after an Act was passed to naturalise them, but it was repealed in the following year. Now the Jews are entitled to every right and privilege that a Christian possesses. It is not possible to say when the Jewish community of this town originated, but it must have been considerably more than a hundred and fifty years ago, as when Hutton wrote in 1781, there was a synagogue in the Froggery, "a very questionable part of the town," and an infamous locality. He quaintly says:--"We have also among us a remnant of Israel, a people who, when masters of their own country, were scarcely ever known to travel, and who are now seldom employed in anything else. But though they are ever moving they are ever at home; who once lived the favourites of heaven, and fed upon the cream of the earth, but now are little regarded by either; whose society is entirely confined to themselves, except in the commercial line. In the synagogue, situated in the Froggery, they still preserve the faint resemblance of the ancient worship, their whole apparatus being no more than the drooping ensigns of poverty. The place is rather small, but tolerably filled; where there appears less decorum than in the Christian churches. The proverbial expression, 'as rich as a Jew,' is not altogether verified in Birmingham; but, perhaps, time is transferring it to the Quakers. It is rather singular that the honesty of a Jew is seldom pleaded but by the Jew himself." No modern historian would think of using such language now-a-days, respecting the Jews who now abide with us, whose charitable contributions to our public institutions, &c., may bear comparison with those of their Christian brethren. An instance of this was given so far back as December 5th, 1805, the day of general thanksgiving for the glorious victory of Trafalgar. On that day collections were made in all places of worship in aid of the patriotic fund for the relief of those wounded, and of the relatives of those killed in the war. It is worthy of remark that the parish church, St. Martin's, then raised the sum of £37 7s., and the "Jews' Synagogue" £3 3s. At the yearly collections in aid of the medical charities, now annually held on Hospital Sunday, St. Martin's gives between three and four hundred pounds; the Jewish congregation contributes about one hundred and fifty. If, then, the church has thus increased ten-fold in wealth and benevolence in the last seventy years, the synagogue has increased fifty-fold.

~Jews' Board of Guardians.~ A committee of resident Jews was appointed in 1869, to look after and relieve poor and destitute families among the Israelites; and though they pay their due quota to the poor rates of their parish, it is much to the credit of the Jewish community that no poor member is, permitted to go to the Workhouse or want for food and clothing. The yearly amount expended in relief by this Hebrew Board of Guardians is more than £500, mostly given in cash in comparatively large sums, so as to enable the recipients to become self-supporting, rather than continue them as paupers receiving a small weekly dole. There is an increase in the number of poor latterly, owing to the depression of trade and to the influx of poor families from Poland during the last few years. Another cause of poverty among the Jews is the paucity of artisans among them, very few of them even at the present time choosing to follow any of the staple trades outside those connected with clothing and jewellery.

~Jewish Persecutions in Russia.~--On Feb. 6, 1882, a town's meeting was called with reference to the gross persecution of the Jews in Russia, and the collection of a fund towards assisting the sufferers was set afoot, £1,800 being promised at the meeting.

~John a' Dean's Hole.~--A little brook which took the water from the moat round the old Manor House (site of Smithfield) was thus called, from a man named John Dean being drowned there about Henry VIII.'s time. This brook emptied into the river Rea, near the bottom of Floodgate Street, where a hundred and odd years back, there were two poolholes, with a very narrow causeway between them, which was especially dangerous at flood times to chance wayfarers who chose the path as a near cut to their dwellings, several cases of drowning being on record as occurring at this spot.--See "_Manor House_."

~Johnson, Dr. Samuel.~--Dr. Johnson's connection with Birmingham has always been a pleasant matter of interest to the local _literati_, but to the general public we fear it matters naught. His visit to his good friend Dr. Hector in 1733 is historically famous; his translations and writings while here have been often noted; his marriage with the widow Porter duly chronicled; but it is due to the researches of the learned Dr. Langford that attention has been lately drawn to the interesting fact that Johnson, who was born in 1709, actually came to Birmingham in his tenth year, on a visit to his uncle Harrison, who in after years, in his usual plain-speaking style, Johnson described as "a very mean and vulgar man, drunk every night, but drunk with little drink, very peevish, very proud, very ostentatious, but, luckily, not rich." That our local governors have a due appreciation of the genius of the famed lexicographer is shown by the fact of a passage-way from Bull Street to the Upper Priory being named "Dr. Samuel Johnson's Passage!"

~Jubilees.~--Strange as it may appear to the men of the present day, there has never been a National holiday yet kept equal to that known as the Jubilee Day of George the Third. Why it should have been so seems a great puzzle now. The celebration began in this town at midnight of the 24th October, 1809, by the ringers of St. Philip's giving "five times fifty claps, an interim with the same number of rounds, to honour the King, Queen, the Royal Family, the Nation, and the loyal town of Birmingham." At six o'clock next morning the sluggards were aroused with a second peal, and with little rest the bells were kept swinging the whole day long, the finale coming with a performance of "perpetual claps and clashings" that must have made many a head ache. There was a Sunday school jubilee celebrated September 14, 1831. The fiftieth year's pastorate of Rev. John Angell James was kept September 12, 1855, and the Jubilee Day of the Chapel in Carr's Lane, September 27, 1870; of Cannon Street Chapel, July 16, 1856; of the Rev. G. Cheatle's pastorate, at Lombard Street Chapel, January 11, 1860; of the Missionary Society, September 15, 1864; of Pope Pius the Ninth, in 1877, when the Roman Catholics of this town sent him £1,230. being the third largest contribution from England.

~Jubilee Singers.~--This troupe of coloured minstrels gave their first entertainment here in the Town Hall April 9, 1874.

~Jury Lists.~--According to the Jury Act, 6 George IV., the churchwardens and overseers of every parish in England are required to make out an alphabetical list before the 1st September in each year of all men residing in their respective parishes and townships qualified to serve on juries, setting forth at length their Christian and surname, &c. Copies of these lists, on the three first Sundays in September, are to be fixed on the principal door to every church, chapel, and other public place of religious worship, with a notice subjoined that all appeals will be heard at the Petty Sessions, to be held within the last day of September. The jury list for persons resident in the borough, and for several adjoining parishes, may be seen at the office of Mr. Alfred Walter, solicitor, Colmore Row, so that persons exempt may see if their names are included.

~Justices Of the Peace.~--The earliest named local Justices of the Peace (March 8, 1327) are "William of Birmingham" and "John Murdak" the only two then named for the county.--See "_Magistrates_".

~Kidneys (Petrified).~--In olden days our footpaths, where paved at all, were, as a rule, laid with round, hard pebbles, and many readers will be surprised to learn that five years ago there still remained 50,000 square yards of the said temper-trying paving waiting to be changed into more modern bricks or stone. Little, however, as we may think of them, the time has been when the natives were rather proud than otherwise of their pebbly paths, for, according to Bisset, when one returned from visiting the metropolis, he said he liked everything in London very much "except the pavement, for the stones were all so smooth, there was no foothold!"

~King Edward's Place.~--Laid out in 1782 on a 99 years' lease, from Grammar School, at a ground rent of £28, there being built 31 houses, and two in Broad Street.

~King's Heath.~--A little over three miles on the Alcester Road, in the Parish of King's Norton, an outskirt of Moseley, and a suburb of Birmingham; has added a thousand to its population in the ten years from census 1871 to 1881, and promises to more than double it in the next decennial period. The King's Heath and Moseley Institute, built in 1878, at the cost of Mr. J.H. Nettlefold, provides the residents with a commodious hall, library, and news-room. There is a station here on the Midland line, and the alterations now in the course of being made on that railway must result in a considerable, addition to the traffic and the usefulness of the station, as a local depôt for coal, &c.

~King's Norton.~--Mentioned in Domesday, and in the olden times was evidently thought of equal standing (to say the least) with its five-miles-neighbour, Birmingham, as in James the First's reign there was a weekly market (Saturdays) and ten fairs in the twelve months. The market the inhabitants now attend is to be found in this town, and the half-score of fairs has degenerated to what is known as "King's Norton Mop" or October statute fair, for the hiring of servants and labourers, when the Lord of Misrule holds sway, the more's the pity. The King's Norton Union comprises part of the borough of Birmingham (Edgbaston), as well as Balsall Heath, Harborne, Moseley, Northfield, Selly Oak, &c., and part of it bids fair to become a manufacturing district of some extent, as there are already paper mills, rolling mills, screw works, &c., and the Smethwick men are rapidly advancing in its direction--the Midland Junction with the West Suburban line being also in the parish. The fortified mansion, known as Hawkesley House, in this parish, was the scene of a contest in May, 1645, between King Charles' forces and the Parliamentarians, who held it, the result being its capture, pillage, and destruction by fire.

~Kirby's Pools.~--A well-known and favourite resort on the outskirt of the borough, on the Bristol Road, and formerly one of the celebrated taverns and tea gardens of past days. The publichouse (the "Malt Shovel") having been extended and partially rebuilt, and the grounds better laid out, the establishment was re-christened, and opened as the Bournbrook Hotel, at Whitsuntide, 1877.

~Kossuth.~--Louis Kossuth, the ex-dictator of Hungary, was honoured with a public welcome and procession of trades, &c., Nov. 10, 1851, and entertained at a banquet in Town Hall on the 12th. He afterwards appeared here May 7 and 8, 1856, in the _role_ of a public lecturer.

~Kyott's Lake.~--A pool once existing where now is Grafton Road, Camp Hill. There was another pool near it, known as Foul Lake.

~Kyrle Society.~--So named after the character alluded to by Pope in his "Moral Essays":

"Who taught that heaven-directed spire to rise?
'The Man of Ross,' each lisping babe replies."

John Kyrle, who died Nov. 11, 1724, though not a native, resided at Ross nearly the whole of his long and loyal life of close on 90 years, and Pope, who often visited the neighbourhood, there became acquainted with him and his good works, and embalmed his memory in undying verse as an example to future generations. A more benevolent lover of his fellowman than Kyrle cannot be named, and a society for cultivating purity of taste, and a delight in aiding the well-being of others, is rightly called after him. The Birmingham Kyrle Society was established in 1880, and frequent paragraphs in the local papers tell us of their doings, at one time cheering the inmates of the institutions where the sick and unfortunate lie, with music and song, and at another distributing books, pictures, and flowers, where they are prized by those who are too poor to purchase. The officers of the society will be pleased to hear from donors, as let contributions of flowers or pictures be ever so many, the recipients are far more numerous. Mr. Walliker, our philanthropic postmaster, is one of the vice-presidents, and the arrangements of the parcel post are peculiarly suited for forwarding parcels.

~Lady Well.~--There is mention in a document dated 1347 of a "dwelling in Egebaston Strete leading towards God well feld," and there can be no doubt that this was an allusion to the Lady Well, or the well dedicated to the blessed Virgin, close to the old house that for centuries sheltered the priests that served St. Martin's, and which afterwards was called the Parsonage or Rectory. The well spring was most abundant, and was never known to fail. The stream from it helped to supply the moat round the Parsonage, and there, joined by the waters from the higher grounds in the neighbourhood of Holloway Head, and from the hill above the Pinfold, it passed at the back of Edgbaston Street, by the way of Smithfield passage and Dean Street (formerly the course of a brook) to the Manor House moat. The Ladywell Baths were historically famous and, as stated by Hutton, were the finest in the kingdom. The Holy Well of the blessed Virgin still exists, though covered over and its waters allowed to flow into the sewers instead of the Baths, and any visitor desirous of testing the water once hallowed for its purity must take his course down the mean alley known as Ladywell Walk, at the bend in which he will find a dirty passage leading to a rusty iron pump, "presented by Sir E.S. Gooch, Bart., to the inhabitants of Birmingham," as commemorated by an inscription on the dirty stone which covers the spring and its well. God's Well field is covered with workshops, stables, dirty backyards and grimy-looking houses, and the Baths are a timber-yard.

~Lambert.~--Birmingham had something to do with the fattening of the celebrated Daniel Lambert, the heaviest lump of humanity this country has yet produced, for he was an apprentice to Mr. John Taylor, button maker, of Crooked Lane. His indentures were cancelled through his becoming so fat and unwieldy, and he was sent back to his father, the then governor of Leicester gaol. Daniel died June 21st, 1809, at Stamford, where he was buried; his age was 39, and he weighed 52 stone 11 lb. (at 14 lb. the stone), measuring 9 ft. 4 in. round the body, and 3 ft. 1 in. round the thick of each of his legs.

~Lancashire Distress.~--The accounts of the Local Fund raised for the relief of the cotton operatives of Lancashire were published Aug. 3, 1863, showing receipts amounting £15,115 4s. 10d.

~Lamps.~--The number of ordinary lamps in the borough, under the control of the Public Works Department, on the 31st of December, 1882, was 6,591, of which number 1,950 are regulated to consume 5.20 cubic feet, and the remainder, or 4,641, 4.30 cubic feet per hour; their cost respectively inclusive of lighting, cleaning, and extinguishing, was £2 12s. 4-1/2d., and £2 5s. 2-1/4d. per lamp per annum. In addition there are 93 special and 53 urinal lamps.

~Lands.~--In Birmingham it is bought and sold by the square yard, and very pretty prices are occasionally paid therefor; our agricultural friends reckon by acres, roods, and perches. The Saxon "hyde" of land, as mentioned in Domesday Book and other old documents, was equivalent to 100, or, as some read it, 120 acres; the Norman "Carncase" being similar.

~Land Agency.~--An International Land and Labour Agency was established at Birmingham by the Hon. Elihu Burritt in October, 1869; its object being to facilitate the settlement of English farmers and mechanics in the United States, and also to supply American orders for English labourers and domestic servants of all kinds. Large numbers of servant-girls in England, it was thought, would be glad to go to America, but unable to pay their passage-money, and unwilling to start without knowing where they were to go on arriving. This agency advanced the passage-money, to be deducted from the first wages; but, though the scheme was good and well meant, very little advantage was taken of the agency, and, like some other of the learned blacksmith's notions, though a fair-looking tree, it bore very little fruit.

~Land and Building Societies.~--Though frequently considered to be quite a modern invention, the plan of a number uniting to purchase lands and houses for after distribution, is a system almost as old as the hills. The earliest record we have of a local Building Society dates from 1781, though no documents are at hand to show its methods of working. On Jan. 17, 1837, the books were opened for the formation of a Freehold Land and Building Society here, but its usefulness was very limited, and its existence short. It was left to the seething and revolutionary days of 1847-8, when the Continental nations were toppling over thrones and kicking out kings, for sundry of our men of light and leading to bethink themselves of the immense political power that lay in the holding of the land, and how, by the exercise of the old English law, which gave the holder of a 40s. freehold the right of voting for the election of a "knight of the shire," such power could be brought to bear on Parliament, by the extension of the franchise in that direction. The times were out of joint, trade bad, and discontent universal, and the possession of a little bit of the land we live on was to be a panacea for every abuse complained of, and the sure harbinger of a return of the days when every Jack had Jill at his own fireside. The misery and starvation existing in Ireland where small farms had been divided and subdivided until the poor families could no longer derive a sustenance from their several moieties, was altogether overlooked, and "friends of the people" advocated the wholesale settlement of the unemployed English on somewhat similar small plots. Feargus O'Connor, the Chartist leader, started his National Land Society, and thousands paid in their weekly mites in hopes of becoming "lords of the soil;" estates here and there were purchased, allotments made, cottages built, and many new homes created. But as figs do not grow on thistles, neither was it to be expected that men from the weaving-sheds, or the mines, should be able to grow their own corn, or even know how to turn it into bread when grown, and _that_ Utopian scheme was a failure. More wise in their generation were the men of Birmingham: they went not for country estates, nor for apple orchards or turnip fields. The wise sagaciousness of their leaders, and the Brums always play well at "follow my leading," made them go in for the vote, the full vote, and nothing but the vote. The possession of a little plot on which to build a house, though really the most important, was not the first part of the bargain by any means at the commencement. To get a vote and thus help upset something or somebody was all that was thought of at the time, though now the case is rather different, few members of any of the many societies caring at present so much for the franchise as for the "proputty, proputty, proputty." Mr. James Taylor, jun., has been generally dubbed the "the father of the freehold land societies," and few men have done more than him in their establishment, but the honour of dividing the first estate in this neighbourhood, we believe, must be given to Mr. William Benjamin Smith, whilome secretary of the Manchester Order of Odd Fellows, and afterwards publisher of the _Birmingham Mercury_ newspaper. Being possessed of a small estate of about eight acres, near to the Railway Station at Perry Barr, he had it laid out in 100 lots, which were sold by auction at Hawley's Temperance Hotel, Jan. 10, 1848, each lot being of sufficient value to carry a vote for the shire. The purchasers were principally members of an Investment and Permanent Benefit Building Society, started January 4, 1847, in connection with the local branch of Oddfellows, of which Mr. Smith was a chief official. Franchise Street, which is supposed to be the only street of its name in England, was the result of this division of land, and as every purchaser pleased himself in the matter of architecture, the style of building may be called that of "the free and easy." Many estates have been divided since then, thousands of acres in the outskirts being covered with houses where erst were green fields, and in a certain measure Birmingham owes much of its extension to the admirable working of the several Societies. As this town led the van in the formation of the present style of Land and Building Societies, it is well to note here their present general status. In 1850 there were 75 Societies in the kingdom, with about 25,000 members, holding among them 35,000 shares, with paid-up subscriptions amounting to £164,000. In 1880, the number of societies in England was 946, in Scotland, 53, and in Ireland 27. The number of members in the English societies was 320,076, in the scotch 11,902, and in the Irish 6,533. A return relating to these societies in England has just been issued, which shows that there are now 1,687 societies in existence, with a membership of 493,271. The total receipts during the last financial year amounted to £20,919,473. There were 1,528 societies making a return of liabilities, which were to the holders of shares £29,351,611, and to the depositors £16,351,611. There was a balance of unappropriated profit to the extent of £1,567,942. The assets came to £44,587,718. In Scotland there were 15,386 members of building societies; the receipts were £413,609, the liabilities to holders of shares amounted to £679,990, to depositors and other creditors £268,511; the assets consisted of balance due on mortgage securities £987,987, and amount invested in other securities and cash £67,618. In Ireland there were 9,714 members of building societies; the receipts were £778,889, liabilities to the holders of shares £684,396, to depositors and others £432,356; the assets included balance due on mortgage securities £1,051,423, and amount invested in other securities £79,812. There were 150 of the English societies whose accounts showed deficiencies amounting to £27,850; two Scotch societies minus £862, but no Irish short. It is a pity to have to record that there have been failures in Birmingham, foremost among them being that of the Victoria Land and Building Society, which came to grief in 1870, with liabilities amounting to £31,550. The assets, including £5,627 given by the directors and trustees, and £886 contributed by other persons, realised £27,972. Creditors paid in full took £9,271, the rest receiving 8s. 9d. in the pound, and £4,897 being swallowed up in costs. The break-up of the Midland Land and Investment Corporation (Limited) is the latest. This Company was established in 1864, and by no means confined itself to procuring sites for workmen's dwellings, or troubled about getting them votes. According to its last advertisement, the authorised capital was £500,000, of which £248,900 had been subscribed, but only £62,225 called up, though the reserve fund was stated to be £80,000. What the dividend will be is a matter for the future, and may not even be guessed at at present. The chief local societies, and their present status, areas follows:--

_The Birmingham Freehold Land Society_ was started in 1848, and the aggregate receipts up to the end of 1882 amounted to £680,132 12s. 7d. The year's receipts were £20,978 16s. 5d., of which £11,479 represented payments made by members who had been alloted land on the estates divided by the Society, there being, after payment of all expenses, a balance of £11,779 12s. 9d. The number of members was then 772, and it was calculated that the whole of the allotments made would be paid off in four years.

_The Friendly Benefit Building Society_ was organised in 1859, and up to Midsummer, 1883, the sums paid in amounted to £340,000. The year's receipts were £21,834 19s. 6d., of which £10,037 came from borrowers, whose whole indebtedness would be cleared in about 5-1/2 years. The members on the books numbered 827, of whom 684 were investors and 143 borrowers. The reserve fund stood at £5,704 5s. 9d There is a branch of this Society connected with Severn Street Schools, and in a flourishing condition, 32 members having joined during the year, and £2,800 having been received as contributions. The total amount paid in since the commencement of the branch in June, 1876, was £18,181 13s. 11d. The Severn Street scholars connected with it had secured property during the past year valued at £2,400.

_The Incorporated Building Society_ comprises the United, the Queen's, the Freeholders', and the Second Freeholders' Societies, the earliest of them established in 1849, the incorporation taking place in 1878. The aggregate receipts of these several Societies would reach nearly 3-1/2 millions. The amounts paid in since the amalgamation (to the end of 1882) being £1,049,667. As might be expected the present Society has a large constituency, numbering 6,220 members, 693 of whom joined in 1882. The advances during the year reached £78,275, to 150 borrowers, being an average of £500 to each. The amount due from borrowers was £482,000, an average of £540 each. The amount due to investors was ££449,000, an average of £84 each. The borrowers repaid last year £104,000, and as there was £482,000 now due on mortgage accounts the whole capital of the society would be turned over in five years, instead of thirteen and a half, the period for which the money was lent. The withdrawals had been £85,409, which was considerably under the average, as the society had paid away since the amalgamation £520,000, or £104,000 per annum. The amount of interest credited to investors was £19,779. A total of £100,000 had been credited in the last five years. The reserve fund now amounted to £34,119, which was nearly 7-1/2 per cent. on the whole capital employed.

_The Birmingham Building Society, No. 1_, was established in May, 1842, and re-established in 1853. It has now 1,580 members, subscribing for shares amounting to £634,920. The last report states that during the existence of the society over £500,000 has been advanced to members, and that the amount of "receipts and payments" have reached the sum of £1,883,444. Reserve fund is put at £5,000.

_The Birmingham Building Society, No. 4_, was established in June, 1846, and claims to be the oldest society in the town. The report, to end of June, 1883, gave the number of shares as 801-3/4, of which 563-1/4 belong to investors, and the remainder to borrowers. The year's receipts were £10,432, and £6,420 was advanced. The balance-sheet showed the unallotted share fund to be £18,042, on deposit £3,915, due to bank £2,108, and balance in favour of society £976. The assets amounted to £25,042, of which £21,163 was on mortgages, and £3,818 on properties in possession.

_St. Philip's Building Society_ was began in January, 1850, since when (up to January, 1883) £116,674 had been advanced on mortgages, and £28,921 repaid to depositing members. The society had then 326 members, holding among them 1,094-1/4 shares. The year's receipts were £13,136, and £7,815 had been advanced in same period. The reserve fund was £3,642; the assets £65,940, of which £54,531 was on mortgages, £7,987 deferred premiums, and £2,757 properties in hand.

Several societies have not favoured us with their reports.

~Law.~--There are 306 solicitors and law firms in Birmingham, 19 barristers, and a host of students and law clerks, each and every one of whom doubtless dreams of becoming Lord Chancellor. The Birmingham Law Society was formed in 1818, and there is a Society of Law Students besides, and a Law Library. At present, our Law Courts comprise the Bankruptcy and County Courts, Assize Courts (held _pro tem_ in the Council House), the Quarter Sessions' and Petty Sessions' Courts.

~League of Universal Brotherhood.~--Originated by Elihu Burritt, in 1846, while sitting in the "Angel," at Pershore, on his walk through England. He came back to Joseph Sturge and here was printed his little periodical called "The Bond of Brotherhood," leading to many International Addresses, Peace Congresses, and Olive-Leaf Missions, but alas! alas! how very far off still seems the "universal peace" thus sought to be brought about. Twenty thousand signatures were attached to "The Bond" in one year. Far more than that number have been slain in warfare every year since.

~Lease Lane.~--Apparently a corruption of Lea or Leay Lane, an ancient bye-road running at the back of the Dog or Talbot Inn, the owners of which, some 300 years ago, were named Leays. When the Market Hall was built and sewers were laid round it, the workmen came upon what was at the time imagined to be an underground passage, leading from the Guildhall in New Street to the old Church of St. Martin's. Local antiquarians at the time would appear to have been conspicuous by their absence, as the workmen were allowed to close the passage with rubbish without a proper examination being made of it. Quite lately, however, in digging out the soil for the extension of the Fish Market at a point on the line of Lease Lane, about 60ft. from Bell Street, the workmen, on reaching a depth of 8ft. or 9ft., struck upon the same underground passage, but of which the original purpose was not very apparent. Cut in the soft, sandstone, and devoid of any lining, it ran almost at right angles to Lease Lane, and proved to extend half way under that thoroughfare, and some four or five yards into the excavated ground. Under Lease Lane it was blocked by rubbish, through which a sewer is believed to run, and therefore the exact ending of the passage in one direction cannot be traced; in the excavated ground it ended, on the site of a dismantled public-house, in a circular shaft, which may have been that of a well, or that of a cesspool. The passage, so far as it was traceable, was 24ft. long, 7ft. high, and 4-1/2ft. wide. As to its use before it was severed by the sewerage of Lease Lane, the conjecture is that it afforded a secret means of communication between two houses separated above ground by that thoroughfare, but for what purpose must remain one of the perplexing puzzles of the past. That it had no connection with the Church or the Grammar School (the site of the old Guild House) is quite certain, as the course of the passage was in a different direction.

~Leasing Wives.~--In the histories of sundry strange lands we read of curious customs appertaining to marriage and the giving in marriage. Taking a wife on trial is the rule of more than one happy clime, but taking a wife upon lease is quite a Brummagem way of marrying (using the term in the manner of many detractors of our town's fair fame). In one of the numbers of the _Gentleman's Magazine_, for the year 1788, Mr. Sylvanus Urban, as the editor has always been called, is addressed as follows by a Birmingham correspondent:--"Since my residing in this town I have often heard there is a method of obtaining a wife's sister upon lease. I never could learn the method to be taken to get a wife upon lease, or whether such connections are sanctioned by law; but there is an eminent manufacturer in the vicinity of this town who had his deceased wife's sister upon lease for twenty years and upwards; and I know she went by his name, enjoyed all the privileges, and received all the honours due to the respectable name of wife." A rarer case of marital leasing has often been noted against us by the aforesaid smirchers of character as occurring in 1853, but in reality it was rather an instance of hiring a husband.

~Leather Hall.~--As early as the Norman Conquest this town was famed for its tanneries, and there was a considerable market, for leather for centuries after. Two of the Court Leet officers were "Leather Sealers," and part of the proclamation made by the Crier of the Court when it held its meetings was in those words, "All whyte tawers that sell not good chaffer as they ought to do reasonably, and bye the skynnes in any other place than in towne or market, ye shall do us to weet," meaning that anyone knowing of such offences on the part of the "whyte tawers" or tanners should give information at the Court then assembled. New Street originally was entered from High Street, under an arched gateway, and here was the Leather Hall (which was still in existence in Hutton's time), where the "Sealers" performed their functions. It was taken down when New Street was opened out, and though we have an extensive hide and skin market now, we can hardly be said to possess a market for leather other than the boot and shoe shops, the saddlers, &c.

~Lench's Trust.~--See "_Philanthropic Institutions_."

~Liberal Association.~--On Feb. 17, 1865, a meeting was held in the committee room of the Town Hall for the purpose of forming an organisation which should "unite all the Liberals of the town, and provide them with a regular and efficient method of exercising a _legitimate_ influence in favour of their political principles." The outcome of this meeting was the birth of the now famous Liberal "Caucus," and though the names of ten gentlemen were appended to the advertisement calling the meeting, the honour of the paternity of the Liberal bantling is generally given to Mr. William Harris. The governing body of the association was fixed at two dozen, inclusive of the president, vice, and secretary; all persons subscribing a shilling or more per annum being eligible to become members. The "General Committee," for some time known as the "Four Hundred," was enlarged in 1876 to Six Hundred, and in June, 1880, to Eight Hundred, the Executive Committee, at the same time, being considerably increased. The recent alteration in the franchise, and the division of the borough and outskirts into seven electoral districts, has led to a reorganisation of the Association, or Associations, for each of the seven divisions now works by itself, though guided by a central Council.--A "Women's Liberal Association" was founded in October, 1873, and a "Junior Liberal Association" in October, 1878.

~Libraries.~--The first public or semi-public library founded in Birmingham, was the Theological. In 1733 the Rev. William Higgs, first Rector of St. Philip's, left his collection of 550 volumes, and a sum of money, to found a library for the use of clergymen and students. The books, many of which are rare, are kept in a building erected in 1792, adjacent to the Rectory, and are accessible to all for whom the library was designed.--A Circulating Library was opened in Colmore Row, in 1763, and at one time there was a second-class institution of the kind at a house up one of the courts in Dale End.--A "New Library" was opened in Cannon Street, April 26, 1796, which was removed to Temple Row, in 1821, and afterwards united to the Old Library. The latter was commenced in 1779, the first room for the convenience of members being opened in 1782, and the present building in Union Street, erected in 1798. The report of the committee for the year 1882 showed that there were 772 proprietors, at 21s. per annum; 35 annual subscribers, at 31s. 6d. per annum; 528 at 2ls.; 6 quarterly, at 9s. per quarter; 53 at 6s. per quarter; 17 resident members of subscribers' families, at 10s. per annum; and 118 resident members of subscribers' families (readers) at 5s. The total number of members was 1,479; the year's subscriptions being £1,594. The price of shares has been raised from two to three guineas during the past year. Receipts from shares, fines, &c., amounted to about £480, making the amount actually received in 1882, £2,012 6s. The expenditure had been £1,818 19s. 9d., inclusive of £60 carried to the reserve fund, and £108 paid on account of the new catalogue; and there remained a balance of £198 6s. 1d. in hand. £782 0s. 9d. had been expended on the purchase of 1,560 additional books, re-binding others, &c., making a total of about 50,000 volumes. The library needs extension, but the shortness of the lease (thirty years only) and the high value of the adjoining land prevents any step being taken in that direction at present. The Birmingham Law Society's Library was founded in February, 1831, by Mr. Arthur Ryland, and has now nearly 6,000 volumes of law works, law reports (English, Scotch, and Irish), local and personal Acts, &c., &c. The present home in Wellington Passage was opened August 2, 1876, being far more commodious than the old abode in Waterloo-street, the "library" itself being a room 35ft. long, 22ft. wide, and 20ft. high, with a gallery round it. There are several extensive libraries connected with places of worship, such as the Church of the Saviour, Edward Street, Severn Street Schools, the Friends' Meeting House, &c. and a number of valuable collections in the hands of some well-known connoisseurs, literati, and antiquarians, access to most of which may be obtained on proper introduction.

~Libraries (The Free).~--The first attempt to found a Free Library in this town was the holding of a public meeting in April, 1852, under the provisions of the Museums and Libraries Act of 1850, which allowed of a 1/2d. rate being levied for the support of such institutions. Whether the townsfolk were careless on the subject, or extra careful, and therefore, doubtful of the sufficiency of the 1/2d. rate to provide them, is not certain; but so little interest was shown in the matter that only 534 persons voted for the adoption of the Act, while 363 voted against it, and the question for the time was shelved, as the Act required the assents to be two-thirds of the total votes given. In 1855 the Commissioner of patents presented to the town some 200 volumes, conditionally that they should be kept in a _Free_ Library, and about the same time another proposal was made to establish such a Library, but to no effect. The Act was altered so that a penny rate could be made, and in October, 1859, it was again suggested to try the burgesses. On February 21, 1860, the meeting was held and the adoption of the Act carried by a large majority. A committee of sixteen, eight members of the Council, and eight out if it, was chosen, and in a short time their work was shown by the transfer of 10,000 square feet of land belonging to the Midland Institute, on which to erect a central library, the preparations of plans therefor, the purchase of books, and (April 3, 1861) the opening of the first branch library and reading room in Constitution Hill. Mr. E.M. Barry, the architect of the Midland Institute, put in designs, including Art Gallery, but his figures were too high, being £14,250 10s., the Town Council having only voted £10,500. The plans of Mr. W. Martin, whose estimate was £12,000 were adopted, the Council added £1,500, a loan for the cash was negotiated, and building commenced by Messrs. Branson and Murray, whose tender to do the work for £8,600 was accepted. Thirty-two applications for the chief librarianship at £200 per annum were sent in, the chosen man being Mr. J.D. Mullins, though he was not the one recommended by the Committee. The Central Lending Library (with 10,000 volumes) and Reading-room, with Art Gallery, was formally opened September 6, 1865, and the Reference Library (then containing 18,200 volumes) October 26, 1866. In 1869, the latter was much enlarged by the purchase of 604 square yards of land in Edmund Street, and the total cost of the building came to £14,896. The Branch Library at Adderley Park was opened January 11, 1864; that at Deritend Oct. 2, 1866, and at Gosta Green Feb. 1, 1868. At the end of 1870, the total number of volumes in the whole of the Libraries was 56,764, of which 26,590 were in the Reference, and 12,595 in the Central Lending Library. By 1877, the total number of volumes had reached 86,087, of which 46,520 were in the Reference, and 17,543 in the Central Lending, the total number of borrowers being 8,947 at the Central, 4,188 at Constitution Hill, 3,002 at Deritend, 2,668 at Gosta Green, and 271 at Adderley Park. Meantime several new features in connection with the Reference Library had appeared. A room had been fitted up and dedicated to the reception of the "Shakespeare Memorial Library," presented April 23, 1864; the "Cervantes Library," presented by Mr. Bragge, was opened on a similar date in 1873; the "Staunton Collection" purchased for £2,400, (not half its value) was added Sept. 1, 1875, and very many important additions had been made to the Art Gallery and incipient Museum. For a long time, the Free Libraries' Committee had under consideration the necessity of extending the building, by adding a wing, which should be used not only as an Art Gallery, but also as an Industrial Museum; the Art Gallery and its treasures being located in that portion of the premises devoted to the Midland Institute, which was found to be a very inconvenient arrangement. The subject came under the notice of the Council on February 19th, 1878, when the committee submitted plans of the proposed alterations. These included the erection of a new block of buildings fronting Edmund Street, to consist of three storeys. The Town Council approved the plans, and granted £11,000 to defray the cost of the enlargement. About Midsummer the committee proceeded to carry out the plans, and in order to do this it was necessary to remove the old entrance hall and the flight of stairs which led up to the Shakespeare Memorial Library and to the Reference Library, and to make sundry other alterations of the buildings. The Library was closed for several days, and in the meantime the walls, where the entrances were, were pulled down and wooden partitions were run up across the room, making each department of much smaller area than before. In addition to this a boarded-in staircase was erected in Edmund Street, by which persons were able to gain access to the Lending Library, which is on the ground floor, and to the Reference Library, which was immediately above. A similar staircase was made in Ratcliff-place, near the cab stand, for the accommodation of the members of the Midland Institute, who occupy the Paradise-street side of the building. The space between the two staircases was boarded up, in order to keep the public off the works during the alterations, and the necessary gas supply pipes, &c., were located outside these wooden partitions. The alterations were well advanced by Christmas, and everything bade fair for an early and satisfactory completion of the undertaking. The weather, however, was most severe, and now and then the moisture in the gas-pipes exposed to the air became frozen. This occurred on the afternoon of Saturday, January 11, 1879, and an employé of the gas office lit a gas jet to thaw one of the pipes, A shaving was blown by the wind across this light, it blazed; the flame caught other shavings, which had been packed round the pipe to keep the frost out, and in less than a minute the fire was inside, and in one hour the Birmingham Reference Library was doomed to destruction. It was the greatest loss the town had ever suffered, but a new building has arisen on the site, and (with certain exceptions) it is hoped that a more perfect and valuable Library will be gathered to fill it. In a few days after the fire it was decided to ask the public at large for at least £10,000 towards a new collection, and within a week £7,000 had been sent in, the principal donors named in the list being--