The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-12-17 00:00:00

£60,000.

The returns of Metropolitan pauperism show that
during the first week bf December 61,891 indoor and 41,279
outdoor paupers were relieved, making a total of 93,170,
against 91,524 in the corresponding week of last year. Of
this increase of 1,646 the south distriet is responsible for
1,475. The east district also contributes towards the in-
crease, but, the west, central, and north districts show de-
creases. The number of vagrants relieved during the week
was 853.

" --
A collection of the highest interest and importance
to Opiental soholars, consisting of 5,400 cuneiform tablets, is
now on its way to England. These were discovered by Mr.
Rassam at Sippara, near Babylon. It is supposed that these
tablets are the library mentioned by Berosus, which con-
tained antedelnvian records copied from earlier documents
by King Sargon 1., who lived 1800 B.C. A fine Phoenician
inscription on marble has just arrived at the British Museum
from Cyprus.

There have been discovered, near Santa Maria di
capua two sepulchres, in one of which was found a small
two-handled urn which deserves mention. The style is
Greek of the fourth century BC. On the front of the urn is
depicted a woman in the act of running swifty, holding on
one arm a beautiful nude boy with long flowing locks,
crowned with laurel, and holding a lyre in his left hand,
the same arm being enfolded in his mantle. On the reverse
side of the urn are depicted two youths flying in fear and
looking back at the woman.

Prince Gaetan Filangieri, of Naples, the grandson
of the author of the work on the "Science of Legislation,'
has presented to the Alunipality of Naples the collection of
artistic and archaeological objects which he has spent his lffó
In forming, and which is valued at £60,000. He has also
promised to erect a gallery for its exhlbitton, and to provide
an endowment.

The French Minister of Marine has framed a project
for prolonging the breakwaters at Cherbourg so as to enclose
the roadstead. It is estimated that the works, which, it is
said, will be commenced early next year, will cost
40,000,000 fr.

On Monday a young woman named Dickinson, 22
years of age, engaged at the Park-lane Mills, Preston, was
caught by a strap in rapid motion and whirled round a
pulles. She was instantly killed. Her left foot was
torn off.
A competition for a national tir for Hungary, open
to composers of all countries, has been held in Vienna.
The number of competitors was 1,40, of whom 872 were

-A-u-stro---Hungarians. Vienna furnished. 326 compositions
Brilnn 84, Leipsic 52‘, Berlin, 40, Dresden 30, Munich 21, dm.
Paris, London, and St. Petersburg also sent. Italy alone
of the great nations of Europe did not compete.

At an auction recently held in Victoria, Melbourne,
fish, game, and cheese brogght out in a frozen state by the
Chimborazo. sold at the following high prices :—Grouse, 15$.
a brace capons, 12s 61 each; turbot, Bd. per pound; and
Stilton cheese, 2s. Si.. per pound.
Earl Granville was on Monday summoned at the
Potteries Stipendiary Court for causing a nuisance to arise
by the emission of thick black smoke from a chimney con-
nected with his iron furnaces at Hanley. The defence was
that the best appliances were in use. An order having pre-
viously been made on his lordship to abate the nuisance, he
was now fined 20s. and costs.

On Saturday four buffaloes escaped from Went-
worth Park, near Rotherham. ' Three of them were speedily
recaptured, but the fourth got into Parkgate, and after a
chase extending over three hours, dropped from exhaustkon,
au i was at once killed. Several persons, including the Vicar
of Parkgate and a medical gentleman, narrowly escaped
being gored by the infuriated brute.

Returns of a religious censiss taken at Bolton show
that with a population of 108,963 there is accommodation at
churches and chapels (eighty-five) for 45,017 persons, of
which 18,093, or considerably less than half, is provided by
the Church of England. The attendarre on Sunday was
16,839 in the morning and 18,534 in the evening. of which
6,620 and 7,338 represents the number of worshippers at the
Established churches.
Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P., addressing a temperance
gathering in Edinburgh on Monday evening, said it would
not do to spend another' sellst.ri over the
,wrongs of Ireland,
and neglect the wrongs of Scotland and England. Temper-
ance men must make their voices heard above those agitating
for other reforms.
The New York Herald publishes a despatch from St.
John's, stating that OD thp 24th of November a large ship
appeared off the south head of the Bay of Islands, rudderless
and apparently abandoned. The following day she floated
among the breakers near Bonne Bay and broke into frag-
ments. The bodies of two young men and an old man drifted
ashore. Information has also been received of two large
steamers driving about in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, either
abandoned or without rudders. Three other vessels belong-
ing to Newfoundland are known to have been wrecked.

A Paris tradesman is in the habit of daily launching
a certain quantity of diminutive balloons with his name and
address attached, lie occasionally receives from some dis-
tant correspondent a communication telling him where
and when his rerial messengers has alighted. One of these
little globes, let loose on the 22nd ultimo, was found two
days after by the proprietor of the estate of Kniphausen,
while out hunting in a forest of Westphalia.
An American paper says that an unmarried woman,
sixty-two years old, died of starvation at Geeenpoint the
other day. Under her corpse was found two 50 dols. bills and
a bank book showing that she had 200 dole. in the savings
bank. She had also hidden her deed to a lot in the cemetery,
so that there was considerable delay in burying her. The
day before she died she refused to spend ten cents, for a
little beef tea. She left her property to her relatives—but
that was because she couldn't take it away with her.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, in respond-
ing to the toast of "The Houses of Parliament " at the
Lewes Fat Stock Show dinner, expressed a hope that before
the ena of next year the Government would apply to Eng-
land, if not the same measure they had applied to Ireland,
at least a Bill embodying the principle that the tenant
should have the opportunity of cultivating the land at a
fair rent. Speaking individually as a landlord, he had no
objection to having the assistance of a public officer in se.
vising his rentej

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i COOPLP S, -- .-4._VERAL STEADY MEN
WAN TED w.ed to the Wolverhampton and
. iiirm'nghani. Trade —Apply, Hill ad Gill, Tempest
St, eet, Wolverhami,:tou.