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

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

A fire has occurred at Sacramento (California). The
roof of the building fell in, crushing sevtral persons.
Six bodies have been identified.

The price of houpe coal is being reduced in the
South Yorkshire district by la. per ton all round.
Special sermons in connection with the anniversary
of the Church of England Temperance Society were
preaohed on Sunday morning and evening in a large
number of churches throughout the metropolis.

The Daily News understands that the Compensation
for Agricultural Improvements Bill, which the Go-
vernment will introduce, will go farther than Mr.
Chaplin, but not so far as the extreme demands of
Mr. James Howard. It will, nevertheless, affect
. .
existing contracts,

The Royal Agricultural Society will offer at the
forthcoming show at York ten prize medals for new
implements, on condition that the principle of the
exhibit, or the improvement thereof, be entirely new.
A telegram from Spain says that an explosion in.
curred on Sunday afternoon at a dynamite manufac-
tory at La Perim:a, in the province of Leon. Seven
people are knowli to have been killed and five injured,
but it is feared that the loss of life will ultimately
prove greater.

Heavy snow fell last week in various parts of
Switzerland. In the Canton of Valais even the
lower mountains were white from base to summit, and
the lateral valleys were quite snowed up.

A New York telegram says that Mrs. Langtry's
receipts for twenty.f our weeks amounted to 229,683
dollars.—Mrs. Langtry says she will supplement her
farewell engagement in America with a four weeks'
tour in the neighbouring States, and then return to
England.

On Wednesday (St. Mark's Day) the Venerable
Richard Lewis, appointed to the diocese of Llandaff,
the Rev. Canon 'Wilkinson, appointed to the diocese
of Truro and the Rev. Fox Sandford, appointed to
the diocese of Tasmania received episcopal consecra-
tion at St. Paul's Cathedral at the hands of the Arch.
bishop of Canterbury.

St. George's Day (23rd) was celebrated in the United
States with more than usual spirit by the giving of
banquets, on Monday night, by the Societies of the
Sons of St. George, at Philadelphia, New York,
Boston, Toronto, Washington, and other towns, there
being a large attendance of Englishmen and many
loyal demonstrations at the gatherings.
A donkey show was held in the Winter Gardens,
Bournemouth, on Tuesday, but the entries were small.
There was a large attendance of visitors. The pro-
ceedings were under the auspices of the local Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Animals Society.
A preliminary return of the British Army (pre-
pared in anticipAtion of the general annual return) for
the year 1882, with abstracts for the years 1863 and
1882 inclusive, has just been issued as a blue book.
The average effective strength of the regular Army,
all ranks, during 1882, was 189;229. Of this number
7,336 were officers.
The Rev. J. Bridger, the organising secretary of the
Emigration Committee of the Society for the Promo-
tion of Christian Knowledge; has sailed from Liver-
pool, on board the Allan Line steamer Parisian, with
a party of 300 emigrants for Canada under his charge.
.These include all, classes of persons—farmers, me-
chanics, farm and general labourers, and domestic
servants. Several are proceeding to Manitoba.
Some sensation has been caused at St. Petersburg by
the announcement of Professor Sorokin, of the Medico-
Surgical Academy, in the course of one of his lectures,
that, judging by certain signs which he had noticed
In several bodies lately examined, there was the
possibility of cholera appearing in Russia during the
present year.

As many as 24,019 merchant seamen, fishermen,
and bargemen have been pledged by the chaplains of
the Missions to Seamen Society to total abstinence
in the last four years. These have been enrolled in
thirty-eight different seaports, either on board their
ships at anchor one or two miles from land, in outer
roadsteads or in the inner harbours, and individually
often after religious services with the crews.

On Friday in last week a great fire destroyed
the largest oil warehouse in Hamburg. It consisted
of three buildings, which were burnt to the ground.
About 15,000 hundredweights of oil were consumed or
wasted. There was no loss of life.

The New York Herald publishes a despatch from
Ottawa, according to which it is fully believed there
that Mr. ForAter will succeed the Marquis of Lorne
as the Governor• General of the Dominion.

On Wednesday a block of old buildings, belonging
to the Sheffield Corporation, standing on the site of
some street improvement, fell in. A. large crowd
speedily assembled, and workmen commenced digging,
to ascertain whether anybody was injured, and they
found a boy, who was not dead, but dreadfully injured.
He was at once removed to the hospital.

Replying to a deputation from the Irish Country
Vintners Defence League that waited upen him in the
House of Commons, Mr. Parnell stated that he him-
self intended to remain neutral on the Irish Sunday
Closing question, and that the members of his party
would be left to vote in the matter according to their
individual conviction.

A New York telegram says that the visible supply
of wheat on April 20 was 21,700,000 bushels, as against
22,300,000 bushels the previous week. Visible supply
of Indian cron, 18,100,000 bushels, as against 18,200,000
bushels the previous week. The export clearances of
wheat for Europe during last week amounted to
8100,000 bushels; the export clearances of Indian
corn for Europe during last week amounted to
1,240,000 bushels.
On Monday General Booth visited Norwich, and
made a triumphal entry into the city. The proces-
sion, comprising two carriages and the local members
of the Army, passed through the principal streets,
the band playing some of the usual choruses, The
first carriage was drawn by a pair of greys with a
postilion, and contained General Booth, Major
Blandy and Captain Davies. In the course of the
afternoon a "Holiness Convention" was held in the
Skating Rink, the headquarters of the Salvation
Army in Norwich.
Eight hundred bales of jute on board a large steamet
lighter in Dundee harbour were destroyed by fire on
Tuesday afternoon. The crew were rescued with
difficulty, several being slightly burned. The vessel
was subsequently beached, but the will be a total
loss.

On Saturday afternoon, as Sir John Duckworth,
M.P., was driving near Exeter, the horses became
restive. Sir John alighted and held them whilst the
ladies in the carriage alighted, but beide() he could get
clear the animals bolted, and the carriage passed over
his body seriously injuring his breast and back. •
Twenty-nine British and foreign actual shipwrecks
were reported during last week, making a total of 739
for the present year, or an increase of 229 as compared
with the corresponding period of last year, the increase
for the week being four. British owned vessels num-
bered 10; four were steamers with an aggregate ton-
nage of 1,320 tons, one being British owned with a
tonnage of 343 tons ; total tonnage lost for the week;
11,436 tons; total number of lives lost and missing, 41.
The equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington
was moved on Tuesday morning from its old position
at Hyde Park-corner to a site opposite Apaley House,
where it will remain until its final destination has
been decided upon. There was a large party present
to witness the removal. Operations were commenced
at ten o'clock, and in twenty-five minutes the statue
bad been removed the distance of 150 feet to its present
position without a hitch.
A deputation representing the Electric Lighting
Companies was introduced by Mr. E. P. Bauverie
to Mr. Chamberlain, at the Board of Trade on
Saturday. The object was to show that some of the
rules issued by the board were calculated to throw
obstacles in the way of the companies. Mr. Chamber-
lain, in rely, said that certain precautions were
needed, and that the order in its present form had
been accepted and acted upon by several companies.
He should, however, be willing to consider circum-
stances which juatified alterations in the scheme.
In London, on Saturday, the Duchess of Albany,
who was accompanied by Prince Leopold, visited the
Savoy by command of her Majesty and laid the
foundation stone of the new schools in connection
with the Royal Chapel of the Savoy, the site for
which has been granted by the Queen, at whose
expense the schools will be built. Their Royal
Highnesses were received with enthusiasm both on
their arrival and departure.
The Crown jewels of France, with a few historical
and artistic exceptions, will shortly be put up to
auctiun. Included in the treasures whies are to be
reserved as national property—are some notable
specimens of the lapidary's skill and the prodigality
of the affluent. There are the Mazarin diamonds,
given by the Cardinal to Louis XV., and sublequently
set in the Crown; the Chimcera ruby the largest
engraved "pigeon's blood " stone in the world ; the
watch the Dey of Algiers presented to the Grand
Monarque ; and the Pitt diamond. Next to the Orloff,
it is biggest diamond in the world.
A formidable explosion took place on Sunday night
at St. Chamas. A magazine containing 3,000 kilo-
grammes of powder caught fire and blew up. The
flames rose nearly thirty yards high. So violent was
the explosion that large stones were thrown a distance
of 200 metros. Only one person, the guardian of the
magazine, was killed, and no one else was injured. The
damages are estimated at several hundred thousand
francs. If the catastrophe bad happened while work
was going on there must have been a terrible loss of
life.

A correspondent of a London paper states that
arrangements have been made between Brazil and
China for the introduction into the fo.rner country of
20,000 Chinese indentured labourers. It is estimated
that they can be landed at Rio for a little more than
£2 per head, and it appears that they are to receive
wftes at the rate of 17d. per diem, and to provide
their own food. They will therefore cost le.-n than
negro slave labour, upon which the Brazilians have
hitherto relied.
The death is announced of Major-General William
Wigram Berry, C. 8.. of tba Royal Artillery,
on the 19th inst., at Naples. He was the youngest
son of the late Major-General Henry Green Barry,
of Ballyclougb, county Cork, and entered the
army in 1846. He took part in the campaign of
1851-55, including the battles of Alma Balaclava,
and Inkerman, and the siege and fall of Sebas-
topol, for which services be obtained the brevet
rank of major, the medal with four clasps, the Turkish
and Sardinian medals, and the Fifth Class of the
matijidie. He served also in India in 1857.8, heiog
present at the relit), of Lucknow, the battle of Ca wn•
pore, and the siege and capture of Lucknow. For
these services he was twiee mentioned in despatches,
and received the brevet of lieutenant-colonel. In 1860
he served with the expedition to China, and was pre-
sent at Sinho, Tangkn, the capture of the Taku forte,
and the surrender of Pekin. -