The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-09-30 00:00:00

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

It is understood that the joiners' strike in Glasgow
cost the Joiners' Union £4,000 —Scotsman
- -

The London Hospital. Satureay Fund nmonnted on
Saturday evening (Sept 23) to £1,430, being £7B more than
was received up to the corresponding period last year.
•

- -
Considerable damage has beer done to propErty at
Sydney by a hurricane which has passed over the town.
The number of wrecks reported last week was 21,
making for the present year 1,037.

_ .
The Russian government is stated to be probing on
Its new railway works, which are to connect Earope with
Central Ada with unremitting vigour.

In France an architect i obliged to design the
scaffolds, ,to be used in the erection of his building, ad
is held personally reeponsible for them. Hence this part of
the architect's work is performed with care.

Toe dog caucus in Paris wakes known that taxes are
paid on 112,000 of those animals. It is computed that there
are at least 40,000 dogs unpaid for, making a total of over
150 000 dogsin the city—one to every dozen inhabitants.
An official inindia states that he naked the station-
master at Dull whether the twelve o'clock trio from Cal-
cutta was in. "Which," was his reply, "t, -eay's )r 3-eater-
day's? They are both due, but yesterday's len% itt yet."
The steamer Indus is expected to reach Southamptor
from Alexandria on the 20d October, with no less than
£.931 331 in gold from Australia and the East, the whole of
which, it is believed, will be taken to the Bank of Eoglaud.

The Melbourne correspondent of the Globe writes :
The best opening here Is for medical men who do not drink
and for civil engi .leers who possess the same qualification, but
I repeat my advice to clubs not to come out here at all."

- -
At a crowded meeting of working potters from all
parts of tt.e potteries, hold at Hanley on Monday night, it
was re:olved to resist the proposed reduction of 10 per cent,
In wages.
The Sheffield Telegraph Fays that several firms re-
port some improvement in badnees. The Yorkshire Engine
Company a faw days ago obtained an order from the Indian
States Railway Company for 26 englneP. Improvements in
other branches of trade are also mentioned.
There are about 162 driving parks in the United
Stater. The value of the property held by these associations
is estimated at 5,000,000 dole ,and that of the horses entered
in a single year at 15,000,000 dole.
French gamekeepers are allowed to kill for their own
use one rabbit per day, and a hare for Sundays. This explains
why they are, for their position, comparatively rico, and
have shares in railways, or investments in house property.
_ _

- -
It appears from the return of the Chief Constable
for Manchester that in the year ended July 31, 1876, the
number of prisoners charged with drunkenness was 9,999,
and for the preceding year 10,523, showing a decrease of 524,
or five per cent.
The Lord Mayor of London has stated that the
Thundera r Relitf Fund amounts to £8 000. and that £4,000
is still required to meet the full neceskities of the sufferers.

The Mayor of Portsmouth has received a draught
for £2) from the Maharaja of Burd wan, to be applied for the
relief of the suff.rera in the explosion on board the
Thuaderer.
A grand review of the iufantry, cavalry, and more
particularly of the artillery of the Belgian army, was held
on Tuesday at Brussels in presence of the King. Several
foreign eft:teals also witnessed the maim lyres.
The Duke of Connaught ha l been gazetted as Lien-
tenant•Colooel of the R.fle Brigade.
-

The Sheffield Telegraph understands that Mr. J.
Newton Mspplo' of Birchlands, has communicated to the
vicxr, the R.v. Itlwlsy Hill, his willingness to erect at his
own cost the church at Itanmoor on a site given by Mr. J.
W. Harrison
- -

• •
The spinners of North and North•E istern Lancashire
have informed their employers of their "intention " to Rive
up. from the let November next, the "standard list" which
has governed wages hitherto, and to demand payment by
Urns instead of by piecework.
- • - - •

A new free It rary is to be opened at Ilestol next
month. It will include a lending department contalnirg
about 8,000 volumes, a j ventle reading department of 1,100
volumes, a reference and reading department ot from 16,000
to 18,000 volumes, and a news-room with more than seventy
periodicals.
A curious registration difficulty has occurred at
Carrickfergus, where there were 44 Al'Allsters and 37 Ild'Auleys
on the lifts, many being of the same Christian name. On
arriving at the first of these names during the revision of the
register, the town clerk said that no mortal man could under-
stand the M'Allsters and the Id'Auleys. These names were
allowed to remain undi.turbed.

The Porte has sent a telegram to its representatives
abroad stating that 18,000 Turkish pounds will be distributed
among the "sufferers from the insurrection" in Bulgaria,
and that measures will be taken for the speedy rebuilding of
their villages. For this purpose their Mussulman neighbdura
will supply them with wood.

- - -
The Lord Mayor of London has Teceived from
Bucharcst a telegram sent in the name of the Central Bal-
garian Charity C )mmit,ee expressing thanks for the sent.-
ments expresed at the City meeting of Monday last, and
trusting "that the British Cabinet will show by their acts
that they concur in the generous current of publiz opinion
in your country."
An express tr3in on the Pan Handle Railroad,
twelve miles east of Columbus, Oiio, while going at the rate
of 40 miles an hour ran off the track. Four passenger cars
rolled down an embankment, 30 feet high, and were broken
to splinters. Four persons were killsd and 40 wounded.
Another Oriental v:sitor may soon b 3 expected to
arrivr, if we may credit the statement of the Times of India
that Maharajah Partab Sing, of iodhpore, acompaliied by
thirteen personal followers, has arrived at .I-eypore, en route
to England, upon a special invitation from the Prince of
Wales.
Cardinal Manning preached twice on Sunday at St.
Wilfrid's, Rip,sn. Ms Eminence, at the evening service,
dwelt upon the union which prevailed in the Roman Catholic
Church, and said that the schisms which afflicted England
were the great schisms which rout it from the unity of the
Catholic Church.
-

------ -----
Specimens of paper and cardboard made from peat
were recer.tly presented to the Berlin Polytechnic Association
by Herr Veyt-Meyer. The cardboard was in thick that it
could be planed and polished. Paper made from peat alone
is like that made from wood or straw; but only Bitten per
cent, of rags is needed to give it consistence. A large factory
for the manufacture of peat paper is to be established in
Prussia.

- -
The new iron ship Scottish Knight took her depar-
ture from Gravesend on the 22nd inst., bound for Towns-
ville, Northern Queensland, having on board the following
number of emigrants :--56 married couples, 129 single men,
46 single women, 22 children between the ages of 12 and one.
and three infants unking a total of 256 souls, equal to 242
statute adults. The single girls are under the cure of Miss
Neill, Dr. Weddell acting as turgeon-superintendent.
The Lord Mayor of London entertained at the
Mansion House on Saturday night the principal ofit_dals of
the Independent Order of Odd Felows, of which Order he is
a member. An "Emblem" and " Collar " were presented to
him hy the officers of the City of London Lodge, and the
party tnen, to the number of cighty-six, sat down to a banquet
in the Long I'arlour. In the speeches which followed
confidence was x:Tested in the ability of the society to
surmount all difli ulties, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
was complimented for his action in passing the Friendly
Societies Bills.

G-,ocers in Paris now sell live poultry ; coalmen
(cha,bonniers) deal in wine, newspapeis, and boiled beef;
drapers in boots and sheep, pickles, jams and confectionery ;
apothecaries in tinned meats and xege:tables, cencentr,ted
milk, and, what is not a disadvantage, sweetmeats ; tobacco-
nists sell postage stamps, drink, and soup ; watchmakers,
Ironmongery' stationers, toys and upholstery ; hair dressers,
bonnets; and milliners, fancy slippers and high-heeled boots.
An aged lady—a centenarian, in fact—has just died
in Paris. Sister Magdalene claimed to have been born on
the 16th of August, 1769, and was in the habit of speaking of
Napoleon I as " her twin brother." She belonged to the con-
vent of Uraulines, which was broken up In 1793. She did not
re-enter conventual life, but chose to live alone, or rather
simply in the company of a large numerr of canaries and
fieches and a couple of doves. It will perhaps please vege.
tartans and teetotallers to bear that this -ancient lady never
indulged in meat or wine —Court Journal.
The Trade Union Congress at Newcastle-on• Tyne
brought their proceedings to a close on Saturday. The
principal subjects of dinuision were the extension to seamen
of the benefits of the law of contract, the examination of
engine and boiler tenters as to competency, and the employ-
ment of soldiere in harvesting.
The results cf the mat catsus of Germany, taken
on the Ist of LI -comber, 1876, have jest been published.
Subject to reviston, it was found that the total population of
the German Empire numbered 42,723,844, while at the pre-
ceding census of December I, 1871, the number was
41.023,09 e Thus the increate of population amounted to
749 in fob!. years. being slightly over 1 per cent, par
annum 7nol3im. The Frence•German War, it is calculated, cost the
nation not far from a quarter of a million of men, and con-
sequently the four years from 1871 to 1875 covered the lose
neerly sevenfold. "S 3 quickly does peace heal the wounds
of war"—remarks The 'Times, in givieg a summary of the
census.
Captain Tyler completed his personal inspection of
the Bristol and Exeter branch of the Great Western system
on Tuesday, and he had a narrow escape of losing his life.
While he was examining a bridge about four miles from
Exeter, a turf on which he was standing gave way, and
Captain Tyler fell headlong into the Ele, which at this point
is very deep. Heavily dressed though he war, the Captain
struck on; for a more accessible part of the bank to land, his
ability to swim standing him In good stead. Captain Tyler
has walked over the whole of the seventy-rix miles of line,
and has examined every metal, bridge, and culvert
Another volcano, it appears, has broken nut in the
Audes. We read in the Biob io of Los AO alos—" 0 Monday
last a slight earthquake was felt, and on the following day
largo columns of smoke were observed t 3 rise in the C)rdil-
lera, irom the southern part of the snow-covered mountain
called Irapatrapa,' situated bstween the volcanos Antuco
and Llama It is generals, eupposee that the smoke in gees-
lion rises from a eew volcano that has broken out in the
locally mentioned, and whose period of activity is only now
commencing."
In London lint week 2,423 births and 1,280 death
were registered. Allowing for increase of population, th
births exeeeded by 103, whereas the deaths were (6 below
the average numbers in the corresponding week of the last
ten years. The annual death rate from all causes, which in ,
the eight preceding weeks had steadily declined from 29 Si
16 7 per 1,00), was last week eq.sel to 191 The 1,2e0 deaths
included 11 from em ,11-pex 7 from measles, 40 irons scarlet
fever, 6 from diphtheria, 16 trace whoopinc-eougin 37riohme
d4ferent f qms of fever, aed 45 from diarrl. se ; thus t 0 f
declining
eight tl7OO
171 in the
eight preceding weeks,deeth s were
referred,seven pri nacilxps
tent s
sd
ase
diseases
f ng numberso
Great preparations are being made to give the Prince
of Wales a fitting reception on the occazion of his visit to
rmes of Supply f Ceithnesa it was resolved tc present his
Satheriand and Caithness. At a meeting of the Commis-
Royal hness with an address. The Wic't Town Council
g sen an ade p
d or esesntion
go
thef
heexhibition
Ptri n c I e.3,oney
been subseribed to defray the expenses of volunteer
corps to atten
hhaasve also agre
,eid to re
atTiiirius
o h
the his Royal jpgbners.
Touching
be
question of spiritualism and the debate
,eb
thereupon at the meeting of the British Association, the
s
Review says The moral of the whole atteir is
udi
ay
sumene3 up in Robert S:ephenson's rem irk to the man who
used to botlex him about perpetual motion :—" It you will
take yourself up by the bellyband el your breeches and
carry yourself round the rocm, I eta consider the matter."
The Times of Tuesday Pays :--" A statement has ap-
peared in several London and provincial newspapers to the
effect that Mr. Roebuck, M.P., is very dangerously ill. On
making inquiry at a late hour last eight at Mr. Roebuck's
Londoa residence our reporter was informed that the state-
ment was devoid of foundation. It was stated that the hon.
member for Sheffield is at present staying at Worthing and
that by post last evening his wife had received intelligence
that 'alt was well.'"

The award of the umpire, Mr. G. J Sha w-Lofevre,
M.P., in the aabitration on the claim of the Durham coal-
owners in' a reduction of w was received on Tuesday.
The owners claimed a reduction of 15 per cent. In the wages
of tbehewers, and 10 pit ceut, in those of the abova.ground
workmen, and the umpire has awarded a reduction of 6 per
cent. in hewers wages, and 4 pea cent. and 2i per cent in
those of the above-ground workmen, the reduction to apply
o the coke•drawers.
A sad result of morbid sentimentalism, produced
probably by too much reading of highly-spiced romance!, is
.
telegraphed from Connecticut (says the American Cn ooreat
rpondent of The Times). At the town of Wellington _
tteo,okonttS7elpetheunilibiee.r
w7i,tht
uu notironaogies:
17, Just before death she
14
The }ohnwer g'rl died In four hours.
iswt art edde
atdh
catt
ohtehre
rmo,,tai
sv e
cwa
~toh ahtenr.o gan(thietnaheseoltvheesr.
urged to partake, and
when the fatal dose was takena e
and had no one to love Two yonwrgtrhlawnteuesrnehgtwreh;loafsowtreirrheeedprrefstiheinfl
estatylitalheivyetthbouveztothdeiew.hole ft a Joke. The elder girl Is

7 '

l.

A bust of Charles Kingsley, by Woolner ha I
unveiled in Westminster Abbey, by his eldest son, In the
presence of the members of his family and severg friends.

been

A curious typographical error appeared in a morning
paper recently. In giving an account of sn inquest, it was
stated "the deceased bore an accidental Rharacter," and the
jury returned a verdict of "excellent death."

From a guide-book :—" The coachmen of Paris
are very kind to their hortel, ebpeciall) when engaged by the
hour." _ _ _ _

A.visitor is to arrive in England shortly who will
----
attract considerable attention—King Ko. The party in
question reigns over a portion of Le Island of Borneo.
"In Eastern lands," when the Government wants
to get rid of s: trouble,ome subj -ct, he is invited to dine with
the chief local official and word is sent to his family that "his
dinner did not agree with him," after which he pastes into
history.
A curious porcelain tureen, with a coarse but
vigorous design of the execution of Louis XVI, was last week
sold in Paris for 492 f. The executioner, whose portrait is a
faithful likeness, is in the act of catching the king's head by
the hair, and showing it to the populace.
It is stated that the house in which Goldsmith lived,
while usher in Dr. Milner's school at Peckham, in 1756, and
where he wrote, it is talc), part of "The Vicar of Wakefield,"
has been sold "for betiding purposes," and will, of course,
be improved off the face cf the earth.
A well-known brewer of Sheffield has sent cheques
for £l,OOO each to the Sheffield Infirmary and II isoltal, in
order to relieve those institutions from the difficulties in
which they are placed owing to the falling off in the contri-
butions caused by the prevailing depression in trade.
Yellow fever, in an epidemic form, has broken out
at the seaport of Brunswick in Georgia. Six hundred per-
sons are reported to have been attacked, and a frightful con-
dition of affairs is said to exist in the town.

The Musanlmans of Bombay have held a large
Mosque meeting, at which they adopted a resolution to peti-
tion her Majesty not to change hcr Eastern policy in a wuy
tending to dismember the Turkish Empire.

Mr Ward Beecher is reported to hme said in one of
his sermons, in alluding to common-place men—" I tell you
this, a castermonger's horse is mitsed more, and there 13 more
real mourning over it) loss, than there is over the ley of a
hundred ordinary men."
Mr. B. 0. Holterman, A goldlniner and one of the
richest men in Sydney, is said to have produced the largest
photographic views In the world. He has two views)
Sydney and harbour, each five feet by three feet two inches,
and two of four feet six inches by three feet two inches.
These photographs are thought to be the largest ever pro-
duced from single negatives. Apart from the size of the
pictures, they are considered fine specimens of the photo-
granher's art; the outlines being sharp and clear, and the
varitius objects shown coming out prominently before the
eye.
The reajwas very rough in the Channel on Tuesday
night, and both passenger and Inegage steamers crossing
from the Continent had great difficulty in making their
voyages. On board the luggage steamer Queen, from Ostend
to Q leenborough, there were five English race-h ,rses that
had oeen running on Continental courses. One that had won
several races abroad was, with another, killed during the
voyage; a third died on the way across, and a fourth on
reacting Quenborongh was so much ifjored that it was
killed at the pier. The horses were said to be worth £1,1500
each. _ _

At Carnarvon, on Tuesday, is nun:lf-rawly attended
Conference of Nonconformists ot Wales passed a resolution
complaining that the present law of burial inflicted the
greatest 14.istice upon the pelple of Wales, and declaring
that the grievance could only be e ffactually removed by
all.ming all sects free liberty in the churchyards. Other
resolutions were carried in favour of disestablishment, and
prote.ting strongly against the Elementary Education A 3t)t
ad session.

Oa Monday night a densely•crowded meeting, pre-
sided over by Mr. Holms, M P., for Hackney, was held at
Kensington, with the object of denouncing the Turkish atro-
cities and to ask for the interference of the British Govern-
ment Two resolutions were passed, the second being drawn in
the following terms :—" That, in the Wilton of this meeting, it
Is desirable that an autumnal session of P,rliament should
be summoned, in order that no steps may be taken in the
settlement of the Eastern Question without consultation
with the representatives of the United Kingdom.

The "fl .ating island" in lake St. Clair continues to
attract much attention from mariners, and many persons
tate passage on one of the lake steamers for the express pur
pose of viewing this extraordinary phenomenon. The island,
called Jewell's Island, filets with the current, or is driven by
the wind. A section of it about fif ry feet square has been
separated from the main body, and follows after it; but
unless some heavy storm breaks into it, the island promises
to be an attraction during the remainder of the season.

Mr. Peters, of Arbroath, second mate of the
Strathmore at the time of the wreck on the Crozet Islands,
has been presented with a medal by the Board of Trade, in
recognition of his gallant services at the time of the wreck,
and also for aid rendered to the sufferers during their long
captivity. A letter from Mrs. Wordsworth, the lady who
survived, was read, in which she bore testimony to the gallant
conduct of Mr. Peters. In reply, Mr. Peters said that should
circumstances unfortunately require similar services again,
he hoped he would be found ready to perform them.
Professor Macfarren addreEsid the students of the
Royal Academy of Music on Saturday. He remarked that it
had been again and again affirmed that the English was a bad
language for singing. He was certain that this was a mis-
take, for the language of Shakespeare cmld neither ho a bad
language nor a language unsuited for singing. There was a
great temptation, he c nitinued, among all genuine artists to
make themselves familar with the art of their own day, but
they should bear in mind that the works of tc-day were the
culmination of a long-growing past, and that as the works et
the present time could never have been produced had not the
works of former times, from step to step, produced a series
of progressive models, so the works of the present time could
not be understood unless approached through a long vista of
the old masters.

For some time past a new steam-engine has been at
work at Chatham Dockyard, and has been used for driving
the machinery at the saw mills and for pumping the water
consumed in the yard. The peculiarity of tbo machine is
that it burns sawdust as fuel instead of coal. Large quanti-
ties of sawdust accumulate from the wood used in the con-
struction of ships, and, to get rid of it, it is sold at a very
cheap rate; but in all probability for the future it svill be
consumed in the yard. The experiments have had the result
of proving that the sawdust generates steam much more
readily and with less trouble than coal, and a great saving
can be effected, as a c atioid of sawdust Is equal to half a
ton of coal. The sawdust is forced into the furnace by means
of an air shaft, a continuous supply being kept rip.