The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-09-28 00:00:00

UNWHOLESOME HOUSES.

In a leader on the unhealthiness of the troops at Cyprus,
The Times remarks :

Twenty years ago nothing was more common than
to hear, from people who /ere in the habit of making
much of their ailments, a ‘t such or such a place did
not agree with them. I'h complainants were mostly
occupiers of two houses at dk cferent seasons of the year;
and at one or the other of the. se houses they wars never
well. They were often soma what proud of the sup-
posed censtitutional peculiarity to which their ill-
health was attributed, and regarded it as a sort of gift
which broadly separated them from the robust vulgar,
who were able to live anywhere. They were fully
convinced that, over and above the erdinary power of
recognising small differences of climate, by which any-
one can perceive that Devonshire is less bracing than
Yorkshire, they were endowed in some remarkable
manner, so as to .find out differences between the
" air" of places separated perhaps only by a few
miles, although no such difference could be dis-
covered by any kind of physical or chemical examina-
tion. They would be quite prepared to admit that
their abnormal sensitiveness to they knew not what
was tiresome and inconvenient, but the admission
would be in words only. Pride feels no pain; and the
sufferings incidental to the possession of an organism of
peculiar delicacy were things to be cherished rather than
to be striven against. Unfortunately for the self-satis-
faction of a large class of people who were at least
not actively mischievous, the advances of science have
scattered their delusions to the winds. In time it has
come to be found out that the reas rn why a given
place does not agree with a given pert en is simply that
the person, when there, lives in an unw 'loltsome house.
Either the main drain is ventilated int, the best bed-
room, or it leaks into the supply of drirn..ing water, or
rats have constructed an extension of it beneath the
floor of the dining-room. Now-a-days if a doctor were
told by a patient that he or she was never well in a par-
ticular place, the reply would be a direction to call in a
surveyor and have the drains overhauled. It is fully esta-
blished that, apart from a small number of definite con-
ditions capable of producing definite and well-understood
diseases, there is no such thing as an unwholesome
place. Unwholesomeness, in so far as it is local, is
due either to neglect or precautions against climate
which the most ordinary knowledge would have en-
f 'reed, or to imperfect removal of the nuisances inci-
dental to the collection together of living beings. The
progress of sanitary inquiry has been constantly to
diminish the number of apparent exceptions to these
simple rules, and we have no doubt that, when the
facts concerning the health of the troops at Cyprus are
fully declared, the nature of the fever or fevers pre-
vailing there, and the way to prevent such sickness for
the future, will be found to be very elementary "pieces
of knowledge. • • •

airi'.:Pssso6 Ot Olt= Vit/V Li/S•sviiLtinuo

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

The amount of parental contributions for the main-
tenance of children io reformatory Schools in Great Britain
in the last year was £23,030 133. Bd., and in Ireland
£1,369 2s. lid.

Leprosy has appeared at Pedrequer and some other
towns in the province of Alicante. Several of ttne cases
have proved fatal. A special hospital for persons attacked
by this disease is to be established.

The announcement recently made by several Russian
papers that th ; Colorado beetle had made its appearance in
that country, turns out to be unfounded.

The Times correspondent at Calcutta telegraphs
that floods have caused great damage in the India Valley.

M. Van den Branden, the archivist of the town of
Antwerp, has published in the Precurseur an original bill
of sale of the lat of September, 1547, for twenty-two bottles
of
.petrolenm. This shows that at that date petroleum was
already imported into Antwerp.

On Sunday night the eruption of Mount Vemvitui
was of a moderate and intermittent cbaracter ; the activity
of the eruption continues to increase however.

One of toe things exhibited at the Paris Exhibition
% clock with a pistol in it, which it Appears is fired by the
met.hanism of the timepiece every hdtr. The intention of
this bezenious toy is to kill time.—Court Journal.
Among the items of revenue in the last financial
year from the Mint, which amounted to £71,906 17s. 2d., is
one of Al% 18s. 11d, for a "gold sweep."

It is stated in a telegram from Washington that a
demonstration of a threatening character was made there on
Saturday by 400 men on strike. They were, however, dis-
persed without difficulty by the police.

The other morning three -young men were crossing
the downs to Amberley, Sussex, when they stopped in a cop-
pice for luncheon. As they were sitting on a bank one of
them was bitten in the hand by a black viper. The reptile
was killed, and no farther notice was taken of the matter.
Before Amberley was reached, however, the young man who
had been bitten was seized with serious symptoms, and died
in great agony at a village publichouse.

An inquest was held on Saturday at Plymouth
respecting the death of William Esse!, commander in the
Royal Navy, who on the previous night jumped out of his
bedroom window, three stories high, and was immediately
killed by injuries on the head. He had suffered from
nervousness, but no action of a dangerous character was
anticipated,

Jew- elled serpents are to be the most fashionable
autumn ornaments in Paris, the lizards used to fasten
flowers in the front of the dress also being promoted to
adorn feminine headgear. Other bonnet trimmings appro-
priate to the season will be fir cones, chestnuts, and catkins
from the plane trees.—Court Journal.

A further discharge of workmen from Chatham
dockyard took place last Saturday.

The Excise duty paid by railways on passengers in
the last financial year was £741,919 2s. Old.
It is announced by a Paris paper that it has been
definitively decided the Exhibition shall remain open till the
20th of November.

The custom of giving the harvest labourers dinners
upon the completion of the corn harvest has this year been
discontinued in several Darts of Surrey. Farmers allege that
the long and expensive harvest time and the low value of
corn justify the abandonment of this ancient custom.

A St. Petersburg telegram denies that any under-
standing exists between Russia and Afghanistan.

A telegram from Philadelphia says that Sitting Bull
has sent six Sioux emissaries to Port Keogh, Montana, to
ascertain the terms on which he could surrender to the
authorities, his people being anxious to return to the United
States.

The Mark Lane Express says that the harvest is now
practically ended, except in Scotland and certain northern
localities. Wheat has yielded fairly well, but barley varies
to an unusual extent. Turnips give general satisfaction, but
potatoes in many districts are suffering from disease, which
has been rather spreading of late.

An alarming collision occurred on Wednesday morn-
ing at Whitehall Junction, near Leeds, between the Scotch
Pullman express and a mineral train. Several waggons were
smashed to pieces, the engine of the express was thrown off
the line, and the passengers were much shaken, but n6ne
were seriously injured. The line was blocked, and the express
was five hours late at Sheffield.

The expense of courts of justice in the year ended
the 31st of March last was £641,545 14s. id.

The wreck of the Grosser Kurfiirst being a serious
obstacle to the free navigation of the Channel, and the opera-
tions at the wreck being suspended on account of the
approach of winter, the Standard understands that the
German Government is being officially communicated with
as to their intentions with regard to this danger to naviga-
tion, its early removal being most desisable.

A little girl named Alice Giles, aged 16 months, was
drowned, on Friday in last week, at Richmond, in a pan con-
taining not more than two gallons of water, into which the
fell while trying to reach some flowers which had been
placed in it. The flowers were intended to have been placed
on the grave of her brother in the cemetery.

In the year ended the 31st of March the fees to the
Government on the registration of trade marks were
£8,516 us. The receipts of the Patent-office were £13,208
14$. 3d., including £4,202 Es. for the registration of designs.

• - -
The Army and Navy Gazette says the great cry just
now in all departments of the Army is for retrenchment.
So much money was spent lately in preparing for the
campaign which at one moment appeared imminent, but
which has happily been averted, that the Government is not
unnaturally anxious to show -itself sensible of the strain
which it was compelled to put upon the financial resources
of the country, and in arranging next year's Estimates the
utmost will he done to keep down expenses. Colonel
Stanley is desirous, if possible, of showing a reduction on
most of the Votes, and it has therefore, been necessary for
him to delay for a season the consideration of proposals
which have been made for additional grants. It is as well
that this should be known, for it will account for :many dis-
appointments which may be anticipated.

It appears from the report of German friends that
when the murdered Mehemet All Pasha was in Berlin, he
took the opportunity of paying a visit to his birthplace,
Magdeburg. Here he was so touched by old reminiscences
that he declared that he should lay down his military duties
In Turkey as soon as possible, again become a true German,
and settle for the remainder of his life in some pleasant
town in the Hartz.

Marshal von Moltke has had a plaster model of his
hand taken for a devoted admirer. The three first fingers
and thumb grasp a pencil, the little finger being stretched
out, and the wrist is encircled by a military cuff peeping
from the edge of a cloak. The hand itself rests on a small
square pedestal„ with laurel leaves at each corner, and in
front is the/ac simile of the Marshal's siguature.—Graphic.
The Customs duty on tea In the year ended the 318 t
of March amounted to £.4,005,640 6s. 6c1., of which £3,329
9a, 6d. was deducted on over entries, damage, &c., leaving
the net produce £4,002,210 17s.

The interest in New Guinea which has been called
forth by the reported discovery of gold and the finding of
hitherto unknown rivers Communicating with the interior
having caused a number of British subjects to migrate
thither from Australia, orders have been given for one of her
Majesty's ships in Australian waters to proceed to New
Guinea to watch over the interests of those who may settle
there.
Ostriches in South Africa are becoming so valuable
for the recently-daveloped trade of ostrich-farming, that at
a recent sale of these birds in Middleberg they realised on
an average nearly £2OO a pair. £285 were given for one pair,
and the lowest price realised was £l3O, while a few years
ago, according to The Colonies, ostriches could be procured
In South Africa for the catching, and were purchased for a
mere trifle for exhibition in London.
. On Tuesday a deputation of miners' deleaates
waited -upon Mr. Fisher Smith, Lord Dudley's agent, as
chairman of the South Staffordshire Coalmastere Associa-
tion, with the view of obtaining an increase of wages. He
told them that if the men would consent to work one and a
half hour extra per day he should be prepared to advance
the wages. However, the delegates said the men would not
consent to this, and the deputation withdrew.
The Queen has appointed tile Marquis of Lorne a
member of the order of Saint Michael and Saint George.

The mechanics employed by Lord Londonderry at
Seabam Colliery have agreed to an extension of one hour per
day, aud have resumed work.
Advices from Salvador state that Dr. Francisco
Zsldivar, brother of the President of the Republic, was
drowned in the
_port ofLa Ltbertad on the ruornieg of the
17th August. ,He had got on board a launch alongside the
wharf, in order to embark for Guatemala, when several
tremendous rollers came rushing in, the last breaking over
the launch, dashing it against the piles of the wharf, break.
lug it in pieces, and precipitating the occupants into the
angry flood. After the accident the bodies of Dr. Zaldivar
and one of the launchmen were Been no more, nor had all
Efforts succeeded in recovering them. Two launchmen were
drowned. One passenger was saved but badly injured, by
being beaten against the piles of the wharf, and all of the
launchineu were more or less injured. Public mourning was
ordered by the Government for the 21st, 22nci, and 23rd of
August.
On Tuesday the sum of £2,300 was received at the
Mansion•house in London, by the Lord Mayor in aid of the
fund now being raised there for the relief of the sufferers by
the recent calamitous colliery accident at Abercarrie.
Mr. T. Nickalls, a leading member of the Stock Exchange,
handed in the handsome amount of £1,070 125., collected by
him apon the Stock Exchange. A similarly large sum had
only a few days ago been paid in from the same body towards
the Princess Alice Fund.

Monday evening's Journal des _Mats, in an article
on the project of a definitive treaty presented to the Porte
by the Russian Ambassidor, says that, with the open ques-
tion of the war indemnity, there will always be a state of
latent conflict between Russia and the Porte. The treaty
will hold the debtor hourly dependent on the creditor—first,
because he will never know the real amount of his debt'
and, secondly, because if he knows it he will be unable to pay
It. In every point of view, financial, military, and political,
the Debats sees that Turkey will be in the power of Russia,
unable to find support elsewhere, even when in the right.
The closing days of the French Exhibition are not
its least prosperous, and the present rate of visitors is nearly
200,000 per day; those in the case of Frenchmen being
exclusively representative of the middle and working classes,
without the slightest infusion of 'swells.'—Workl.
The question of the advisability of granting a licence
for the sale of intoxicating drink at the Art Museum at
Nottingham Castle has recently excited considerable interest
In the town. A public meeting to discuss the matter was
held on Monday night in the Albert Hall, the largest room
In the Town-hall. Dr. Ranson, a prominent local physician,
presided. A. resolution protesting against the license was
carried amid considerable uproar, an amendment being
negatived. A memorial to the Town Council, embodying
the substance of the resolution, was adopted.

Among the charges on the Consolidated Fund was
one of £308,858 ss. 3d. in the last financial year for annuities
and pensions.

Captain Bogardus has in his possession a very re-
markable stuffed bird. We don't mean by this caption that
the bird is well stuffed, or a chef d'oeuvre of the taxidermist's
skill. All about It, which is really remarkable is what
Captain Bogardus told us in regard to that particularpigeon
"That was the last bird I shot in England in the match with
Mr. Aubrey Coventry. It would have made a tie if I had
not killed it I Was I excited? No, not a bit. I knew I could
grass it, and I did: It was stone dead before it reached the
ground. I fancy there was something like £20,000 on that
bird, and it made a difference of 5,100 dollars to me and
more than that to my friends. Kind of natural, ain't it, that
stuffed bird ? " and the captain's face beamed with, at least,
a 10,000 dollar smile.—Court Journal.

The Ripubrique Francaise, in an article upon the
potitical situation, says :—" Europe is at present in an un-
settled condition. Let us imitate the prudence of Prince
Ihsinarec. Let us not engage ourselves in any way, and main-
tain a circumspect attitude. Perilous times are not yet over,
and still less so the era of alluring offers and temptations."
This article (says the Paris correspondent of 7'he Times), is
regarde -I as a reply to the rumour propagated by some papers
concerning an alleged recommendation on the part of Eng-
land to France to take possession of Tunis.

Some American Black Bass have been brought over
for the Marquis of Exeter, who intends to try and naturalise
them in England. Black bang are considered by many per-
sons to be the finest flavoured fresh-water ash of any in
America. These specimens travelled in a tank where the
water was kept fresh by the injection of air every ten
minutes, and have borne the journey well.
In London last week 2,491 births and 1,250
deaths (including 16 caused by the late collision in the
Thames) were registered. Allowing for increase a popula-
tion, the births exceeded by 127, while the deaths were 83
below, the average numbers in the Corresponding week of the
last ton years. The annual death-rate from all causes, which
In the seven preceding weeks had declined from 27.4 to 18-4,
further declined last week to 181, and was lower than in any
week since the corresponding week of last year. The 1,250
deaths included 4 from small-pox, 2 from measles, 24 from
2carlet fever, 10 from diptheria, 43 from whooping-c. thus ough,
from different forms of fever, and 80 from diarrhcog. , h to
0
the seven principal diseases of the zymotic class 193 deaths
were referred, against numbers declining steadily m
to 211 in the seven preoeding weeks.

is il-Al4.

Tuesday night's London Gazette announces that a
earldom has been conferred on Lord Cairns, whoEe titles will
be Viscount Garmo)le, In the county of Antritn, and Earl
Cairns.

The Pope has addressed, it is said, a second letter to
the Emperor of GernTany, congratulating his Majesty on
his restoration to health, and wishing him a long and happy.

The. visitors to—the Tdwer of London paid -frt4atr3*
year ended the Slat of March £2,720 ice. for admission to the
jewel•houze.

The starlit) duty on pro'-atos of wil!R andjetters of
administration in the year ended thi 31st of March amounted
to £2,378,145 4s. 2d. The discounts and Parliamentary,
allowances were £1,303 15s. 8,1 told the repayments, ezz ,
£140,668, leaving the net Produce, £2,230,173 Sc. 11d.
•
In the year ended the 31Rt of March the excise dutyi
on spirits amounted to £15,557,514 17A. 40., out Of which.
£244,238 14s. was for discounts and Parliamentary ,
mice.

All of the six sufferers by the Sittingbourne nit
:incident who now remain in Sittingbourne•dontinue to inv.'re
satisfactory recovery. There is, however, no hope. of Miss
•
Rogers ever being able to resume her former occupation. - 1
"Whisky is becoming so fashionable and medicinal
a drink tbit it la a Matter .of., regret th‘t barley should this
year prove so generally soft and bad a crop I fear the
bp.rleybree of '7B will be only mediocre."—The

The Timber of persons who visited the Paris Exhi-
bition on Sunday last was 150,431 ; of these 135,923 were
Admitted by tickets.

The death of the Earl of Dysart, at the age of 81, is
announced as having taken place on Monday in London. ge
is succeeded in the title by Lord Huntingtower, his grandsoniAlle
who is 19 years of age.
.141
rYThe Duke and Duchess of Norfolk, accompanied by-ittr
a large party, visited the Sheffield Cyclops Steel and Iron - •
Works on Tuesday, where they witnessed the process 0f,,. -
rolling steel rails and the planing of armour • plates, the fr
manufacture of Bessemer steel, and other operations. They •
afterwards inspected the Norfolk Gun Works. In the even iei
-
fog, at the Farm, a ball was given to the tenantry and town-a.,4
people, and between 600 and 700 guests were present, includ- .•J!`r
ing the Mayor of Sheffield and the Master Cutler.

The annual Anti-Vaccination Conference was corn-
menced on Tuesday in Manchester. There were about fifty
delegates present from the chief towns of the Kingdom. ,
The report declared the vaccination question was now as-
sliming political importance, and was being discussed in
quarters where it had hitherto been scouted.
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Compauy
are making extensive improvements in their passenger car-'
riages. Larger and bean ventilated coaches are being
turned out of the company's works at Newton Heath at the
rate of two trains of four coaches and van per week.

- - ---
The Right Rev, W. B. Stephens, Bishop of Penn- '1
sylvania, preached an eloquent and interesting sermon at
Christ Church, Neuilly, on Sunday, in which he referred to
the history of the Church of England and her Liturgies, and
warmly advocated the minion work in connexion with the
Church at Neuilly, the funds of which are now exhausted.
A medal hat been adjudged to the Religions Tract
Society at the Paris Exhibition. The terms of the award
have not yet been made public, but it is undertood to be for
the excellence, cheapness, and beneficial tendency of its
publications.
The Duke of Devonshire has signified his intention
of presenting two acres of land as a site for the new Car Ugh%
Grammar School, which it is proposed to erect in lieu of the
old school in Eaglebfield Abbey, and towards which the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners have made a grant of £IO,OOO
as an endowment and of £5,000 in aid of the building fund. -.
Mr. Gladstone, in writing to a gentleman belonging 4-1-
to a South London Liberal Club, with reference to the rela- '
tive prospects of the Liberal party at the next general elec.: A
tion, says :—" In reply to your letter received this morning, sit
I beg to say that I may very shortly have to print a state-
ment on the position of parties as indicated 1:* the elec-
tions."
An English lady, resident at Tsarskod Selo, informs
.4t-
me that the loss of the Princess Alice has so profoundly
affected the Russian Court that experiments in saving life
are daily taking place on Tsarskod Lake, in the presence of -
the younger sons of the Czar.—Mayfair.
The Magnet says " The weather has been fairly -
seasonable. Field work has made fair progress, and Is well.
forward for the time of year. Dulness and depression have
remained the characteristics of the wheat trade. Very little
business has been done, and prices show a further fall of
from Is. to 2s. per quarter. Quotations are now very low,
but it is doubted whether the lowest level has even yet been
reached. The effect of the heavy shipments from America
has been most marked. Meanwhile they continue as liberal
as ever, and are likely consequently te make the depression
still more apparent."

•it ,

The Precurscur of Antwerp states that a private •
letter has been received, giving disastrous news of the Bel-
gian expedition in Africa. According to the writer, the
caravan had been attacked by one ot the savage tribes, in
consequence of some supposed slight to the chief of one of
them, and had been overpowered, but whether the members'
of the expedition perished, escaped, or were made prisoners, .
is not known. No information of the kind has, however, yet
been received by the Belgian Gc:vorument.

The dispute in the Leicestershire coalfield, caused e
by a large number of the colliers asking for a rise in wages,
has terminated, the majority of the men resuming work
upon the old terms. The employers have assured the work- /
men that they cannot advance wages at present, but that
they will do so as soon as there is a rise in the price of coal.
A balloon race is to take place at Cincinnati, the ,
Transatlantic public being weary of walking, swimming,
and riding matches, pigeon and glass-ball shooting, and • g
being eager for a novel contest. Thus the aeronauts are to
decide which can mount highest into the clouds, and remain
longest in a rarefied atmosphere. Instruments and a skilled
person to make the necessary observations are to be taken by
each competiter.
An inquest has been held at Brighton on the body
of a young man named Payne, who was crushed between the
buffers ef two carriages in the repairing shed at the Brighton
terminus, where he was engaged as a coach painter. The
accident took place whilst some trucks were being shunted,
but no blame was attributable to any one expect deceased
himself, who was between the buffers at work, contrary to
the regulations. The jury returned a verdict of "Acci-
dental death."

There have lately been several deaths from eating
poisonous fungi. Enthusiastic fungologists complain of the
great waste of food occasioned by the neglect to consume the
large quantities of edible fungi that grow in many parts of ;
the country; but waste of life is worse than waste of food,
and until we have all become expert fuugologists it will be
unsafe for us to select fungi for our own consumption. At
the best those toothsome morsels are difficult to digest,
which renders it probable that many varieties not absolutely
ppisonflUS do more harm than good to those who eat them—.
Mark Lane Expres&

The ship Clara, of 938 tons, Captain Cutler, sailed
from the Clyde on the 20th just,, and had on board the •
following number of emigrants bound for Brisbane, viz. :-
52 marriei men 52 married women, 105 single men, 54
single women, 50 children between the ages of 12 and 1, andL
9 infants—making a total of 322 souls.
Midhat Pasha, at an interview with the Marseilles
Committee of Turkish bondholders, remarked that, even if
he did not return to power, the Turkish Government would
settle the question of its financies as soon as the political
complications ceased. • „,