The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-20 00:00:00

THE BATTLE OF GINGIHLOVO.—It has been stated

that the firing of our men at Gingihlovo on April 2
was wild, and not to be controlled by their officers. We
are in a position to state that this is an error. One
regiment was engaged about an hour and twenty
minutes, and the average expenditure per man was
close on si cartridges, or about one round per man in
twelve minutes. It must be admitted that at first the
men were a little excited, but were soon got under
control. Two companies of the regiment to which we
refer were ordered to cease firing, and remained for
ten or fifteen minutes without consuming a single
cartridge, with the exception of a few picked marks-
men, who were told when to fire and what to fire at.
We have reason to believe that all the regiments pre-
sent were equally steady and under control. Con-
sidering the exciting nature of the circumstances and
the great temptation to burn powder, the expenditure
by the regiment which we have taken as a sample of
only 611 rounds per man In an hour and twenty minutes,
speaks well for the fire-discipline of Lord Chelmford's
army.—Army and Navy Gazette.
ASCENT OF A MEXICAN VOLCANO.—The Mexican
volcano of Orizaba, 5,295 metres above the sea level,
has been ascended by M. Athalza, a resident in
Puebla. Thirteen persons accompanied him, one of
whom died at the top from rarefaction of the air, and
another a few days afterwards from erysipelas caused
by the reflection of the sun on the snow. Seven thou-
sand steps had to be cut in the snow to gain the
shinmit, and the expedition oceupied four days, one of
which- was a blank owing to rain and snow. Baron
Millen in 1859, was the first to make the ascent, and
he has had very few successors.
POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES.—One of the
laq proceedings of the Congress which expired in
March was to pass an Act for taking a census of the
population throughout the United States in June,
1880. This census is natUrallY:looked forward to with
great interest. Down to 1860 the progress in popula-
tion and in material wealth, as testified by those de-
cennial records, was uniformly rapid and remarkable.
But the war between North and South then interfered,
arresting this progress directly through the destruction
of life by war and the diseases which follow in its train,
and indirectly by checking the tide of immigration.
The percentage of increase of population during
seventy years to 1860 was at an average annual rate
of a little less than three and a half. Had nothing oc.
curred to check this increase, the population of the
States would in 1870 have been about 42,600,000, in-
stead of the actual number of 38,558,371, and in 1880
it would have been, according to the same ratio, up-
wards of 57,000,000; whereas it will fall considerably
short of 50,000,000. So much for war and its conse-
quences. An estimate based upon the rate of increase
for a Riven period shows that the probable population
in 1880 will be 47,694,598, but statisticians in the
United States expect that, with increased immigra-
tion, the population will be found in June, 1880, to be
about 48,500,000.
THE FRENCH HARVEST.—Harvesting operations are
being actively carried on in the north and west, and are
nearly completed in the east, It is difficult to say how
the corn will thrash out, though, generally speaking, it
is of an average quality. A large quantity of wheat
will necessarily have to be imported, though as the har-
,—.4. is ss‘iir .1= late.
the provision to be made will only extend for the next
11. months, it being extremely unlikely that two such
late years will be experienced consecutively. At the
date of August 30 the quantity of wheat en route for
France from the United States, California, and other
countries was 1,162,352 hectolitres (nearly three
million bushels).
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT AT A DISTANCE.—An in-
teresting experiment to test the extent of the illumina-
ting powers of the Maxim electric light was recently
made one evening at Saratoga Springs, New York
The light was put in operation on the tower of the
Grand Unicn Hotel. An open parabolic reflector was
used—no lenses—and care was taken by Mr. Maxim
to set the points of the carbons a little on one side of
each other and to adjust them exactly to the focus of
the reflector. This having been accomplished, the
Bat was turned towards a spot in Ballston Spa, New
York, 7i miles distant, where, by previous arrange-
ment, a group of several hundred persons were
assembled to witness the experiment. The place was
instantly illuminated in such a way that ordinary
printing could be read, the time seen on watches, &c.
The night was clear, still, and dark. The experiment
was made at 9,30 p.m. This is believed to be the
greatest distance at which illumination of equal degree
has been accomplished.
CONSUMPTION OF SPIRITS.—The quantity of home-
made spirits paying duty for consumption in the
United Kingdom as beverage only was 14,540,097
gallons in the first half of 1877; 14,004,298 gallons in
the first half of 1878; and 13,380,009 gallons in the
first half of 1879, this last quantity being above a
million gallons less than in the corresponding period
of 1877. The quantity of foreign spirits imported into
the United Kingdom and entered for c)nsumption
here was 5,143,750 proof gallons in the first half of
1877 ; 5,037,711 proof gallons in the first half of 1878 ;
and 4,718,100 proof gallons in the first half of 1879, or
400,000 gallons lees than in the corresponding half of
1877.

IN MEMORY OF THE FRENCH WHO FELL IN 1870-71.
A monument is to be erected in Brussels in honour of
the French soldiers who died in 1870 and 1871 on
Belgian soil, and as a token of gratitude on the
part of the French nation for the hospitable treat-
ment of the French wounded by the Belgians
during the Franco-German war. The project has
been started by the Cercle Franccase of Brussels, who
are receiving subscriptions. The French Ambassador
in the Belgian capital has accepted the post of
honorary president. As the 7th of September tell on
a Sunday, the solemn celebration in memory of the
French troops who fell in the defence of Metz during
the Franco-German war in 1870 took place this year
on the previous day. The service at the cathedral
was attended by an enormous crowd, the majority
consisting of ladies. After the service most of those
who attended it proceeded to the Chambihre Cemetery,
where nearly 7,000 soldiers of the late French Imperial
Army lie buried. A large number of wreaths of int-
mortella were deposited on the great monument; but,
in consequence of the prohibition issued by the present
Government last year, it was not adorned as on pre•
vious occasions with flags and banners in the national
colours of France. There was not the slightest at-
tempt at anything in the way of a demonstration or
disturbance, the crowd behaving in the most orderly
manner throughout the day.
URFORTIINATELY.—Quite the latest development of
the upward tendency of things.—The rising in Cabal.
Judy.

PRIZE ESSAY ON WOMAN.—After man came woman.
And she has been after him ever since. She is a person
of free extraction, being made of man's rib, I don't
know why Adam wanted to fool away his ribs in that
way, but I suppose he was not accountable for all he
did. It costs more to keep a woman than three dogs
and a shot•gun. But she pays you back with interest
—by giving you a house full of children to keep you
awake all night and smear molasses candy over your
Sunday coat. Besides, a wife is a very convenient
article to have around the house. She is handy to
swear at whenever you cut yourself with a razor and
don't feel like blaming yourself. Woman is the
superior being in Massachusetts. There are about
60,000 more of her sex than males in that State.
Tiais accounts for the terrified, hunted•down expression
of the single man who emigrated from the East.
Woman is not created perfect She has her faults—
such as false hair, false complexion, and so on. But
she is a deal better than her neighbour, and she knows
it. Eve was a woman. She must have been a model
wife, tol ; for it cost Adam nothing to keep her in
clothes. Still, I don't think she was happy. She
couldn't go to sewing circles and air her information
about everybody she knew, nor excite the envy of
other ladies by wearing her new winter bonnet to
church, Neither could she hang over the back fence
and gossip with her near neighbour. All of these
blessed privileges were denied her.—Chico _Record.
A Poisorious FISH—The Daily Telegraph says
"From a letter written by a correspondent in the!
Seychelle Archipelago, it would seem that thonghl
every prospect pleases, man is not the only vile
creature which the islands and their waters boast.
There is a small, but highly poisonous fish, we are
told, called the laf,' the 4 spines upon whose back are
hollow and filled, like the fangs of a cobra, with a
dangerous poison which sometimes produces death,;
and always intense pain.' You may draw it un-'
observed into the boat when you are fishing, and find
out its peculiarities before its presence has been asccx•
tamed. Sharks, too, are more than abundant, and, it
seems, hang about the frail boats of the plaoe with such
terrible earnestness as to appal sailors and cause them
to refrain from tempting the deep; the creatures eat
the oars as they are thrust into the water, munch the
sides of the canoes, and altogether misconduct them-
selves so gravely that harpoons have to be used in
order to repel them. Happily, in respect to the laf,'
nature has provided an antidote, foie no sooner has he
stung than his body offers a cure to anyone who has
the presence of mind to seize it, cut it open, and
apply it to the wound. Against the teeth of the shaik
no such protection is offered, yet those who wish to
avoid his mouth can do so by keeping ashore. They
miss the enjoyment of the loveliest waters in the
world, but they also escape a fate compared with
which that of Jonah was child's play."