The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-10-07 00:00:00

JII a man 1
and shows.
lusar

SATURDAY, OCT. 7, 1876.

SHOCKING FERRY-BOAT ACCIDENT.
An accident, involving the loss of fourteen lives,
occurred in Youghal Harbour on Saturday. A large
open boat, about three tons burden plies hourly
aeross the harbour between Youghal and the Ardmore
side. At four o'clock on Saturday evening it left Youghal
with four boatmen and twenty-two pareengers on board, '
together with a large quantity of goods. The distance
to be traversed is nearly half a mile, and there is always
a strong current. 041 Saturday it was raining
heavily, and a stiff breeze from the south raised a
rough sea. A hundred yards from shore the boat was
roped, and the passengers all rising in panic, she I
turned over completely. The tide was ebbing strongly,
and theT unfortunate people were swept rapidly down
the harbour. The accident was seen from shore. and
• boats put off immediately from the ferry
e—e, out eleven- persons were picked up, and of
those four died from exhaustion. - Two of the four
boatmen perished the rest were feathers and their
wives returning home from market at Youghal.

I swamped, and the

Later particulars say that the ferryboat was an open
craft of three tons burthen, and rowed with four oars.
There were twenty-two passengers on board besides
the boatmen, the passengers being all farmers and
their wives returning from market in Youghal. A strong
ebb tide was running in the estuary, which is nearly
half a mile broad, and it was raining and blowing
heavily from the south. A hundred yards from the
shore the waves broke over the boat, and the passengers
rising in panic she went over. Boats were put out
at once from the slip, but the greater number of
people were swept away by the tide beyond the reach
of rescue. Eleven were picked up, five of whom died
from exhaustion. Two of the boatmen perished; a
third is missing, a fourth boatman was so drunk that
he could give no information as to the cause of the
disaster. Fifty years ago a similar accident happened
to this ferry, and twenty persons perishel.

to r

1414

is

At Margate, on Saturday, a Corunna veteran, named
George Winter, late of the Hone Guards, died, aged 88

The Mayor of Liverpool, in answer to a deputation
which waited on him on Saturday, has declined to convene a
town's meeting on the sulject of the Bulgarian atrocities and
an autumn Session of Parliament.

Benzine is said to be a remedy for slugs and other
insects which infest flowers. A few drops scattere4 over the
plants will suffice, and the odour of the benzine soon disap-
pears.

--wattlittsHiiikopd_?l jalq:,_ at 64,0 p. ,which..is less by 37,34

A specimon of the small-horned toad has been re-
ceived by a gentleman in Edinburgh by post from Western
America. The little creature had been for three weeks en-
closed in a box without light or food, and had travelled over
(1,00 miles.

.egs.
1 Th

A waiter advertises in an American daily paper for
a situation, his pre-eminent qualification being his ability
to "fold napkins in 300 different ways, in the perfect inane
of every kind of bird."
Margate was partially inundated on Sunday in con-
sequence of the quantity of water washed over the Aquarium
sea-wall during a heavy gale. Portions of the woodwork of
the jetty extension works were washed away.
The monthly return of the number of paupers In, f
Rigland receiving relfef from the rates show that the total
at the end of July was 647,079. which is less by 37,341, or 5 5
per cent., than at the end of July, 1875.
The Queen, the Duke of Connaught, and Princes
Beatrice attended service in the parish church of Craithie on
Sunday. The Rev. Norman Macleod officiated.
A missionary in India has sent an order for a vehicle
which can be travelled in by day, slept in by night, and
preached from at any time It will be furn'shed with cook-
ing utemils, bedding, and books, and six oxen will draw it.
Ooly three languages of Europe (says the Examiner)
have brought forth any notable crop of sonnets; the Italian
first, the English last, and connecting link between the two
the French.

A singular plant has been received at the Jardin des
Plantes, coming from China. At regular hours during the
day the said plant changes colour. 11 is the first time it has
been cultivated in Europe.
Prince Leopold, accompanied by the Marquis and
Marchioness of Bute, the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Glasgow, di -
and a distinguished company visited ltothesay CAstle on in
Saturday. On Sunday the Prince and suite attended Divine •
Service in Itothesay parish church.
Vegetarianism does not seem to meet with much
favour, judging from the attendance at a 'conference" held
In Glasgow to consider the propriety of forming a vegetarian
society. The "conference" consisted exclusively of the
committee, five in number; and after waiting patiently for •
auditors had to adjourn sine die.
A curious experience of the somewhat whimsical '
'postal regulations which define a book or parcel deserves
notice here. The words "more to follow," added to a parcel '
of manuscript for the printer, were ruled to take the parcel
out of the book.post scale, and it was charged the full letter
postage. These words, it may be noted, are sent free of
charge of Press telegrams.

A-large order for a most unusual number of knap-
sacks given by Swedish firms to one or two Scotch'makers Is
(says the London Correspondent of the Manchester Guardian)
occasioning much comment and exciting keen curiosity. Al .le.
the immense number of knapsacks could not in any ease be
required for the Swedish army, some greater Power IS •
believed to be the real buyer, and it is conjectured that the
order comes from Russia.
The Ariny and Navy Gazette says :—There is a report
that the Government intends to propose some very vigorous
measures to remedy the defects in the military organisation
of the country, and that it is likely that the militia system
will be tested by the bold application of a crucial experiment
on the patriotism of the country which has hitherto been
shirked by our statesmen."
The Maidstone Journal said the last of the hon..
pickers have now taken their departure, about 2,000 having
been sent home by the South-Eastern Company during the -01
past week. Altogether 17,600 pickers have travelled on that .
line since the conclusion of the hopping season.
Dr. Schweinfurth's two dwarfs, brought by him
from Central Africa, are now being educated at Verona. They
already read and speak Italian fluently, and are making pro-
gress in Latin. The elder is developing a taste for music.
The younger is a surly, peevish, disagreeable beast.
Lord Derby has expressed by letter to the London
and Westminster Working Men's Constitutional Association
his best thanks for the very courteous and friendly terms in
which they have spoken of the action of the Government in
regard to Turkish affairs.
se annual conference of the Evangelical Alliance
began on Tuesday in the Town Hall, Southport, near Liver-
pooL There was a large attendance of Church of England
clergymen and Nonconformist ministers, and representatives
from Paris, Belgium, Spain, Beyrout, and Eiberfeld also
attended. •
The Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied by'
Prince John of Giueksburg, the Duke and Dachess of Slither- • .
land, and a large party, arrived at Thurso on Monday, and
met with an enthusiastic reception. The town was splendidly
decorated. The Prince and party took luncheon at Thurso
Castle, and afterwards returned to Danrobin. Thurso wail:
illuminated at night in honour of the occasion. L _
Shortly before midnight on Saturday, Mr. J. P. ,
Weston, the American pedestrian, completed at Liverpool t
the great trial of endurance he recently undertook. The
jedges appointed to w.tch the trial intimated that Mr.
Weston had during six days walked 500 i miles.
According to the Revenue tables published on Satur-
day evening the total receipts for the quarter ending
September 30 amounted to £18,734,017, showing an increase
of £352,390 as compared with the corresponding period of
twelve months ego. The net increase on the halt year well
£433,140, and on the year £1,648,198.
The Metropolitan says :—"Events seem to point to
the probability of small-pox becoming epidemic in London.
For tome time past we have had bad accounts of fatal case'
from some of the northern towns of England. And it is net
to be expected that the disease will be confined to those parts.
of the country. Already it appears that in Islington an out-
break has occurred, and action has been taken in the matter -
by the sanitary authorities. 4
The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland has just re•-,
calved from the trustees of the late Mr. John Mudie, of
Pitmutes, a fellow of- the society, the sum of £250, be-
queathea by him for the purchase of books far their library.
The Scotsman says that although this library has no special
funds, it is fast becoming (by the liberality of the fellows an
ethers) a complete repository of the literature of its special'
subjects, ancient and modern.
Many years ago there was a law upon the statute.
books of Connecticut binding masters not to feed their
approntiOCa on fresh salmon more than twice or thrice
week. And now the New Haven Register speaks of a time
when shad woro caught in Connecticut rivers, but that
salmon were so plenty also that wi °over bought a shad was e
ex/need to take a couple of salmon for the rake of getting :
them out of the way. •In fact, salmon were not of much ace
count. Times have altered.
The Leona, a brig of 300 tons, with a timber cargo,
bound fur Liverpool from St. John's, met with a violet'. •
storm outside Bray, Dublin, on Saturday, and drifted towarde
shore. On Sunday morning the Kingetown life boat, with.
twelve men, set out to her. The coaltguard succeeded in
taking out the crew of seven, but, when returning, the life
boat upset, only two men remaining in her. Three of the
Leona s crew were drowned, and one of the coastguards died
when brought ashore.
The Melbourne Argus states that the returns from
the quartz mines of Sandhurst, which is now the premier -
goldfield of the Colony of Victoria, keep quite up to their
average. At Stawell, which- is the second qnartz.reeflng
town, sixty-ilve tons of stone, got at the great depth of
1,06011., crushed on the 26th of July, yielded 517 ounces of
gold, or neatly eight ounces to the ton, which is regarded Si
a magnificent return.

An inquest has been held in London at the Grenadiers
Hospital, on the body of Patrickll'lntyre, aged 31 years, a
private of the Grenadier Guards. Deceased whilst on duty
near a sentry-box in front of Buckingham Palace, fell to the
ground, and soon after his removal to the guard-room died.
The post-mortem examination showed that death was caused
by the sudden bursting of an aneurism of Vie aorta of the
heart, by which death was caused instantly. The jury re-
turned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.
The Paris papers report a horrible murder at a
village near Toulouse, where a labourer, after a dispute ;
about money matters with his sister-in-law, seized a spade
!Ind murdered both her and his wife. Ile then attempted to
cut his throat, but did not do so effectually, upon which
he drank a quantity of petroleum, and threw himself into
the canal. Ile was, however, rescued from a watery grave
by some grape-pickers, and taken Into custody.
During last we.3l( 2,285 births and 1,230 deaths were
registered in London, the former having been 14 and the latter
163 below the average numbers. The deaths included 1& fro
small-pox, 9 from measles, 59 from scarlet fever, 5 front
diptheria, 14 from whooping cough, 27 from different forme
of fever, and 42 from diarrhoo ; thus to the seven principa
diseases of the zymotic class 171 deaths were referred, againsi
171 and 170 in the two preceding weeks.
On Monday afternoon, a largely attended meeting
was held at Birmingham to consider the pro-Driety of memo-
rialising the Queen to immediately summon Parliament, Jo
order to discuss the policy of the Government on the Eastern '
Qiiestion. A letter from Mr. John Bright was read, con-
cluding with the words, " l'he policy of 1854-56 must be
abandoned and reversed. To enable the Government to do r„
this it must decapitate itself, for alter the Ayleshlry speech ,
nothing can be hoped from its chief. Another way is for ,P
the Government to resign. To remain iii office not b icked
up by the nation, to negotiate in a spirit opposed 'to that oPthe
nation, to continue a policy which the nation has empbati-
•
cally condemned, is unconstitutional and dangerous.
Mr. Gladstone, in a letter declining an invitation to
attend a meeting upon the Turkish atrocities held at Blaydon-
on-Tyne on Saturday, says :—" I cannot say that I think that
the necessity for pressure on the G rvernment has yet passed
by. As far as we can judge from three successive utterances
some degree of progress has been made in impressing upon
them the strong desire of the nation, but the promise ef
effectual guarantees against the return of the Bulgarian out-
rages must, when proceeding from them, be held amblgnotte
until we know they are to be guarantees wholly or substan-
tinily independent of the mere will of the Ottoman Govern. •
anent either to execute or revoke."

A Church of England Temperance Mission has been
commenced at Rotherham, the object being to establish
branches of the Church of England Temperance Society le
the rural deaneries of Rotherham and Wath. WorkshaP
addresses are amongst the other features of the mission. Oa
Sunday the Archbishop of York preached twice in aid of the
missions, and in the morning he dilated upon the spread of
Intemperance in the kingdom. He calculated that
£14100030 are annually spent in drink, whereas the wholes
expenditure of the country for national purposes is °WY,
between £70,000,000 and £BO 000,000. He characterised Is,'
temperance as the permanent vice of this generation, and s
said he was convinced it would only yield to the prescription
of the physician Christ.
The death is announced at Riinburgh of Mr, George ;
Lawrence, the author of "Guy Livingstone" and other well-
known works of fiction. Mr. Lawrence was the eldest soh r
of the Rev. A. C. Lawrence and Lady Emily Lawrence, the ,
daughter of Daniel, sixth Earl of Winchilsea, and second .
E r*l of Nottlegloon tie was born in the year 1827, and Was d
educated at Rugby and Balliol College, Oxford. where he
graduated m a sscoud class in classics. He was called to the
bar by the Inner Temple in 1852, but early abandoned vac-
tics for literature.
The building of metallic railway cars has been in
course of experiment for some time in America. Steel freight Al
cars are suggested, as they are far less in weight than those .
constructed of wood, thus saving wear and tear of the tracks.
It is claimed that a steel car can be made weighing no more d
than seven tons, that will carry twice that weight of frieght. .
If the trucks are of steel, a car of ten tons weight call hes
.macle that will carry twenty-five tons of freight. The cons%
structiou of these vehicles is also stronger and mora durable
than the wooden car. Already many iron coal cars are in
use, and freight card of sheet iron have been made at Pitts- .
burg, and the belief is expressed that the new style of freight
car can be successfully constructed.
On Saturday afternoon the Prince of Wales, ate
tended by the lion. Mr. Montague, went for a drive in sst
forest of Ben Bhraggle and retuned to Drinrcbin in till
evening. Accompanied by Prince John of Glucksburg, the
young Princes, and the Duke of Sutherland, the Princess of
Wales went en a fishing excursion in the Marquis of Staf- -
ford's yacht. After a pleasant sail on the Ertis the partl
commenced to fish, and the sport was both successful and
amusing. On Sunday the Royal and ducal parties wor'
shipped in the Established Church of Golsple, the Rev. Pr; ,!
Joas conducting the service. The Duchess of Ehitherlanao A
owing to indisposition, was not able to attend. Dr. Jo&Il
preached from Psalm exit's 9, "The Lord la God of all, and
Ms tender mercies are over all Ills works." Tha church Was •
crowded.
"A. movement has been set on foot to enable 'work-
ing. men' to sit upon juries. Perhaps of all the ridiculous
agitations this is one of toe very silasst. Firstly, because every
working man,' being a householder, is already not call
privileged, but liable, to serve on a jury. Secondly, beaus°
the so-called privilege is simply an annoyance, from which
everyone who can possibly claim an exemption does so with
the utmost eagerne.s. The class upon which the burden fal
at present is that of traders, and they usually discharge the
office with some credit, but small profit, yet probably wit°
but little loss to themselves. They can give directions as to
the conduct of their business during the days spent in courts
taut the 'working man,' who relies upon his manual labour,
paid for by the day, or it may be by the hour, has little win
to envy the turyman."—Pietoriai World.