The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-02-08 00:00:00

through it. In shcrt, it la almost impossible to
describe the terror wiich has taken possession of the
people, who look upm this disaster as a punishment
from God,—British iredical Journal.

• The Times of Mozday gives the following leader
upon the appearanceof the plague in Russia :
A strange panic has taken hold of the chief Governments
and capitals of Europe. It would have seemed incredible,
three or four years age that the public attention of the
Continent should be fad by a sort of essoination upon the
terrors of the plague. In the Middle Ages the approaches
of the Oriental pestilence which is specially designated
plague were regarded with paralyzed and unreasoning fear
by the civilised nations of the West. and down to a much
later oay—in fact, until withiir the memory of living men—
the same frightful scourge struck dread into the heert
of all the Ea-t, or was repelled only by the im-
perturbable fatellini of Islam. But for two centuries
past these kingeoms had known of the plague only as a
lading tradition, and since the first quarter of the
eighteenth century it had never visited Western Europe.
During the last century it had desolated Russia; early is
the present century it had visited Italy and Germany,
though in brief and local outbreaks; and still later it was
regarded as a lurking danger in the European provinces of
the Ottoman Empire, as well as in Syria and Egypt. In
Turkey, indeed, the plague was, according to medical
authorities, endemic, with t tendency to epidemic
spasms of peculiar violence, About five-and-thirty years
ago, however, the disease apetared suddenly to lose its
aggressive energy. It lingered ituctive for many years among
the purlieus of Oriental cities, aed pathology conjectured
that it was dying out like the nysterious and deem}, pesti-
lencea of the ruediseval world. But in 1853 there was a
renewal of the epidemic in Arsbia and Persia, and in those
countries there have since been repeated outbreaks which
It was predicted would pass beyond the borders of the
Mahomedan Empires, should tiere be any perturbiug cause.
Probably the peril might have been averted if life in those
regions had fallen back into La accustomed channel of use
and wont, but the rupture beween Russia and Turkey was
followed by violent and strauge shocks to the stable order of
society in both States. The military movements of large
bodies of troops to and fro the insanitary abomination
of the camp and cities in ;filch the chief events of the
war were transacted, were well calculated to diffuse
it!,d quicken the contagion :more; populations too ready
to receive it. The increased suavity of plague on the borders
of Turkey and Persia immeditely before and during the war
ought to have warned the Russian authorities that them was
special danger threatening thtise places in which the troops
reiurning from the Turkish peevinces were assembled. But,
whether through official irdifference or through disin-
ation to admit that the dasger existed, the earlier inroads
of the disease were described as typhus, and it is only with-
in the past month that the epidemic which has swept away a
great number of lives in Astrakhan abet has spread into the
government of Seratov has been recognised or, at least,
acknowledged as the plague.
It would be improper to make light of a question so
serious, not alone for Russia, but for every country with
which Russia has commerdal or other intercourse. An
epidemic which depopulates a district, and which has been
fetal In some places to three out of four persons attacked,
is evidently one that medical science ought to watch and
study. When we see, however, that not only in Russia, but
in Rumania aud in Austria, and even in Germany and in
Fresco, the ilitervention of the Governruent is vehemently
demanded, when the re action of the lung-dismantled barri-
ceekes of quarantine is declared to be a necessary precaution
aßlest tee advance of a (earful peril, it is worth wnite to ask
what there is lu the outbreaks of plague at Astrakhan and.
eat atev to justify this access of panic. lite fact appears to be
that tue puollomind teroughoutEurope is easily imposed upon
by the fallacies of geographical nomenclature. Toe advance of
tne plague into Europe by way of the Caspian and the Volga
Is supposed to ratite the theory that the Western flattens
have conquered a practical immunity from the pestilential
poison; aid if the plague makes a formidable invasion of
European Russia, why, it is said, may it not pasa into Austria
or Germany, or even into France and England? The answer
Is that those parts of the Russian dominions which have
been er are likely to be invaded by plague are inhabited by a
population among whom are to be found all the conditions
for propagating such an epidemic. Whether people so fitted to
receive and multiply germs of disease dwell on the Russian
or the Persian shores of the Caspian it is certain
that in their habits and physical characteristics they closely
resemble those Oriental populations among whom the
plague finds its natural " seat and seminary." It is not
improbable that a great part of the Russian Empire is in-
habited by such populations, but this le only another testi-
mony to tne truih that Russia has more affinity with Asia
than with Europe. Possibly—though not, we are glad to
believe, probably—the plague may spread wherever it finds
such fuel to feed its cruel flames as it has found in the
provinces on the Volga; and if such there are in the Austro-
Hungarian dominions or in the German Empire, the pesti-
lence may force its way westwards further than we have seen
it come within the last hundred years. But that it should
seriously threaten Vienna or Berlin or Paris or Londoe is in-
consistent with all our experience, as well as with every
rational theory of plague epidemics.
The manner in which the contagion oi plague is dis-
seminated may be contested among pathologists, but there
are certain negative results upon which we may confidently
rely. If, as is possible, the disease should advance nearer to
the Western nations, it must not be assumed that we are
for the first time brought close to the aanger of inftwtion.
Neither this cometry nor any other suspended habitual lu-
tes course by sea and land with those Eastern countries in
which down to our time the plague was always present. Yet
the English trade with the Levaut has never imported
the contagion cf plague since 1665, and Marseilles,
though in constant commercial intercourse with
the plague-stricken cities of Northern Africa, has not
been visited with an epidemic since 1720. The irre-
sistible ibference is that the infection has often been
carried across the sea, but hits failed to take root among
the unfavourable conditions of a healthy, cleanly, modern
community. It may reasonably be conjectured that the
average amount of communication between the Russian
districts which plague has invaded, or is likely to invade,
and the neighbouring countries will be much less than that
which has always been carried on with practical danger
between the East and the West by way of the Mediterranean.
The extension of the plague, in fact, must depend upon
the distribution of the conditions that are favourable
to iis development, and there are good grounds for
believing that among the advanced nations of Western
Europe those conditions have almost disappeared. The
activity of those Governments which are either directly
engaged in euppressing the recent outbreaks or in prodding
to resist their advauce into Austrian or German territory
will be crippled for good ani possably turned to actual mis-
chief if the demand for quarantine regulations should pre-
vail. The proposed measures for isolating cases of disease
and for destroy lug infected materials by fire are likely to he
weakened rather than strengthened by reliance and quaran-
tine. Quarantine is seldom or never t ffectual to keep out
infection while it exercises a paralj zing influence over
trade. Contraband commerce, which quarantine always
provokes, sets at naught all the usual sanitary precautions,
and accepts the risks of so doing. Whatever may be the danger
of communicating contagion by way of trade, quarantine is
no security against it. But there can be no question of the
Injury that quarantine, if imposed upon Russian commerce,
would inflict as well upon Russia herself as upon all nations
which ere Russia's customers. The food markets of our own
country would be straitened by the closing of the Black Sea
ports to the trade of the world, and it is with regret that we
see the Roumanian Government has entered upon a path
In which more powerful States may follow, and from wnich
It may be difficult to recede.

In order to prevent the spread of the plague the
Russian Government has resolved to burn down the
village of Wetlianka, where the disease has prevailed,
and any other village or single buildings that it may
be thought necessary to destroy. The inhabitants are
to be removed to some other part of
•the quarantine
district, and will receive compensation. Statements
explaining the measures of precautions adopted have
been forwarded to the European Governments, and
the Cabinets of London, Vienna, and Berlin have been
requested to send medical men to Russia to ascertain
the character and extent of the disease. The Italian
Government has summoned a Sanitary Council in
order to take fresh precautionary measures.

An official c9ntradiction is published in St. Peters-
burg of the report that the plague bad appeared in a
village near Moscow. The disease is stated to have
been typhus fever.

THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT OF THE
DUCHESS OF CUMBERLAND.

The Copenhagen Correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette,
writing on the let lust. says am able to send you the
followirg details of the marriage contract of the Princess
Thyr.s, now Duchess of Cumberland, which will be laid
before the Danish Chambers in the course of a few days :

The Duke of Cumberland settles upon the Duchess
an annual revenue of 50,000 reichsmark, or about
2,000 guineas, for her personal use, which is to be paid
in advance 'by monthly instalments as long as the
marriage lasts. If the Duke dies before her Royal
Highness, a sum of 150,000 reichsmark (about £7,000
sterling) is to be paid to the Duchess as first charge on
the property belonging to the Duke at the time of his
death, annually,snd by monthly instalments. Besides
this amount in cash, the Duchas has the right to
select such articles in china, copper, carpets, bronze,
beds, and other furniture as are sufficient to furnish
an establishment corresponding to her rank, as wed as
one complete dinner service of silver to dine fifty per-
sons, and a suitable number of carriages, harness, and
six horses from the ducal stables. The Duchess re-
tains as personal property her own silver dinner
service, her jewels, dresses ornaments, silad ready
money belonging to her at the time of her marriage, as
well as of those jewels, diamonds, ornaments, and
ready money of which the Duke or other persous may
make her a present, and of anything of which she may
at any later period have become possessed by in-
heritance.
On the other hand, the jewels, diamonds, or orna-
ments of which the Duchess has only the right to
make use, and which belong to the Royal Hanoverian
family, are at the death of. the Duke, to be returned
to the said Royal Hanoverian family.
With regard to such gifts or presents as may have
been presented to the Duke and Duchess coujointly,
the Duchess has the right to choose one half, or to
claim half the value in cash, at the moment of the
death of the Duke.
In case the Duchess dies before the Duke, and there
should be no living children or direct heirs left, the
silver service, jewels, diamonds, parures, clothes, and
other personal property belonging to the Duchess at the
time of her death, revert to the King of Denmark
or to his successor and heirs, unless her Royal High-
ness has by will otherwise disposed of part or of the
whole. _ _

The King of Denmark undertakes to submit to the
Danish Chambers a law granting to the Duchess a
capital sum of 120,000 crowns (about £7,000). which is
to be invested in the name of her Royal Highness, and
which, in case of her death, is to revert to the Danish
exchequer. It is expresAy stipulated that neither the
Duke nor the Duchess is allowed to contract debts.
Should, however, either of the high contracting parties
contract debts, the Duke is not responsible for those
of the Duchess, nor vice versci, nor can in any case the
revenue of the Duchess be rendered liable for any
debts contracted. •