The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-02-26 00:00:00

Mistellantotts (nteiligtitte.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

AVERAGE PRICES OF BaITISH CORN.—The
following are the average prices of British corn for the
week ending Feb. 19, as received from the inspectors
and officers of Excise :—Wheat, 425. Bd.; barley,
325. 10d. ; oats, 245, sd. per imperial quarter. Cor-
responding week last year :—Wheat, 41s. 6d.; barley,
435. 3d.; oats, 295. 91.

THE AUTHORIZED VERSION. —The revisers of
the Authorized Version of the New Testament met Att
Tuesday at the Jerusalem-chambers for their 57th
session, and sat for seven hours. There were present
the Bishop of Glocester and Bristol (who presided),
the Deans of Rochester' Lincoln and Lichfield; the
Master of the Temple; Canon Lincoln,
' • Professors
Eadie, Miligan, and Edwin Palmer; Drs. Angus and
Hort ; and Prebendaries Humphrey and Scrivener—in
all, 13 members; and Mr. Troutback, the secretary.
The company carried on their revision to the end of
the 9th verse of the Ist chapter of the Epistle to the
Galatians.

ORTHOGRAPHICAL POLISH.—The thing to rub
up your orthography with—Bees' whacks,—Punch.
A NEW USE FOR WOOD.—The application of
wood for stuffing beds seems, at first sight, an anomaly.
nevertheless, a patent exists which moreover, appears
to be quite practicable, for disintegrating the wood of
various kinds of pine, so that it becomes as light and
elastic as hair. The resinous properties of the wood
cause it to be very healthy, and to act as a preventive
against vermin. It is producible at a price far below
that possible for any other material, except straw and
seaweed, in quantities as low as 4s. per cwt.—The
Garden.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. —A Bill has been in-
troduced by Mr. Joseph Cowen, Sir Henry Havelock,
Mr. Burt, and Mr. Norwood, "to provide for the
election of boards for granting licences for the sale of
intoxicating liquors." The object of the Bill, accord-
ing to the preamble, is "to give to the ratepayers a
more direct and immediate control over the traffic in
intoxicating liquors." It is proposed to transfer licensing
powers to a Board to be elected by the ratepayers, and
from whose decisions there shall be no appeal, except
such applications as may under the present system be
made to the High Court of Justice in reference to the
granting or withholding of licences. No brewer, or
distiller, or retailer of malt or any intoxicating liquor,
or any one in partnership with such persons, is to be
eligible for election on the Board. The expenses of the
Boards and of their elections are to be paid out of the
local rates.

THE CHANNEL T UNNEL.—The International
Committee for the construction of a submarine way
between France and Envland has—raised the money,
made the tunnel, and started the trains? Well, no,
not quite. The Committee has "reported that such a
scheme is possible." It is perfectly true that this part
of the story was settled a quarter of a ctntuyy ago, but
what matters? Why should things be done in a hurry?
—Judy.
CROSSED CIEEQUES.—The Bill in the Com-
mons bearing the names of Mr. Hubbard, Mr.
Goschen, and Mr. Twells, which was Issued on
Friday, to explain the law relating to cheques or
drafts on bankers, propAes to enact that "any banker
paying a cheque or draft crossed in the manner pro-
vided by the principal Act (21 and 22 Vict., eap. 79)
to any person or persons other than the banker with
with whose name such cheque shall be crossed, shall
not by such payment discharge his liability to the pay-
ment of such cheque or draft according to the direc-
tions thereupon." There is another clause that "any
person holding a cheque crossed in the manner pro-
vided by the principal Act, and whether for valuable
consideration or not, shall not be deemed to have and
shall not have any better title thereto than the person
from whom he received it."

THE LAW OF HOMICIDE.—A Bill brought in by
Sir Eardley Wilmot and Mr. Whitwell to amend the
law relating to homicide proposes to divide the crime
of murder into offences of the first and second degrees,
the degree to be found by the jury. Murder in the
first degree is defined to be "unlawful killing of a
human being by another with deliberate intent to kill,
and with malice aforethought," also where death has
been caused by the wilful act of any person when corn-
mitting or attempting to commit a felony, or when
assaulting any peace-officer or soldier in the execution
of his duty, or attempting to rescue himself or another
person from lawful custody. Murder in the first degree
is to be punishable by death, and murder in the second
degree by penal servitude for life or lesser punishment.
Infanticide in certain cases is to held to be murder in
second degree. The Bill also proposes to restore to
judges the power of recording sentence of death, and
provides that in capital charges the prisoner shall not
be called upon to plead, and that no person sentenced
to penal pervitude for life under the Act shall be
liberated unless the order for liberation shall have been
previously laid on the table of both Houses of Parlia-
ment.

FOOD FOR TALIC. Conversation being dull at
an evening party, the hostess requested one of her
guests to go home, that the rest might have somebody
to talk about.—Pictorial World.
Loss OF LIFE AT SEA. —A report prepared by
the Permanent Secretary of the Board of Trade shows
that the loss of life in British merchant ships for the
three years 1870-72 comprised 5,531 of crews and 385
passengers, making together 5,916, or an average of
nearly 2,000 a year. If we look some years further
back, half-way towards the beginning of this century,
we find that the above is about twice the average
annual number reported lost in the three years 1834-
36. But the mercantile tonnage of the British Empire
has increased from 2,783,761 in 1835 to 7,294,230 in
1873, or nearly threefold; and the entrances and
clearances (i.e., voyages) of British ships in the foreign
trade of the United Kingdom have increased from
5,661,623 in 1838 to 29,647,344 in 1873, or nearly sir..
fold. Therefore there is reason to believe that the
loss of seamen's lives in British ships is now much less
in proportion to the trade than it was 40 years ago.
The Times.

STEEL PENS.—It is computed that there are
15,000,000 steel pens made in Birmingham every week.
If the "grey goose quill" were still the universal instru-
ment for recording the written thoughts of men, what
a stupendous army of geese we should require to main-
tain, in order to furnish a like quantity! This con-
sides ation sets us'speculating on what would have been
the possible consequences if that nameless artisan of
Sheffield, who, it is said, made the first steel pen, had
not hit upon that ingenious and happy expedient. There
is astory of an impecunious Irishman, whohaving been
fortunate enough to find half-a crown, immediately ex-
pended it in comforts for Biddy and the " childher, ' was
gleefully expatiating on his good luck, when he was
cut short by his better half exclaiming, " Luck is it ye
omadhaun ! form' the luck that's in it—what should
we ha' done without it ? " Whst should we have done
without coal, gas, and railways, end luci fer match es, and
the penny post? Somehow, these d&coveries have
seemed to fit in so exactly with the successive stages of
modern progress—the invention helping the advance,
and the advance making the invention a necessity—that
we are struck with the same sort of admiration as that
whichled thesimple youth to wonder
—.Birmingham why great rivers
always flowed past populous cities
con-
sumes fifteen tons of steel per week in the manufacture
of steel pens, probably a Lager quantity than is used
in that armoury of the world for the making of warlike
weapons ; so that, in this sense at least, " the pen is
mightier than the sword."—The Technical Educator.
IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT.— The Bill to abolish
imprisonment for debt, introduced in the House of
Commons, is a very snort one. It proposes to take
away from County Courts the power to imprison after
the 31st of December next.
ARTISTSAND MUSICIANS IN LONDON.—Artists
whb practik in London number about 500, or one to
7,000 of the population, a nurober.that seems but small
when we recall the numerous exhibitors in the various
galleries open to view every season; but, in fact, mny
'London artists prefer, for obvious reasons, to reside a
few miles out of town. Of sculptors London boasts
-140, or one to 25,000 inhabitants. Photographers are
'about 350 in number, or one to 10,000 inhabitants. Of
wodd engravers there are about 170, or nearly one to
20;000 inhabitants; and this class of artists is con-
stantly on the increase, owing to the large and constant
demand for illustrated works. Tut ni gto the subject
of education, we find the number of schoolmasters and
schoolmistresses who are the proprietors of private
schools to be reboot 1,200, os one to 2,900 inhabitants
—a number absurdly inefficient at first view, but
hardly so when We recollect thst it does not include
public scheiols, board schools, national schools, or
ragged schools, and when we bear in mind the fact
that a large proportion of the London youth of both
sexes are educated at provincial schools. Of professors
of foreign and dead languages the number is about
100, or one in 35,000 inhabitants. Of professors and
teachers of music the number is 350, or one to 10,000
inhabitants. in earrying out their harmonious designs
the musical professors are aided by 280 pianoforte
makers, 50 organ-builders 12 flute-makers, 10 fiddle-
makers, 3 harp-makers, and some scores of makers of
various other instruments, amongst whom figures sae
guitax-zuticer. —Leisure Hour.