The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-04-29 00:00:00

*VisalinenscJ ntelligtutt.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

MRS. G AMP ON THE STOCK EXCHANGE.—
" Which them Egyptian Bondholders in the City does
look werry khediverons, I must say t"—Punch.
DIE MUTTER. ,--Mrs. Pralanaop having read
in the Court Circular, dated from the Queen's Court
at Coburg, that "Herr Muther, the Burgomaster,
welcomed Her Majesty to Coburg," wants to, know
whose mother, and why them Circular Chaps don't
learn to spell. We've sent the old lady a German pro-
noudcin g dictionary.—Pun. .
GALLANT CONDUOT. —On Saturday an accident
occurred on the arrival of the Calais steamer at ,Dover
which nearly cost two men their lives, and but for the
intrepidity of the youthful son of the Duke de Sal-
daubs. who was on the jetty at the time, mu 4 ,have
resulted in the loss of at least' one life. The luggage of
the passengers had just been landed; and a largp un-
wieldly case of goods wai being •svrnng -from the
packet, when it 'slipped the tackle and, fell intb the
'harbour, carrying with it two men.',. As neither CA'Aild
swim, they were in imminent peril, when the- young
nobleman referred to took off his coat and plunged
into the water to their rescue. A rope was thrown
overboard, which one man was able to seize, but the
other had disappeared, when the gallant swimmer
dived after him and succeeded in bringing him to the
suifaCe much exhausted. This heroic act was wit-
nessed by a large number otpeseces, who cheered
lustily.

DISTINGUISHED PERSONS. There are two
items in the recently issued accounts relating to civil
contingencies of 555 and £175 as expenses incurred for
special packets
.for the conveyance of distinguished

persons.:—The Tinter.
RAILWAY SERVANTS AND THE " TRIP " SYSTEM.
—The Leeds Mercury states that the Lancashire and
Yorkshire, the Great Western, and other railway
companies are endeavouring to establish payment by
trip instead of per week for goods guards, brakesmen,
and other servants employed in the working of trains.
The men are resisting the introduct'on of what is
known its the trip system of payment, notwithstanding
the immediate result would be to give them higher
earnings. They state that such a system will
materially increase the dangers of railway work by
encouraging reckless baste, and that it will enable
companies to bargain at competition prices, and so re•
duce their wages.
- -

DRAWING THE LlNE.—lndustry is admirable
wherever it is met with, and cleanliness, we know, is
next to godliness. But even this virtue may be over-
done. For instance, a case is upon record where a
woman actually "scoured the neighbourhood." This
was a little too much of a good thing.—Judy.
ORIGIN OF "KANGAROO."—The origin of the
name of the kangaroo is thus described in a recent work
by Mr. Frank Buckland : When Captain Cook first
discovered Australia, he saw some natives on the shore,
one of them holding a dead animal in his hand. The
captain sent a boat's crew ashore to purchase the
animal, and finding on receiving it that it was a beast
quite newlo hii»,
_he stint the boatswain back to ask
the natives its name. "What do you call, this 'ere
animal?" said the sailor to ,the naked native The
native shook his head,, and , answered, Kan-ga-roo,"
which means, in Australian lingo, don't under-
stand." When the sailor 'returned to the ship, We
captain said, "Well, and what's the name .of the
animal?" The sailor replied, "Please sir, the black
party says Ws a kangaroo."
Blau:tort AcoIDENT IN FRANCE, —M. R.
Camille Dartois, with two companlons, MM. Gaufray
and Pelletier, made an ascent from Mans about four
o'clock on Wednesday afternoon. An hour later the
inhabitants of a town called Bonnetable, some distance
from the place of ascent, were thrown into a state of
considerable exaitement by the appearance of a balloon
careering 'about, devoid, to all appearance, of control,
some forty metres only above the ground. The day
was unusually gusty, and it is little to be wondered at
that M. Dartois and his unfortunate companions found
themselves at the mercy of some unexpected currents,
which treated them in the roughest way. After a
great deal of skimming backwards and forwards, the
balloon appeara to have struck against some poplars,
among which it beat itself to pieces, while the three
aeronauts were precipitated to the ground. According
to the latest reports, MM. Dartois and Gaufray
escaped with a broken thigh and a broken lag respec-
tively, but no doubts are entertained as to their
recovery. M. Pelletier, however, is in a worse case,
for he was taken up unconscious, and although he
showed no external bruises the doctors feared that he
has suffered some serious internal injury.
THE WILL OF THE LATE BARON SINA.—The
following details an to the will of this rich banker, who
was the father of the Duchess de Castries, are pub-
lished by the French papers :—The Baron has left to
his wife one million of florins (2fr. 50c) in specie, a
life annuity of 30,000 forms, several chateaux, all the
Jewels, furniture, kc., of his palace at Vienna, and of
a villa in the neighbourhood, horses, carriages, Stc.
Each of his four daughters receives houses, lands, and
other property, the value of which is estimated, for
the Countess de Wimpffen, the eldest daughter, at
6,180,000 florins, for the Princess de Maurocordate at
five millions, for the Princess Ypsilante at 6.170,000
florins, and for the Duchess de Castries at 5,750.000
florins. In addition, the fortune in cash, securities,
Szti., which remains after the various legacies are de.
ducted, is shared equally between the four ladies. The
poor of Vienna receive 30,000 forms; the medical
man, and the curs of the estate where the Baron
passed the summe'r of late years, have received life
annuities.

A FLATTERING IN VITATIoN.—We believe we
break no confidence in mentioning the rumour that,
inspired by certain pregnant words of the Premier
of England, the Citizsns of San Francisco have
resolved upon petitioning the President of the United
States to assume forthwith the title of the Emperor of
California, in order to protect that State from Chinese
annexatio a. —Punch.

GERMAN CoAL.—Great efforts have been
made at Bremen and other German seaports to secure
a foreign market for German coal, and to oubt English
coal from the supply of German shipping. German
newspapers are informed that these efforts promise to
be crowned with success. A circular was sent to the
German consulates beyond seas putting a number of
questions as to the opening likely to be afforded at the
various places to a German coal trade. Replies have
now been returned to those questions, being on the
whole very favourable. The consuls anticipate that
German coal would, if offered, find an ample market.
The German Admiralty has instituted experiments to
test the value of German coal beside English, and it is
believed the result of these experiments will be favour-
able to German coal.

GIFr OF A RECREATION GROUND. —On Tues-
day the town of Reading was presented with a large
piece of land as an addition to the town recreation
ground by Alderman G. Palmer, the head of the firm
of Huntley and Palmer, the biscuit manufacturers.
The recreation ground is situated near the Great
Western Railway, raid the piece of land presented by
Alderman Palmer comprises upwards of thirteen
acres, raising the total acreage of the ground to about
twenty-six acre,. The Mayor mud Corporation met in
the Council-chamber in the afternoon, when Alder-
nn Palmer presented the deeds of the land to the
Mayor, who spoke in high commendation of Mr.
Palmer's liberality and public spirit, as did algo
several others. A cordial vote of thanks was accorded
to Mr. Palmer, and in the evening he was entertained
at dinner. It may be stated that this ground was part
of the old racecourse.
THE BAPTISM—The annual meeting of the
Baptist Union took place in London on Monday, in
the Bloomsbury Chapel. The report stated that last
year between £600,000 and £700,000 had been raised
on the part of this organisation. Dr. Landells, the
President, in his opening address, glanced at the funda-
mental principles which governed the action of this
section of the Christian community, pointed out the
necessity of such union and co-operation as would sub-
ordinate congregational and individual interests to the
general welfare, and spoke of the desirableness of
giving every facility for entering the ministry. In the
evening there WAS a soirea at the Cannon-street Hotel.
At a public meeting which formed part of the engage-
ments of the night, Dr. Landells presided, and an
address was delivered by the Rev. F. B. Meyer, of
Leicester, on the contest now waging between the
friends of religious equality and those of the Esta-
blished Chureh. Many other speakers addressed the

gathering,
SUGGESTED BY THE WALTZ. —Arsenelloussaye,
one of the wittiest of Parisian writers, has penned the
following maxims suggested by the waltz
waltz is a double life. The most reckless women are
less dangerous than the most platonic waltzes. Love
is often nothing more than the exchange of two
quadrilles and the contaet of two waltzes. A woman
has learning enough when she can tell the difference
between a two-time and a three-time waltz. After
waltzing, some women go through a quadrille as a
purgatory to the waltz.
DEATH FROM PRIVATION.—In London, an
inquest has been held at the Workhouse, Poland street,
Oxford street, on the body of Robert Lloyd, aged 45,
who was found dead in Regent street. The evidence
adduced went to prove that the deceased had been a
mechinic. but owing to id-health he was unable to
work at his trade, and for the past twelve months he
ad/ horses for cabmen.
arid
c. A
-ards
con-
towed

had earned a few pence by holding
On Friday evening last he staggered
was taken out and led the pay'

ito a &hop

_
te workhouse.

M,

evi ence stl,

that the cause of death was failure of the heart's -aCtio-n-
-through want of the necessaries of life, and a verdict to
that effect was recorded by the jury.
RATHER ORIGINAL.—An enterprising grocer at
Santa Clara, Cal. has adopted an original method of
doing business. Each side of his store is fitted up for
business on its own account. In the general arrange.
ment each side is a duplicate of the other, the difference
being that one side is cash and the other credit. When
a customer comes in the first question asked is, "Do
you wish to buy for cash or on account ?" If it is a
cash customer the goods and price on the cash side are
shown • but if it is one who wants credit he is shown
the other side, and for the first time in his life, perhaps,
made to realize the value of ready money.
PRIMERY QUESTION.—When does a fillet
steak resemble a man who perishes in the flower of his
ageT—When it's cut off in its prime.—Fun.
ExEUBITION OF COSTIIMES.—Another ndvel
exhibition was opened on Tuesday at the Alexandra
Palace. The Company have offered a large sum in
prizes for the best costumes in certain specified classes,
and the result of this intimation has been that many
of the leading City, and a few provincial firms have
contributed materials for a very interesting display.
The exhibition is confined to British firms, and the
idea of the promoters has been to give prizes for the
most elegant productions combining good taste with
economy. The different classes include promenade
costumes, reception costumes, ladies' dinner dresses,
ball dresses, bride and bridesmaids' dresses, washing
material costumes, young ladies' costumes, marine and
yachting costumes. About 150 costumes were sent by
the different makers, and these were arranged on
handsome stands hung with lace curtains in the con-
cert room.

ENCLOSIIRES,—The result of the 30 years' work
of the Enclosure Commissioners to the clode of the year
1875 is stated succinctly in a Parliamentary paper re-
cently issued. The quantity of land enclosed in Eng-
land and Wale i under the sanction of the Commission-
ers is 590,000 acres, comprising 176,000 acres of
commonable lands not subject to public allotments,
and 414,000 acres wastes of manors subject to such
allotments. The saleable value of these wastes in
their natural state is estimated at £6,140,000 taking
the 214,000 acres in high country at £lO per acre, and
the 200,000 acres in low country at £2O an acre. The
whole 590,000 acres enclosed have been dealt with as
follows :---526,890 acres have been diviled among
21,810 common right owners, averaging 24 acres to
each; 27,600 acres, 1-15th of the wastes, have been
divided among 620 lords of manors, averaging 44 sores to
each; and 35,450 acres have been sold to 3,500 pur-
chasers, averaging ten acres to each. Thus 25,930
separate estates have been crerted. There have been
also 14,107 acres, all out Of the best land and worth
£2O an acre, set out for various public purposes—name-
ly, 1,758 acres for exercise and recreation; 2,195 abres
for field gardens; 1,168 actes for fuel; 6.2.2 acres for
schools and churches; 106 acres for burial grounds;
7,350 acres for public roads 2,000 miles in extent, and
908 acres for public quarries and gravel pits, and
miscellaneous purposes. But the agricultural area of
the country has, in the 30 years, been abridged to a
greater extent than the addition made to it by these
enclosures, owing to the increased acreage occupied by
towns and railways

MILITARY MEM.—The climate of India is
said to be very bad for Europeans, but it is strange
that whenever sickness shows itself in a regiment they
send the men to the 'lll Country. The military
authorities should really have this matter seen to.—
July.
"COMING EVENTS."—" An Oxford Man"
writes to The Times :—"We are familiar with the
names Prince's Gate' and Queen's Gate,' in the
neighbourhood of Hyde Park. It may be interesting
to know that the name Emperor's Gate' has been
given to a new block of houses in the Glocester-road."
A TERRIBLE BOAT ACCIDENT. —The French
papers give some details of the terrible accident which
occurred on Easter AThnday at Confolcns, in the de-
partment of the Charente. A religious fete was to take
place at Essa, a village situated on the hank of the
river Vienne, and, as some rare sacred relies were to be
exhibited, a great number of persons went on a pil-
grimage there. Among others, fifteen were crossing the
river in a boat, when it struck on a rock and capsized.
The water at the spot is very deep and rapid, and of
the sixteen persoes on board, including the ferryman,
one only was saved; this was a young woman of
eighteen, whose open umbrella and the skirts of her
clothes kept her on the surface. She was thus carried
a distance of a mile and a half down the river before
she was rescued.

FACTORY AOCIDJINTs. —The Inspectors of
Factories state that in the half-year ending with
October last there were reported to 'them, under the
Factory and Workshop Act, accidents by which 165
persons were killed, 489 had to submit to amputation
of the whole or part of a limb, 274 sustained fractures,
243 suffered injuries to the head or fa*: and 2,13
were othexwise injured to an extent preventing their "
. return .to: work :within 48 hpuis. The tatal is 165 per-
Shile killed and 3142 injured.
TIRED OF IT.—The New York Times says
that President
_Grant .purchased, two or three. years
since, 15,000 square feet of ground at Washington, ex-
tending 133 feet along Rhode Island Avenue, and.
143 feet along Vermont Avenue, and - -fronting
the P street circle, paying for it 22,315 dOls.
Fie had intended to have commenced the erection of a
'substantial residence this year on this, lot and to have
had it ready for his occupation in March, 1877: But
recent events have evidently disgusted him with
Washington life, so the lot has been sold, and he will
probably settle on his homestead near St, Louis, called
Wishton-wish. Mrs. Grant is said to be especially
anxious to escape from the hollow-hearted society of
this metropolis. -

THE BRITISH MUSEUM.— A parliamentary
paper Just issued relating to the British Museum
states that the total number of persons admitted last
year to view the general collections (exclusive of
readers) was 523,317, including 3,514 admitted on
Monday and Saturday evenings from six to eight
o'clock from the Bth of May to the 15th of August.
The number of visits to the reading room for the pur-
pose of study or research was 105,310, giving an
average of 360 daily, and each reader consulted on an
average 13 voiumes per diem. There were added to
the library during the year 36,786 volumes and pam-
phlets, of which 1,731 were presented, 7,223 received
in pursuance of the laws of English copyright, 539
received under the International copyright treaties,
and 27,293 acquired by purchase. In the department
of prints and drawings, 12,861 acquisitions have been
made during the year, the most important of which
were obtained by purchase at the sale of the Galichon
collection in Paris.

A VALUABLE INVENTION.—A French engineer
named d'Adhemar, has invented a coating or paint
which is said to preserve iron from rusting better than
anything known, besides being cheaper than red lead
paint. Some years ago in exploring some salt wells
among the Pyrenees, he discovered iron balls in them
unoxidised ; later in Guadeloupe, he found iron scales or
sctaps which had lain in the ground without rusting.
In both cases he observed that the soil contained
sulphur; and the exterior films of the metal in.both
cases has proved to be eubstantielly the same, being
sulphuretted. Acting on these hints, he has peepared
a pigment which can be applied with any of the
ordinary painter's vehicles, and which vulcanizes, as he
says, the surface of the iron as sulpur does indiarubbers
remaining unchanged for years.

A SLIGHT MISCONCEPTION.—" Reading bis-
cuits !" said Mrs. Stubbs. as she passed a shop- window
where these articles were placarded; "and what on
earth are reading biscuits? I should ha' thought that
one of the hardest things in the world was to eat and
read both together. But perhaps they don't do it
out loud," continued Mrs. S., reflecting; "I never
thought of that !"—Judy.

AUSTRALIAN MEATS.—A number of influ-
ential gentlemen, Australian colonists and others,
interested in a new process calculated to overcome
the difficulties hitherto attendant on the introduction
into this country of meat from Australia and else-
where, held a meeting on the subject at the Cannon
-
street Kotel, London, on Thursday in last week, and
afterwards entertained a select company at luncheon.
The menu was a curios* in its way, incitiding as it
did—using the nomenclature of the hosts—beef-steak
a la Texas; steak pie a la Buenos Ayres; steak
pudding a inGipps Land; mutton chops din Falkland
Isle • haricot mutton a in Kuipara, and Irish stew
a /*Otago. The viands, without exception, were
cooked on the premises, and the chef of the establish-
ment bore willing and spontaneous testimony to their
excellence, their nutritious qualities, and the ease
with which they were prepared for the table. It is,
in fact, fresh meat preserved by a new process. The
guests, for the most part, if not the whole, had no
personal interest in the mater, and there was an evi-
dent intention on the part of the company to judge it
solely on its merits. The meats, notwithstanding
they had for the most part been brought from the
Antipodes, were as ruddy and fresh-looking as if they
had been purchased that morning in Smithfilld or
Leadenhall Market, and were quite as appetizing, if
not more so.

---
BUTTONISM.—" I hope you understand, sir,
that I'm notleaving because I've any fault to find with
the place, or With the obher servants, or with mY
mistress or yourself. Far from that—l should be
most happy at any time, sir, to give the placa a
character !'—Punch.
PREHISTORIC REII&INS. —The British Medical
Journal says :—At the Faculty of Sciences at Mar-
seilles, M. Marion has described a highly important
discovery which has been made in the neighbourhood
of Marseilles. There has been in the valley of St.
Clair, near Germenos, a station (place of habitation
and sepulture) of the prehistoric ages of humanity. It
is a grotto which opens in a vault or fissure of the
Jurassic limestone. At the bottom were accumulated
human bones belonging to a dozen subjects, men and
women, as well as cut flints, serving as arms or instru-
ments, and some fragments of rough. pottery. Tazt
chief characters of the skull were large openings of th.;
orbits, the development of the zygomatic bones, the
flattening of the root of the nose, the prognathism of
the upper jaw, the lower being osthognathous. The
limbs were slight, and the stature low. The potterj
resembles that of the dolmen of Draguignau.
FRENCH NEWSPAPERS.—A few facts ---as to
circulation of French papers may not be without
interest (says the Athenceum.) None of the French
provincial papers possessed a really large circulation.
Of the Paris papers, the Petit Journal and the Petit
Moniteur, both at one sou, have an enormous sale. Of
the grands journaux, the Rlppel sells 75,000; the
Figaro, 70,000; and the Itipublique Fran fain, 65,000.
The price of the Bappet is two sous; that of the
Debate four sons; nearly all the other important
papers sell at three sons.
-1:41
"A SHOWER or SuLrnuß."—Durnig*the late
wet weather (says Galignani) the curious phenomenon
known as a shower of sulphur, was observed in some
parts of the Hecault. After the rain, the leaves of the
trees and the sides of the road were covered with a
yellowish powder resembling sulphur. This curiout
occurrence happens very rarely in the south of F_ll.a,nee,
and is very easily explained. The yellow 111-atter which
causes the appearance is only the Pollen of conifers
carried off by the wind from same pine-forests.
PEDESTRIANISM.— Edward Payson Weston,
the famous American pechstrian, mace his appearance
on Saturday at Nottingham, where he was announced
to walk 55 miles in 12 hours, without resting. The
Trent-bridge Cricket Ground was engaged for the pur-
pose, and on Friday the course was measured by the
judges, when it was found that the pedestrian would
have to make the circuit of the ground 149 times to ac-
complish the distance. The charge of admission to the
ground on Saturday was is., and the attendance
throughout the day was by no means large, the
weather being dull and cold. Weston, having par*
taken of a cold meat breakfast, started at seven
o'clock in the morning, going at the rate of about fire
miles an hour, Occasionally he had refreshment, such
as cold tea, gruel, beef tea, of which he partook
while walking. He kept up the pace pretty uniformlY,
and having completed the 51st mile, he walked back-
wards for half a mile—the first time he has done 50
while in England. He completed his 55th mile at 23
minutes past six, having accomplished the distance
in 11 hours and 23 minutes, without a rest. He ap-
peared to be quite fresh, and continued walking until
seven o'clock, accompanying the band for a time on
his cornet.

-----
GALLANT CONDUCT OF A POLICENIAN.
London, on Monday evening, Dr. Diplock resumed at
the "Wellesley Arms," Robert-street, Chelsea, the
inquest as to the death of Deborah Jane Philips, agesl
eight, who lost her life in a fire that occurred at 90,
Church-street, Chelsea. It appears that about ten
o'clock on the night of the 10th inst. the inmates dis-
covered a fire raging in the upper rooms, which were
used as a laundry. The eon-in-law of the proprietor
and his wife at once rushed upstairs to rescue the
deceased, and although beaten back repeatedly and
dreadfully injured renewed their.attempts until they
were finally overpowered by the heat and smoke.
Police constable Manning, entered and also strove to
rescue the child, aud did not desist until his face was
scorched and he was rendered quite ill. When the
fire was put out the deceased was found in the lower
room, having fallen through the floors. The stove wet
not in any way protected from clothes falling -z,n it.
The jury then returned a verdict of ,41"1.cCidental
Death," and requested the police-instr,ctor present to
bring before the notice of tb Commissioners the
gallant conduct of the const:nie Manning,
THE PKODOCP OF tettgriCTl GARDENS.— AO"
cording t, some figures cited by M. Joly b,_fore the
Central Fl irticultural Society of France, and taken
from the records uf the Custom House, the total
quantity d fruits exported to Englai,d, Belgiurn, and
Germany arauuntecl in 1974 to noarly 80,000 tuns. IS
1874 the quantity exported was more than double
that in 1873. Of dried yegetAb'es over 23,000 tone
were exported in 1874, Cotk-tauts 6,000 tons, and
of Potatoes the enormous quantity of " nearlY
175,000 tons. The amount of money we
pay to the French for garden proditt, ,
enormous. Those weights are surprising 'enong"
in themselves, but when it is considered
that a great deal of the produce is of the yell
choicest description, and worth a good deal per plund
(as in cases of early Asparagus, choice fruit, *inter
Lettuce, &c.), then the meaning of those Spires in&Y
be fully understood. Our growers, aid, perhap's, otir
politicians, too, would do well to 'bear those facts
mind, for there must be something instructive in 014
conditions which give rise to such a state of things.--
The Garden,

. in,
.. _
1 _ _ place... en , :ement, sitting,
td rlice4onptable coming tip •five - minutes after.w
4 ' orn4 - thii -poor fellow desi4,_and:stlie bocifjivas
vairecl-to the - The nedical - -