biglam/hmd_newspapers huggingface dataset:
The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

• .
;41"iitit ait'o .t.5t17/Ct ,tucoas.

BOARD OF GuAßDlAxs.—Tha weekly meeting
of this 1;1.a.r..1 was held yesterday. Mr. Ray-
biuld in tile chair. There were also present
Messrs. H. Billingbarn, Wood, Mullett, Hale,
Raodes, Lavender, Kelly, Plant, Burr, Mills,
Roll inson, Brooks, Pargeter, Hingley, Williaw 8,
Parkes, J. Guest and Haskew. Remaining in
the house 471 ; corresponding week last year
399. Outdoor relief Riagswinford district £35
13s. 11d ; S .oarbridge district £22 is. 71. ;
Halesowau d.strict £lB Bs. Od ; non-resident
paupers 43. Od. total. £76 7s. 21d. correspond-
ing week last year £63 is. 2d.
VICTORIA HALL—For the first time in her pro-
fessional capacity, that talent tragedienne, Miss
Bateman, has honoured Stourbridge with a visit,
and the inhabitants of the town and district have
shown their appreciation of her wonderful acting
oy assembling at the above Hall in-large numbers
the I.:.st two nights ti 3 witness her splenlid repre-
sentatio-is of "Leah" and "Mary Warner."
Durin each evening she was loudly and frequently
g.
applauded, as wr,! 010 several other members of
the cbaipaay. to-night (Saturday) " Leah " Will
be r;:per,v,d and we trust that the efforts of so
an acteess will reeeivcs, that support they
so xe'l deserve.

ANSITA.I.. Et.7.r.rrioN COXII/SaION-En3. The
annual election. of three Commissioners for each
of the wart:- ‘n the p'n.ce of tho.ii wh go out by
rot l'iou,to,-)k pL.eo on Thurarlay, with tho following
W.trd 1L J.flfl t-laskew 35 •
:Henry 29; Witham Jon dab Turney 23.
The foliowiaz persons were votod for in he East
Ward, Thomas Brooks 22.; INiltianiP:tt •h 11 ;
liilLIL hi cvai'4. 5 ; and Jona (..ii.c:on 4.ia thu
ward: Cha,;.los !dhis 10; .13..tnia.ann Hid 6; a..d
is w.l\4,)rth 5 ; of.::cred. llelijannia
rce(hvad 3 v--.:tc..3,•tiaid 41bet-6 Watl%r 3. in
.E l war.;s 21 ; Joha
tut:
:Scott 12; were ;:leted
Th, foli„wca,..; also ceceive,4, votes., .-1.10f.a.t
iWalkor
Thomas i:ros ; John 01 2; Allan I earson ,
F. W. Howell I.
BIATcli AT BOWLS.—A grand match at bowls was
piayed at AN)Cieb Green, Birmingham ,on Wednes-
day last, op.m to All England. In the Consolation
Cup there were 21 computitore. and after a capital
inate W 34 won by jr.A J. W. Du ton, sou of Mr. J.
Do; tuu, llel ilotel, ~f
IqLCAK L., Diioitnality.—At the Police Court,
h.l:. y iveraoy, beforti Cot. Fletcher, Col. Barrows,
au Mr: L. Fr..er, Wilibtie Lindley was charged
w.th btan.: dunk and diotherly en the 1 Ith ult.
Polio t-cuestaolt: Payilter pr,ived the co.ie. Fined Ss
cost3-.---JeF...o hart, iithtg at the Lye, was
fizlr6ed ithu ias u.olaz ,Itr1)-_at tan Lye.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

A REMARKABLE OLD LADY.

There is at present living in a Syke bothy (says the
Glasgow Herald), old Widow Macpherson, who entered
upon her 106th year last Christmas. She was born
there in the same year that Dr. Samuel Johnson and
Boswell visited Syke, and met with Fiora Johnson,
the Jacobite heroine, who befriended Prince Charles
when be fled to Syke after, his disastrous defeat at
Culloden in 1746, and when the Government reward of
£30,000 offered for his surrender did not induce her to
betray her trust and yield up this sole survivor of a
fallen dynasty. During the 105 years of Widow Mac.
pherson's life she has lived in a turf hut, the smoke
from the peat fire on the hearth finding its way out
by every crevice, and giving a lustre as if varnished to
the rafters which support the thatched roof. She
has survived six Lords of the Isle, the present being
the seventh, Lord Macdonald. She has never been
out of the island, and does not understand one word of
English, but converses freely in 'Gaelic. She has
been blind for ten years, but her hearing and memory
are both good, and she is nursed by her daughter
Kitty, who is unwearied in her attendance upon her
old mother.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

HABITUAL DRUNKARDS.

On the Ist January next the Habitual Drunkards
Act, to facilitate the control and cure of habitual
drunkards, will come into operation, and will be in
force until the expiration of ten years from the date of
its passing, 3rd July, 1879.
In the preliminary part of the Act it is laid down
that an "habitual drunkard" means "a person who,
not being amenable to any jurisdiction in lunacy,
notwithstanding, by reason of habitual intemperate
thinking of intoxicating liquor, at times dangerous to
himself or herself, or to others, or incapAble of
managing himself or herself, or his or her affairs."

"A retreat" is stated in the Act to mean "a
house, licensed by the licensing authority named by
this Act, for the reception, control, care, and cura-
tive treatment of habitual drunkards."
No licence shall be given to any person who is
licensed to keep a house for the reception of lunatics
The Act gives to the justices of peace in England
and Ireland, and to the sheriff or his substitute in
Scotland, power to hear and determine, under the
Summary Jurisdiction Acts, an information or com-
plaint under the Ace.
The justices are to have the power to send habitual
drunkards to retreats; and persona may be admitted
to retreats on their own application; and such appli-
cants after their admission and reception into retreats,
unless discharged, shall not be entitled to leave the
retreat until the expiration of the time mentioned in
the application, providtd that such term shall not
exceed twelve months.

Provisions are mad for the inspection of the retreats
by an officer to be styled "the inspector of retreats,"
and each retreat shall be inspected at least twice in
each year.
Power is given to the justices to permit an habitual
drunkard confined in a retreat to live with any trust-
worthy and respectable person willir g t,) take
charge of him for a definite time for the benefit of hia
health.
. An'habitual drunkard escaping from the person in
whose charge he has been placed shall forteit his
license,' and may be taken back to the retreat.
Ample Provision is made by the Act for the medical
attendano and cars .of. those detained in the retreats
tinder orders made by,tite justices.
. .
ME a meeting of china and earthenware manufac-
turers at Hanley it has been unanimously resolved that a
general reduction of Wages was imperative. This resolution
affects no fewer than 50,000 workpeople. It is not expected
that there will be any resistance. Foreign competition and
the 'United States tariff are among th'e causes which have
led to Mb step.
• ", t._
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

BRIERLEY HILL LOCAL BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the above Board was
held on Monday, Mr. I. Rollinson (chairman) pre-
siding. There were also present Messrs. W.
Waldron, E. Grove, T. Fereday, W. Macmillan, J.
Skidmore, E. Moody, B. Browning, S. Bennett, E.
Edwards, G. Mantle, H. Humphries, R. B. Guest,
T. Warren, H. Carder, and S. Insull.

The report of the General Purposes Committee
stated that the new fire escape had arrived, and it
was suggested that a desirable place for keeping
it would be on Mr. Johnllinson's premises near
the police station. The sewage works were said
to be progressing favourably. The report was
adopted, with the exception of a reference to a
plan for the erection of a cowhouse and stable in a
position which was thought to be objectionable,
this portion of the report being returned to the
committee for further consideration.
It was stated that it had been arranged with the
Dudley borough surveyor to alter a culvert in Level-
street so as to prevent further damage being caused
by storm water, such as had recently been done.

The Chairman announced that a meting of the
inhabitants was to be held the following night
with reference to the present railway accommoda-
tion at Brierley Hill, and he thought it desirable
that the Board should appoint a deputation to
wait upon the directors oi the Great Western
RailwAy Company at their next meeting. A
deputation, consisting of the Chairman, Mr.
Humphries, the Cb•rk, and the Surveyor was
accordingly appointed.

The Alelli6l Officer of Health's (Mr. G. Ash-
mead) report showed that during the month there
had been eleven deaths, the death rate being as
low as 11.9. Of the deaths one was from scarlet
fever, and two were caused by drowning. Several
cases of scarlet fever had occurred in Fenton-street,
Th insanitary condition of the back of Midland-
terrace was called attention to, and as scarlatina
had lingered about the street for some time, it was
recommended that early steps be taken to abolish a
nuisance caused by pigs being kept there. The
report was adopted.
The Finance Committee recommended for pay-
ment accounts amounting to £175 15s. sd. The
expenditure for the month had:been—on the high-
way account, 426 Os. 9d.; main road accouni;,
18s.; sanitary account, £23 16s. 3d. The col,ee-
_ _ _ _

_
tor had received during t he month ~Ql4l is. 7d.,
and there was a balance in the treasurer's hands
amounting to £39 us. 10d.
Mr. Guest, in reply to a question, said there was
now only about £lOO of the last general district
rate to ba collected.
The report was adoped.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

THE AMERICAN ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

Reports from the American expedition in search of
Franklin's relics state that the search party landed
from the ship Eothen on the north shore of Hudson's
Bay, near DepOt Island, on August 9, 1878. All
hands, consisting of Lieutenant Schwatka, "United
States Army, Mr. H. Gelder, New York Herald,
Henry Klietchak, Frank Meat, and Esquimaux
Joe, were in excellent health after the voyage north.
The party started on a sledge journey for King
William Land on April 1, 1879, with a party
making up in all sixteen souls They took four
sledges and al:pint sixty dogs. Since landing, the
time of the party has been employed in making
careful surveys of the adjacent coast from Cape
Fullerton to Marble Island, Lieutenant Schwatka
has made a special sledge journey by way of Connery
River to Wager River in order to see if that route
would be feasible in the spring. He decided to con-
tinue further on Connery River owing to its westerly
tendency, it being more directly on the course of the
expedition. He discovered and named the Lorillard
River while on a journey up the Connery River,
which was discovered and named by C,-;lonel Gilder
when on a land journey last August. The general
course of the last-mentioned river is north-west
for a distance of about 95 to 100 miles. While on a
surveying trip, Lieutenant Schwatka, Klietchak,
and Menus were cast away on a barren island near the
mouth of Winchester inlet, where they remained for
three days without food. During the gale the brig
M. J. Ross, a New Bedford whaler, went ashore near
Cape Kendall, Romes, and became a total wreck.
Captain Sinclair and crew were safely landed after
eight days of exposure on the shore, where there was
neither shelter nor food. They started again in
whaleboats, and were picked up by the Abbey Brad.
ford, Captain Fisher, and the crew were subsequently
divided among four other whalers. Near Hudson's
Bay, Brevoort Lake, which is about 50 miles long,
was discovered by Colonel Gilder while on special
sledge journey in February and March to the
Kinnepatoo, Esquimaux settlement, to buy dogs for
the party.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

THE HARVEST AND CORN SUPPLY.

The agricultural situation throughout the United
Kingdom is, according to the Mark Lane Express,
fraught with the gravest alarm. The damage done by
the recent heavy rains is irreparable, as no subsequent
weather can prevent the outcome of this season's
wheat crop proving most disastrous both in quality
and quantity. The root crops are choked with weeds,
potatoes have gone from bad to worse, and reports
from all parts of the country during the last fortnight
have tended to deepen rather than relieve the prevail-
ing gloom. It is, however, pointed out as significant
of how little this country relies upon indigenous pro-
dnce that notwithstanding the cheerless aspect of
affairs little if any change has taken place in the
price of wheat, supply having entirely distanced de-
mand owing to the enormous outward move:nent from
American Atlantic ports.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

THE HARVEST AS SEEN FROM A
BALLOON.

Mr. Joseph Simmonr, aeronaut, writes from 16, Stockwell-
park-road, London, to the Daily News :

I think you wo-Ild be gratified in informing your
readers of the nature of my observations. It will con-
tribute to remove much uneasiness from their minds as
to the state of the "crops." In passing over the
central portion of the county of Lincoln, on Saturday,
30th August, a remarkably clear atm espher e surrounded
me, opening to my view an area of at least 3,000
square miles, a very great portion of which was covered
with corn. I have much satisfaction in saying that
the colour of the crops indicated that they are ready to
be cut. There was certainly a sheet of water which
" supplants " the place of dry ground, but it did not
cover a square mile. It looked a small patch of quick-
silver. The German Ocean appeared like a bright
steel reaphook along the graceful sweep of the Lin-
colnshire coast, and this formed our horizon in the
east, surmounted by a long dense mass of leaden
clouds which had passed over Lincolnshire an hour or
two before.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

TH).: STRIKE IN THE CH \IN TRADE.

The strike in the lwal chain trade, which has now
entered upon the fifth wcek, promises to be one of the
sevrest struggles ever experienced in the trade. The
number of persons now out on strike in the neighbour-
hood of Cradley, Cradley Heath, and district, is
estimated a 2,000, embracing makers of all descrip-
tions of work. Some months ago the chainme.kers
turned out on strike for the same list as they are now
claiming. During the progress of that strike, which
lasted several weeks, the masters who were willing
to concede the men's demands sent letters to the
committee to that effect, and the men in the employ
of these firms were allowed to return to work, le teing
their fellow-workmen to fight out the battle. As a
natural consequence, the adoption of such a course re-
stilted in the strik; being brought to a most unsatis-
factory conclusion, and; in fact, necessitated the
preseet struggle. For a time the men were paid
higher rates (which slate of things scarcly lasted
longer then the termination of the former dispute),
intl then gradually the wages of the men were
brou..4ht down to a point almost unprecedented in the
history of the trade. Profiting by past experienced
the men have re.olved not to allow any portion of
these out on strike to resume labour until such
number shall be called in as shall give a guarantee
that the employers really intend to pay the advanced
list, and net, as heretofore, merely promise the higher
' rates, only intending to pay these for a time to suit
their own convenience in supplying the orders in
hand. Five or six of the firms in the district have
already intimated their willingness to concede the 4s.
1 at which the men demanded, but as the number of
men which these firms could emp!oy is very small
the committee have up to the present time refused tc
consi,itr the application,, as they deem it unsafe for
such small numbers to return to work, because of
tile prejudicial influence it might exert upon those re-
maining out on strike. On Tuesday a mass open-B.lr
meeting of the men was held on a piece of waste load
Inear Four Ways, Galley Heath. Mr. William
Breakwell, miners' agent, presided. Mr. Noah
Forrest addressed the meeting at length, dealing
with the numerous charges brought against the
icha'n nakers as a body. and also defended their aztion
in the: presAit dispute. Mr. John Cooper, a workman
exh.;rted the men to remain firm in their determin-
ation not to go back to work until the 4s. list was
conceded. At the close of the addresses the usual
1 resolution to play on was passed with the utmost
g enthusiasm.

On Wed-nes-lay, at tho Dudley Police Court, before
the Mayor (Alderman A. Nurth), Alderman Bagott.
aad Mr. John Bateman, Henry Coleman and William
Wth,daouse, chainunaker, were brought up on a
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-06

LORD CHELMSFORD'S VISIT TO
BALMORAL.

Lord Chelmsford, accompanied by one servant, left
King's-cross on Monday night by the Scotch Mail, en
route for Balmoral, where he has been commanded to
appear before, the Queen. He arrived in Perth on
Tuesday morning, at 9.25. On making his appearance
on the platform he was loudly cheered by a
large crowd. Breakfast was served in the first-class
refreshment room, and at 9.45 the journey was re-
sumed. As the train moved out of the station three
cheers were given far Lord Chelmsford. Shortly after
one o'clock the train steamed into Aberdeen. There
was a large assemblage of spectators, it being esti-
mated there were upwards of 1,000 persons present,
a considerable number of whom were ladies. His
lordship was very warmly received, the cheers being
again and again renewed, and so great was the pres-
sure about him that he had to take refuge in the
station-master's room. When he reappeared the
cheering was recommenced and kept up until he
drove away in an open carriage. A proposal was made
to take out the horses, and a portion of the harness
was unfastened for the purpose, but the driver ob-
jected and the proposition was not carried out. Before
driving off, Lord Chelmsford said, "Ladies and
gentlemen, I thank you most sincerely for your very
hearty welcome." His lordship left Aberdeen for
Balmoral at three o'clock, and arrived at Ballater at
5.25, Colonel Pickard had driven from Balmoral,
and was waiting to receive his lordship, who was
loudly cheered by a large concourse of spectators that
had assembled at the otation. Lord Chelmsford at
once proceeded to Balmoral.