The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-02-26 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.
Tneßday (the 22nd) being the anniversary of Wash-
ington's birthday, was observed as a commercial holiday in
the United States.

Between the Ist of December and the 19th of the
pre!ent month there were 19 collisions at sea resulting in
the foundering of 16 vessels and the loss of more than 100
liver.

It is shown by the report from the Inland Revenue
Commissioners that in the year ending the 31st of March,
1874, of British spirits there w,re 1,642,252 gallons exported,
and in tl-e subsequent year 1,144,890 gallons.
Several accidents occurred at the race of riderless
horses which was revived at the carnival at Rome on Satur-
day, and font' persons were taken to the hospital, one of
them fatally injured.
The number of bills introduced in to the House of
Commons since the opening of the session is 83, of which 13
are Government Measure.
A Tinware Factory, at Woodhaven, New York,
has been destroyed by fire, The loss is estimated at 500,000
dollars, and 500 men are thrown out of work by the disaster.

We are informed that the Rev. Louis George Mylne,
M.A., tutor of Keble College, Oxford, has received the ap-
pointment of Bishop of Bombay,—Pail Mai/ Gazette.
A telegtam from Cairo says :—" Two splendid
Sphinxes, with inscriptions, have just been discovered at
Rhamses. Further excavations are being proceeded with."
"During the three years' naval command of the
Duke of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Edinburgh will, we
understand, reside for a considerable portion cf each year
in Russia. Arrangements have been made by which the
Duke and Duchess will spend the winter of 1876-Tin Malta"
—Daily A etas, Dionday.
The report of the Commissioners of the Inland
Revenue for the year ending the 31st of March last shows
the net receipts of the Excise duty on railways in the year
ending the 31st of March last was £629,737, being an increase
of £115,022 on the previous year.

It seems hopeless to expect that French journalists
and public men will ever be posted up in English matters.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is styled by some of the
Paris papers, apropos the Suez Canal purchase, "Lord
Northcote," and by others "Sir Northcote."
The Trade Marks Gasette is the title of a new fort-
nightly publication, which will deal with all matters affecting
British and foreign trade marks. It will contain complete
lists of the trade marks placed on the register under the
recent Act of Parliament.

In the House of Commons, on Monday evening, in
reply to Mr. Hawkes, Mr. W. H. Smith said that the bequest
of Mr. Wynn Ellis had been accepted by the trustees of the
National Gallery, and the pictures would be exhibited to the
public when the new rooms, now in course of construction,
were finished, but it would probably be two or three months
before the pictures would be shown.
With reference to the extension or structural altera-
tions of public-houses—as to the legality of which there has
been much controversy of late—the Recorder of Liverpool on
Monday reversed the decisions of the msgistrates, stating
that there was nothinz in the Licensing Acts to prevent a
publican extending his business, and afterwards enlarging his
premises, like any other tradesman.

In London, (4n Saturday, the carriage of a lady was
standing in the Haymarket with no other occupant than the
, coachman, who was on the box, when the horse took fright
and dashed into the shop window of Messrs. Durrant and
.Pattison, tailors, smashing in the whole of the front, and the
horse rearing so high as to break the fan light in the door.
The assistant in the shop had a narrow escape, as did also
the coachman, but the horse was badly injured.

- -
the Paris Correspondent of The Times says :—"lt
seems now decided that immediately after the war is over,
Queen Isabella will enter coral?' populo into Spain. The
Queen has an increasingly warm desire to see her country
again, and not only has the King been at last able to agree
to her return, bun be will himself go to the frontier to
receive•his mother on Spanish soil, and lead her back to
Madrid. The Queen's return in such circumstances will
certainly be one of the most curious and novel incidents of
this century, so fertile in unexpected events."

A telegram from New York announces that Miss
Cushman, the famous American actress, died on Friday (the
18th) at Boston. She was born in that city in 1816, and first
appeared on the stage in opera, 1835. Her voice shortly
afterwards failed her, and she became an actress. Lady
Macbeth was the first part she played. In 1845 she came to
this country, where her talent was at once appreciated. She
rcmained here for several years playing, in conjunction with
her sister, Mi!s Susan Cushman, and met with great success.
In 1874 Miss Cushman took her farewell of the stage in New
York.
It appears from the Army Estimates just issued
that the total amount for the ensuing year is £15,281,600,
showing a net increase over the expiring year of £603,900;
the total increase is, however, subject to deduction for esti-
mated, exchequer receipts to the amount of £1,292,100,
making the net charge for the army service for 1876-7,
£13,989,500. The principal increase in expenditure was
Z179,20(1 for regimental pay, &c., £243,000 for warlike and
other stores, £47,000 for provisions, transport, &c , £42,500
for clothing,&c., £20,800 for volunteer corps, and £10,300 for
the army reserve.
The Scotsman says that the criminal statistic: of
Glasgow for 1875, prepared by the Chief Constable, exhibit a
decrease of crime compared with the previous year. The
total number of crimes reported was 7,859, a decrease of 334
compared with 1874 : and the number of apprehensions
made was 50,176, against 61,000 in the preceding year, in
which, moreover, there were nearly 23,000 persons taken in
custody for drunkenness, but not brought before the magis-
trates, and therefore not included in the return for the
year.
In view of the prospective increase of the pegoge, it
may surprise many persons to learn that since 1860 ni.fewer
than as peerages conferring seats in Parliament have become
extinct, besides 19 of Scotland and Ireland, and that at the
present moment 30 more depend solely for their continuance
on the life of the present holders. Nay more, of these 30,
according to ordinary likelihood, no fewer than 23 seem
pretty certain of extinction. It thus looks imminent that by
the end of this century about 40 titles now on the list of
peers will be no longer inscribed there.—Court Journal.

Captain the Dube of Edinburgh, who is to commis-
sion tho Sultan on the 25th inst., visited Portsmouth on
Monday morning for the purpose of going through the ship.
He was accompanied by the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral
G. 141liot, Sir Leopold 11`Clintock, Admiral Superintendent;
and Mr. W. B. Robinson, the Chief Constructor of the Yard.
He was received by Captain F. A. Herbert, the present cap-
tain of the ship, in whose company the duke made a thorough
and painstaking examination of the vesseL No alterations
were then decided upon, as the future captain had not
finally arranged as to the number of his retinue and their
requirements on board. ,
During the year 1875 the emigrants from English
ports to piaces out of Eurbpe numbered 135,306 f, • from Scot-
land, 11,109 ; and from Ireland, 23,394. The total shows a
decrease as compared with 1874 of 67,205. The United States
received 105,04: of the total number, of whom 31,443 were
Irish ; the Worth-American ccdenie., 37,378 ; and the
Australian colonies, 4525. The totals of nationalti es, as
'202 '3,-86E;ugIrliBis,hh
84140 754n0ar,age da
bwi hll6t,
4h900s a;
Silo
tlclh7,4,l4,acrse6, aasgationlotto
41,448, against C 0,406 ; foreigners,
31,347, against 83,465;
not distinguished, 1,787, against 5,277.
Dr. Hardwicke has held an inquest at the University
Callege Hospital, London, on the body of Mr. Frederick
wasn L
descendingTh The
a flights ow showed
31eadows, 58, of fs, Peeryn-road, who for forty years had been
it wasforwards
f,,
uns
dn
failure severely
of itnhjeu rheedarliti.ss
tc
bo a
atn encnt etdb t7ht tut Btrbilt ids he
ce31.92u seeda
ebewfaeasislremoved to the hospital, but died
fsatoceneansdtephes,a7l:-heffn
on Thursday last from,
action. The jury returned a verdict accordingly.
In London last week 2,475 births and 2,005 deaths
were registered, the former having been 60 below and the
latter 373 above the average. Forty-eight persons died from
measles, 40 from scarlet fever, 8 from diphtheria, 130 from
whooping cough, 17 from different forms of fever, 13 from
diarrhcea' and not one from small•poz ; thus to the seven
principal diseases of the zymotic class 256 deaths were re-
ferred, against 242 and 222 in the two preceding weeks.
eba
nt
the
hterhetececroor rpe rdreesvptic,oo nu dds iiwns
diseases
ae wskesesehkandof f th e
These 206 deaths were 17 above the corrected average nu m-
ribaeessrtp
trr
eoanmth
rythe
oa
rragsaamn esT.
ndv
jai she
da se n
Which
bethene
number
etro
i4n73tbanedn4o6rsr,esrpons en
corresponding
weehk of b
ich exceeded
at tenyears
edledsthe average
by 241; 410 resulted from bronchitis and 118 from pneu-
monia.

At the Town Hal!, Liverpool on Monday, a meeting
?
s held. nnder the ()residency- of the Mayor, for the
purpose of nakitig
preliminary arrangements for the forth-
coming Social Science Congress to be held in October next.
Lord Derby hasl written expressing fear that official duties
and engagements would render it impossible for him to take
part in the proceedings of the congress. Mr. Hastings,
president of the asiociation, having addressed the meeting,
Mr. Raffles, in moving the appointment of a commiWe, said
tit». the Elementary it'ducittion Act had done ti great deal
towards dealing with the various offences, especially those
cif disorder and crime, but at the same time there were
pinta connected with the Act whiali might well engage the
attention of the congress. The crime of drunkenness might
also he very well considered, mai he hoped it would receive
the attention which it deserved. He also suggested as sub-
jects for the consideration otthe congress the relations of
masters and soryanta, IJI g strums, Ice.

A Bill for the taxation VI houses of worship is pend-
ing in the Legislature of Ohio.
In the course of last month steam engines were ex-
ported to the value of £121519; in the same period of the
preceding year, £172,161.

Clairvayantes reap a rich harvest in 'Paris, where
they number over two thousand. Of these thirty; it ia cal-
culated, earn £2,400 per annum.

The Otago Daily Times states that it is believed the
between 30 .0 40 persons have survived from the wrect of
the steamer Pacific.
At an agricultural dinner the following toast was'
given :—" The game of fortune! Shuffle the cards as you
will, spades Earit win."
"Post-cards seem to be growing in favour, the in-
crease in the issue for the year over the previous year being
2,30,483
Out of the 2,000 feet undertaken to be bored to carry
out the Sub-Wealdon Exploration only 150 feet now remain
to be drilled. The honorary secretary says that the explora-
tion has disproved the theory of the presence of a ridge of
old rocks between the English Channel and the Thames, and
he therefore counsels that it should be brought to a close.
An acre and a half of ground will be set aside as a
garden of the indigenous flowers and plants of Japan at the
American Centennial Exhibition This to horticulturists
should prove a very interetting feature, if so formed WS to
fairly represent Japanese vegetation.-1 he Garden.
The revenue of the Duchy of Lancaster for the past
year amounted to £68,273, and the expenditure to £56,285.
The payments made for her Majesty's use to the Keepefoi
the Privy Purse amounted to £41,000, repairs and improve-
ments to £777, and the expenses of management to £3,260.
A remarkable curiosity has just been produced at
the Oxford University Press, 7, Paternoster-row, in the form
of a complete prayer book so small end thin that, although
it is richly bound in leather, the print being very clear, It
weighs only one ounce, and is intended as a companiont
volume to the " smallest Bible in the world," lately issued
from the same establishment.
It has been decided that the number of officers,
seamen, Marines, and boys for the Navy for the fortheordiog
financial year shall be the same as for 1875-76. The two last-
named branches of the service—namely, Marines and boys—
are now below their proper complement; but efforts are
being made to obtain recruits in order that the service may
be kept up to the actual strength provided for by the -
Estimate.—Globe.
A meeting of tenant farmers under the Earl of Derby
has been held at Bickerstaffe, to consider the Agricultural
Holdings Act. One of the speakers said the Act hadobee2
passed to make bad landlords into good ones, and if it only
made them as good as the one they had the honour of living
under, the object of its promoters would be fully gained. A,
motion was unanimously passed desiring that their con-
tracts of tenancy might remain unaffected by the measure.

- -
An extraordinary case of drowning occurred on
Sunday night, in Narrowbone-lane, Dublin. There is in the
lane a well which communicates with a stream that is now
covered over. A woman named Duffy had raised the trap oi
the well, and was about to draw water, when she over-
balanced herself and fell in. All efforts to recover the body
proved futile, and it is supposed that it has been carried
down the stream to the Liffey, passing under Dublin Castle
on its way,
The accounts of the Commissioners of Woods and
Forests have been issued. The receipts from land revenue
during the year ended 31st March, 1876, amounted to
£462,514, and the expenditure to £36,891 ; the receipts from
Windsor Parks and Woods, £6,046; expenditure, £20,010;
the receipts from Royal forests and woodlands, £34,884; ex-
penditure, £19,240. The amount paid over to the Exchequer
in 1874-5 was £385,000.
- - -

Mr. T. Brassey, ALP., in a recent address at the
United Service Institution, expressed his concurrence with
the recommendation of the Royal Commission as to the
abolition of advance notes, and condemned the delay Which
usually occurred in the paying-off of crews. He recommended
a discriminatory rate of wages according to professional
ability, and gradual increase as a reward of good conduct, at
the same time strongly advocating a training system wholly
undertaken by Government.
The Earl of Devon has written to the Western
Morning News, suggesting that a memorial of the late Sir
John Taylor Coleridge shall be raised in the shape of a
window in the nave of Exeter Cathedral. The consent of the
Dean has been obtained, and the Earl writes in the confident
expectation that the desire to do honour to the memory of
one whose character and literary and legal acquirements
were very widely known and appreciated, will be shared by
many beyond the circle of his immediate friends.
A correspondent, writing from New Caledonia,
states that another batch of Frensh convicts have escaped
from the Island of • Non. They manned a large sail boat,
laden with provisions for the convicts of Noumea, and
taking advantage of the warder going ashore for letters,
they detached the vessel and made off, much t 3 the con-
stereation of the officials on the quay. Neither of the boats
or war vesseit was ready to give chase at the moment, and
the convicts git clear away.
The ship Benan, 1,338 tons, belonging to Mr. Wm.
Thomson. jun., chartered by Mr Dutton, Agent G-erre'ral for
South Australia, sailed from Plymouth on Saturday (19th),
for Port Adelaide, with 379 emigrants, comprising carefully.
selected agricultural and other labourers, and mechanies;
married and single, and including 44 single young women.
The emigrants were under the medical charge of Dr. Sweet.
man, It N., Surgeon Superintendent ; and the single young
women under the care of Miss Davidson as matron.

A sad accident occurred at Boulogne on Friday
afternoon (the 15th.) 'Two vessels belonging to Messrs. Lebeau
and Co. kit dock for the Iceland cod fishery, and many
friends of both crews assembled to witness the departure.
They stood on the bridge of the jetty dividing the ship-
building yard from the harbour bridge, which is in two
parts. It suddenly tilted in the centre, precipitating about
15 persons into the water. Some were got out by the boats,
ann others by the Humane Society's drags, and attended by
Doctors Perrochaud, Grain, and Chatu. M. Molen; chief
clerk to Messrs. Lebeau, superinterding the departure of the
vessels, was, however, drowned. Thtl harbour was dragged,
but no other bodies were recovered, Lithough Dee or two
persons are reported to be missing. \Lif