The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-07-19 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

The trade in cheap American clocks is growing in
England. During the month of April 27,000 clocks
were imported by English dealers, or nearly an average
of 1000 per day. The average price of them was 107
dols.

It is stated that some capitalists of Berlin have
determined to establish a Japanese colony in a village
constructed in tho Japanese fashion, with a garden to
each ,lonco. The colonists, about forty in number, art•
to b n so as to represent all the handicrafts in
whiz rApanese excel, and they are to work so as
to be ..cei y those who wish to study their processes.
It is also said that the German Government favours the
scheme.

The other day a member placed in the reading-room
of the House of Commons a sample of Thames water
taken from within the district of the Metropolitan Board
of Works. After it had remained for an hour, an
object of much attention, it was discovered to be
labelled" Hogg-wash."
The first novel, says the American papers, ever
written by a coloured man is being prepared for the
press by Mr. George W. Williams, of Boston, U.S.
Mr. Williams was also the first coloured man ever
elected a member of a Northern Legislature in the
United States.

Alt influential committee is being formed to carry
out a scheme for improving pace in Englis4 roadsters,
and for forming a subu than trotting stud with central
club and track.

The Japanese are, it is stated, about to follow the
example of the Chinese, by erecting a cooking estab-
lishment at the Health Exhibition, in order that visitors
may be initiated into the mysteries of the Japanese
cuisine.

A valuable pony belonging to Mr. Megson, of 'loving-
ham, near Scarborough, has been stung to death by
bees. It entered a shed where the bees were kept,
and knocked seven hives over. The bees literally
covered the poor animal, and stung it to death in ten
minutes.
The death is announced in New York of Mr. Paul
Morphy, the famous chess player. i
It s officially announced that an abundant harvest
may be expected throughout Belgium.
Professor Porter, of the National College at Washing-
ton, has exhibited at a convention of teachers of the
deaf and dumb in New York, a pair of patent ears, by
which he is enabled to hear without the use of a
Itrumpet
No fewer than 174 of the books in the Beckford and
' Hamilton collections, sold at the beginning of the year,
have, it is stated, been found to be more or less im-
perfect These, having been returned to the auctioneers,
were put up again in London last week, with all their
defects fully described,:and realiseerprices very far below
those at vihieh they were originally sold.
Mr. Furness, of Philadelphia, has established a prize
' fund to give £lOO annually for an essay on some
Shakesperian subject in connection with Smith's
(Women's) College in Boston, U.S.
The quantity of dairy produce required to supply
London, witkin a radius of fifteen miles from Charing
-
cross, is according to the estimate of Processor Sheldon,
about 1,250,000 quarts per day, which, at 6d. per
quart, is worth £26,000. The value of the butter
amounts to something like £45.000 Der day. or
£16.000.000 per annum.
The Duke of Westminster, in reference to statements
which have appeared that he was an extensive purchaser
of horses at Lord Falmouth's sale, says as a matter of
fact he bought one foal only, at a cost of £3OO.
Brennan, a well-known American jockey, was
recently killed at Chicago. Baccarat, the horse he was
riding, fell, and rolled over him, inflicting shocking in-
juries, which soon had a fatal termination.
A. Philadelphia telegram reports that a fire broke out
at Bradford, a town containing only wooden houses, in
the Pennsylvanian petroleum region on Friday in. last
week. Four persons were burnt to death and four
others were injured, two of them fatally.

A solicitor's clerk, named Charles Lonam; while
bathing on Monday morning in the river Parrett, at
Bridgwater, became entangled in some weeds which
were drifting up with the tide, and before assistance
could be rendered he was drowned. The body has been
recovered.

" General " Booth, of the Salvation Army, paid his
first visit to Wrexham on Saturday, and was received
with the usual demonstrations.
The steamer Damanhour has arrived at Souakim from
Massowah. She reports that some Abyssinian chiefs
were expected there in a few days, en route for Erg.
land, with a present of an elephant tram the King of
Abyssinia for the Queen.
On Monday an inquest was held at Broadstairs rela-
tive to the death of a person, name unknown, whose
body was found in Dumpton Bay on Saturday. Some
clothes, marked " Howard," were found in the vicinity,
and it is supposed the deceased was drowned whilst
bathing. An open verdict was returned.
News reached Edinburgh on Monday of the fatal
result of a foolhardy attempt to make a long swim on
the Forth on Sunday afternoon. A man named James
Costello, said to be an Italian started from the Black
Rock to swim to Inchkeith rsiand, a distance of three
miles, and was drowned
A destructive fire which occurred on the quay at
Smyrna caused damage to the extent of about £40,000.
Princess William of Prussia was on Monday afternoon
delivered of a son; so that the succession to the throne
of Prussia and the Empire is now provided for to the
fifth degree in the direct line. The event was announced
to the capital by the firing of a salute of 76 guns, that
being the usual number for the birth of a Prince.
The total number of beasts entered for consumption
at the Metropolitan Cattle Market for the week ending
Saturday last was 2780 head; the corresponding week
of 1883, 2540; 1882 3610; 1881, 3880; 1880, 3100;
1879, 4390; 1878, 4110; 1877, 3620; 1876, 4530; and
1875, 4520.
On Monday the yacht Vanguard, of Douglas, Isle of
Man, was capsized during a squall whilst competing in
Ramsey Bay Regatta. The Minerva, of Ramsey, in
putting about to rescue the crew, had her mast carried
away, but she nevertheless picked up four men. The
fifth, named John Davies, of Douglas, was drowned.
In the salt district there were symptoms of a great
disturbance in Northwich on Saturday night. People
fled from their houses and remained out all night. Great
cracks appeared in the house walls, and doors and
windows would not shut. Early on Monday morning a
large portion of Mr. Jones's carriage manufactory vio-
lently vibrated, then slowly sank and was at last com-
pletely engulfed, and water rose over where the build-
ings had stood.
On Monday, Dr. Iliffe, coroner, held an inquest at the
Town-hall, Atherstone, as to the death of William Du',
aged 70, one of the ill-fated colliers entombed in Ba,x-
terley Colliery two years ago. The body was recovered
on Saturday. The medical evidence showed that the
deceased must have died from suffocation, brought
about by the inhalation of noxious gas. A verdict to
to this effect was recorded.
The Siberian plague is raging in the Government of
Pleskoff. Twenty deaths have already occurreed.
A party of boys were bathing off Southsea Castle on
Monday afternoon, when one of them, named Hugh
Harding, a son of the head master of a Board school,
was strack by a ware and knocked against the
breakwater and stunned. The receding wave carried
him to sea, and though a sailor at once went after
him and the Coastguard put off in a boat, the lad was
drowned.
An accident has occurred on the Courmayeur side of
Mont Blanc through the fall of an avalanche of stones
from the summit of one of the peaks. The avalanche
overwhelmed a touring party of members of the Swiss
Alpine Club, one of whom, M. Guttlinger by name, had .
; a leg mangled and his head crushed by the falling
fragments of rock. The sufferer expired four hours
afterwards.

While witnessing the cricket match at Bramall-lane
Ground, Sheffield, on Monday, between Yorkshire and
Lancashire, a young man suddenly fell to the ground
and died.

On Tuesday the three-masted schooner Chieftain
' reached Dundee from Greenland seal and whale fishing
after a most disastrous voyage, extending over four
months. She was unsuccessful at seal fishing, and lost
tour of her boats during a fog while whale hunting.
Only one boat succeeded in regaining the ship after
seven "days' absence the men being greatly exhausted.
A second boat reached Iceland in safety; a third boat
was picked up with only one man alive, and a fourth
beat is still missing.
On Tuesday the Inverness-shire police apprehended
Harold Kurtz on suspicion of having been the perpe-
trator of the shooting outrage near Inverness on Friday
last, when three boys were wounded. Kurtz, who is
only 18 years of age, is a farmer. He has been liberated
on bail. •
From the Ist of April to the 12th inst. the Exchequer
receipts amounted to £22,751,610, as compared with
£24,243,628 in the corresponding period of last year.
The expenditure has been £25,666,267. On Saturday
last the balance in the Bank of England was
£1,060,686, and in the 'Bank of Ireland £707,169.
It is reported that the Spanish ironclad cruiser
Gravina has been totally wrecked in a terrific hurricane
off one of the islands in the Philippine Archipelago.
Two officers and seven of the crew perished.
Among the cases of flogging which have lately
A engaged the •attention of the Mauritius authorities is
thnt of an Indian labourer, who was flogged six times
after he had been attacked with mania. He is now
'a certified lunatic in the Government Lunatic Asylum.
In the.return cricket match between Middlesex and
Surrey, which ended at Lord's on Tuesday, Surrey won
by seven Wickets. The first match of the four in the
South of England arranged by the West of Scotland
Club was brought to: a conclusion on Tuesday at
Brighten, the result being a draw; the Australians beat
Leicestershire .by ten wickets;
.and Lancashire defeated
Yorkshire by six wiCkeis. .
In London last week 2409 births and 1849 deatl4iwere
registered. Allowing for increase of populatiiyn, the
births were 220 below, while the deaths exceeded-by 208
the average numbers in the corresponding weeks of
the last ten years. The annual death-rate from all
causes, which had been 17-8, 19-1, and 19-6 per 1000 in
the three previous weeks, further rose to 24, and was
higher than in any previous week of this year.
While about to carve a piece of ham on Sunday
evening,aWarrington butcher, named Hewett, jokingly
drew the knife across the throat of one of his guests
but the result was that he severed an artery, and the
Man is in a critical state.
On Monday evening Robert Bidwell, porter, 2, Half-
Moon-court, Holborn, London, after having quarrelled
with some friends, jumped out of a third floor window,
and badly injured himself.
It is announced that Madame Judie has entered into
an engagement to make a professional tour of seven
months in the United States, beginning in the winter.
She is to give 210 performances, for each of which she
is to receive £2OO, so that the net proceeds will be
£42,000. The date fixed for her to sail is the Ist of
September.
The Princess Christian was present at a meeting at
the Mansion House, in London, on Monday, to promote
the foundation of a convalescent hospital and home of
rest, to be partially self-supporting, for the poorer
classes of London. After a discussion of the subject a
council was appointed to carry out the scheme and
raise the funds required.
The daughter of a retired pilot, Alice Cavil), 17 Years
of age, brought an action on Monday at Liverpool
against a police-constable named John Harlow for false
imprisonment and slander. The defendant had locked
the plaintiff up on a charge of immoral conduct in the
public streets. The plaintiff was awarded £4O damages,
the jury adding to the verdict an opinion that her
character was stainless.
At Columbus, in Ohio, the players of base-ball arrested
for playing on Sunday, are adopting retaliatory steps
by prosecuting the tram-car companies.
The followers of the late Baboo Chunder Sen are not
only keeping his pulpit sacred, but they actually carry
about his carpet seat, and use it in their services.
The number of applications received under the new
Patent Act during the first four months of the present
year reached 7060, against 5993 in the whole of 1883.
The Maori King on Monday sat to Mr. Sheldon, the
sculptor, for a bust in plaster, which is to be cast in
bronze, and placed in the House of Representatives in
New Zealand.
A death has resulted at Sheffield from an overdose of
chloral. Dr. Morris, formerly a surgeon in the Army,
had given way to drink, mainly in consequence of the
death of a son of whom he was excessively fond; and
latterly he had been in the habit of taking chloral to
steady his nerves. Unfortunately he took too much.
Two medical men were called in, but they were unable
to save his life.
On Monday night, in Gairbraid-street, Maryhill,
Glasgow, a man who had fired a pistol in the roadway
was seized by a policeman, when he threatened to shoot
any who were near. The constable summoned help, and
a sailor named Lachlan McLean knocked down the man,
who then attempted to stab him, When searched at
the police-station, an American ammunition belt was
discovered on him, with 39 cartridges and a number of
documents.

The delegates from rue weavers' associations ot Lan-
cashire and the adjoining counties met at Blackburn on
Saturday to deal with matters relating to the weavers'
strike'at Burnley. The reports from districts in which
collections had been made in aid of the strike fund
were satisfactory. Although no collection had been
made in some districts, £2197 had been raised, to which
£lOOO will be added from the amalgamated fund.
I draft of black and tan Gordon setters, from the
celebrated kennel of the Earl of Rosalyn, has been dis-
posed of by auction at Aldridge's Depository, i,n Len-
don, and attracted a good muster of field sportsmen,
rind 41 brace of dogs fetched 77i guineas. Lord Sefton
sold five brace of pointers for 106 guineas; a brace of
pointers, 13 months old, from Mr. H. Beale's kennel,
realised 42 guineas.
Captain Johnson's hounds have had a narrow escape
from destruction by fire. The kennels are situate at
Snainton, near Scarborough, and are adjacent to a large
barn full of straw, which took fire, and was totally
destroyed. The most strenuous efforts were made to
save the hounds, which was done after great difficulty,
and without loss.
The plague is rapidly decreasing in the Zur end
Badras districts. It is feared,however, that an epidemic
may break out in Bagdad, owing to the want of di ainage
for the recent flood waters.
Official statistics show that the population of Italy at
the end of 1883 numbered 29,010,6.52 souls.
At the Bayeux station on the Cherbourg line, a
collision occurred between a passenger and a luggage
(rain. Forty persons were more or less seriously injured.
Last week's receipts of cotton at ail United States
ports were 7000 bales' since let September, 4,793,000
loales. Week's experts to Great Britain, 30,000 bales
ditto to Continent, 11,000. Total since Ist September,
3,715,000 bales; stock at all ports, 285,000 'ales;
ditto interior ports, 25,000 bales.
At Aberdeen, William Gordon, aged 24 years, a
traveller for a city firm, was drowned whilst bathing.
The Rescue, stationed on the beach, went to the assist-
ance of the drowning man, but the rope by which he
was secured broke, and another man narrowly escaped
being drowned also.
A New York telegram states that the visible supply of
wheat on July 11 was 13,400,000 bushels, as against
14,200,000 bushels the previous week. Visible supply
of Indian corn, 7,300,000 bushels, as against 7,800,000
bushels the previous week. The export clearances of
wheat for Europe during last week amounted to
790,000 bushels; the export clearances of Indian corn
for Enrope during the week amounted to 690.000
bushels.
The "City Press" says the late Mr. James I ggins
(formerly alderman of the City of London), has left
moo in trust to the Stationers' Company, to establish
four pensions of £24 each annually for four aged, sick,
or worn-out compositors.
The great Highland Sheep and Wool Fair at Inver-
ness closed oa Saturday afternoon. The market was
characterised with extreme stiffness, and a fall on all
classes of sheep was recorded. Its reduction from last
year was as follows: On Cheviot wedders, 7s. to Os.;
black-faced do., 6s. to Os.; Cheviot ewes, 4e. to 65.;
black-faced do., 4s. to 65.; Cheviot and black-faced
lambs, is. to 3s. • half-bred ewes and wedders, 2s. to 55.;
half-bred lambs, to 4s.
The number of live stock and the quantity ,of fresh
meat landed at Liverpool during the past week from
the United States and Canada were smaller than that
of the preceding week, and there were no arrivals of
sheep or hogs. The seven conveying steamer's brought
a total consignment of 1140 cattle, 6253 quarters of
beef, and 1510 carcases of mutton.
The number of visitors to the International Health
Exhibition for the week endins July 12 was 140.496.
Total eince the opening 1,163,191.
The actual shipwrecks reported last week numbered
13 British vessels and 6 foreign, of which seven
(British) were lost off the United Kingdom. Two
vessels were reported lost with all hands; while only
three steamers went down. The total wrecks for the
year are 834, against 1035 last year.
Owing to the unfavourable weather on Saturday, It
was decided in the course of the afternoon that the
Eton and Harrow cricket match, which opencid at
Lord's on the previous day, should be drawn. A suniliar
decision was taken with respect to the match between
England and the Australians, which was begun on the
previous day at the Old Trafford Ground, Manchester.
A San Francisco telegram states that the Chinamen
residing there are raising funds to enable the Chinese
Government to sustain the expected war against France.
Three hundred thousand dollars have already been sent
to China, and an eqaal amount will go by the next
steamer.
On Saturday afternoon the Prince and Prlncess or
Wales, accompanied by their three daughters, laid the
memorial stone of a granite bridge intended to super-
sede the wooden one which has spanned the Thames at
Putney since 1729. In spite of the rain there was a
large gathering of spectators.
The oldest French prelate, M. Rivet, Bishop of Dijon,
died on Saturday of heart disease. He was 88 years of
age' and had filled the see for 46 years. He w
Society's Gardageonn:
of
Thethe
aditopponentsions ot fo Papalth eZoological infallibility 1810.
DRieangeantm'so-pnarkeky,sLo,
from
w.on, deuertinAr
giileaast,
pweeskenitneccilubdyed mit.waya:
H. Cheetham F.Z.S. ; a bonnet monkey from India,
presented by krs. Norman \rouge ; a razorbill, British;
presented by Lady 11ayter ; four snow birds, an Ameri-
can coot from North America, presented by Mr. F. J.
Thompson; a Hutchins's goose from Arctic America,
a king vulture from South America, presented by Mr.
W. A. Conklin, 0.31.Z.5. ; a barn owl, British, presented.
by Mr. M. a Windus; two angulated tortoises, two
areolated tortoises, from South Africa, and two geo-
metric tortoises from Little NalllaqUlitland, presented
by the Rev. G. H. R. Fisk, O.M.Z.S. ; two Ceylonese
terrapins from the island of Diego Garcia, presented by
Commander the Hon. Foley C. P. Vereker, R.N.; a
pale-headed tree boa, an Antillean snake, two maculated
msnra.sk.eßs,lakfroem;
aNThewaptertoaviidilinrc,ei:
fßroarmNaews,
zpereaslanend,tedpre.by
sented by Surgelloonw-3.famjoaici
macaw,
,11freonniderssoount;ha
Aspmotetriecad. ca(d7e.,
ye
a blue and tanager, from Brazil ; two _Cpe
lajesieteds, f)se;ilbSlouneth-Cr.s /tCrrica.; ti re fowl,
two rufous spur fowl, two rain quails from India; three
blackish sternotheres, from West Africa (purchased) ;
a heloderm, from Mexico, received in exchange;
Burrhel wild sheep, a red deer. six upland geese, five
long-fronted gerbilles, bred in ttie Gardens.

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