The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-06-10 00:00:00

UVlStellalT C 011 S Jntcilicgenxc,

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

WHAT ARE WE COMING TO ?—The Registrar.
General's return contains an alarming fact. "Last
week," he says, "2,509 births and 1,457 deaths were
registered in London." What is going to happen if
this sort of thing lasts is too awful to think about.
Where shall we all live, by-and-by, if the population
increases at the rate of 1,000 a week ?---Judy.
FASHIONS IN HAIR-DRESSING. Madame
Guilmarde, the famous modiste in hair, has no exact
standard or style of coiffure (says the Court Journal.)
"Wear what is most becoming," she says, "in a classic
knot at the nape of the neck or high on the head,
waves, puffs, or braids, or altogether if you please."
Was ever anything so comforting in the way of hair-
dressing? If your head is bald on top pile up the puffs,
if at the back then wear a coiled braid. If you have
no hair at all the most delusive wigs can cover such a
deformity. In the rage for blonde hair some women
have had their dark locks shaved'off and wear a golden-
coloured wig. Some women have two wigs, so as
always to have one ready, to put on, Good Queen Bess
had one hundred and fifty wigs when she died, ranging
from pale gold to deep red in colour.

FROM WOOLWICH. —The latest Report —The
report of the 81-ton gun.—Judy.
THE BALHAM MYSTERY. The Times of
Wednesday says :—" The papers in the private inquiry
held by the Treasury, and the opinions of counsel on
the matters elicited, are now before the Home Secre-
tary."
A NEW PARK FOR BIRMINGHAM.— On Mon-
day at a special meeting of the Birmingham Town
Council, the Mayor (AldPrman Chamberlain) read a
letter announcing the gift to the town of another fine
estate for the purpose of a public park by Miss
Ryland, the donor of Cannon-hill Park and of
other valuable local gifts. It seems that a short time
ago Miss Ryland was asked to sell to the Corpo-
ration some 42 acres of land situated at Small-
heath, where the Council were desirous of opening
a new park. Miss Ryland, in reply, declined to
sell the land, but expressed her willingness to give
it to the town for a term of 500 years at a
peppercorn rent, subject to the application of the
rents until the termination of the present lease, which
has four years to run, towards hying out the land as a
park. The estate, which is beautifully wooded, is
situated two miles and a half from the centre of the
town, but well within the borough boundary, and in
a quarter whore the artisan class predominates. The
intrinsic value of the gift was estimated by the Msyor
at not less than £30,000. Cannon-hill Park, for which
the town is indebted to the same lady, is larger, em-
bracing some sixty acres of undulating and well-
timbered land, of the estimated value of £70,000.

Pesr A JOKE.—Elderly people never jest or
chaff in France. It is considered thera bad in age.—
Furt.

TowN TAXES ON COALS. —A Parliamentary Re-
turn, ordered on motion by Sir James Hogg, shows that
there are a number of our boroughs which, being ports,
levy a tax upon coals imported, and some extend the
tax to coals brought into the town otherwise than by
water. London, as is well known, levies le. id. per
ton upon all coals brought into or within a certain dis-
tance from the City Harwich levies as much as 2s. per
chaldron upon coals in any way brought or delivered
within the town; Brighton levies 2s. 6d. per ton; Deal,
.3s. per ton; Hastings, 3s. per chaldron. Barnstaple
lets annually by auction the privilege of collecting 4d.
in respect of each vessel coming into the port laden
with coal or coke. Dues are payatile to the Mayor of
Cork on vessels entering the port laden with coals, the
dues ranging from 6 to 12 bushels, according to the
ship's tonnage; the dues are farmed to a collector. The
Mayor of Limerick has a farthing per ton on coals im-
ported, but no account can be given of the amount pro-
duced, "as the Mayor for the time being orders its dis-
tribution by his sergeants among the poor."
MRS. MA_LAPROP ON FISH CULTI7IIE.—Mrs.
Malaprop presents her compliments to Mr. Frank
Buckland, and begs to know if any of the big sea-
monsters in his Fish Museum have been captured by
the claws of the Habeas Porpoise Act.—Punch.

WORKING MEN'S COOKERT.-011 Saturday,
under the auspices of Mr. Hodgson Pratt, a free
lecture was arranged at the CJokery S3hool, South
Kensington for the members and friends of the Work-
ing Men's Club and Institute Union which now num-
bers some 10,000 members in the metropolis alone.
Mr. Buekoaaster gave some simple examples of pre-
paring Austr.lian meat, which appeared to give
general satisfaction, iie dissolved the jelly with hot
water, and made it into a savoury soup; the meat was
made into a,pie and stow. A soup was also prepared
with vegetables and milk. One of the working men
said that the club to which he belonged attached great
value to such lectures, and as he understood the ser-
vicc,s had been gratuitous, he thanked the gentlemen
for the we of the room.

•
NAVAL E NGAGEMENTS.—" Which of the pro-
feEsions do you like best ?", we asked a sprightly nymph
of our acquaintance the other day. Oh, the sea !"
she blithely replied; "what could be more interesting
to our sex than marry time matters ?"—Fun.
THE JEWS IN GREAT BRITAIN.—The Jewish
Chronicle has obtained from official sources figures
which enable it to arrive at an approximate estimate
of the number of Jews in Great Britain. The total
number of interments in Jewioh congregations during
1875 was 1,230; of this total 956 interments took place
in London. The annual rate of mortality 'among the
general population of London is 24 per 1,000 ; and, as-
suming this to have been the death-rate among the
Jewish population 'of Great Britain, it is found thlt
the approximate number of Jews in Great Britain is
51,250, and that of this number 39,833 reside in
London.

-----
A SPITTING SNAKE.—There is a dangerous
snake, not uncommon about Benjuella, West Africa,
called by the natives naja neje, and by the Portuguese
cuspedira. It is small in size, and remarkable from its
habit of spitting when interfered with. The saliva is
ejected to considerable distances, and is said to cause
blindness if it touches the eyes. One of the snakes
was captured by the natives and brought to where some
English miners were at work. It was teased by a
miner who was standing over the cage, which was on
the ground, and retaliated by a discharge of epittle.
Some of the liquid entered one of the miner's eyes ; and
though the eye was immediately washed out with
water, it was very much irritated for several days.
The snake was killed before any experiments could be
made with it by the scientific superintendent of the
mine; he has, however, no doubt of the miner's state-
ment and that of his companions, corroborated as it is
by the testimony of the natives and the Portuguese.
RIGHT AGAlN'!—Kieber won the Derby. Thus
prophesied Funch

" Mineral Colt, of wealth be mine."
Explanation is unneces-ary for those who know, and
on those who don't would be thrown away.—Punch.

THE FLOODING OF THE SAHARA.—Iron says
that Mr. Maenzie, with a party of ten will leave
London in the
.beginning of next month for Western
Africa. for
rthe purpose of making thr s',.v eye;
preliminary tp tnrnmg the waters r into
' the great sinle'or basin which valley
of the Be/la to Timbuctoo. int that
a canal eight or nine miles to accom-
plish the great operation v ,emplattes, and
bring the mysterious cs itir 'Africa
within six or seven days' tif: If he
succeeds, there can he no 3 'the .ivemen'se
development of trade t ' and; to 'some
extent; the condition of 'donbtless 1)6
ameliorated, although the aat, of European
civilization has not always ved alloyed good
to the negro races. And even if the project fail,
there can be little difficulty in establishing a good land
route, with a base at some part of the coast accessible
to shipping, for the climate at this point on the parallel
of the Canary Islands, unlike that of the present
commercial depots, suits European constitutions well
enough.
LONGEVITY IN IRELAND.—As niapy Rai 20 of
the 23,293 persons' whose deaths were registered in Ire-
land in the first quarter of the present year ara de-
scribed as centenariatis. There are three among them
registered as 1.(.6 years old, one 109, one woman 110,
and two men 111 years of age. The strars do
not vouch for the truth of the statemtlige- Toe
Registrar of Dungiven, Londonderry, however, after
recording the death of a person returned as aged 102
years, adds :- -" Which, front minute inquiries, is be-
lieved to be accurate." The R?gistrar of Tallow, Lis-
more, returning one of the deaths at the age of 111,
says :—" This man was married in 1798; the year of the
Rebellion, and was then 33 years old." Too other
death at 111 is recorded at Castleblayney, and the
R,egistrar says :—" The informant said he could give
etoof that the deceased was born in 1765, and it seems
-death took him by surprise in 1876, as he fully ex-
pected to reach his father's age, which was said to have
been 115," If these two men were 111, more than 90
of their years were passed wider only two Sovereigns,

LET Us HOPE SO.—Lieutenant Cameron,
who so recently came triumphantly through the splen-
did achievement of traversing the continent of Africa
from sea to sea, is it is stated, shortly to undertake
another exploring expeir towards which the Go-
vernment have resolved contribute £3,000. Among
the honours received by the gallant explorer since his
arrival in his native country, be has been admitted into
the Turners' Company. Lt us hope that when this
new expedition has accomplished its erd, Lieutenant
Cameron may not only be a Turner, but also a re-
turner.—Judy.
MACKEREL IN THE BRIGHTON AQUARIUM.—
A fine shoal of mackerel were caught off Brighton on
Saturday nrarniag by the Aquarium officials, and
safely located in No. 37 tank. These very delicate
fidh are, perhaps, the most difficult to keep aliveras
if they are the least injured in their capture they die
immediately. Forty of this fine shoal, however, were
taken out of the water without being meshed, and
there is every probability of their living and b3iug one
of the greatest attractions of the Aquarium for some
longtime to come. It is believed they are the only
specimens to be seen in any Aquarium, and to naturalists
and sightseers will be a most interesting fact. The
Aquarium has never possessed so many, ten or twelve
only living together during the last two years.

_
AT THE House SHOW. —Ethel( to Papa, who
has been to luncheon) : "You've not missed much,
Papa. There has only been one man in the brook,
and two tumbles at,,the hurdles."—Punch.
POP ULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL TOWNS OF
SCOTLAND. —The R3gistrar-General of Scotland reports
the following as the estimated population of the eight
principal towns in the middle of the year 1876 :
Glasgow, 515,144; Edinburgh, 215,146; Dundee,
139,125; Aberdeen, 96,499; Greenock, 70,192; Leith,
52,919; Paisley, 48,679; Perth, 26,535. The total is
1,191,239, or more by about 18,000 than a third of the
population of Scotland. Since the Census the registra-
tion area of Glasgow has been extended, but that of
Edinburgh contracted.
SAN D. GROUSE. —Mr. Alfred Newton writes to
The Times from Magdalene College, Cambridge
"I have received information which leads me to
think that these islands will very likely be visited
shortly by that very beautiful and extraordinary bird,
Pallas's sand-grouse, and I venture, through you, to
ask all whom it may concern to afford any such im-
migrants all possible protection, so that the discredit-
able slaughter which attended the visitation of 1863
may not be repeated. I would remind your readers
that in that year this bird bred both in Holland and
Denmark, and that there are many parts of this
country, particularly on the Eastern coast, just as well
suited to its habits and wants as the sandhills of
Jutland or the Datch dunes. Furthermore, I would
add that no possible scientific discovery can follow
from the destruction even of a single example.
Museums are well supplied with specimens, and the
structure, both external and internal, of this remark-
able form has been sufficiently well studied."

OXFORD SOOTHING SYRUP. —(For Quieting
noisy 'Varsity Babies. From the New University Receipt
Bookj—To every score of noisy Undergraduates acid
half a dozen prettily-behaved young Ladies—should
be well dressed. Mix well together, and serve at next
Commemoration.—Punch. •

SHIPBUILDING ON THE CLYDE.—The Scotsman
says that the returns of the shipbuilding trade of the
Clyde for last month exhibit an increase in the aggre-
gate tonnage of the vessels launched compared with
the month of May in 1874 and 1875. The first five
months of the present year are still, however, con-
siderably below the corresponding periods in the four
preceding years in tonnage, though above the average
in the number of vessels. A large proportion of the
vessels now on the stocks are nearly completed, and
few new orders are coming in.
CRUELTY TO OUR KIND.—In ease the new
Vivisection Bill becomes law, will it protect the higher
as well as the lower animals ? Does it contain any
clause forbidding people to cut their friends, or re-
straibiog literary gentlemen from cutting up one
another !—Punch.

PAIIPERISM.—The Lady-Day Return issued
by the Local Government Board shows that the number
of persons then receiving relief from the rates in
England and Wales was 700 332, which number shows
a decrease of 76,169, or 98 per cent., compared with
the number at Lady-Day, 1875, and of 10'8 per cent,
compared with Lady-day, 1874. The improvement
thus shown in the present year compared with 1875
extends to every one of the 11 divisions of England,
but it was as small as 20 per cent. in Yorkshire, and it
ranged from 5.6 to 91 per cent, in six other divisions.
There are only four in which it exceeded the average
of 9 8 per cent.—namely, the South-Midland and the
Eastern divisions, in which it was 10'8 and 10'9 per
cent,; the Metropolis, 11'4 per cent.; and the Welsh
division' as much as 23 9 per cent., owing to the com-
parison being with a time of trouble in the iron and
coal trades. But about 3 per cent. should be added to
all the figures owing to these returns not including
vagrants nor paupers in lunatic asylums.
AN Umixowzr ARTIST.—The gentleman who
took the Duchess of Devonshire's portrait. —Fun.
Tiis ItrooltE Tex.—ln an article on the
Income Tax The Times remarks :—" The first Income
Tax was intrceinced in 1793 by Pitt to defray the
expenses of the French War. It was levied on all
British incomes above £6O, with a relief to those
under £2OO a year, the rate falling with the income
from 10 per cent. to 5.6 per cent. In 1802, after the
Peace of Amiens, the tax was repealed, but in the
following year, with the return of war, it was re-
imposed with a regressive rate on incomes ranging
between £l5O and £6O, from 5 per cent., the highest,
to 5 6 per cent., as before. In 1806 incomes down to
£5O were made taxable, and a rate of 10 per cent. was
imposed on all alike, with an abatement for those
under £l5O. Thus the tax was retained till 1816, when
with the peace it became possible to abolish it. In
1842 it was reimposed by Sir Robert Peel to meet the
demands arising from the inefficient fiscal administra-
tion of previous Ministries. It was voted for three
years, but on the expiration of that time it was still
found indispenable, and has since then been revoted
for one you or more, and retained, with considerable
modification, till now."

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