The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-05-23 00:00:00

at) fUatCUS
HGAIE, FOREIGN, AND COLONIV-

A's INTER STING EXP [MIMI NT. A French
horticulturist has just made some interesting experi-
ments. In the autumn he tilled three flower-twts with
coal ashes, without admixture with any other sub-
stance ; in one pot he sowed wheat, in another oats,
awl inn the third strawberry seeds. The pots were
then plaeeil in a garden bed and left tin themselves. In
the month of March the plants were in a very thriving
COllllitioll, and in April they were luxuriant. Tine
wheat and oats ripened inerfectiv, the grains being
large and heavy, and the straw in the case if the cheat
fifty-nye inches, and in that of the oats forty-three
inches high. The strawberry plants continued to
flourish till October, when it was necesslwy to trans-
plant them, and after being planted out in the open
ground they succeeded so well that they surpassed all
his other seedlings. •

•
AL ER .TIVE4- ANT) fl MEM Si REQEI.4I,'D.
Referring to the question put to the Home Secretary
on Friday night, by Mr. I:earth:it, on the subject of
preventing religious lectures, the Exprem: says :—.

Such oeplorable and disgraceful proceedings as have
recently tal.en place at shhin and elsewhere, must be halt
with by other means than this. Ti trial lectures because
brawk folh,w in the wake it one m41;1'10115 lecturer—to train
and llandl, the strong giant, Free Discussion, a- if it were at
10,1.—t0 swathe, alio bandage, and control, where iii. stir
glory to be free and unrestrained, eil.Uld be to re-cut ltrynne's
ears, to put Defoe in the pillory anew. Mr. Murphy and his
hien& are excrescences on a vigorous trunk, and must be
treated hi alter..tives and remedies. If the existing laws are
insufficient lor the purpose they must be amended ; unit
inciting to riot be placed on an equal criminal footing with
rioting itself.

NARROIV ESCAPE AND HEROIC RE-CUE —OR
Friday afternoon, the infant dauAter of Mr. Harris, I
steward of the Oxford Union Society, wits saved from ,•
drowning by the heroic conduct of her sister. The
nurse-girl was in charge of three members of the
fluidly in the New-park, the youngest, fourteen months
oil. being in a perambulator. While gathering wild
flowers on the bank of the river, to please one of the
children, the nurse left the vehicle standing alone. ,
While her back was turned, the little carriage ran
down the bank and tumbled into the river. An elder
sister, fourteen years of age, immediately jumped into
the river, and drew the perambulator to the bank, to
which she clung while the nurse-girl untied the baby.
The river was deep at the point m Iterirthe accident oc-
curred. and, hut for the heroism slit ,wn by Miss Harris,
the child's life would inevital •ly have been lust.
Ee DER r Pttt,bor:,l) oi7an-builder
has invented a new stop, which from the accounts in
the Pittsburgh papers is something wonderful. One
paper says :—" It expresses the touching tenderness
of the human heart, and the trenmlous, pathetic tones
of the violin. Its effect is indescribable and altogether
irresistible. Indeed the human heart and the nerves
which remain unmoved under the influence of its
ethmeal tones must be composed of wood and leather."
TIIE EMPR SS CHA RLOTTP. - The West infor-
mation relative to the Empress Charlotte states that
her medical attendants have advised her to travel, in
order to confirm her heath by occupying her mind.
The place to which she is to go is not yet fixed ; she
frequently mani.ests—by broken phrases in which the
worst Mirunar recurs often --her desire to see once
more the favourite residence of Maximilian, and where
she passe the happiest years that followed her mar-
riage. The doctors at present oppose this visit, fearing
the effects of too strong an emotion. Her mind is
recovering its lucidity more and more, and she takes
great interest in the events in Austria, of which she
desh•es to be constantly informed.
•

A BARD'S ADVICE— OrdtT to express his
non-conformity to the modern practice of selling tea
at I,ublic-h000e,4, an innkeeper of Stratford, near
London, has placed in his window the two following
stanzas :

If tea you want, you will not get it here;
But rosy wine and brandy, ale and beer •
Gin, rum, or brandy, which you like to 'favour.
Matchless in quality and fine in flavour.
But fir your tea, I'd rather have you go, sir,
WhenCer you want it. to your friend the grocer.
So live in harmony, like friends and brothers,
And 11,, not trespa s on the rights of others.
TRISH EMIG nATIoN.—A Dublin correspondent
writes: --
F migration from Queonstown rim CATS to be at iLs height
$ll4 110, 'I.IYO outgmdng steamers which sailed inn Tharislay
for Anctica earri.,l in Ph them 600 persons, Clint netrly as
large a Mlllllsll. WllO hail book,-n1 for the mote stean,is was ,
bolt behind for want of ti3OOllllll4.dmi,.n. The Coil: EXan, jar,
notes the fact that the ex ,Ins from the county of Coll: Ir.&
almost eAtirely sttqa en!, the drotes ml people who lid the
steamers twice or three tine, a week coming from the ad-
johming counties, awl even from places so distant as Cavan.
Lm.ti SLATIVo. AN,UNCIA 'inn. - Dr. A. W. Hall,
of New Y,aik city, hrt.i invented attappiwatus for taking
the vi ibis in leg's:alive I, alits. It is fixed updn the
cicrk's desk, anti info it a wire leads to the desk nil each
Member. When the "yeas " are to vote, the clerks
slip into the apparatus ft piece of paper containing, the
names of the members iii the proper order, and having
the w(Td `` yea " printed at its head. 17isel the calling
of the vote each member actuates his wire, and a
puncture is hereby mole at the end of iris name. The
• nays" are recorded in the Sallie plaillltr. Any
amid or .4 slips may be placed in the box, and a•I
punctured at the same time. Each of these is a com-
plete record of the vote. Tine apparatus is all con-
tained in a cue about four feet long by one foot in

wi.ltb.
SUICIDF. IT AN OFFICER AT SIP ANCL,FFE CAldof
- Themelancholy death, by his own hand, is recorded -
Ensign ( 'harks Butler, 3rd Buffs, stationed at lior n

c-iiffereamp.
It appears that on Saturday evening, after me, decea,ed
was In c,.in:Niity with other 0111,ers till close as midnight.
ticuienant Bamford leaving him it. MAIM, rpm :tees ahmit
lialf-tso4 eleven. No more is known of him at pre tilt.
till alcott lo if-past sm en on :Canis', morning, when hisservant
ip in, hih, the cult m to prep ire his usual bath, saw blood
streamin, tOlll under the bed-r 0 mi door. Al-vulva at OIL.
he .orce•l the and h.llllOl his ihagter.sittiLg in his can;
chair with a As mob,. revolver in los Lip and a b ill io
his head. The on:ortimate g utleman was in uniform. a.
, when LIA. left the mew L. Leslie, statf surgeon, was Imme-
diately tint f-r, hitt his services were of DO avail, as Mr.
Butler was ,mile lee! Rini cold. Two letters wore found or
iAC tel le, one directed to the colot.el of I& battalion, tin
elite 1.10 his father.
Mr. Wider was but nineteen years of ago, and had
s:s t lon.t j,ineil the Fervice ; he was a great favourite ,
Isitu sstj, bili brother °them, and the Men Of hi.
regiment.
EXPLO,IO:e IN A RAILWAY CAPRIAOk. A
shocking occurrence has occurred on the Coulommiers
branch oi the Eaitein Railway. A Man named Stint'',
got into a third-class carriage at Greta, taking with
him three kilos. of gunpowder for blasting. Shortly
after the train had moved on he proceeded to light his

_
pipe, when a spark fell upon the packet, and a dreadful
explosion took place. A commercial traveller if ho was
asleep in the neat compartment uas awoke by the
noise, aml saw the carriage on fire and Surdel jumping
out on to the line. He himself got out on the optsente
side, and, making hi, way along the steps, conummi.
coifed with the guard, and the train was stopped. The
unfortunate suitor of the disaster was taken up so
seriously injured that after two days of severe suffer-
ing he expired. The cturia,s waa completely con-
sumed.

PR. sTING IN Till, WESTERN STATIS.-- WeVerb
cities are beginning to pooh the old bookmaking
centres pretty closely. One indication of impending
changes was 'afforded by the appearance of a journal
of the frubbelori Circular description in Chicago, and
the promise of another from IS ew Orleans. In the
matter of printing, especially, the improvement has of
late been especially marked. We (Nis, York Rallild
Table)have had frequent occasion to mention admirable
specimens of typography from San Francisco and
Cincinnati, and we have just now before Us a pamphlet
from the press of Messrs. Robert Clarke ant Co., of
the latter city, of whose beauty we remain within
bounds when we say that it is surpassed nit merely by
nothing we have seen from the best Boston, .Islew
York, or Philadelphia pi roses, but that, in simple
elegance, it is not inferior to the finest workmanship
of London or Edinburgh—France and Germany being
entirely out of the question in the matter of beautiful
printing.

TOE REVENT'E OF ENGLA,D.—The total re-
venue for the year ended March :(1, 18)18, was
130,600,218 sterling. Of this sum £22,050,000 was
derived from the Customs, £20,162,000 from the Ex-
cise, £9,541,000 from stamps, £1,549,000 from land and
assessed taxes, £11,177,000 from the property tax,
111,630,000 from the Post-office, and £345,000 from
lands, the miscellaneous receipts amounting to
£2,580,218. The total ordinary expenditure amounted
to £71,236,241, £26,571,750 of which WWI for interest
and management of the Permanent Debt, for termin-
able annuities, interest Exchequer bonds, Exchequer
bills, and Bank advances for deficiency, £1,893.898
for charges on the Consolidated Fund (the largest item
of which was £672,559 for the Courts of Justice), and
£12,770,593 for supply services, £15,418,581 of which
was required for the army, .£11,168,949 for the nni y
£8,491,314 for miscellaneous civil services and
£2,000,000 for the Abyssinian expedition.

ILLUSTRIOUS DESC,NT.---A ease will shortly
come before the Court of Chancery, in which the
plaintiff is a shoemaker, but nevertheless the repre-
sentative of one of the oldest, and formerly one of the
noblest, housds in Lancashire. He is the son of a
dyer, the grandson of a tailor, the great-grandson of a
weaver, and the great-great-grauulson of a tailor, whose
father and grandfather were geatlenien, and great-
grandfather and all other lineal ancestors esquires,
knights, and birds in the ialla up to the reign of King
John.—Lase limes.

A TIN WEDDING —C .ptain J. C. Hill and wife,
of St. Joseph, celebrated theirtin wedding on the 22nd
ultifito (says a New York paper). A large party of
friend assembled. A large table was piled with tin.
There was a tin cradle of the tiniest proportions, in
which were a tin whistle and a tin rattle-boxi a tin
lantern shed rays through its tiny punctures; beauti-
fully painted toilet chamber sets, tin pans, tin teapots,
tin egg-beaters, tin cups, tin dippers, tin pails,
a coffee-null, tin horns, tin salvers, till butter-dishes,
tin ladles, a tin spice-box, a tin corn-popper, tin spit-
toons, tin moulds, 3 tin frame, in which was tastefully
inserted the original marriage certificate, which was an
exquisite specimen of artistic penmanship, all lay as
votive offerings on the centre table. The brides coro-
nal was a tin crown in the Elizabethan style, while
an ample tin chain encircled her neck, and flowed
in tiny wavelets to her waist, which was also girdled
by an ample tin zone. A tin wedding ring was worn
on the fourth finger of her left hand.
- -

N T H•vivo. A short time ago
an English merchant, named (bower, died at Marseilles,
bequeathing his collection of pictures am, ivor s of
art to Liverpool. on condition that it able building
was prepared for their reception l'he Town Council
took the precautii in to send a deputation to see the
collection before accepting it, and at a meeting of the
Town Council the leputation reported that the entire
collection was not worth removal to Liverpool. The
400 pictures were not worth, on an average, CO each,
and the bronzes, said to be if ancient manufacture,
were found to be of the coarsest common make, with-
out even an attempt to give them the appearance of
age. The be, meet was, therefore, respectfully declined.

INCENitiOs Dh.VICK. - An amusing story is
told by the Paris Correspondent of the Nan York.
World, of a clever French writer who, being unable to
find a publisher, went to the country and commenced
blacksmithing. But the greater part of his time Was
secretly devoted to the composition of three large
volumes of poetry and essays, which he published as
the works of a journeyman blacksmith. The plan
succeeded ; and it is added that the people were de-
lighted, and that the poems of this "child of nature,"
this "untutored genius," this" inspired sun of Vulcan,"
were immensely praised by the critics, and were ex-
tensively purchased.
8 (MY OF AS OWL.--A gentleman was staying
at a little French country inn, and there was a melan-
choly-looking owl, which hopped about the garden,
that had only got one le,. Two or three days after his
arrival he had some ygOr (game) for dinner. The
"game" was very small, but he enjoyed his dinner
immensely, and the next day he missed the owl from
the garden. "Where has the owl gone to rhe in-
quired of the landlord. " Monsieur had a little dish
of t,,bo r yesterilay," was the answer, to the consterna-
tion of the traveller. "Why, did you kill the owl for
my dinner?" he next asked. " I kill se owl, nesieur !
but 110, he I lie of himself."

CHAssEror RIFLE. -- The Moititeur de
t Armie gives mane of the results of the ball practice
with the Chassepot rifle which has lately been going on
at Versailles and the Saint-Moor camp. At 200 yards
the Voltigeurs of the Guard put 70 per cent, of their
balls in the target, and at 300, 0211 per cent. Tbe
('has-cop's obtained an average of film 10 to 70 po•
cent. at 260 ytuds. lint I owe battalion of 500 inen,
firing against a surface representing a similar force, at
the great distance of 530 yards, put 00 men 155,5 de
ef,Aal at a single volley. 'the military journal adds,
with professional gusto, that the soldier has now Conic
to love his new anti, and takes scrupulous care of it
wader the tent as well as in the barrack-rocan.

A FEARFUL SIGIIT.—The 3h 'aphis Avalanche
writes: -

On Sa(lmlay a ghastly spectacle was witneascd near St.
Louis, which sent a thrill of hornw through the city, and
makes all Christendom stand aghast. Abut one hundred
collies were • ern limiting and dancing, gleaming and swami,-
itic the bosom of the Mississippi river. This solemn
voyage of death and awful procession of the dead over the
glossy waves of the treacherous river of deal's, was ex-
plained IT the fact that the graves of the cholera victims at
Arsenal island have been lllVlbled hy the current of the river,
and the graves 0pt...1, allowing the Collins and uncoffitted
r!ca.l to float away toward Dixie. None IA them reached
Mempliis, as it Is supposed the coffins were caught at Cairo
to see what was in them.

COMIC NICATION BETWEEN TRAVELLERS A• D
RAILWAY OFFICIALS. —1 he objections to the plan of
giving passengers on railways the power to stop the
train by ringing Pll alarm bell to warn the engine.
driver aml guard, are illustrated in two cases men-
tioned in the papers. The Birmingham train is
fitted with the electric apparatus, and on one occasion
a young officer front Weedon rang the bell and brought
the train to a standstill " for a joke ; " on another a
medical man did the same thing "out of curiosity."
The medical man, it appears, wan very nearly lynched
for Ids pains. On our English lines there must always
be a risk of foolish persons playing these tricks. In
American cars there are te,' ninny passengers placed
together for any one to pull the rope which runs along
the roof; and, bes:des, Americans are generally too
eager to get to their journey's end to stop the train
unnecessarily. If conniunication between passengers
and guards er drivers is to be made part of the railway
system in this country, it will be necessary to devise
sonic, severe punishment fr,r mischievons dolts like the
young officer front Weedon and the medical man.
Until Minh arrancements are made, the dread of
public exposure might 'trove of some benefit. The
railway authorities ought to give the widest possible
jut' illeity to the 11-ones of the two first offenders, who
certainly are not entitled to any forbearance Sr
sympathy from any portion of the community.
ABYSSINI N EXPDPIT.ON.—IL is ill COD -
templation to present the freedom of the city of
London, with a sword of the value of 200 grffneas, to
Major-General Sir I tobert Naper, commander of the
forces in Bombay. but whose name will henceforward
be more associated in the popular mind with the Ally:,
sinian expedition anti its succerisful results. Mr. Alder-
man Cotton has given notice that at the next meeting
of the Common Council he will move that this signal
mark of respect—the highest which the Corporation
of the city of London has the power to confer—be
bestowed upon the distinguished general, in considera-
tion of the manner in which he has conducted the ex-
pedition, under circumstances so unturnally difficult
and trying, to A triumphant and brilliant termination.
From time immononal the city of London, rightly
approeiating its position and the value attached to
expressions of approval from such a quarter—the
noire so as these, "; ',scions almost invariably embody
the national ss,itiments en occasions of comunuoling
puilie interest hat always been foremost in recog-
nising, in a con:Tit-tow nosle, the services of men who
have deserved well their esentry, especially military
commanders of renown ; and there can be no doubt
that it will on this e'nsi,,n be true to its tradittons,
and afford the her. of Magdala, on Ids return to fffin
country, a reception worthy alike of him and of itself
as respocting, the citizens at large.
FE AND DEATH IN LONDON —An in. st
. . . .

has been held at Limehouse, respecting the dett'th of •
Alice Purkiss, a child three years odd, the daughter of
a blacksmith of that name. The evident, disclosed
the fact that father, mother, aml three children lived
awl slept in a waddiouse, which was something like
eight feet square, and the height only six feet; awl the
rent of which was 2s, a week. The jury found that
the child had died from natural causes ; but that death
was accelerated by great privations, from want of food,
and by dwelling in a room which was unfit for habita-
tion.
Room Fon. IMPROVEMENT. —The value of sta-
tistics (says the Louisa litrivr) is beginning to be
recognised, awl perhaps none are so thoroughly conned ,
over as those issued by the Registrar-General. But it
often happens that deductions are based IT al statistics
which are far fr, cm the actual state of things, though
apparently we ranted by the facts in hand. It ap-
!ears that of the .1.81,i76 men and 1d7,776 women
gho married during the year liitt in Englabd and
Wales, 40,C09, or 21•6 per cent, of men, and 16,395, or
isi per cent. of women, signed the registers with
marks. In Scotland the returns compare more
favourably with England, for in the year 114
per cent, of the men, asset 22'2 per cent, id the women
signed the registers with marks. The percentage is
conch higher in Ireland. and in France nearly 34- per
cent, of the population do not write their names on
the occasion oi their nmaviages. Many have argued
:rout similar rethins that this proportion of the people,
are unable to write, whereas it only proves that they,
..ither from nizvousness,, or fastidiousness, or gaper-
stition, do not care to sign their names. It is an un-
doubted fact that the percentage those who cannot
write their names is consider:Oily below these figures;
and tin same may be said of those who cannot read.

Prisoners get better treated, awl become the pets of
the prison chaplain, when they make out a ease that
their ermines are the deplorable reeulta of their
ignorance.

.STAUTLING R,cELATt. A Vienna lett,r
says :

Scarcely has the Ebergenyi trial come to an end, when the
public in this city began to speak of a new case connected
with the erred of a rerson o viol Lichtenoccher, formerly a
trader, lit now a poll, event. *.tae day. ago Tuns individual
'ills clarg,i to AMA a M.Litt. suspected id having a
few year, back murdered the ahe of a Dr Trent. When
crewel a ith questions, she confessed the crime, and gave in-
formation which led to the discovery of th, body bmied in
her cellar, /ant at the same time she added that Lichtenoecker
had been her accomplice. The latter, however, on being
confronted with the woman, positively denied the charge,
suggested, he said, by vindictive motives. Upon this Nagel
exclaimed ,—" Tell no !Imre lies ; you also assassinated, two
years ago, Lieutenant Raiser, at Baden vicar Vienna . you
confessed it to Me yourself." In bot, no °Meer of that
name Was murdered about the tunic mentioned. without any
discovery of the peipetrator of the act. The man has beets
arrested.

A ST4AM BIRD. --Under this title Mr. J. K.
Smythies, of Paddington, barrister-at-law, proposes
to introduce a "thing steam-engine," fitted with
wings, flapped by the action of steam. He reduces
the ratio of the weight if the engine to its power by
using a tubular boiler, with very small awl thin tubes.
He will use liquid fuel and carry very little water,
condensing the steam by a very light conilensor, made
like the tail of a bird, to sustain the bird and steady
its flight. The arms of the wings axe connected with
the piston rot of the engine, Ko that the apparatus is
raised by the ittirdiei of the wings alone, without
lighted gas, heated air, or other contrivance, to give it
buoyancy. To this engine he attaches seats for one or
more passengers.

LORD BRC, GRAM ON COM 81( TITLES.—M.
Feyonet, wr,ting in a Paris journal, gives the follow.
ins anecdote of Lord Brougham

:speaking one night in the Iluir.e of Lords, his lordship
experienced some interruption from a conversation which
was being carried on during his speech by the Dukes of
Om-Merl:lnd RIO Wellington. Taking .W.SiOn in the course
of hi; argument to explain the word " he said
that we sometimes use that word conventionally, and some-
times literally. 'For instance," said the noble lord, •• we
mmly it by courtesy to the Royal duke who is talking so
loudly, and who has done nothing whatever to deserve it,
whilst we apply it in Its primary and real signification to
the II lu-trious duke whom his Royal Highness is addresaing."

_
RAILWAY TICKETS.—III the early days of the
railway each passenger was furnished with a sort of
cheque, torn from :hook or printed sheet, as required,
and filled up with pen and ink. It was a Northumbrian
Quaker, Mr. mama, lidmonstone, who hit upon the
expedient of a ticket, which, being printed, saved time
and prevented error, and being of small size and stout
texture could be conveniently carried without risk of
being torn.