The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-20 00:00:00

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STOURI3IaDat") 014Sitiltttt,

DISTRESS AT MIDDLESBROUGH.

In response to a requisition, a crowded meeting,
convened by the Mayor, was held on Tuesday
night, in the Town•hall, Middlesbrough, to consider
the best means for relieving the great distress which
now exists in the town.
The Mayor stated that the last winter over £2,200
was locally subscribed in mono.] and kind for relief,
but the present distress was much more serious and
•widespread than that which then prevailed, and he
thought that some Imperial assistance was necessary
for its relief. He had, therefore, written to the Home
Secretary on the subject, and expected a reply in the
course of this week.
On the motion of the Rev. Dean Lacy, seconded by
the Rev. 0. Herbert, it was resolved to appoint a
committee to receive subscriptions and organize an
early distribution of relief. The Relief Committee
which acted last-Christmas was afterwards reappointed.
In the course of the evening it was announced that
subscriptions to the amount of over £2OO had already
been promised, including £25 from the Marquis of
Ripon, £25 from Mr. F. A. Millbank, M.P„ and £25
from the Mayor. **44+

. case

A. Sap CASE.—Farmer Giles: "Be it trew what I
hear, Sir, about the Squire a-sendin' you to college,
Sir?" Young Squire: "Yes, Giles, I'm going to
Oxford to read hard." Farmer Giles: "Dear, dear,
Sir! Just as you was himprovin' in your shooting
and getting on so well with your riding; I call it
reg'lar spilin' a good eddication."—Fun.
A NOVEL EET.—Captaiu Karl Dobner von Rauten-
dorf and Dettendorf, of the Royal Hungarian
Honveds, has proposed an open even bet of 10,000 fl..
(or 25,000 fr. or £l,OOO if taken up by a Frenchman orl
an Englishman) that in the space of eight weeks he
will tame any horse thet may be brought to him, no 1
matter how vicious or ill-broken, and will make of the '
same not only a quiet and agreeable lady's or gentle-
man's mount, but also a first-rate hunter; the jury to
consist of six turfites, three of whom the taker of the
bet is to choose for himself. Four conditions are at-
tached to the bet, viz., 1. That the owner of the horse
to be tamed is to give a true account of the animal's
vices and freaks; 2. Proposer undertakes in case of
winning, to make half the money over to Ale Szegedin
Inundation (now, alas !Inundation and (Jonflagration)
Fund under the donation name "Von Sportverein
3. In case the taker wins, he must undertake to pre.
sent the above fund with one- third of the money won;
4. The proposer to defray all expenses,- except food
and grooming, which taker is to pay- for, Von
Dattendorf is one of the most intrepid-and accom-
plished horselnen in that most horse-loving of countries
Hungary, where everybody rides as if by inetinet. The
bet meets with universal approval in the Pesth and
Vienna jockey clubs, as a happy wax of dombining a
good action with a love of sport.
QUEEN ANNE'S BOUNTY:—The: annual report: and
1 account of the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty
for the year ending 31st December last has been issued.
It states that the gifts by benefactors towards the im-
provement of poor beneficee slightly decreased in 1878.
'Grants from the general fund were assigned during the
year to 114 cases, as compared with 117 in 1877. A
1 statement explanatory of the transactions that have
taken place in the whole of the various trusts vested
in the corporation, shows how such trusts have in-
creased from £3,814,920 18s. 93. the amount, at which
they stood on Ist January, 187 ii, to £3,845,556 16s. 4d.,
the amount they stood at on 31st December last.
RETURN OF COMMUNISTS.—One hundred and nine
more Communists reached Paris on Saturday night,
mad 15,000 or 20,000 persons awaited them at the
station. M. Louis Blanc, as president of the Relief
Committee, welcomed them, expressing a hope that
the amnesty would be extended to all. Victor Hugo
And Louis Blanc, in a letter to the inhabitants of Port
Vendres, say :—" The full and entire amnesty is
henceforth certain. Let us express our joy. The
town of Port Vendres in so admirably receiving our
unfortunate fellow citizens has been entire France.
The august tenderness of nations knows how to efface
' long exiles. There are no longer political shades;
those restored are restored to all. They feel the open-
ing of the country's arms. Deeply affected, we thank
on."
A DANGEROUS BOYISH FREAK.—As the mixed
train from Gronaa was approaching Minster, about
'ten o'clock in the morning of the 9th inst., the engiae-
driver was dismayed to observe two boys, some dis-
tance ahead, run up the embankment, and, lying
-down, place their necks upon one of the rails. The
driver at once shut off the steam and did everything
to bring the train to a standstill before reaching the
'spot where the infatuated youths had arranged for
their joint suicide • but the distance and time were
far too short. The engine had arrived within two or
three carriage lengths of the still prostrate boys,
when, to the astonishment of the driver, stoker,
guard, and other persons in the train, whose attention
had been called to what was going on by the sudden
slackening of speed, the two lads suddenly sprang up
and made off as fast as their heels could carry them.
" A pity," says the Westphalian Mercury, in re-
porting the incident, "that some one was not behind
them!"
THE MARK OF AN ANNAMITE.—Mr. Tremlett, the
British Consul at Saigon, in his report this year,
mentions as a remarkable peculiarity of the natives of
the country that they have the great toe of each foot
separated from the others, like the thumb of the hand,
and it can be used in much the same manner, though
not to the same extent. This distinctive mark of an
Annamite is not, however, usually seen in the vicinity
of Saigon, but is now confined to the inhabitants of
the more northern section of the empire, where the
race has remained more distinct. This peculiarity is
the meaning of the native name for the Annamite
race; and that the name and peculiarity are of great
antiquity is shown by the mention in Chinese annals
f,3OU B.C. as that (or those) of one of the "four bar-
barian .' tribes that then formed the boundaries of the
Chinese Empire.
THE MILITIA.—As a result of the committee now
sitting at the War Office (the Army and Navy Gazette
says) important changes are to be recommended as
regards the general status of the Militia, which, it is
believed, will tend to increase the efficiency of that
force, and render it a more trustworthy auxiliary in
lase of national emergency. Statements have appeared
that the committee intend to propose' such modifica-
tions as would render the force practically useless, but
we are assured that these reports have no foundation
—in fact, that the value of the Militia is too highly
appreciated for any such ideas even to be mooted.
The great aim of the committee will be to improve
the defences of the country, not to ruin them.
c..,,vntrxr•mirn —A hannv.h.,,,La..a ......,•riea ‘..m.,,..,
were pointed out, and I was told that the lady had been
married once before (says a Louisville paper). When
her husband died he left a will giving his widow
30,000 dole. a year as king ,as she remained a widow,
and all of his fortune if she married again, for he Ma-
liciously added "I want another man to know how
wretched she has made me, and he may find some
consolation in my money." The widow was not long
in finding another husband, and out of spite to her
, former spouse makes the present husband supremely
happy, and the wealth of the deceased is an immense
factor to that end.
"ONE TOUCH OP," ETC.—First Visitor: " Ah ! how
have you been all this time?" Second Visitor :
"Well, not quite so well lately. I fancy somehow
I've got a toucn of the gout," First Visitor (speak.
ing feelingly) : "Fancy, my Loy. H'm ! If you had
a touch of the gout you wouldn't fancy ; you'd know."
—Fun.
REMARKABLE COINCIDENCES.—It is a remarkable
coincidence that Sir Louis Cavagnari was exactly the
same age as Sir Alexander Burnes when he was mur-
dered; both were thirty-seven years old, and the
assassination of Burnes took place thirty-seven years
ago (says the Court Journal). Another coincidence
has been pointed oui—that Louis Napoleon should die
while defending himself from the attacknf Savages in
South Africa, and Louis Nopoleon Cavagnari, son of a
strong adherent of the Prince's family, and therefore
named after him, should also fall at the hands of semi-
barbarous soldiers while defending himself from attack
in Afghanistan.
SCANDINAVIAN POPULATION STATISTICS.—Both in
Norway and Sweden the women preponderate in
number over the men. At the last census of Norway,
in 1875, the total population was 1,817,000, of which
886,000 were males and 931,000 females, being at the
rate of 488 males and 512 females to every 1,000 of the
population. In Sweden the proportion of births is at
the rate of 511 Cops to 489 girls out of the 1,000; but
the mortality is in favour of the females' for the census
returns of 1876 showed 486 men to 514 women out of
06y. 1,900 0f,,91e population.
_
- MILITARY THAHWATif.—In toridon, on Tuesday, a
lecture was delivered by Mr. Redden at the United
Service Institution on his system of military tram.
. _ .....
waye. He drew attention to the great injury done to
sauce by the military system being unprovided
. its own peculiar means of transport, and quoted
ti loss of 60,000 camels, or about one-third of the
Punjab trading povver, is being equivalent toa load of
£200,000,000 in England—i.e„ one-third of our home
railway capital. The permanent way of the tramway
consists of a fence composed of a single rail, supported
sapon poets about 3f t. high,across which the load is slung.
The rail used may be of iron ; but owing to a special
arrangement of the load by which the weight is en-
tirely supported by the posts and never bears upon the
span, bamboos' poles, or planks answer the purpose
equally well. The load is towed by animals trotting
alongside. Rolling stock there is none; the packing
cases being yoked together in pairs upon temporary
wheels, which cost but a few shillings.-' Mr. 'Haddan
also stated that what killed the males and camels was
their being obliged to stand laden for hours until their
advance could be organized. Often the period of
waiting amounted to 75 per cent, of a day's work.
' PEARL FISHING IN OHlO.—Ever since the discovery
pearls in the Little Miama River, Warren County,
?It
io, twenty years ago, the number of people engaged
n searching for them has gradually increased (says
itfaran d u
sloe
lds , Wa
na tder2r. e
d'l'l
shceo
vpeerael s
bay rte
befound hh
feet
of the
t the e shellssher s
who wade into the stream. One shell seldom contains
more than three pearls, which are found between a
slight membrane lining the ehell. Sometimes, though
iis but a rare occurrence, they adhere so firmly to
the shell that the services of a lapidary are required to
, disconnect them. It is only, however, about one shell
kik a hundred and fifty that contains a pearl at all,
'which renders the occupation of fishing for them some-
what hazardous. The season commences in June and
terminates in October. Recently, says the Cincinnatti
Commercial, a pearl of great beauty and brilliancy was
found quite accidentally by a little boy who went to
pick up mussels to border a little garden with the
shells. Searching amongst the refuse thrown aside by
the fishers, a glitter caught the eye of the lad, which
proved to be that of a pearl of delicious tint, and of
great value, weighing six carats.
CURIOUS AND FAMOUS CAVERNS.—Luray Caverns,'
situated in Page_County, Virginia, which have re-
cently been digovered and rendered accessible to;
tourists, are probably deatined to become more famou&
than the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Three hour
are now usually consumed in examining the curioJ
• combinations of stalactite and stalagmite commonly-
exhibited ;, but they are adjacent to only one-third of
the paths already explored, which have En aggregate
length of about eighteen miles, In the curious natural
operations progressing for countless centuries many
rooms have been carved out, of great magnitude, and
they are bedecked with deposits of such fantastic
shape that different apartments are not inappropriately
named the Ball-room, the Throne-room, Pluto's Chasm,
the Giant's Room, the Fish Market, the Flower
Garden, the Waterfall, the Organ-room.
THE ORIGIN or " FlACM."—Everybody knows, t
suppose, what a "Miceli" ia, but the pleritation of the
name may not be so faMiliar. "'The -301:fi'tilt. being St
Fiacre'd day has just brought the legend to my mind.
St. Fiacre is the patron saint of gardeners and nursery-
men, who observe this day with great rejoicing. The
saint is generally credited with being a native either of
Scotland or Ireland, and on his arrival in France was
given a small piece of land by the Bishop of Meaux.
On a portion of this land the future saint built a
refuge for strangers and travellers; the other portion
was devoted to gardening, and here St. Fiacre raised
fruits and vegetables exceeding everything in size that
had ever been heard of. The old gardener died in
670, but his name was transmitted to posterity by
means of an old inn in the Rue St. Antoine, which
was known as 'au Saint Fiacre," with an image of
the saint for a sign. It was at this house carriages
were hired by the pilgrims who went from Paris to
visit the hermitage of the saint at St. Fiacre (en Brie).
These carriages being afterwards used for service in
the town obtained the general name of " fiacre," which
they still bear.—Pictorial World.

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