The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-04-26 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

A telegram from General Komaroff, dated Askabad,
April 3, says: "Several trade caravans left Mery
yesterday for Bokhara, Khiva, and Meshed. The Tur-
comans bought from the caravans the whole of their
large stock of American cotton seed."
The steamer Nevada landed twenty-one Mormon mis-
sionaries and 400 Mormon emigrants at New York on
Sunday. They left next day for Utah.
Preparations are now going forward for the Con-
ference which it is intended to hold at Berne at the
beginning of August to promote arbitration as a sub-
stitute for war. The question of the neutralisation of
oceanic canals will be one of the subjects discussed at
the Conference.

An evening paper says that Mark Twain received an
unusually large number of letters on the Ist of April.
By preconcerted arrangement two hundred and fifty
well-known literary men and politicians wrote to him
for his autograph.
Prince Alexandria, of Bulgaria, has arrived at Rust-
chuck, after having made a fourteen days' journey on
horseback through his Principality.
The total number of beasts entered for consumption
at the Metropolitan Cattle Market for the week ending
Saturday last was 2730 head; the corresponding period
of 1883, 2580 ; 1882, 2620; 1881, 3210; 1880, 3660 ;
1879, 3240; 1878, 3430; 1877, 3400) 1876, 4080; and
1875, 4100.
St. John's Churen Highbury-park, London, was
broken into late on Sunday night or early on Monday
morning. The thieves took the contents of the boxes,
the white altar cloth, and clerical robes, the property of
the vicar. The vestry door was wrenched
under
been
e e n
open by a
crowbar.
ParislP Palace, (sortie
h s
enon Januaxy
the guns of Mont Vale, 19,1871) which
0
The panorama of the defence of ostaf
was lately exhibited at th
opened at Berlin. It drew a large number of visitors,
including Prince William and all the military ehiefs ir
Berlin.
At Gotha, on Easter Day, the corpse of an American
lady was cremated; this being the 163rd case of the
kind since the establishment of the Crematorium there.
A despatch from Garsten, in Upper Austria, an-
nounces that a revolt has occurred in the convict prison
there, the inmates of which are educated persons con-
victed of crimes of lesser magnittide. The military
were called in and suppressed the revolt after
much
bloodshed. Between 20 and 30 of the •
convicts were
wounded, seven of them seriously.
The committee of naval and engineer officers who are
sitting at Portsmouth to prepare a scheme for the for-
mation of a torpedo ground, have visited all the avail-
able sites, and have recommended the Admiralty to
select Forton Lake. The elaboration of the scheme in
all its details is likely to take some weeks, and it is
understood that the original estimate of £50,000 or
£60,000 will be considerably exceeded.
The flood season throughout the dominion of Canada
is over, and no damage has been reported from any
quarter. The St. Lawrence River is now clear of ice.
There were 2568 births and 1649 deaths registered in
London last week. Allowing for increase of popula-
tion, the births were 167 and the deaths 89 below the
average numbers in the corresponding weeks of the last
ten years. The annual death-rate from all causes,
which had been 21.9 and 19.1 per 1000 in the two pre-
ceding weeks, rose again to 214.
The number of Bills of Sale published in England
and Wales for the week ending April 19th, was 176.
The number in the corresponding week of last ypar was
264, showing a decrease of 88, being a net decrease
in 1884, to date, of 241. The number published in Ire-
land for the same week were 7. The number published in
corresponding week of last year was 40, showing a
decrease of 33, being a net decrease, in 1884, to date,
of 271.
While the chief officials of the Cracow ponce were
assembled on Tuesday afternoon at the Court House for
the purpose of drawing up their report a bomb was
thrown against the window. An explosion ensued,
without, however, causing any damage to the building.
The author of the outrage was seriously injured, and
was immediately arrested.
In London, on Tuesday, at the Central Criminal
Court, John Ilifford, who pleaded guilty to four indict-
ments for stealing jewellery, &c., and Harry Burton,
whc pleaded guilty to five indictments for obtaining
money from a benefit society by a fraudulent sick list,
were each sentenced to 18 months' hard labour.
P. N. Fitzgerald, who was arrested in London on the
charge of being implicated in the Tubbercurry Fenian
conspiracy, and who is confined in the Sligo County Gaol,
was on Monday privately brought before the district resi-
dent magistrate, and again remanded. He protested in
loud and emphatic langua.ge.
In London on Tuesday, at Bow-street Police-court
William Norton, was charged with embezzling upwards
of £l5OO, of which he was trustee, under the will of
the-late J. E. Cox, of Mile-end. It was stated that he
had absconded with the amount to Australia where e
had been arrested and brought over. He he
was re-
manded.

A oNATING CONTEST.--M. Nordenskjold, the famous
Arctic traveller, in a letter which was read at the last
meeting of the Societe de Geographic in Paris, gives an
interesting account of a long distance skating contest
in Lapland. In order to test the powers of the natives
in this respect, M. Nordenslrjold offered prizes, the
highest being 350 francs to the winner jp.,ajace.llP94
p'kaScp,or ;.!Altisloys;j Aoug,a,distanee of ..=7ikilometi-et
about 1.12 miles), starting from Quickjock, and return-
ing to the same point. The winner accomplished the
distance in 21 hours and 22 minutes, besides taking rest
on the way, and the race was so close that the second
arrived only half a minute later, and the third 11
minutes later. -