The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-03-06 00:00:00

Misrtilantous

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.
FIRES IN PAIIIS.—One of our Paris correspondents
writes :—The Prefecture of Police has prepared fox the
Municipal Council statistics showing the number of
fires which occurred in Paris last year, and the
amount of damage done by them. The total number
was 3,389; but of these 2,340 were merely chimney
fires, which did little or no damage. Of the 1,049
more serious fires no fewer than 272 occurred in
December, the damage done by them being estimated
at £53,302, while 73 in October did damage to the
extent of £40,365, and 108 in November only £7,016.
The total losses caused by the 1,049 serious fires are
put at £219,421; but except in 82 cases they were
covered by insurance. The causes of the fires are set
„down as follows :—lmprudence or negligence, 2,922;
faults of construction, 244; unknown, 210; and acci-
dental, 10; while in three cases they were the work
of an incendiary.
SAVINGS BANKS AND FRIENDLY SOCIETIES. A
Parliamsutary return just leaned ehows that the aggre-
gate amount of principal money received by the Go.
vernment from, and interest credited to, the trustees of
Savings Banks and Friendly Societies respectively, in.
eluding interest due upon the 20th November, 1879,
was £126,253,776. The amount of principal and in-
terest paid to the trustees was £80,532,944; the amount
due by the Commissioeers for the Redaction of the
National Debt on the 20th November, including
£440,784 credited on the separate surplus fund account,
£45,720,131, and the value of the securities held by the
Commissioner's on the date named £41,571,131. There
was thus a deficiency of £4,149,700.
DIVING 0011 Piss.—Every time that a steamer
anchors at Aden, numbers of little boys swim round
the vessel, and dive for the coin pitched over to them
in the water by the passengers. Their skill is un-
doubtedly great, bnt the fishermen of the Nicobars,
and a few amongst the sea Dyaks of Borneo, are re-
putedly the most skilful swimmers in the world. The,
men of the Nicobar% capture fish by the hand, They
glide about in their light skiffs, intently watching the
translucent water; when they obtain a favourable
opportunity, they take a sudden dive straight down
upon their finny prey. The fish are generallY is°
startledAkt they, dart hither and thither, DOW up,
now down, without Continuing their swift movements
In any one given direction. The diver has,
therefore,
little difficulty in coming within arm's length of thepr.
It is, however, esteemed to be but a poor feat to seize
and bring up one fish. A man should be able to cat,ch,
simultaneously, two fish—one in each hand. This is
frequently done, and the best swimmers think nothing
of it. If a man wishes to show his Prowess in the
water, he chases and kills a shark—often twice as long
as himself. To many of the fishermen of the Coast of
Nether India shark-hunting is in water somewhat like
fox hunting on land Is to us in England.

TERRIBLE SUFFERINGS OF A SHIP'S ORZW.—A
Lloyd's telegram dtates that the barque Ulster, of and
from St. John's, N. 8., for London, was fallen in with
in latitude 46 northplongitude 36 west, waterlogged,
with houses gutted and a complete wreck. The crew
were at the mastheads without food or water. The
Hepparchus, steamship, Captain Lyons, has arrived
in the Thames from New York, having rescuni the
master and eleven men. Two men had previously
been washed overboard, and two others had died from
exposure. The vessel having been full of water from
the 12th February. The rescued men had suffered
much from swollen feet, and open sores on their arms
and legs.
AMBULANCE WORK ON RAILWAYS.—A class, com-
posed of the employes in the Locomotive Department
of the London and North-Western Railway Company
at Rugby, which have been instructed under the St.
John Ambulance Association, by Dr. Simpson, of
Rugby, was examined on Saturday by Mr. Walter
rye, of St. Mary's Hospital, with very gratifying
results. Every pupil who presented himself succeeded
in passing the required tests. After the examination
the certificates of proficiency were presented to the
successful pupils by Major F. Duncan, 8.A., the
Director of the St. John Ambulance Association.
Do You SEE ANY GRIN ?—Little Boy (pausing in
front of a bust of smiling boy) : "I say, ma."—
Ma : "Yes, dear, don't you think it very pretty ?"
Little Boy (thoughtfully) "Yes, but I kay, ma, is it
always laughing ?"—Fun,

LIFEBOAT ACCIDENT AND Loss OF LIFE —A distress.
lug accident, involving the loss of at least five lives,
occurred off Ardrossan late on Sunday night. The
barque Matilda Hilyards, from Dieppe for Ardrossan,
while attempting to enter the harbour, was driven
ashore on Horse Island. A tug, with the Ardrossan
lifeboat in tow, went out to her assistance, and after
some manceuvring the crew of the distressed vessel
were safely landed on the island, The tug subsequently
took the lifeboat in tow, with the intention of making
for the harbour. When about midway the lifeboat,
which was broadside on the sea, was capsized, and the
whole of those on board, twenty.five in number, were
thrown into the water. Several of the men got on the
keel of the lifeboat, and others were picked up by
boats sent out to their assistance; but three of the
barque's crew and two of the lifeboat men were
drowned.

"WOODMAN, SPARE THAT Tam !"—ln the year 1864
there died an American poet, named George P. Morris,
whose fame principally rests upon the well-known and
once extremely popular song, Woodman, spare that
tree." This song first appeared in a volume of poems
published by Mr. Morris in 1830. Now in 1802 there
appeared in the Morning Cironicle a poem by Thomas
Campbell, afterwards included in his collected works,
entitled "The Beech Tree's Petition," which bears a
very remarkable resemblance indeed to Mr. Morris's
" original " song. The first lines of Campbell's poem
are these :

"0 leave this barren spot to me;
Spare, woodman, spare the beechen tree."

And these lines conclude each stanza. The opening
lines and the refrain of Mr. Morris's song is as fol.
lows:—