Thomas Thalric Harman

“ Until very late years coffeehouses in provincial towns were more noted for their stuffy untidiness than aught else, those of Birmingham not excepted, but quite a change has come o'er the scene now, and with all the brave glitter of paint and glaring gas they attempt to rival the public-houses. The Birmingham Coffeehouse Company, Limited (originally miscalled The Artizan's Club-house Company) , which came into existence March 27, 1877, with a capital of £20,000 in 10s. shares, has now near upon a score of houses open, and their business is so successful that very fair dividends arc realised. ”

“ But alas! there is a dark side to the picture, indeed, for, according to the Registrar-General's return of June, 1879 (and the proportionate ratio, we are sorry to say, still remains the same) , Birmingham holds the unenviable position of being the town where most deaths from violence occur, the annual rate per 1,000 being 1.08 in Birmingham, 0.99 in Liverpool, 0.38 in Sheffield, 0.37 in Portsmouth, the average for the kingdom being even less than that—"the proportional fatality from violence being almost invariably more than twice as large in Birmingham as in Sheffield." ”

“ Birmingham supplies almost every article necessary for the comfort of man's life, and it is therefore not surprising that some little attention has been given to the construction of the "casket" which is to enclose his remains when dead. Coffins of wood, stone, lead, &c., have been known for centuries, but coffins of glass and coffins of brass must be ranked amongst the curiosities of our later trades. ”

“ Coal was not in common use much before 1625, and for a long time was rather shunned by householders, more especially in the rural parts where the black diamonds were looked upon as something altogether uncanny. Prior to the opening of the first canal, the roads leading from the Black Country daily presented the curious feature of an almost unending procession of carts and waggons bringing the supplies needed by our manufacturers, and high prices were the rule of the day. ”

“ As a rule, the Birmingham cabmen are a civil and obliging body of men, though now and then a little sharp practice may occur, as in the instance of the stranger who, arriving in New Street Station one evening last summer, desired to be taken to the Queen's Hotel. ”

“ Corn Laws.—Long before the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League in 1838, a movement for the repeal of the obnoxious imposts had been started in this town, a petition being sent from here to Parliament in March, 1815, with 48,600 signatures attached. The doings of the League and their ultimate success is an off-told tale, the men of Birmingham of course taking their part in the struggle, which culminated on the 26th of June, 1846, in the passing of Sir Robert Peel's Bill for the total repeal of all duties levied on corn and breadstuffs. ”

“ As a town it is pitiful enough—a mean congeries of bricks, including one or two large capitalists, some hundreds of minor ones, and, perhaps, a hundred and twenty thousand sooty artisans in metals and chemical produce. The streets are ill-built, ill-paved, always flimsy in their aspect—often poor, sometimes miserable. ”

“ The "town clocks" of the present day are only worth notice on account of their regular irregularity, and those who wish to be always "up to the time o' day," had best set their watches by the instrument placed in the wall of the Midland Institute. The dome of the Council House would be a grand position in which to place a really good clock, and if the dials were fitted with electric lights it would be useful at all hours, from near and far.
Clubs.—No place in the kingdom can record the establishment of more clubs than Birmingham, be they Friendly Clubs. ”

“ Persons having money to invest cannot do better than visit the Borough Treasurer, Mr. Hughes, who will give every information as to the mode of investing even a £10 note in the Birmingham Corporation Stock. ”

“ Church brought out machines for the purpose. Both parties started joint-stock companies to carry out their inventions, and in that respect both parties succeeded, for such was the run for shares, that in June, 1833, when Heatons' prospectus came out, offering to the public 2,000 £10 shares, no less than 3,000 were asked for in one day. There was also a third company in the field, the "London, Birmingham, and Liverpool," with a nominal capital of £300,000; but none of them prospered; for though they could construct the engines and the coaches, they could not make receipts cover expenses. ”

“ The adaptation of steam power to general canal traffic, however, was not carried to any great extent, on account of the injury caused to the banks by the "wash" from the paddles and screws, though, when railways were first talked about, the possibility of an inland steam navigation was much canvassed. When the Bill for the London and Birmingham Railway was before Parliament, in 1833, some enterprising carriers started (on Midsummer-day) an opposition in the shape of a stage-boat, to run daily and do the distance, with goods and passengers, in 16 hours. ”

“ I have looked into their ironworks where 150,000 men are smelting the metal in a district a few miles to the north: their coal mines, fit image of Arvenns; their tubes and vats, as large as country churches, full of copperas and aqua fortis and oil of vitroil; and the whole is not without its attractions, as well as repulsions, of which, when we meet. ”

“ For a through cut to London, a company was started in May 1836, with a nominal capital of £3,000,000, in £100 shares, and the first cargoes were despatched in August, 1840. In April, 1840, an Act was passed to unite the Wyrley and Essington Canal Co. with the Birmingham Canal Co., leading to the extension, at a cost of over £120,000, of the canal system to the lower side of the town. There are 2,800 miles of canals in England, and about 300 miles in Ireland. ”

“ It has been estimated that nearly £5,000 is given every year in what may be called the indiscriminate charity of giving alms to those who ask it in the streets or from door to door. By far the largest portion of this amount goes into the hands of the undeserving and the worthless, and the formation of a central relief office, into which the charitably-disposed may hand in their contributions, and from whence the really poor and deserving may receive help in times of distress, has been a long-felt want. ”

“ It was made to draw four boats with 40 tons of coal in each at two and a half miles per hour, and the twin screws were to negative the surge, but the iron horses of the rail soon put down, not only all such weak attempts at competition, but almost the whole canal traffic itself, so far as general merchandise and carriage of light goods and parcels was concerned. "Flyboats" for passengers at one time ran a close race with the coaches and omnibuses between here. ”

“ Hawkes we have a proper court in Moor-street, and a mortuary at every police station to which bodies can at once be taken. The jurors are now chosen by rotation, so that having been once called upon to act as a good citizen in such a capacity no gentleman need fear a fresh summons for some years to come. ”

“ Joseph Sturge gave in his adhesion to some movement for the extension of the franchise to the working classes, and at his suggestion a meeting was held at the Waterloo Rooms (Feb. 25th, 1842) , and a memorial to the Queen drawn up, which in less than a month received 16,000 signatures. On the 5th of April, 87 delegates from various parts of England. Ireland, and Scotland, assembled here, and after four days' sitting formed themselves into "The National Complete Suffrage Union," whose "points" were similar to those of the Charter. ”

“ This, and the meetings which ensued, so alarmed the magistrates for the safety of property that, in addition to swearing in hundreds of special constables, they sent to London for a body of police. These arrived on July 4, and unfortunately at the time a stormy meeting was being held in the Bull Ring, which they were at once set to disperse, a work soon accomplished by the free use they made of their staves. The indignant Brums, however, soon rallied and drove the police into the Station, several being wounded on either side. ”

“ A considerable amount of gassy talk anent the wonderful future naturally arose, and an endowment fund of £323 was banked to provide a medal for "any originality in connection with the manufacture and application of gas," but the Gas Committee of Birmingham, without any vast improvement in the manufacture, still keep to their original idea of sharing profits with ratepayers, handing over £25,000 each year to the Borough rates. ”

“ A Junior Conservative Club opened in Castle Street. June 25, 1874; a Young Men's Conservative Club commenced July 26, 1876; the Belmont Conservative Club. July 30, 1877; and the Hampton Conservative Club. August 21st of same year. In fact, every ward in the borough, and every parish and hamlet in the suburbs now has its Conservative and Liberal Club; the workingmen having also had their turn at Club-making, the Birmingham Heath working men opening up shop, August 25, 1864; the Saltley boys in October, 1868; the St. Albanites following suit December 1, 1873 ”

“ In the years 1850-60 it was estimated that at publichouses and coffeehouses there were not less than 180 Money Clubs, the members paying in weekly or fortnightly subscriptions of varying amount for shares £5 to £100, and though there cannot be the slightest doubt that many of our present mastermen owe their success in life to this kind of mutual help, the spirit of gambling in money shares proved, on the whole, to be disastrous to the members who went in for good interest on their deposits. ”

“ Coaches.—From its being situated as it were in the very heart of the kingdom. Birmingham, in the olden days, and it is but fifty years ago, was air important converging central-point of the great mailcoach system, and a few notes in connection therewith cannot be uninteresting Time was when even coaching was not known, for have we not read how long it took ere the tidings of Prince Rupert's attack on our town reached London. ”

“ Conservative Associations have been in existence for at least fifty years, as the formation of one in December, 1834, is mentioned in the papers of the period. The present one, which is formed on a somewhat similar plan to that of the Liberal Association, and consists of 300 representatives chosen from the wards, held its first meeting May 18, 1877. Associations of a like nature have been formed in most of the wards, and in Balsall Heath, Moseley, Aston, Handsworth, and all the suburbs and places around. ”

“ In 1882 a special fund was started for the purpose of giving aid to women left with children, and about £380 was subscribed thereto, while the ordinary income was only £680. The special fund can hardly be said as yet to have got into working order, but when the cost of proving the property of the recipients, with the necessary expenses of office rent, salaries, &c., have been deducted from the ordinary income, the amount left to be distributed among the persons deemed by the officials deserving of assistance is small indeed, the expenses reaching about £330 per year. ”

“ The foundation stones of two chapels were laid August 12, 1861, and the Cemetery was opened May 27, 1863, the total cost being nearly £10.000. Of the 105 acres, 53 are consecrated to the use of the Church of England, 35 laid out for Dissenters, and 14 set aside for Catholics and Jews.
Census.—The numbering of the people by a regular and systematic plan once in every ten years, only came into operation in 1801, and the most interesting returns, as connected with this town and its immediate neighbourhood, will be found under the heading of "Population." ”

“ Commissioners.—The first local governing body of the town, though with but the merest shadow of power as compared with the Corporation of to-day, were the Street Commissioners appointed under an Act of Geo. III in 1769, their duties being confined almost solely to repairing, cleansing, and "enlightening" the streets of the town, appointing watchmen, &c., their power of raising funds being limited to 1s, in the £. ”

“ Creche.—An institution which has been open in Bath Row for several years, and a great blessing to many poor mothers in its neighbourhood, but it is so little known that it has not met with the support it deserves, and is therefore crippled in its usefulness for want of more subscribers. The object of the institution is to afford, during the daytime, shelter, warmth, food, and good nursing to the infants and young children of poor mothers who are compelled to be from home at work. ”

“ On the 27th July, 1849, Lovett and Collins were accorded a public welcome on their release from prison, being met at the Angel by a crowd of vehicles, bands of music, &c., and a procession (said to have numbered nearly 30,000) , accompanied them to Gosta Green where speeches were delivered; a dinner, at which 800 persons sat down, following on the site of "The People's Hall of Science," in Loveday Street. ”

“ The Fazeley Canal was completed in 1783, and so successfully was it worked that in nine years the shares were at a premium of £1170. In 1785 the Birmingham, the Fazeley, and the Grand Junction Companies took up and completed an extension to Coventry. The Birmingham and Worcester Canal was commenced in 1791, the cost being a little over £600,000, and it was opened for through traffic July 21, 1815. By an agreement of September 18, 1873, this canal was sold to the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal Co. ”

“ It is said that the representative of the Society of Friends was a proper man of business, as, indeed, most of them are, and that he drove rather a hard bargain with the railway directors, who at last were obliged to give in to what they considered to be an exorbitant demand for such a small bit of freehold. ”

“ In 1777 fifty-two coaches passed through here to London and sixteen to Bristol every week. In 1829 at least 100 departed from or passed through the town daily, 550 persons travelling between here and London. In 1832 Mr. Lecount estimated the general results of the road and canal traffic between here and London as follows: Passengers, 233,155; goods, 62,389 tons; parcels, 46,799; beasts, 50,839; sheep, 365,000; pigs, 15,364; the amount expended in cost of transit being £1,338,217. ”