The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-05-09 00:00:00

THE CORRUPT PRACTICES BILL:

On Monday morning a bill was issued for amending
the law with respect to corrupt practices at Parlia-
mentary elections. It is brought in by Sir Joseph
Pease and Messrs. Paget and Bulwer. The object of
the bill is to remove doubts as to whether it is lawful
for an employer of labour to permit his employes to
vote without making a deduction for the time reason-
ably occupied in recording their votes. The bill pro-
vides that no permission shall be corruptly given to
induce an elector to record his vote for any particular
candidate; and further, the permission must be given
to all electors in the service of such employer.

_
A Dontsnc MIRACIA.—" As 1 was walking down
street this morning," observed Jones," I saw a man
drop a brass suspender button in a blind beggar's hat.
He detected the fraud at once." "I don't see any-
thing strange about that," replied Mr. Jones. "Why
shouldn't he tell the difference between a button and
a coin ?" "He has had considerable experience in
coins, I know, but I can't see how he knew it was a
button." "By the way it felt, of course. Why
shouldn't he tell it?" I don't think he had felt a
button before in twenty years." "Why not ?" "He
has been married about that long, I believe."

,

Illisaltancons fl.telizturt,

COLOKIAIs, -

"To WHAT BASE USES," &C.—Louis XlV.'s throne
has lately been sold by auction for £260.
A Pssit's POEMS.—Lord Sherbrooke is about to
publish a small volume of poems, which will beat the
title of "Poems of a Lifetime."
AN OFFENCE IN CllERol.—Talking in church is a
legal offence across the Atlantic. Several. young ladies
and gentlemen of the best society in Missouri were
lately brought up in a police-court and fined for this
offence.

THE SLADE PROFESSOESHIP.—Mr. Ruskin has now
definitely resigned hiS Slade Professorship; but it is
stated that he will give the two remaining lectures of
his course on "The Pleasures of England" some time
this term, "only to his private pupils and such others '
as will listen with becoming reverence."
AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The following •
are the average prices of British corn for last week, As
received from the inspectors and officers of Excise:
Wheat, 378. Id.; barley, 31s. 4d.; oats, 225. 7d. per -
imperial qr. Corresponding week last year: Wheat,
378. 4d.; barley, 305.; oats, 20s. ficl.
A BARBAROUS PRACTICE.—Eating with the knife is -
an acmmplishment familiar to' nlcst English frequent- "S
ing fozeign tables d'hote. An old American has been
so horiified by the sight that he has bequeathed a large
property to be used in the best manner for' suppressing
the custom of eating in this uncivilised manner. Judg-
'ng from experience, the whole sum might be spent in
a small part of Germany alone.—" Graphic."
- A Disesnions EXPEDITION.—According to a telegram
from Pr. Gerhard Rohlfs, the Imperial Consul at Zan-
zibar, the German expedition lately sent out to explore
the East African region about Lake Moero has ended
disastrously, and lost its leader, Dr. Bohm. His sur-
viving companion, Dr. Reichard, managed to return to
the cos st.
"THE REVISED VERsioN."—Some dissatisfaction has
been expressed at the determination of the Univer-
sities, who are the owners of the Revised Version of
the Bible, not to issue the revised version of
the Old Testament separately from that of the New
in a cheap form. The publication cif the Revised Ver-
sion will take place on the 19th of May.
DWELLING HOUSE CONSTRUCTION.—The Communal
Council of Foggia, Italy, has resolved on offering a
premium of 100,000 lire (£4000) to any society which
will undertake the constructisn of dwelling houses in
that city to the amount in value of 1,200,000 lire. The
houses are to consist of a ground floor and two upper
storeys and certain other conditions are to be complied
with.

THE PREMIER.—Mr. Gladstone on Saturday morning
visited the InstitUtion of Mechanical Engineers in St.
Georges-street, Westminfer, to witness experiments
with the maxim automatic machine gun. The Premier
was greatly interested in the weapon, which after the
first shot is fired by hand-power continues to fire shot
after shot by means of the power derived from the -
explosion of each succeeding cartridge.
SALE or MEDALS.— A-12 interesting sale has just taken
place at the Hotet Drouot of medals and coins forming
the celebrated Gabriel collection. It lasted three days,
the total amount realised being 110,000 francs. Among
the lots most briskly bid for were numerous Mero-
vingian and Carlovigian coins. Of the former, a gold
SOU of Theodebert I. made 700 francs; one of Dagobeft
I. 705 francs; and a Clodovins, 605 francs. A piece of
Pepin le Bref, coined at Strasburg, fetched 110 francs,
and one coined at Meaux '955 francs. A Carloman'
brought 1100 francs, and an Astolf 1900 francs. V
FOREIGN LIVE STOCK AND FRESH MEAT.--he
following steamers arrived at Liverpool during the
past week with live stock and fresh meat on board
from American and Canadian ports amounting to
1543 cattle, 8070 quarters of beef, and 1150 carcases of
mutton. whilst the tefal im?crts of the preceding week
were 2614 cattle, 9730 quarters of beef, and 2060 'car-
cases of mutton. showing a decrease in the shipments
of both live stock and fresh meat from the above ports.
The conveying steamers, eight in number, weie as
follows: Virginian, 520 cattle, 1402 quarters of beef,
and 140 carcases of mutton; Cranmore about 500
cattle; Missouri, 523 cattle, 7012 quarters of beef;
City of Richmond, 920 quarters of beef, and 200 car-
cases of mutton; AlaFka, 1700 quarters of beef and
300 careases of mutton; British Princess, 1000 quarters
of beef and 250 carcases of mutton; Scythia,. 836
quarte;s of beef; and Indiana, 1200 quarters of beef,
and 260 carcases of mutton.
HEINE'S LETTERS.—An interesting batch cf twenty-
four letters of Heine to Detmold, his friend, have just,
been printed in Germany—one is dated from Rams-
gate and another one from Granville. In the former
Heine describes himself as sitting on a high balcony,
and, winle writing, "looking down on the beautiful
wide ocean, whose waves climb up the rock and regale
my heart with their musical roar." There was no
theatre at Granville. This distressed Heine. He says:
"The theatre lam no longer obliged to visit, but in
place of it I have to walk about in spring weather.
Green trees produce ennui quite as much as vande- •
villes. Next to art there is nothing more dreadful than
Nature."

- „„
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCTETY.--.1.1ae 21ROILIolls to the
Zoolc:ical Society's Gardens during the past week
include a suricate from South Africa, presented by Miss
F. M. Savill; two common badgers, British, presented
by Lord Willoughby de Broke; a common marmoset,
from Brazil, presented by Miss Henderson; a Cezeopsis
goose, a black swan, from Australia, presented by Mr.
F. L. F7odsham ; a mealy amazon, from South America,
presen'ad by Mr. W. Hodder • two alligators, from the •
Mississ;pei, presented by Mr. Charles Ridley • au .
affigate.r, from the Mississippi, presented by Misik
Heimli-her; a redtailed amazon, from-Brazil, three
upland geese, from the Falkland Island, three wigeons,
European, purchased.
OBITUARY. STATISTICS.—The following composers and .
musicians died in the month of May Lugi Gordigiani
(Florence, 186C1, the Ist) ; Giacomo Meyerbeer (Paris, =
1864, the 2nd) ; Adolfo Fumagalli (Florence, 1866, the
3rd) ; Adolphe Adam (Paris' 1856, the 3rd) • Ferdinand
Paer (Paris, 1839, the 3rd). Nicola Zingardli (Torre del •
Greco, 1837, the sth) ; Nicola Piccinni (Passy near
Paris, 1800, the 7th) ; Padre Stanisleo Mattel (Bologna, .
1825, the 12th) ; Antonio Salieri (Vienna, 1825, the
12th ; Daniel Francois Esprit Auber (Paris, 1871, the '
12th); Bonifazio (Clorreggio, 1832, the 18th); • •
Nico Paganini (Nice 1840, the 17th) ; Luigi Bocche-
rini (Madrid, 1805, the 28th) ; Joseph Haydn (Vienna;
1809, the 31st).
TECHNICAL PnnAsEs.—Edward Solly, in "Notes and
Queries," says all anticipations of future knowledge,
and suggestions which those who come atter find to be
correct, have a peculiar kind of interest and are worth
noting, even though the scientific basis on which they
are founded may be questionable. There is an observa-.
tion of Samuel Johnson's on the subject of dysentery
which fairly illustrates this. In a letter to Mrs. Thrale,
dated Nov. 12, 1781, he says: "If Mr. will
drink a great deal of water, the acrimony that corrodes It
his bowels will be diluted, if the cause be only acrimony ;
but I suspect dysenteries to be produced by animal-
culae, which I know not how to kill." Johnson used the
word " a.nimalculze," a modern writer would say • ,
"microbes," but the same thing is meant. And`noW, a
century after the time when Johnson wrote, authorities
do not suspect, they assert, that animalculso are the
cause, and are seeking" how to kill them."
RAILROAD FA TALITIES.—In an article on "Modern - •
Railroad Fatalities," contributed by Mr. Barnett Le
Van to the "Journal" of the Franklin Institute, the
author states that, from railway mortality statistics of
England and some parts of the Continent of Europe
recently compiled and published in France, it appears
that the greatest fatality occurs on the French rail-
ways. French railways annually kill one in every
2,000,000 • English railways, one in every 5,250;000;
Belgian r;ilways, one in evely 9,000,000; and Prussian -•
railways one in every 21,500,000. With reference to
injuries, it is stated that French railways wound
annually one in every 500,000; English railways one • •
in every 730,000; Belgian railways one in every
9,600,000; Prussian railways one in every 4000,000.
In round numbers, French railways kill five times as
many as English, English not quite -twice as many as
Belgian, and Belgian nearer three.times than twice as
many as Prussian, which are much the least fatal of
the four.