The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-01-08 00:00:00

The Toronto correspondent of The Times says that
the number of people out of employment in Canadian cities .
at present Is almost unprecedentedly large. .
The centennial hotel in Philadelphia-' to be caittlit- '
the Grand Union, will be finished in about a month, and .
wig accommodate 2,000 guests. : , 1
it is announced that the King of Greece, accom-
panied by the Queen, intends to make ajournay ab road this --.
spring. The Athens newspapers believe that the journey is - '
co ected with the Eastern question.
r .. ,
tis stated that's society for the protection of aninaefir •
ha e been constituted in Copenhagen, and that the Crow • •
Prince will probably accept the post of patron.
The Lane famil 7 (gays the Standard) presented
Stokes last week with‘an illuminated address as a token-ofr .
their gratitude for the part he played in connection with thit
discovery of the murder of Harriet Lane. i ••
There is now a quadruple grace, the Duke of Rich-
mond in England, Duke d'Aubigny in France, and Duke of -
Lennox and Duke of Gordon in Scotland. He 6 new entitle,"
to wear a quadruple crown-an honour shared by no oLe / * ...
else —Court Journal.
The revenue returns for the quarter, as well as for 7
the year, ending December SI, have been issued. The Ex- .
chequer receipts for the three months were £18,763,167, a
net increase of £458,556; and for the twelve months '
£76,875,193, a net decrease of £150,697.
Clara Louise Kellog having expended 150 dole., on a .
special train to take her from Hartford to Providence, tlusr
paperrof the latter city make capital Out of the mattWby
heading the paragraph setting forth the fact—" Earned -
desire to visit Providence friends"
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, at its last
weekly meeting in Liverpool, c.onliruted a recommendation
of the Works Committee to lease 600 yards of land, at 2s.
per square yard per annum, to the British Workman
Publichouse Company, for the erection of temperance re-
freshment rooms.
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The Midland, Great Northern, Great Western, and
London and North Western Railway Companies have given
notice of an advance of 6d. a ton iu the coal rates from the
leth lust.
On Tuesday London was enveloped in a dense fog,
which towards midday produced almost pitch darkness in
the streets. In all places of business, as in the public
thoroughfares, operations could only be carried only gas-
light.
The Address, in the House of Commons, in answer
to the Speech from the Throne. will be moved by Mr
Matthew White Ridley, member for North Northumberland.
and seconded by Mr. Mulholland, member for Downpatrick.•
A suggestion has been made (says the Chester Courant)
that the jubilee of _the suspension bridge over the Menai
Straits, wnich was constructed by Telford under the auspices
of the English Government, should be celebrated by a public
dinner at Menai Bridge. The work was completed on the
81st January, 1826.
The London correspondent of the Leeds Mercury
states that Mr. Gladstone has just resigned his membership -
of the Reform Club. The reason assigned is that Mr. Glad-
stone looks forward to spending much more of every year in
the country than formerly, and that, therefore, a town Club
would be of little use to him. •
The Gazette des Tribunaux states that 149 persons
were arrested in Paris on New Year's Day, being so mani-
festly drunk that the most indulgeat policeman could not
avoki taking them up in spite of the laxity shown on those
exceptional occasions. They were discharged when sober.
Among choice vegetables now obtainable in Covent
Garden Market are fresh green peas—forced indoors, of
course; asparagus may also be had; truffles, from Hamp-
shire, are tolerably plentiful; French lettuces, endive„.
witloof or chicory, and young radishes are of excellent. 2
quality for salads; and winter cucumbers may also be had
in good condition—The Garden. 4
The purchase of a number of torpedoes by the com-
mittee at Portsmouth has been authorised in order that a
newly proposed system of defence with this weapon mays 0 .
tested without delay. The experiments, which will be on.*
rather an extensive scale, will be carried out with fully I .
charged submarine mines, in order to decide at what distance
they may be laid down from a friendly ship without risk of
doing damage.
Mr. Roebuck- having been requested to allow his
name to be used as a patron of the forthcoming Jewish
gathering and ball at Sheffield, replies: "I most willingly
authorise you to plaee my name on your list of patrons. Not
that I am a dancer. My dancing days have passed long Ts
since, but I am glad to see people happy, and am ready to do
what tends to break down religious prejudice and soften
religious hate." a.
A fourth batch of Chinese boys, thirty in number,
sent to the United States by the Government of China to be,
educated in New England, arrived recently at San Francisco,;
under the charge of two oommissioner& By the present"..
arrangements they will remain 15 years, and then return to A
fill such important positions in their own nation as their
natural and acquired abilities will suggest.
A young Frenchman has (says the Liverpool Afer-:cs
envy) had a narrow escape on the London and North-
Western Railway. He was journeying with several com-
panions from London to Liverpool, en route for Philadelphia,
and, after leaving Rugby, fell out of the carriage while the
train was 041111 speed, and rolled down the embankment •
Into a ditch of water. He was somewhat bruised, but made
his way along the line to Rugby Station; and was sent on by
a late train to Liverpool to rejoin his friends, who had in
the meantime telegraphed back to make inquiries for him.
The Chatham Correspondent of the Pall if all Gazate
writes :—The old Dutch vessel of war which has recently
been exhumed at Chatham Dockyard—where it has
been lying buried for upwards of two centuries—is now
completely exposed to view, and will remain for inspec-
tion a short time longer, after which she will be broken
up, it being found impossible to remove the ancient
relic to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, as was at first
thought might be done. There is now no doubt that the
vessel thus discovered, formed one of the squadron which
ascended the Medway in 1667, under the Dutch Admiral
De Ruyter, and inflicted such damage on Chatham Dock-.
yard, on which occasion the Royal Sovereign and, ether
vessels of war in harbour were burned. .

The American Correspondent of The Times tele-
graphed from Philadelphia, on New Year's Day :—" At mid-
night the Centennial year was welcomed in Philadelphia by
a crowd of 100,000 people collected around Independence
Hall. The Mayor, Mr. Stokley, raised the Centennial, flag.
fac imile of that hoisted by Washington in 1776 'upon Inbr
pendence Hall. when the flag reached the top of the a*-
illuminated by calcium lights, the clock struck twelve, ethe
vast multitude giving vent to shouts of welcome. Then kV
half an hour all the bells in the city rang. There wet° fire
works, salutes, shouts, martial music, and, altogether, a most,
tremendous noise, and thus the Centennial year was watt
corned here. Similar midnight ceremonies have been
oisserved in almost every American city.
A citizen of Lexington has in his possession a quill
which has a remarkable history. It was given to Henry
Clay in 1824, with an injunction not to cut it until he was
elected President, when he was to write his first message
with it. In case he was not elected It was not to be cut
until a "constitutional President wrote a constitutional
message for all the States." After Mr. Clay's death it was
given to Millard Fillmore, but he was likewise unable to use
it. During the last campaign the owner determined to give
it to Mr Greeley should he be elected. The quill, which is
still uncut, is over 3f t. long, and is as large round as a man's
thumb.
THE MARKETS.