The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-04-05 00:00:00

SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 1879.

STEEL MANZ7FACTURE.—In view of the difference
among practical men on making steel on economic
principles from Cleveland ore, an important statement
was made by Mr. Dodds, M..P., chairman of the
Darlington Iron Company (Limited), at its annual
meeting. Mr. Dodds said from what he knew person-
ally and from knowledge which had not yet gone forth
to the world he had not the least doubt whatever that
the problem had been satisfactorily solved, and that it
was perfectly easy to convert Cleveland pig-iron into.
Bessemer steel. It was decided that the company
should convert a portion of their works for steel
manufacture.
WANTED, A TU.—Stern Uncle to inpecunious
nephew :—" Ho? you extravagant young rascal? No
more money from me, sit! As much good advice as
you like, sir, but no money I "—Nephew "Advice,
sir ?"—Stern Uncle: "Yes, sir."—Nephew : " Then
what would you advise me to put on Cambridgeor,—
Fun.
THE SAN FRANCISO WOMEN.—The San Francisco
women are remarkably stylish in their appearancee
(says an American lady correspondent) I consider
them among the best dressed women in the world. If
pullbacks are the rage, they pall back until every vein
and muscle is shown from the outside. If trains an
the mode, train it is—two yards long, with a lace frill
at the edge. But their dress is perfect, nevertheless,
in spite of badinage. They are slim, very slim,
and all have splendid busts, when busts are the
mode. Now, however, to be straight up and down is
correct; so they come out in natural condition—thin
as eels. Their complexions are bad; but then " cami-
line " is plentiful and cheap, so is rouge and black
pencils, and colour for the lips. The talent for " fix-
ing "is immense. Take an ordinary-looking girl, and
ask her to go to a club ball. She'll just go upstairs and
" fix " herself so divinely, froth her lips to her hair
puffs, that it is like a Cinderella and fairy wand opera-
tion; right away you have a beauty, I don't pare how
homely she may be, and that's more than any other
girl can do in any other country. True, at ujne
o'clock in the morniug, when they go out just like wai.
dolls, their faces "give them away" terribly ; but for
night, why it's marvellous! The old ladies with
wrinkled cheeks and browless eyes, look peculiar after
"fixing," and impress one with the ides of a recusi-
tated mummy, but then it's the way of the place, and
when in Rome, &c.
ON THE BOARDS.—War used to be looked upon as a
game of chess, but in these modern days, when such
large demands are made for troops from home, it would
be better compared to a game at drafts.—Judy.
PRAYER FOR THE FORCES ABROAD.-137 order of
the Chaplain General to the Forces the following
prayer was used on Sunday (and is to be continued
during the war) in all garrison chapels :
"0, Almighty God, maker of mankind, who heareat the
prayers of all them that call upon Thy Son's name; look
down, we beseech Thee, with Thy mercy, on the nation to
which we belong, and on our soldiers at this time engaged
In war in distant lands. Save them from sickness and peril;
deliver them from the hands of their enemies, and grant
that they may be restored in safety to us, to bless Thy holy
name, and to serve Thee in peace and godliness all their
days, through Jesus Christ our Lord." _ _

. -
THE OLDEST THING IN LONDON.—The Buikkr re
marks :—" When we consider how long, and with
what respect antiquaries have regarded the London
Stone, a venerable relic at the time of the
conquest, and near which lived the first mayor
London ever had; itself the centre of that superb
system of military Roman roads, remains of which
still awaken the interest of archeologists; when
we consider the antiquity of this hoary shapeless relic,
or the interest and equally venerable character of the
Coronation atone—the Irish relic dragged to Scone,
and thence to Westminster Abbey, more than five cen-
turies ago, and roundly declared, according to monkish
authority, to be the same stone which served Jacob all
his pillow- when we consider the extraordinary in-
terest that antiquaries attach to the trilinguistic
Rosetta stone, discovered in Egypt at the end of the
last century by Boussard, and giving the key to the
mysterious language of the Egyptian inscriptions—re-
flecting that that stone was fashioned only a century
and a half or so before the Christian era; when we
compare the age of these famous stones, which we
treasure, with that of the Obelisk only so lately set up
in London, and which shows us its legible surface more
than 3,000 years of age, something more than ordinary
respect is due to Cleopatra's Needle, as the oldest of
things even in London."

AWAKENED CONECIENCE•MONEY.—The Chancellor
of the Exchequer acknowledges the receipt of five
shillings from 'Any, as a fine for having cut his name
on a national monument.—Punch.

MARITIME DISABTEREI.—The direction of the Bureau
Veritae has just published the following statistics of
maritime disasters, reported during the month of Feb.
ruary, 1879, concerning all flags :—Sailing vessels
reported lost: 76 English, 18 American, 15 Italian, 13
German, 8 Austrian, 8 Norwegian, 6 French, 4 Danish,
4 Dutch, 3 Greek, 3 Portuguese, 2 Spanish, 1 Mexican,
1 Russian, 1 Swedish, 1 Turkish, 5 of which the
nationality is unknown; total, 169. In this number
are included 24 vessels reported missing. Steamers
reported lost :—U English, 1 Austrian, 1 Chilian, 1
Spanish, 1 French, 1 Japanese; total, 16. In this
.number are included 3 steamers reported missing.

CLEARANCES or TEA.—The Daily News of Tuesday
said :—" Enormous quantities of tea are being taken
out of bond in anticipation of an increase in the duty.
Daring the last three week•days, the amount of duty
paid on this article alone has averaged more than
£52,000 per day. On Friday about £48,000 of duty
was paid; on Saturday about £53,000; whilst at three
o'clock on Monday nearly £60,000 had been paid in
at the Custom House on tea. Daring the three
remaining days before the Budget it is probable that
even these extraordinary payments will be greatly
exceeded."

Dsz&nrur..—An organ has been erected in London
quite recently which is said to have a hundred and
twenty staps. This beats all the other organs out and
out—even the organ of speech in woman, which, by
the way, has no stop at all.—Judy.
A MOTHER'S REQUEST.—A highly interesting case,
showing what one woman has done for her country,
has recently attracted the notice of the people of the
United States. A mother, living in lowa, requested
that her only Ben, Norman M. Merchant, might be
discharged from service in the United States Artillery.
She gave as a reason for making the request that her
other ten eons had served their full terms in the army
of the Union and were all dead; and that she was now
seventy-two years old, and unable to support herself
without the assistance of this eleventh and last son.
The Secretary of War found that this remarkable
family record was true; that the ten brothers either
died in the service or were honourably discharged and •
had since died. Few mothers have done more than to
give ten eons to the service of their country.
OBWOUI3.—S tin gy Uncle (to impecunious Nephew).
"Pay as you go, my boy I—Pay as you go I"—Nephesv
(suggestively). "But suppose I haven't any money to
pay with, Uncle—"—Uncle. "Eh?—Well, then,
don't go, you know—don't go 1" [Exit hastily.—Punch.

" PLAT."—One day last summer we rode fifty miles
in a railway car, seated behind four men who were
playing with those awful things of the devil—cards
(says a Toronto paper.) They played euchre until
they were tired of it. They played a little seven up,
pedro, and occasionally a trifle of poker. We never
heard a dispute. Their bursts of merriment occ,aa-
eionally at some unexpected play repeatedly drew/
our eyes from our book. They never quarrelled and
never called names once. When we got out at the
station, we eat at our window, and watched a party of
'young men and maidens play croquet. In fifteen
minutes we saw two persons cheat successfully. We
heard the one player who did not cheat accused of
cheating five times. We heard four distinct bittet
searrels. We heard a beautiful young girl tell two
lies, and a meek-looking young man three, and final!?
we saw the young girl throw her mallet against a
fence so hard that it frightened a horse; the other
young girl pounded her mallet so hard on the ground.
that it knocked the buds off an apple tree. They both
banged into the house at different doors, and the two
young men looked sheepish and went off after a drink.
Now, why is this? Isn't croquet a good, moral game?
STRANGE !—According to the people who compile
statistics, if a lady is wired to tell her age the informs.
tion is unreliable; but if she is asked to give the age
of her dearest friend the truth is almost always got at.
This is one of the freaks of nature which wants think.
ing over.--Judy.
DISTRESSING SIIIOIDE.—In London, on Monday, at
the Charing-cross Hospital, Mr. Bedford held an
Inquiry as to the death of Mr. Julian Elwes, aged 28.
18ome few months ago he lost his wife and child, and
this, in addition to having no employment, preyed verX
much on his mind. He had been heard to say that
he "only had courage enough he would shoot himself,'
but little notice was taken of the threat. Samuel
French, at whose house the deceased resided, deposed
that about seven o'clock on Thursday evening he heard
two pistol reports, the second followed by a heavy fail*
On entering Mr. Elwes's room, from which direction the
reports came, he saw him lying on the floor and a
revolver beside him. He went at once for a surgeon and
afterwards to the authorities at Bow-street. The
doctor arrived and extracted one of the bullets, the
other proving beyond reach, and as the deceased was
still alive it was deemed advisable to remove him to
the hospital. Mr. Wickers, the house-surgeon at
Charing-cross Hospital, deposed to receiving tha
deceased at about 8.30 on the Thursday evening. Ile
was quite unconscious and bleeding from the head, 00
examination, he found two bullet wounds in front of
the right ear' about an inch apart. One of the bullets
had entered the brain, the other having lodged in the
vicinity of it. Mr. Elwes remained unconscious until
about 8.30 on the following morning, when he died'
The jury returned a verdict of "Suicide while in a
state of unsound mind."

To MAKE CHEAP STOCK.—Four pounds of boner
stewed with onions, turnips carrots, herbs, parsley,
an outside leaf of celery, a piece of dried ginger size of
a nutmeg strain, let it cool, take all the fat off, and
put in a little maccaroni which has been previouslY
boiled. If soup is required to be made of it, three
pennyworth of vegetables are enough to flavour thlto
quantity. This recipe I have used for many years
a large household with great success.—M. 0. in Land
and Water.
WILLIAM Hassorr.—The Daily News, of WednesdaY,
says :—" We understand that the Home SecretarP
original proposal with respect to the amount of core'
.pensation to be paid to William Habron has under
gone a change. It is now intended that a vote shall
betaken in the Miscellaneous Estimates, and that the
sum shall not fall short of £1,000."
RELIGIOUS SERVICES AT PLYMOUTIL—On Sandal
evening the last of a very remarkable series of meet.
Jugs took place in the Guildhall, Plymouth. Thel
have been held every Sunday since Christmas by 9
committee composed of members of all evangelical
bodies, and conducted on alternate weeks by Church
clergymen and Nonconformist ministers. They were
specially designed for classes who do not ordinarilY
attend places of worship, and in this respect have
been signally eueceseful. The Guildhall has bees
densely crowded, never less than :3,000 persons being
present, and many hundreds have always vainly sough;
admittance. The bishop of the diocese ha expressed
sympathy, and the chief clergymen and. Waters of
the town have been present on the plat rm. One
service was for soldiers presided ovrt- b 3 the chief
officer commanding the garrison, and another for
sailors and fishermen, the port admiral being chair'
man, and many officers baba present. The sight hag
been very impressive, and the singing, accompanied
by the magnificent organ, has been inspiriting and
attractive. • The cost has been defrayed .by a sub-
scription. lot which fulida were freely forthodmiug.

iIMPERIAL PARLIAMENT,

_ln the HOUSE OF LoRDS, March SI, Lord Cadoga_ti, stated
that a telegram dated Maritzburg, March 11, ist'Act been re-
ceived from Sir 'Bartle Frere, to the effect filet the Tamar
bad arrived with upwards of eight hundrecl, ken of the 57th
Regiment on board, who, with those of aradshaW's Naval
Brigade, would, he hoped, enable Lord. L',helmaford to en sure
communication with Colonel Pear. And that thegulu
Chief Oham, though he had 110„ let 'tined Colonel Wood,
seemed to have effectually bre'
0,41111 With Cetywayo.
The Medical Act Amene Mont Bill WAS read a third time
and Passed • u was al
Acts sA the Supreme Court of Judicature
Amendment BP'.
Their lor_sh-!!, a
ai.,
calltned at a quarter to six o'clock.
In the Is
rntin„ ,etTSR or Commons, Sir Stafford Northcote, an-
endow, said the position of negotiations with
to'? .411414A)a was not in such a state as to render it possible
. QIN the question forward for discussion, but it was a
afttake to suppose that negotiations had been brought to a
rsenclusion or that they had been broken oft because Major
'Cavagnari bad retirned from Cabnl. No information that
aII advance on Cabal had been ordered.had been received by
Vie Government• .
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, replying to Mr.
question whether telegrams as to the Anglo-
e:,,sehan 'war had been sent direct from the Viceroy to the
%/twee, said he could give no information beyond that there
Was no kind of official communication between her Majesty
and Lord Lytton. Private letters had occasionally been
Written, not only by the present but by successive Viceroys
to the Queen, and no doubt communications had passed
From Her Majesty to the Viceroye, but of this the Government
anew nothing more than they did of Any other private come-
of the Queen.
.The debate on the Zulu war was resumed by Mr. Courtney,
woo contended that it was due to the honour and the in-
terest of the country that the High Commissioner should be
°called.
Lord Bandon who followed, defended Sir B. Frere In a
Zed speech' which was much applauded. It was admit-
o by the Government, he said, that in assuming the pre-
rogative of declaring war Sir B. Frere had exceeded his
tse„re,.rs, and for that the Government had censured him;
,fl'uluisters were alone responsible for maintaining him
°woe, and they confidently believed the House would
allI)Port theta hi that determination,
aeVerai other hon. members having addressed the House,
__l..lstt Marquis of Hartington began by regretting the in-
rcenction of the military topic, and advised Colonel Mure
withdraw his rider, in order that the House might confine
j tt5Iddgs solely to the quation of policy. Admitting that
the Government had a difficult task to perform, and that it
:na not convenient for them at the present time at least to
y
Re e another little war on their hands, he contended that
they must have known long before December that an aggres-
bivae P°lloY was conteenplated. Otherwise, in addition to
ha other faults, ekr Bartle Frere must be charged with
ving sedulously kept the Government in ignorance. What
e had done trail not simply without instructions, but in
direct violatioA of them, and the tameness of the Govern-
ttngolutt,
_h'-edtting to this breach Of disCipline he held to be
Ae. But the breach of discipline was unimportant
hr,l„..urArison with the question of policy, and on this
he insisted that the Government, though they had
evaded giving any opinion at all, ought In justice to
.-als colony, to Parliament, and to the High Commissioner
_„
salt to say at once what they thought of the presenta-
mon of an ultimatum under threat of immediate war.
'rora one point of view the punishment inflicted
'on Sir Bartle Frere—who, while he was censured, was told
thattZ he musk nevertheless, remain at his post—was too
---.avY for any man to bear' but, looking at the importance
471,1 Preventing such conduct for the future, the censure WAS
totally inadequate punishment. As the affair stood, a war
had been commenced and nobody was to be called to
seee._ mint. The Government was not to be called to account
....manse It did not know of the war before it was made, and
,_our Bartle Peeve was to escape responsibility because he had
en 94thnixed. The country did not require a victim, but
'Tuned to have an end put to all the mystification as to
Vio was responsible for the war.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, who rose at one o'clock
amid much cheering from the Mioisterial benches, an-
steered at once that Her Majesty's Government assumed
all., the responsibility for the war, and stood between Sir
zartie Frere and Parliament. To a certain extent they
'did not approve of his conduct, as they had shown
by their despatches; but they had not thought that his
conduct was sufficient to outweigh the many con-
alderations which induced the Government to desire
that his services should be continued in South Africa.
But he denied altogether that the High Commis-
sioner had been guilty of the conduct imputed to him by Sir
v.... Mike. B.ecalling the circumstances under which Sir
mixtle Frere was appointed, he pointed out that the great
Want at that time was a common policy towards the natives;
and, considering the difficulties with which he had to deal,
the case made out against Sir Bartle Frere was by no means
to bad as was asserted. Mr. Courtney, he pointed out, was
the only Member who had indicated any alternative policy;
but would the leaders of the Liberal party endorse his re-
commendation to abandon confederation and give up the
Transvaal ? Such a policy must lead to our withdrawal
i_erdirely from South Africa as an Imperial Power and to
r,_"aving the colonists to pursue their own native policy. The
Government had delayed pronouncing an opinion on Sir
'settle Peeve's conduct until they had received all the ex-
planation he had to offer and though they thought
habit would have been wiser for him to delay sending
the 'ultimatum until they had beard from the Home
Government, they did not think that this conduct
disqualified him from being useful to the colony
in future. So from not having expressed any
opinion on matters of policy, he pointed out that in the
despatch of March 20 they had laid down their views on
Many important point'; and, In conclusion, he impressed
O n the House before displacing the present Government to
reqtdre from their successors that they should distinctly
formulate the colonial policy which they would substitute
for that which it was now proposed to condemn.
Lord Elcho intimated that though he should vote with the
Government, he thought they had not treated Sir Bartle
Prato
Colonel Mure having withdrawn his amendment, the
Rouse divided on Sir C. Dlike's Resolution, and the numbers
Were
For the motion .. 246
Against it _ 300__
_ _

- Majority for the Government .. —6O
thrbe,allnaelmement of the numbers was readied with much
~
—rwil from the Ministerial benches and counter cheers
m the Opposition.
The nouse adjourned at ten minutes past two o'clock.

In the HOUSE OF LOXDS, April 1, Lord Cottealoe, in
Inovingfor a return showing the trade of the United King-
dom with the United States of America for the last six years
Raid that from the annual statement of trade for the year
1877 an Presented to Parliament in Jane, 1878, and other
sources, it appeared that as between this country and the
_United States the balance of trade was decidedly against us.
zurther information and inquiry on the subject were de.
Bir,able ; and with that object he moved for the return.,
Lord Henniker said that the Government had no objection
Whatever to ilke return moved for by his noble friend.
The motion was agreed to, and their Lordahips adjourned
at twenty-five minutes to six.

In the HOUSE OF COMMONS, Colonel Stanley informed
Colonel Bare that there was not, and he was informed
there never had been, such a rank as that of sergeant-major of
Volunteers, but that a sergeant-instructor was allowed to act
aa such, with an addition of sixpence a day to his pay. These
officers did not hold the actual rank of sergeant-major, and
Were not entitled to the pension of that rank. -Under a
arisaPiarebension the higher rate of pension had been
printed, and it had not been thought right to take it away:
out the lower rate would be paid in future.
Mr- Stanhope, in answer to a question from Mr. Richard,
said that no information had been received from India which
_°ollld lead to the belief that an ultimatum had been sent to
,alle Ring of Burmab, or that additional reinforcements have
.O_ean sent to Rangoon ; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
gal answer to Sir J. Goldsmid, said the Colonial Office had no
information of the reported disagreement between Sir Bartle
rrere and Sir H. Bulwer.
Colonel Stanley, in answer to a question from Sir R. reel
as to the future plan of the Zulu campaign, said he had no
reason to believe that Lord Chelmsford had changed his
general views, and the circumstances must be exceptional
to justify the Government at home in interfering with the
Wane of a General in the field.
Mr- Yorke, In moving for a Royal Commission to inquire
Into the administration of Wellington College, narrated the
circumstances under which the College was founded, and,
contrasting the promises then held out with the actual
result; contended that the failure was due to finan-
cial miSmanagement, which justified inquiry. Its original
~Object, he maintained, was to give a gratuitous educa-
t_on to the orphan sons of officers, and when the Col-
lege WAS opened it was stated by the late Lord Derby that
accommodation would be provided for 200 boys of this class.
But after 20 years of existence, and after the College
had received some £326,000, there were now only 80
°gallons educated gratuitously. It was also stated that the
Ot of education to what he called "the subsidiary
the sons of living officers, would be £3O a year, but
thelaresent cost to the 80 boys of that class now In the
College WAS £BO a year; and, while there were only 160 boys
Of these two classes on the foundation, there were 210 sons
of civilians who paid £llO a year. On minor points he com-
Ifiained of the change in the age of admission, and of the
establishment of a test examination.
Mr. R. Plunkett seconded the motion.
Mr. Parker, who opposed the motion, pointed out that
there could be no objection to a conference between the re-
presentatives of the officers and Governors, a Royal Com-
MisliOn would be a serious blow to the College.
- -

Mr. Gladstone also opposed the motion, and reminded the
Tiouse that the establishment in the space of 20 years of a
Wet public school taking rank with the first schools in the
Kingdom was no small matter, and involved considerable
expenditure. Although there might have been a miscalcula-
tion when the sum of £.30 was mentioned as the coat of
education, there had been no breach of faith in the matter,
and all the arrangements now complained had been super-
vised by the late Lord Derby. It was all a matter of
better or worse and the design of the Governors from
the first was 'to establish a great school with a high
standard of education, and the civilian element had
been introduced to provide the necessary funds.
The education of the 80 orphans required an income of
£2,400 in addition to the £4,000 endowment fund, and if
Civilian boys, whose contributions furnished these funds,
Were withdrawn, it would be necessary that a corresponding
number of orphans should also be withdrawn.

General Shute and Mr. Walter defended the administra-
tion of the College.
Lord G. Hamilton said the Government were willing to
facilitate an inquiry by a joint Committee representing the
Governon and the officers complaining.
Sir T. Acland spoke in favour of the motion, and on a divi-
sion it was negatived by 67 to 60.
The Hypothee Abolition Bill passed through committee
after a short protest from Mr. Bathe- Cochrane. The omis-
sion of Clause 2, which gives the landlord a right of re-entry
on non•payment of rent, was moved by Mr. j. Barclay, but
It was retained by 49 to 34; and on the motion of the Lord
Advocate a new clause was inserted, confining the operation
of the Bill to eases where hypothec has been extinguished.

Mr. Rodwell moved the ee-cond reading of his Relief of the
Insane Poor Bill, which gives facilities for the removal to
suitable places of pauper lunatics not fitted for the county
*glum.

Mr. Salt, on behalf of the Government, assented to the
principle of the Bill, but recommended its reference to a
Select Committee, and, after some discussion, the Bill was
read a second time.

Mr. Rodwell also moved the second reading of a Bill de-
signed to carry out the principle of the amendment of which
he gave notice to Sir W. Lawson's Resolution, and requiring
that magistrates, in granting new licenses, shall take evi-
dence on oath as to their neceesity, Jo. Mr. Cross supported
t, and it was read a second time.
The Racecourses (Metropolis) Bill was read a third time,
and the House, while engaged on the Blind and Deaf-Mute
Children Education Bill, was counted out at half-past ten
o'clock.

111 the Horn or COlOlONs, April 2, Mr. Mundella moved
the second reading of the hiunicipal Corporations (Pro-
Perty Qualification Abolition) Bill, the object of which is to
abollah the property qualification for members of munictpit
Corporations and local governing bodies in England and Ire-
land, and to render eligible for membership any one who is
duly qualified as an elector. The Bill would not remove
disqualification by reason of office, contract, or bankrupteY,
and it provides that the seat of a member who became qua-
lified under the Bill should be rendered vacant 11 he
ceased for six months to reside within the district for which
he was elected.

Mr. Wheelhouse moved the rejection of the Bill.
Mr. Chamberlain warmly supported the Bill, which he did
Dot expeot to cause any great change in the constitution of
the local governing bodies—because very few poor men
could give the time required of members of those bodies-.-but
Which he was sure would remove a great injustice, and an
unfair class distinction.
The discussion was continued by Mr. A. Marten, Mr.
, Cowen, Mr. Awheton, Mr. Newdegate, Mr. Salt, Mr. Stang
-
fold, Mr. Mitchell Henryand several other how. members. Mr.
Mundell& briefly replied, and the /louse dtvided, when the
numbers were :—For the second reading, 167 ; against, 178;
majority, 6 The Bill was thereffore
The olt!er business was then disposed of, and the House
adjourned.