biglam/hmd_newspapers huggingface dataset:
The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

The newest machine for grinding music from door to
door has received the name Qf the Mitrailleuse Pianoforte,
Its concords of sweet sounds being equal to forty discharges
of grapeshot, and its effect almost as deadly.

- -
A gentleman who might be, without much exaggera-
tion, said to be first CQUBiII to Bacchus, writes in a poetic
moment :
- -

"Leaves have their time to fall, and so have I,
Tolade and wither 'neath the autumn sky;
The only difference 'twixt the leaves and me,
I fall more harder and more frequently."
"Augustus dear," said she, tenderly pushing him
from her, as the moonlight flooded the bay window where
they were standing, "I think you had better try some other
hair-dye—your moustache tastes like turpentine."
A hoosier was called, upon a stand out West, to
certify to the character of a brother hoosier. The testimony
was as follows :—" How long have you known Bill Whack ? "
—"Ever since he was born."—" What is his general charac-
ter ?"—" Letter A. No. 1 ; 'bove par a great ways, I Judge"
—"Would you believe him on oath? "—"Yes, sir-eel on or
off, or any other way, I conclude."—" What, in your opinion,
are his qualifications as to good character? "—" He's the
beat shot on our prairies, or in the woods. He can shave the
eye-whiskers off a wolf as a shootiu' iron 'II carry a ball."
A citizen of Pittsburg, Pa., has offered to furnish
an excellent band of music at his own expense, to perform
every afternoon and evening at some of the prominent parks
of that city, on the condition that he be granted the mono-
poly of the ice cream business on the premises.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

TRADE DISPUTES IN AMERICA.

The relations of capital and labour are not more
satisfactory in the New 'World than in the Old (says
the Globe). We find there the same complaints, the
same struggles, the same class jealousies, with which
we are so painfully familiar here. A good instance of
the prevailing temper is afforded by a strike now
going on in Fall River, Massachusetts. There
are 43,000 inhabitants in the town, and of these no
fewer than 15,000 are now out of work. The occa-
sion of the strike was the announcement on the part
of the owners of some mills of a ten per cent. re-
duction of wages. Hitherto the men have generally
had the advantage of the employers by fighting the
latter one by one, for a single employer could not
afford to shut up his mills, and thus play into the
hands of his competitors. But in the present instance
the masters unexpectedly combined, and they declare
their fixed resolution not to depart from the terms
they have offered. These seem to be perfectly fair in
the existing state of trade ; and a correspondent of the
New York Herald, who has visited Fall River in order
to discover the general feeling, reports that the great
majority of the men deeply regret what has been done,
and trace their mistake solely to the influence of agi-
tators. The latter are described as men who never
make a day's wages by honest toil, but maintain them-
selves by going about the country stirring up mischief
between employers and employed. "1 talked with
many of the operatives," says the correspondent,
"and nearly all of them deprecate and disclaim any
connection with the strike. They are very bitter in
their denunciations of the base instigators of the move-
ment, and some of them even hint at possible demon-
strations of revenge." The distress is likely to be all
the greater since the grocery and provision dealers,
believing the strike to be quite unjustified, have
agreed to refuse credit to the men, while the local au-
thorities are disposed to dispense charity only very
sparingly. It is a pity workmen will not shake off the
despotism of heartless demagogues, and trust to their
own judgment in disputes where they are themselves
chiefly concerned.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

THE "GREAT EASTERN."

Mr. Henry Lee writes in Land and Water concerning an
examination he has made of the bottom of the Great
Eastern :
-- -

_
"There were traces of a few barnacles (Balanus
tintinnabulum, apparently) near the level of the water-
line, especially about the sternpost, and between it
and the rudder, and the latter itself, as well as the
propelling screw, was covered with the common acorn
barnacles or chitters ; ' but all the rest of the hull
usually submerged was clad with an enormous multi-
tude of mussels, clustered together in one dense and
continuous deposit extending over a surface of
52,000 square feet of .iron plates' and in some parts
six inches thick. Mr. Beckwith had made a calcu-
lation, which I was able to verify with him, of
the total weight of the mussels thus accumulated.
It was found by careful experiment that the
average weight of those on each square foot WWI
from 121 b. to 131 b.; therefore the vessel was encum-
bered with not less than 300 tons of living marine
animals adhering to her—mussels enough, in fact, to
load with full cargoes two ordinary collier brigs
Although the mere weight of this mass would not,
perhaps, much affect the buoyancy of a vessel of 25,000
tons burden, it will be readily understood that the
friction of such a rough, jagged incrustration passing
through the water would materially diminish her
speed. As these troublesome adherents were scraped
off with shovels by workmen employed undeitcOntract
to remove them, they were carried away by 'cartloads
and boatloads, and buried along the shore of the haven.
In some localities they would have been heartily wel-
comed by the fishermen as valuable bait."
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

SHOOTING A GIRL AT THE LYE.

At the Brierley Hill Police Court, on Monday,
a boy named Alfred Lloyd (13), son of a farm
bailiff, of The Thorns, Stourbridge, was charged
with shooting Maria Beasley with intent to do her
grievous,bodily harm. Mr. Addison prosecuted,
and Mr. Homer appeared for the defence.
On the 4th just, the prosecutrix, a girl 18 years
old, and some friends, were passing through the
Coppice Leasow at The Lye, when the prisoner
was loading a gun. He said to a companion, "I'll
blow these wenches' - brains out, and then
fired. Maria Beasley was shot in the left leg. She
was taken to the house of a relative, and since
been under medical treatment. Prisoner was ap-
prehended by Police-constable Godley.
Mr. F. Hodson, surgeon, saidthe girl was still
suffering from twenty gunshot wounds.
Mr. Homer urged for the defence that prisoner
meant only to frighten the girl, and had no inten-
tion to inflict injury.
_ _ _

Mr. Mathews- (Presiding magistrate) said the
Bench had determined not to deal with the matter.
The prisoner was evidently a young ruffian, and he
was sorry they could not prove he was a lunatic.
He would be committed for trial at the next
Quarter Sessions.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

HALESOWEN.

DEATH FROM SuFFocaTiort.—An inquest was held at
the Whitley Hotel, ntourbridge Road, on Saturday even-
ing last, by Mr. Ralph Docker, coroner, upn the body
of Elizabeth Hawkeswood (15) who was found dead in a
midden at the back of her parents' residence, in Gibbet
Lane, at sevtn oclock in the morning of the 21st instant
The evidence showed that the deceased was subject to
fits, and that she was found by a neighbour lying upon
her face in the midden, which was unprotected by a wall
or fence of any kind. Mr. G. P. Dunn, surgeon, called
in, but life was quite extinct, and his opinion was that
death resulted from suffocation. The jury returned an
open verdict of "Found dead."
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

. -
/

1112 STOURBRIDGE 013SERVEIL

Welch pursued the right course in starboarding his helm.
The Royal yachts were specially built for fast travelling.
He did not wish to convey the idea that her Majesty's vessels
were to run down any vessels- which might come in their
way, or to c mapcl other vessels to give way. He did not
comider the speed at which the Alberta was going at was
dangerou.s. They raus'6 look at it in the same way as an ex-
press train. I! a person was st,,,nding by the side of a railway
and stepped on the Linea, it would be impossible to stop the
train.
The Coroner stated that he had made an application to
the Finance Committee of the county for permission to have
an assessor from the Board of Trade, and he should like an
adjournment in order that the remainder of the evidence
might be taken. At that time he did not know whether the
Finance Committee would grant the expenditure he had
requested,
Captain Welch: If the committee will not allow you to
have an assessor, I will get one myself and pay the expenses.
The Coroner thought it better that he himself should call
in the assessor.

AftPr some discussion the inquiry was adjourned till
Thursday.

A distressing account of the condition in which he
found the body of Miss Annie Peel is given by George
Hardy, one of the divers in the rigging-house of Ports-
mouth Dockyard, by whom the body was discovered.
Just after the collision, the signal halyards of the yacht
had got fastened round her ankles, and she had gone
to the bottom headlong. In this state she was found
by the diver.

The wreck of the Mistletoe was raised on Tuesday by
the divers, who have been at work on her for some
days past. She was cut almost in halves, and only
with great difficulty was she brought into Portsmouth
harbour, and beached on a flat near the Spit buoy.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

BMLBROTIONTON.

First Innings. Second Innings.
J. L. Hobbs, Ibw, b Gaston 3 b Ingold 1
A. W. Best, c Swindell, b
Gaston _ 0 b Gaston 0
_ _ _

_
F. Smith, b Ingold 1 b Ingold 0
A. Hayes, b .. 17 b Ingold 0
F. Williarn 8, b Ingold .. 1 b Ingold 0
Rev. L c Price, b
Ingold .. 8 c Otter, b Ingold 0
J. Ha) es, b 0 b Gaston 2
T. Hobbs, c Green, b Gaston 4 b Gaston .. .. 4
C. Smith, b Gaston 1 b Ingold 0
H. A. Moore, not out .. .. 4 c Parkes, b G 2
J. Tew, c and b Ingold .. 1 not out ..
........0
Leg byes .. 1

THE THROAT AND WINDPIPE are especially liable to
inflammation, causing soreness and dryness, tickling
and irritation, inducing cough and affecting the voice.
For these symptoms use glycerine in the form of jujubec.
Glycerine in these agreeable confections, being in prom
mity to the glands at the moment they are excited by
the act of sucking, becomes actively healing. 6d and is
boxes (by post Bor 15 stamps), in tins, is 6d, labelled.
JAMES EPPS & CO., Homceopathic Chemists. 48,
Threadneedle St. and 170, Piccadilly, London.--Sold in
Stourbridge by A. P. Morris, Chemist, and J. H. Bland.
Chemist.

THE HAIR.—For 40 years Mrs. S. A. ALLEN'S
WORLD'S HAIR RESTORER has received the commendation
and favour of the public. It has acquired the highest
place that can be obtained for any moderate enterprise,
and contributed to the adornment of tens of thousands of
persons, who have the proof of its servicable character.
It will positively renew and restore the original and natu-
ral colour of grey, white and faded Hair. It will
strengthen and invigorate the Hair, stop its falling, ani
induce a healthy and luxuriant growth. No other pre-
paration can produce the same benificial result. Sold by
all Chemists andyerfumers, in large bottles, 6s. Depot,
114 dt 116, Southampton Row, London.

Printed and Published by the Sole Proprietor, iv
FIELD, at his (Aloes, 92, High-street, Stourorolge,ope
he County os Worcester: to which pluou all hitter.
ther 1,1 unical,,,, , 4,
Saturday, August 28, 1875.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

IRISH PROGRESS.

A correspondent of The Times, who has been in the
East foreight years, says that since his return to Ireland
he has been greatly struck with the evidences that meet
his eye of theimprovedcondition of the people. Every-
where," he writes, "the crops looked in splendid con-
dition, and the harvect will be unusually good and
abundant. Both in the towns and the rural districts
I notice that the people are better clad and more
cheerful in their aspect than formerly. The city of
Colic has made rapid strides within the period I have
mentioned, and has all the appearance of a thriving
and o_pulent community. At the Cork races a few days
ago I Loticed also the well•to do appearance of the
poorer classes who attended them. Another proof of
the prosperity of the Muntter capital is furnished in
the crowds of well-dressed- persons who throng the
river steamers which ply between Cork and Queen'-'
town every day. Such pleasure excuriliona IstiAte the
existence of an abundance of cash."

Albany journals complain of the incomplete manna
in which the recent census in that city was taken.

. - -
- . „
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-28

FUNERAL OF THE LATE CAPTAIN STOKES.

The remains of Mr. Thomas Arthur Stokes, the
master of the yacht Mistletoe, were, on Saturday last,
by the desire of his family, conveyed from Haslar
Hospital, Portsmouth, to his residence, Hamworthy,
near Poole. Captain Stokes, who had been con-
nected with the sea for upwards of 60 years, and
who leaves a widow and a numerous family, was
greatly respected, not only in the port of Poole,
but along the south coast generally, and on Sunday
afternoon last his funeral was largely attended. The
interment took place in the churchyard of the parish,
the rector, the Rev. Macnamara Patey officiating.
The chief mourners were Mr. Thomas Stokes (the
eldest son) and a younger son of deceased, and his
brothers, Mr. Richard and Mr. Samuel Stokes. The
hearse and mourning coach were preceded by about
forty or fifty of the master mariners, pilots, ship-
wrights, and others connected with the trade of the
port. The funeral was also attended by several hundred
of the inhabitants of the town, and the church was
crowded. The coffin bore the following simple inscrip-
tion :—" Thomas Arthtir Stokes, died August 18,1875,
aged 74." At the conclusion of the faneral cere-
mony, the Rev. M. Patey delivered a short address to
those present. He said it was not often that he spoke
over*, grave; but he could not allow that sad occasion
to pass without saying how sincerely he and those
around him respected the decess@d—his old parishioner,
who was a loving husband and father, a good neigh-
bour, and a successful mariner. The reverend gentle-
man referred to the suddenness of Captain Stokes's
death, and exhorted those present—" Be ye also ready,
for in such an hour as ye know not the Son of Man
cometh."
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

A PERILOUS ADVENTURE.

Captain Burton, who has just returned from Iceland,
seems to have met while on his tour Mr. Watts, of
London, whose ambition was to ascend Vatna Jokel,
a glacier mountain never crossed by man. This feat
he successfully accomplished. Mr. Watts was seven-
teen days performing the journey, and eight of these
were spent in the regions of perpetual snow. The
traveller is said to have been reduced to a perfect
skeleton, and when first seen was possessed of neither
hat, coat, nor boots • several of his toes were frost-
bitten, and his back, from the effects of frost, was a
perfect mass of raw flesh. From his statements it
appears that the damage inflicted on farmers by the
ashes from the volcanoes is comparatively trifling.
The deposit extends over an area from north to south
about sixty miles in length by twenty miles in breadth.
But this wide tract of country is almost a desert,
there being only six pasture farms on it, and only four
of these have suffered damage. Mr. Watts has re-
mained in Iceland to finish his tour, of which he is to
publish an account.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

gitourbribgt Obserttr.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21st, 1875

CHANGES IN PUBLIC LIFE.
New that our public men are dispersed in id
directions, there will be ample opportnnih ,
diirjig thf, ntxt few roonths, of reviewing
st,i k hicL they have taken part during th,
legislative session, and of characterising the
parts which the principal performers have taker
in its execution. No one who is accustomed to
study political life as it is presented in thi:-
wintry can doubt for a moment that as a whole
such criticisms are characterised by fairness and
discretion. There is no such tone of political
aserbity as prevailed even thirty Tor forty years
ego; and it may be safely'asserted that the per-
sonalities which marked the first Reform *vt'illa-
tiagita-
tionwould find no countenance now. The tor-
rents of invective which were then poured forth
would astonish our political tyros of to-day, and
masks them marvel of t.l,:n fierceness of the nets-
-1140112 by which contending parties were Chen
swayed. More than once, when the anti-Re-
forming peersiwere seen in the streets of London
daring the exciting times of:1830 and 1832, they
were received with a roar of execration which
wculd have drowned the loudest thunder. The
great masses of the town population, believing
that they had a substantial grievance to be re-
dressed, and believing that the privileged class
stood in the way of accomplishing their object,
were ready to resort to physica: force unless
their demands were acceded to. The Chancel-
bar of the Exchequer publicly advised the people
not to pay the!national taxes unless their system
et representation was rendered more complete.
The strong men of that time are now white with
age and as they draw near to the close of life's
journey, they cannot but contrast the turmoil
of that agitation with the peace which over-
reeds the land to-day. The truth is, for more
forty years Parliament has been removing
one subject of complains after another. Civil
ajad religious liberty, cheapened food, extended
representation, the removal of the excise duty
upon hundreds of articles of daily consumption,
the spread of education—all these have combined
to make the people more prosperous and enlight-
ened. It is not necessary to be deemed an opti-
mist in order to see that the moral and social
vell•being of the people is in a very different
Owe of progress now as compared with the days
at our fathers. If we go on at the same rate to
the end of the present century, which very many
ed US hope to see, very few practical grievances
will remain—at least if the pace of obliteration
during the next five and twenty years is at all
Ite with that of the past forty.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

BOARD OF GUARDIANS.

Et The usual meeting of this Board was held in
the Board Room, yesterday, Mr. Granger in
the chair. There were also present :—Messrs.
B. Brooks, Hall, Guest, Thompson, J. Brooks,
Wood, Rhodes, Fiddian, and Homer. Admitted
into tho house 12; discharged 7; dead 3;
born 0; remaining 295 ; against 313 last year.
Out-door relief, Kingswinford district, £22 8s
8d ; Stourbridge district £l6 Os 2d; Halesowen
district, £lO 4s. 7d ; non-resident paupers, 17a.
8d; total .t 55 5s id, against £lB 19s 9d. A
Staffordshire Cou3ty rate was paid amounting
to £790 ss. Dd. An invitation from the For-
rester Picnic to assist the children free was ac-
cepted with thanks,

CHARGE OF GAMING.—At the Police Court, yesterday,
before Colonel Fletcher and J. B. Cochrane, John Brettle
and George Chance were charged with gaming on the
highway at the Lye on the 15th inst. Defendants
pleaded guilty, and were each fined 2s 6d and costs.
DRUNK AND DISORDERLY.—WiIIiBDI JOrd an was fined
20 6d and costs for being drunk at Oldswinford on the
16th inst.

AsSAULTING THE POLICE.—John Htimpage and Harry
Parker were charged with rescuing Thomas Parker from
the eu.tody of polic€-constable Webb on the 16th inst.
Complainant said that he had got Thomas Parker in cus-
tody for assaulting him. While taking him to the station
the two defendants rescued him from his custody.
Edward Chance and Samuel Horton gave corroborative
evidence. Fined 5s each and costs; in default 14 days.
Thomas Parker was then charged with assaulting Police.
constable Webb while in the execution of his duty, on
the 16th. Defendant was further charged with being
drunk and refusing to quit the Cross Inn, Oldswinford,
on the 16th inst when required. Complainant said that
he was sent for to the Cross Inn. Found the defendant
drunk. Was requested to put him out, and did so,
wLen the defendant seized him by the throat with one
hand and struck him several times in the face with the
other hand. Fined 5s and costs for refusing to quit and
lOs and costs for assaulting the police.
CAUTION TO CATTLE DEALERB.—Froderic Harrison, of
Kidderminster, was eharg9d with exposing two bullocks
and three heifers affected with the foot and mouth disease
for sale on the 19th inst. Benjamin Wooldridge, auc-
tioneer, proved that the beasts were sent for sale to
Hagley. He had engaged Mr. Blakoway to all beasts sent
for sale. Called his attention to the beast, and found
one bullock be fly affected with the foot and mouth
dis,:aae. Francis Blakewav, proved that one bullock.
was badly affected, and another was also bad with it
Was of opinion that the drover must have been aware of
It asathe mouth was ulcerated. Colonel Fletcher said
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

FUNERAL OF ANDREW JOHNSON.

The New York papers of the 4th and sth inst. con-
tain long accounts of the funeral of ex-President
Jolmson, at Greenvilre, East Tennessee, on August
3rd. The deceased was buried with Masonic honours.
According to his dying request, the national flag was
wrapped around him, and there was a copy of the
United States Constitution in his clasped hands. He
was buried on a commanding knoll, chosen by himself,
which during the war was used as a cemetery for Con-
federate dead. The village of Greenville was heavily
draped in mourning. The attendance of gentlemen in
official stations and of the people and of Masonic and
military companies was large.

On July 31 President Grant issued the following
executive order from Washington :

"it becomes the painful duty of the President to announce
to the people of the United States the death of Andrew
Johnson, the last survivor of his honoured predecessors,
which occurred in Carter County, East Tennessee, at an
early hour this morning. The solemnity of the occasion
which called him to the Presidency, with the varied nature
and length of his public services, will cause him to be long
remembered and occasion mourning for the death of a dia.
tinguished public servant. As a mark of respect for the
memory of the deceased, it is ordered that the Executive
Mansion and the several departments of the Government at
Washington be draped in mourning until the close of the
day designated for his funeral, and that, air public business
be suspended on that day. It is further ordered that the
War and Navy Departments cause suitable honour to be paid
on the occasion to the memory of the illustrious dead."
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

THE EVIDENCE OF BIRDS.

Times has published the following interesting
letter

Sir,—ls there a warm zone at the North Pole?
Most probably there is. The last American expedi-
tion saw a vast expanse of open water in that direction,
but were unable to reach it. The Brent geese and the
Knot also answer in the affirmative, but especially the
former. A few nests of the latter have been found as
far south as the Hudson's Bay territory, &c. But it
may be interesting to many of your readers to know
that only one nest of the Brent goose has ever been
found, either in its wild or domesticated state, and
that was found at Melville Island, and it contained
three young ones. All who have visited Holland, the
Baltic, or our own eastern coast during a severe winter,
or even Torbay, must know this bird; it is at times
sold in large quantities in Leadenhall Market, for a
mere trifle, its delicious flavour being unknown here, it
having the name of being fishy, which is a mistake, as
it never dives, unless wounded, and is a vegetarian. It
leaves our coasts in the early Spring, and appears in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the coast of Labrador,
where I have seen it in millions, directly the ice breaks
up (about the middle or end of April), where it is
highly prized by epicures, and is now shot, in a novel
manner, in vast quantities, with decoys, out of a punt,
sunk in the middle of an Bft raft (below the water-
line), and sent to the United States, where it is highly
prized.
Long after the wild geese and ducks have gone to
Labrador or the Hudson's Bay territory to breed, the
Brent goose is seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
finally disappearing early in June, probably just in
time for the Arctic summer. It generally makes its
flight on a moonlight night, and they are constantly
seen in their progress northwards. If there is open
water and land at the North Pole, we may fairly pre-
sume the Brent geese breed there, as they have been
seen at Melville Island, nor can it be extremely cold
there, otherwise the eggs would be addled, and there
must be land uncovered with snow, otherwise, being a
"vegetarian, it could not live there.
Several Brent geese have recently been sent out to
the Australian Colonies by our ever active superin-
tendent at the Zoological Gardens, to see if they will
breed there. I only trust our Arctic voyagers may
find them in the vast quantities that I have seen them
in during their flights northwards; then, indeed, they
will have a delightful change frem their potted meats,
&c.—l am, Sir, yours obediently,
FREDERICK SWABEY.

Coryton Park, Axminster, Aug. 16.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

Xocal anb ifstrict

MELANCHOLY DEATH OF A LITTLE BOY.

An inquest was held at the Seven Stars Inn,
Market-street, on Monday afternoon last, by Mr.
R. Docker, coroner, on the body of Felix Rowlands,
a little boy who was drowned in the Stourbridge
Canal, on the previous Saturday.
I The first witness called was Henry Rowlands,
who said he was a licensed victualler, and landlord
of that house (the Seven Stars Inn). Deceased
was his:son, and he was five years old. On the
Saturday morning, when the affair happened,
witness was from home. A lad came to him at
about twelve o'clock, and told him that his son
Felix, was drowned.

The next witness called was Albert Lavender,
a boy between seven and eight years of age. In
answer to the Coroner, he stated that he went to
St. Thomas's School, Beauty Bank. He did not
know how to read or write. He was not taught
to read or write, he only did "sums."—Mr. Doody
(a juror) here remarked that it was very strange
a boy O hould be instructed in arithmetic before
he was taught to read or write.—On the examina-
tion of the witness being resumed, he staii-d that
he did not know the Lord's Prayer. As it was
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

it possible to plungok Westaistei Abbey into the
English Channel, its tower would rise 45 feet above the
surface of that restless sea.

Truly enough has the British Association been
called the Parliament of Science. Formed as far
back as 1831 to promote the intercourse of those who
devote their attention to scientific subjects, it has ever
sought to effect its gbject by appointing commissions
and mailing pecuniary grants towards the carrying i
out of useful and practical research. During the forty-
four years of its existence the roll of its presidents has
contained the names of some of our most eminent
public men. Sir Roderiek Murchison, Sir David
Brewster, Sir Charles Lyell, Dr. Hooker, Professor
Phillips, and Professor Tyndall, with many other
famous scientists, have presided over its deliberations.
In 18.59 no less a personage than the late Prince Con-
sort filled the Presidental chair, and the Queen, in her
diary of the Royal life in the Highlands, has given an
interesting account of the visit of the savants in that
year to Balmoral Castle, whither they went from
Aberdeen. This year's Bristol meeting of Scientific
Parliament is now close upon us. Sir John Hawk-
shaw, the well-known engineer, opens the proceedings
on the 25th inst., and from his reputation an interest-
ing address may be expected. He it is who is just
now engaged in making a great ship canal from Am-
sterdam to the North Sea. and who proposes to carry
a railway tunnel underneath the turbulent Straits of
Dover.

The archery gatherings which are so popular in
many parts of England during the early autumn per-
petuate as a pleasant recreation the use of that which
was at one time a very formidable weapon. Its anti-
quity is astonishing. In the twenty-first chapter of
the Book of Genesis we are told that "Ishmael became
an archer " ; and the Books of Samuel have informed
us how the Philistine archers overcame Saul, and how
David commanded the use of the bow to be taught.
Harold and his two brothers were killed by Norman
archers at the battle of Hastings; Richard I. met a
similar fate, and the victories of Cressy, Poictiers, and
Agincourt were chiefly won by the bow. The notorious
archery of Robin Hood, who was accustomed to send
an arrow from 600 to 800 yards, is a matter of history.
What a vast expanse of time between the archery of
Ishmael and that of the Royal Toxophilites of to-day
Three thousand, seven hundred, and seventy years
have rolled away, yet the skilful archer still sends his
arrow flying swiftly through the air
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

BRIERLEY HILL.

STEALING PEAIB.-At the Police Court on Monday,
before Messrs. B. St. J. Matthews and H. Hall. John
Narwood, Mark Thomson, William Higgs, and George
Peers, w ere charged with stealing a quantity of pears on
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS

A Texas woman never stands up long in a crowded
railroad car. She says " git "to some man and he gits.

A Canadian Indian has accomplished the feat of
running twelve miles an hour. His wife chased him the
first two miles, however.

It is said that Brigham Young has acquired the
title of general from having been called "Briggy, dear," so
often by his numerous wives,

The American Rochefoncauld says :—" You need
never scruple to seize Time by the forelock, for hell be
pretty sure to pull out yours, if you live long enough.

A Utica man set an organ man to play before a
hennery, and he didn't find it out until the roosters woke
up and crowed.
It is said that in some of the villages of the far West
it is so healthy that the folks have to shoot a man to start a
burying-ground.

A correspondent of an American paper having de-
scribed the Ohio as a "sickly stream," the editor appended
the remark :—" That's so—it is confioed to its bed."

"Seen a man go by here with a bag?" was the
anxious query of a boy in search of a friend as the stream of
luggage-laden passengers for the afternoon trains poured
into the Courtland-street Ferry-house.
Latest New York spelling match. Chairman,
"Spell 'Saloon." Jones, a handsome young man minus
hair and short in the number of eyes, freckled like an
omlette, "Hess hay-hel ho-ho hen-saloon." A strong proof
of the Anglo-Saxon origin of Jones.

Jefferson Davis had his hands kissed by two fair
enthusiasts on a railroad train in the South, and a Louisiana
paper states that thereupon "the Confederate chief touched,
with lips that have spoken stern command amid the fires of
battle, the soft white hands that lay like snowdrops in his
own, while to the fair ones' cheeks the blush-roses stole and
mingled with the lilies there."

A boy in Williamstown, Mass., became a man in
this way :—While hoeing corn one afternoon, he turned to
his father, who was working with him, and said, "What time
IS it, father ? " Hall-past two," replied the senior farmer
Throwing down his hoe, the son graduated from his former
life with this remark—" Twenty-one years-ago, father, at
half-past two in the afternoon, I was born; you can do your
own hoeing after this."
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

MR. GLADSTONE ON THE CHURCH.

In a letter addressed to Mr. Eubule-Evans, with
reference to certain reforms in the Church of England
suggeited by that gentleman in a paper contributed to
a leading periodical, Mr. Gladstone writes
I cannot decline your invitation on the ground that the
subject of your interesting, able, and incisive paper is foreign
to my thoughts. But I admit my inability to treat it even
Inadequately. In your strictures I find much truth (forgive
me if I add), with some exaggeration. As regards the intel-
lectual quality of the clergy, I think the most marked want
is the want of great men as leaders. I admit that the Church
is losing ground in this respect relatively to the lay mind of
the country ; but when I look to moral tone, if nobleness is re-
pelled from Holy Orders, I know not where it takes refuge.
There is far more of it, as well as of bounty, devotion, and self-
saerilice, among the clergy, out of all sight, than among the
laity. In writing this, Ido not presume that lam offering any
solution for your problems. I have none to offer. If the Estab-
lishment is hard to maintain, it is harder to destroy. But I
do not anticipate that reforms of it such as you desire will
ever appear anywhere except on paper. I have one advan-
tage over you. The Church of England was, in my view,
founded not 300 years ago, hut in 1,800, and I am persuaded
there is that in her which, with Establishment or without
it, will keep or find for her, great as are her sores and her
sins, a place and a name in the final record of God's dealings
with mankind for their salvation"

In a subsequent letter, the right hon. gentleman
adds :

"Pray understand that I did not intend to pass any judg-
ment, condemnatory or otherwise, upon the reforms (in
which I find much that is excellent), but only to treat the
likelihood of their adoption as matter of fact. At a certain
age the framework of institutions becomes too still and stark
for changes of a certain kind and extent."
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

BEGGING LETTERS.

Those who are so fortunate as to be entitled to a re-
putation for wealth, and who are at the same time
credited with a benevolent disposition, should be in a
position to make some singular disclosures respecting
the character of the begging letters'addressed to them
(remarks the Globe). IN ow and then the public are
treated to an insight of the kind by the secretaries of
societies and by proceedings in the police-courts, but
the subject has not been dealt with exhaustively for
many years—not since the late Charles Dickens dis-
coursed upon it in the pages of Household Words. A
slight contribution to the published records of beg-
ging letter literature comes just now from across the
Atlantic, and it is sufficiently interesting to be worthy
of a passing notice. Mr. James Stewart, described
as a very wealthy and benevolent citizen of Austin,
Texas, has published a collection of begging letters ad-
dressed to him, and they help, no doubt, to indicate
the curious experience of philanthropists in general.
One letter is from a young divinity student who wants
the wherewithal to purchase a new coat in which to
preach his trial sermon—a touching and modest re-
quest, likely to impose upon any one belonging to the
category of those who are easily parted from their
money. A gambler, frankly and sportingly avowing
himself as such, is just ten dollars short of untold
gold, for he has had undoubted information in a dream
that he is to win. an enormous prize in the lottery
by purchasing a certain ticket. 'Would Mr. Stewart
lend him the trifle for a short time? A young lady,
rather "of the period" it may be presumed, is
"friendless, but beautiful," and quite impecunious;
but nevertheless she is determined to make her resources
correspond to ha- attractions by marrying a rich man.
By calling in art to the assistance of nature she calcu-
lates that she can take fortune by storm—in other
words, made herself irresistible to the rich victim she
may select. She therefore wants a thousand dollars to
enable her to enhance her beauty " with such adorn-
ments as a woman of taste and culture knows how to
use." only a stony-hearted old miser could refuse to
relax his purse-strings at such an appeal, and the young
lady came to regard Mr. Stewart in that unfavourable
An inventor of a fl 3 ing machine wants 500
dollars to enable him to have a model constructed, but
he is not one of those who require merely a gift or a
loan without consideration. On the contrary, he offers
an ample return to the donor—that of "enabling him
to win everlasting fame by allowing him to Use the
apparatus first of all to fly from a church steeple."
That would settle principal and interest no doubt, and
in a manner which many debtors would like to sug-
gest to their creditors.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

COUNTY COURT.

Chance v Dudley Hill.—At the County Court, on
Thursday, before R. Kettle, Esq., Dudley Hill, of
the Lye, was summoned by Joseph Chance, a trus-
tee of the Foresters Court Union, for the sum of us
11d. Mr. Perry appeared for plaintiff, who said that
defendant was engaged to collect money for the
court, and he was to receive 6d in the pound. De-
fendant had collected £4l 3s 6d, and paid over £39
48 2d. This was corroborated by Ambrose Southall.
Defendant denied that any arrangement for prices
was named, and made a set off of 12s 6d for work
done. This was not proved to the satisfaction of
His Honour, who gave a verdict for the plaintiff for
the full amount claimed and costs.

Godding v Beettle.—This was an action to recover
the sum of ..t4 Is 9d, money received by defendant
for plaintiff. Mr. Clulow defended. Plaintiff, Mat-
thew Godding was a lessee of tolls, and the defendant
had charge of a gate, and had received the money
for his master while in charge, and plaintiff produced
notes of the amounts received by him, which he now
sought to recover. On cross-examination plaintiff
admitted that he had to pay to a child that the de-
fendant had had by him. Mr. Clulow for the de-
fence, produced several post cards and letters written
by plaintiff, and sent to the defendant, and one was
" Pay for your third bastard child." Defendant
was the put in the box. She admitted receiving the
money, and said that the plaintiff gave it to her to
pay for her confinement, and attendance while ill.
Mr. Kettle: This is a case brought by Matthew
Godding, of Rood End, near Oldbury, to recover the
sum of ..£4 is 9d for Mary Brettle. This is oath
against oath which makes it difficult to decide.
When I look at these letters and cards sent by plain-
tiff to defeuea,nt, and admitted to be the handwriting
of plaintiff I have no difficulty in deciding. The
mg-n who wrote them is as great a coward as ever
came into court to act in the way he has done, and I
find a verdict for the defendant.
ILLEGAL DISTRESS.—Hart v Hill.—This was an
action brought by Eliza Hart against Dudley Hill, of
the Lye, for illegally making a distress. Mr. Perry
appeared on behalf of Mr. Collis for the plaintiff, and
Mr. Homer defended. Plaintiff proved that the de-
defendant came with George Cuttler, and took a
chest of drawers worth 30s, and a clock worth 245,
and that the goods were still in the possession of the
defendant at the time the distress was made. No
demand had been made for the rent. Defendant
was ordered to pay ..£5 is Ott damages, to be reduced
to ~e 2 when the goods were given up.—George Brooks
brought a similar action, and His Honour gave -25
is 0(1 damages to be reducedi when the goods were
given up.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

THE PLETHORA OF MONEY.

The Financier says :—" The market has reached a
complete position of plethora, and it is difficult to see
what changes may next supervene. For the moment,
it would seem that stsgnation is the rule at every im-
portant monetary centre of the world, and interna-
tional competition appears to he out of the question.
Everywhere on the Continent money is cheap, and the
demand for loanable capital is at its lowest ebb. In
addition to this, the customary channels whereby sur-
plus profits are carried away are at present, it may be
said, entirely closed. There are no new loans or
fresh joint-stock undertakings being brought forward,
and everywhere the investing public seem to have been
seized with a passion for caution. To a great extent,
doubtless, this is justifiable under the circumstances,
and especially after the recent revelations in respect
of both public and private financing. But wIS-,fear the
extreme prudence exercised for the moment is but the
prelude of an equally extreme period of mania, to follow
later on. Extremes in either directions are to be de-
precated, and the public should hold this fact in view.'
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

DUDLEY.

THE ELECTION OF A BOROUGH ACCOUNTANT.—At a
recent meeting of the Finance Committee, it was resolved
to recommend the Town Council to elect Mr. Hipkins,
son of the superintendent registrar, to the office of
borough accountant.
HE-OPENING OY THE INSTITUTE LIBRART.—For some
weeks the Library of the Mechanics' Institution has
been closed in order that it might be completely re-ar-
ranged and the books re-clasitied. The preparation of a
new catalogue has occupied much time and careful atten-
tion. In a few days a very necessary and important
work in a neglected department of the Institute will be
accomplished, and for this special credit is due to Mr.
John Dudley and Mr. W. Woodhouse, members of the
committee, the result of whose unremitting efforts will
give great satisfaction to the members. Beside the im-
provements effected by the re-numbering, the clasifica-
tion, and the cleaning and re-binding of the books, there
has been a considerable addition made to the library.
Mr. Charles Cochrane, by whom the Institute has been
previously benefited, has given fifty guineas worth of new
books, all of them being standard works deserving of a
place with those contributed by his late father ; and an-
other £lOO has been taken from the ordinary funds of
the institution, and devoted to the purchase of books &c.
THE PROPOSED PURCHASE OF THE GASWORKS.—The
rumor to which publiaity was given on Wednesday,
that the Public Works Committee had decided to recom-
mend the purchase of the gasworks, is devoid of truth.
Up to the time of writing it is only true that the Gas
Company have offered the works to the Corporation, but
at a price the latter are not likely to pay.
THE CASE OF DEATH FROM INTOXICATION.—At the
Police Court. on Wednesday, before Aldermen Budge
and Bagott, David Jeavons Fellows, landlord of the
Golden Cross, Dudley Wood, was charged with permit-
ting drunkenness. Mr. Underhill (instructed by Mr.
Stokes) defended.—Hannah Raybould, charwoman, stated
that on the 26th of July she saw John Mason (deceased)
in the house and as he was getting fresh she sent for his
wife.—Reziali Mason, the widow of deceased, her son,
and daughters all I:posed thut Mason was drunk in de-
fendant's house for some time.—Police-constable Moore
saw Mrs. Mason leading her husband home on the
Monday night. For permission of drunkenness defend-
ant was fined &5 add costs, and his license was endorsed
for the second time.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

RULES FOR SERVANTS IN THE
OLDEN TIME.

What would-servants in the present day say to such
a code of rules and regulations as was adopted 300
years ago in the household of Sir J. Harrington, the
translator of Ariosto ? A servant absent from prayers
to be fined 2d.; for uttering an oath, id. ; and the
same sum for leaving a door open; a fine of 2d. from
Lady-day to Michaelmas, for all who are in bed after
seven, or out after nine; a fine of id for any bed un-
made, fire unlit, or candle-box uncleaned after eight;
a firie of 4d. for any man detected teaching the children
obscene words; a fine of Id. for any man waiting with-
out a trencher, or who is absent at a meal; for any one
breaking any of the butler's glass, 12d. ; a fine of 21.
for any one who has not laid the table for dinner by
half-past ten, or the supper by six; a fine of 4d. for
any one absent a day without leave; for any man
striking another, a fine of id. ;for any follower visiting
the cook, ld. ' • a fine of id. for any man appearing in a
foul shirt, broken hose, untied shoes, or torn doublet;
a fine of id. for any stranger's room left for four hours
after he be dressed; a fine of id. if the hall be not
cleansed by eight in winter, and seven in summer; the
porter to be fined id. if the court gate be not shut
during meals ; a fine of 3d. if the stairs be not cleaned
every Friday after dinner. All these fines were de-
ducted by the steward at the quarterly payment of the
men's wages.—City Press.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

IMPORTANT ARRIVAL at the ZOOLO-

GICAL GARDENS IN LONDON.

Mr. Frank Buckland writes in Land and Water as
follows :—" It gives me great pleasure to be able to
announce the arrival at the Zoological Gardens,
Regent's Park, of a fine specimen of a 'manatee'
( Manatus Americanus). This animal was sent over
by Mr. R. Swain, from Pin Point, Demerara', South
America. Mr. Bartlett went to the docks to fetch
her fromthe ship Blenheim. He prepared the small
seal-pond by filling it with fresh water warmed to a
proper temperature. The poor manatee seemed to
much enjoy her bath after such a long sea voyage. I
do not recollect ever having seen a more interesting
animal. It really is a puzzle at first sight to know to
what class she belongs. She is purely an, aquatic
animal, and when seen in the water her head reminds
one of something between a mole and a pig. Her body
is terminated by a large tail the shape of a lady's fan.
She swims with it, moving it up and down with the
same action as a porpoise, and not sideways like a fish.
The manatee belongs to the class Sirenia. It is very
puzzling to know what she is, whether a Pachyderm
or a Cotacean. I think she may be said to be a little
of both. Take a pig, tie his hind legs and curly tail
and flatten them into a broad, flat appendix like a
beaver's tail, turn his fore feet into paddles like a
turtle's flipper, cut off his ears, give him val-
vular nostrils like a seal, reduce his eyes to
one-fourth, and then you will have a manatee.
The people in Demerara call him the `rwa pig.'
His eyelids are very peculiar ; they are formed
of circular muscular rings like indiarubber rings. The
hairy-eared rhinoceros has the same peculiar formation
of eyelids. The manatee's eyes are very minute, and
of a dull blue colour. Mr. Bartlett is much pleased to
find the manatee feeds so well ; she will eat lettuces
and vegetable marrows all day. She's getting quite
tame, and will follow Mr. Bartlett round the pond and
eat from his hand like a sheep. She is supposed to be
about half-grown. The manatee lives in the shallow
bays and quiet rivers of Central and South America.
The length of a full-grown manatee is from 14 to 16
feet, and would average the weight of about 1,5001 b.
The manatee at the Gardens is 7ft. 2in. ; she weighs.
•about .4twt. Thellashi4-eensidered a 'great deliUacy ;
when roasted it has the flavour of pork, with the taste
of veal. The Indians hunt the manatee with harpoons.
The cry, Mr. Bates reports, is something like the bel-
lowing of an ox. The natives look upon the manatee
as a supernatural animal, because it suckles its young
as a human mother does her baby. The Indians say
the milk is good. It is very interesting to remark
the extreme quiet with which this animal, one can
hardly say swims, but rather gently glides through the
water. Its skin Is covered with two kinds of hair, soft
and bristly. The appearance of the back reminds one
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

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CRADLEY HEATH, HALESOWEN, AND DISTRICT CHRONICLE.

TRADESMEN'S ADDRESSES.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, [875..
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

KIDDERMINSTER.

ACTION FOR GOODS SUPPLIED. —At the County
Court, on Wednesday, before Mr. R. Kettle, judge,
an action was heard in which Messrs. T. Lulham
and Sons, boot manufacturers, sued Mrs. Shipley
Maas, of Blackwell Street, Kidderminster, for £26.
15s. Bd., for goods alleged to have been supplied to
the defendant last year. The action was originally
brought in the Court of Queen's Bench, in May last,
and since then a good deal of legal fighting has
taken place in Chambers. The plaintiff applied to
have the matter referred to the Master, but the
defendant opposed the application, and it was re-
fused. Leave to deliver interogatories was given to
the defendant, and the plaintiff gave not notice of
that at the late Lewes ABBiZOS, but the defendant
succeeded in having the case entered for hearing at
the Kidderminster County Court. Mr. R. W. Bray,
of the Home Circuit, was retained by Messrs. May,
Sykes, and Batten, of Loudon, for the plaintiff; Mr,
M. Corbet defending the action. The traveller to the