The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-12-06 00:00:00

S kTI.I RDA 7, DEC. 6, 1384

CRYSTAL PArAcH.—The great Handel Festival, to be
held next year in Lion of the two hundredth
anniversary of the composer's birth, has been fixed for
Friday, June 19; Monday, Juno 22; Wednesday, Amer
24; and Friday, June 26. Two of the dates will be
occupied by peformances of the" Messiah" and "Israel
In Egypt ;" and the programme of the selection day will
be carefully considered, with the view of embracing as
many novel and effective pieces us possible.

MORI USSR FOR Etscruicrry.—/t is proed further
to utilise electricity by establishing iv London a system
of "cab call and police and fire communications." By
means of a dial placed in the hall of a subscriber's
house, and another at the nearest rank, a cab can be
summoned instantaneously, and the driver informed of
the number of the building and the street at which he
is wanted. By similar means the brigado can be warned
in case of fire, and the police warned should a burglary
be attempted. Captain Shaw, C. 8., has spoken favour-
ably
of the scheme, which a company has been formed
to work.

SINGULIkI3 STraza.—A singular strike has occurred
at Walker Colliery, near Newcastle. The miners have
been asked to take down Marsant lamps instead of
the old Canny and Davy lamps. The Marsant
is believed to be safer than the old lamp, and it costs
more money. The men objected to the new lamp, and
struck to the number of 300, laying the colliery idle.

HIGHWAY Ronmenv IN OLDEN TIBIE.—" London,
November 12, 1784, Mrs. Siddens, Miss ICemble, and a
gentleman, returning at a midnight hour lately from
the West-end of the town, were stopped and robbed in
one of the squares. Miss Kemble had sufficient
presence of mind to separate her gold from her silver,
but unluckily gave up the former and saved the latter.
The gentleman delivered his watch, but begging hard
for the seal, it was restored, whilst a ring on his finger,
said to be of great value, was forgotten by himself and
overlooked by the robber. "Barrow's Worcester
Journal."
ROYAL SUPREMACY.—The" Record" of last week
contains a short treatise on .the Royal Supremacy,
written by the celebrated Sir Matthew Hale (Lord
Chief Justice under Charles II.), which has remained
unknown and unpublished for 200 years. It forms one
chapter of a large work on the Royal Pererogative, the
M.S. of which, in Hale's own handwriting, was bought
at an obsettre book sale three or four years ago, for a
trifling sum, by the authorities of Lincoln's Inn. Hale
bequeathed his library of valuable books and trsmscripts
to this inn, and the collection has since been enriched
by the addition of most of his original MSS. The tract now
published is of considerable value with reference to the
questions raised by the recent report of the Ecclesias-
tical Courts Commission.

RECLAIMED Kum Dom.—Sir Thomas Hesketh evi-
dently does not believe that agriculture is played out
in this country. He has just formed an embankment
of four miles round a tract of formerly useless ground
on Heeketh Marsh, and has thus added 1125 acres of
arable land to his estate. In 1860 he reclaimed 700
acres of marsh land in the same way, and so successful
was the experiment that 600 acres of it are now let at
from £6 to £7 an acre.

THEN AND Now.—On November 29th, 1814, seventy
years ago, a newspaper was for the first time printed
by steam power. The paper was the "Times," and a
leading article in the issue of the date named, after
describing the new printing process, made the following
extraordinary declaration: "The whole of these com-
plicated acts is performed with such a velocity' and
simultaneousness of movement that 'no less than
eleven hundred sheets' are impressed in one hour."
To-day there are, we suppose, several newspapers in
London each capable of producing some hundred thou-
sand copies per hour. "Such a velocity" would indeed
have staggered the editor of the" Times" in 1814.

LAST WEEK'S WRICKS.—The actual shipwrecks re-
ported last week were principally foreign sailers, the
number of steamers being six, of which four were
foreign and two British. The foreign vessels numbered
twenty-three and British only nine, making a total of
thirty-two for the week, against nineteen for the cor-
responding week last year, when the total for the year
was 1679, or 222 more than the aggregate for ihopresent
year. Only five vessels (three British, one Rlesian, one
Norwegian) were lost off British Isles during the week.
By collision two vessels (one a British steamer in the
Channel) sunk, the loss of life being twenty persons.
Only one vessel (British) was reported with an hands.

A LAST LiNs.—Mr. Frederick Frampton, one of the
last links between the older generation of the theatrical
profession and the present, has died, at the age of 68.
His early career was intimately connected with those
of the Keeleys Benjamin Webster Madams Celeste,
and other members of the old Adelai company. Mr.
Frampton was one of the originators of the Theatrical
Fund, and in more recent years was lessee with Mr.
Fenton (the scene-painter), of the Victoria Theatre, and
stage-manager during Mr. Alfred NV igan's tenure of the
Queen's Theatre, Long-acre.
Tni3 MERSEY TIINNEL.—An interesting period in the
progress of the Mersey Railway Tunnel has been
reached, and the last length of brickwork, 2ft. 6in. in
thickness, has been laid; thus completing the tunnel-
ling (with the exception of the permanent way) from
opposite the Cathedral in Church-street, Liverpool, to a
point under Hamilton-street, Birkenhead, a distance of
over two miles and a half, including the River Tunnel.
These works have not been stopped for a single work-
ing day since the present executive took them in hand,
which is remarkable, considering the magnitude of the
operations and the natural obstacles to be successfully
overcome.

A OBNIENARIAN'S BIRTHDAY.—On Sunday Mr. John
Hogben completed his centenary. Born at Harefield
Forstal, in the parish of Selling, he was at the age of 32
married at Harbledown Church, near Canterbury, to
Jane Duncan, of Boughton by whom he had nine
children. The eldest is now bordering upon 70 years of
age. There are 23 grandchildren, 18 of whom are still
living, and 17 great-grandchildren, 14 being now alive,
and the ehlcst 12 years old. Although rather deaf, and
occasionally failing in sight, tho old gentleman in other
respects retains all his faculties to a remarkable degree,
and frequently sings his favourite songs, "The Sentry
Box" and "One Hundred Years Hence." He has
throughout his long career been a moderate drinker,
and also cherished a liking for the" weed." The cen-
tenarian has lived at Selling during the whole of his
life, following the trade of a carpenter, in succession to
his forefathers. He resides with his son, the parish
clerk, within ten rods of the house where he was born
on " Hogben's-hill," Selling, and is in receipt of pay-
ments from a fund contributed to by 179 subscribers,
raised on the occasion of his last birthday. Not a year
has passed during the past century without one of the
family having been in sortie way or other connected
with the village church.
FOREIGN LITE STOCK AND FRESH MEAT. The ar-
rivals of live stock and fresh meat at Liverpool during
the past week from American and Canadian Ports
amounted to 630 cattle 1801 sheep, 4903 quarters of
beef, and 1175 carcases of mutton, which, in comparison
with the arrivals of the preceding week, show a decrease
in the imports of cattle and fresh beef, but an increase
in that of sheep and mutton. The conveying steamers,
seven in number, were as follows: Brooklyn, 438 cattle
and 666 sheep; Lake Nepigon, 108 cattle, 1135 sheep,
and 639 quarters of beef; Mentmore, 84 cattle; 'Umbria,
1200 quarters of beef and 325 carcases of mutton;
Arizona, 1440 quarters of beef and 650 carcases of
mutton; Cephalonia, 884 quarters of beef; and
Britannic 740 quarters of beef and 200 carcases of
mutton. The steam ship Zephyrus, from the Rive:
Plate, arrived in the London Docks on Friday with
13,796 carcases of frozen sheep, 164 bac* of kidneys.
and 48 quarters of beef.