Michael Faraday .sx It is hoped that Professor Cramp , of the Birmingham University , will deliver the Faraday Lecture in Smethwick .sx Of all Faraday's discoveries none has had more consequence than that which he made in 1831 .sx It was then that he found the true relation between magnetism and electricity .sx On this relation and on others which he discovered in a few following years of intense thought and labour have been founded all those applications of electricity which form the muscles and nerves of our modern life .sx Faraday began his working life in 1804 , being then 13 years old , as an errand boy to a newsagent and bookbinder near Manchester Square , London .sx Later he was apprenticed and learnt the trade of bookbinding .sx The handling of books gave Faraday opportunities to read which could otherwise never have been his .sx He made his bench his school .sx His attentions were turned to science by the article " Electricity " in an encyclopdia which he was employed to bind .sx In 1812 came an opportunity of attending a course of lectures given by Sir Humphry Davy at the Royal Institution .sx Faraday took copious notes of a set of lectures on Chlorine :sx he made a fair copy and bound the beautifully written pages into a volume which he sent to Davy .sx This book is now one of the greatest treasures of the Royal Institution .sx How Faraday became assistant to Davy at 25s .sx a week with two rooms in the Institution is a story well worth revising .sx Davy died in 1829 , and Faraday was appointed Director of the laboratories and all the responsibilities for the work of the Royal Institution devolved upon him .sx After two important chemical discoveries between 1823 and 1830 , connected with chlorine and benzine , Faraday made the famous electric experiments of which that in 1831 gave us the means by which , in these days , we produce electric currents .sx It happened on 29th August , 1831 , and the experiment is so simple that it does not seem possible to make the telling of it dramatic .sx Faraday discovered that the turning of a coil of insulated wire in the " field " of a permanent magnet induced an electric current in the coil .sx That is the principle of the modern dynamo .sx Many will search out for themselves the story of Michael Faraday .sx It is his public life that belongs to us .sx The lesson of the centenary celebrations will surely be ( as one writer suggests ) to make us " love the man himself for his simplicity of faith and purpose , for the breadth of his vision and the humility of his thought , for his kindly generosity and for the light which he shed around him .sx " The Luxury of doing Good .sx Having decided , in less anxious times , to make a worthy contribution to the hospitals of the City , and at the same time , to help its own charitable institutions , Smethwick embarks to-day upon a great and beneficent enterprise .sx There is infinite goodwill abroad , and it affords a great deal of satisfaction to commend its purpose .sx It will be recalled that a year ago , the town joined with its neighbours - West Bromwich and Oldbury - in an effort on behalf of the West Bromwich District Hospital .sx The success achieved was such as to emphasize the obligation which the Borough is under to Birmingham for all the work of healing at its voluntary institutions .sx Almost before the scheme of last autumn was completed , it was resolved to launch a bold endeavour for these hospitals .sx The moths of preparation have evolved a splendid organisation and the coming week should see the realisation of the ideal that was set .sx It is a fine venture in a worthy cause .sx There is one thought that must be present in all minds .sx On this occasion any contribution will be at the point of sacrifice .sx The times are out of joint , but that fact will add to the grace of giving .sx It is well that it should be encouraged .sx The Borough is likely to suffer from the fact that there are not within its borders voluntary hospitals and kindred institutions which remind a people of a great obligation .sx In one sense it has been a fortunate circumstance that in neighbouring towns there has been the fullest provision .sx A Momentous Week .sx It has been a momentous week .sx Each day seems to have brought its peculiar anxieties .sx The nation is solid .sx Criticism there has been in abundance but the National Government has maintained confidence .sx Monday's threat of an early General Election has been met and now the mood is changing .sx On Tuesday " the silent Navy " came into the limelight , but the First Lord of the Admiralty has now made an assuring statement .sx Each day in Parliament has revealed that in every case , excepting the reduction of unemployment benefit rates , the economies now proposed , including the cut in teachers' salaries , were practically the same as those that the Labour Government had been ready to carry out .sx It has been well said :sx - " Nothing indeed could be more hopeful for the future than the measured language which the responsible speakers used at the Trades Union Congress .sx Their words and their decisions were those of men who were aware that a crisis of the kind occurring in these days , when the whole world creaks at the slightest movement , was something which could not be solved lightheartedly .sx In a letter to a correspondent Mr. MacDonald emphasised that personal saving was not a help to the nation , and urged the public to buy British .sx The Changing World .sx The fullest advantage to be derived from the B.B.C. talks will be possible if a scheme which the Borough Librarian has introduced is made a success .sx A number of listening and discussion groups will be held at the Public Libraries during the winter evenings to hear and discuss the lectures to be broadcast from Daventry , under the title of " The Changing World .sx " These talks will deal with present day problems , with life as it is to-day and as it touches everyone .sx Each broadcast Talk will be followed by a discussion under the Group Leader selected by the West Midlands Area Council .sx Since these groups are limited as to accommodation and numbers , those who wish to become members of any one of them are requested to send in their names as soon as possible to the Borough Librarian , who will supply fuller information if required .sx No fees will be charged .sx The details of this latest development in the library service may be summarised as follows - the commencing date , time , speakers , and group leaders being given :sx - .sx BRITAIN LEADS .sx Most British travellers return from abroad loud in their praise of British railways .sx Worn out with the inadequate facilities , the harshness and inconvenience of Continental trains , they rejoice in the regular comfort of British railways .sx So Mr. J. F. Green , in addressing the members of the Smethwick Rotary Club on Monday , declared that " the Continental railway system is certainly far below the standard in this country .sx " The German trains were an improvement on the Belgian , but " still much below our standard .sx " His impression of the railways was that " stations , track and engines appear generally in a dilapidated state .sx " Britain can be proud of her railways , and Smethwick can have a particular share in that pride .sx The works of the district largely contribute to their excellence of rolling stock , and of general efficiency .sx The Final Appeal .sx To-day the final appeal will be made in connection with the effort to raise 2,000 for the hospitals of Birmingham and the benevolent institutions of Smethwick .sx The events of the week have conspired to make the closing scenes of the pageant of great interest .sx But as the revels reach their zenith it is very much to be desired that the inct should be prominently before the people that all this mirth is but a means to an end .sx There is great need of help by the agencies as the result of Carnival Week .sx While there are many who agree with the sentiments so well expressed by Canon Rowlands at the hospital appeal service on Sunday , there has been no hesitation in taking part in what has proved to be a magnificently organised effort .sx The town is indebted to that band of official , who have so splendidly interpreted the wishes of the rank and file in this great venture .sx A less deserving cause would have suffered by reason of the clouds on the horizon .sx But the gloom has been dispelled and a significant local colour given to a week that has been heavy with national anxieties .sx All will be anxious that there shall be a handsome return for the sacrifice and effort , and that the response will enable the ideal to be attained .sx Michael Faraday .sx Amid the Carnival it has been possible to pay tribute to the memory of Michael Faraday .sx Smethwick has been a brighter place by reason of the wonderful scheme of illumination .sx But perhaps the most eloquent tribute to his name and fame was the wireless broadcast of the commemorative meeting , made possible by Faraday's work in the uncharted field of electro-magnetism and induction brought to a successful maturity exactly one hundred years ago this week , after ten years of persistent and concentrated research .sx It was to this fact that Mr. Ramsay MacDonald turned in voicing his tribute .sx Without Faraday there would have been no broadcasting nor any of those extraordinary developments in the application of electric science which had characterised our age .sx " To me , " declared the Premier , " Michael Faraday is not only a scientist of imperishable name and fame , but he is one of those glowing , strong and inspiring personalities which belong to the very richest part of the inheritance of the youth of all countries .sx Faraday in his own personality reveals the conquering majesty of the human being .sx His secret was that he found himself in his work , and the man who is finding himself in his work is the man who may earn honours , but they come as accidents , unsought and unseen .sx Another great characteristic of Faraday was his belief in the simple-minded and faithful discharge of duty .sx He was also a man of profound reverence - reverence for nature , for his fellow beings , and for his work .sx Is reverence becoming a lost attitude of mind ?sx I hope not , because when people cease to reverence they cease to be .sx Reverence is the quality in human nature which keeps it sweet , keeps it faithful , and keeps it powerful for achievement .sx In his complete composition you have one of the greatest personalities that has ever called himself an Englishman .sx " Remembrance Day .sx The meeting to make arrangements for Remembrance Day in Smethwick will be held at the Headquarters of the British Legion on Tuesday next .sx Mr. A. E. Burrell has again undertaken the work of organising the effort .sx It will be an encouragement to those who are willing to help the cause to know that in Smethwick , the total amount of relief afforded to September 1st was over 800 .sx The Poppy Day Report for 1930 serves not only as the record of what Earl Haig's British Legion Appeal Fund achieved last year but as an inspiration for still greater efforts in the immediate future .sx The Fund has gone from strength to strength because of the growing realisation of the need it endeavours to meet .sx Year after year the collections made on Poppy Day have increased .sx Last year a new record was set up when about 525,000 was collected .sx The percentage cost of administration in connection with the organisation of Poppy Day has for many years past been less than 5 per cent .sx A definite figure for Poppy Day , 1930 , is not yet available as this Appeal comes within the Legion's financial year ending September , 1931 , but the percentage for 1929 was 4.7 per cent .sx This is regarded as being a definitely low percentage , comparing very favourably indeed with those of other Funds .sx So low an administrative cost would be impossible but for the vast amount of voluntary service so readily given to the Appeal each year , and the innumerable concessions made by public authorities , business houses and others , which have made possible a considerable saving to the Fund .sx