An analysis of the polling issued by the Mayor about a week after the election showed that 16,098 voters supported the Conservative candidates and 33,302 the Liberals. Deducting the 2,004 who "split" their votes between the parties, and 380 whose papers were either rejected or not counted as being doubtful, the total gives 47,396 as the actual number whose votes decided the election. As a curiosity and a puzzle for future politicians, the Mayor's analysis is worth preserving, as here re-analysed:—

Mr. Bright having been again appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Mr. Chamberlain chosen as President of the Board of Trade, they were re-elected, without opposition, early in May following the election. Three other local Liberal gentlemen were returned to Parliament during this general election, viz.:—Mr. Jesse Collings for Ipswich (receiving 3,074 votes), Mr. H. Wiggin for East Staffordshire (4,617 votes), and Mr. J.S. Wright for Nottingham (8,085 votes). The last-named, however, did not live to take his seat, dying very suddenly while attending a committee-meeting at the Council House, Birmingham, on the 15th April.—See "Statues," &c According to the published returns of January, 1884, Birmingham was then the largest borough constituency in England, the number of electors on the register then in force being 63,221: Liverpool coming next with 61,336; and Lambeth third, with 55,588; but Glasgow was the largest in the United Kingdom, with 68,025. The largest county constituency in England and Wales was Middlesex, with 41,299 electors; the next being South-West Lancashire, with 30,624; the third, South-East Lancashire, with 28,728; and the fourth, the southern division of the West Riding, with 27,625. The total electorate for England and Wales, was 2,660,444; Scotland, 331,264; and Ireland, 230,156.

The following statistics have been taken from the returns named, showing in respect of each constituency in this neighbourhood, the area of each borough, city, or county division, the population, the number of inhabited houses, the number of voters and their qualifications, and the Members sent to Parliament prior to the passing of the Franchise and Redistribution Bills of 1885, and are worth preserving for future local reference:—

Parsonage.—The Old Parsonage, at the corner of Smallbrook Street and Pershore Street, an old-fashioned two-storey gabled house, was moated round and almost hidden by trees, and has been preserved for future historians in one of David Cox's sketches, which remains as a curious memento of the once rural appearance of what are now some of the busiest spots in town. The house was pulled down in 1826.

Parson and Clerk.—A noted publichouse on the old Chester Road is the Royal Oak, better known as "The Parson and Clerk." An old pamphlet thus gives the why and wherefore:

"There had used to be on the top of the house two figures—one of a parson leaning his head in prayer, while the clerk was behind him with uplifted axe, going to chop off his head. These two figures were placed there by John Gough, Esq., of Perry Hall, to commemorate a law suit between him and the Rev. T. Lane, each having annoyed the other. Mr. Lane had kept the Squire out of possession of this house, and had withheld the licenses, while the latter had compelled the clergyman to officiate daily in the church, by sending his servants to form a congregation. Squire Gough won the day, re-built the house in 1788, and put up the figures to annoy Parson Lane, parsons of all sorts being out of his good books."

Parsons, Preachers, and Priests of the Past.—It would be a lengthy list or make note of all the worthy and reverend gentlemen who have, from pulpit or platform, lectured and preached to the people in our town, or who have aided in the intellectual advancement and education of the rising generation of their time. Church and Chapel alike have had their good men and true, and neither can claim a monopoly of talent, or boast much of their superiority in Christian fellowship or love of their kind. Many shepherds have been taken from their so-called flocks whose places at the time it was thought could never be filled, but whose very names are now only to be found on their tombs, or mentioned in old magazines or newspapers. Some few are here recalled as of interest from their position, peculiarities, &c.

George Dawson.—Born in London, February 24, 1821, George Dawson studied at Glasgow for the Baptist ministry, and came to this town in 1844 to take the charge of Mount Zion chapel. The cribbed and crabbed restraints of denominational church government failed, however, to satisfy his independent heart, and in little more than two years his connection with the Mount Zion congregation ceased (June 24, 1846). The Church of the Saviour was soon after erected for him, and here he drew together worshippers of many shades of religious belief, and ministered unto them till his death. As a lecturer he was known everywhere, and there are but few towns in the kingdom that he did not visit, while his tour in America, in the Autumn of 1874, was a great success. His connection with the public institutions of this town is part of our modern history, and no man yet ever exercised such influence or did more to advance the intelligence and culture of the people, and, as John Bright once said of Cobden "it was not until we had lost him that we knew how much we loved him." The sincerity and honesty of purpose right through his life, and exhibited in all his actions, won the highest esteem of even those who differed from him, and the announcement of his sudden death (Nov. 30, 1876) was felt as a blow by men of all creeds or politics who had ever known him or heard him. To him the world owes the formation of the first Shakesperian Library—to have witnessed its destruction would indeed have been bitter agony to the man who (in October, 1866) had been chosen to deliver the inaugural address at the opening of the Free Reference Library, to which he, with friends, made such an addition. As a preacher, he was gifted with remarkable powers; as a lecturer, he was unsurpassed; in social matters, he was the friend of all, with ever-open hand to those in need; as a politician, though keen at repartee and a hard hitter, he was straightforward, and no time-server; and in the word of his favourite author, "Take him all in all, we ne'er shall look on his like again."—See "Statues," &c.

W. D. Long.—The Rev. Wm Duncan Long (who died at Godalming, April 12, 1878), according to the Record, was "a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith." In our local records he is noted as being distinguished for hard work among the poor of St. Bartholomew's, of which parish he was minister for many years prior to 1851.

Thomas Swann.—The Rev. Thomas Swann, who came here in January 1829, after a few years' sojourn in India, served the Cannon Street body for 28 years, during which time he baptised 966 persons, admitting into membership a total of 1,233. Mr. Swann had an attack of apoplexy, while in Glasgow, on Sunday, March 7, 1857, and died two days afterwards. His remains were brought to Birmingham, and were followed to the grave (March 16) by a large concourse of persons, a number of ministers taking part in the funeral service.

W. L. Giles.—The Rev. W. Leese Giles, who filled the pulpit in Cannon Street from Oct., 1863, to July, 1872, was peculiarly successful in his ministrations, especially among the young.

Lewis Chapman.—The Rev. Lewis Chapman (taken to his fathers Oct. 2, 1877, at the age of 81), after performing the duties and functions of Rabbi to the local Jewish community for more than forty-five years, was, from his amiability and benevolence, characterised by many Gentile friends as "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile."

Hon. G. M. Yorke.—Brother to the late Earl of Hardwicke, and born in 1809, Mr. Yorke, on finishing his University education, entered the army, obtaining a commission in the Fourth Dragoons; and, considering his subsequent connection with Birmingham in a widely different character, it is curious that his first visit here should have been paid as an officer of dragoons in the Chartist riots of 1839. Mr. Yorke's personal tastes, however, led him to prefer the Church to the army, and he entered into holy orders, the Bishop of Worcester, in 1814, presenting him to the rectory of St. Philip's: and at a later period he was nominated Rural Dean. Mr. Yorke held the living of St. Philip's for the long period of thirty years—until 1874—when the Prime Minister appointed him Dean of Worcester. During his residence in Birmingham Mr. Yorke did much public service in connection with various educational institutions. He promoted good schools in St. Philip's parish, and was an active member of the committee of the Educational Prize Scheme, and then of the Education Aid Society, both of them institutions which were of great value in their day. He also took a strong interest in the affairs of Queen's College, of which he was for many years the Vice-president. In the Diocesan Training College, at Saldey, he likewise took part as a member of the managing body and he was interested in the School of Art and the Midland Institute. Wherever, indeed, there was educational work to be done, the Rector of St. Philip's was sure to be found helping in it; and though there have been many Rectors at the church it can be truly said that none left more regretted by the poor, notwithstanding the aristocratic handle to his name, than did Mr. Yorke. The Hon. and Rev. gentleman died at Worcester, Oct. 2, 1879.

J.C. Miller.—The Rev. John Cale Miller (born at Margate, in 1814), though only thirty-two, hail already attracted the notice of the Evangelical Party in the Church, and his appointment to St. Martin's (Sept. 1846), gave general satisfaction. His reputation as a preacher had preceded him, and he soon diffused a knowledge of his vigour as a worker, and his capacity as an administrator. Few men have entered so quickly into popular favour as Dr. Miller did, which may, perhaps, be accounted for by the fact that he not only showed a sincere desire to live in harmony with the Dissenters of all shades, but that he was prepared to take his full share in the public work of the town, and determined to be the minister—not of any section of the people, but of the parish altogether. Under his direction St. Martin's became a model parish. New facilities were afforded for public worship, schools were established, parochial institutions multiplied under his hand, an ample staff of curates and scripture-readers took their share of labour, and the energies of the lay members of the congregation were called into active exercise. To the Grammar School, the Midland Institute, the Free Libraries, the Hospitals and Charities of the town, the Volunteer movement, &c., he gave most assiduous attention, and as long as he remained with us, his interest in all public matters never failed. In the early part of 1866, Dr. Miller was presented to the living at Greenwich, taking his farewell of the townspeople of Birmingham at a meeting in the Town Hall, April 21, when substantial proof of the public goodwill towards him was given by a crowded audience of all creeds and all classes. A handsome service of plate and a purse of 600 guineas, were presented to him, along with addresses from the congregation of St. Martin's, the Charity Collections Committee, the Rifle Volunteers (to whom he had been Chaplain), the Committees of the Hospitals, and from the town at large. The farewell sermon to St. Martin's congregation was preached April 29. In 1871 Dr. Miller was appointed residential Canon of Worcester, which preferment he soon afterwards exchanged for a Canonry at Rochester as being nearer to his home, other honours also falling to him before his death, which took place on the night of Sunday, July 11, 1880.

George Peake.—The Rev. G. Peake, Vicar of Aston, from 1852 to his death, July 9, 1876, was a ripe scholar and archæologist, a kind-hearted pastor, and an effective preacher.

Isaiah Birt.—Mr. Isaiah Birt, a native of Coleford, undertook the pastorship of Cannon Street in 1800, holding it until Christmas, 1825, when from ill-health he resigned. The congregation allowed Mr. Birt an annuity of £100 until his death, in 1837, when he had reached 80 years of age.

Thomas Potts.—The Rev. Thomas Potts, who died in the early part of December, 1819, at the age of sixty-and-six, was, according to the printed funeral oration pronounced at the time, "an accurate, profound, and cautious theologian," who had conducted the classical studies at Oscott College for five-and-twenty years with vigour and enthusiasm, and "a grandeur of ability peculiarly his own."

Sacheveral.—Dr. Sacheveral, the noted and noisy worthy who kicked up such a rumpus in the days of Queen Anne, was a native of Sutton Coldfield, and his passing through Birmingham in 1709 was considered such an event of consequence that the names of the fellows who cheered him in the streets were reported to Government.

Pearce.—Ordained pastor of Cannon Street, Aug. 18, 1790. Mr. Pearce, in the course of a short life, made himself one of the most prominent Baptist divines of the day, the church under his charge increasing so rapidly that it became the source of great uneasiness to the deacons. Mr. Pearce took great interest in the missionary cause, preaching here the first sermon on behalf of the Baptist Missionary Society (Oct., 1792), on which occasion £70 was handed in; he also volunteered to go to India himself. Suffering from consumption he preached his last sermon Dec. 2, 1798, lingering on till the 10th of October following, and dying at the early age of 33. He was buried at the foot of the pulpit stairs.

Slater.—Hutton says that an apothecary named Slater made himself Rector of St. Martin's during the days of the Commonwealth, and that when the authorities came to turn him out he hid himself in a dark corner. This is the individual named in Houghton's "History of Religion in England" as being brought before the Court of Arches charged with having forged his letters of orders, with preaching among the Quakers, railing in the pulpit at the parishioners, swearing, gambling, and other more scandalous offences.

Scholefield.—The pastor of the Old Meeting Congregation in 1787 was named Scholefield, and he was the first to properly organise Sunday Schools in connection with Dissenting places of worship.

Robert Taylor.—The horrible title of "The Devil's Chaplain" was given the Rev. Robert Taylor, B.A., who in 1819-20 was for short periods curate at Yardley and at St. Paul's in this town. He had been educated for the Church, and matriculated well, but adopted such Deistical opinions that he was ultimately expelled the Church, and more than once after leaving here was imprisoned for blasphemy.

Charles Vince.—Charles Vince was the son of a carpenter, and was a native of Surrey, being born at Farnham in 1823. For some years after reaching manhood Mr. Vince was a Chartist lecturer, but was chosen minister of Mount Zion Chapel in 1851, and remained with us till Oct. 22, 1874, when he was removed to the world above. His death was a loss to the whole community, among whom he had none but friends.

John Webb.—The Rev. John Webb, who about 1802 was appointed Lecturer at St. Martin's and Minister of St. Bartholomew's was an antiquarian scholar of some celebrity; but was specially valued here (though his stay was not long) on account of his friendship with Mendelssohn and Neukomm, and for the valued services he rendered at several Festivals. He wrote the English adaptation of Winter's "Timoteo," or "Triumph of Gideon," performed at the Festival of 1823, and other effective pieces before and after that date, interesting himself in the success of the Triennials for many years. He died February 18, 1869, in Herefordshire.

William Wollaston.—That eminent English divine, the Rev. William Wollaston, who was born in the neighbouring county of Stafford, in 1659, was for several years assistant, and afterwards head master at our Free Grammar School, but, coming into a rich inheritance, retired. He died in 1724.

And so the list might go on, with such names as the Rev. Charles Curtis, of St. Martin's (1784) the Rev. E. Burn, of St. Mary's (1818), the Rev. John Cook, of St. Bartholomew's (1820), the Rev. W.F. Hook, of Moseley (1822), afterwards Dean of Christchurch; Dr. Outram, of St. Philip's (who died in 1821); Rann Kennedy, of St. Paul's; G.S. Bull, of St. Thomas's; with I. C. Barratt, of St Mary's, and many other clergymen and ministers, who have departed in these later years.

Patents.—The first patent granted to a Birmingham inventor is dated May 22, 1722, it being granted to Richard Baddeley for having "with much pains, labour, and expense, invented and brought to perfection 'An Art for making streaks for binding Cart and Wagon Wheels and Box Smoothing Irons' (never yet practised in this our kingdom) which will be more durable and do three times the service of those made of bar iron," &c., &c. It is not particularly wonderful that the toyshop of England should stand first on the list as regards the number of patent grants applied for and taken out. As Bisset said—

By the end of 1799 the list shows that 92 patents had been granted to Birmingham men after Richard Baddeley had brought out his "patent streaks," and during the present century there have been many hundreds of designs patented or registered, scores of fortunes being made and thousands of hands employed, but often the inventors themselves have sold their rights for trifling amounts or succumbed to the difficulties that stood in the way of bringing their brainwork into practical use. Could the records of our County Asylums be thoroughly inspected, it is to be feared that disappointed inventors would be found more numerous than any other class of inmates. The costs of taking out, renewing, and protecting patents were formerly so enormous as practically to prevent any great improvements where capital was short, and scores of our local workers emigrated to America and elsewhere for a clearer field wherein to exercise their inventive faculties without being so weighted down by patent laws. The Patent Law Amendment Act of 1852 was hailed with rejoicing, but even the requirements of that Act were found much too heavy. The Act which came into force Jan. 1, 1884, promises to remedy many of the evils hitherto existing. By this Act, the fees payable on patents are as follows:—On application for provisional specification, £1; on filing complete specification, £3; or, on filing complete specification with the first application, £4. These are all the fees up to the date of granting a patent. After granting, the following fees are payable: Before four years from date of patent, £50; and before the end of eight years from the date of patent, £100. In lieu of the £50 and the £100 payments, the following annual fees may be paid: Before the end of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years. £10 each year; before the end of the eighth and ninth years, £15 each year; and before the end of the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth years, £20 each year.—If the number of words contained in the specifications constitutes the value of a patent, that taken out by our townsman, James Hardy (March 28, 1844), for an improvement in tube-rolling must have been one of the most valuable ever known. The specifications filled 176 folios, in addition to a large sheet of drawings, the cost of an "office copy" being no less than £12 18s! The Mechanics' Magazine said it could have all been described in 176 words.

Patriotic Fund.—The local collection for this fund was commenced October, 25, 1854, and closed February 22, 1858, with a total of £12,936 17s. 3d.

Paving.—A "patent" was obtained in 1319, 12th Edw. II., to "take toll on all vendible commodities for three years, to pave the town of Birmingham;" and as the funds thus raised were not sufficient for such a "town improvement," another "patent" for the purpose was procured in 1333, 7th Edw. III., the toll being fixed at one farthing on every eight bushels of corn. What the paving was in the early part of the present century is best told in the following extract from Bissett's "Magnificent Directory," published in 1800:—

About 1819-20 the roadways were stoned with the aid of a steam paving-engine, supplied with a row of six heavy rammers, which dropped on the uneven stones and drove them into the roads, the engine moving about a foot after each series of blows. A wood roadway was laid in Moor Street in April, 1873; and in June, 1874, the Council decided also so to pave New Street, High Street, and Bull Street. At their meeting, June 1876, it was resolved to spend £30,000 a year for six years in paving streets, and they have done all that.

Pawnbrokers.—In December, 1789, a Bill was prepared for presentation to Parliament "to suppress all pawnbrokers within the town." and to establish in lieu a general office for pledges. Wonder what our uncles thought of it.

Peace.—A branch of the Workmen's Peace Association was formed December 18, 1871.

Pebble Mill Pool.—The last few years a favourite spot for suicides, no less than thirty-nine persons having drowned themselves there since 1875. Strangely enough there was not a single similar case in the four years preceding, and only three cases of accidental drownings in the last 27 years.

Peck Lane.—Originally called Feck Lane, leading out of New Street, next to the Grammar School, was closed and cleared for the Railway Station. Steep and narrow as the old thoroughfare was, it was at one time thought quite as much of as Bull Street.

Pearls and Pearl Fisheries.—A few small pearls are occasionally found enclosed in the nacre (or mother-of-pearl) of shells cut up for buttons, &c., but seldom of much value, though it is related that a few years back a pearl thus discovered by a workman, and handed over to his employer, was sold for £40, realising £150 afterwards. In March, 1884, Mr. James Webb, Porchester Street, had the good fortune to find a pearl weighing 31 grains in an Australian shell he was cutting up, and it has been valued at £100. As there is a good market here for pearls, no doubt many others have been found that "have not come to light." A few years back, "pearl fisheries" of rather an extraordinary kind were here and there to be found in the outskirts, the prices of good workable shell having risen to to such an extent that it paid to hunt for and dig up the scrap flung away in former years, as much as 15s. to 20s. per bag being obtained for some of these finds. One smart little master who recollected where his scrap was deposited some years before, in the neighbourhood of St. Luke's, paid the spot a visit, and finding it still unbuilt upon, set to work, and carted most of it back, and having improved tools, made a handsome profit by this resurrection movement.— See "Trades."

Pens.—The question as to who made the first steel pen has often been debated; but though Perry and Mason, Mitchell and Gillott, and others besides, have been named as the real original, it is evident that someone had come before them; for, in a letter written at least 200 years back (lately published by the Camden Society), the writer, Mary Hatton, offered to procure some pens made of steel for her brother, as "neither the glass pens nor any other sort was near so good." Silver pens were advertised for sale in the Morning Chronicle, in June, 1788, as well as "fountain pens;" and it has been claimed that an American supplied his friends with metallic pens a dozen years prior to that date. There was a Sheffield artisan, too, before our local men came to the front, who made some pens on the principle of the quill, a long hollow barrel, pointed and split; but they were considered more in the light of curiosities than for use, and fetched prices accordingly. Mr. James Perry is said to have given his workmen 5s. each for making pens, as late as 1824; and Mr. Gillott got 1s. each for a gross he made on the morning of his marriage. In 1835, the lowest wholesale price was 5s. per gross; now they can be had at a trifle over 1d. per gross. Even after the introduction of presses for the manufacture of steel pens (in 1829), there was considerable quantities of little machines made here for cutting quill pens, the "grey goose quill" being in the market for school use as late as 1855, and many bankers and others have not yet discarded them. In May, 1853, a quantity of machinery was sent out to America, where many skilled workmen had gone previously; and now our Yankee cousins not only make their own pens, and run us close in all foreign markets, but actually send their productions to Birmingham itself.—See "Trades."

People's Hall.—The foundation stone of the People's Hall, corner of Loveday and Princip Streets, was laid on Easter Monday, 1841, by General (then Colonel) Perronet Thompson. The cost of the building was £2,400, and, as its name implies, it was intended, and for a short time used, as a place for assemblies, balls, and other public purposes. Like a number of other "institutions for the people," it came to grief, and has long been nothing more than a warehouse.

Pershore Road was laid out in 1825.

Perry Barr.—Three miles from Birmingham, on the road to Lichfield, is one of the ancient places that can claim a note in Domesday. Prior to the eighteenth century there had been a wooden bridge over the Tame, the present curiously-built stone erection, with its recesses to protect the wayfarers from contact with crossing vehicles, being put up in 1711-12 by Sir Henry Gough, who received £200 from the county, and contributions from the neighbouring parishes, towards the cost. The date of the early church is unknown, the present one being built and endowed by Squire Gough in 1832. Like other suburbs Perry Barr bids fair to become little more than an offshoot to Birmingham, the road thereto fast filling up with villa and other residences, while churches, chapels, and schools may be seen on all hands. The Literary Institute, built in 1874, at a cost of £2,000, contains reading and class rooms, lecture hall, &c., while not far off is a station on the L. and N.W. line. Ferry Hall, the seat of the Hon. A.C.G. Calthorpe, has been the home of the Lords of the Manor for many generations.

Pest and Plague.—The year 1665 is generally given as the date of "the great plague" being here; but the register of St. Martin's Church does not record any extraordinary mortality in that year. In some of the "news sheets" of the 17th century a note has been met with (dated Sept. 28, 1631), in which the Justices of the Peace inform the Sheriff that "the plague had broken out in Deritend, in the parish of Aston, and spread far more dangerously into Birmingham, a great market town." St. Martin's registers of burials are missing from 1631 to 1655, and those of Aston are not get-at-able, and as the latter would record the deaths in Deritend, there does not appear any certain data to go upon, except that the plague was not a casual visitor, having visited Coventry in 1603 and 1625, Tamworth in 1606 and 1625, and Worcester in 1825 and 1645, the date generally given (1665) being that of the year when the most deaths 68,596, occurred in London. The tradition is that the plague contagion was brought here in a box of clothes conveyed by a carrier from London. It is said that so many persons died in this town that the churchyard would not hold the bodies, and the dead were taken to a one-acre piece of waste land at Ladywood Green, hence known for many generations as the "Pest Ground." The site has long been built over, but no traces of any kind of sepulture were found when house foundations were being laid.

Pewter.—To have bright pewter plates and dishes ranged on their kitchen shelves was once the delight and the pride of all well-to-do housewives, and even the tables of royalty did not disdain the pewter. At the grand dinner on George IV.'s Coronation-day, though gold and silver plate was there in abundance for the most noble of the noble guests, the majority were served on brightly-burnished pewter, supplied from Thomason's of Birmingham. The metal is seldom seen now except in the shape of cups and measures used by publicans.

Philanthropic Collections.—The following are a few not mentioned in previous pages:—A local fund for the relief of sufferers by famine in Asia Minor was opened May 6, 1875, the amount collected being £682.—In 1875, a little over £1,700 was gathered to aid the sufferers from the inundations in France that year.—November 25, 1878, at a meeting held to sympathise with the losers through the failure of the Glasgow Bank more than £1,000 was subscribed; £750 being gathered afterwards.—The Mayor's Relief Fund, in the winter-time of 1878-79, totalled up to £10,242, of which £9,500 was expended in relief, £537 in expenses, and the balance divided between the Hospitals. The number of separate gifts or donations to the poor was 500,187, equivalent to relieving once 108,630 families.

Philanthropic Societies.—Are as numerous as they are various, and the amount of money, and money's worth, distributed each year is something surprising. The following are the principal ones:—

Aged Women.—A society was commenced here in 1824 for the relief of poor women over 60 years of age, and there are now on the books the names of nearly 200 who receive, during the year, in small amounts, an average of 17s to 18s. each. Miss Southall, 73, Wellington Road, is one of the Hon. Sees., who will be pleased to receive additional subscriptions. Fifty other aged women are yearly benefitted through Fentham's Trust.—See "Blue Coat School."

Architects.—There is a Benevolent Society in connection with the Royal Institute of British Architects, for relieving poor members of the profession, their widows, or orphans. The local representative is Mr. F. Cross, 14A, Temple Row.

Aunt Judy's Work Society.—On the plan of one started in London a few years back; the object being to provide clothes for poor children in the Hospitals. The secretary is Mrs. W. Lord, Brakendale, Farquhar Road, Edgbaston.

Bibles, etc.—The Birmingham Depository of the British and Foreign Bible Society is at 40, Paradise Street; and that of the Christian Knowledge Society is at 92, New Street.

Boarding-out Poor Children.—A Ladies' Society for Befriending Pauper Children by taking them from the Workhouse and boarding them out among cottagers and others in the country, had been quietly at work for some dozen years before the Marston Green Homes were built, but whether the latter rule-of-thumb experiment will prove more successful than that of the ladies, though far more costly, the coming generation must decide.

Boatmen's Friend Society.—A branch of the British Seamen's and Boatmen's Friend Society, principally for the supply of religious education to the boatmen and their families on the canals, the distribution among them of healthy literature, and the support of the work carried on at the Boatmen's Hall, Worcester Wharf, where the Superintendent (Rev. R.W. Cusworth) may be found. The subscriptions in 1882 amounted to £416.

Church Pastoral Aid Society.—The name tells what subscriptions are required for, and the Rev. J.G. Dixon, Rector of St. George's, will be glad to receive them. The grants of the Parent Society to Birmingham in 1882 amounted to £3,560, while the local subscriptions were only £1,520.

Clergymen's Widows.—The Society for Necessitous Clergy within the Archdeaconry of Coventry, whose office is at 10, Cherry Street, has an income from subscriptions, &c., of about £320 per year, which is mainly devoted to grants to widows and orphans of clergymen, with occasional donations to disabled wearers of the cloth.

Deritend Visiting and Parochial Society, established in 1856. Meeting at the Mission Hall, Heathmill Lane, where Sunday Schools, Bible classes, Mothers' Meetings, &c., are conducted. The income for 1883 was £185 7s. 4d., and the expenditure £216 16s. 7d., leaving a balance to be raised.

District Nursing Society, 56, Newhall Street, has for its object the nursing of sick poor at their own homes in cases of necessity. In 1883 the number of cases attended by the Society's nurses was 312, requiring 8,344 visits.

Domestic Missions, of one kind and another, are connected with all the principal places of worship, and it would be a difficult task to enumerate them. One of the earliest is the Hurst Street Unitarian, dating from 1839.

Flower Mission.—At No. 3, Great Charles Street, ladies attend every Friday to receive donation of flowers, &c., for distribution in the wards of the Hospitals, suitable texts and passages of Scripture accompanying the gifts to the patients.

Girls' Friendly Society.—The local Branch, of which there are several sub (or parochial) branches, has on its books near upon 1,400 names of young women in service, &c., whose welfare and interests are looked after by a number of clergymen and ladies in connection with the Church of England.

Humane Society.—A Branch on the plan of the London Society was established here in 1790, but it was found best to incorporate it with the General Hospital in 1803.

India.—A Branch of the Christian Vernacular Education Society for India was formed here in 1874. There are several branches in this town and neighbourhood of the Indian Female Normal School and Instruction Society for making known the Gospel to the women of India, and about £600 per year is gathered here.

Iron, Hardware, and Metal Trades' Pension Society was commenced in this town in 1842. Its head offices are now in London; the local collector being Mr. A. Forrest, 32, Union Street.

Jews and Gentiles.—There are local Auxiliary Branches here of the Anglo-Jewish Association, the Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, and the British Society for Propagating the Gospel among Jews, the amounts subscribed to each in 1882 being £72, £223, and £29 respectively.

Kindness to Animals.—Mainly by the influence and efforts of Miss Julia Goddard, in 1875, a plan was started of giving prizes among the scholars and pupil teachers of the Board Schools for the best written papers tending to promote kindness to animals. As many as 3,000 pupils and 60 teachers send papers in every year, and the distribution of 500 prizes is annually looked forward to with interest. Among the prizes are several silver medals—one (the champion) being given in memory of Mr. Charles Darwin, another in memory of Mr. E.F. Flower, a third (given by Mr. J.H. Chamberlain) in memory of Mr. George Dawson, and a fourth given by the Mayor.

Ladies' Useful Work Association.—Established in 1877 for the inculcating habits of thrift and the improvement of domestic life among mothers of families and young people commencing married life. A start was made (Oct. 4) in the shape of a series of "Cookery Lessons," which were exceedingly well attended. Series of useful lectures and lessons have followed since, all bearing on home life, and as it has been shown that nearly one-half of the annual number of deaths in Birmingham are those of children under 5 years of age, it is to be hoped that the "useful work" the ladies of the Association have undertaken may be resultive in at least decreasing such infantile mortality. Office, No. 1, Broad Street Corner. In March, 1883, the ladies had a balance in hand of £88.

Needlework Guild,—Another Ladies' Association of a similar character to the above was established April 30, 1883.

Negroes' Friends.—When slavery was as much a British as American institution it was not surprising that a number of lady residents should form themselves, in 1825, into a Negroes' Friend Society. The funds now collected, nearly £170 a year, are given in grants to schools on the West Coast of Africa and the West Indies, and in donations to the Freedmen's Aid Society, the Anti-Slavery Society, &c.

Old Folks' Tea Party.—In 1857, a few old people were given a treat just prior to Christmas, and the good folks who got it up determined to repeat it. The next gatherings were assembled at the Priory Rooms, but in a few years it became needful to engage the Town Hall, and there these treats, which are given biennially, are periodically held. At the last gathering there attended over 700, not one of whom was under sixty years of age, while some were long past their three-score and ten, and a few bordered on ninety. The funds are raised by the sale of tickets (to be given by the purchasers to such old people they think deserve it), and by subscriptions, the recipients of the treat not only having that enjoyment, but also take home with them warm clothing and other usefuls suited to their time of life.

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.—Birmingham Society for this purpose was established in 1852, and its officers have frequently been the means of punishing inhuman brutes who cruelly treated the animals entrusted to their care. Cases of this kind should be reported to Mr. B. Scott, the Society's Secretary, 31, Bennett's Hill. In 1882, 125 persons were summoned, and 107 of them convicted, the year's expenditure being £344.

Religious Tract Society.—A local auxiliary was established here in 1853 in which year £409 were realised, by the sale of books, tracts, and religious periodicals; in 1863 that amount was quadrupled; in 1873 the receipts were nearly £2,000. Last year (1883) the value of the sales reached £2,597, and, in addition, there had been free grants made of more than 13,000 tracts and magazines—the Hospitals, Lunatic Asylums, Workhouses, Police Stations, Cabmen's Rests, &c., being supplied gratuitously.

St. John Ambulance Association.—The Birmingham Branch of this Association was organised in 1881, and some hundreds of both sexes have since then passed the examination, and obtained certificates of their proficiency in ambulance work, and in the treatment of ordinary cases of accident or sudden illness. It would be a good thing if every man and woman in the town had similar knowledge, and would make use of it when occasions require quick thought and ready hand. The secretary is Mr. J.K. Patten, 105, Colmore Row.

St. Thomas's Day Charity.—A very old custom in Edgbaston has been the collection of donations for a Christmas distribution to the poor and old of the parish. Regular accounts have been booked for over fifty years, but how much longer the custom has existed is uncertain. At first, money only was given, afterwards part was given in bread and packets of tea, while of later years a stock of about 500 blankets has been provided for lending out. The receipts per year are about £200.

True Blues.—In 1805 a number of young men who had been brought up at the Blue Coat School and who called themselves the "Grateful Society," united their contributions and presented that charity with £52 10s. 3d. in gratitude for the benefits they had received, a worthy plan which was followed for several years. These same young men originated the "United Society of True Blues" (composed of members who had been reared in the School) for the purpose of forming a fund for the relief of such of their number as might be in distress, and further to raise periodical subscriptions for their old school, part of which is yearly expended in prizes among the children.

Philanthropic and Benevolent Institutions—Birmingham cannot be said ever to have wanted for charitable citizens, as the following list of philanthropic institutions, societies, and trusts will show:—

Industrial and Reformatory Schools.—Gem Street Industrial School, for the recovery of boys who had began a life of crime, was opened in 1850, and at the close of 1883 it contained 149 boys, under the charge of nine officers.