The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-03-28 00:00:00

Elisallantzus Znlttligtury
HOME FOREIGN, AND *COLONIAL.

Brunsn DIPLOMACY.—TWO experienced clerks in el
Foreign Office are stated to be engaged on a historY °
British diplomacy.
FRENCH FASHIONABLE LIFE.—M. Octave
who is row in his 64th year, is finishing a new five-a°V
study of modern French fashionable life.
FRENCH ANNEXATION.—A French party in Manrithlefr
have started a new journal, called" Madagascar." The
name indicates its object—it is to promote the anneo.
tion to France of the great African island!
" Athenmum."
PALIEOGRAPHICAL.—The authorities of the Imperil"'
Library of St. Petersburg intend to bring out a p 510;
graphical series, containing specimens of their ino"
important Greek, Latin, Slavonic, French, and other
manuscripts.
LACE-MAKING DESIGNS.—The Drapers' Conn:101
have subscribed £5O to the fund which is being rave'
to encourage the production of good artistic designs ft..°
the use of Irish lace-makers. The offers of prizes to
competed for amongst designers throughout the countrJ
will be shortly announced.
THE INDIAN WHEAT CROP.--A memorandum pub'
lished by the Agricultural Department at Calcutta 01
Feb. 23 reported that the condition and prospects !
the wheat crop in India were then above the averas''
A bumper crop was expected in the Punjab, the seas°ll
on the whole being most favourable.
AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The-folloivirg
are the average prices of British corn for last week/ 3°
received from the inspectors and officers of Excise'
Wheat, 31s. lid.; barley, 31s. 2d.; oats, 20s. 8d- Pf
imperial qr. Corresponding week last year: Wiles"
375. 7d.; barley, 31s. 5d.; oats, 19s. 10d.
THE DUCHY OF CORNWALL.—The accounts of tittlit
receipts and disbursements of the Duchy of Corny'
for the year ended Dec. 31, 1884, was issued on Bator'
day. The receipts amounted to £113,326, of which
sum of £C4,641 was paid to the Prince of Wales.
Comrrs.—German scientific journals call attentiol
to the probability that Eneke's comet ought to be'
visible immediately. In April one of Tempel's perlu"'a
comets ought to return to oar neighbourhood. .14-13
the comet discovered in 1878 by Tuttle, at Cambridge'
in the United States, should be visible in Joly:e/
August. A "comet year" is traditionally associai
with a good vintage.
Of
INSURANCE ESTIMATES.—Comparing the return-
the last twelve or fourteen years the " Insurallw
Journal" thinks it by no means improbable that at
end of the present century the total premium lot.
of the life insurance offices doing business in ,14)3,
country will have reached 23 millions sterling, +0
interest on investments eight millions. It exPec`„
claims to amount to 16 millions, the total life insuralle
in force to 670 millions sterling, and tho total funds :;
240 millions.

HAMILTON'S WORKS.—The American Congress
1850 ordered the works of Alexander Hamilton to II
printed. This edition of the great financier and politico
economist of works has long been out of print and yell
scarce. The demand for it has been such that Meser..,g'
Putman have determined to issue an entirely ne"
edition. This will contain, besides unpublished lettere,
Hamilton's contribution to the " Federalist." The
introduction and notes are by H C. Lodge, and
book will be in nine large octavo volumes. Severiall
portraits illustrate the work, and but 500 copies
be printed. Only twenty-five of these will be sold !
England, and like the former edition the book bids fair
to become scarce.
Veg -
THE SUNDAY QI7ESTION.—Apropos of Lord Th--° a
motion in favour of Sunday opening, it may the
be state,
that the Whitechapel Fine Art Exhibition has alif,„l;
been opened on Sundays, from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.
following are the numbers of visitors in successive Yezr.,
on those days: 1882: Good Friday, 1888- Easter
day, 935; First Sunday after Easter, 1681. 1883.
Good Friday, 2722; Easter Sunday, 1832; First Stull% ,
after Easter, 3117. 1884. Good Friday, 3477 ;
Sunday, 1862; First Sunday after Easter, 2985.
THE ZOOLOGTAL SOClrrY.—The additions to the 41, *0
logical Society's Gardens during the past week inem.'ilrg,
a bonnet monkey from India, presented by
Thomas: a grey ichneumon from India; a vni,l3-6•,
phalanger, from Australia, presented by Iff.r. b
Baxter ; a plaintain squirrel from India, presented J.
Lieut. A. H. Oliver, R.N. ; a barn owl, British, presen'., , -
by Mr. W. P. Clark; a red-billed whistling duck
South America, presented by Mr. Wm. Boutcher,; r,;.
Indian crocodile from India, presented by Mr. On,
Murphy; a common boa from South America, presen....
by Mr. Allen; an Algerian tortoise from North Afril •
deposited; a red-eared monkey ; a Pluto monkeYl4
white-thighed colobus from West Africa; a hairY-11'„ir
wombat; a blood-stained cockatoo from South P. 70,
traria, purchased; three hug-fronted gerbilles, bora
the Gardens.
. .
LIBERATION OF VIENNA.--In the Austri;n
two magnificent bronze candelabra are now being
hibited. They are the gifts of the Emperor to the Gerviip
National Church in Rome, Santa Maria del Aninio, jp•
memory of the liberation of Vienna from the TurkB.,.B •
1683. The candelabra, which were cast in Vienna, 1,7,6
in the Renaissance style, and are decorated with
images of the Emperor Francis Joseph, the Beir-
Leopold 1., and Pope Innocent LI.
Title
THE AFGHAN WAR OF 1879.—A parliarae-
paper just issued gives £250,000 as the last install:B:0.
of the grant in aid of the Afghan war of 1879, which tvitif
become payable during the ensuing year. The 103,01)e.
grant in aid of this expenditure is in all £s,ooo,v`lhe
which £2,000,000 has been met by the remission
debt incurred by the Government of India,
£2,750,000 has been provided by previous Votes ,
Supply. ria
METROPOLITAN PAUPERISM—The weekly rejl -k, oi
metropolitan pauperism shows that in the first wee-ers
March there were 96,369 paupers, of whom 57,709 Ilof? •
indoor, and 38,660 outdoor. This is an increase of 2 hot
as contrasted with the corresponding week of 1854,;0r
a decrease of 2384 and 653 as compared with 18831,, O,
1882 respectively. On the last day of the first wee;ers ,
March 605 vagrants were relieved, of whom 438," of
men, 157 women, and 10 children under 16
age.
LAST obir
LAST WEEK'S WRECKS.—Among the actu—
wrecks reported last week five vessels (all British) '70%
by collision off our coasts, being the same number so era
the previous week. The total wrecks for the week Wear
18 (15 British vessels), making the total for the Y
245. Ten vessels were lost off the British lale'saa
being Briti.,la owned. Three vessels (two Britiearise,
one Norwegian) were reported with all hands.
responding week of last year: Wrecks, 29; Britisa
total for year, 478; lives, 55. .0. hog
IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.—A curious discove„, di
te
recently been made in the records of the Calcutta .""
Court which may serve to throw additional light °as re,
history of the time of Clive. Some of the paP!.f.tbecit
lilting to the trial of Nandkumar have been unea"iiote
and among them is the judgment, with a long •chig
appended in some old system of stenography, rtoese
what purport to be the true reasons for the lig cop 9
of the punishment inflicted. A lithograPhief°
r 60.
of the note is to be sent to this country
ciphennent. : d
er
DRINKING IN SWITZERLAND.—The Swiss besV
Council recently instituted an inquiry as to tnetioe
means to be employed for diminishing the conenll the
of spirits, in the course of which it was shown thadolg
population of Switzerland, numbering 2,500,60°1 thO
27,000,000 litres of brandy yearly, the result beinlrvicif
every year the number of men unfit of military ths.„o,
increases; that 44 per cent. of lunatics have 1°5,,„"
reason by the abuse of spirits- that of eve'd
criminals 45 are given to drink- that a minialwat t tP.;
deaths per annum are caused by alcohol; and ,w-atto
great majority of the suicides-600 a year—'^-
the'
buted to the same vice. sayo .41
CIRCULATION OF PERIODICALS.—" LOllOOll, 0,0-„e
" World's Press," "issues periodicals with ell 00011,:-
circulation of 1,017,000,000. Paris, with a far, j.irec &
population, issues periodicals with an snow",
tion of 1,100,000,000. New York and Bro0;A.
N 5
population nearly two-thirds that of Parifvi
! 00erh ,01Ze.
publications with an annual circulation
Philadelphia furnishes the American public.ri3e/ji
"Ice Trade Journal" and the gainOlOgiSVald 210
is responsible for the "Age to Come 0, foq,or
"Jerusalem Pioneer ;" and Lake Mich
" Chrysostomian " and the " Opbyggeu''
circulation of these papers is not stated. ehe
SIGNALLING AMONG TIM VOLUITTWIESP-'.:li 010;:06:
and Navy Gazette" says that regulations fro the ist-,
be issued concerning military signalling 1 alio
volunteers. No regulations have existed opee. oso
ject hitherto, hence much diversity of pro-
for proficiency in army signalling will onlY
assistant-instructors and signallers of
the year following that in which they
The number of those wearing badges in eabotaliatteer
be limited, and will be the same as in the velto.3,;ag
regulars. The proficiency of signallersfreer borif
battalions will be tested annually bY an 10,01 of
an instructor's certificate from the $o
Signalling. volunra

3" '