The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-03-04 00:00:00

A KNOTTY POitiT;3'l7l

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American journalists are much exercised in their
Minds at the pr sent time by some persona who have
arisen and undertaken to prove that America was not
discovered by Christopher Columbus, but had been.
colonised by Portuguese.from,Oporto and some neigh-
hearing towns several years before the Spanish
-nlaVigator made his eventful voyage (says the
, The manuscript on which the statement
based has .jtusfbeelidfiscovered in the Azores. Its
:existence wairknOwn, however, and it it stated to have
been lost during the great earthquake at Lisbon in
1735. How it reached the Azores is not explained by
its supporters, and their adversaries retuark.with some
ciegree of force that if an attempt is about to be made
. to !convince Alia. world that manuscripts can be awed-.
limed, up. by :a ;Lisbon earthquake, and cast up unin-
hired in the MOO, it might as well be understood ,
that strong evidence
,will be " required to procure
credit for the story:. Some time ago it Was alleged, on
the strength of some inicriptions -rei'rocks, which
were stated to be Runic, and that the Northmen dis-
covered America; but Americans, as a- rule, prefer to
believe that their country was discovered by Christopher
Colipnbus and by no one else. They declare that the
inscriptions are wholly unintelligible, and defy the.!
world in general to prove theyare Runic, and they will
not admit the new theory which, trangers the credit
usually awarded-to'Columbus to the Pertuguese. A
staunch defender of the gallant old Spaniard vows
that nothing less than the finding on American. soil of
a cask of unadulterated port wine-lof more than 377
years of age will convince the American people that
title Portuguese colonised America.twelve years before
the Spaniards landed on the Florida coast...,

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:AP xttfusinki ff, •
! Mar.4l.! CURIOUS ' DISPUTE. ;it'd tUfi.
- .•ri •
The Court of Justice at Munich has been call-ed
upon to. settle a somewhat curious dispute which bad.
arisen between the municipal authorities of that city
and the clergy. It has always been the custom to
deck the two towers of the cathedral with flags upon
occasions of public festivity; and until recently this
practice had never given rise to any misunderstanding.
since the unification of G-ermany; the Archbishop of
Munich has always hoisted the yellow, and white flag
with the keys of St. Peter upon the towers on saints'
days, while upon
.potitipak bolidays the municipality
has displayed fromititakw-towers the black, red, and.
yellow flag, surnmurittipiy, the Imperial eagle. Upon
the last anniversary. of the battle of Sedan these
emblems of 4114iittiiiipire "floated "proudly in the
breeze," but"tiie 'C'haptee. Of the cathedral 'protested
against their exhibition, :basing theitobjections upon
statutes which date from the eleventh century. They
instituted proceedings againat. the municipal council,
and the trial, which lasted several days, is reported to
have excited great interest in Munich. After making
a careful study of local customs, and in default of any
precedents to. guide; them,, the judges have decided
that, though the body of the cathedrat:ii the exclusive
property of the clergy,- the city of MiMich is. inscribed
upon the public registers as' owner of the towers. The
municipality is, therefore, entitled to bedeck them as
it pleases, at all events unless , the superior court, to.
which the chapter intendS,appealing, should 'overrule
he present decision,—Pnggall Gazette.
_

SOINDINS 'ARNIT4 REVIEWED:
. The BPeetil Corregiondent of the Daily Tel4rapA(wiiting
from Gwalior) gives .the: following graphie.Arount of the
review of biaharajal/aggippa'at,troops, pliAlonour Of the
ritlce of Witei: - -' • ,--
. That, India is. held by he increist,lw;dfo,, of ivhite
e °Ole is. silfficientlirtile*—tif?'-a,ll who haveitaVelled
vor its length and 'ffitealth;riirid'iideeci to those ho
lave
not:_. Bat never was the .singullii tia.ture Of Our :
position so clearly demonstrated as on Tuesday morn;
ng, when we eaw•Scindia's army drawn up in :review
rder under the shadow of the .for.tt.and close by his
ala Ce. We hadTpeea : tolit pt.- Ekifictkijit3.F. 0-14-
aliarajah haS,feW Siiperiers Ng lain, 4a14061
aa_lyilarls' ago wished thatia
_nr ' 14." iiltsie We
he 'equal Of'ithi-P enter Origin BMA PI ' init It A-
taiite 1,-; fog'tiif etd. See , the. pitch 'Of; PerfeCtion
which' ii, native Prince could brinkiiiit'str‘oopit: . 'A "11
• ashmere we , had eeen thousand of .ie}dierg; -bad'
they were little better than barbarians;- in ,the Small),
,the troops of Nizam had failed-, to impress .those of
ius_ , who ,ehker,ed 14yd erabad . territory with any tx.,
,approaching awe ; we -had .yet to see the CI-wailer
army, and judge -of ite- A -great-surprise awaited us.
It
.was scarcelrpeven o'clock when, on mounting ow
eleiihantS ai4cl proceeding to the- parade rovind; T.
found the army of Scindia drawn up in review order.
liUei strong battalions, numbering quite a thousand a
plaee, were in the front line;'• in rear were three regi-
tants of cavalry and,foni batteries of artillery—as ad-
mirable a brigade as could be desired in point
of • itumfters. : 'Pen s.liainiitei later . Scindia • himself,
accompanied by Ll!s-; irnmpeter, arrived. on the
ground, and was receiv“i by his -,knite, 'already
in'tfrout Of the: troops. He liaA Scarcely taken his .
. .
'place before guns annotmced,that.the Prince was near,
!whereupon, Seindin' went to it eft' hit' difitinguieheo
' visitor, and very qoiekly" condfietsVd..chtiaintoira ti
auto h 'iter:
wficerlde. '
i I am afraid to pay-howinithf pe
The thousands w.ho bad turned cut at his early how
...F4d constantly from one part of the ground to, the!
. ..-A. their gay turbans and bright dresses mingling
til,
,t they lopktd like the colours which a well-filled
IcAtleidoatope , shows.. she: English were mostly on
edieptlan4J, of which there were,great • numbers, and
tt tak.ling of the bells wbiabung from the howdahs
i. d4d. to the brightness and PkoSePtues of the scene,
need not tell you that,..itbe. -Prince went
Wind ,; the , ;troops, -and ,elpselP; i Inspected them.
i*ciudia follows European a‘ages too closely to permit
of such a ;custom being .broken. It •il3 of the march
past I would speak. , We had already heard of the ex-
cellence Rft the .Maharajah's artillery, and were con-
sequently, glad to see it preparing to come by. But

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