The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-05-13 00:00:00

BRITISII AND FORE:•II,..

General To Thumb and his tiny wife have arri; d
Lrmd,..

Mr. Spurgeon is so unwell that his medical advisers
ave ordered Mtn to leave town for mouth.

---
A new weekly journal is announced. It will be an
organ or eating sou drinking " Kinbec " will be the editor.
It is to be celled Itusf and Fork
The recent illness of the King of Sweden is attri-
buted by Dr Holmberg, his Slabity's physician, to the use
of a oertan " hair restorer"

The Admiralty have been pleared to direct tha,,
" Hymns Ancient and modern 'shall In future be Issued to
Iler SI sjestys ships, In Btu of the original hymn-book.

- - •
Thirty thou.and Arabs are now in Algeria. The
troops in the colony are utterly Inadequate to repress the
revolt. The Echo du Nord anticipates great difficulty.
• -- -- •

A New York newspaper describe a new police
station-house just opened there as a thing of beauty and •
joy forever."

It ts stated that the cost of the projected canal from
the Mersey at Liverpool to Manchester, for ateamera drawing
22 feet of water, would be 1:3, fa 0,000.

The Scotsman soya the rumour gains cansiitency
that Lord Grey, in concert with the representath es of certain
patrician Whig families, Is endeavouring to form • coalition
party

The Bombay Government, having nneucceeefully
tried to tat native feasts, has now Imposed a tax on native
marriages. The Idea of taxing marriages In Eoglned would
be last the thing to make Mr. Lowe popular again. N.l by
does he not propomi It, and funnily call It .• another Match
11111 ?"—Court Journal.
The writer of " Chit• Chat," in JAn Bull, under-
stands that at one of three wedding. which took place at St
James's Church, Piccadilly, on the 20th nit , one of the
numerous pretty bridesmaids assisting received a proposal in
the church and accepted it.

A parliamentary return, which has been just leaned,
gives the number of honorary colonelcies In the British army
as ISti The total amounts received from army grants by the
holders of these colonelcles I. 4238,703 The number of regi-
ments which have no paid honorary colonels Is sta.

A correspondent suggests that Mr: Lowe should sell
the match stamps to the public for their stamp albums. lie
thinks that a round sum might be raised, and that thephrase
may run which otherwise would be unpopular—Ex Lowe
Lucellton.

A burleeque, performed in a Lmdon theatre, con-
tained a song In which was lila sarcastic line—

"May Gladstone lose his temper if I ream to love."
111. said the line hu been withdrawn by order.—C,utt
Journal.

At Runcorn a verdict of wilful murder against some
Person or persons unknown has been returned by a coroner's
jury In the case of an infant which had been found In the
canal wrapped tn two bags. Death had been caused by
suffocation precinue to Immersion.

An English Indy travelling on the Rhine recently
drew tho attention of a waiter to the fact that the egg he
had given her contained a chicken. Nothing abashed, the
man of napkins replied that he must charge for a chicken in
her bill instead of an egg.

At a recent meeting of the Central Chamber of
Agriculture, one speaker stated, on the authority of " a great
brewer," thet, if the new Licensing Bill became law in
twelve years' time no one would be able to get a glass of
bitter beer in the city of London.

The "Ghost e7f Lindley Murray' sends to the
Slo yield I nd.yendenf the following remarkable effort et
genius, which was posted on the Corporation Baths on Satur-
day morning Cheese Bathes Will be closed untill M un-
day, May let."

The threatened strike of about 8,000 house painters
In Sheffield has been averted through an interview between
masters and men, which has resulted in an arrangement.
Some other trades have obtained a reduction of bi hours in
their weekly labour.. . _

A lady of quality reproached the Turkish Ambas-
sador on the laws of Alahomet, permitting them to have no
many wives. "It Is permitted to us, madam," replied he.
In order that we may find those qualifications that centre lu
you alone."

George Fletcher. a journeyman gunmaker in London,
has committed suicide by discharging a double-barrelled gun
at his bead. Having tied a OMB of string to the triggers
and then round Ma toot, he discharged both barrels at the
same time. lie left a wife and nine children entirely with-
out pro talon.
' _

At the annual meeting of the delegatea of the
Bristol District of the Primitive Methodist Churches, held
at Lydney, Ginucestershire, on Monday nista, a resolution
was unanimously passed in favour of Mr. Miall's motion for
disestablishment.

On a tablet against the north wall of the church of
St. Augustine, liirdbroke. Essex, are the following inscrip-
tions :—"Mary Blewitt, of the "Swan Inn," at Bathos-tie End
len this parish, buried May 7, 1861. she was the wife of nine
husbands suc,easively, but the ninth outlived her.
In the first five weeks of the financial year the
Treasury receipts amounted to £C,C05,929, and the expen-
diture to Le,i/of, 700. In both cages the totals were slightly
Under those of the correspondtng period of last year. The
balance in the Bank of England on the 6th 'natant was
C3,A.,..9, 339,
The long•delayed cape of Poulton, Park, and others
came on for trial on Tuesday, in the Court of queen'. Bench,
bah re the Lord Chief Justice and • epeeist jury. The pro
secutirm ht conducted by the law officers of the Crown, anct
the accused are defended by no fewer than eleven barristers
of distinction.

The following is given as an extract via dialogue be-
tween a magistrate and &prisoner, to which the latter came
out of the combat of words tolerably well :—Magistrate
What brought you here, sir Prisoner . Two policemen,
please your honour. Magistrate: Than I suppose liquor had
nothing to do with it 1 Prisoner . Yes, sir, they were both
Intoxicated.

The following advertisement has appeared in the
Record To the few who love their neighbours as them-
selves. A clergyman, weary in his work but not of its much
requires a change for his health's sake Ile had net aside LIU
for a little trip But, alas he has had to pay It all away to,
meet a bill Vr repairs to hie schooL If you pity him, tine,
send a cheque for £lO, or part of it, to EsstsT—"—twe
suppress the addreu.)

An acute arithmetician has figured out by the double
rule of three, or upwards, that while there are • couple of
millions of people in the rotted States who are dented the
privilege of reading their Bibles by lack of education, there
are exactly ten times aa many who might rend them, bat
don't—for lack of Incaution. This, to use an original phrase
Is very sad.

An administration suit has been before Vice-Chan-
cellor Sir James Bacon in which the testator, Mr. Kidd,
late of Itrungear, Ohanel.lellale, Yorkahire, had anncred an
ertraoralnary Condition to a bequest to his widow—namely,
that she should go to achool for three years: he also made it
a condition that any future husband of his widow should
assume the name of Kild. the question whether the first
condition could stand was not ripe for decision

A diAingullibed Scotch journaliNt thus writea of the
International Exhibition One question which perplexed
me painfully was, what would be the weight of the mama of
gold chains which the Mayors and Sheriffs had round their
necks, if all taken tif and thrown into a basket together I
Then came to my mind another problem—would I he able
to carry that basket away with me, were I allowed to do
,or'

Sir William Jenner was examined before the Vac-
cination committee the other day. !No evil effect@ from
vaccination had ever, he geld, come under his notice ; and,
as the father of Mx children, he should consider himself
wanting in his duty had he neglected to have them vaccina-
ted. A Derby doctor has also stated that throughout the
whole of E .gland, there wa• not a knows cue of any penon
who had been re vaccinated having taken the small-pox.
The rOllllll Err., igration has jnat lost one of it. ohleat
and most respected members, Major Cornelius Piotrowski,
who expired on the nth alt ,at the &dame...lege of 70. The
deceased was a distinguished iflocer, and served under the
Emperor Napoleon 1., and in the War of Independence
ageinst Ewes, in 111.30.31 Ile had obtaine.l the Cross of
the Leal .n of Honour and the Polish Military Cross for his
great bravery, having received seventeen wounds In variety,
battles.
A nurse, named Desborongh, aged 70, was con-dcted
by the Cambridge Divisional Magistrates, 1,0 he irdar, of
tremanittirg without proper precaution, certe'.. clothing
Infected with small-pox from Cambridge to C, ttenham.
The old lady looks quantity of wearing %roue, belonging to
• deceascd patient of hers, and made a present of it te her
married daughter. The result was that no len than ten
pew. in Cottenham were .1,,D!11,i with the Orem°. The
Bench (under the Sanitary Act, 1506, tined Mrs IS s'iorough
the nominal penalty of Is,, which with the costs amountssti
to about £6.

The Board of Trade accounts for the month of
April have be,4l published, and the total value of our Ito-
ports dull g that month nu £29,.:14,942, being an Increase
of nearly a million and a half ea cnmparcd volth hot )ear.
During the four mouths of this )ear the value of cur im-
ports has been £1(5,l 95.1,4 e. Ulu exports during tbe month
of spat were £16,54C.,442, or about half a 01111100 less than
loot year, but durit.g the four months they have amountol to
£C3 279,657, which is rather more than the cone punting
period of 11,70.

It appears from a War Office return just publidaed,
that last year the Government received £.:9,1).! from the miss
of commissions, and that amount has been placed to the
credit of the Military Reserve Fund. So ennli an amount
has not been received for nearly twenty year.. 1 he total sum
received since the operation of the plan commenced in 1541
Is £1712529. The fond it now and hu been ter many years
past applied chiefly to buy up the corr.m.lasions of super-
numerary and half-pay oftFers, to reduce cavalry prima, and
to reform the corps of GentlemmeatArms and Yeomen of the
Guard.

Last week the aggregate mortality in London and
19 other large towns in the r olted Klogdom was at the rate
of 25 deaths annually to every 1,600 of the estimated impala -
lion. la the meircpolis 2,251 births and 1,522 death, were
registered, the former having been 2,9 below and the latter
47 abuse the average. Zyniotic diseases caused 447 deaths,
It eluding 588 from small-pox, 17 from measles 29 from
scarlet fever, 4 trim dlptherla, 311 from whooping-cough, 34
from different forms of fever of which 7 were certified as
typhus, 14 as enteric or typhoid, and 13 as simple continued
fever , and 12 from dlarrt cc a. The mortality from small-pea
is the highest recorded during the present epidemic. it t.
almost three times as high as the largest num iser returned in
Loud. In any week of the several outbreaks which took
place between 1840 and 1070.
A statement has jtust been published of the amoutit of
Parliamentary work none In the last two sessions. Li 1868-8
the number of bills Introduced Into the Commons which re..
ceivedthe Royal assent was 129, In 1870 the number was 119-
to the Lords 20th the former period, and 7 in the latter; the
: bills which were Introduced Into, but were not psased by the
I Commons numbered 27 In 1068 9, and 74 last cession; the
bills brought from the Lords which were not pained by %be
Commons numbered 2 In 1E629 and 12 last session ; the MIL
passed by the Commons but not by the Lords numbered
respectively 3 and 6; and the Lords' bills passed by the Com-
mons with amendments and °onside:alba of amendments
put off by the Lords one In each melon,

If