The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-01-21 00:00:00

BREAD GETTING RCARCE.

.
'The Government and every one else have beets so often
deceived with regard to the amount of provisions In Paris,
and the prophets have had such a very bad time of it, that
we have lost all faith in prognostications, and when the
Siocle declares that we hove only bread for fifteen days, we
refuse to believe it. However, it must Pe acknowledged that
our bread is being more and more adulterated with foreign
suhstonces, such as rice, &c., and though it is still good the
fact of these materials being employed to such an extent as
at present shows that the stock is dwindling away rapidly.
Ihe bread panic which seised the people about • month ago
has not giulte subsided, and the bakers' shops are emptied
almost an soon as they are opened by persons wbo fear at
every moment that the Government will step in and Placa
them on rations. No one who looks at the crowds of people
waiting at the drors of the national canteens can doubt the
amount of distress which reigns In this city even among most
respectable destine. In addition to what Is daily bestowed
in the way of private charity, about 600,000 lb. of bread are
officially distributed, together with 1,000,001 rations of all
sorts, Nettles money and medicine for the sick and food for
20,000 children.'—Correepondent of Pall Mall Gazette.

THE G ERSIANK ON ENGLISH SYMPATHIES..

An article In Allgenteine Zeilting ridicules sympathies in
general, and Englisn sympathies in particular. Tee English,
according to the writer, assume the high priesthood of this
talus, which chime a mysterious, scarcely recognizable,

hardly-definable, but Irresistible- power for Weir and its be--
Hever*. Sympathies are a priutlegium quite according to John
Bull's heed, for they cost nothing, and even bring In money,
tilt can be plausibly shown that they are not only vale-
ails In themselves but are shared by all other na-
tions. The homing has been so successful that foreign
natioes attach a superstitions value to English aympChien,
and John Bull has c invirced himself that they are worth
more than armies and subsidies, and effected the freedom
and unity of Italy more than the kremit troops did. At
the outbreak tithe present war they were offered to poor,
inin•cent, assailed Germany, which it Ns as confidently ex-
pected, would be grievously beaten, but as the result turned
out otherwise it was argued lee the press mid at meetings
that England ought to symeathise with the vanquished. In
reality, however. John bull never aympathissil either with
Germany or France, his sympathies being reserved for his
worthy aelf. The enthusiasm once felt for the Germans
and now for the French rests on shillings and pence. it
was to the interest of England that France should be
humbled, and the interest of English trade that France sled
clemently should be mutually weakened and injured, that
they might for a long time cease to compete with England
in the world's markets. The war has Already brought Log-
land much money and revived its depressed trade, the ex.
ports increasing a million In October and eight millions in
the whole year. The longer the war lasts the better for
manufacturers, provision merchants, and gunsmiths. The
Tories, too, are appealing to the worst passions of the Log-
bah national character in order to carry their scheme of
army organization and overturn the Gladstone Cabinet.

TliE BIRD OF GOOD OMEN.

" The pigeon which arrived on Sunday brought In an
Immense mass of matter, which requires answer, and it has
taken nearly two days to decipher all its messages (writes
the Datiy Aetna' Paris Correspondent). It brought in
despatches for the Government, which when printed tilled
three or four column. of the newspapers : and lu addition it
hins been the bearer of no less than 15,000 messages for
private Individuals. All this vimt array of news has been re-
duced to microgcopic size, and c.inveyed in a very small quill
delicately attached to one of the bird'. feathers. If the
Parisians were capable of woishipping anything, they would
henceforth worship the pigeon, and vow tat never more
should adore be eaten in France, unless 1,1 Imitation of Mom
unholy nations who eat their gods. Certainly never has a
pigeon entered into a town bringing glad tidings to more
people than the one which arrived on Sunday. If Paris
needed to be comforted, in consequence of the psychological
effects of the bombardment, the bird of good omen brought
news which would far more than compensate for say de-
pression produced by the Prussian shells."