The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-10-25 00:00:00

risttlintous Znitiligtnrt.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

MINING ACCIDENT IN FRANCE.—Four miners were
buried alive through the falling in of a part of a mine
at Bully Grenay, Pas de Calais, on Saturday. After six
hours' work three of them were extricated, but only one
was living. The fourth has not yet been found.
FATAL ACCIDENT INA THEA'TRE.—During the perform-
ance of "Aida" at the German National Theatre at
Prague, on Sunday evening, the vaulted tomb which
was in readiness behind the scene for the fourth act
fell in, killing one of the workmen. A panic ensued
among the audience, but no one was injured.
ECLIPSE OF TAB SUN.—According to a Reuter's tele-
gram from San Francisco, a partial eclipse of the sun,
invisible at Greenwich, was observed there on Sunday.
No noteworthy phenomena were recorded.

THE PREMIER-AND His CoNsTrrenriTs.--At a meeting
of Mr. Gladstone's constituents at West Calder on
Saturday evening, a resolution was adopted expressing
continued and complete confidence in the illustrious
member for Midlothian and the Government of which
he was the worthy leader. Mr. Allison said the Pre-
mier had for four years been tormented by the
political wasps of the House of Commons. Every
bill he had introduced had been impeded by the
masters of obstruction—the young hopefuls of the
Tory party. Mr. Cross said there was no political
turpitude greater than the Tory fagots created in
Midlothian.
THE EXPLOSION OF A BOMB AT ST. ETIENNE.—A
bomb was exploded at midnight on Saturday in the
Gendarmerie barracks at St. Etienne. It had been
placed on the window-ledge of one of the under
officer's rooms. The furniture was smashed, and the
*indow panes broken by the explosion, but no one was
injured. Nine Anarchists have been arrested.
FATAL CARD QUARREL—A fatal occurrence took
place on Saturday night at a lodging house at Alma-
hill, Upholland, near Wigan, kept by Patrick Cluncy,
occupied principally by Irish farm labourers employed
in the neighbourhood. The lodgers were playing cards
when a quarrel arose. The landlord interfered, but
was thrown on the floor. One of the lodgers, James
Igo, 23 years of age, went to his assistance and lifted
him from the ground. Hugh Brodric, another lodger,
objected to this interference, and, saying he had no
right to meddle, seized Igo and threw him on his back
on the table where he held him by the throat for soroo
time. Igo became black in the face, whereupon the
other occupants of the room interfered, and pulled
Brodric off the table. On being released Igo gasped
once and fell on the flier unconscious. The man died
about midnight, never having regained consciousness.
Brodric was taken into custody.
THE GRAND Drein OF HESSE.—The appeal of Madame
de Kolemine against the dissolution of her morganic
marriage with the Grand Duke of Hesse was heard
before the special court of the Supreme Tribunal at
Larmstadt on Saturday. The proceedings took place
with closed doors. After three hours' duration judg-
ment was given refus'ng the appeal of the plaintiff, who
was also condemned in costs. Madame de Kolemine
now intends to make a final appeal to the Imperial
Supreme Court of Leipsic.
THE QUEEN IN SCOTLAND.—Her Majesty attended
Divine service on Sunday afternoon in Crathie parish
church, and was accompanied by Princess Beatrice,
Princess Alice of Hesse, and Lady Southampton, lady-
in-waiting, and two other ladies. It being the half-
yearly sacrament Sunday at Crathie the Queen, along
with Princess Beatrice and the other ladies received
Holy Communion. The service was conducted by the
Rev. A. Campbell, minister of Crathie. The weather
was fine throughout the day.
FATAL SHIPPING DISASTER.—A. collision took place
at four o'clock on Monday morning three miles off
Varne buoy between the steamer Benton, of Newcastle,
for Viz), and the smack Constance, of Shoreham. The
smack- was run down, and a man named William
Budger, and a boy, William Street, were drowned. The
rest of the crew were picked up by the steamer and
brought on to Dover.
BURGLARY IN ISLINGTON.—On Sunday night on the
family of Mr. Hatcher, No. 8, Elmore-street, Islington,
London, returning from church they discovered that
the house had been ransacked, and that besides a sum
of between £3O and £4O in gold, a number of valuable
articles of jewellery and clothing had been removed.
An entrance was gained by the area door, and the thief
or thieves must have cleverly planned the affair, as the
family were not absent more than two hours, and a
policeman had vievad the premises several times in the
interim.
ME IYr/roc or THE telegram was re-
ceived on Monday evening by Admiral Lethbridge at
Queenstown from the divisional officer of coastguards
at Killybegs, stating that the body of Sub-Lieutenant
Guppy was recovered on the 16th inst. at Glenlough,
Malinmore coastguard station. He was identified by
his uniform and the name on his shirt. The body was
buried in Glencolumbkill graveyard on Saturday.
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE BY A SOLICITOR.—Mr. J. D.
Gillam' said to be a solicitor, of Lincoln's-inn-fields,
attempted to commit suicide on Monday at his house,
61, Pentonville-road, London. About nine o'clock the
sound of firearms was heard in Mr. Gillarn'iroom, and
some persons on proceeding there found Mr. Gillam
lying on the floor bleeding, with a revolver at his side.
He had discharged the revolver in his mouth, the roof
of which was blown away. He was removed to the
Royal Free Hospital, where it was found that the bullet
had lodged in the brain. His recovery is considered
hopeless. No reason is assigned for the act.
GAS EXPLOSION IN CANNON-STREET.—An explosion
caused by the leakage of gas from a stationary engine
used to work a ventilating fan in connection with a
blow-hole in the new Cannon-street Station of the Dis-
trict Railway in London occurred early on Monday
afternoon. The ventilating shaft runs through some
premises immediately adjacent to the White Hart
Tavern, at the corner of Abchurch-lane, and the ex-
plosion, which took plane in the small engine-house at
the side of the shaft, had the effect of shattering a
large plate-glass window in the Cannon-street frontage
of the tavern and of injuring two persons, one of them
a workman employed in the engine-room, who was so
badly burnt and bruised that he had to be conveyed to
the nearest hospital, and the other a gentleman who
was passing the tavern, and whose hand was cut by a
piece of the falling glass. Mr. Anderson, the proprietor
of the White Hart, was blown off a stool on which he
was seated in his office, but fortunately sustained no
injury.
EARL NELSON ON LAND.—In a letter forming part of
some correspondence arising out of a franchise meet-
ing held at Whiteparish, near Salisbury, Earl Nelson,
says: "After all, to make land of real use to landlord
or tenant, be he great or small, it must be treated on
strictly commercial principles. I should be glad so to
amend the land laws as to cause land to. be easily
bought and sold with cheap and efficient registration as
to title; but if by this means many small freeholders
could be again established it would not cause so great
a blessing as some are inclined to suppose. As soon as
the freehold was mortgaged the owner of it would be
in a worse plight than when he rented the land, and if
Mr. Saunders were to visit France or Switzerland,
which are so extolled for their peasant proprietorship,
he would find people on their small and subdivided
freeholds working harder and living on much more
scanty fare than our agricultural labourer would like,
or than we should ever wish him to do."
FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT.—On Monday forenoon
at a quarter-past ten o'clock, Mr. Jacob V. De Voosd,
a Liverpool merchant, livinc, at Huyton, was crossing
the line of the London and North-Western Railway at
Huyton Station, when he was knocked down and killed
by the ten o'clock express train from Liverpool to Man-
chester. He was fearfully mangled, the train dragging
the body for some distance along the line.