The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-10-01 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.
' BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Fancy Trade—Building castle in the air.—A
Sound Business: Boiler-makers.—A Fireside Tail: The cat's.
—Moonshine.

Swathmore College, near Philadelphia, caught fire
from an explosion in the laboratory at midnight on Sunday,
and was entirely destroyed. There were 223 teachers and
students in the buildings, but all of them escaped.
A serious railway accident is reported from Madrid,
where a collision occurred a few days ago between an
excursion and-a goods train. Two persons were killed and
46 were injured.
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According to information received at New York
from Port-au-Prince, dated the 10th inst., the town of
jeremie has been almost destroyed by fire. The loss is esti-
mated at 600,000 dols.
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•
A collection of cats for the benefit of the British
Museum is being made in Assam, the Calcutta Englishman
tells us. The Chief Commissioner of Assam has been asked
to assist the searoh for rare and missing specimens of the
feline race.

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There was an immense gathering on Sunday in the
Cathedral at Oxford, when a temperance address was de-
livered by the Rev. W. Barker, of West Cowes, chaplain in
ordinary to the Queen. The temperance class comprised the
choir.

The unveiling of the statue to Lord Byron at Misso-
longhi is fixed kr October 9.
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Saturday (24th) was the commencement of the
Jewish year 5642. Falling on the seventh day of the week,
the Hebrew Sabbath, special covenant services were held at
all the metropolitan synagogues.
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The Duke of Richmond and Gorden, in considera-
tion of the present agricultural depression, has resolved to
return twenty per cent. of the current year's rent to the
tenants on his Scotch estates, and to postpone the Martinmas
collection until Candlemas.
The well-known poplar tree planted by Marie
Antoinette, in the garden of the Petit Trianon, at Versailles,
has been destroyed by the late high winds.
A highly sensational episode will be introduced in a
forthcoming grand fairy piece at a Paris theatre. During
one of the scenes lions will be seen walking at liberty across
the stage—fortunately behind an iron grating sodngenionsly
arranged as to be almost invisible.
A House of Commons' return gives the number of
ejectments and actions for rent in Ireland from January 1
to June 30, 1881. For non-payment of rent there were 1,955
ejectments, and 5,589 actions. There were also 657 eject-
ments on title.
A New York telegram says that the visible
supply of wheat on Sept. 23 was 20,100,000 bushels; ditto,
Indian corn, 24,500,000 bushels. Export clearances of wheat
for Europe during the past week, 2,180,000 bushels; export
clearances of Indian corn for Europe during the past week,
1,010,000 bushels.
A telegram from Toronto says that the loss caused
by the recent bush fires in the Sangeen Peninsula is esti-
mated at 600,000 dols.
Riding in the German army is taught by varied
means, besides the formal instruction in cavalry scheols.
Thus, to accustom officers to rough cross-country work,;two
methods are frequently used—the Schleppjagd and Schnitz-
jagd—the latter being a kind of mounted paper chase, while
in the former a fearless rider drags over a field a piece of
meat tied to a rope, being closely pursued by houndsand he
inexperienced horsemen.
total population of Bombay, accordi^g to the
census returns, is 773,000, against 644,405 in 1872.
A Conzress has been opened by King Alfonso' at
Madrid, the object of which is research into the antiquities
and history of America before and after the discovery of
that Continent by Columbus. A Museum, illustrating the
Spanish conquest, has also been opened in connection with
the Congress.
During last week four steamers reached the Mersey
with live stock and seven with fresh meat from the United
States and Canada, having en board 1,251 cattle, 1,761 sheep,
6,254 quarters of beef, and 618 carcases of mutton.
A fine Japanese brown bear has been brought home
by H.M.S. blodesta. The creature has been trained by the-
sailors to be as docile as a cat. Its travelling companibn, a
musk bear, given to the captain by the King of Siam, un-
fortunately jumped overboard early in the voyage, and was
drowned.
Ladies, it appears, accommodate their fashions to
their husbands' pockets, in the matter of ornaments, and on
the principle that half a loaf is better than no bread, now
affect silver as they cannot afford golden jewellery. As in-
dicative of the fashion that prevails for silver trinkets, a
firm in Birmingham recently received an order for 4,000
silver bracelets.—Court Journal.
Olive groves have been established in virions parts of
South Australia, and promise to prove very successful.i
A village in the district of Albula is threatened
with a disaster similar to that which has just befallen Elm.
The village lies at the foot of the Rothorn, a mountain in
which there are several deep fissures, and a part of which
has been actually in movement for some time. Several
engineers have already inspected the locality, and the inter-
vention of the Federal and Cantonal Governments Is de-
manded in order that, if possible, measures may be taken to
avert the impending peril.
The death at White Sulphur Springs on Tuesday of
Mr. Abram B. Garrison, a well known and much respected
citizen of St. Louis, was the result of a brave act done hy him
last winter (says the Detroit Free Press). He had just step-
ped from a railroad train when he saw a little child fall from
the platform under the wheels. He sprang forward and
saved the child, but in so doing broke his own arm and suf-
fered severe internal injuries. n e had been ill for more than
a year, and his system could not bear this additional strain.
In spite of all that love and skill could do for him he gradu-
ally failed until death ended his sufferings.
Recruiting for the army has been so brisk within the
last fortnight, that the War Office contemplate suspending
it in regard to many infantry corps.
"it is stated that only four hundred Cedars of
Lebanon remain. How many were there, and where are the
se-ceders? "—Punch.
An extremely ingenious piece of electric mechanism
is now being shown in the Electrical Exhibition Jill Paris.
It is an apparatus by which any number from one to 999 is
automatically sigtialled on one wire by a single movement
of the operator, the figures appearing at the distant end at
an opening in a box. I
A palace is being built for Mr. Vanderbilt in New
York, and promises to be one of the chief sights of the city
The Railway King has spent a fabulous sum on its construc-
tion, and has been for years collecting vaitlible bronzes,
marbles, and all kitidii of artistic ,object4)-__lo,,the interior
adornment, while he now proposes to buy up the buildings
and grounds of an asylum opposite the house, to lay out a
park in order to improve the view from its windows. Alto-
gether there are three mansions, a centre dwelling intended
for Mr. Vanderbilt and his immediate family, and one on
each side for his married daughters.
A meeting of tenant farmers was held on Saturday
afternoon at itanchors, Kincardineshire, in connection with
the agitation for land reform. Resolutions were passed in
favour of a general reduction of rent and land law reform,
and that to forward these desiderata farmers should join the
Farmers' National Alliance, or form an alliance for Scotland.
The meeting was well attended, and the proceedings were
conducted with enthusiasm.

17)!

The London correspondent of the Memorial Diplo-
motive professes to know that the negotiations for the
commercial treaty between France and England have
reached such a stage that they will be brought to # suc-
cessful close in a few days. The correspondent midi that
the conclusion of the treaty is a bit of good news which Mr.
Gladstone will announce in his speech at Leeds.
There was a meet of the Ncrth London bicycle clubs
at Barnet on Saturday. It was estimated that about GOO
bicyclists were present.

Such people as haven't anything to do but hold
down chairs in the corner grocery are now predicting an
etnly fall and a hard winter. It does 'sin lots of good, and
we can't see where it hurts anybody else.
Archdeacon Denison has circulated among the
villages of Brent Knoll, Somerset, a paper setting forth the
extent to which he has, after unceasing efforts during the
last quarter of a century, supplied the district with water.
Finding that epidemic disease prevailed for want of water,
he dug for wells, and has now ten reservoirs, four springs,
and eight dams, with fountains, filtering beds, tanks, and
pumps. The drinking water is supplied through galvanized
pipes directly from the springs. The Archdeacon has spent
.C. 1,500 on the works, and he now calls upon the people to
take up the matter and conthme what ho has successfully
commenced.
The smacks Sylvia, with 20,000 cod on board,
ifilpah, with 21,000, and rue, with 40,000, have arrived at
Kirkwall. When they left the flshiug ground there was
every appearance of continued heavy fishing this season.
Immediately these smacks have discharged their cargoes
they will make another voyage to Iceland. With the pre.
sent good prices fin. cod, the Iceland fishing will pay much
better than usual this season.
A frightful catastrophe took place at a dance held at
a small hotel in the neighbourhood of Meiningen. A petro-
leum lamp fell from the ceiling and set light to the room
and seviral of the dancers' dresses. During the rush to
escape the staircase gave way, and about fifty persons were
thrown into a deep cellar. Six girls and two boys were
killed, and about thirty other persons more or less seriously
injured.
"We have reason to believe that it is the intention
of Dean Stanley's successor to take an early opportunity of
calling a meeting to consider the best mode of raising
within the walls of Westminster Abbey a monument to his
lamented predecessor.. We understand that a prolio'sal
which has already received influential sanction, as both
appropriate in itself and likely to receive wide and general
support, is that of an altar-tornb, with recumbent statue, to
be placed in the Chapel of Henry VII , in the immediate
vicinity of the grave in which the remains of the late Dean
were so recently laid by the side of those of Lady Augusta
Stanley."—Monday's a'smes.
A daring burglary was committed on Sunday night
at Buckland, a suburb of Portsmouth, in the house of Mr.
Kingsbury, a retired brewer. The members of the household
hadjust retired for the night, when a man with a blackened
face entered one of the bedrooms. Mr. Kingsbury, with
great presence of mind, immedietely closed the door and
secured the burglar; but no sooner had he done this than a
second intruder forced open the door, and, presenting a
revolver, threatened to fire unless his comrade were libe-
rated. The request was complied with, and the police were
as soon as possible put in possession of the facts. A necklet
and one or two minor articles of jewelry were taken.
An accident happened in Sheffield on Sunday morn-
ing whereby several persons were seriously injured. A corps
of the salvation Army has been established there for some
time and their practice has been to parade the town, headed
by a band, previous to holding services. On Sunday morn-
hig, when going down the Wicker, they were ran into by a
frightened horse attached to a milk cart. Several persons
were knocked down and run over, and three were so seriously
injured that they had to be removed to the General In-
Armory.