Chapter XI: Part 11

IMPORTANT NOTICE.--As only Ten Persons can be elected, any
Ratepayer Voting for more than that number will lose the Whole
of his Votes. Write your Initials, at once, opposite the above
Ten Names only, (which are the last Ten upon the Voting Paper,)
and sign your name at the foot thereof; and then carefully
preserve it (as no second paper will be given you) and deliver
it to the person who left it, when he calls on Saturday, the
8th of April. If the Voting Paper is not then given, send it as
early that day as possible to Mr. Shorthouse, the Clerk to the
Guardians, at the Poor Law Offices, in Upper King Street. Any
person qualified to Vote who shall not have received a Voting
Paper, may do so on applying to Mr. Shorthouse, at his Offices
as above, (not later than Saturday, the 8th of April,) and then
and there fill up the same in his presence, and deliver it to
him.

_March 9th, 1854._

* * * * *

ELECTION OF GUARDIANS.

TO THE RATE-PAYERS OF THE PARISH OF DUDLEY.

A Handbill having been circulated through the Parish, evidently
the production of one of the "ACTIVE AND INTELLIGENT" Members
of the present Board, calling upon you to elect them again
as Guardians for the Parish; permit another Quiet Observer
to submit a few FACTS for your consideration. You are
told something about Owners' Proxies having been obtained
by unscrupulous means. Does the Gentleman allude to the
hundreds of those statements, which he and his Friends by
MISREPRESENTATION AND CAJOLERY obtained six months previously
to the Election of the Board of Health, for the purpose of
securing THEIR OWN ELECTION, or to those hundreds of similar
statements which were given to the Overseers a few weeks ago by
the same party! Perhaps he and some other of these active and
intelligent Guardians will admit that they gave unquestionable
proof of their activity, if they would kindly state the number
of miles they travelled last year, in running about from street
to street, and house to house to fill up the Voting Papers,
which by so doing, and imposing on the Rate-payers, they
Elected themselves. Having carefully watched the conduct of
these parties during the last year, I find amongst the most
conspicuous of their performances, the decision of the question
of a Huge Union Bastile, to separate Man and Wife, Children
and Parents; to a Man they have ever Voted in favour of this,
and the Dudley Union will now have to pay, at the very least,
£20,000 for it.

And look at what these same ACTIVE INTELLIGENCES have done
for you by the Board of Health! That Board has already made
and signed a Rate of ONE SHILLING AND TENPENCE in the Pound,
which in a very short time you will be forced to pay; and an
additional Rate is also in contemplation, which, together
with two twenty-penny Poor Rates, will make 5s. 8d. in the
Pound for Levies alone to pay. Among other items of reckless
extravagance, the following Salaries:--Clerk to the Board, £165
per annum; Surveyor, £150 per annum; Doctor, £75 per annum;
Collector, £75 per annum; Inspector of Nuisances, £120 per
annum, lately increased from £40 to £120; making a total of
£585; with additional extra allowance which has been paid to
others to assist; and further, I am informed that to carry out
the projects for Drainage, Plans, Surveys, &c., £50,000 will
be required and borrowed, and the interest must be paid by
draining your pockets. Next, is it fair that these SEVEN ACTIVE
INTELLIGENCES shall take to themselves the credit of what the
labours of the whole Board have effected in the diminution of
the Expenditure, and I would ask HOW IS IT that in a time of
good trade, nearly £7,000 has been spent during the past year;
and WHY IS IT that under the operation of the Tenement Rating
Act, from which so great things were promised us, that the
Dudley Overseers have been compelled to borrow £500, and to pay
the interest out of their pockets? As to Model Lodging-houses,
Public Hall, School of Design, Mechanics' Institute, &c., of
which they make such boast; all very well, I reply, provided
they are paid for by private enterprize, and not by PUBLIC
RATES.

FELLOW RATEPAYERS.--Have your payments been less during the
last year?

OWNERS OF SMALL PROPERTIES.--Have you not been compelled to
pay the Rates for your tenants, in addition to your own usual
Rates? and to whom are you indebted for this increase of your
burdens? It is a fact, that every one of the SEVEN ACTIVE
INTELLIGENCES did vote for the imposition of this additional
Tax on you to relieve themselves, for I believe not one of them
pay a Shilling on small Property in this Parish. Improvements
we want, but do not be deceived; be careful to whom you trust
the Power of Local Taxation. Vote for Guardians who have a
stake in the Parish, who will spend your money as carefully as
they would their own. Vote NOT for those who merely seek the
office to gratify their own private vanity, and serve party
purposes at the Cost of the Poor hard-working Ratepayers.

Vote like I intend to do, for the TEN LAST NAMES on the List,
for the men nominated by your most respected Fellow Townsman,
Thomas Badger, Esq.; he has long been a tried and true friend
to the Town of Dudley, and would not deceive you by nominating
improper ones.

Fellow Ratepayers, Your Faithful Servant,
ANOTHER QUIET OBSERVER.

_Dudley, March 30th, 1854._

* * * * *

ELECTION OF GUARDIANS.

TO THE RATEPAYERS OF THE PARISH OF DUDLEY.

"Another Observer" has thought proper to intrude some remarks
upon your notice. To this there could be no objection, so long
as _truth_ was adhered to; unfortunately, the truthfulness as
well as the reason of his remarks are about "as two grains of
wheat in two bushels of chaff, you shall search all day ere you
find them, and when you have, they shall not prove worth the
search!" Let me take his observations then _seriatim_--that
Owners' Proxies have been procured, and this to some extent by
misrepresentation, if not something worse, is beyond doubt, and
that they will in very many instances be used contrary to the
wishes and intentions of the Owners, is a fact which admits
also of as little doubt. No person with any discrimination
can suppose that if unscrupulously obtained they will not as
unscrupulously be employed. Does "Another Observer" wish you
to believe falsehood by proxy, or does he wish to propagate
untruth by insinuation? He knows that with regard to the
Board of Health proxies were not and could not be used,--and
he is defied to prove that either "misrepresentation or
cajolery" was employed by his opponents to gain that election.
Notwithstanding the number of _paid_ agents employed by himself
and others to disseminate that "misrepresentation and cajolery"
of which he speaks so much, the good sense and independent
judgment of the Ratepayers emphatically decided against them;
and so also, if left to their own free and unbiassed opinions,
will they do in the present election for the Guardians.

In regard to the Workhouse question, the _facts_ stated by "A
Ratepayer" are a sufficient answer; but "Another Observer" here
again knows that _his statements are a gross exaggeration,
and wilfully intended to mislead_. So also are his statements
in regard to the salaries paid to some of the Officers of
the Board of Health. Will he, however, assert that he or his
friends would or could have procured proper and intelligent
persons, qualified to carry out the important works which
will be required of them, for less amounts than are now paid?
I trow not. But why wish you to believe that these are extra
burdens imposed upon you? _Why not tell you of the sums paid,_
IN THE GOOD OLD TIMES OF HIS FRIENDS, _to the late Clerk to
the Town Act Commissioners,--to the Collectors of the Town
Rate and Highway Rate,--the Inspector of Nuisances under the
Diseases' Prevention Act,--the Surveyor of the Highways and
other Officers?_ and I am much mistaken if you will not find
MORE MONEY PAID FOR LESS WORK DONE! It was either because he
considered "discretion the better part of valour," or, "where
ignorance is bliss, 'twas folly to be wise." Why, too, did not
this "other Observer" tell you what either _himself_ or _his
friend_ (?), a THRICE-REJECTED-ASPIRING-WOULD-BE-GUARDIAN!!!
has received of the Parish money for some years before he
pretended to pass judgment on others.

As to the Rates made by your Local Board of Health, what are
they? Why a _Shilling_ Town Rate instead of an _Eighteen-penny_
one as it was last year, and _Two Shillings_ a year or two
ago; and a tenpenny Highway Rate which has been its amount for
many years--thus actually shewing that you are paying from
Sixpence to One Shilling in the pound _less_ than when under
the old rulers. As to the expenses of Survey, Plans, Drainage,
and other improvements, what has necessitated their adoption
but the neglect of those who held the power in your parish
years ago. Will this "Observer" assert that there is no need of
them? Will he assert that there are many places in this kingdom
worse off than Dudley in these respects? Can he controvert the
fact that the average duration of life in Dudley is almost the
shortest, if not quite so, of any place in England? or, in
other words, that whilst in some places of all the people born,
the average duration of their lives is 40 years, in Dudley it
is only about 19--or that during this past year there have been
more deaths in this parish, from fevers and other preventable
causes, than during the years of the Cholera--and these, too,
principally, if not entirely, caused by bad drainage, imperfect
ventilation, and improper sanitary regulations. _Your present
high Poor Rates are only a portion of the short-comings left by
those to whom you entrusted your interests in past times. Your
payments now are but a legacy of that mismanagement which this
"Observer" would desire you to perpetuate._

What does he mean by his allusions to the projected Model
Lodging Houses, Public Hall, School of Design, Mechanics'
Institute, &c.? as being provided for out of the Public
Rates--insinuations as utterly false and groundless as they are
base and malicious, and which could only originate in a mind
incapable of a good action in itself, and therefore suspicious
of others. "Have your payments been less during the past
year?" he asks. I would answer there is the undeniable fact,
that in the past year the cost of out-door relief to your poor
has been less by nearly £500 than in previous ones. Why, I
would retort, was not this diminution observable during former
years, when trade was quite as good as during the past one?
Then he enquires, why were the Overseers required to borrow
£500 in order to provide the necessary means to meet parochial
expenses? Why! Because they were compelled to wait the granting
of another rate, whilst hundreds of our poor were summoned
to appear before the Magistrates in order that they might be
legally excused, or payment enforced, before another rate could
be made; because such as this "Observer" would not compound for
the payment of their rates, and, without the introduction of
the Rating-of-Tenements' Act, this must have been done at the
close of every rate,--a fact alone sufficient to counterbalance
any disadvantages which from its introduction may arise, and
which will ultimately be as great a benefit to the Landlord as
to the poor Tenants themselves.

"Another Observer" says "Improvements we want!!" Out upon
such cant! why have we not had them before? why have they not
been projected long ago? why, when anything has been proposed
for the good and prosperity of the town, have not our men of
influence, and those having a "stake" in the Parish been the
first to support them? why has every thing been left to be done
by the insulted "shopkeepers?" "Talk of spending your money
carefully!" Who were the parties _who objected to let you know
how your money was spent_? who were the parties _who opposed
the admission of the Press_ to your Board Room? why, the very
friends of this "Another Observer;" and when there are those
who would not that Dudley should be second to Stourbridge,
Bilston, or even Wolverhampton, such as this "Another Observer"
are found to deride and revile their "private enterprize" and
impute interested motives.

Finally, "Another Observer" says "Vote for those who have a
stake in the Parish," and "who would not seek office to gratify
personal vanity." I ask you Ratepayers, to inspect the List
proposed by Messrs. DIXON & LESTER, and that advocated by this
accurate "Another Observer," and I venture to affirm, that on
examination it will be found they pay a much greater amount
of Rates, and that THEY ALSO REPRESENT BY FAR A MUCH LARGER
AMOUNT OF INTEREST in this Parish. In regard to experience
in parochial affairs, in regard to a knowledge of the
administration of the Poor Laws, in regard to business habits
and general intelligence, in regard to their attention to your
interests, without wishing to utter one word in disparagement
of their opponents, I fearlessly challenge a comparison. Talk
of a "Stake" in the Parish, indeed! Pray, how much Rates does
this "Another Observer" pay? Be not deceived by falsehood.--Be
not misled by misrepresentation.--Judge by facts and not by the
words of such "Another Observer." Exercise your own impartial
and independent opinions. Weigh all the circumstances calmly
and impartially, and the undoubted result will be, that your
confidence will again be placed in those who have not yet
deceived you, and that the gentlemen nominated by Messrs. DIXON
and LESTER will be your Guardians for the ensuing year.

With all respect, I am, Fellow Ratepayers, yours still,
"THE QUIET OBSERVER OF FACTS."

_Dudley, March 31st, 1854._

* * * * *

ELECTION OF GUARDIANS.

TO THE RATE-PAYERS OF THE PARISH OF DUDLEY.

GENTLEMEN,

A Handbill, headed "Election of Guardians," and signed "another
_Quiet_ Observer," has been published, which contains a number
of insinuations so disgraceful and false in reference to
several public matters in which individually I take great
interest, that however reluctant I may be to intrude myself
personally upon you, I feel I should be wanting in a sense
of public honor, if I were to allow it to remain without a
distinct and indignant denial of its truth.

Had it confined itself to the ensuing Election of Guardians
I should not have thought it necessary to reply to its
insinuations, because it would be an insult to the Rate-payers
to suppose for a moment that they could be deceived by its
one-sided statements--statements, every one of which, if not
false in fact, are false and knowingly false in the inferences
drawn from them. But it goes beyond the Election of Guardians,
and insinuates that all the Public Institutions, which some
amongst you are now endeavouring to establish and to support,
are to be paid for by Public Rates.

I suppose the writer of the Handbill thought that by throwing
this paragraph into the form of an insinuation, and not a
positive assertion, he would escape from being branded with the
charge of _Falsehood_, but surely he cannot be ignorant of the
fact, that to deceive by the insinuation of a Falsehood is as
great a breach of Truth, as to deceive by an actual falsehood
itself.

The writer of that Handbill, whoever he may be, knows very
well that the Model Lodging Houses--the Public Hall--the
School of Design--and the Mechanics' Institute--are all
supported, and supported with one exception, exclusively by
Private Enterprise, and not by Public Rates. The exception to
which I allude is the assistance of Government to the School
of Design, to the extent of £10 during the first year of its
establishment, whilst Private Enterprise alone has raised
for its support during this time upwards of £400. I regret,
exceedingly, that any one should have attempted thus to injure
these Institutions, which are so much needed in this town, and
which are so rapidly placing it on a more equal footing with
the neighbouring Towns of the District.

From the falsehood of the insinuations thrown out, you may
judge how far the actual assertions which the writer of this
Handbill ventures to make, are to be depended upon.

The writer states that the "huge Union Bastile," as he terms
the new Poor House about to be erected, will separate Man and
Wife--Children and Parents.

He knows that the separation of Man and Wife--Children and
Parents--takes place of necessity in the present Poor Houses to
a far greater extent than can be the case in the new House.

He knows that _now_ the children cannot remain even in the
_same House_ as their Parents, but that in the new Union House
they will be under the same roof, and within the reach of their
Parents, at all reasonable and proper times.

He also knows that Man and Wife are invariably separated in the
_present_ Poor Houses, and that this separation will not take
place after sixty years of age in the new Union House.

The writer states that the cost of the new Union House will be
£20,000.

He knows that the cost is limited to £12,000 by the Poor Law
Board, and that this amount will be borrowed, and repaid at the
rate of £600 per year, with interest at four per cent.

He also knows that the economy of this expenditure will far
exceed the annual amount of the instalments; or if he does
not know this, it is because he will not take the trouble to
examine the results attained in other Unions by the erection
of proper Poor Houses. Upon this point Mr. Doyle has proved
"that the pecuniary interests of the Union would be materially
benefitted by the building of a workhouse adequate to its
wants."

But if the desirability of a new Poor House were not so
evident on the ground of economy, it would be so on far higher
grounds, since the existing Dudley Poor House is described
in a letter to me of the 28th instant, by one of the most
respectable of the medical gentlemen of this town, "_as the_
FOCUS _of epidemic disease and starting point of Cholera, at
two successive periods_."

You, the Ratepayers of Dudley, will, I am sure, weigh well
these words, and you will not shrink from showing the
estimation in which you hold the writer of a Handbill who thus
ignores the most sacred claims of Truth and Humanity.

Nor does the writer confine himself to the Guardian
question--he endeavours to make you believe that the Board of
Health is administered with great recklessness of expenditure.

As one of such Board, I am responsible only to the extent of my
individual vote for its expenditure; but here again the writer
endeavours only to deceive.

The Rates under the Dudley Town Act Commissioners and the Board
for the Repair of the Highways were during the following years
as under:

TOWN RATE.--1847-1848-1849, 2s. in the Pound. 1850-1851-1852,
1s. 6d. in the Pound.

HIGHWAY RATE, for the above Six years, 10d. in the Pound.

Under the Board of Health the Rates already granted are--

A GENERAL AND DISTRICT RATE, _in lieu of old Town Rate_, of 1s.
in the Pound.

A HIGHWAY RATE of 10d. in the Pound. These will be more than
sufficient to meet the expenditure heretofore paid out of the
Town and Highway Rates.

The writer wishes to make you believe that the cost of Salaries
is entirely additional under the present Board.

He knows that this is not the case, and he also knows that the
amount payable under the Board of Health, under this head, will
be less, including Professional Charges, than under the Town
Commissioners.

The writer would deceive you as to the amounts to be paid for
Drainage, &c., and the desirability of such expenditure. I
cannot say at present what this expenditure may amount to; but
the largest amount--efficiently expended in Drainage--will
be the most economical to the Parish, when the saving to the
Poor Rates, from the prevention of disease and death, is taken
into account. Upon this point, let me again quote the words
of the Medical Gentleman already alluded to (not the Officer
of Health):--"_The inhabitants of this Town are ill prepared
to withstand the onslaught of Cholera, which would be brought
to our very doors by living in such a tainted and impure
atmosphere as that which exists in the very centre of the
Town._"

The writer of the Handbill does not tell you, that whatever may
be the expenditure of the Board of Health, it will always have
to be audited by a Public Officer, and the Balance Sheets open
to the inspection of any Ratepayer.

The Handbill would deceive you again in reference to the stake
in the Parish which those proposed as guardians on the List
nominated by Messrs. Dixon and Lester possess.

He again insinuates, where he dares not assert. What will you
think of this insinuation, when I tell you that there are Four
Persons on that List, each of whom pays separately, three of
them as individuals, and one as Agent of a Company, a larger
amount of local taxation, as far as the Parish of Dudley is
concerned, than the entire Ten upon the opposite List.

I regret exceedingly, that I should be obliged thus even to
allude to a matter which may appear to be personal, but I am
compelled to do so. It would be false delicacy to shrink from
the exposure of the deceit contained in the Handbill. I am
ready at any moment to confront the writer, and to prove, not
only every statement I here make, but also any inference I have
drawn therefrom.

For myself, I can only say, that personally I have no motive
to serve in allowing myself to be nominated as one of your
Guardians. If you honor me by election, I shall earnestly
strive to fulfil the duties so imposed--but how painful those
duties are, they only know who have accompanied me over the
Poor House in this Town, which, I hesitate not to say, is a
disgrace to humanity, and to the intelligence of the present
day. The hours which I have spent within its walls have been
amongst the most painful of my life, and there is, I am sure,
no Ratepayer who would accompany the Visiting Committee in
their periodical inspection of it, who would not most earnestly
labour for its removal, as a religious duty which he dared not
neglect.

I am, Gentlemen,
Your obedient Servant,
S. H. BLACKWELL.

_Dudley, March 31st, 1854._

This disgraceful strangling of common sense and prostitution of all recognised rules of decent electioneering propriety came to a close with the following result:

ELECTED TORIES.
Votes.
Isaac Badger 1565
Thos. Griffiths 1500
Jos. Guest 1402
Jos. G. Walker 1378
Edw. Fisher Smith 1372
M. Dennison 1290
Jno. Aston 1223
Jas. Harrison 1201
Jno. Renaud 1166
Francis Northall 1166

REJECTED LIBERALS.
Votes.
S. H. Blackwell 940
A. B. Cochrane 876
Thomas Wood 772
J. C. Cook 771
---- Thomson 710
Evors Swindell 707
Alex Patterson 657
Jno. Finch 651
D. Lloyd 517

METROPOLITAN ASSOCIATION FOR IMPROVING THE DWELLINGS OF THE
INDUSTRIOUS CLASSES.

DUDLEY BRANCH.

March 31st, 1854.

In a handbill addressed "To the Ratepayers of the Parish of
Dudley," by "Another Quiet Observer," occurs the following
paragraph:--"As to Model Lodging Houses, Public Hall, School
of Design, Mechanics' Institute, &c., of which they make such
boast; all very well I reply provided they are paid for by
Private Enterprise, and not by Public Rates."

As this, if uncontradicted, is calculated to produce an
erroneous impression that the Public Money is being or is to be
applied to the furtherance of these objects, I beg to give a
most unqualified denial that such is the case as to the Model
Lodging Houses, the funds for which are being raised by Shares
of £25 each, with limited liability, under the Provisions of
the Charters of the above Association.

Any further information respecting which will with pleasure be
afforded by

WILLIAM BARNS,
Wolverhampton Street,
Local Secretary.

Died April 19th, 1854, Mr. Thomas Lester, Wine and Spirit Merchant, Market Place, much esteemed by a very large circle of friends. Mr. Lester was a gentleman of strong common sense; he lived a great many years in Dudley, and accumulated a handsome fortune, he was a Liberal in politics, but of a retiring disposition, disliking extremes of any kind. Mr. Lester was a Wesleyan Methodist, New Connexion, in persuasion, and a most liberal giver to that especial cause. Being of an exceedingly liberal and charitable disposition, no honest case of accident or distress was ever turned from his door without relief, and his open-handed contributions to all good objects in the town were at all times most benevolent and unostentatious. At this good Christian's death the widow and orphans lost an untold friend, and the immense concourse of people of all shades of politics and religion who attended his funeral bore a sorrowing testimony to his universal worth. Aged 65 years.

Died July 9th, 1854, at Handsworth, formerly of Wolverhampton street, Dudley, Mr. Matthew Houghton, gentleman.

Mr. C. F. G. Clark, Chemist, Market Place, gave a series of Free Lectures on popular subjects in most of the villages and towns around Dudley, addressed especially to the rising generation.

July 14th, 1854. A Silver Inkstand and two handsome books of Music, costing £21 10s., were presented to Mr. John H. Vanes, Currier, the late Organist of St. Edmund's Church, by the congregation, as a mark of respect and esteem on his leaving Dudley.

A block plan of the New Model Dwellings to be erected in the Dock Lane was now issued by the Committee, and building operations were commenced upon the row of fancy dwellings now standing "all alone in their glory" in Dock Lane, but, as the Association "did not take in Dudley," all further operations were suspended, and the houses in Dock Lane were the only dwellings completed. Chairman, Dr. Browne, Vicar; Architect, Mr. Wm. Wiggington; Secretary, Mr. Wm. Barns.

September 20th, 1854. The Grand Lodge of (Worcestershire) Free Masons walked in procession this day in Dudley, to St. Thomas's Parish Church to a special service, and then afterwards repaired to the hotel to a Masonic banquet; H. C. Vernon, Esq., J.P., Hilton Park, Grand Master.

October 24th, 1854. Died, Old Mr. James Wilkinson, formerly an extensive vice and anvil manufacturer of Tower Street, Dudley. This gentleman was another true type of a Dudley man, having an exceedingly quick and retentive memory of past events in Dudley. The Wilkinson's, like the Finch's, are decidedly the oldest descended families in this town, for Dudley had an Alderman John Finch in Charles II.'s reign, and we have a second Alderman John Finch, J.P. in our present time; and it is singular that these robust sons of the forge have ever been connected with the nail trade, fender and fire iron trade, the anvil and vice trade, and all kindred trades of such manufacture. Like Tubal Cain of old, they welded molten iron into form and shape, long before the steam hammer was thought about. Mr. Wilkinson's recital of his early days, when, he says, we had no carts or waggons in those days to convey our anvils and vices to the Cross, Dale End, Birmingham, for sale to the factors, who used to come and buy our goods; we had to travel with them in large baskets slung on horses backs, and in single file we travelled over Bromwich Heath to Birmingham. Mr. Wilkinson lived to the good old age of 85 years, and died esteemed and respected by all men.

November 27th, 1854. A patriotic meeting was held this evening at the town hall, for the noble purpose of joining in the endowment of a national fund for the maintenance of the widows and children of soldiers and sailors killed in this just Russian war; a committee of willing hands was nominated, and after the town had been thoroughly canvassed, the handsome sum of £3,282 was given for this noble object. Hurrah! for old Dudley.

NIL DESPERANDUM!

"_Britons Strike Home._"

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER

Written in Sebastopol on the Evening of the Battle of
INKERMANN, BY A RUSSIAN SOLDIER:

"We are still alive although the English and French use every
means for our destruction; but we know not how long this may
last. _The carnage is terrible! all our efforts against the
enemy are vain, and without result._ Although we have a
superiority in numbers, we _cannot conquer the enemy in the
open Country_! The terrible coolness of the English, their
_frightful Artillery_, which _destroying entire lines of our
Troops_, disturbed their retreat, and the Balls and Shells
committed the greatest ravages. The Riflemen picked off _all
our Officers_. Our Soldiers are obedient, and execute all the
orders like machines, but they want address, intelligence,
presence of mind, and enthusiasm."

"The cool steadiness of the English, and the vigour of the
attack of the French equally alarmed them."--See _Guardian_
Newspaper, pages 919, 920, for Nov. 29, 1854.

_The Vicarage, Dudley, Nov. 30th, 1854._

Died January 26th, 1855. Mr. Edward Dixon, Sen., formerly banker in Dudley. The disasters and stoppage of Messrs. Dixon, Dalton & Co's. Bank in this town a few years before is a matter of commercial history, indelibly fixed in the recollections of many eminent firms in this locality. Mr. Dixon never took a very active part in the bank, but his urbanity, generosity, and kindly feeling to every one, won the universal respect of all orders of men in the town and district; his prompt honesty, and genuine honour and integrity in his commercial transactions, were the means of saving many respectable people from utter ruin, and at his death it was deemed desirable that a public funeral should mark the wide-spread sense of sorrow and deep regret at the loss of so good a friend and honourable a townsman. Aged 68 years.

February 16th, 1855. Mr. William Masefield's candle manufactory, situate between High Street and King Street, was this night burnt down. Damages £650.

Died February 26th, 1855, at Hastings, John Benbow, Esq., M.P. for this town, aged 87 years. Mr. Benbow was a decided Tory in politics, and a churchman in religion; his school of thought was narrow and contracted, and he looked upon all reforms and progressions with alarm and distrust. He was well known to be the nominee of the young Lord Ward and his Trustees; he secured and maintained his seat as M.P. for Dudley entirely on the sufferance of the Castle power and influence; for the electors of Dudley would never have returned him had it not been for quarrelling with their own bread and living. The old gentleman never spoke in the House of Commons; he seldom favoured Dudley with his presence; he represented us (or rather never represented us at all) for about eleven years, and it was always keenly felt that he was of no use to this enterprising and increasing Borough.

Died March 2nd, 1855, Nicholas, the tyrannical and ambitious Emperor of all the Russias, aged 59 years. This wicked man caused the invasion of Turkey, and the war in the Crimea, by which so many of our brave countrymen fell in defence of the Turkish Empire, and the cause of humanity.

BOROUGH ELECTION.

The death of Mr. Benbow necessitated another Parliamentary Election in this borough, and as very little time was given (only eleven days) for the burgesses to look around for a new member, that short time was very adroitly occupied by the Castle wire-pullers in trimming and burnishing up the rather raw and unsettled political ideas of a perfect stranger to Dudley, in the person of Sir Stafford H. Northcote, Bart., of the Pynes, near Exeter. This gentleman, of great ability and good lineage and descent, was brought out from the Priory, for our acceptance, as a _Liberal-Conservative_, with the hope that a candidate untried (for Sir Stafford had not been in Parliament before), who had some tincture of Liberalism in his composition, might be made to suit all factions in the Borough, and save the tumult and annoyance of another contested election. This _ruse_ would not go down with the Radical electors, for it was thought that it was high time the _Himley incubus_ should be thrown down, once and for ever. To accomplish this intention, our old townsman, Mr. Samuel Cook, with Mr. Wm. Insull, and other Chartists, again prevailed upon Mr. James Baldwin, of Birmingham, to become their champion, upon not quite such an extravagant platform as he had appeared before us in 1852. Sir Stafford Northcote spoke both eloquently and reasonably at his various meetings, and it soon became evident that he would be the next member for Dudley. Mr. Baldwin, on the other hand, with all the bluster his friends could ventilate in his favour, had to fight a forlorn hope, for Dudley was not yet ripe for his politics; Chartism had lately received a most sensible check, and people were beginning to look with alarm at the uncertain end the Charter would lead them to. Besides all this, there was a strong belief that Sir Stafford was not the young politician to be put into "leading strings" by anyone, for he was an independent man, and had an inflexible will of his own, which subsequent events brought out into strong relief.

On March 9th, 1855, this Dudley Election had to be gone through, although Mr. Baldwin and his admirers had virtually "caved in." Close of the poll:--

Sir Stafford Northcote (Liberal Conservative) 346
Mr. James Baldwin (Radical) 3
----
Majority 343

TO THE ELECTORS OF DUDLEY.

GENTLEMEN,

It is impossible for me to suppress a feeling of pride in
regarding the position in which you have placed me. This
feeling, however, gives place to one of gratitude to those who
have so generously placed confidence in me, and to a sense of
the high responsibility which your votes have imposed upon me.

I am not fond of making professions, and it has been one great
drawback to the pleasure I have had in making myself known to
you, that I have been obliged, as a stranger, to hold more of
the language of self-recommendation than I could have wished.
I trust that, under God's blessing, I may be able so to do my
duty towards you that, whenever I may have occasion to ask
a renewal of your confidence, I may be able to point to my
actions as affording a mere satisfactory test of my inclination
and ability to serve you than words can do.

I thank you heartily for the kind reception I have met with,
for the courtesy which has been shewn to me even by those who
differ from me in opinion, and for the final mark of your
confidence which now calls for my warm acknowledgments. I
have but one favour more to ask. It is, that you will use my
services as freely as I now place them at the disposal of you
all.

I remain, Gentlemen,
Your obliged and faithful Servant,
STAFFORD H. NORTHCOTE.

_Dudley, March 9th, 1855._

Died, March 13th, 1855, Mr. James Jesson, of Victoria Terrace, a man of isolated and penurious habits, but he left a noble evidence of his good will to the town at his death, by bequeathing £10,000 to endow "Alms Houses," a school known as "Jesson's School and Charity." Aged 76 years.

March 21st, 1855. This day was observed as a public day of prayer and fasting for the success of our glorious soldiers and sailors in the Crimean War.

May 13th, 1855. A dreadful murder was committed this morning at the "Sailor's Return" public house, Kateshill, Dudley, by one John Meadows, who deliberately shot his sweetheart, because he was jealous of her; the poor girl died instantly.

May 17th, 1855. Married, Miss Elizabeth Bourn, step-daughter of Mr. F. Pigott, Railway Contractor, of this town, at St. Edmund's Church, to Mr. Elliott, Manufacturer, Birmingham. Great pomp and ceremony was observed on this occasion, there being nine carriages in attendance at the wedding.

A sad sequel happened at the Railway Station as the bridal party started on their honeymoon. A collision betwixt two trains took place, by which numbers of passengers were severely shaken and bruised, and Mr. Thos. Fehr, Spirit Merchant, Market Place, was maimed for life.

May 28th, 29th, 30th, 1855. A series of fetes took place on the Castle grounds this Whitsuntide, under the management and for the benefit of Mr. Alfred Bunn, of the Opera House, London. Upwards of 20,000 people came to see the "sights," and it was said that Mr. Bunn cleared £500 by this affair, but he forgot to leave any token of his liberality to our local charities.

Died, July 14th, 1855, Mr. Bagott, Tailor and Draper, High Street. Aged 70 years.

Died, July 27th, 1855, Mr. Joseph Haden, of Dixon's Green. This gentleman had much to do with the building of St. Thomas's New Church in 1816.

August 4th, 1855. Hanged at Worcester this morning John Meadows, for the brutal and unfeeling murder of his sweetheart, Ann Mason, at Kateshill, in May last.

September 9th, 1855. Great rejoicings all over the land at the news: "The Russians evacuated Sebastopol after two days' desperate bombardment by both sea and land by the Allied Forces; they blew up their magazines, sunk their ships, and set fire to the town previous to leaving it, and then they retired to the North side of the Harbour." Glorious news for Old England!

Died, November 2nd, 1855, Mr. Thos. Guest, junr., Grocer, Market Place. Aged 42 years.

Died, January 24th, 1856, Mr. Josiah C. Cook, Ironmonger, High Street. Mr. Cook was a prominent Freemason in his time, and was universally respected as a friend and neighbour. His remains were followed to the grave, as a mark of fraternity and respect, by many of the leading Freemasons of the district.

PEACE!

March 30th, 1856. A Treaty of Peace was signed at Paris this day, which put an end to the cruel and unsatisfactory Russian War.

Six New Members of our Local Board of Health had to be elected this spring, and the contest was again both sharp and bitter; for the old Tory party, with Mr. Isaac Badger at its head, were determined to get rid of all Liberals and Liberal progress in the Board; hence followed some smart hand bills.

DUDLEY LOCAL BOARD OF HEALTH ELECTION.

ISAAC opposed all CIVIL LIBERTY!

ISAAC opposed REPEAL OF THE CORN LAWS!

ISAAC opposed FREE TRADE!

ISAAC opposed PARLIAMENTARY REFORM!

ISAAC opposed and opposes the PRESS IN THE BOARD ROOMS!

ISAAC opposes INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE as the basis of LOCAL
LEGISLATION!

ISAAC and his Friends opposed ECONOMY in the Workhouse, when
it was proved each Pauper cost 1s. 7½d. per week more than
Birmingham and Wolverhampton; _increasing_ the Rates £422 per
year.

WOOD AND HOLLIER

Reduced this Extravagance;--What ISAAC has been ISAAC will be,
if you _Vote_ for his Nominees.

[asterism] Vote for Hollier, Browne, Fereday, Smith, Wood, and
England.

* * * * *

THE LOCAL BOARD OF HEALTH.

THE ELECTION.

Fellow Electors,

Doubtless it is advisable we should Elect Men to serve on this
Board rather than One Man and so many Looking Glasses, or
_things_ to _reflect his_ will and pleasure simply.

Look at the two Lists already submitted to you--First, and
mark this--Mr. Isaac Badger proposes Messrs. J. R. Tilley,
George Bagott, John Marsh, William Beddard, Sen., E. Whitfield,
and W. Jacam, and no doubt he is sanguine enough to suppose
_you will do as you are told_, and Elect his nominees. Of
this select List you will be better able to form an opinion,
when you have fully considered the extent to which any one
of these Gentlemen has ever been mixed up in matters of real
_popular service_--with how many of the People's Institutions
or Philanthropic Schemes of this country is any one of these
persons identified--and how much, or how little, rather,
you have any reason to expect from them in any matter of
wide or general bearing on _your_ interests. "Grapes cannot
be gathered from thorns, nor figs from thistles?" so that,
with all forbearance for the Gentlemen whose names have thus
been dragged from their natural and proper retirement, your
attention is now invited to the following List of WORTHY
Candidates for your support and interest, viz:--The Rev. Doctor
Browne, Mr. Richard Smith, Mr. Elliott Hollier, Mr. S. D.
Fereday, Mr. W. C. Wood, Mr. George J. England.

These are, as you know, well-tried Men! These as you know,
have been your consistent Friends and Advocates for years;
_not_ pandering (like others) in some _Petty_ (or even _Pig_)
question for favours and smiles, with the view of making
that favour and those smiles, hereafter, the excuse for
tyrannizing over you in large questions; but who have striven
from time to time for your welfare and the general good--ever
resting satisfied in the midst of their efforts that time
would enable you to see that Truth is ever consistent with
itself--Liberality of Sentiment ever an instinct that should be
easily traced through the entire life, political or social, of
those who lay claim to it. And now

1st.--Whose efforts have been the most determined to secure
in this parish Comfortable Homes for the Poor? Who persuaded
the Landlords, that whilst they were getting from 15 to 20 per
cent. interest upon the miserable _dens_ they call _houses_, it
was politic _they_ should pay the Local Rates?

2nd.--Who have been the consistent supporters of all
Educational Schemes, by which the employer is secured an
intelligent and moral servant, in the place of a mere _tool_,
without thought or respect for himself; and in opposition
to that other _weakly_ theory that insists upon keeping the
_people_ ignorant, lest they should discover the _ignorance_ of
those called their "_betters_?"

3rd.--Who have (and without ostentation) supported schemes of
PUBLIC AMUSEMENT and RELAXATION? Those who believe that the
"Great Unwashed" are often whiter and cleaner than those who
sit in high places;--those who, as before stated, are anxious
to promote the general good!

4th.--Who have, from first to last, advocated the exposure of
all they do to fair criticism, and voted for the ADMISSION of
REPORTERS to Newspapers, in the very face of other gentlemen
who desire a _secrecy_ as strict as the Inquisition of old?

5th--Who is it--that can create any hope within you, that
whatever of rottenness there may be, even in the rottenest end
of Dudley, shall be cleansed in due time?--

The answer--you have already anticipated, is that which will
determine you to Vote for the Rev. Dr. Browne, Messrs. Richard
Smith, Elliott Hollier, S. D. Fereday, W. C. Wood, and G. J.
England.

Be not deceived! These Gentlemen are recommended for your
adoption because it is evident you may trace in _their_ past
conduct that _openness_ and that _independence_ which must ever
constitute true _manhood_; that intelligent persistence in
efforts for the general good, which is the best guarantee of
any "Trusteeship" being wisely sustained; WHO HAVE DISPLAYED
AN INDIFFERENCE TO BE GOVERNED BY ANY ONE MAN--or even by any
doubtful _hero_--whose chief recommendation could be, that he
"swears heartily," and "foams" angrily when he finds any one
near his august presence that deigns to think for himself.

Look to it well, you men of Dudley and the District, that you
select only such men as _can act for themselves, without first
asking what Mr. So-and-so thinks_. Depend upon it, that in this
case, as in many others, "it is better to bear the ills we (are
alleged to) have, than fly to others we know not of!"

"AREOPAGITICA."

* * * * *

TO THE INTELLIGENT RATEPAYERS OF DUDLEY.

GENTLEMEN,

A "Wellwisher," certainly not to the _Town of Dudley_, has
thought proper to insult you by the publication of a scurrilous
Handbill, reflecting upon the Gentlemen retiring during the
present year from office in your Local Board of Health. A more
disgraceful production, and one more calculated to serve purely
party purposes at the expense of truth, it has seldom been my
lot to read. The Gentlemen there alluded to have exercised no
deception--have been guilty of no trickery. They have made
no professions which have not been faithfully carried out in
practice. As to recklessness and extravagance compare their
amount of Assessment and Rates with those of the Gentlemen
"Wellwisher" so magniloquently recommends to your notice;
WHILST THE FORMER REPRESENT PROPERTY PAYING UPWARDS OF £650 PER
RATE, THE LATTER, OR MR. BADGER'S NOMINEES, PAY ONLY £57--the
best answer to any assertion as to their expending so much
money of their own for the mere pleasure of spending yours.

"Wellwisher" then appeals to the Ratepayers of Freebodies,
Netherton, Woodside, and Holly Hall, evidently wishing
to excite a hostile feeling between the Ratepayers of the
districts and the Town itself. He asks "what has been done to
our streets and thoroughfares?" Why, kept in as good repair
and as well attended to as during the supremacy of his friends
upon the old Highway Board; but doubtless "Wellwisher" wishes
sufficiently well to the Tradesmen and "Shopkeepers" as to
desire them not only to keep in repair the "streets, roads,
and thoroughfares," but also to _make_ them, for the benefit
of those who have sold and bought land at a great profit, and
built houses in these localities, a thing always refused by the
Highway Board as well as the Board of Health.

Beyond this, why does not "Wellwisher" tell you what his
immaculate saving friends are endeavouring to do at the present
moment, _viz._--to throw the expenses of the repairs of the
roads generally upon the rates, and which if effected will
go far to double the payments upon the Town itself. This has
already in part been done,--the Turnpike Commissioners have
refused to repair (which has always before been done by them)
that part of the street leading to Wolverhampton, situate
between St. James's Church and the Turnpike Gate, and without
any notice having been given to the Board or their Surveyor,
consequently this part of your streets has not been attended to
or cleansed for many weeks. If it be not for mere "deception
and trickery," why does "Wellwisher" wish you to suppose that
the Rates levied by the Local Board of Health are something
new, and that without its establishment such payments would
not have been required, whilst it admits of easy proof that
the Rates paid by you during the past three years, under the
management of the Board, have been considerably less than those
formerly levied by the Town Commissioners and Highway Board.

As to the salaries paid to the various officers, why does not
"Wellwisher" [?] go back to the palmy days of the old Town Act
Commissioners and Highway Board, and tell us of the payments
made in secret in those times? why does he not refer to the
appointment of the salary of the Clerk to the Guardians, which
was fixed, in spite of the Poor Law Board, at a higher amount
than they thought necessary? why does he not refer to the _job_
as to the appointment of the Relieving Officer as Master of
the Dudley Workhouse?--because, forsooth, he happened to be a
relative of one of those who prates most and pays least. "The
labourer is worthy of his hire," but if their salaries be too
high, let their work be ascertained and paid for accordingly;
but far better a good round sum at once, which is known to all,
than allow an officer to eke it out by summonses and expenses,
obtained from poor people before the magistrates.

He talks about sewerage, and the probability of its being
carried into effect, estimating its amount at an extravagant
rate. Will "Wellwisher" have the hardihood to assert that
drainage is not wanted, when it is a well-known fact that, with
great natural facilities, Dudley is one of the worst seweraged
towns in the whole kingdom; that there is not a drain in any
street sufficient to take away the water from the various
cellars and lower parts of the houses; and to this fact alone
is it to be attributed its great and extraordinary mortality,
the average duration of life here being only 19 years: or would
he rather that these things should exist than that any attempt
should be made to improve them. "Wellwisher" then pathetically
alludes to the Poor Man's Pigs, very probably not only having
a great sympathy for them, but also for the mire in which they
wallow; but will those whose feelings he wishes to excite,
believe that very many of his professing friends actually
signed a memorial to the Board, calling strongly for the
removal of Pigs from the entire of the Town District, and which
was objected to by some of those he so harshly anathematizes.
Doubtless, too, he approves of some of those high in authority
keeping pigs in such a condition that the filth from their
styes should drain into his neighbour's sitting or bed room.
"Wellwisher" next endeavours to enlist the sympathies of
others by allusion to the Rating of Tenements' Act, falsely
asserting that those who were in favour of its introduction
were themselves exempt from any effect of its operation. "Let
the galled jade wince!" Its promoters supported it from just
and proper motives, and not from the wish that their smaller
dwellings should be drained and cleansed at the expense of
other people.

FELLOW RATEPAYERS.--"Wellwisher's" publication is nothing more
than an impudent attempt to set Town against Country, and
Country against Town, in order to relieve the Country part of
the District of their fair share of the Rates at the expense of
the heavily taxed Ratepayers of the Town. It is a disgraceful
attack upon individuals who have devoted much valuable time
to serve the Town, and who had the "unblushing effrontery"
to endeavour to do right,--who have not sought either to do
their fellow ratepayers "Brown," or "Badger" them, but to act
independently and faithfully for their best interests, and
which time alone will fully prove. If you still wish to have
men to represent you, who are disposed to continue to act thus,
do not be dictated to by Mr. Badger, but Vote for

R. SMITH, ESQ.
S. D. FEREDAY, ESQ.
REV. DR. BROWNE.
MR. ELLIOTT HOLLIER.
" W. C. WOOD.
" G. J. ENGLAND.

I am, Fellow Ratepayers,
YOUR WELLWISHER, AND ALSO A LOVER OF TRUTH.

_Dudley, March 1856._

May 27th, 1856. After twelve days trial in London, William Palmer, Surgeon, of Rugeley, Staffordshire, was found guilty of poisoning his racing companion, Mr. J. P. Cook, at the Shrewsbury races. Palmer poisoned poor Cook with strychnine for the purpose of robbing him of a large sum of money which Cook had won at the races. Palmer was hanged at Stafford Gaol for this dastardly offence on June 14th following; the murderous wretch maintained the most callous indifference to all around him to the last. He was well known in Dudley.

May 29th, 1856. This day was kept as a general holiday throughout the country in commemoration of the Peace. Old Dudley Castle, which had "braved the Battle and the Breeze" for upwards of 800 years, was illuminated with a grand display of fireworks.