The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-04-28 00:00:00

THE FISHERIES EXHIBITION.

The Fisheries Exhibition is rapidly developing
itself, though as yet it hardly looks to be within three
weeks of the opening day (says the Globe). What will
be the extent of it is difficult even yet to say pre.
cisely. As we have already intimated, many of the
temporary structures that have been erected are
enormous in their size, and quite bewildering in their
number. But others are even now springing up, and
when the public are admitted they will find the
greater part of the Horticultural Gardens obliterated
past recognition. New paths are being made and
turf laid down in the small patches of the original
garden left uncovered, and, except just up towards
the great conservatory, those who have been most
familiar with the old garden will now find them-
selves entire strangers. Many of the buildings,
though ready for exhibition, are still quite empty,
though in some departments the whole of the in•
tended exhibits have apparently arrived. The
Swedish Section, for instance, seems to have all its
goods upon the ground, and a most interesting col-
lection it promises to be. The presence of a pleasant.
looking Swedish woman in her picturesque native
costume, with its scarlet tunic and black-peaked cap,
suggests that a very interesting feature of the ex-
hibition may perhaps be found in the natives of the
different countries contributing to it. Three or four
countries are already represented in this way, and it
is to be hoped that most of them will be. Swedish
fishing appliances appear to be very elaborate and
efficient. They are not all unpacked as yet, but there
is a wonderful variety already displayed.
Norway at present makes no show, though a good
many packages are on the floor.
The Netherlands section seems extremely busy, but
few of its goods are opened.
The Great Eastern Railway is contributing a striking
form of advertisement, consisting of a very large and
complete model of Lowestoft, in which real sand and
real water and real turf are employed to set forth the
attractions of this seaside resort, and the convenience
of its railway communication is, of course, shown by
the position of the Great Eastern terminus there.

The Prince of Wales's saloon is in an advanced
stage. The conservatory is read 7 for glazing, and the
drawing-room is being fitted with walnut wood, or a
very fair imitation,
In a neighbouring building, the National Life Boat
Institution has commenced to form what we under-
stand will be a large cullection of lifesaving gear,
of one sort and another, by placing in the 'entre of
the space two fine P. pechnens of life boats, one of them
mounted on its carriage. The aquarium is complete,
and only requires that the animals shall be introduced
into the tanks, and the pumps set going for the pur-
pose of aerating the water. Two or three little eta's°.
tite caves with sandy bottoms and coloured light
streaming down from above, will no doubt be much
admired. They serve very prettily to fill up here and
there a short space between two tanks separated by
the buttresses of the arcade.

The Marquis of Exeter's whale turns out to be not
a live specimen of a small species, but the Skeleton of
a very large one, thrown up somewhere on our coasts,
and believed to be the second largest ever secured in
thesese as. It has been fitted up on stout iron sup-
ports on one of the grassy banks outside the buildings.
The permanent pools of water have been drained and
cleaned and are now filled again, and what is left of
the garden, refreshed by the recent rains, is now being
recovered from the dilapidation into which it seemed
to have fallen, and begins to look trim and pleasant
again.
The rhododendrons will make a fine show by the
opening day, and, both without and within, the scene
on the 12th of May will, if the weather should only
prove propitious, be very animated and effective.

THE PARLIAMENTARY OATHS BILL.

The Standard says :—Noticeable among the very
large number of petitions presented to the House of
Commons on Monday against the Affirmation Bill
were those by Mr. Hubbard from 490 Christian and
Hebrew members of the London Stock Exchange,
by Mr. Campbell from 23,325 inhabitants of Glas-
gow and by Mr. Jerningham (the only Ei.g.
Hell 'Roman Catholic in the House) from the Duke
of Norfolk in the name of the Catholic Union
of Great Britain. Sir S. Northcote, Mr. Torrens,
Mr. Newdegate, Lord George Hamilton, Mr. Gihson,
Lord Brooke, Mr. M. 0. Scott, Mr. Givan, Mr. Find•
later, and many other members also brought up batches
of petitions against the Bill, In its favour Mr. La-
bouchere presented seventy, two from various places.

One of the most attentive listeners to Monday night's
debate on the aairmaeion Bill was Mr. Bradlaugh,
who oempied his usual seat on the cross-benches below
the bar.

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

In some of the Western cities the papers ray so
much attention to society matters that a man can't go
home sober without having the matter mentioned.
A new style of boy'setrousers has been invented in
America with a copper seat, sheet-iron knees, riveted
down the seams, and water•proof pockets to hold
broken egge.

A yourg lady had her lover's initials tattooed on her
arm. The engagement was broken.

"Free chops '' is a sign hung out by a Chicago res.
taurant ; and when the customers apply, they are
shown a wood-pile and banded an axe.

An American woman in Europe being asked who
was the patron saint of the United States, answered,
" I can't say, as to the men, but the pattern saint of
American women is the dre.ssms.ker."

"What is that, darling?" asked a young St. Louis
husband of his Chicago bride. She turned the heaven
of her deep blue eyes upon him, and answered: "That
is one of my gaiters, dearest." "Ali 1" he added
softly, "I thought it was a dog collar."

A Nevada politician waq elected on the merits of a
single speech. All he said was, " Fellow.countrymen,
follow me to yonder refreshment house 1"
The excitement created In a Western town by the
rept rt that a vein of copper had been discovered near
the place rapidly subsided when it was explained by a
punoit that the "vane of copper" was an old weather-
cock.

"What are your views of Europe, my dear sir?"
patronisingly queried the übiquitous notebook mauler,
as he posed his ready pencil. " Mostly sterso4copic,"
was the curt reply of the travel-sbained New Yorker,

" Have you any objects of interest in the vicinity?"
a tourist in America asked a native. "I have! I
have ! eagerly replied the other; "but I can't get at
it t, shOW it to YOU. It's a ninety•day's note, and it's
down in the bAnk now, thawing interest like a rites-
horse or a mustard plaister."

A country editor, being asked, "Do hogs pay 7"
says a great many do not. They take the paper
several years, and then have the Postmaster send it
back " Behind.