The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-08-18 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Does an engine-driver pay more for his whistle than
most other people ?—Judy.

A New York telegram says that a fire has occurred
at Atlanta, Georgia, in the Kimball Hotel block,
which included several banks. The loss is estimated
at one million dollars.

Fourteen persons were killed and seventy.three
wounded during the recent anti Semitic riots at Eka-
terinoslav, which also resulted in the destruction of
property valued at 800,000 roubles belonging 0 Jewish
tradesmen.
-

The fine of 200 francs each inflicted on two officers
of the Salvation Army, for selling hymn books at
Aubonne, in Switzerland, has been confirmed on
appeal. Their technical offence was unauthorised col.
portage.
The National Society for Preserving the Memorials
of the Dead has caused a repetition of the original in-
scription to be cut in a lower place on Mrs. Brace.
girdle's grave-slab in the East Cloister of Westminster
Abbey. The words are—" Annie Bracegirdle, died 12
September, J 748, aged 85 years."
Five coolies have been killed and some 12 or 14 others
injured by the fall of a portion of a hide curing ware-
house in Calcutta.
Mr. Bright has consented to open on August 29,
the Cobden Coffee House, at Birmingham. Prior to
the opening ceremony the right hop. gentleman will
be entertained at luncheon, and will subsequently
deliver an address in the Town Hall.

The first vessel of the Roumanian War Navy, with
nine officers, thirty-four cadets, and is crew of thirty-
six, which has just arrived at Odessa, is cruising along
the coasts of the Black Sea, and is subsequently going
to the Mediterranean on a similar errand. The vessel
is a schooner, and is called the Merzea.
The statue to the two brothers, Joseph and Etienne
Montgolfier, the inventors of the balloon, was un-
veiled on Monday at Annonay. The ceremony was
witnessed by a large number of people, and save occa-
sion for the delivery of about ten speeches and some
commemorative odes.

Lady Bute, accom?anied by her husband and
daughter, laid the foundation-stone of the Bute En-
gineering Company's new dry dock at Cardiff on Mon-
day. Lord Bute expressed the pleasure which it gave
his wife and himself to be of use in connection with
anything that was calculated to promote the success
and prosperity of the docks.
An instance of the extent to which labout-saving
reachinery is being used in the farming of the Cana-
dian North-west is furnished by the fact that in one
week of July a Toronto manufacturing firm shipped
19 cars of self-binders, mowers and reapers, of the
value of £15,000, the freight alone costing nearly £BOO,
Fifty acres of property have been destroyed by fire
at Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. A large number
of persons staying there for the Bummer have conse-
quently been obliged to leave their quarters. The loss
is estimated at 250,000 dole.
The steamer Sydney, which a few days ago left
Marseilles for Australia and New Caledonia, carried
provisions of all kinds to the French naval division at
Madagascar. There are, among other things, 4C0,000
cartridges and 500,000 lb. of flour and biscuits on
board. _ _ _

------
Afire occurred at Salonica on Saturday, by which
one hundred warehouses were destroyed.

In London on Saturday there was a large sale of
horses at Aldridge',, and there were a large nuna',er of
buyers of sound herr:est, horses. The best class of
harness hores nißde 400. to 65ge., and secondary ditto,
f3r tradesmen, 22gs. to 30gs. each.
Last week's receipts of cotton at all United Staten
ports wt re 10,000 bales ;duce 1.5 t September, 5,30,000
hales. Week's export,. to Great Britain, 1.1:000 bales ;
to the Continent, 5,000 bales ; total siuc 1t Sep.
tember, 4,632,000 bales. Stock at all ports, 279,000
bales. - .

---
Nlonday afternoon an accider.t occurred at some
steel works at Middleshro,gh. Four lahoarcrs were
working in a culvert bmeath one of the kteel eon.
verters when a large quantity of molten metal either
splashed or was tipped from the mouth of the c-n
verter, and raised such an intense heat in the culvert
that the fonr men were taken out insensible. Arti-
ficial respiration was tried with success in three cases,
but the fourth, a married man, named Andrew Baster,
never recovered conecionenese,

An ascent of Mont Blanc was made last week by a
girl named Queunessen, aged sixteen, the youngest of
her sex, it is said, who has yet reached the summit of
the mountain.

The Admiralty have given directions that the
boilers of the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert shall be
broken up.
The Austrian Glvernment contemplates Fending
next year an exploring expedia:m to Central Asia,
with the object eopecially of collecting information of
all kinds concerning the high platemi of Thibet.
The Queen of Denmark, mother of the Princess of
Wales, is an accomplisaed painter, and has lately pre-
sented the little village of Klitmoller, in Jutland,
with an altar-piece, entirely executed by her own
hands.

rn London, on Sunday, the Rev. O. H. Spnrgeon
conducted service in Exeter hall, where his regular
congregation will worship on the ;next three Sunday
mornings, while the Tabernacle is undergoing re-
decoration.

The Women's Christian Temperance Union has just
dedicated the first sidewalk free ice.water fountain in
New York. It is an ornamental object, piously in-
scribed and fed by pipes running through an ice-box
under the kerbstone packed with 300 pounds of ice.
The national subscriptipn for a monument to Gam-
betta has now reached the total of 250,000 francs.
(10,000). Another subscription, limited to the popu-
lation of Alsace and Lorraine, [amounts to just half
that total.

M. L'Hoste made an ascent at Boulogne on Satur•
day night in his balloon accompanied by Mr. Evans,
an Englishman. Just as the balloon was about to
touch ground near St. Omer Mr. Evans was thrown
out of the car and slightly bruised.

Dnring the Goole regatta on Tuesday, the sport was
marred by a fatal accident. The Open Sading-boat
Race had started, when, owing to the strong southerly
brcsz3, the Friendship capsized, the crew of three
being thrown into the water. Two of the men were
saved, but the third, George Walker, was drowned.

There were 2,261 births and 1,312 deaths registered
in London last week. Allowing for increase of. popu-
lation, the births were 291 ani the deaths 327 below
the average numbers in the corresponding weeks of
the last ten years. - The annual rate of mortality from
all causes, which had been equal to 235, 212, and
193 per 1,000 in the three preceding weeks, further de-
clined to 17'3.

The Dundee fleet of nine vessels has returned from
the Greenland seal and whale fisheries. They have
captured _l4 wales, and 22,220 seals, the yield of oil
from these being computed at 'B9 tons. The catch is
considerably better than that of last year, the yield of
oil being estimated at 140 tons more. The value in
the snicking and oil may be stated at £25,785. The
expenses of the voyage, which are heavy, have to be
deducted.

The windy weather .ast week caused a slight in-
crease in the number of actual shipwrecks compared
with the previous week, and also with the correspond-
ing period of last year. The total reported was 22,
against 16 in 1882. The total for the present year to
date is now 1,114. Only tan lives reported lost.
On Monday evening the gable end of a chapel in
course of erection at Holyhead fell in, and some f the
stones penetrated the roof of an adjoining printing
office killing two men named Jones and Williams.

The Crown Prince of Germany has just received the
insignia of the Order of the Double Dragon conferred
upon him by the Emperor of China on the occasion of
the Silver Wedding. This is the second highest
Chinese order, of which the tirst class is only conferred
upon reigning sovereigns.
On Monday morning a letter carrier named Brown,
was drowned in the Thames, near leleworth. He was
one of a pleasure party proceeding up the river in a
yacht, and fell overboard.

On Sunday the preparing-room of the Tollington
Calico Print Works at Bury, Lancashire; belonging to
Mr. S. Knowles, was burned to the ground. The room
contained about 6,000 nieces of cloth, and the damage
is estimated at about £5,000.

From April lit to the 11th inst. the Exchequer re.
ceipts amounted to £29,454,313, as compared with
£28,609,452 in the corresponding petiod of last year.
The expenditure has been £32,965,881. On Saturday
last the balance in the Bank of England was
£2,342,929, and in the Bank of Ireland £872,700.

Private letters received at Ottawa from Cascapedia
River, New Brunswick, say that the Marquis of Lorne
and the Princess Louise have been unusually fortu-
nate in their fishing expedition. A large number of
splendid salmon has been forwarded to the Queen.
Lord Lorne and his party will return to Ottawa the
last week in August, after having visited Quebec and
Toronto.

The Queen has been graciously pleased to confer the
Grand Oros of the Bath on Sir Augustus Paget, K. 0,8.,
Her Majesty's Ambassador at Rome, and on Sir
Edward Thornton, K.C.8., Her Majesty's Ambassadpr
at St. Petersburg.
A man, whose name was unknown, was drowned on
Monday evening in a whirlpool in the Swale, at Rich-
mond, Yorkshire, while attempting to save a lad who
had fallen into the stream. The lad was rescued by
three men of the Pri, ce of Wales's Own Regiment.—
The body of the man was recovered on Tuesday, and
was identified as that of a platelayer named James
Buck, employed by the North-Eastern Railway Com-
pany at Richmond. The deaased was married, and
leaves three young children.
The first of the season's lamb sales took place at
Lockerbie an Monday. Nearly 20,000 lambs ware
exposed. Generally, owing to the severity of the
lambing season, they were some shillings back in
quality, and on account of the wet appeared in-
different. Buyers were numerous, and bidding through-
out brisk with few exceptions. Prices were an ad-
vance on last season's.

William Richans, footman to the Duke of Suther.
land, who was seriously injured in the railway colli-
sion which took place recently at Perth, and who had
both his legs amputated above the knees, died on
Monday morning in Perth Infirmary.
The tombstone at Kirkoswald, in Ayrshire, to the
memory of the grandparents and great-grandparents
of Burns on the mother's side has been carefully
restored by framing the old stone in a new one, so as
to expose both aides to view.

From a list just issued by Mr. Vera Foster giving
the contributions to his Irish Female Emigration Fund,
It appears that through this agency alone no fewer
than 19,000 girls have been assisted to emigrate.
These girls, Mr. Foster says, have already sent home
to their friends upwards of £250,000.
A noted chemist has taken the trouble to count the
number of animalculse contained in the water of the
Seine during its course through Paris. At Choisy-
le-Roi a litre of Seine water contained 300,000 animal-
cules ; at St. Denis the same amount of water contains
200 millions.
According to a telegram from Munich, the Prize
Committee of the International Art Exhibition has
awarded the medal of the first class for painting to Mr.
Hubert Herkomer (England).
The International League of Peace and Liberty has
addressed a circular to the European and American
Peace Societies announcing that the orders of the day
at the assembly of September 16 next will include the
following :—The Neutralisation of Denmark, Sweden,
Imo Norway, the Neutrality of the Danube, and the
Neutralisation of the Congo.
Workmen are at present engaged in fitting up a
telephone between Ballater and Balmoral Castle, the
poles being placed along the north aide of the turnpike
road, and crossing the Dee at Crathie to the house of
Dr. Profeit, and from thence to the Castle of Balmoral
and Abergeldie. The wire will be in working order
by the 25th inst., the date at present fixed for the
Queen's arrival at Balmoral.

The traffic receipts of the railways in the United
Kingdom for the week ending August 10, upon a
mileage of 16,6274, amounted to £1,567,561, being
equal to £94 68. per mile. For the corresponding
week of last year the receipts were £1,520,786, the
number of miles open 16,422, or £92 12s. per mile.
A comparison of the two weeks shows an increase in
the totsl receipts of £46,775. and an increase in the
number of miles open to 2042.

A Geneva telegram says that the harvest in the
Rhone Valley, though the grain is of good quality, is
reported to fall short by full one•fourth of the yield of
last year. The weather in Switzerland, which for
many weeks had been cold, wet, and variable in the
extreme, has now changed much for the better, and
the improvement bids fair to continue.
On Monday the steam whaler Ra•lute, Dundee
(Captain W. Deuchare), arrived at Lerwick, fr,m the
Greenland seal fishing-ground, with 1,600 seals, yield-
ing 45 tuns of oil. Owing to the steam plates being
damaged the voyage has not proved so successful as
was anticipated. Captain Deuchars reports having
spoken the Aurora' of Dundee, on the 22nd July, with
2000, seals and 65 tuns of oil.
On Saturday a treat was given to about 750 of the
street arabs of Edinburgh, a suggestion having been
made in the Edinburgh Courant a short time ago that
600 of the poorest children in the city might be sent
for a day Into the country at a cost of £25. A sum of
£4O was soon subscribed, and the number of children
sent to the country, was enlarged accordingly. The
excursion was to the grounds of Dalkeith Palav,
which were thrown open for the oocasion by the Duke
of Raceleach.

A Parliamentary return of the bankruptcy and
arrangement petitions filed in the Court of Bank-
ruptcy in Ireland daring the last three years has just
been issued. The bankruptcy petitions numbered 323
in 1880, 233 in 1881, and 190 in 1882, while the arrange•
ment petitions numbered 305 in 1880, 266 in 1881, and
216 in 1882. During the three years, therefore, there
was a total of 1,533 petitions of both kinds.
About 100,000 sheep were penned at the Great
Wiltshire Sheep Fair at Britford, near Salisbury on
Monday—the largest supply since 1879—and dealers
&gentled from Essex, Emtwards, and the Midlands.
Very high prices were realised for the sheep, HamP•
shire Downs, the best animals, being eagerly bought.
The best lambs sold as high as 655,, and ewes went up
to 755. and 90s, Ram lambs were bought at 55 guineas
downwards.

In London, on Sunday morning before a crowded
congrtgation in the ancient parish church of St.
Mary-le-Bow, Cheapeide, the Vicar the Rev. M. H.
Vine,
M.A., in conformity with the wills of Mr. J.
Chapman and other oitizons of London, who, in 1611,
hit sums of money for the purpose, preached the anni-
versary sermon in commemoration of the defeat of the
Spanish Armada.
The marriage of Prince Peter Karageorgeviteh and
the Princess Z irks, eldest daughter of Prince Nicholas
of Montenegro, was solemnized on Saturday last at
Cettinje with great pomp in the Metropolitan Con-
vent, in accordance with the rites of the Orthodox
Greek Church. The ceremony was attended by
Prince Nicholas, the Curt functionaries, and the
representatives of foreign Powers. There was also a
large gathering of the general public in the church.
At noon a dinner was given, at which 2,000 persou eat
down. There afterwards followed toasts, songs,
dances, and popular entertainments.

Mrs. Ramsbotham considers a slice ot a good Best
failure ham, nicely broiled, and a dish of Matter-of-
fact peas, one of the beat thinns you can have for
luncheon at the present time.— Punch.
The gunboat Jackal has been placed at the disposal
of a coin uaittee of the Fishery Board for Scotland for
the prosecution of scientific resealches into the life
history of the herring.
A scientific expedition, fitted out by the Government
of Chili, and headed by a mining engineer ef much
experience, is at present engaged in an exploration of
the Atacama de,=ert, A ge: logist, an agriculturist, a
surveyor, and two assistant engineers are on the staff.
It is stated that the sale of reply post-cards has
fallen far short of reasonable expectation. The public
do not seem to be aware of their existence, or do not
find them convenient. On the contrary postal orders
continue to increase in popular favour.
The number of failures in England and Wales
gazetted during the week ending Saturday August 11,
was 177. The number in the corresponding week of
last year was 180, showing a decrease of 3, being a net
decrease in 1883, to date, of 217.
The sum of 830,000 marks, subscribed by the nation
as a compliment to the German Crown Prince and
Princess on the occasion of their Silver Wedding, has
now been wholly assigned by their Imperial High-
nesses for the benefit of various sanitary and benevo-
lent institutions in Germany.

The Daily News says that although Monday Was
the hottest day experienced in London for many weeks,
the temperature of tbe House of Commons was main-
tained at a tomfortable degree of coolness without the
use of ice in the ventilating chambers. This was due
to the fact that it takes several days of successive hot
weather to heat the stonework of the building, and
affect the atmosphere:within.

The forty-fourth anniversary meeting of the Royal
Botalic Suciety has ju.t been held, at the office of the
society, in the Gardens, Regent's Park, London.
During the last year nearly 60,000 cut specimens of
plants were gratuitously distributed by the society
for the purpose of study ; and free admissions of from
one to six months were granted to 836 students and
artists.

According to the Weser Zeitung, the Berlin Foreign
Office has assented to the hoisting of the German flag
on the territory recently acquired by a Bremen firm
on the Bay. of Angra Pequena, on the south-west coast
of Africa, and has promised the protection of the
Empire to the undertakirg.
As a supplementary note to the statistics of the
paper mills of the world, it has been calculated the
Journal of the Society of Arts says; that to make the
959,000 tons of paper per annum for the world, would
requite 430 days' medium flow of water down the
River Thames ; or, 1,432 days' metropolitan water
supply.
The number of visitors to the Fisheries Exhibition
last Saturday was 20,494, making a total for last week
of 151,467. The total number from the opening of the
Exhibition has been 1,236,813.
The Anchor Line steamer City of Rome arrived at
New York early on Thursday morning in last week,
having made the passage in six days twenty boars and
thirty minutes—the fastest passage on record. Her
distances were—August 3rd, 406 knots; 4th 384; sth
429; 6th, 425; 7th 408; Bth, 392; 9th, 340, and ar-
rived at New York same day:
An inquest has been held at Skegness on the body
of Thomas Hatfield, a child, who fell from a wall into
a hole eight feet deep. In trying to save himself he
clutched at the coping stone of the wall, which gave
way and fell upon him, fr .Icturing his skull. A verdict
of Accidental Death was returned.
The scheme of a Scottish National Portrait Gallery
promises speedily to be realised. Months ago a Scotch
gentleman offered £lO,OOO towards founding such a
gallery, provided a similar sum could be collected, and
the Government have now promised to ask for a vote
for the necessary amount.

Tuesday night's London Gazette announces that the
Queen has been graciously pleased to confer the deco-
ration of the Royal Red Cross upon the undermentioned
Nursing Sisters, under the provisions of Her Majesty's
Warrant, dated 23rd April, 1883, viz. :—Miss M. Selby,
Miss J. King, Miss K. Forrest, Mies M. Thomas,
Miss A. Crisp, Miss A. Yardley, Miss A. K. Holland,
Mrs. Janet King, and Miss Hornor.

From a Parliamentary return just issued relating to
poor rates and pauperism, it appears that the total ex-
penditure for relief of the poor, during the half-year
ended Lady Day last was £2,252,286. Of this sum
£982,586 was for in-door maintenaire, and £1,269,700
for out-door relief. The return coraprised 647 unions,
and a population of 25,972,119.

The Cunard Steamship Company have, it is stated,
contracted with Messrs. John Elder and Co., of
Glasgow, for the building of two steamers which will
be more powerful than any yet constructed for the
Atlantic service. They will be of 8,000 tons burden
each, and 13,000 horse power. The contract price is
to be £600,000, and the two vessels are to make a speed
of 19 knots per hour, that is to say, to cross the
Atlantic in less than six days.
A New York telegram Pays that the visible supply
of wheat on Aug. 10 was 18,800,000 bushels, as against
17,700,000 bu-hels the previous week. Visible supply
of Indian corn, 10,900,000 bushels, as against 10,500,000
bushels the previous week. The export clearances of
wheat for Europe during last week amounted to
1,030,000 bushels. The export clearances of Indian
corn for Europe during last week amounted to 1,113,000
bushels.

On Friday in last week while some labourers were
engaged in demolishing the old fortifications forming
the eastern boundary of the Governor's-green, at
Portsmouth, a mass of concrete, weighing several tons,
and forming the bed of a gun platform, fell upon
them, The men were speedily dug out, but one,
named Henry Pink, an old man, was killed, and
another' named Quinton, was found to have his thigh
fractured and to be otherwise injured.
The number of Bills cf Sale published in England
and Wales for the week ending August 11 was 244.
The number in the corresponding week of last year
was 814, showing a decrease of 570, being a net decrease
in 1883, to date, of 22,616. The number published in
Ireland for the same week was 28, the number in
the corresponding week of last year was 23, showing a
decrease of 5, being a net increase in 1883, to date, of
196,

The ship Freeman Clark, 1,336 tons, bound from
Calcutta to New York with a cargo of jute was aban-
doned off St. Francis Bay on the 18th ult. After
encountering a heavy gale for some days, she was
discovered to be on fire. In a few hours the crew
had to take to their boats. One boat, containing the
mate and eißht men (two having died from exposure),
has been picked up by a tug sent in search. The other
boat, containing the captain and seven men was still
missing.
A meeting has been held in London at Exeter Hall
to consider ani make arrangements for the fourth cen-
tenary of the birth of Martin Luther, the Hon.
Captain Hobart-Hampden in the chair. It was de-
cided to form an organization for the United Kingdom
to commemorate the work of the great Reformer, and
to promote union among the branches of the Protestant
family.
A meeting of workmen's representatives in South
Wales and Monmouthshire have unanimously resolved
to issue appeals to their constituents, recommending
the acceptance of an educational scheme by which each
collier will pay one farthing per head per week for the
next ten years towards founding workmea's scholar-
ships at the South Wales University College. The
male collier population is already nearly 50,000, and
by the scheme £lOO,OOO should be raided by the end of
the period specified.
It is proposed in Dresden to collect all used steel
pens, and sell them for the benefit of the education of
poor children. It appears that these pens are made
out of the best steel, which can be used for the prepa-
ration of watch springs, fine knives, and even in the
manufacture of ink. In steel-pen works even the chips
of steel are gathered and made use of. Yet many
millions of pens are wasted every year by young and
old.

The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens,
Regent's Park, London, last week, included a grivet
monkey from West Africa, presented by Lord
Hastings; two black backed jackals, two triangular
pigeons from South Alma, presented by Mr. R.
Southey; two Indian brush-tailed porcupines from
Ceylon, presented by Mr. A. Dent; three puffins,
British, presented by Mr. H. Becher; a common
cormorant, British, presented by Mr. W. R. Temple;
a common barn owl, British presented by Mr. H.
Hanaeur ; a common wombat from Tasmania, a
common cormorant, Bcitish, a common boa from West
Indies, deposited; a white stork, two common spoon-
bills, two purple herons, European, purchased ; a
musk deer from Central Asia, received on approval;
a collared fruit bat, two amherst's nheasants, two
summer ducks, bred in the gardens.