The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-05-29 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

It is believed in India that, in various ways con-
nected with the recent trial, the Guikwar has spent over
f.. 300,000
The Municipal Council of Havre has expressed a
wish to see religious processions in the streets prohibited
by the Government.
A prisoner' in endeavouring recently to escape from
the prison of Bale, jumped from a gallery thirty feet in
height, but was killed on the spot from the effects of the
leap.
Boston University numbers 102 women students
Albert Smith's famed talking-fish has been equalled
by one of the elephants in the Paris Jardin de Plantes, which
has been taught to articulate " Papa " most distinctly with
its trunk.—Graphic.
At the late drawing the £4,000 lottery premium of
the City of Paris loan was drawn in favour of a peasant
woman of Andelys, near Paris, whose "little all" was com-
posed of two bonds of this loan.

It has been resolved, at a meeting of Englisla volun-
teers to accept the invitation to be present and take part in
the prize competition rifle shooting, to take place at Havre
in July next, provided a sufficient number of volunteers
enter their names by the 6th of June.
His Grace the Duke of Westminster has given a
subscription of £,lOO a year for five years to the Guarantee
Fund of the Church of England Temperance Society.
Iu the Belgian Senate on Tuesday, a debate took
place on the diplomatic documents recently exchanged
between Belgium and Germany. A resolution was proposed
declaring that the House completely approved of the explana-
tions given by the Government, and passed to the order of
the day. This resolution was unanimously adopted.
An expedition to survey Siberia $ being organised
by the Geographical Association of St. Petersburg.

The Duchess of Edinburgh is an accomplished lin-
guist. It is said that at her imperial father's court she was
able to speak with all the foreign ambassadors, except the
Turkish, in their own language.

At a sale of autographs at the Salle Sylvestre, in
Paris, the highest price (1,225 fr. was given for an unpublished
letter of Bossuet, addressed to Richard Simon, and in which ,
the bishop expounds all his ideas on the Bible, and in parti-
cular on the sense of the prophecies.
At the annual meeting of the Royal Agricultural
Society, it was reported that there had been a large acces-
sion of members during the past five months. The financial
position of the society was spoken of as being highly satis-
factory, and it was mentioned that the implement trials are
still to take place annually.
From Japan it is stated that a rose mania has re-
placed that for pigs and rabbits. Japan intends to exhibit
largely at the Philadelphia Exposition. A sort of mania for
railway schemes was said to be setting in at Yedo.
An Indian and a white man were passing along a
street, when the former espied a window lull of wigs, and
pointing to the owner, who was standing in the doorway,
said, "Ugh ! him great man—big brave—take heap scalps !'
A special service has been held at St. George's Roman
Catholic Cathedral, Southwark, in order to bring together
the members of the Temperance Guild, and to advance the
cause of temperance. Cardinal Manning was present, and
delivered an address.
Land and Water says that latest advices from the
Scotch moors still continue promising. Generally speaking,
the grouse have stood the late severe and protracted winter
well, and are now healthy and strong. Perhaps they are
not so numerous as might be desired ; but as not the
slightest sign of disease has at present made itself evident,
there is much cause for congratulation.
A. velocipedist has, says the Continental Herald,
' made the journey from Briey, by way of Gravelotte,
Mousson, and Nancy, to Luneville, a distance of 7li. miles
nearly, in 8 hours 24 minutes, inclusive of rests, occupying
44* minutes in all. He accomplished the distance in one
hour and 36 minutes less time than was provided for in a
bet.
The Civilian states that Captain Boyton, who is
about to once more attempt to cross the Channel, has had
constructed for himself a new screw by which he hopes to
propel himself through the water. The shaft will pass along
the captain's.spine, the screw itself, which he will work with
his hands, appearing a little above his head.
In Bohemia during the past ten years a species of
wdrm, which seems to act like an epidemic, has been causing
great devastation in the forests. The entire side of a range
of bills may be seen sometimes laid bare of timber by the
Inroads of worm disease
A shocking disaster is reported as having just taken
place at Gratz, in Styria. A party of pilgrims, numbering
140, from Straszengel, were crossing the ferry over the River
Muer in a flat-botlomed boat, when the force of the current
carried it away, and it sank against the pier. Twenty-five
persons were enabled to save themselves ; others were picked
up by. boats, but.the precise number of lives lost is not yet
ascertained. According to the latest accounts, 80 persons
are missing.
The total number of passengers using the Metro-
politan Railway on Whit-Monday was 246,537, the largest
number conveyed upon the line in one day since its opening
in 1863. The principal places of interest visited were the
Alexandra Palace, the Zoological Gardens, Madame Tus-
sa.nd!s, the parks, and Hammersmith for the river, Kew, and
Richmond.
A Conference, convened by the Fisheries Preserva-
tion Association, assembled in London, on Monday, at the
rodms of the Society of Arts in the Adelphi, and discussed
the provisions of the Bill introduced by the Government fk.r
preventing the pollution of rivers. The Duke of Northum-
berland presided. A resolution was passed, welcoming the
introduction of the measure, and expressing an opinion that,
with certain important amendments, it would be of con-
siderable assistance in purifying the rivers of the country.
The anniversary meeting of the Royal Geographical
Society was held on Monday in the lecture theatre of the
London University, Sir Henry Rawlinsou in the chair. The
Founders' Gold Medal was awarded by the Council to Lieu-
tenant Weyprecht, of the Austrian Navy, for the enterprise
and ability displayed in the command of two expeditious be-
tween Spitzbergen and Nova Zembla • and the Patron's Gold
Medal to M. Julius Payer, for his sledge journey and dis-
covei ies along the coast of Franz Josef's Land. In the ab-
sence of these gentlemen the medals were received by Count
Von Beust, the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador. At the annua
dinner in the evening Mr. Lowe was amongst the speakers.
A lady, whose extravagance bore rather hard on her
husband's purse, was one day taken to task by him for her
want of economy. "I know what you say is true," replied
the repentant belle; "but what shall I do to reduce our ex-
penses?" " Why, my dear," replied the husband, delighted
with her submission, "you ride a great deal; why not take
an omnibus occasionally instead of a cab? That will save
something, surely." The wife agreed; and as soon as her
husband was gone else rang for her maid: "Mary, call me
a cab, that I may get to the omnibus to go to the city; I
must economise.'
Mr. Bouverie was a witness on Monday before the
Select Committee of the House of Commons, appointed to
consider the method of framing Acts of Parliament. Speak-
ing of the progress of Bills through Committee, the right
hon. gentleman said that sometimes there was a word or two
Introduced into a measure in the small hours of the morning
which altered the whole character of the Bill. He would
suggest that there should be a resolution of the Housesthat
where the officers of the House or the Government draftsman
had reported that certain clauses in a Bill were simply is re-
enactment of an old law, these clauses should be put in
different type and ignored in Committee, and after the report
to the House a resolutiod should be passed to the effect that
those clauses in the old Acts should be repealed, and then
introduced bodily into the new measure.
In London last week, according to the return of the
Registrar-General, 1,983 births and 1,322 deaths were
registered, . Allowing for increase of population, the births
were 312, and the deaths 65, below the average. The annual
death-rate "frora all nausea further, desclitaeg tnA9, Inwer
fate thiukitir tin'y week filte oeroberlur use
deaths included 2 from small-pox, 23 from measles, 31 from
scarlet fever, 14 from diptheria, 91 from whooping-cough,
25 from different forins of fever, ant' 15 from diarrhcea ;
thus to the seven priucipal diseases of the zymotic class 201
deaths were referred against 181 and 220 in the two preceed-
` WM*