The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-08-13 00:00:00

:ftlisallatous 4.ntelligentt,
HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIA.

REV. T. BINNET ON PROTESTANT IDOLATRY.—
On Sunday morning, at the Weigh-house Chapel,
London, previous to an address from the Rev. Robert
Moffat on his missionary labours in South Africa, Mr.
Rainey delivered a discourse upon the idolatry which
prevailed in professedly Christian countries. Recently
the Church of Rome had clothed a man with one of the
attributes of Deity, and, to be consistent, that Church
ought to fall down and worship him whom it had pro
flounced to be infallible. But what had taken place in
England about the same time? The Dean of Arches
(although it was probable that his judgment would be
reversed) had, by his judgment, declared that the
Prayer Rook sanctioned idolatry. Mr. Bennett's first
statement, that after the consecration of the elements
Christ was visibly present on the altar, wan pronounced
to be contrary to the doctrine of the Prayer B sok ;
but he had altered that into Christ being invisibly
present, and being the invisible object of worship in
the consecrated elements. This was the May in which
idolats rs of culture explained their idolatry. But in
spite of casuistry, idolatry it wan after all; and this
was now declared to be the doctrine of the Ens,dish
Prayer Book. Would any man of common sense say
that it wan a dcctrine in accordance with truth and
reason?

PRI- 11 IbTk Tim, B. Before Tight Lachig.—
Punch.

DEATII OF A WOMAN Woo WAS AT WATaRLOO.
—The Scots man says :
Elizabeth Welib,, wi!e of Mr. Adam Thompson, Rockvale
Cott.,ge. lialicoate (a Mall who enjoys a well-nailed pension
from hie country, died the other day. This lady was one of
the few survivors who were present at the battle of Water-
loo, and assisted, in common with coh,ra attached to the
Britieh army, In administering comfort to the wounded
soldiers, Ir )th French and English.

HORRIBLE DEATH ON A DaILW,T.—A a In-
quest has been held in London, at St. George's hos-
pital, on the b ,dy of Joseph Willsins, aged twenty-
two. Deceased was an assistant to his father, a
greengrocer in Cloth.fair, Smithfield. On Saturday
night last, he left his employment at eleven o'clock,
to return home by the train leaving letulgate-hill for
Victoria at 1130. On the train reaching Grosvenor.
road station at 128 he quitted it, leaving behind him
a small parceL Just as the train was leaving the
station he ran back to the carriage for his parcel, and
laid hold of the handle of the door, in order to get in.
Tho train being in motion, he was dragged along with
it for several yards, and then fell between the train
and the platform, the wheels of the three hindermost
carriages passing over him. lle shrieked out, and
some of the porters went to his assistance, when he
was found lying in the two-foot way, his right leg
Revered from his body, and lying some yards away, his
left leg nearly cut off, and hanging to the knee by a
piece of skin, his left arm broken, and the other ports
of his body severely lacerated. As soon as possible,
he was placed in a carriage and conveyed to the hos-
pital He was quite sensible, and able to give his
name and address, but died within an hour after ad-
from exhaustion, consequent on his injuries
and loss of blood. A verdict of " Accidental Death"
was returned, the jury exonerating the railway officials
from all blame.

DICTUM ANTE.—" Bill," said a respectable, but
pensive burglar to another, "get rid of them sovereigns
we found." (He wasn't vulgar enough to call them
"cove,' like a snob.) "You know, I hear old Gopue
had marked the money in his tilL"—" All right," said
his friend, exhibiting Bank-paper, " I go by the good
rule, 'When found, make a note of.'"—Punch.
A LESSON IN WAR ! —The Fenian General
O'Neill now in Burlington Gaol, has been "inter-
viewed." The reporter asked him to explain candidly
to what his failure was to be attributed ; the general
replied that it was owing "entirely and solely to lack
of men."

THE AMERICAN FENIANS T.) THE RESCUE !
James Gibbons, Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Fenian Brotherhood in the United States, has
homed the following:—
.

- - •
Philadelphla, July 2. 1870.
In vlew of the Imminency of a general European war, and
the strong pr bability of England being engaged In the
struggle, & general convention of the Irish Nationalist. of
America, irrespective of past differences or organisatidus,
will be held in Cincinnati, August 2.2. to adopt such measures
as will best promote the cause of Irish independence.

FALSE NEWS !—We must be prepared, I fancy,
for a good steal of false news for some time to come
(says the Times' Paris Correspondent). Some years
ago, I knew an old man who, tihen he was young, had
served in that Royalist Army of emigres known as the
Army of Conde. He was in possession of large estates
when I knew him, hut in those emigration days of his
be was penniless. He used to earn a tolerable liveli-
hood at the Camp, he told me, by always betting
against the news of the day. Whenever an event was
announced as being positively true, whatever it might
he, he would offer, without inquiry, to bet against it.
Nine times out of ten he used to win. I have often
thought lately that the poor grniore's plan might be
adopted with profit in the present day.

FOOLISH WONDER.—Surprise has been ex-
pressed that the Secret Treaty was kept dark so long.
But, remember what is said in that capital play, Le
Disc Job, " A secret need not be respectable to be re.
spected."—Punch.
AN " ATMOSPHERIC" TELEGRAPH. —ll-ailire
gives a detailed description of an atmospheric telegraph
invented by Signor Guattari, which professes to effect
by means of compressed air all that is u.erforined by an
electric battery. By an ingenious system of tubes and
stopcocks the inventor creates currents or pulsations
of air, which set in motion a lever connected with the
writing apparatus. Any number of conducting tubes
may be employed, and the machinery is so simple that
it cannot get out of order. Of course it has an advan-
tage over the electric system in being wholly unaffected
by atmospheric influences, and in the requisitemedium
Icing always at hand. The Royal Scientific Institute
of Naples has awarded to Signor Guattari agold medal,
in recognition of what they consider an important in.
vention, adding a graceful tribute on its presentation
to the effect that it was the only gold medal which the
institute had ever awarded As experiments with the
machine were successfully conducted only a few weeks
ago, the system can scarcely be pronounced as chi..
mercial.

THE EIFECT OF THE WAR.—The French iron
trade is feeling more and more the effect, of the war.
In the Champagne district theie is still a certain
amount of business doing, but in the Moselle group
matters have changed greatly for the worse. Thus
some of the Longwy iron-master, have decided on
blowing out their furnaces; at Stiring the forges and
furnaces are flopped; and at Are a furnace has also
been stopped. The mineral workings of the Mowelle
are, it may be added, pretty well deserted. The
French Government has given out an order for a large
quantity of bullets and cannon balls to Messrs. Petin
Gandet, and Co.' the order to be executed with the
utmost possible despatch. Fresh orders for armour-
plates are also spoken of. The imports of iron minerals
into France inthe first five months of this year amounted
t 228, 905 tons, of which 52,117 tons came from Belgium,
46,783 tons from the German Association, 41,580 tons
from Spain, 70,243 tons from Algeria, &c. The Belgian,
iron trade is also beginning to suffer more and more
from the war, scarcely any fresh orders having come
to hard. The Luxemburg iroon viten, propose, how-
ever, to make efforts to keep their blast furnwegoing;
the construction of some new works at Each wiLl also
be continued. Official statistics just issued show tha
the export of rails from Belgium in the first five months
of this year was 50,617 tone against 41 895 tons in the
corresponding period of 1869, and 27,597 tons M the
corresponding period of 1868. The Belgian coal trade
still display, considerable activity; thus orders have
been received from Dutch undertakings which formerly
used Prussian coaL The Eastern of France Railway
Company, which has for come time received a large
tonnage of coal from Saarbriick, is also about to use
Increased quantities of Belgian coal.

" PRAYING FOR RAIN."—A correspondent in
Normandy writes :

The prayers of the people and the clergy are continually
lifted up for rain. They all muster in church on a day
appointed for the purpose, and walk in procession uncovered,
nantlng prayers, the children going In front, then the young
men of the town or village, the women, and heads of families,
followed by the clergy and the choristers in their robes. The
old inhabitants bring up the rear, and many • tot ering step
has of late followed she various pastors, with earnest and
hopeful supp!lcatlons for the ' blessed rain," so that all may
enjoy the kindly fruits of the earth.
PERT AND FRIVOLOUS.— c). Should you say you
had dined "on" or "off" a " beefsteak ?" A. "Off
certainly, this hot weather, and as far off as I could.—
Punch.

UNSEASONABLE SALMON.—By an Act just
passed, which will come into force on the 3rd of Sep-
tember, the law is amended as to the export of on-
season able salmon. Under the Salmon Fishery Act
of 1863 the period was defined to lie between the 3rd
of September and the 2nd of February, and now the
law is amended by preventing the exportation of salmon
that cannot be legally sold within the limits of the
United Kingdom. The recited Act of 1863 is amended
by the 30th of April being substituted for the 2nd of
February.

_
THE LATE LORD CLARENDON AND MR. BRIGHT.
—A. H. (Arthur Helps), in Macmillan's Magazine,
writes :

I do not know what part of Lord Clarendon'. character is
illustrated by the fact I am going to mention, but certainly it
is a fact that he had conceived a great regard and affection
for the President of the Board of Trade, and that he more
than once expressed to me his admiration for the worth of
Mr. Bright's character. Perhaps it was that they had been
strong political adversaries: and whea generous men meet
under such circumstances they are apt to take to one
another, and to make much of each miter. Perhaps It was
that there are the same warmth, heartiness, ant trustfulness
in the one that there were In the other. At ally rate, I
chronicle the fact, although I am not etre that I can give the
true explanation of it.

NATURAL PHENOMENA IN THE TROPlC3.—Natu-
nil phenomena muat be regarded, Irature observes, by
the engineer in the tropics. Here the boring worm
will teach him salutary caution. In the East we have
seen a railway train stopped on an ncline by locusts.
The locusts have a fancy for sittint no the rails, and
when the engine•wheel touches them they are crushed,
leaving the rails so oily that the engiae slips. On one
line, in the locust season, sand-boiesare used with the
locomotive.

CORE FOR SEA SICKNF 53.--It is understood,
(says The Times) that, within four muithe, an experi-
ment will be gratuitously made to :est the practica-
bility of osercoming all the annoyancee of the Channel
psikeige, aid, indeed, of sea communication in general.
111 r. Bessemer has patented a seriesof inventions for
rendering the passenger accommodation of vessels in-
dependent of their external motion, which have for
some time past attracted attention and curiosity in
the scientific world, and are said to is regarded with
great confidence by such of its lading memben
as have been made acquainted with the details.
A screw steamer, on the proposed principle, is
now, at Mr. Beesemer's expense, in course of con-
struction by Messrs. Maudislay and Co., and is
expected to be ready for service tefore the end
of November. She is of small size, but her success
Iwould, of course, be the signal for the construction of
similar ships, capable of taking all the traffic between
this country and other parte of Europa Two of these,
it is calculated, could be built for t:.30,000, of grea

size, fitted with the most luxurious accommodation,
and of sufficient power to make the Channel peonage in
60 or 70 minutes. In the event of the process being
found perfect, Mr. Bessemer intends to offer the use
of it, first, to the various interests primarily concerned,
such as the English continental railway lines, &c.;
and, failing any arrangement with these, to organize a
general system of international communication with
independent capital.
SWAGGERING " A LITTLB !—The French people,
if one may judge by their newspapers, have been keep-
ing up their spirits by indulging in recollections and
anticipations of a 11,-ci,Wly ferocious character. A
contributor to the Libero appears to have dined with a
very nice old gentleman, seventy-eight years of age,
who was a lieutenant of dragoons in the time of the
First Empire. The conversation turning on the Prus-
sians, the veteran related the following pleasant
story :
_.

The Prueslans ! don't mention them. Next to C mucks aml
caterpillais, they are the vermin I most detest. Come, 1
must tell you • circumstance which occurred as far back as
1814 You know we fought the last battle with the alliee
between NmAts and !torment. After the affair my horse
and !were thirsty. I c-old wait hut poor Coco was done up
I became aware Is well. With the assist into of a comery.
man I drew two buckets of water, an 4 we refreshed ourselves
Well, next year, in 1015, I was • brigand of the Ledre. Ite•
turning from the Touralne to my country; I passed by
Nabills. Cue° and I were again thinty. I looked for my
well of 1814, nt well was to be egn A blacksmith, seeing
me to, king anxiously anent, pall, "Lieutenant, if you re-
quire anything, here inn I " 8o far good, but the well ts
not hf re Wuat has beeline of it I'll has been filled up
with Prussians." " But the water r There is none loft,
the Moll .us have almorned It Al. But if your h.,the Is
t!irsty, there is a pool a few steps from here which the Ps en
seas linen Lot quite exhausted. There are only two or three
hundrrd at the bottom of It."

Tilt LIiCTIONARY BILL AND THE BOL KBINDEES.

Mr. Haynes, a working bookbinder, condemns the
act of the Home B-cretsry in withdrawing the Table
of Lessons Bill. He says the Government can but
little underatard the mibery and privation the abandon.
went of the bill has entailed on hundreds of working
men and women. After a period of great slackness, and
juat as they were ex meting full employment, their
hopes are scattered to r he winds, and the coming winter
will find many of them in want of work, many others
..n holf.time, and their wives and families affected
by this unexpected blow and thi, with prove.
, sions at war pricer,. Representatives of all the trades
' engaged in the Induction of Church Services have
hell a meeting at It alley's Hotel, London, when it was
state] that upwards of 2000, people, many of them
women, who are regularly engaged in the various
branches of printing, binding, and counting, are tn.
tirely thrown out of work, and many of them have been
very panially employed for the last tix months. It
was resolved that a memorial should be presented to
the Privy Council in reference to the Lectionary Bill
just withdrawn from the House of Commons, showing
the effect of such withdrawal on the trades effected,
and upon a large number of the working class.
ENTRUSFASM IN Baßtax.—The North German
Correspondent says : -

An infantry company having teen called In, stew days ego,
in Berlin, the captain laud there were 11 men over the
number. Ile rt quested those who had the largeit
Whalen to withdraw, and alter a dead pause one man
dipped forward and stated he had nine children, the
youngest of them newly bore, and no one to attend to hie
business for him. Ile was at once dismissed, hut on the fol-
lowing morning ire se-appeared, and told his officer thetas his
wife was better, and understood his trade, he was resolved
to march with his regiment. The military authorities in
this city are greatly embarrassed with the number of volun-
teers. (tile of the Berlin battalions having been summoned
to the standards, 1,800 men presented themselves instead
of 1,(00 The odd 800 were partly persons liable, indeed, to
military service, but who had not been called in, and partly
of volunteers from the new provinces who were not bound
to serve. One feeling pervade. all Germany.

- -
'THE BOYLE LECTURE.."—CaII you Cook a
Potato ?—Punch.
PRUSSIAN RECRUITING IN CORE. Not
Prussian or North German vessel (says a Cork paper),
that enters the harbour at preeent but some one or
more of her crew has been ordered when clear to leave
to join their comrades in the present s:ruggle between
the two nations, and in BODO instances shipmasters,
rarticularly men who at some time held a rank in the
army, have been ordered to leave, and one of them at
present in the harbmr was heard to ray that they con-
sidered it a hardship, not that there was any reluctance
on their part to serve their country, but having a com-
fortable position, with large families depending on
them, to face men whom they often met during a sea-
faring life, and whom they always found courteous
and as good companions as any others Piey had met
with. Even a Prussian seaman at present in one of
our city hospitals has received his parchment to leave
as soon as he is in marching order.