The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-04-07 00:00:00

A DOMICILE CASE.

On Wednesday morning Mr. Justice Chitty gave
Justice "in the case of Tootal's Trusts," which has
trom time to time been argued before him for the last
four months, and which involved the question of the
domicile of Mr. J. B. 'l'ootal, proprietor of the North
China Herald and North China Daily News...

The testator, who died in 1878, left England in 1852
for Australia, but returns(' to this country in 1858 on
business. The following year he went to Hong Kong,
and from there in 1862 he went to Shanghai and lived
there the remainder of his life. The question was
whether he lost his domicile of origin and became
domiciled in China, and so exempted his personal
estate on his death from the payment of legacy duty.
Mr. Justice C3hitty held that the testator acquireii
an Anglo-Chinese domicile, and that the estate was
liable to legacy duty.

passel
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The free librariee recently established in every
arrondissement of Paris bad a total is.ue at year of
about 363,000 volumes. But of this total no less than
200,000 were fiction, 40,000 poetry, and 80,C00 history
cr science.

It is stated that the cherry tree which Mr. Glad-
stone was engaged in felling in the snowstorm during
the Easter recess has been presented to the Burslem
Liberal Club, whose members purpose holding a
bazaar in September next, and intend to have a num-
ber of articles made of the wood from the tree.
Of 47,149 persons held for trial, convicted, or corn
mitted by the police justices of New York last year
only 23,048 were Americans, or less than one half,
16,422 were Irish.
A letter has been received recently from England
by Barnum containing three pieces of candy. It was
addressed with much simplicity: "Jumbo, care
Barnum, America."
In the whole of Russia there are not more than
about 14,000 doctors, properly so called.
A train on the Cincinnati Southern Railway has
run off the line while going at the rate of 40 miles an
hour. The train went down an embankment to a
depth of 50ft. Fifty-three persons were injured,
several of them very seriously.
The Daily News learns that both the Home Secre-
tary and the Chief Commissioner of Police are in
daily receipt of letters either threatening outrage or
warning against alleged projects. A considerable 'pro-
portion of them are evidently meant as practical jokes
and are so treated.

The corpses of two Hamburgh ladies were cremated
the other day at Gotha, whioh contains the chief
cremation cemetery in Europe. The number of bodies
consumed there has now risen to 112.
The Standard's Correspondent at New York says
\at the steamship managers expect that the summer
-engem across the Atlantic will exceed those of 1882
.., several thousands. The bookings are earlier than
usual this year.

At Ashton-under-Lyne, on Tuesday night, while
two mill-girls were returning from work along the
canal towing-path, one of them fell into the water,
and was crushed to death between a boat and the lock.
side.

It is proposed to arrange free Sunday exhibitions of
pictures in various parts of London during the spring
and summer.

The Marquis of Lorne, it is stated, will be raised to
the peerage on his return from Canada, thus enabling
him to take his seat in the House of Lords during his
father's lifetime.
The State rapers relating to the Commonwealth
now being edited in the Record Office are nearly
approaching conclusion. The editors have been en-
gaged upon the work for ten years, and expect to
finish it in 1885.
On Monday night the Library and Dining Rooms
at the House of Commons were lighted by the electric
light. Altogether, two hundred and sixty lights were
used, and the effect was generally regarded as satis-
factory.
The Tfraroorsga left Plymouth for Queensland on
Sunday. having on board the fallowing emigrants :-
216 single men, 16 single women, and 216 i families,
making a total of 52811 adults, equal to 614 Donis,
It is pointed out by the Registrar-General that no
fatal case of small-pox took place in London last
week, the corrected average number, in the corm
opondiog week of the last tea years being 24.
The secretary to the Royal Botanical Society
recently tried the novel experiment of planting sea-
weed in ordinary earth (says the Court Journal). It
would naturally be supposed that these "flowers of
the ooean " would not flourish away from their native
element, but this is not the case, most of the specimens
planted having grown admirably in soil which is con-
st,antly kept in a moist condition.
Saturday, 81st ult., was the anniversary of the
Battle of the Barriers, which was fought in 1814.
After the battle Marmont evacuated Paris and the
Allies entered the eity. Napoleon was finally beaten
at Waterloo in the following year.
The profits of the State AS a newspaper proprietor
show a slight falling off in the past year, when £29,316
was netted. In the previous year the profit was
£29,845. To last year's revenue under this head the
London Gazette contributed £25,123; the Edinburgh
Gazette, £3,194; and the Dublin Gazette, just under
2100.

In consequence of the strike and lockout of
weavers in the Huddersfield district, 5,000 weavers
are idle, and through that 7,000 hands employed in
other branches of manufacturing. The loss in wages
is at least £IO,OOO weekly, and great distress exists in
many parts of the district.
Owing to the scarcity of seamen at Leith, great
difficulty is experienced in obtaining crews for out-
going vessels.
A Berlin correspondent asserts that the real malady
from which Prinoe Bismarck is suffering is gout. The
othPr ills of which he complains are all accessory to
is. It is said that Bismarck was much affected by
Lhe news of Prince Gortschakoff's death. "Beacons-
field and Gortschakoll," he remarked to those around
him- "` the only men whom I could becomingly recog-
nize as antagonists—both disappeared 1 Friends, my
turn its coming 1" _ _

Forty-one British and foreign actual shipwrecks
were reported during last week, making a total of 645
for the present ,year. or an increase of 205 as oomnared
for the week being id. britugn-cwnea vessels num-
bered 24; eight were steamers, with an aggregate ton-
nage of 4,327 tons, seven being British steamers, with
A tonnage of 4 155 tons. Total tonnage lost for the
week, 15,671 tons. Total number of lives lost and

missing, 88.
Last week 2,714 births and 2,148 deaths were regis-
tered in London. Allowing for increase of population,
the births were 30, and the deaths 262, above the
average numbers in the corresponding weeks of the
last ten years. The annual rate of mortality from
all causes, which had steadily increased in the six
preceding weeks from 201 to 241, further rose last
week to 28 3, and exceeded the rate recorded in any
week since the middle of February, 1882.
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--
Last weeks receipts of cotton at all United States
ports were 87,000 bales; since Ist September,
5,317,000 bales. Week's exports to Great Britain,
46,000 bales; week's exports to the Continent, 46,000
bales. Total since Ist September, 3,676,000 bales
Stock at all ports, 870,000 bales.
A New York telegram says that the visible supply
of wheat on March 30 was 22,600,000 bushels, as against
24,600,000 bushels the previous week. Visible supply
of Indian corn 15,600,000 bushels, as against 14,900,000
bushels the previous week. The export clearances of
wheat for Europe during last week amounted
to 1,520,000 bushels. The export clearances of Indian
corn for Europe during last week amounted to
1,660,000 bushels.
Prince Bismarck completed his sixty-eighth year on
Sunday. He was serenaded by a band of the let
Grenadiers in the morning, and later received the
Imperial personal adjutants who presented the
Emperor's and Crown Prince's congratulations.
Prince Bismarck's state of health still continues unsatis-
factory, and the physicians have refused to allow him
to take exercise in his park.
A Vienna telegram says that the Italian 6-overn-
ment contradicts the statement that an offensive and
defensive alliance between Germany, Austria and
Italy, to take effect in case of a war between France
and any of the three Powers, has been concluded. No
formal treaty exists. All that the three Powers are
contemplating is the maintenance of the peace of
Europe, and nothing has been done except to ex-
change views as to the beet means of carrying out this
object.
It is an old custom of the Hohenzollern family that
its Princes must not only work their way up from the
lowest rank in the army, but also make the practical
acquaintance of the different military branches. Prince
William, the eldest son of the Crown Prince, who has
served in the Ist Guards Infantry, and more recently
in the Guards Hussars, will on the let June enter the
Guard Artillery regiment, taking the command of a
battery.
The Beaver Line steamer Lake Winnipeg has em-
barked a large number of female emigrants, who have
been assisted by Mr. Vere Pouter. The company
value Mr. Forster's vouchers at £2 108., thus reducing
the cash payable by emigrants to £1 be. This is about
the lowest fare ever quoted. The Beaver Line are also
taking out parties from unions scheduled under the
Arrears Act at a low figure.
The memorial to Mr. Gladstone in opposition to the
Dublin mail contract with the London and North-
Western Railway company has received (on Monday)
the signatures of sixty-one peers belonging to or con-
nected with Ireland, and additional signatures are
coming in daily.
A Highland Land Law Reform Association has
been established in London. Its objects are to effect
"such changes in the Land Laws as will secure fair
rents, durability of tenure, and such an apportionment
of the land as will promote the welfare of the people
throughout the Highlands and Wands of Scotland.'
An Army Bill, which lays the axe on a very old
Swedish institution, has been introduced into the
Swedish Parliament by the Government. The Swedish
aemy to the nominal force of 40,000 men, has hitherto
been recruited by enlistment. Besides the regular
forces, however, the militia had to be raised, kept,
and paid by landowners, who in compensation were
freed from taxes to the annual amount of ten million
krona. The Gevernment has now resolved to impose
the same taxes on all Swedish subjects, and to under-
take the formation and support of the militia during
their drills and manceuvres.
In the Stmderbunds, at the mouth of the Hooghly,
50 natives have for some time past been engaged in
clearing the land of arboreous growths. About as
many tigers appeared on the scene the other day and
started to clear the ground of natives. The conse-
quence is that the natives are not working any more,
and the tigers have gone into the jungle to "Sleep it
off."—Gtota
Reports issued at New York show the rate of immi-
gration to be very much below that of last year;
28,091 persons arrived in March, against 40,691 in the
previous March. There were 49,652 arrivals in the
past three months, against 68,685 in the corresponding
period of last year. The chief decline occurs among
the English, Irish, and Scandinavian classes, while
Germans and Italians are coming in increased
numbers.

A tire which occurred on lisuday at Belmont, near
Faversham, the seat of Lord Harris, may suggest the
cause of some of the fires which have destroyed 'valu-
able family mansions of late years. The mansion, it
seems. suddenly filled with smoke, and great alarm
prevailed, niessenkers being despatched. to Faversham
for the tire engines. Eventually It was discovered
that the dining-loom flue was intensely hot, and upon
a close inspection it was disoovered that a large
i
quantity of soot had accumulated n one of the angles,
and had become ignited. An aperture was out through
the brickwork, and some buckets of water were poured
In, which speedily extinguished the fire. But for this
discovery, the mansion would probably have been
burnt down.