The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-10-18 00:00:00

THIRTY PERSONS POISONED.

A shocking occurrence is reported from the little
town of Gewijesk, in the d.strict of Meclitopol, in
South Russia, The annual fair WAS held there on
September 22, and as usual, was attended by a multi-
tude of peasants. A number of persons dined at an
eating-house, where, among other articles, a species
of white fish, salted and prepared like herrings, was
served. The consequences of the meal soon mani-
fested themselves in an appalling fashion. Thirty
persons who had eaten some of the fish died within
an hour, after suffering excruciating torture.
The number of others who were lying ill was
not known, but was believed to be considerable.
Eight peasants, three peasant-women, and three chil-
dren, who had partaken of the fatal meal before quit-
ting the town, were seized on their way home with
such atrocious pains that they lay down on the road and
died. An official investigation has been ordered.
There is no suspicion of any poisonous drug having
been designedly introduced into the food. Either the
fish must have been putrid, or some poisonous ingre-
dient had been mixed with the salt used in curing it.

AN ENLARGED DETINITIGN.=-TitilOrtalll laccotd-
jug to Johnson)— Love of one's own country:
(According to 'Lugo) 14)ve of other peoples'
countries. —Punch.
Ex. LORD CHANCELLORS.—There are two ex-Lord
Chancellors of England (Lord Hatherley and Lord
Selborne) receiving £5 WO each, and two of Irrland
(Sir J. Napier and Lard O'Hagan) £3,692 6s, each,

THE REVIVAL OF TRADE IN AMERICA.

The Daily News publishes a letter from their corre-
spondent at New York, from which we make the following
extracts:—

There are many indications that this country is
entering upon an era of exceptional prosperity. A
revival of trade is reported from all quarters. Mills
which have been idle for years are now in full opera-
tion. Many of the New England factories, espe-
daily those making print cloths, are running night
and day, and are making unusually large profits.
In the iron districts of Pennsylvania and Ohio there
is greater activity than there has been since 1873.
All the rolling mills are at work with a
full number of hands, and in some cases there
is more work than the supply of labourers can
attend to. In New York the revival is everywhere
apparent. The large warehouses are surrounded with
outgoing and incoming cases of goods, and the streets
are thronged with drayp. • • . . Imported goods
which have been kept in very light stock for several
years, more as samples than in expectation of sales,
are now in great demand. Fula silks, trimmings, and
laces, sell readily, and there is difficulty in meeting
the demand. One of the largest Broadway dealers
reports that he imported a most elaborate silk
pattern, more for display than anything else, and
had hardly placed it on his counter, with a price mark
of £5 a yard, before it was sold. The same report
comes from the cloth dealers, who furnish the tailors
with their goods. The demand is for the best goods,
which in this ease means English goods. From the
carpet trade a similar report is made. The prices are
higher, and the demand for the best goods is steadily
increasing. . . .
From the provision dealers comes the same story of
a growing export trade. The foreign demands are
said to be larger this year than ever before, and some
entirely new developments are noticed. For example,
the price of butter has been advanced by the great
demand for export, which is the largest ever known.
One steamer took 6,000 packages to Germany last
week. Large shipments are also making to England,
Scotland, and Ireland. The dealers in fine groceries
report an increased demand for luxuries, including a
great variety of imported articles.
In no branch of industry has the revival been so
marked as in that of iron manufacturing. All the
manufacturers report a demand far in excess of the
supply, and an advance in price from 25 to 30 per
per cent., according to the kind of iron. The industry
has been very much depressed during the past five
years, and the price of iron had run down to a very low
point. The revival has come within the past thirty or
forty days, and has taken the manufacturers so com-
pletely by surprise that they are not able to
meet the demands upon them. This has had a
good deal to do with forcing up the price; but it
is thought that as soon as the manufacturers have
replenished their stock they will have no difficulty in
furnishing all the iron required. All the rolling mills
are full of orders, and are running to their extreme
capacity. • . . The chief demand comes from the
railroad companies. They were compelled by the
hard times to economise closely for several years,
and the consequence was that many roads became
badly out of repair. The prospect of increased
traffic has induced them now to repair their
tracks and to add to their rolling stock. This
was the beginning of the improvement in the
trade. One mill after another became crowded with
orders, until it was difficult to get work done at all.
As soon as this state of affairs was discovered, the
merchants and dealers in iron made a rush to get their
stocks replenished before further orders stood in their
way. The result is that every rolling mill has more
work than it can attehd to for the rest of the year.
Another element which stimulated the new activity
was the building of the elevated railroads in New
York, which greatly increased the demand, one con-
tract alone calling for 30,000 tons of iron

A natural effect of the general revival in industry
has been the lessening of labour strikes. In the iron
business wages have been advanced five per cent., and
still further increase ia probable. There are occasional
strikes in the minor branches of trade, but they are of
short duration. In all kinds of work the labourer is in
demand, and the rule is that he is getting better pay
than he has had for a good many years. A recent
strike in one of the iron mills of Pennsylvania
was settled amicably without any increase of
wages. The employers assured the men that they
could not pay any higher wages while they were fill-
irg the present low-priced contracts, but that within
a tew weeks higher-priced contracts will be taken up,
and still higher ones will follow, and that all increase
in profits will b4l shared with the men. Of course
promiess of this kind are entirely satisfactory to the
labourer. In some mills, where work is pushed for-
ward day and night, the labourers complain of over-
work.