The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-07-24 00:00:00

York

A SLIGHT CONITSION.—" A Delighted Evan-
gelical" is decidedly mistaken. It is the Deputy
Keeper of the Records, not the Editor of the Record
who has been knighted. —Punch.
REAL ROMANCE.—A young Indian Prince, by
name Maharajah lluleep Singh. about five years ago
passed through Egypt carrying his mother's remains to
India. He came on an errand of death, and entered
into new life. In Cairo he visited the mission school,
and was struck with the appearance of a pupil, an
Egyptian girl and a Christian, whom after several
Units Le proposed to make his wife. In due time they
were married at Cairo, and on the wedding day he pre-
sented £l,OOO to the mhool. He carried her to Eng-
land, where she WM generally received, in deference to
the rank which had always been accorded him by
the Queen. She is now there, and the marriage has
proved a most happy and useful one On the return
of each wedding day the Prince sends the school
another £l,OOO.
Itemmrttiel A RAILWAY. Ex-Senator Ben
Wade, who came so near being President, is doing the
Pacific Railroad. A correspondent says that he is
literally inspecting the road. When the train is in
motion he sits at the door of the rear car and watches
the track as if he had lost something valuable and ex-
pected every minute to discover it. On one occasion,
night coming on, Mr. Wade ordered the train to run
on a siding and leave his car until morning, so he was
determined to go over the road in daylight. As soon
as he could see, a special engine was sent and attached
to his car, and the ex-senator, having properly ad-
justed his spectacles, set sail westward.— Public Ledger.
STORMY TIMER.— A Spanish astronomer, Don
Mariano Castillo, of Saragossa, prophesies tremendous
hurricanes, tempests, hail-storms and whirlwinds on all
the coasts, and also the centre of Spain; they are to
be experienced principally in Valencia. Cataluna,
Aragon, Navarre, Guipuzcoa, Asturias, Galicia, the
, Castilles, Andalucia, and part of Murcia. At the
same time there are to be great and sudden transitions
from excessive heat to extreme cold, and for two days
the sea will be subject to extraordinary commotion.
All these wonderful events may be expected between
the 12th and 25th of the present month, and will be
repeated, but in a lesser degree, in the months of
Auzust, September, and part of October. —Gibraltar
Chronicle.

- - - -
REVENOZ OF FRANCE.—A return issued from
the Ministry of Finance shows the direct revenue for
the first half of 1869 to have amounted to 636,600,0001.,
being an increase of 19,657,009 f. on the corresponding
period of 1868, and of 35 254.0001. on 1867. The real
increase on last year is about 3.000,0001. more than that
above stated, as 1868 profited by an additional day in
consequence of it being leap-year. The principal items
of increase in 1869, compared with the last, are, in
millions :—Registration dues, 5; potable liquors, 4/ ;
tobacco, 34; foreign sugar, 3; Post Office, 24; colonial
sugar, 2; and stamps, 11. There is a diminution of
24 millions on the general customs duties, including
corn, and of 2 millions on native beet-mot sugar. The
amount of direct taxes paid was 283 520.000 t. As the
total assessment for the year under that bra ling is
573,239,0001., 289,709,0001. remain to be recovered.
EGYPT PROGRES,ING.—The Alexandria corre-
spondent of the Malta Times writing under date of the
3rd of July, says:

If civilisation here is not on a level with that in Europe, it
is not Ismail Pasha wi,o is to blame. His Highness's Harem
may often he s-en driving out dressed almost entirely in the
European fashion, with the exception of a very thin veil, and
with Englishmen in scarlet and gold. liveries as drivers and
. .

footmen. Another hold step toward doing away with old
customs is that the Viceroy has teleg,pued from London
ordering the removal of all divans from Egyptian Government
offices to make room for chairs and small sofas in the Euro-
pean style; and, what is still more important, clerks and
other employee are henceforth to he deprived of the pleasure
of both smAing and coffee-drinking while remaining within
Government premises.

EXTRAORDINARY ACCIDENT TO A CHURCH.—
The Marseilles journals state that a mine having been
exploded in a quarry on the side of the hill Notre-
Dane-de-la-Garde, an enormous mass of stone, con-
taining not less than five cubic metres and weighing
about fifteen tons, was detached and rolled down the
declivity as far as the church of Sint-Francois.
d'Assizes, on the Il.tulevard Vauban. It broke through
the wall of the sacred edifice, making a hole of five
square yards in extent, and only stopped at the high
altar, part of which it smashed. Happily the building
was empty at the time, or the consequences might
have been most serious. The block was so large that
it was obliged to be sawn to pieces to get it out of the
church.

" Cosseicuous BY ARSENCE."—The London cor-
respondent of the Scotsman observes
The persistent absence of Lord Stanley from the House and
the hoot Opposi, ion bench during these debates hr much com-
mented upon While his father haa been content to be the
organ and spokesman of the Irish Orangemen, Lord Stanley
has become more thoroughly ashamed of the action of the
Conservative party in regard to the bill. He is said to be in
favour of 'concurrent endowment," but to recognise with
his usual sagacity that the time has gone by for further re-
ligions endowment. It Is many a nt,ht since he has been
seen in the House of Common.. Mr. Hardy, with aidentiftil
lack of wisdom and statesmanship, has been Mr. Disraeli's
vice-lieutenant, hut on Friday night, although he followed on
the same side, there was an evident 'tiff". between them.
Disraeli's features wore the dark and angry expression which
sometime., although rarely, comes over them. A politiman
might safely stake his credit upon the fact that the Con-
servative leader in the Commons most ardently desires that
this obstacle to 1,1, return to office may be moved out of his
way at once and for ever.
Tim CAPTIVE BALLOON.—Ashburnham Park
was visited on Saturday in last week, by several of the
nobility, who were invited to view the Wimbledon
camp from this large aerial machine at the height of
2,001) feet. But although the weather was beautifully
fine there was a great haze in the atmosphere, which
concealed the camp. Mr. G lainher, who heal brought
with him instruments for the purpose of making obser-
vations, arrived at about halt-past five, when the
balloon was again Pent up. The wind had increa,ed
since the prevision ascent, but as the hazy mist had not
in the least dintininhed all hopes of observing the
Wimbledon camp and review were abandoned. Mr.
Glaisheis observations were merely confined to testing
the state of the temperature at the various altitudes.
On leaving the earth the temperature was 84 degs. ;
at 500 feet, it was 81 degs.; at 1.000 feet, 79 degs. ; at
1,100 feet, 785 degs.; and at 1,200 feet it had decreased
to 702 degs.
GOOD NEWS FOR LADIES !—Some recent ex-
perimenta have shown that common pigeons can be
adopted as reliable messengers, although they do not
belong to the "carrier breed." One or two letters in
cypher (no doubt love Once) have fallen into the hands
that cannot guess at their real import, panning from
Aberdeen to Inverness.
Bird of the sweeping wing ! • Thou courier light
To waning prince and joyous gallant given,
To fan affection or to aid the fight,
Thou cleav'st the silent curtain clouds of heaven,
And seekU the leaguered fort, or flowery grove,
To tell of war or toul.subduing love.
MURDER AT CARDIFF.— Early on Saturday
morning in last week, a shocking case of murder
occurred at the port of Cardiff. A pilot's apprentice,
named Thomas Williams, was returning home rather
the worm) for drink when some Italian seaman pirated
against him. Williams remonstrated, upon which one
of the Italians struck him, and • second Italian made
a blow at him with something which glittered in his
hand. The deceased reeled backwards and fell, and
the Italians ran away, hut they were almost imme-
diately apprehended by the police. It was discovered
that Williams bad been stabbed in the abdomen, and,
although every attention was paid to him at the hoe-
pital ship, he died at halrpast six on Saturday morn-
ing. Two kilians, named Cairollo and Gastro, were
brought before the borough magistrates on Saturday,
and several witnesses swore to Ga./Aro an having struck
the deceased with a knife or dazger. One of the wit°
fleeces, however, while identifying the two prisoner.,
expressed bin belief that the man who stabbed the de-
ceased was not in custody. A stiletto seen dropped by
the urisoners and found chitin by was identified as a5B-
- property. Both prisoners were committed for
trial at the assizes on the charge of wilful murder.
OuvuPisTlifin• OF EMIGHA NYE—Of the 96.325
emigrants from the United Kingdom in 1804, 94,766
are distinguished in the list &ft males above 12 years of