The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-05-13 00:00:00

CARROUSEL OF BICYCLISTS.

bicy,

Ham

e.
w,
serious
de
dinn,

An assemblage of the metropolitan bicycle clubs in uniform
was held on Saturday afternoon at Hampton Court, close by
the Lion Gates. No less than sixteen associations were repre-
sented, and the extraordinaiy number of 407 persons were
present on machines. After a very pretty defile in the main
street the entire party made a journey through Hampton to
Teddingtom, and back by Bushey Park to the place from
which they had started.—lhe Standard has an article on the
event from which we make the following extracts :

. From all points of the compass the velocipedists
began to assemble shortly after three o'clock, now
dropping in
in
twos and three; now sweeping noise-
lessly along n groups until the entire place wag given
up to them. The Lion gates had been advertised as
the trysting ground, but so many different clubs in
full strength andoso many connoisseurs unattached had
responded to the call that the main street was soon
occupied well nigh from end to end. There were joyous
shouts of greeting as friendly faces were recognised,
peals of young laughter -tang out, hand grips were
given from the summit of the slender machines, com-
parisons were formed, experiences narrated, and to com-
plete the resemblance to an opening day at the covert
side, the music of a hunting horn rese merrily at in•
tErvals over the hum of gossip. One commander, of a
nautical turn of mind, eschewed brass instruments,
and ordered about his men with a boatswain's whistle.
As the riders alighted they placed their bicycles on.e
one against another- Until the bright steel playthings
extended under the shadow of the trees by the road-
side exactly like E 0 Many rows cof piled arms; and then,
looking trim 'an'd dapper in their neat uniforms, the
owners move a 'to' and fro to examine the " tteeds "
ortheir riials; 'or adjJurned to the taverns to dis-
cuss adventures on the macadam over modest
bumpers of shandygaff. At five o'clock, at which
hour the entire force was to have set off for
a ',grand promenade in Indian file, to be fol-
lowed::VY a collective run two deep, there was no
sign cf a start. At length it was decided that the clubs
should take rank by order of seniority, but the diffi-
culCy was to determine which were the senior clubs. '
There are kind inquiries after Mr. Lowe ; the news
spreads that the Prince Imperial has joined the West
Kent Club, whose headquarters are nearest to Chisle-
hurst, and a cheer of salutation is raised as two stal-
wart lads, in buckskin breeches, ride in at a great pace.
These are Messrs. Turner and Buck, and they have
come up all the way from Portsmouth, having done
their sixty-four miles since morning. Now there is a
Movement in the impatient throng; the chieftains
come out from their caucus—it has been settled that
the Pickwicks are to go first, whereat the shade of
Dickens must be gratified, and a call which pre-
sumably is bicycle for "boot and saddle" is
sounded. The spectators form a lane in the middle
of the thoroughfare ; with a skill that is surprising
to outsiders the gentlemen of the Bicycle Brigade
vault into their saddles and the defile commences, all
advancing gently one after another at intervals of
shout five paces with marvellous steadiness and pre-
cision. The panorama as they shift across the line of
view is really worth waiting for. It is much harder
to keep balance on a machine travelling slowly than
on one going quickly, the base surface being less, but
not a single mistake is made. On they pass, with a
stealthy gliding motion, each man important in the
feeling that the honour of his club or the credit of
the pastime is in his keeping. Two years ago there
were forty here; to-day there are more than ten times
as many, no fewer than four hundred and seven

'chats executingthis novel marcb-past inthestreetof The Melbourne Argus says a project is on foot to
\ pton. Of these, eighty-sii boron to no club; the establish a fresh and sea water aquarium in Melbourne.
ilubbists are three-'hundrici--ion- d=iii-wht3iilhus dfs- The King of Spain has conferred the Grand Cross of
tributed :—London 78; Pickwick, .47,- -Sauey, 31; the Order of oharles 111. upon the Prince of Wales and the
['ample. 30; North Wandsworth, 10; Wanderers, 16; Duke of Connaught.
Slorth Surrey,. 14; Ramblers, 14; St. George's, 14; A Body of the Benedictine monks is about to settle
k.8.C.; 12; Middlesex. 12; South. London Harriers, down at Fort-Augustus, on land which has been presented by
L 2 ; Kent,lo ; West Kent, 8; Sutton Nondescript; 7 ; Lord Lovat.
Ind the Witiabledon Straggler?, 14 strong; who made Parisian ladies who do their own needlework have
;heir data with their honorary captain, Isidore, a adopted thimbles e ith a pebble inserted as a top The agate,
:urly-lieitiled boy of twelve summers at their head; cairngorm, onyx, and crystal are the most popular, as they
rho dresses do not vary so much as the lover of con-
look very pretty in their setting of silver.
;rests in colour Would desire, nor are the colours gaudy The Commander-in-Chief has notified that it is
,of a blue.serge or quiet grey tweed, their
to the rules of the service, for, soldiers to take off
—they are usually
saps and cheer the Qeeen, and that the proper way to
with knickerbockers and stockings to match, but they respect her Mujesty is to salute in the usual military fashloni
ire very serviceable. The head gear is the great distin- The election of a Board of Guardians at Plymouth
mishing feature ; some wear straw bats, trimmed with on Tuesday caused some excitement, owing to a keen poll-
icarlet and white t some foraging caps, with a shell- Heal contest, which resulted in the election of 32 Liberals
shaped badge in front; and others a sort of helmet, and 16 Conservatives.
peaked.fore and aft. When they had left Hampton, The
on thehefine clipper, Lake St. Claire, which left New
York ley formed in twos, worked up speed, and proceededl9th January last for Glasgow, has not since
y Hampton to Teddington, where they created a been heard of, and it is feared she has been lost with all
3
hands. * -
sensation, and whirled back into Bushey Park. In e
The shipment of salmon ova packed b Mr Youl
symnietrio'column, and with an even speed, they bore and Mr. Buckiand for Victoria and p y
New Zealand, arrived at
lowa almost to the water's edge and then, at a warn- Mc^
Melbourne on the 16th of March, and, aording to the Ma-
'ng 'signal they filed off to the right and left, made the bourne Argus, appears to have turned out very well.
nrcuitof the pond one by one and joined at the other Mr. A. ,M. Sullivan, M.P , presided on Sunday
idelii couples as before, with an exactitude to be afternoon at a gathering of about 10000 persons held its the
Initiated by many a corps de ballet. The manoeuvre Pbconix Park, Dublin, at which resolutions in favour of the
was pretty and prettily executed, and was bailed with Bill before Parliament for closing public•houses in Ireland
oud expressions of approval. After this display the on Sunday were adopted. The principal speakers were work
iicycle brigade returned to the Lion Gates, without one Log en •
erious injury on the list of casualties, and the remain-
John Walton, who styles himself a young novice
has just completed a walk of a thousand miles,'
lg, ig, the evening was devoted to,adseries cf Pith Pedeetrial
in a thousand consecutive hours at Wrexham. At the finish
' 1„---ners'#), all the inns of tlf?yillage. i,I duo., he declared himself quite fresh, and walked an extra mile
u
' -' with a child in his arms.
_„.I The ship Astracan, 1,042 tons, chartered by the
Agent-General for South Australia, sailed on Saturday from
Plymouth with 373 emigrants, bound for Port Adelaide, con-
sisting of married and single agricultural and other labourers
and mechanics, and including fifty-five single young female
domestic servants. 1
The American Senate has passed a resolution declar-
ing that great injury is resulting from Chinese immigration,
and instructing the Committee on Commerce to consider the
subject and report a bill placing adequate restrictions on the
immigration of Chinese.
Trade is in a very unsatisfactory state in Maccles-
field and the district. The union stonemasons and painters
have struck work. In the staple trade of the district, silk
throwing and weaving, large numbers of weavers are unable
to find work.
Three French Roman Catholic missionaries, sent out
by an Algerian society, were beheaded at the end of January
on the road to Timbuctoo—the news of their fate having only
ust been receiver/.
On Tuesday morning, as the 11.15 train from Ham-
mersmith was about to start for the Mansion House, in
London, there was a loud report, followed by the escape of
a large quantity of steam at high pressure. When'the vapour
cleared away it was discovered that the top of the boiler
"dome "was blown away. Very little damage was done in
the station. The explosion was attributed to the want of
cold water in the condensers.
Sir William Armstrong has nearly completed the
first of his 100 ton guns for the Italian government. It will
be bored to 17 inches calibre, as originally intended, and
polygrooved, the projectile being rotated by a sort of gas
check at the base.
Her Majesty's ship Pearl is about to leave Sydney
for one of the islands in the Aurora group, where the cm-
modore intends to punish the natives implicated in the
massacre of the beat's craw of ,the merchant vessel Lcelia, a
few months since.
Reports from Madras (according to a Times tele-
gram) say that the Ooregaum goldfields are likely to prove
successful in yield, four to six ounces of the purest gold
having been obtained from a ton of quart!, the working
expenses being only half an ounce per ton.
The Tourist's Church Guide, now in its third year of
issue, gives a list of nearly 1,600 churches, in which there is
at least a weekly celebration of the Holy Communion. It
states that in 251 churches vestments are worn in 715
candles are placed on the altar, and that in 370 instances
these are lighted at the celebration.
It appears from a parliamentary return that at the
time of the last winter circuits (November 24, 1874), there
were in the gaols of England and Wales 118 prisoners await-
ing trial, who remained in prison until the spring assizes
(February 21, 1876). Five of these prisoners were committed
411
for trial in July, and twenty in August.
.-
At the close of a tavern dinner two of the company
fell downstairs, the one tumbling to the first landing-place,
and the other rolling to the bottom. Some one remarked
that the first seemed drunk. "Yes," observed a wag, "but
he is not so far gone as the other gentleman below."
A return recently issued shows that last year the
amount of drawback paid on beer exported in the United
tKingdom was £171,245 16s. Eid., against £197,682 Si. 21cl. in
the preceding year.
' The Registrar-General estimates the population of
Victoria at the close of the year 1875 at 823,419-namely
447,217 males and 376,202 females. The total is 15,012,m0re
than at the end of 1i74, and 11,601 of the increase was by
excess of births over deaths.
1 In future the hour for tatto Throughout all the year
at stations and garrisons at home is to be ten o'clock p.m.
This change, the Army and Navy Gazette thinks, will be
very generally approved, and may be considered another step
towards the popularisation of the army.
A large meeting of miners has been held -at Dar,
lastoi., to consioer the position of the South Yorkshire and
North Derbyshire miners, who at present are unemployed. It
was stated that there are 11,500 to be supported. in addition
to 326 widows, 611 children, and eight aged parents. The,
meeting decided to grant £.21 towards the relief fund. ,1
A boy, ten years of age, son of Mr. Heep, landlor
of the "Queen's Cross," Leamington, has been severe!
bitten by two large rats. He had been put to bed, and whilel
asleep was attacked by two rats and severely bitten over his
right eye and in other places about the face. The pain
causL d by the wounds awoke him, and shaking off the rats,
he came down stairs in his night-dress, covered with blood.
Time rats were supposed to have come from a neighbouring
sewer.
A German correspondent writes :—" As an instance
of the influence of popular usage with respect to Royal or
Imperial titles it may be noticed what has happened in Ger-
many. In 1871 the King of Prussia was proclaimed
' German Emperor ' not 'Emperor of Germany, for the
obvious reason that the other German Sovereigns should not
feel themselves prematurely mediatized. The title 'German
Emperor' appeared, however, so uncouth that it became at
once the usage in all foreign countries to designate the
Emperor as 'Emperor of Germany.' "
—Fall Mall Gazette.
At the annual meeting of the Religious Tract
Society, in London, it was stated that the circulation of pub-
lications from the home depot amounted to nearly 62 mil-
lions, and from the foreign depot 11 millions, making a
total for the year of nearly 63 millions. The grand total of
the circulation since the birth of the society. amounted to
1,658 millions. 3
It appears from the latest details concerning the ex.'
plosion of the steamer Louise on the Rhine, that out of about
40 passengers who were onboard, from 17 to 20 men, women,
and children, residents of Rudesheim, Geisenhelm, and
Bingen were saved, but with wounds more or less severe.
The force of the explosion was so great that the windows in
some houses along the banks of the river were blown out;
and the boiler was driven against the railway embankment,
whence it rolled back on the towing-path.
The Bishop of Manchester, preaching at the Cathe-
dral on Sunday evening, said the apprehension of some far-
looking men was that we were on the eve of a great religious
war. He did not pretend to read the signs ot the times so
' clearly, but he thought he could see pretty distinctly that if
there skould be a great convulsion, of which religion would
be the ground, it would probably be accompanied with
almost inconceivable fierceness and cruelty, for men's pas-
sions were not much under the control of reason or of con-
science.

The Magnet says :—" The warm sunshine succeed-
ing the late abundant rains has lately stimulated vegetation,
and the growing crops have made good progress. Wheat
does not, however, look well in all parts, the plant being dis-
coloured in some districts. Should the weather keep favour-
able this drawback will soon be removed. There is every
probability of a large yield of hay, the grass at the present
moment being very plentiful.
Mr. Walter Bagehot was a witness on Monday be-
fore the select Committee of the House of Commons which is
inquiring into the causes of the depreciation of silver. These
he described to be four in number—the increased production
Of the silver mines, the demonitization by Germany, the in-
crease in the drafts on India by the Indian Council, and the
limiting by the States forming the Latin Union of the amount
of silver they would coin. But for that change of policy all
the silver that has been offered for sale in the English
market would have been consumed in those countries, and
would have released a considerable amount of gold. Mr.
Bagehot was of opinion that a continuance in the deprecia-
tion of silver would have a prejudicial effect upon the
revenue of India, inasmuch as a large portion of its re-
sources consisted of the land revenue, which was paid in

rupees.
The Sussex Advertiser has very good authority for
stating that the number of troops, including officers, in the
military camp at Lewes, which has been decided upon by the
War Office, under the scheme for the mobilisation of the
forces, will probably not exceed 2,000, and that the duration
of the camp will not be of a lengthened period. The men
will probably arrive near the end of June, and the camp will
be broken up before the autumn races, which take place at
an early date in August.
During last week 6,176 births and 3,589 deaths were
registered in London and twenty-two other large towns of the
United Kingdom. The natural increase of population was
2,587. The mortality from all causes was at the average rate
of 23 deaths annually in every 1,000 persons living. The
annual death-rate was 25 per I,COO in Edinburgh, 29 in Glas-
gow, and 26 in Dublin. In London 2,602 births and 1,416
deaths were registered, the former having been 171 above,
and the latter 79 below, the average numbers. There were
only two deaths from small-pox throughout the metropolis
The Pope received Sir Salar Jung and his suite at
the Vatican on Monday. His Holiness, seated on the
throne, received the homage of the Prime Minister of
Hyderabad, and expressed his gratitude to him for the pro-
tection afforded by the Nizarn to Catholics, hoping that this
protection would continue. Ile then entered into conversa-
tion with the members of the suite, giving them his hand to
kiss and promising to pray for them.
The Bishop of Peterborough has given evidence
before the select committee appointed to inquire into the
working of the Acts of Parliament having reference to eccle-
siastical dilapidations. In his opinion the present system of
dealing with dilapidations should be abolished, and, in lieu
thereof, a fixed charge might be attached to every benefice,
payable to a diocesan board or to Queen Anne's Bounty
Board, either of which should then undertake the entire
responsibility of building, repairing, and insuring all glebe
houses.
Between the 24th and 28th April last the following
objects were found in Paris :—Six gold bracelets, nine
rings,w a watches essi x opf u hs
ee scaotinitea
ietitgalmaonnt
yt:Vt two of f
gs
ivde r
h,
et
awpoe diamondd
canes,
palagteo,mthrmeeouonpteerda
vinaigrette, several gold earrings, lockets,
glasses or spec
another with a stialevleerskonfobg,
crosses, etc and,
lastly, on rp ise icl ;se f
nugget of gold, weighing four grammes 9J,
lastly, a small nug& ,
found in the gutter of a small street in the Marais.
-
Captain Kilgour, of the Dundee whaler Po?hynia,
recently brought home several interesting despatches con-
nected with the expedition equipped by Lady i Frankln in
1852 for discovering traces of her husband and his associates.
Records were found in tin canisters embedded in cairns of
stones on the shores of Batty Bay, and bore to have been
deposited by Captain William Kennedy, the commander of
the expedition, on the 6th of August, 1852. Lady Franklin
had the documents forwarded to her, and on Saturday they
were returned to Dundee by her niece, Sophia Cracroft, to be
placed in the local museum. These contributions will be
highly prized.
The Sunday League " demonstration " in favour ef
opening the national museums and picture galleries on Sun-
day, which was postponed on Sunday week owing to the rain,
took place on Sunday. About half-past three o'clock a pro-
cession of several thousand men marched from Trafalgar.
square and halted in front of the National Gallery, where a
copy Of a ,‘ pretest" on behalf of the League against the
closing of the museums and picture galleries on Sunday
was placed in the letter-box. The precession then went to
the British Museum, where also a copy of the protest was
left. The next destination was the "Reformers' Tree" in
Hyde-park, where a meeting was held, and resolutions
passed in favour of the objects of the gathering.
Mr. Forster, M.P., presided on Monday at the
seventy-first general meeting of the British and Foreign
School Society, and in the course of his speech, referred at
some length to the education question. He congratulated
his audience on the circumstance that the principles upon
Which the society was formed were those upon which Govern-
inent action with regard to elemeetary education had been
carried forward, and which the country had approved.
Training schools for teachers he regarded as most valuable
institutions, whlch we could not do without; and, referring
to the Code of this year, he expressed his conviction that by
the
system provisions the Government had struck a blow at e
system of trained certificated teachers—a system with out
o
which the education movement would not meet the wants I
the country.

No fewer than eleven Billops preached in varku3
)ndon chur last Sunday.

•ches

A man named' Foralitcw-bas nietwith a terrible death
Liverpool. He aN.. employed at Curtz's chemical worka,
nd being missed salitFch was made, when he was found float.
gin a pan of boiling muriate of ammonia, having been
lterally balled alive.

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Salftord has issued a
)astoral letter on the necessity fcr an increase in the number
of clergy in his dionese, Bishop
_Vaughau has procured a
imply of priests from Holland, *here " the clergy are In
xcess of tlxsir work." o
In the report of .the nagged Schools Union,tha,com-
roittee exore s their belief that ti•era are at present large
numbers of children -evading the Education Act, whe mighe
have been induced to attend ragged schools had they not
Deen scared from them by threats of proceedings before a
nagistrate. . _

La .
The new Italian ironclad Duilio W&9' successfully
unched on Monday at Ckultellamare in presence of the
-ing, Princess Margherita tichridening the ship. Her im-
inersion was almost exactly to the calculated water-line.
The Duilio, having received her engines, will gobo Spezzia
to receive her armour.
Mr. Macdonald, M.P., speaking at a meeting .hel'
at Leicester, said the working classes of England had nothing
to fear from foreign competition; the great fear they had
was from themselves. Referring to the improved position
of the working classes, he stated that productive co-operation
did not mean to make them gentlemen, but to elevate the
labourer.

t The Daily News says that the Sunday question seems
to be getting into the foreground in France. The clergy are
making efforts to induce the shoacepers to shut up their
establishments on Sunday, and eery one must sympathise
with their wish to secure for tilidespeople a weekly holiday.
Mr. Joseph F. Ronayne, senior member for the city
et Cork, died at his residence near Queenstown, on Sunday.
On Friday his leg was amputated, an abscass having formed
on it. Mr. Bonayne was elected for Cork city, upon the death
of the late Mr. John Francis Maguire, and was subsecfuently
re-elected at the General Electicnrovhen he headed the poll.
„
The quantity of spirits retiatied by Scdtlind for con-
sumption as a beverage, is seven million gallons, for a popu-
lation of three and a half millions, which gives two gallons •
per head. Eogland retains sixteen millions of gallons, to a!
population of twenty-three and a hall millions, and the allow-
ance per head is three-fourths of a gallon. Ireland goes in
for a gallon per head.
A young woman died at Bradford on Tuesday from
hydrophobia. She was bitten by a cat a few months back,
but it was not until a day or two since that any alarming
symptoms were manifested.

The ex-King of Hanover is expected to arrive at
Dover on the 16th inst. Ninety-seven cases of plate, weigh-
ing twelve tons, the property of his Royal Highness, were
unshipped at Dover on Tuesday from the steam-packet Wave,
specially chartered to convey it here. The cases were sent
on to London.
The builders of Southport, who have a dispute with
their Joiners, are about to import from Germany 100 men,
who will accept 7d. per hour, though the Southportdoiners
will not work for Bid. per hour, A number of joiners have
also arrived in the town from Ireland to take the places of
men on strike.
A parliamentary return, just issued, shows that
during the four and a half years ended June 30, 1675, the
total number of grain ships reported to the Board of Trade
as totally lost was 415, and the total number of lives lost
was 2,149. Of these ships 250 carried grain ; 90 carried cocoa,
coffee, rice, seeds, &c.; and 75 were ships where grain was
reported as part of the cargo.
Ga/ignani states that the news from the South of
France relative to the condition of the mulberry-trees and
the rearing of silkworms is not favourable. The former,
struck by the frost, give no sign of vegetation in the neigh-
bourhood of Valence (Drdme) ; and the proprietors who had
hesitated to sacrifice the latter have been compelled to do so
from the absence of leaves for food.
-
At a mass meeting of Warwickslaire miners held on
Tuesday night the masters' proposition for a reduction in
wages was considered. The meeting unanimously passed a
resolution to the effect that their present rate of wages is
only 3d. per day in advance of the rate of 1871, and that their
present working hours are as long as those of competing
districts. The men therefore hoped the reduction would
not be insisted on, it being even now impossible for them to
procure the common necessaries of life.

The annual general meeting of the Christian Ver-
nacular Education Society was held in London on Monday at
Willis's Rooms, Lord Shaftesbury presiding. The report
stated that the society was training native teachers, instruct-
ing heathen children, and publishing educational works, and
a general Christian literature in all the principal languages
of India. The number of students now being trained as
,teachers was 128, the number of children under Christian in-
struction 8,208, and the number of copies of 106 different
publications issued during the past year was 540,400.
The Farmer states that the Duke of Bedford has
not only alloted ninety acres of land for the use of the Royal
'Agricultural Society's experiments on feeding and the
manurial value of artificial foods after consumption by
animals, but he has also expressed a desire that the erection
of the necessary buildings and the subsequent cost of the
experiments themselves should be entirely borne by him.
Mr. Lawes, in conjunction with Dr. Voelcker, has drawn up
a scheme on which the experiments are to be conducted.
On Tuesday Mr. Stansfeld, M.P., opened the pro-
ceedings of a conference convened by the Society of Arts on
the subject of the health and sewage of towns. In the course
of his remarks upon the occasion the right hon. gentleman
observed that,the policy of the Local Government Board at
the present tittit should consist in conveying information to
sanitary authorities ; and with this view he bad thought,
while he was its President, of establishing a department of
inquiry, which might have been consulted on sewage quer-
tioLs by those authorities maxlitn eej ;hang caution and
moderation in the expenditurs.. of money upon large. and
pretentious schemes.
Great consternation prevailed at West Hartlepool or,
Tuesday morning, in consequence of a Norwegian barque,
called the Europa, whilst being towed in from sea, timber •
laden, from Pensacola Hog, grounded on the sill of the dock
entrance so firmly as to defy all efforts to move her before
the tide began to ebb. The effect of this was that it was im-
possible to close the dock gates; and, as the tide ebbed, the
two largest docks were almost emptied of water, about seven-
teen vessels, several of large tonnage and laden, being left
aground in serious danger of capsizing. The position of the
Naval Reserve Training ship, her Majesty's ship Trincomalee, •
created great anxiety, nothing but most extraordinary exer-
tions preventing her from capsizing, and carrying the barque
Philo down with her. Thousands of people flocked to witness"
the extraordinary spectacle. The evening tide, however,
enabled the barque to be got off and the gates closed. Much
damage was done to the shipping.