The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-09-12 00:00:00

flrUancous nttlLigcut,

HONE FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

MURDER OF A NATIVE JUDGE IN INDIA.—
Information has been received of a shocking tragedy
which took place in the station of Ratnree, the head-
quarters of the township of that name in the adjoining
district of Kyouk Phyon, which has resulted in the
murder, on the 22nd ult., of Na-htoo-shwe, the
Myooke, or extra assistant commissioner, who was
the chief judicial officer at that place (says the Area Lax
News). It appears that the ill-fated native Judge
trieda man named Gnayouk-kai on a charge of theft,
and sentenced him to four months' rigorous imprison-
ment. The convict thereupon bolted off to his house—
s distance of nearly one mile, and returned thence
with a da-mhyoung (a small dagger), with which he
rushed up to the bench, and severely stabbed the
Myooke Na-htoo-shwe twice in the back. The wounds
penetrated the lungs, and within ten minutes the poor
man expired. Nothing is said of the police or the in-
spector located at Ramrer, but it is evident they were
paralysed. The convict murderer, Gnayouk-kai, a
young man of about 24 years of age, made off scot-
free to the jungles and is still at large On the report
being brought into Kyouk Phyoo, the deputy com-
missioner, Captain 11. A. Gower, accompanied by Mr.
Macleod, superintendent of police, immediately started
for the scene of the tragedy.
ASCENT OF MONT BLANC.—The Continehtal
Herald says :

" A remarkable ascent of Mont Blanc was lately made by
a Spanish lady, Madame Zubelin. Notwithstanding that the
seven previous attempts to attain the summit had been un-
successful, on account of the excessive cold and a violent
wind, she set out accompanied by four guides and • porter.
On arrival at the Grands-Mulets it was found that the
weather was too unfavourable for further progress, but
Madame Zubelin resolved to wait until appearances were
more propitious. The guides endeavoured to dissuade her
from what they considered a very rash enterprise, but she
gallantly determined to succeed, and actually spent four
consecutive nights in the hut on the Grands-Mulets. On the
fifth morning the party again set out, and reached the sum-
mit in the afternoon. It is stated that Madame Zubeliu re-
fused all assistance from the guides during her toilsome
journey, and traversed unaided the most steep inclines. At
noon on the following day she reached Charuounix, where
she wee received with the utmost enthusiasm by the whole
population, inhabitants and tourists."

GLEE FOR ASTONISHED SPORTSMEN IN THE
HIGHLANDS—" A grouse! A grouse ! yea ! my merry,
merry men ! "—Fund'.
INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL REPORTS.—
An international system of meteorological reports is
about to be organized at Washington, and the chief
of the Signal Service Bureau has perfected arrange-
ments with the different European meteorologists for a
grand international system of reports. Since the lot of
January, in all the principal European stations, obser-
vations have been taken each morning at the same mo-
ment of time that has been selected for the regular signal
stations inthe United States, and these are forwarded by
mail semi-monthly to the Signal Office in Washington,
for discussion in connection with the regular reeorts of
the country. Nearly 200 foreign stations are now en-
gaged in this work, and sufficient data will soon be
collected for the deduction of general laws in relation
to the movements of the atmosphere that will mark a
new era in meteorology. These reports, consolidated
with those made by the Signal Office, will be issued
daily in printed form for the use of all meteorologists.
A WELCOME " BORE " (when, it comes). —The
Channel Tunnel.—Pench.

A DEGENZILATE HUNTSMAN. —Men change, too,
in their ideas as well as their dress. I was talking
some time ago to an old friend of mine who had been
an inveterate fox hunter, did his six days a week,
and spent the seventh in the kennel ; if you asked him
what Sunday it was, ion always got the same answer,
"Infliction Sunday. I asked him how he was getting
on in the hunting line. "Hunting, my dear fellow;
why, I have given it up years ago—all humbug!
What on earth is the use of a man making a guy of
himself, putting on a pink coat, top-boots, and un-
comfortable leather breeches, and for what ?—to gallop
after a lot of yelping dcgs, and to catch a fox which is
of no earthly use to any one when he is brought to
hand; endangering your neck, breaking fences, and
destroying land and crops. Hunting in an idiotic
fashion; half the men only hunt for the sake of dress
and for mountilig the pink. If they must hunt, why
not dress like reasonable beings, in comfortable cords,
gaiters, and a shooting jacket? Ah ! then you would
not see half the men out you do now. lam quite
ashamed to think I ever hunted. Just come and look
M my shoribonis, will you r—Lontion BooWty.

• •
AN AWKWARD COMPLIMENT.—A worthy man,
imperfectly literate, thought to clinch a flattering
speech with a text of Scripture. He was selected as
the spokesman who, in the name of the parishioners,
was to present some gift to the parish clergyman. He
made a little speech at a meeting held for that cere-
mony. He spoke warmly of the parson's merits, his
diligence and his eloquence; and finally rose to a
climax. "In fact, sir, to use the words of the Apostle
Paul, you are just a sounding brags and a tinkling
cyr.vbal ! "—" A. K. H. 8.." in Fraser.
1848 AND 1874.—When the Comte de Jarnac
left the London Embassy in 1848 Italy wax a
" geographical expression ; " the Grand Duke of Gerol-
stein was the typical German Sovereign; Prussia was
a timid Power, with a scattered territory and a much
discredited military system; the King of Sardinia was
a satellite of the greatest Italian Power, Austria ; the
two armies supposed to be virtually Invincible were
the French and the Russians, and the United States
were believed to have no interest so much at heart as
that of negro slavery. M. de Janvac returns with
almost all the small States of Europe abolished, and
with negro government supreme through half the
American Union. He left us half persuaded that the
Duke of Wellington was an impostor, and that the
idle swords and guns of our army had better be sent
to the Tower of London to rust away in obscurity. He
comes back to us to find us the largest manufacturers in
all the world of ironclads breechloading rifles, fulmi-
nates, steel shot, and stedcannon.— Pa/1 Mall Gazette.
MARSHAL MACMAIION'S RECENT TOUR.—The
Debate and the Gaulois have got a curious bit of
statistics. The Ddutts has found out that in the account
of the Marshal's trip published in the Officiel he was
three times only described as President of the Republic.
and 119 times as the Marshal, or the Marshal Presi-
dent. The Gaulois has discovered that the Marsha]
has had to stand the brunt of 86 speeches. He has
heard himself described 13 times as an " illustresoldat"
—as" defender of order and society" 18 times ; " pro-
tector of religion" seven times; on 26 different oc-
casions a reference was made to his "gallant sword;"
his "loyal sword" formed the theme of 32 compli-
mentary remarks; his" firm and loyal hand " was
alluded to by twelve gentlenien ; 59 times he had to
listen to variations on the "recuperative mission en-
trusted to his wisdom ;" three times he was called a
"tutelary president ; " twice he was described as the
"impersonation of law and order; and once only as
" the pilot guiding the social ship over a sea plenti-
fully strewed with shoals." This statistic may be
completed. At Le Mans and Rennes he heard no cry
at all ;at Morlaix and Brest he beard the
" Marseillaise " and " Vive la Republique," mingled
I with " Vive le Mardschal ; " at Vannes and Auray he
I heard " Vive le Marechal " without " Vive la Rd-
publique ; " at Nantes he heard chiefly " Vive Mac-
mahon •," but nowhere did he ever hear a cry of "Viva
le Septennat ! "
Part PRY.—It has often been repeated that
Paul Pry was drawn from a familiar figure of the
time—the eccentric Tom Hill, who was editor of the
Dramatic Mirror. Poole took occasion expressly to
contradict this in a little biographical sketch of himself
addressed to one of the magazines. "The idea" he
says "was really suggested by an old invalid lady who
lived in a very narrow street, and who amused herself
by speculating on the neighbours and identifying them
as it were, by the sound of the knocks they gave.
"Betty," she would say, 'why don't you tell me what
that knock is at No. 54'' Lor, ma'am, it's only the
baker with the pies.' 'Pies, Betty !—what can they
want with pies at No. 54? They had pies yesterday.'
This is indeed, the germ of Paul Pry"; and he adds
"it was not drawn from an individual, but from a
class. I could mention five or six persons who were
contributors to the original play"—which showed that
he worked on true principles as applied to humour, viz.,
abstraction and selection.—Gentleman's Magazine.
OVER-FED BIRDS, —The reprehensible trick of
giving birds raw meat, bread, and either pernicious
'treats," cannot be too strongly condemned. This
unnatural regimen converts the gentle, amiable,
affectionate, and docile inmate of the aviary into a
pugnacious, ferocious ill-tempered and hateful member
of the bird society. As a tiger that has once tasted
human blood becomes defiant of danger, boldly daring
death to attain his coveted prey, so equally does a
meat-fed bird become perverted from every natural
instinct, lie will always be quarrelling, and finding
or making occasion for poking his cruel, merciless beak
into the sores and wounds of his companions; it is
ruinous to his digestion : and sooner than any other
food induce illness and the creation of red mites. I
once gave a canary to a poor woman, excessively fond
of and kind to animals. In a short time it was brought
back with a request to be told what could be the
matter with him, "as the bird had always received
plenty to eat." I inquired as to the items composing
this" plenty," and was informed. "Oh, every think
wet I eats myself : yesterday he had carrot *A turnip-
tope" (uncooked!) to-day, a shred of beefsteak, and
bread and butter to his tea; and he eat it beautiful
he did!' Cooked chop, minced veal, raw beef, all and
sundry found their way to this much-to-be-pitied
canary's gizzard, greatly to his temporal delectation,
and—ultimate d.-struction ! How could I reply to
profuse hospitality such as this? Of course the bird
was ill ; of course it suffered from red mites, sores, bad
health and worse temper, and of course it was im-
possible to convince the kindly-intentioned owner
that "what is one man's meat may," certainly in the
case of a pet animal, "prove to be another man's
poison !"—Birds, their Cages and their Keep.
RATING OF GAME.—Many gentlemen who do
not preserve, and care little for the actual head of
game they kill, reserve the right of shooting to them-
selves—partly in order that they may thus continue in
some eon to exercise an ownership over land with
whose possession they have temporarily parted; partly
that they may have a fair excuse for going over the
land and seeing for themselves, without making that
their special object, in what conditionthe tenant keeps
le; and partly to guard against the intrusion of un-
desirable characters, whom the tenant might other-
wise, by neglect or design, permit to wander over the
fax-me. In all or most of these cases the value of the
right of sporting, as estimated by what it would
let to a stranger, would be nit; though to the
landlord himself it might, for many of the reasons
detailed above, be distinctly appreciable, but not at
any mere monetary estimate. Under such circum-
stances, what is to guide the decision of the assessment
committee—the value to a stranger, or the special
value to the landlord? Obviously, since the landlord's
is a fancy value, depending upon a variety of items,
none capable of pecuniary appraisement, the value to
a stranger—which, in the instances we have been sup-
posing, would be nothing. It would not, therefore.
follow that the fact of a reservation of the right of
sporting by the landlord fir his own benefit would
always imply a rateable value in such right. How,
then, are assessment committees to ascertain, in the
ease where a landowner reserves the shooting to him-
self, whether it has any, and, if so, what value' We
confess ourselves unable to see how they can always
appraise it with any degree of fairness. —Add.

A 'arras. OF DAVID GARRICK'S. A letter of MOTTO FOR THE HIGHLANDS.—" The rain it 1
David Garrick has turned up and been given to the raineth every day."—Punth. .
public; it in curious :—" Friday morn. Stone—You A FLYING Pio !—" Do pigs tly 1 " said an '
are the best fellow in the world. Bring the Cupids to American•Philoeopher to another. "Fool ! " was the
the theatre to-morrow. If they are under six and well- reply. "I'll bet you a hundred dollars mine does to.
made, you shall have a guinea apiece for them. If night; come and eft." When they were pensively con-
you can get me two go, murderers, I will pay you xemplating the pig, the first philosopher bated a line
handsomely, particularly the spouting fellow who
keep; the apple-stand on Tower-hill. The cut in his for pip.taine When he had swallowed the bait, which con-
a hook, and was attached to a strong line, he
i face s quite the thing. Pick me up an alderman or fired a Cc' mereve rocket at the end of that line, and the
o "
two for Richard, if you can; and I have no objection
,
pig "flew ed" 200 feet high, to the astonishment of the
to treat with you fr a comely mayor. The barber other philosdpher, who however, was philosopher
will not do for Brutus, although I think he will enough not to pay the 100 dollars.
succeed in Mat.—D. G." PCTIrs.'G A STOP TO IT—The following inci-
Sallp IN ZPTEMBER. —Frequent showers of ~ dent is sjiported as a fact; it is facetiously pleasant :—A
rain on the F' of September% placks. wiiiiewat poor cvte, an earnest, faithful prqacher, had 4 poor
impededtthe sort of partridgeahiliting. Rt.. Partrido salary, not sufficient to support his family with any.
appears to have shared his day with St. Swithin.— thing like respe,•tability, so he took to repairing watches
Punch. - to increase his income Some parson thought this was
,
CONFLICTING VIEWS.—AH American paper a disgrace to the cloth. Accordingly the curate had
tells a story of a man who having just bought a horse, to appear before the bishop, who said, "This insist be
consulted various authorities as to the manner in which put a stop to, and I intend to put a stop on it," and
it should be lodged. He read that a side window in a
stable makes a horse's eye weak ,s, that side; a win- his lordship presented the curate with • living worth
1 between three and four hundred a year.
dow in front hurts his eyes by the glare; a window PLANTS AND ANIMAIAL—AIave we any native
. behind makes him splint ;.a wilultscon. a diagonal line „ .
rous plants?" Some appear to las denoted
makes him shy, when. liq trellis ; a stabile with a sky- Wl'
da by their names—dog-rose foxglove. sow.thistle,
011ight is too hot in summer and too- cold in winter; '
and tahrinablewnt of.
eanwwintr
,umetaikones.the
.horse blind.
though not indigenous are cultivated in gardens, there
l'auawkweed,l dandelion; -and 'amongst hose which,
is_the tiger-hly.—Punch. •
PASTORAL FROM CARDISIAIICULTY.N.r=" CRINITHaI THE TOWER OF LoNnon. —A movement has
Cullen in a pastoral letter to the clergy of Dublin,
which was read in all the Dublin chapels on Sunday, been et o foot by a committee composed principally
says : - In-. '
of working en with the view of taking measures for
"we are living in times when the Church and-ita ministers the free opening of the Tower of London, and the
and laity are exposed to the greatest dangers, and incessant Constable of the Tower has been solicited to receive •
and perfidious efforts are made to destroy faith, 'without deputation on the subject. The committee maintain
which it is impossible to please God, and also to bring that there are thousands of working men and others
eternal rids upon the immortal souls that have been re- desirous of inspecting the Tower, but the majority
deemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. In such cannot afford the sums at present charged for admis-
circumstances it is our duty to have recourse to prayers,
public and private. I beg you to exhort your flocks to de- sion. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster lately
vote three days of this month to prayer for the Pope, Christ's aboliabed all fees for visitors to the Abbey on Mondays,
, vicar on earth, now a captive in Rome, for the Church, for and many thousands of persons have availed them-
the faithful in general, and for the preservation of Ireland selves of the privilege. It was hoped that the
rn autho-
1 ho that infidelity with which philosophy of a false name,
I peunodpeireth. as e mask of science, is trying to poison the Catholic cities would follow the example set by the Dean and
C throw ('ha of 'Westminster and thw open the gates of
the Tower free at least one day in the week.
INSANITY IN FRANCE.—Dr. Lunier, Inspector-
General of the French Lunacy Department, has POPULATION OF LARGE CITIES.—A repor
recently published the results he has obtained from a from the Bureau of Statistics, Washington, gives an
careful study of all the statistical documents he has account of the population of the various countries of
been able to collect on insanity in France, during the the world. Among other details, it gives the following
years from 1869 to 1872. He has arrived at the con- as the population of the 25 largest cities ~f the world:—
elusion that although during that trying period for London, 254,260;3 Antchan (China), 2,000.000' Paris,
Frenchmen from 13,000 to 14,000 cases of mental 1,854,79'2; Tschantschaw-fu, 1,000,000 ; Pekin,
disease were registered, yet the number of patients con- 1,300,000; Canton, 1,000,000; New York, 942.292;
fined in private lunatic asylums was much below the Tientsin, 900.000; Vienna., 834,284 • Berlin, 826,541;
average. A similar fact was observed in 1848, which, Hanekau, 800,000; Tschngtu-fu, 800,000- Calcutta,
taken in connexion with the state of things observed 794,615; Tokio (Yeddo), 674,477 ' • Philadelphia,
by Dr. Lunier, would make it appear that political or 674,022; St. Petersburg, 667,963; Bombay, 644,405 ;
social crises, instead of, as is generally imagined. Moscow, 611,970; Constantinople, 600,000; Liver Pool,
augmenting the number of insane persons, really 493,405; Rio Janeiro, 420,000.
diminishes it.—Britiah Medical Journal. THE " YOUNG Roscirs."—Regarding Mr.
How TO DRY WET BOOTS.—The Agriculturist Betty, the "Young Bosoms," whose death was an-
gives the following advice to farmers, who, next to nounced last week at the ripe age of 83, we (Academy)
fishermen, are apt to get their boots wet through : extract the following passage from Leigh Hunt's
"When the boots are taken off, fill them quite full Autobiography :
.10.. ye f
ir knockedrsftoratun,d,7ha
tlypet
hi t &iher
more
.1 ifierid:
with dry oats. This grain has a great fondness for " Ilis position, which appeared so brilliant at first, had •
damp, and will rapidly absorb the last vestige of it remarkable cruelty in it. Most men begin life with struggles,
from wet leather. An it takes up the moisture it swells andan istuellehresirtoToi,tkye sufficiently
come. Mr. Betty had his s and fills the boot with a tightly fitting last, keeping its
form good, and drying the leather without hardening it. wards, lie began lie with a double childhood, with • new
In the morning, shake out the oats and hang them in and extraordinary felicity added to the natural enjoyments
a bag near the fire to dry, ready for the next wet of his age ; and he lived to see it speedily come to nothing,
night; draw on the boots, and go happily about the and to be taken for a very ordinary person. lam told that
day's work." he acquiesces in his fate, and agrees that the loan were mis-
taken. lii,, he is no ordinary person still, and has as much
THE STRAW ON THE SURFACE.—The Voter/and right to our respect for his good sense, as he is declared on
of Munich, publishes the following curious advertise- °flirt to deserve it for his amiablenesa I have an anecdote
ment :—" A Frankfort family wishes to hire a small of rlight.b"tnriftosappwehniceld"tVilbieit'sth.rpia"4'werhys rl. .100 l
..1 k
od times,
a
agree-
country house in the mountains of Upper Bavaria, Betty was present ; and in coming away, when they were
where it will not be exposed to the contact of any putting on their greatcoats, the critic thought fit to compli-
Prussians. Address," &c.
ti him in
hirdehaodrilleen . mrct
ment the dethroned favourite of the town, by telling him
tplleetst3 zolhlhecle
ALEXANDRA PALACE.—Three additional lines
of railway communication are now being made to the as to say. • You don't tell me so!' and '''h'ilmn stag;ntg"innie a
Alexandra Palace. The Great Eastern Railway Com- tragical attitude, exclaimed, 'Oh memory I memory I
puny are constructing a new and direct line from their
station at Bierhopsgate ; a new company is forming, at
a cost of £16,000, a line from the Enfield Branch Junc-
tion of the Great Eastern line, a distance of four
miles, direct into the Palace grounds; while a third
company is engaged on a branch line, one and a half
miles in length, from the Tottenham tend Hampstead
Junction Railway to the Edgeware branch of the
Great Northern Railway, and then from Highgate
Station to the Palace. The estimated cost of this
enterprise is I.:320,000.