s
to their credit that "the gods" behaved themselves.

~Time.~--When it is exactly twelve at noon here in Birmingham, it is
7min. 33secs. past at Greenwich, 12min. 50secs. past at Dover, and
16min. 54secs. past at Paris; while it wants 1-1/2mins. to the hour at
Manchester, 9-1/2min. at Glasgow, 17min. 50secs. at Dublin, and
26-1/2mins. at Cork. At Calcutta, the corresponding time would be
6.1-1/2 p.m., Canton 7.40 p.m., Japan 9.15 p.m., Mexico 5.34 a.m., New
Orleans 8.5 a.m., New York 7.11 a.m., New Zealand 11.45 p.m., Nova
Scotia 7.55 a.m., San Francisco 4.5 a.m., St., Petersburg 2.10 p.m.,
Sydney 10.12 p.m., and at Washington just seven o'clock in the morning.

~Tithes.~--One hundred and fifty years ago (if not, considerably later)
the Rector of St. Martin's was paid tithes in cash based on the value of
the crops, &c., one acre of good wheat being tithed at 7s. 6d.; an acre
of good barley at 4s. 4-1/2d.; an acre of flax and hemp, if pulled, at
5s.; an acre of good oats, peas, or potatoes, and all kinds of garden
stuff at 3s. 9d.; for meadow land 4d. an acre, and 2d. for leasow (or
leasland); 3d. being claimed for cow and her calf. 1-1/2d. for each
lamb, &c. In course of time these payments were changed into a fixed
tithe rent, but before matters were comfortably settled, the Rector
found it necessary to give notice (April, 1814) that he should enforce
the ancient custom of being paid "in kind." The gun trade was brisk at
that time, but whether the reverend gentleman took his tenths of the
guns, what he did with them, or how the parties came to terms is not
recorded.--The tithes formerly due in kind to the Vicar of Edgbaston
were commuted by Act passed June 8, 1821, into art annual "corn rent,"
payable by the occupiers or all kinds in the parish.

~Tower.~--Originally, all guns made here for Government, had to be put
together in London, but when the French Revolution broke out, it was
seen that a quicker mode of procedure was necessary, and an
establishment in Bagot Street was erected in 1798, where all guns for
Government were viewed and stamped with the "Tower" mark. Hence the
name.

~Town Criers~ were first appointed in 1526. Jacob Wilson entered into
office May 4, 1853, and was pensioned off with 15s. a week in August,
1879, after a family tenure of the office, according to Jacob, of about
350 years. Surely it was a crying shame to stop the children of that
family from crying in the future. The last of the crie