The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-08-24 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

A. "Loyal CaLadian,, suggests that a sleigh and
robes be presented to the Marchioness of Lorne.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer acknowledges in
The limes as "Conscience motley' the receipt of the second
halves of bank-notes for £750 for Income•tax from "It. L."

The following shows the progress of cotton spinning
in India during the past four years :—.1874, 693,000 spindles,
114,000 bales of 390 lb. ; 1875, 866.000 spindles, 170,000 bales;
1876, 1,124.000 spindles, 216,000 bales; 1871, 1,231,000
spindles, '47,000 bales.

On Tuesday the Committee of the Royal Humane
Scciety had under their consideration an unusually large
number of cases in which gallantry had been displayed in
saving or attempting to suve life. The medals, money re-
wards, and certificates of the S,,ciety were voted in accord-
ance with the var)ing circumstances of tie cases—a lady in
one instance receiving the recognition of the Society for
saving a child from drowning.
-

--- -
Mr. Orr Ewing, M.P.., it speaking at Helensburgh
of the Berlin Congress, said he rejoiced that they had been
saved from the fearful alternative of war. He thought the
Lime was fast coming when the crowned heads of Europe, as
well as their Ministers, would learn to settle their disputes
without having recourse to b.a300e15.
A reduction in the stresgth of the Mediterranean
Fleet will, says the Standard. be made almost immediately,
and already the Swiftsure has been ordered to be relieved in
the Gulf of X.eros and to be sett home to Devonport. Other
ships, including the Flying Fiti, which was detained on the
homeward voyage from Cninti,will be ordered home to pay
off, and the Foxhound and falcon will be sent from the
Mediterranean to the China Ste,:ion

A special general meeting of the Central Executive
of the National Sugar Operatirs, who are agitating rgainst
the maintenance of foreign ,ugar bounties, was held at
Bristol on Tuesday night. Thi secretary reported that the
movement in favour of the imposition of a temporary
countervailing duty upon all bounty for raw or relined best
sugar entering the ports of th. United Kingdom was making
remarkable progress, and mas meetings would be held in
all the large clies in its favor. Letters were read from
sevewil members of Parliamut. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer wrote stating tht the Government were fully
alive to the importance of thaernoval of the bounty system.
The Mayor of Bristol had :tonsented to preside over a
bounty system to be held
ugreextatmdoenntlLonstration against the

The Earl of Rosebery has remitted 10 per cent. of
rents due from his tenants last year, in consequence of the
succession of recent bad agricultural years.
It is stated that the Prime Minister is about to
confer baronetcles upon several of his supporters in the
house of Commons 7-Court Journal.

A bill allowing women to vote at school elections
has passed the House of Representatives in New Hampshire.
It had previously passed the Senate by a vote of 9 to 3. The
American papers state that this is the first substantial
victory won by the Women Suffragists in New England.

•
The present cheapness of fodder is said to make a
difference of £5OO per week in feeding the 6,000 hones of the
London General Omnibus company.
The trench papers state that a triple murder has
been committed in the village of Itibiere-au-Gay (Creuse).
A man named Petitaut, 85, his wife, SO, and their little
daughter, four, were killed by some individual., as yet
unknown, who, before taking to flight, set fire to the house
of the victims.

----------
An annual Conservative picnic was held at Bath on
Mouday, when there was an attendance numbering between
5,000 and 6,00 The gathering was remarkably enthu-
siastic, and the name oi the Prime Minister was hailed with
the loudest plaudits.
- -

At a recent sale at Middleburg (Cape Colony) twenty
pairs of breeding ostriches realised an average of nearly
£2OO per pair.
Dynamite is being used in Australia as a means of
discomfiture in rabbit-warrens. The farmers rejoice pro-
portionately.
There were 18 British and foreign wrecks reported
during the past week, making the total for the present year
907, or a decrease of 191 as compared with the corresponding
period of last year. The approximate value of property lost
was £102,000, including British £42.000.
The Prefect of Police has just had posted up in
Paris a notice ordering all dealers in children's toys, under
severe penalties, to avoid the use in future of colours con-
taining poisonous substances, such as Scheele's green, the
salts of lead in vermillion, &c.
The salmon fishers at Macduff have landed a salmon
weighing 55}1b., and measuring in length 411. Sin., and girth
29iin. The fish is the largest landed there for a great many
years.
Life is rather too cheap for comfort out in Illinois.
The records show that within the last 20 years 314 murderers
have been sent to Joliet Prison-90 of them for life, and the
remainder for from one to 25 years. One hundred have
been pardoned, 62 have been released in other ways, 21 have
died or gone to asylums for the insane, and 131 are still in
prison. Three years and six months, it is estimated, is the
average term for a convicted murderer in Illinois.
Representatives from six leading towns in North-
East Lancashire have met and issued an address reviewing
the late strike and position of the cotton trade. They declare
that the strike has been of great benefit to the cotton trade,
although it has deprived operatives of their wages. " Union
with increased payments" must be the watchword in future,
with a stern resolve to win back the lost 10 per cent, with
interest.

"I know I must bitterly regret 17th. Feeling
mocked, I wrongly judged you would not believe me. If it
was you, I felt sure at the time it was not. I can say
nothing now save to One who knows I have often trusted
you above Him. You have nothing to regret. Only believe
I am more than sorry. Should not see it if you wrote.—Q.
Aug. 18."—Adverti3ement in The Times.
General Todleben, while addressing the troops after
a review on Saturday, was fired at with a pistol by a young
Greek, but escaped without injury. His assailant was cap-
tured.
Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P., addressing a 'meeting at
Perth, in support of .the Permissive Bill, said that he would
have nothing to do with amending the licensing laws, as he
would rather abolish the system entirely. He would leave it
to the magistrates to say whether a man was pious or suitable
enough to sell whisky, but he would let the inhabitants
settle whether they would have the houses licensed in their
midst. Resolutions were passed in favour of the Permissive
A. Berlin telegram says that Krupp continues to
furnish a large number of cannon to Russia.
The committee of the National Lottery in Paris
have decided to create grand prizes of the value of 60,0001.,
35,0001., 25,0001, and 20,0001. respectively. The first will
con,ist of diamonds, the others of objects of art. The draw-
ing will take place on October 20.
On the occasion of laying the dedication atone of the
new church of Si. Mary, (Wilberforce Memorial Church),
Southampton, by the Prince and Princess of Wales on Monday
last, a total of 58 purses laid on the stone zontributed £407
17s. 3d. to the building fund, in addition to which offertories
at the door and from other parish churches in the town,
special gifts, and promises, brought the total proceeds of
the day to £650 15s. 7d.
Private soldiers who have served 18 years, in
future are to be allowed to send in applications to the
Adjutant-General of the Forces for a discharge and modi-
fied pension, but commanding officers are to use their dis-
cretion in declining to forward the applications of non-com-
missioned officers, should they consider the granting of
them would be detrimental to the efficiency of the service.

According to the latest advices from Cape Town
fighting is still going on between the colonists and the rebels
in South Africa. The latter have not yet availed them-
selves of the amnesty offered them as it was expected they
would have done, but their hesitati.n is attributed to the
fact that their chiefs are excluded from its benefits.

The export of gloves from Denmark hag risen in ten
years from 12,000 f. in value to 1,2C0,000f (£48,000 ) The
manufacture of gloves in the town of Luxembourg also gives
employment to about 2,000 workpeople, who produce an-
nually nearly 800,000 pairs, valned at £lOO,OOO.

-
Until the return of the Queen from Scotland, in
November, the State Apartments will be open to the public
on Mondays, Tuesdays, rhursdays, and Fridays. The Albert
Memorial Chapel is open every Wednesday, Thursday, Fri-
day, and Saturday.
-

..
One hundred- and fifteen new cases of yellow fever
and forty-seven deaths have occurred at New Orleans.
Thirteen deaths are reported from Memphis, and at Granada
the people are stated to be dying without medical attendance.

Trade is looking up in America. On the best
authority it is estimated that the wheat harvest will be 12
per cent greater than last year, and that the cotton crop will
yield 750,000 bales more than in 1877.
- - -

A mass meeting of cotton factory cperatives was held
on Tuesday evening in Bristol to protest against the reduc lion
of 6 per cent. in their wages, against which tney are now on
strike. The gathering represented 1,700 workpeople. It was
resolved to appoint a committee to wait on the employers to
offer to return to work at the old rate, pending the decision
of an arbitrator to whom the matter should be referred,
and by whose decision the workpeople pledge themselves to
abide. _ _

The throwing opeu wr crl
sexes does not appear to have attracted a large number of
lady students. Boston University haa only 31, Colby Univer-
sity 10, the Wesleyan University 3, Vermont 'University 11.
On which facts an American contemporary remarks that they
are only another illustration of the old German adage,
"What we can't get we want, and what we have we don't
care for."
-

- --- -
They do not encourage bill-posters in Paris. Every
placard posted has to pay a tax of 25 centimes.
The new gold coinage in Finland has just been
issued There are two pieces worth 201. and 101. The mint
is at Ilelsingfors.

-
Advices from Antwerp state that owing to the
rupture of a dyke the new basins in course of construction
have been inundated. Four barges, drawn by the current,
were precipitated in them and dashed to pieces. Six persons
were drowned and several injured. The damage done is
Immense.

-----
Disease has appeared to a great extent among the
potato crops in many parts of the Midlands In some die-
Wets gardeners complain that two-thirds of the crops are
found to be effected when removed from the soil, while
many of those that are sound and good when dug up become
diseased within a fortnight afterwards, unless consumed..
The late Dr. Norman McLeod tried to forecast the
time when there would be a railyway in the Holy Laud, and
when porters would be heard shouting "Change here for
Bethlehem " This anticipation is not unlikely soon to be
realized, as the Sultan is said to have granted a &man to a
company chiefly composed of English shareholders, for the
construction of a railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem.—Court
Journal.

Two munificent donations—one for £5,000 and the
other for £3s,ooo—havo just been offered to the Church
Missionary Socif ty under conditions which the committee
has thankiully accepted.

_
Advices from Constantinople received in Vienna
state that on Monday the representatives of England, France,
and Germany, acting upon instructions from their Govern-
ments, proceeded to the Porte and urged upon the Ottoman
Government the strict and unreserved execution of the
Treaty of Berlin.
An exciting scene was witnessed at a picnic in
Winchester, lit., a few days ago. The tables had been
spread, the banquet was prepared, the coffee steaming, and
all hands were gloating over the prospect of a bountiful re-
past, when suddenly a horde of tramps burst out of the
bushes, seized upon the viands, bolted the lunch, and
drained the coils-pot before the agonised gaze of the pic-
nickers. The tramps dined very heartily and marched off in
triumph, leaving their hosts to such reveries as empty
stomachs might inspire.

The harvest prospects in Denmark (the Copenhagen
correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette states) are so ex-
cellent, that the peasants, who are never satisfied, actually
complain that there is too much, so that the prices will
fall to a very low figure.

"The average price of English wheat last week was
445. 2d. per qr., and in the corresponding week of last year it
was 645. 9d. This is a difference ot 20s. 7d. per qr., or nearly
£4 an acre on an average crop At this rate farmers will
get less for their wheat crops than they obtained last year."
—Mark Lane Express.

A fatal accident of rather a peculiar nature has
occurred at Liverpool. It appears that a man named
Gallagher, aged 32, third mate of the American ship,
Northern Light, was aiding to take the vessel out of the
Morpeth Dock, when his leg became entangled in a rope
passed between the ship and the pier-head. It became so
tightly wound round the unfortunate man that his foot was
torn off and dropped overboard. Gallagher died shortly
afterwards. At the inquest a verdict of "Accidental
death" was returned.
The half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of the
Midland Railway Company was held on Wednesday at
Derby, Mr. E S. Ellis, chairman of the company, presiding.
The report showed an increase in the gross receipts of
£52,113, of which the mineral traffic contributed £26,444.
The working expenses were at the rate of 5340 per cent., as
compared with 55'43 per cent. in 1874. The chairman said
that the prevailing depression in trade had affected the re-
ceipts, but he anticipated that when the revival of trade set
in the resources of the company would be taxed to the ut-
most.

An American gentleman, who a clay or two since
obtained a ticket and paid a lengthened visit to the Royal
Arsenal at 'Woolwich, said to a friend on his return :—" I
have seen the arsenals on the Continent ot Europe and those
in my country, hot I have been astonished—indeed may say
appalled—at what I have seen at Woolwich. You ought to
make no difficulty about showing it to foreigners. You have
only to admit them freely ; let theta see your preparations
and no country in the world would think of fighting
you."

On Sunday morning Miss Millar, a young lady from
England, who was residing as a summer visitor at the manse
of Little Dunkeld, went out for the purpose of taking a walk.
She did not return, and in the evening the rivers 'Fay and
Brawl were dragged. The body of Miss Millar was recovered
late at 'right in a pool in the Braan about 20tt. deep. II was
not known how she got into the water.
Last Saturday, Lord Tollemaehe brought his shoot-
ing visit on Longdentiale moors, Derbyshire. to a close, but
not without an exciting incident occurring. The previous
afternoon the party was caught in a fearful thunderstorm
which raced with great violence, and one of the attendants,
named Blackley, whilst attempting to cross a mountain
stream swelled by the rain, was carried away like a feather
headlong down a waterfall of 15f I. Fortunately he fell into
a deep pool, and rising to the surface, his lordship's head
keeper and another man, at great risk to themselves, rescued
hint Blakely was much exhausted, and medical aid had to
be called in.

----- --
The Russian newspapers state that good results
were obtained last year in the gold diggings near the sources
of the rivers Amovi and Set. Thtre are at present above
3,000 persons engaged in these diggings, and the yield ob-
tained in 1877 amounts to 1731 b., representing a value of
2,075,140 roubles. There are other gold diggings besides in
Siberia, belonging to private proprietors some of which
are very remunerative. One of these has yielded in the past
year an output worth no less than 3,000,000 roubles.
The Paris police have furnished the following
particulars as to the results of the edict of the Prefect rela-
tive to dogs ;—Down to the present time 3,163 of those
animals have been brought to the green-yard; of those,
1,248 have been hangect. The others were reclaimed or sold,
or still await their fate. Thoroughbred dogs are kept for
three days. After that time they are sent, first of all, to
the Garden of Dad's, then to the Garden of Acclimatisation,
and if neither of those establishments will buy them they
Id by pub*: auction, and if not bought tilt y are
destroyedj —MESOI7.IIei4 Ave, . 4,6

Oidium has attacked the Rioja vineyards in Spain,
and a serious diminution of the crop is feared.
One hundred and eleven thousand nine hundred and
fifty-five persons visited the Paris Exhibition on Thursday
August lb, one of the oilier holidays of the year.
Two of the worst puns on record have been found
out anti want a claimant; they are—The largest ant is the
elephant, and the worst relation is the cart) uncle.
A party of fifty American women AM "Wiring a tour
through Europe without any male compaoiou, in order to
demonstrate the independence of women, and her ability to
travel without the assistance of the rougher sex. They tio
not object to being spoken to,
The Marquis of Lorne, who is an old student of the
-University of St. Andrew's, has contributed £lOO to the
fund of the new association for its better endowment and
extension

The Rev. Morris Hughes, Rector of Pentraetb,
Anglesea, the oldest beneficed clergyman in Wales, and
possibly in the United Kingdom, died on Sunday, aged 96
lie was ordained in 1811, and continued in the discharge of
his duties until a very short time before his death.

American editors, like St. Paul, magnify their office.
One of them. in reprinting a statement that a ,ban el of
Socialists and Commun,ists in New York have bound them-
selves to assassinate all the great men in the country, adds,
"We leave for Canada in the morning, to remain until this
danger is over."

A farm of sixty miles long and ten wide in one tract,
mostly feuced, is that of Miller and Lux, cattle monopolists
of California, They have 80,000 head of stock, os,vr 700,000
acres of choice land, and are rated as worth 15,000,000
dollars.

The Daily News Corresponient in Malta says that
the Maltese who have been sent back from Cyprus give a
very bad account of the island, and emigration is no longer
in favour.

It is stated that the screw sloop Alert, one of the
Arctic ships, is now fitting out in the Medway for a scientific
voyage to the South Pacific. The work is nearly complete,
and she will shortly be able to proceed to sea. Captain Sir
G. Nares, K.O B, who commanded her during the Arctic
Expedition, will again take charge of the ship.

The Admiralty have issued a fresh order impressing
on commanding officers of training ships the absolute neces-
sity for carrying out most strictly the regulations in 1869 for
instructing boys in swimming.

The strikes in France do not appear to have ended
yet, for the glass-makers of St. Etienne are reported to be on
the verge of a turn-out.
An address has been forwarded to the Comte de
Chambord by a number of influential residents in the depart-
ments of the West in the following terms :—" In exile, as on
the throne, you are, Sire, the highest representative of the
national honour. It is in that character that we come to
deposit at your feet our sentiments of sorrow. In the sad-
ness that afflicts her, France remembers the past, and she
has hope for the future. May Heaven send her better
days!"

It has been decided to nominate Miss Helen Taylor
as a Candidate in the Liberal interest for the representation
of Southwark at the next election.

At Preston, on Tuesday, the body of a young man.
named (Wham, the son of an innkeeper, was recovered from
the river Ribble. The deceased, along with his cousin, was
bathing near his father's house a few days ago, when he
suddenly got into a deep hole and sank, being unable to
swim.

M. Victor Hugo has addressed the following letter
to the Metre of Macon on the occasion of the unveiling of the
statue of Lamartine :—" Guernsey, Aug. 16, 1878.—Sir,—I
join in the honours rendered to Lamartine. I admire the
great poet, I honour the great orator. I always see him such
as France saw him—admirable in the book, and superb in
the tribune. I salute this great shade.—VICTOR HUGO."

It is announced that Madame Thiers intends pub-
lishing the speeches of her late husband; the first two
volumes will appear in print in January next.

The new game law in force in the Swiss Canton of
Grauldinder has had the effect of largely increasing the
stock of chamois. There are said to be about 10,000 head of
chamois in the canton. Last year 900 chamois were shot,
besides three bears and eight eagles.

It appears that we are this year to have a good
opportunity of testing the present truth of the old
saying, "A wet harvest never hurt a farmer." One thing is
certain—if a wet harvPst does not hurt a farmer's pocket, it
hurts his feelings. When he has just got all his wheat and
some of his barley cut, and is ready for carting, it is distress-
ing in the extreme to see the rain come down and put a tem-
porary ,top to all his little plans—Mark Lane Express.

- - -
Telephones are to be used during the ensuing mili-
tary manceuvres in France.
The increase of shortsightedness is complained of
in Alsace. In a college at Mulhouse 60 out of 234 students
were lately found shortsighted, the three higher classes
showing 63 per cent. This is attributed to studying by twi-
light and at night with insufficient light.
It is officially announced that the number of public
Acts passed in the late Session was 79. In the previous
session, which begun in February and ended on the 14th
August, the number was 69. There are 71 notices of motion
on the order-book of the House of Commons for next Session.
On Monday two young men, named Joseph Ben-
jamin Allott, aged 17, and Thomas Henry Millard, a
labourer, aged 16, were drowned in a pond at Milton Iron-
works, near Barnsley, under most distressing circumstances.
Millard was bathing with others, when he got out of his
depth, and seized hold of another south. Abbot, who had
been bathing, jumped in with his clothes on, and succeeded
in parting them, and saved one. Millard, however, seized
him, and both were drowned.
The vicissitudes of art treasures are indeed peculiar.
A few days ago I saw a collection of etchings which had
been purchased at the Cape of Good Hope. Among these
there was one of Rubens*, and several by the famous Italian
Spinelli How there had all found their way to the South of
Africa is indeed a myth to me, unless they had been taken
there by some old Dutch emigrant half a-century ago.—" The
Taller" in Pictorial World.

At Cesson, near St. Brieuo, in Brittany, the other
day, a threshing machine working in a field exploded with a
noise which alarmed the country for miles round. Six
people were killed and five more or less seriously injured.
Those killed were blown to pieces, legs, arms, and heads
being carried away to great distances. The boiler was pro-
jected twenty yards and set fire to a stack of straw on which
it fell. The accident is supposed to have been caused by
checking the action of the safety-valve with a view to econo-
mise fuel.

There were 2,421 births and 1,517 deaths registered
In London last week. Allowing for increase of population,
the births exceed by 21, while the deaths were 59 below, the
average numbers in the corresponding week of the last ten
years. the annual death-rate from all causes, which in the
two previous weeks had been equal to 274 and 241, further
declined to 22•1. The deaths included 9 from small-pox, 10
'7 frnn .eAtlat timr. 11 from diphtheria nh
from whooping COLT; 11 Irons amerenz torms us tor, and
263 from diarrncea.

A Blue Book has been issued containing the evi-
deuce given before the Select Committee of the House of
Commons on Parliamentary Reporting. The committee
merely reported that, having regard to the late period of
the Session, it would not, in their opinion, be desirable to
c mclude their inquiry this year, and they recommended the
re-apoointment of the committee at the commencement of
next Session.

The Zoological Gardens at Moscow have just been
enriched by the arrival of a large collection of animals from
Central Ada, the gift of the Governor of EWA. Among the
animals is a splendid specimen of the colon, the only one
'existing In Europe. In size and appearance it is very much
like a mule, hut its skin is exactly the same as a tiger's
The rest of the collection comprises yaks from the plains of
Mongolia, steppe wolves from the Turkestan deserts, and
some elks from the Pamir. More than six months were
spent on the road bringing the collection from Kulja to
Orenburg.—Mayfair.

At Dundee on Saturday the interment of the re-
mains of the ltev. George Giifillan took place, and was wit-
nessed by many thousands of persons. The provost, the
magistrates, and the representatives of the different public
bodies, attended in their official capacities. Notwithstanding
the largeness of the crowd, no accident occurred. It is ex-
pected that a public monument will be erected to Mr. Gil-
fillan's memory.

The plague of locusts in certain parts of India still
continues, and in the Times of India we read that they are
swarming between Cadgoody mid Coopum. The engine-drivers
state that the wheels of the engine slip in crushing their
slimy bodies. One driver told a Bangalore contemporary
that he saw a heap of locusts near Malloor, which looked
from a distance as high as the brake-van of the train, and
that in passing throuzh the heap, the fire-box of the engine
became choked with the pests!

On Saturday an inquiry was held at Addenbrookes
Hospital, CambrNge, as to me death of a brewer's labourer
named Hume, who, it appeared, was bitten by a greyhound
seven weeks ago. He was an out-patient at the hospital for
some little time, but as he got better he was discharged. Last
week he became worse and was admitted as an in-patient,
but died soon afterwards. The symptoms were those of
hydrophobia, from which, in the opinion of the medical
officer, Hume died. The jury returned a verdict accordingly.
The disembarkation of the troops at Cyprus was
conducted under the management of the Duke of Edinburgh.
As there were 9,000 men, I,esides horses and stores, to be re-
moved from the transports, which could not approach
nearer than smile and a halt from the shore, the operation
was a difficult one: built was most promptly and efficiently
performed by his Royal Highness, whose activity and energy
deserved and earned the hearty recommendation of the chief
authorities.

Exhibition souvenirs continue to be the rage in
Paris, and while humble visitors content themselves with a
penny medal, a twopenny fan bearing a plan or picture of
the buildings, or a pen, paper-knife, or tlny opera-glass, con-
taining microscopic views, wealthy Parisiennes wear the
"Exhibition Bracelet," a gold circlet, ornamented by a re-
presentation of the Trocadero, in bats relief, and pierced with
innumerable holes through which can be seen minute
pictures of the gardens and the animals illustrating the four
quarters of the globe.

" Coachman's livery" is the title of the present
fashionable colour across the Atlantic, the hue betng also
known as "hazel nut." Ancaer freak of fashion is a pocket.
handkerchief bearing the portrait of the owner, "so as to
avoid loss." it is said ; while, if we are to believe the
Christian Union, "a Gospel garden" is the latest religious
novelty in New York. It has been started by an energetic
clergyman, named Stephen H. Tyng, and consists of a large
room furnished with a fountain, floral baakets, urns of
plants, and whatever will give it an inviting appearance.
To the ceiling are attached long linen tans, which are kept
all the time in motion and supply a cool and refreshing
atmosphere. Here Mr. Tyng holds his tervices.—Graphic.

Mr. Sclater-Booth was present on Saturday at the
opening of some new schools built by the guardians of the
Ipswich Union for the education and accommodation of
pauper children. The right hon. gentleman, as President of
the Local Government Board, expressed the greatest satisfac-
tion at the recognition of the principle that pauper children
should be removed from the demoralising influences of a
workhouse, and said he hoped the example which had been
set would be extensively followed. Ile was sorry to find that
there had been up to the present time a great disinclination
on the part of boards of guardians throughout the kingdom
to join with each other for the purpose of classifying the
poor.
In the American naval service every officer is obliged
to have all his linen properly marked with his initials, so
that there shall be no disputes as to the proprietorship of
fancy shirts or ornamental wristbands. In our navy this
kind of thing is optional, and the consequence is that the
results are sometimes very curious. I remember a relation
of mineshowing me his wardrobe after he had come home
from service during the Ashantee war. Ile must have had
something like three dozen different sorts of shirts, his col.
Iction of socks would have been worthy of an Industrial
Exhibition sod his collars were of every imaginable size and
shape.—" The racier" in Pictorial World.

_ .
Mr. C. Bentinck, M.P., and Mr. Giles, M.P., were
amongst the speakers at the annual pic-nic of the Southampton
Conservative Association, which was held at Branksea island
on Tuesday. The former, referring to the Eastern Question.
said the tactics of Mr. Gladstone and his friends had been a,
complete failure, and they were now in the position of un-
successful dramatists—their play had been condemned, and
they had been hissed off the stage. They had now to see
what new combination they could secure in order to defeat a
successful Ministry
The Mark Lane Express of Monday says the rain of
the past week has somewhat seriously retarded harvest ope-
rations. A fair quantity of wheat has been secured, but very
little progress made with the cutting of barley. The wet
weather has impeded thrashing, and samples of new wheat
are therefore not numerous, and shrivelled grains are present
•in such samples as have been shown. The crop, however,
,cannot be considered a failure; the yield, in fact, promises
to be better than that of any of the three preceding years.
The other day General Tom Thumb was asked by a
visitorhow he came by his name. "Weil," said the General,
jocosely, "I suppose that NIT. Barnum and Queen Victoria
divide the honours. Previi ins to my presentation to the
Queen, at Buckingham Palace, in 1814, I had been known
simply as "Tom Thumb,' but the Queen, when I had been
presented to her in that form, said, with a smile, You ought
to have a title. I think I. shall have to call you 'General
Tom Thumb.' The Duke of Wellington and several others
of the nobility were present at the time, and of course Her
1 Majesty's words were instantly adopted, and I became it
,Ilasueral' from that time forward.

...

The Dagblad of the Hague has been authorized to
deny the alleged intention of the King of Holland to ally
himseif in marriage with his niece, the Princess Marie of
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Garibaldi has written a letter condemning the
alliance of the three Emperors, ad suggesting th it an anti-
diplomatic Congress should be held in Parl3, under the
presidency of Victor Hugo.

An exhibition of torpedo practice took place in
Cowes Harbour on Monday, and was witness.d by the
Queen, the King and Queen a Denmark, the Prince and
Princess of Wales, and other members of the Royal Family.
It has been decided to send another party of Royal
Sngineers to assist those who recently went out to Cyprus
in carrying out public works, erecting barracks, road-making,
&c. Toe detachment to go out will consist of about fifty of
all ranks.

There is good news for third-class passengers. The
recent report to the Board of Trade on the subject of railway
accidents contained a statement that in collisicns the percen-
tage of injuries is always greater among the humbler tra-
vellers because of the hardness of the carriages. A strong,
but soft, cushion running along the backs of the seats is re-
commended.

Three years ago steel rails were close on 5!,20 a ton ;
now they can be had for something under £6. Yet at this
price (says the Engineer), which ought to represent the
minimum, Continental competitors contrive occasionally to
underquote English makers.

A singular mishap befell an iron clipper in the
London Docks on Saturday. She was being laden with a
cargo for Capetown, and a portion of the goods was placed
on one side of the deck. This caused the vessel to lurch
and swing and cant over on her side, striking in her fall a
barge, which was fortunately empty. There were four or five
bands on board, but they happily escaped with a ducking.
The vessel is 2,000 tons burthen, and is owned by Messrs.
Berryman and Turnbull. It will be some days before she
clan be raised.

The Russian Post Office had recently a letter to deliver
to the following address: "In the town of Karasubazar at the
large church, the house with three stories, you will find my
father. Give this to him. If my father is not there, give it
to my mother. If my mother is not there throw it OD our
neighbour's window. If you cannot find our neighbour's
window throw it where you like." The writer of the letter
was a well•to-do merchant at Taganrog.—Mayfair.

At a meeting of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce
It has been resolved to despatch ten artisan reporters to the
Paris Exhibition to report upon the following departments
of trade :—Floorcloths, boot and shoe making, bookbinding
and stationery, saddlery, engineering, cabinet making, and
boiler and engine works.

In New York they have a" Country Week Society,
or "Fresh Air Fund," for poor children, which has raised
2,700 dollars this year for sending the boys and girls of the
crowded streets to spend a week in country farmhouses.

In Canada they have discovered a novel way of
settling the claims of rival lovers. A young lady at Montreal,
unable to decide between two aspirants tor her hand, told
them to settle it between themselves. Discarding duelling
as barbarous and absurd, they "boat-raced," the winner
walking home with his prize, who had been an eager spec-
tator of the contest.

Parisian beggars (says the Examiner) have become
so audacious since the Exhibition that one of the fraternity,
the other day, on receiving from a benevolent stranger a bad
hall-franc by mistake, threatened to hand the donor over to
the police if the coin was not immediately changed.

Prince Bismarck has written a letter to the Town
Council of Berlin, thanking them for the vote passed for the
purchase of a picture commemorating the meeting of the
recent Congress. At the same time the German Chancellor
has informed the Council that promises to represent their
likenesses, to be preserved in the Maerksshes Museum, have
now been received from all the members of the late Congress.
By this time all the likenesses have been sent in with the
exception of those of the English Plenipotentiaries.

In Gaddings with a Primitive People a great deal is
said about the horrors of bathing in the Tyrol. But the
Tyrol bathing is nothing to that on the West Coast of Africa.
A writer to the Daily News some years ago remarked, 'The
river Beulak would be a very nice river to bathe in it the
crocodiles did not crowd one so;" and one must bathe In
the river in that part of the world, for washing accommoda-
tion is not always to be had.—" The Tatler " in Pictorial
World.

One of her Majesty's grandchildren has recently ap-
peared in print as an author, or, at least, translator. Her
Royal Highness Princes Victoria, eldest daughter of the
Grand Duchess of Hesse, has published a translation in
German of a Sermon to Children, preached in Westminster
Abbey by the Rev. T. Teignmouth Shore, hon. chaplain to
the Queen. The work, which is published in Darmstadt for
a charitable object, does the greatest credit to the Royal and
youthful translator.—Court Journal.

The Paris Correspondent of the Daily News says
"At Lusignan, in the department of the Vienne, an action
has been brought by a citizen named Huot, against the Abbe
Auzuret, the vicar, for an assault—to wit, in knocking oft
the hat of his sou Elliot, junior, while the Corpus Christi pro-
cession was passing. The vicar demurred to the jurisdiction
of the juge de paix, on the ground that the act charged was
committed by him in the exercise of his functions, and there-.
fore he was priveieged from prosecution, unless by consent
of the Council of State. The fudge did the defendant the
honour of taking time to consider this objection, but ulti-
mately decided that by the common law of France, a priest
could have no possible right forcibly to remove citizen's hats
from their hgatis. Tbe case will again be argued."
The Bucharest Correspondent of The Tim,es writes:
—" Numbers of Russian priests continue to arrive in Bul-
garia, and it is stated that more than 200 churches in that
province are already in charge of these emigrant etcle-
biastica. I have heard it remarked here in Russian circles
that when the time fixed for the evacuation of Bulgaria has
arrived, the St. Petersburg Cabinet will notify to that of
London that this evacuation will coincide with the departure
of the English troops and officials from Cyprus; that as the
Island was occupied without any sanction of the Berlin Con-
gress, Russia has a right to take an equivalent ,step in
Europe."

The much vexed question of payment for " lights "
at Continental hotels has been the subject of a curious trial
In Austria, and we learn from the Frondenblatt that a
traveller was summoned before the Tribunals for having
taken away the candles which he had been charged for. In
vain the traveller pointed to his receipted bill, where there
was entered "lights, half-a-florin " the Court delivered
judgment in favour of the hotel-keeper, upon the ground
that a traveller in paying for "lights" pays for the illumina-
tion of his room, and not for the materials employed. For
instance, the hotel-keeper might use gas instead of candles,
but all the same would of course be .intitled to charge fo
" lights ."