The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-09-10 00:00:00

SATURDAY, SEPT. 10, 1887.

What is believed to have been an intended attempt
to shoot a Dublin detective officer occurred on Tuesday
night. Detectivesofficer Stratford, who has made
himself active in connection with political offenders,
was standing at the corner of Westmoreland-street and
Fleet-street, when a man named Edward Ryan came
up, jostled him, and used insulting language to him.
Stratford, seeing he was the worse for drink, advised
him to go home. He went away, but in a short time
word was brought to Stratford that a man answering
Ryan's appearance had threatened to shoot a man in a
barber's shop. He was going towards the place when
te saw Ryan. He ordered a constable to go in frc,nt
of him, and then Stratford rushed at Ryan and cau,Lht
him, Ryan drew a revolver; but Stratford caught him
by the wrist, and, assistance arriving, be was over-
powered and taken to the police office. It was lound
that five chambers were loaded.
The Rev. J. P. Kershaw, vicar of 9t. John's, Kidder-
minster, recently had a large mastiff dog given to him,
and he has just had a most violent encounter with the
animal. The dog flew at Mr. Kershaw's housekeeper,
his teeth meeting in her arm. Mr. Kershaw wrenched
the animal s jaws apart, and released her; but the
dog immediately turned on his master, and made for
his chest. Mr. Kershaw seized the animal by the
collar, and they fell togsther Mr. Kersha v tighten-
ing the collar till he thought the mastiff was exhausted.
The struggle between the two had lasted some
minutes; but, directly the dog was released, it again
flew at Mr. Kershaw. He was able to seize it by the
collar again, and this time he flung it against the
wall, and rushed from the room, closing the dour before
the dog could follow. It ultimately was pacified. Mr.
Kershaw escaped without material injury, but his
housekeeper was badly hurt.
Chatham Borough Cemetery was on Monday night
the scene of a dastardly outrage. A gang of men
entered a stable in the cemetery and stole therefrom a
horse, cart, and harness. Finding they could not get
the vehicle out of the cemetery grounds without re.
moving the iron gates, they did this by displacirg a
mass of brickwork. They then entered the cemetery
church by the east window, and, after ransacking the
interior, broke open a cupboard containing a number
of surplices, which they tore up. They then lit a
paraffin stove, and piling the surplices on it set fire to
the heap. By the merest accident the flames from the
burning clothes missed igniting the adjoining woods
work. On Tuesday morning the horse was found
straying on the high road near Maidstone, while the
cart and harness were discovered in a disused sand pit.
The police suspect a party of hop-pickers who encamped
near the cemetery on Monday afternom.
On Tuesday night Sir Philip Magnus, secretary of
the London and City Guilds Technical Institute, ad-
dressed a large meeting in the Town Hall, Blackburn,
In support of the proposed technical and trade school
for the town, estimated to cost £25,000, Sir Philip
said he was glad to think that all over the United
Kingdom the feeling was growing in favour of technical
education.

A telegram has been received from India Renouncing
the de,ath of the Maharajah of Bickaneer, brother•in.
law of his Highness the Rao of Kutch. The Maharajahs
of Bickaneer have always been distinguished among
Rajpoot Princes for their loyalty to the British Crown.
[tithe Sikh wars of 1845 and 1848 the then Chief of
Bickaneer rendered valuable help to the paramount
Power and, during the mutiny, Sirdar Singh, the
immediate predecessor of the late Maharajah, provided
e force to co-operate with the British troops against the
rebels. The Indian Government recognised Sirdar
Singh's services by bestowing 41 villages upon Bickaneer
sod conferring upon the Maharajah the right of adop.
lion The State has a small army, consisting of 969
cavalrv, 180 artillerymen, 1700 infantry and 80 guns.
The Maharajah is entitled to a salute of 17 guns, and
bar Ell ariiial revenue of about £125,000.
The report of the Select Committee on Sunday
Postal Labour was iseaed on Saturday. The committee
recommend that the collection, despetch, and delivery
on Sunday ot books, circulars, and printed matter,
except newspapers, be distoniinued ; and that the
collection, despatch, and delivery of newspapers on
Sundays be discontinued in towns where two thirds
of the members of the town council or heal board are
in favour of it, and likewise in any village where two-
thirds of the inhabitants are in favour of the discon-
tinuance. A window delivery, it is recommended.
should be substituted for a limited time on Sunday in
place of house-to-house delivery where the discontinu-
ance of Sunday delivery is adopted. The committee
further recommend that sorting clerks, under officials,
and rural messengers shculd be relieved from work on
every alternate Sunday.
Alfred Pearson, of Birmingham, one of the dis.
charged engine drivers on the Midland Railway,
pleaded guilty at Leicester on Saturday to having
abandoned his engine on the line. He added that he
had been discharged from the service. The chairman
said all the magistrates present were shareholders in
the company, but they wished the prosecuttons were
abandoned, the directors having gaked the point. The
solicitor said this was the last case. Defendant was
fined 20a. including costs.
It is ;tasted that Madame Drown, the French lady
who was arrested on suspicion of being in possession
of dynamite, is still at Cowes, unable through ill
health to proceed to her home at Roueo. She has re.
ceived a letter frem the chiefsconstable of Hants
stating that he had been directed to apologise for her
arrest, acd enclosing a cheque for £5O, which she de.
clined to accept. She requests that communications
might be forwarded to her through the French
Ambaasador in whose hands she has placed her case.
While an excursion train was returning from London
to Reading and Newbury early on Sunday morning, a
man named Vokins, living at Wickham, near New.
bury, who had been dozing, suddenly jumped from his
seat and went to the door of the carriage, and, before
the other occupants of the compartments could
ascertain his mo,ements, he fell out. The alarm cord
was polled, but it was not until Twyford was reached
that the train pulled up. It was afterwards ascertained
that the man had been found insensible on the platform
at Lai gley. He was ron,ved to a hospital in a critical
state. _

Although an appeal is pending as to their right to
hold services iu ited Lion-square, Stamford, the
Salvatiorists again met there on Sunday evening.
Instead of taking the names of the speakers, the police
had il,e.ructiins to take no cognisance of them. The
result was the smallest gathering seen since the agita-
tion commeticdd. Officers of the Army were present
from distant places, one or t-vo of those ,rho spoke
alluding to the preseent'ons, wi h the remark that
they were first going to obey the Divine command and
then tee what the human law said. There was no
semblance of a disturbance.

For many -yea:s past there-has not been in Belfast
snob heavy rain as that experienced in the thunder-
storm which lasted for a couple of hours on Sunday.
Tie streets in many places were flooded, the drain pipes
being temporarily unable to carry off the deluge of
water. In the North of Ireland generally the rainfall
has been xery acceptable, as the working of numerous
mill and factories was interfered with for want of
water. During the disastrous floods which prevailed in
county 0 are an alarming accident occurred to a mail
car. The monutain streams became so swollen by the
raii.storms that they overflowed and flu ed the roads, in
the hollow parts of which the water in some cases
collected to the dep hof six and ten feet. The pairs
horse express marl car, which left Ennes for Lisdoon-
varea was swept away by the floods at Leymanagh,
and the horses drowned. The driver, who had a narrow
escape, was re,cued at seven o'clock the same night in
an exhausted condition.
The Sunday League had on Sunday vhat was pro-
bably their last excursion for the season, to 13oxtill and
Dorking. The numbers showed a considerable falling
off compared with previous years, but this may be
accounted for by the wet morning, and the fact that
the excursions are now arranged weekly. About 600
went to Dorking by the Brighton Company's line, and
the majority proceeded to Boshill. The excursionists
returned to London soon after seven o'clock.
On Saturday afternoon the Bolton Engineers' Strike
Committee received an intimaion through the local
masters frcm the Irontrades Employers' Association
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