The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-02-23 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

On Saturday last the London masons on strike, still
about 600 or 620 in number, the number on the roll not
having varied since the new year to a greater extent than a
score of names, all received the usual amount of strike nay.
The St. Petersburg Correspondent of The Times
says that the rumours about the Czar's being ill is without
foundation, for on Monday afternoon His Majesty drove out
In an open sledge and seemed in perfect health.
The number of boys to be entered in the Royal
naval training ships this year is 2,700, who will be distri-
buted as follows :—At Portsmouth, 630 ; Portland, 420; Ply-
mouth, 1,370; and Falmouth, 330. The total number of
boys to be borne in the navy will be 6,300.
- - - -

"Raven-spring—Gladly would the Raven drink at
the precious fount to allay the thirst of his troubled heart;
but his dark clouds have crossed his flight, and doomed him
for a time to lose his way."--" The Raven-spring.—The
living draught. For ever flows, through dark of night,
through shine of day. Bright runs the sparkling water
fresh and free. Welcome the precious drink—there drink
and live."—Advertisements in Monday's Times.
On Sunday there was an explosion in the No. 1 pit
of the Wigan and Whistou Coal and Iron Company, near
Prescot. About fifteen persons were in the pit when the
explosion occurred. They were all got out alive, but two of
them have since died, and several others are now in a dan-
gerous state from the burns which they received.
On Tuesday morning the body of a man was found
half-consumed at Castle Mell, in a lime kiln belonging to
Earl Dudley. The legs were roasted off, and the corpse pre-
sented a most terrible sight.

An aggregate meeting of the ironworkers in the em-
ployment of John Brown and Co., and other leading firms
in Sheffield was held on Monday to consider the question of
submitting to a farther reduction of seven and a half per
cent., a similar drop having been agreed to about six weeks
ago. After a long discussion the men decided to accept the
lower prices and to resume work upon the new scale at once.
By this alteration the extra sixpence per ton always hitherto
paid here over other districts is done away with.

The alarming rapidity with which shortsightedness
Is increasing among German students formed the subject of
a recent debate in the Prussian Parliament. From extended
observations made in the gymnasia, it appears that the num-
ber of the shortsighted Increases from 23 per cent. in the
first year to 75 per cent, in the ninth or last year. The too-
frequent custom in Germany of forcing lads to study during
the evenings with insufficient light, in ill-ventilated rooms
is undoubtedly a main cause of this widespread evil.—
Nature.

At a ball in a country house the other day some un-
principled jokers rigged up a telephone between the library
and conservatory, a favourite resort of "spooning" couples.
They made free we of their infernal machine, and did not
divulge its existence till a late hour. The announcement
created great consternation.—Mayfair.

The Mark Lane Express states that the surface of
the soil is now getting into good order for spring sowing,
which has already begun in some earlier districts. Country
advices are generally favourable as to the appearance of the
winter-sown wheat, though there some complaints of the
plant having lost colour.
The German Ambassador at St. Petersburg, General
Sc,hweinitz, whiie hunting last week on the ground of the
Grand Duke Michael's estate, twenty miles from the capital,
came across a very fine bear. Bruin advanced on his hind
legs to meet the intruder' but the General, coolly waiting
till the animal was within a few feet of him, fired at the
middle of its forehead and killed it on the spot.

Prince's Islands, or Prinkipo, off which last week
the English irouclads were anchored, are to many men of
business at Constantinople what the settlements on the
Thants are to business London, on the Mersey to Liverpool,
on the Clyde ta Gla.gow. They are inhabited for the most
part by Greeks, who proceed to their offices and counting-
houses at Stamboul by the morning-boat—an hour's journey
—and who come hack when business hours are over, clinking
metaphorically golden guineas in their pockets, to their
delightful villas, set in the most picturesque gardens I ever
saw, and refreshed by the most perfect attno,phere I ever
breathed. Save for the babble of foreign tongues, and the
intermixture of Western and Eastern costumes, you would
scarcely know life in Prinkipo during the summer from life
in the most favoured districts of England.—The World.
A telephone apparatus ha i just been fixed at
Windsor Castle, providing communication between the
Palace and Royal mews. The apparatus, it is understood,
works satisfactorily.

The Brussels Monikur records the death atZanzibar
of SIM. Mass and Crespel, two members of the BAgian
African expedition.

It is worthy of notice that only one member for an
English county voted in the minority against the County
Government Bill on Monday night.
The Commissioners of Inland Revenue acknowledge
In The Times (as" Conscience Money"), the receipt of £l4O
from "S. T. H." on account of unpaid Income-tax.
About 600 pieces of ancient French money have
been found buried in an earthen pot in a small vineyard
called La Croisette, at Villehardoum. One of the coins
bears the date of 1100.

"The Shah has commanded his ambassador in
Vienna, Malcolm Khan, to meet him on the Russian
frontier, and to accompany him on his visit to Vienna,
Berlin, Paris, and London. He has also ordered four car-
riages tp be built for him at Vienna—two for eight, and two
for four horses. He will not bring any wives with him.—
Mayfair.

I hope (says the World) the Marquis of Lorne in
his new rendering of "The Psalms of David in Metre,"
Scottish version, will not alter those four lines in the
seventy-fourth which are so singularly appropriate to the
ex-Premier:

"A man was famous and was had
In estimation—
According as he lifted up
His axe thick trees upon."
The peace establishment of the Austrian army com-
prises at the present time, according to a well-informed
German military paper, 267,005 men and 47,972 horses: but
when all the corps are placed on a war footing the total
numbers amount to 780,026 men and 148,120 horses.

The Marchioness of Sligo died on Sunday afternoon
at her residence in Mansfield street, London. Her ladyship
had been suffering for some time, and the sad termination
to her illness was not wholly unexpected. The late Mar-
chioness was the widow of the second Marquis of Sligo and
mother of the present Marquis. She was the daughter of the
Earl of Clanricarde. Her ladyship, who was in her 78th year,
had been a widow for 33 years.

The Western Farm Journal says that a farmer had
bettet make his bed of Canada thistles than to be at case
upon interest. 'No blister draws sharper than does the in-
terest on a note; of all industries nothing is comparable to
that of Interest; it works hard all day and all night; it has
no sound in its footstep, but travels fast." Its pace is fast
enough here, no doubt; but its rate is not so high. I believe
ten per cent. is considered very low interest in America.—
Mark Lane Express.

"To capture all the cattle within his reach, to burn
or destroy what he cannot carry away, and to murder as
many white men as he can is the main object of the Caffre
in war. Whenever an overwhelming force is marched
against him, he retreats to the shelter afforded by the
nearest dense bush and broken ground, and when driven
from any one of such positions he flies to another, his
intimate knowledge of the country and his fleetness of foot
enabling him to do so under cover of night with such
rapidity that there is no overtaking him—Cape Town
Correspondent of The Times.

The Channel swim feat is, says the Folkestone Ex-
press, again to be attempted during the ensuing season by a
gentleman amateur. A rather heavy wager, of no less than
.€5OO to £.lOO, has been made by two gentlemen well-known
in sporting circles against a successful accomplishment of
the task.

The Queen gave her granddaughter the Princess
Charlotte of Prussia (on the occasion of her marriage) a pair
of pearl and diamond earrings and a dress trimmed with
Honiton lace, besides other presents, among which were
stuffs of Scotch and Irish manufacture and pocket hand-
kerchiefs embroidered in Ireland.

"In nineteen little words," says the Univers, "the
Pontiff has compressed the history of three quarters of a
century: Qui giace Pio IX. Pontetice massirno, nato 11 13
Maggio 1792, motto il 7 F.ebbrajo 1878. Pregate per IW."
As usual, the Univers is wrong. Pius IX only wrote fourteen
words of his epitaph. The date of his death was added by
Cardinal Simeoni.—Mayfair.

An action brought by several financial companies
against the City of Paris for losses caused to property by the
Commune, has been decided against the plaintiffs, on the
ground that the municipality had no means of preventing
the disasters, which were not caused by its negligence or
Imprudence.
- - • •

•
On Tuesday there was a meeting of the Committee
of the House of Lords appointed to inquire into tt:e cause of
the increase of drunkenness in the country. The Duke of
Westminster was in the chair. The principal witness
examined was Dr. B. W. Richardson, who was questioned
chiefly al‘ to the effects of alcoholic drinks on the human
body and their results on the brain of those who freely in-
dulged in the use of them.
- - - -

Several large orders have been received since Mon-
day by manufacturers in Wolverhampton and other places
in South Staffordshire for articles required by the Govern-
ment for the British army. They include several thousand
mess tins for the soldiers and great quantities of pioneer
axes, picks, and shovels. The orders are distributed
amongst the leading manufacturers of the articles men-
tioned, and the contractors require the delivery of them be-
fore the 25th of March. A large contract for saddlery and
horse furniture has also been distributed amongst the har-
ness makers at Walsall.

According to the Debats, the late Pope left
£3,200,000 invested in Paris, London, and the United States,
apart from his private fortune. The income therefrom,
even should the supply of Peter's pence fall off, will still be
sufficient for the expenses of the Holy See, the pensions and
the subsidies to bishops not recognised by the Italian
Government. Consequently the State grant of £130,000.
which has been left to accumulate until it has reached more
than £600,000, may still be ignored by Pius X ' which, it is
said, the new head of the Roman Church will be called.
It is shown by the Registrar-General that the deaths
from small-pox in London, which had been 38 and 55 in the
two preceding weeks, were 47 last week, of which 24 oc-
curred in the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals, 2 in the High-
taf t%Sem4a;lf Small-pox
Hospital,
ig,waenrde 2c le
ritui
qperctv
aa private en du tvvaecl leiinngolet odusaensa
12 as vleccivated, while in the remaining 15 cases the medi-
cal cPrtificates of the cause of death omitted to give any
Information

Strikes have become so common throughout France
that the authorities have found it necessary, in several eases,
to interfere for the purpose of preventing disturbances.

When Victor Emmanuel went into the battle of
Solferino, he had a sabre on which was engraved the in-
scription " Vivc la Republique Italienne ! Vibre livre ou
mourir." It seems strange that the future King of Italy
should have owned a weapon bearing such words. The
mystery is explained by the fact that the sabre formerly
belonged to Alassena.

It has been decided by the Corps Diplomatique to
go into mourning for a month for the Pope, and some of
them mean to keep away from balls and theatres during
that time.—Vanity Fair.

In the navy estimates the number of officers, sea-
men and boys provided for is 41,700, and the Royal Marines
are to be maintained at a strength of 13,973. The reserves
will bring the number borne on the estimates to about 80,500.
The funeral of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Duff, the
celebrated missionary, took pla:ie on Monday, at Edinburgh,
the burying-ground being the Grange Cemetery. The
funeral was a public one, and was attended by the Lord
Provost, the magistrates, and the Town Council, and the
representatives of the various Preibyterian churches and
missionary societies.

The exact text of the special prayer for the repose
of the soul of Pope Pius is worth reproducing It runs as
follows :—" °ratio. Deus, qui inter suminos sacerdotea
fanmlum tuum Pium ineffabili tuft dispositione connumerari
voluisti : priests, qumitunus, ut qui unigenitt Filii tui vices
In terris gerebat sanctorum tuorum pontificum consortio
peroetuo aggregerettm Per euudem Dominum."—Whitehall
Review.
The steady advance of the Russians in Turkey is
satirised by the Paris Charivari, which depicts the Sultan
eagerly inquiring the result of the negotiations. "Sire," he
is answered, "the enemy has just stopped short." "At
last! and where ? " asks Abdul llamid. "In your ante-
chamber."

The Peabody Fund Trustees (London), in their
thirteenth annual report, state that during the past year
they have received an anonymous donation exceeding twelve
thousand pounds. They have purchased more property for
future operations, and have just completed another set of
dwellings. The number of persons in residence at the close
of the year was 8,658.

The distress which has so long prevailed in the
Black Country, says the Birmingham Gazette, is in no way
abated; and in more than one quarter, owing to the ex-
haustion of the funds, it is feared that the misery of the
unfortunate people who have so long suffered from the great
depression of trade will be intensified. Fresh efforts are
being made to meet the emergency.
From a statistical report recently published, it
appears that there are about 88,000 children employed in
the various factory industries in Germany. The wages of
the children between twelve and fourteen vary according to
the locality and the industry from one to nine marks; and of
those of the second class, from fourteen to sixteen, from one
and a half marks to thirteen and a half, the average being
about three marks for the first, and five for the second class.
The highest wages for children are paid in the brick and tile
trades.

The only wreath laid upon Victor Emmanuel'a
coffin, when it was walled up in the Tribune of the
Pantheon, was that sent by her Majesty Queen Victoria.
The ethers were hung round the walls of the chamber.—
The World.

A subordinate member of Her Majesty's Govern-
moot was asked tie other night by an innocent member of
the Peace Party, why the Ministers did not close with Mr.
Gladstone's suggestions of a pacific compromise on the Vote
of Credit? The reply was: "Ewe had shown the slightest
disposition to listen to the scheme, we should have been
scratched out of our places by the wild cats behind us."—
Mayfair.

Substantial aid is being given to Greece in its
present struggle by the Greek committees in Liverpool,
Manchester, and London. Committees have been formed in
these and Other English centres where there are any con-
siderable number of Greeks residing, for the purpose of
raising money and affording other assistance to their
countrymen. Several thousand pounds have already been
sent out, and further subscriptions are being raised.

On February 7th, 1848, an excited crowd assembled
before the Quirinal and demanded the dismissal of the
priests from the government. Plus IX. replied to them
from the balcony: "Non posso, non debbo, non voglio."
That was the origin of the celebrated non possumus.—Muy-
fair.
We understand that Mr. Thorneycroft, the con-
structor of the famous steel torpedo-launches, has been re-
quested by the Government to reserve for them all the
torpedo-launches which he is at present completing and
some of which were for foreign Governments.—Vanity
Fair.

"What, lam asked every day, would Hobart Pacha
do in the event of England going to war with Russia and
Turkey? Of course he would resign his Admiral's command
in the Turkish fleet, be reinstated in his old position on
board an English ship, and be at once detailed for active
service in the East.— Whitehall Review.

In London, on Saturday, some 1,600 or 1,600
persons met in Trafalgar-square hr the purpose of protest-
ing against the occupation of Constantinople by the Russhuis,
and supporting the general policy of the Governmeut. Reso-
lutions in furtherance of these objects were passed, and
upon the meeting breaking up a procession was formed,
bearing the Union Jack and the Turkish flag, and paraded
in front of the residences of Lord Beaconsfleld and the
Turkish Ambassador.

At the Stanley lecture, the Prince of Wales is said
to have asked Midi:at Paella if he had found the discourse
interesting. The answer is said to have been, "We Turks
have more need now than other people to take an interest
In expeditions into unknown lands, since we may soon have
to seek among them for a home ."—Court Journal.

The Treasury have granted to all the clerks em-
ployed at the Admiralty, Whitehall, an addition of £.50
year to their present salaries from the lot of April next, as
compensation for past losses of promotion, but not to affect
future increase on account of reorganisation The maximum
is raised to k 430 for juniors fit for promotion.
The Prince of Wales has sold his celebrated
schooner yacht Hildegard, which has won several prizes in
the Roya 1 Yacht Squadron NI atches at Cowes during the
last two seasons, to his brother Prince Leopold, who in-
tends to use her for summer cruising.

The Council General of the Seine has adopted a
resolution in favour of the raring of the ruins of the Tuileries
(with only one dissentient) who urged that the palace might
be restored for 460,000 f., and used as a museum for popular
lectures. The resolution is strongly supported by the
Bepublipue Francais,.

Twenty-two British and foreign wrecks were re-
ported during the past week, making a total of 212 for the
present year. The estimated value of property lost was
£200.000, the amount in respect of British vessels being
£BO,OOO.
It is stated that orders have been received at
Chatham from the Horse Guards directing that all discharges
of soldiers from the army by purchase are to be stopped ;
the only men who will be allowed to take their discharge
being those who have completed their full period of service.
All the infantry corps are to be at once put through a course
of instruction in transport duties.

The Pope's will has been read. He has left large
sums for the poor and orders his body to be interred in San
Lorenzo, outside the walls, under the so-called Gridiron—a
spot bearing the stains of the martyr's blood. Ire wishes
the expenses of his monument not to exceed 400 scud', to
have for his sole crest a bare skull, and a Latin inscription
bearing only his name, with the years of his life and of his
Pontificate—Correspondent of The Times.--It is also
stated that, by the Pope's will, his personal property is to
be equally divided amongst his brother's children, but he
leaves large legacies to dethroned potentates, including the
Count de Chambord.

A letter from Kharkoff in the Gobs, states that
within the last few days Osman Pasha has made his appear-
ance at the circus and the theatre. The Turkish General,
who up to this has refused to speak Frcnch, or even to
answer when addressed in that language, now converses in
French tolerably well, and even has spoken a few words of
Russian.

The tallest man in the United StAtes is probably
Henry Thurston, a native of Missouri, now residing in Titus
county, Texas, and formerly a Confederate soldier, who
stands seven feet and six inches in his bare feet; he has
also a bare head, so that he has no surreptitious height
added to his either extremity. Barnhatn offered him a
large sum to join his exhibition, but he declined.

An exciting incident occurred the other night in the
Garrison Theatre of the Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich,
during a dramatic performance by the officers and ladies of
the garrison. In concluding the second act of The Critic a
scene was introduced representing the engagement of the,
British fleet with the Spanish Armada, while in the fore-
ground a ship bearing the English flag was in individual
conflict with a vessel of another nationality. The audience,
which comprised most of the officers of the garrison and a
great many non-commissioned officers and men, displayed
great interest in the spectacle, and the blowing up of the
enemy's ship was greeted with a tumult of cheering. One
of the actresses then sang "Rule Britannia" and the
National Anthem, the audience rising and joining enthusi-
astically, and cheering continuously for several minutes.

"Looking through the Memoirs of Dr. Norman
Macleod yesterday, I hit accidentally upon a passage in hia
diary which seems to me pregnant of interest just now:
January 17th, 1850.—Report this morning of the prospect
of peace with Russia. Peace is joy as far as the present suf-
fering is concerned. Butt as far as the interests of man are
concerned and the position of our country, I mourn the
news. We have come out of this war lower in every respect
in the world's opinion than we were when we entered at. I fear
if the war ends that it will be merely to give time to Russia
to prepare for another by becoming herself powerful, and
biding her time till the Western Powers are disunited.'
This is a very staitling prophecy remarkably realized; not
alone, mark you, as to the recovered power of Russia, but
also and more especially in regard to the probable disunion
of the Western Powers. There is now very little union
among those who were either active participators In the
Crimean war or mere oulookers."—" Notes from the North '
n Pictorial World.

The Hon. Auberon Herbert has addressed a large
meeting of the working men of the borough of Hackney on
the question as to whether this country would be justified in
going to war at the present crisis with any European Power.
He pointed out that while many of his auditory might think
that the question of peace or war would net affect them in-
dividually because they did not pay income tax, yet any de-
struction of national wealth had to be made good to the
Chancellor of the Exchequer either directly or indirectly,
and for all waste every individual must suffer. Many re-
forms had been brought about in recent years. but a war
would throw us back in this respect at least twenty years.
The number of valentines posted in Liverpool this
year was 131,2:15, and the number delivered 125,201 shelving
an increase on former years. Large valentines were very
much more numerous, many having evidently been manu-
factured and put into card board boxes just within the
regulation length, 18 inches by 9 inches wide. They were,
In fact, so bulky as to be very difficult to sort and arrange
for delivery on the ordinary office fittings. and they could
not be delivered in the ordinary way. Forty handcarts,
propelled by stout telegraph messengers, had to be used in
various parts of the town by means of which a more rapid
delivery was affected.
The following cause has been heard before Vice-
Chancellor Sir It Malina :—A sum of £3OO having been
queathed by a lady by will, for the establishment of a
lifeboat at Brighton, was found insufficient for the purpose
and a proposal had been made that it should be paid over to
the National Lifeboat Institution, as that society would
undertake to replace the old boat at present doing service
when it should become unfit. The Brighton Town Council,
however, put in a claim to the money, alleging that it would,
though insufficient to supply that town with a new lifeboat,
enable the old one to be repaired. After the case had been
argued, his Lordship directed the amount of the bequest to
be handed over to the Brighton municipality for the purpose
mentioned.

Numerous as are the uses of the cocoa-nut palm, we
have not until quite recently heard of the application of the
coir or fibre from the husk for paper-making. It seems,
however, that in France experiments have been made with
the view of utilising this substance as a paper material. In
one experiment Bcwt. of fibre was made Into paper, and the
opinion of those engaged in the operation was that cocoa-
nut fibre might well be used for all kinds of white paper for
which Esparto is now employed; or perhaps even a better
paper may be manufactured from coir than could be pro-
cured front Esparto.—Gardeners' Chronicle.

The Bev. Horace Waller writes to say that he has
received bad news from Zanzibar concerning the expedition
which left the north end of Lake Nyassa in October last to
survey the route thence to the east coast. Mr. Henry Cot-
terill telegraphs, by way of Aden, that his comrade, her
Majesty's Consul Captain Elton, died on the journey
from sunstrolie. Their delay, he adds, was caused by wars
on the road.

At the half-yearly meeting of the Midland Railway
Company bed at Derby on Tuesday, Mr. E. S. Ellis, in mov-
ing the adoption of the report, said that the shareholders
might be congratulated on the dividend, considering the
past stagnation of trade. It compared favourably with that
of other companies. In a discussion which followed, Mr. E.
Baines drew attention to the new system of fares, and asked
the directors to consider whether they might not in some de-
gree retrace their steps. The chairman admitted that the
directors had been disappointed that more second-class pas-
sengers had had not trE.velled first-class ; but on the whole
they believed the new system had answerea well for the
company.

Recruiting for the corps of Royal Marines is now
proceeding briskly, the recruits as fast as they are sent tip
from the various recruiting districts being forwarded to
the Royal Marine depot at Deal, from which they are after-
wards_sent to join their respective divisions.

In Vienna a novelty in the way of rugs for Victoria's
has been brought out. They are made entirely of light grey
ostrich feathers, and are very costly.—Vanity Fair.
The Bishop of Sodor and Man, lately vicar of
Sheffield, has been presented with a splendid carriage and
pair by his late parishioners, the value of the gift being £7OO.
The Registrar-General reDorts that whooping.
cough continues to be the most -fatal zvmotic disease in
London. The death-rate in the metropolis again shows an
increase.

Mr. Ralph Brocklebank, an extensive shipowner of
Liverpool, has offered to pay the entire cost, amounting to
£3,500, of a sanatoriumor hospital for the Liverpool Seamen's
Orphanage.

Herr Siemens, the inventor of toughened glass
believes and boasts that he has now discovered a met Eba
by which glass broken only under enormous pressure can
be manufactured. If this process is cheap, he will probably
find a great success.

A number of the leading houses engaged in the tea
trade have paid up the duty on all the tea they have in
bond, under the impression that when the Chancellor of the
Exchequer makes his financial statement he will certainly
announce an increase in these duties.— Vanity Fair.

Here is an anecdote of the deceased Pope which
shows that when he made a promise he always meant to keep
It. One day he went on foot to say mass at the Convent of
the Vlsitandines of St. Francis de Sales. On leaving the
chnrch a little child went up to him, and said, "Art thou the
Pope 7" "Yes, my little friend, I am, replied his Holiness.
"I have no father," said the little fellow, piteously. ''Then
I will he a father to you," was the ar.swer—a promise which
was fully redeemed, for the child was carefully educated and
provided for in the Pope's name and at his sole charge.
Cir.:rt Journal.

The Leeds Mercury states that a story having ob.
tamed currency, to the effect that Mr. Gladstone required
to he guarded by policemen, that his house was in much
danger of being attacked, and that policemen had also to be
stationed in front of it, a resident in Leeds wrote to the
right hon. gentleman on the suhject. Mr. Gladstone has
replied, stating that the story is entirely untrue, and adds
—" There is no safe rule but to disbelieve every story about
me until authenticated."

The council of the Church of England Working
Men's Society recently sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury
a petition, praying his grace to refuse to say the service of
matrimony for divorced persons, and to refuse licenses for
their remarriage. His grace in his reply says :—" It ap-
pears to me that a part at least of your petition virtually
calls for an alteration of the Act of Parliament, 20 and 21
Vic , cap. 85, sec. 58. Your proper course, therefore, with
regard to this part of your memorial will be to petition
Parliament for the repeal or alteration of the Act. With
regard to other points in yourmemerial not having reference
to matters prescribed by Act of Parliament, 1 shall not fail
to give serious consideration to your wishes, and will again, -
as I have already done, consult thereon with the officers of
my ecclesiastical courts."
Mr. Mundella, M.P., read a paper on Tuesday
evening before the Statistical Society, in which he expressed
the belief that this country is in no danger of being sur-
passed in the field of intelligent and efficient labour, and
that the conditions of our commercial and manufacturing
supremacy remain unimpaired, notwithstanding the great
depression of trade. He urged that we should hold fast by
free trade, and strive to develope a good understanding
between labour and capital, to disseminate scientific know-
ledge, and stimulate technical skill

Madame de Clereq, who has just died at
was the cause of the discovery of the wealthy coal deposits
In the Pas Lie Calais. The estate had every natural advan-
tage but water, and to procure this she at a great cost had
the ground pierced in several places, which brought the
unknown mineral riches of the neighbourhood to light.
She left the large fortune, for France, of £40,000 a year,
which would have been still larger had she not lost her
famous action against the Due d'Aumale as to the inheritance
of the Prince de Conde.

" ORe day an English Protestant lady went to an
audience of Pius the Ninth, and when all the others who
were present knelt, she continued to stand, as a sort of pro-
test. The Pope observed this, and approaching her said,
'I know you don't care for the blessing of the Pope, but
kneel down and receive that of an old man.' The lady knelt,
and wept into the bargain."— Whitehall Review.

The Registrar-General's first monthly return this
year for the eight principal towns of Scotland shows 307
births, 1,347 marriages, and 2,768 deaths. Tha marriages
are fewer than in any January since 1872, and are 107 under
the last ten years average for the month, allowing for in-
crease of population. The deaths are 169 more than in
January, 1877, but are as much as 389 under the ten years'
January average. The death-rate in the eight towns ranged
from 22 (per annum) per LOCO persons in Leith to 34 in
Paisley.

Sir H. D. Wolff, M.P., speaking at Bournemouth
on Tuesday evening, said the present crisis was the most
serious one through which the country had had to pass
during the present century, and the Government, whilst in
possession of secrets which they could not divulge on account
of their being dangerous to the peace of Europe, had had to
sit with their hands tied and voices dumb, whilst ascandalous.
agitation was going on, and personal hostiLty and antagonism
were launched against them on every possible occasion.

The Army and Navy Gazette says :—On Tuesday
week the two years for which Captain his Royal Highness
the Duke of Edinburgh took command of the Sultan will
expire; but unless affairs are sufficiently promising to ad-
mit of his Royal Highness bringing home his ship he could
not well be superseded in his command.

Mr. James Gordon Bennett, of the New York
Herald, has purchased the screw steam yacht Pandora
from Mr. Allen Young, and it is stated that he intends
to fit her out for another Arctic expedition.

The military contributor of the Cologne Gazette says
that four of the new German gunboats are to be ordered for
a fortnight's cruise next month. On the Ist of July last
seven such boats were still on the stocks, but since then
orders have been given to complete them as rapidly as pos-
sible. Each boat is to carry a SO-centimetre gun, with an
engine of 700 horse-power and a crew of 84 men. Among
the new ships for which provision is made in the Admiralty
budget for IS7B-9 there are three of these gunboats, with an
ironclad corvette, two covered corvettes, two RriSoB, and an
ordinary gunboat. If all these vessels are taken in hand
this year the total number under construction for the Ger.
man Admiralty will be nineteen.
On Saturday evening a comovrhat excited dcbato
took place at the Workmen's Hall on the Eastern Question
and the conduct of the Government in reference thereto.
The debate was opened in an exhaustive paper by Mr. John
Ashton, one of the leading residents of the town, who
proved to the satisfaction of the crowded assembly that the
object of Russia in the war was not, as she had alleged at the
commencement of it, to ameliorate the condition of the
Christians in Turkey, but the acquisition of additional ter-
ritory. Mr. Nevin strange took the opposite side, and de-
fended Russia and her policy. Subsequently, amidst great
enthtnium, a resolution was passed expressing the utmost
confidence in her Majesty's Government and their policy as
regards the Eastern Question.

An inquest has been held at Birmingham touching
the death of Samuel Gentry, railway porter, who was
knocked down by an engine, the tender passing over the
lower part of his body, late on Friday night in last week.
Notwithstanding his terrible injury, the deceased was
conscious. The first question he asked was, "Am I cut in
two?" The poor fellow was then taken to the General
Hospital, where he still retained his consciousness for some
time, and actually took out his watch from hie pocket and
handed it to a frierd. He died an hour and a half after the
accident happened. Deceased had only been married ten
days, and he had given notice to leave his place as porter in
order to take a situation along with his wife at Handsworth.
Verdict, Accidental death.