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

THE FRENCH CROWN JEWELS.

Some time ago there was some talk about selling the
magnificent collection of diamonds forming part ot the
French Crown Jewels. The Examiner says the collec-
tion is valued at forty millions of francs, and among
other treasures contains the celebrated " Regent,"
alone worth eight millions. Loth to disperse a col-
lection of such artistic value, yet anxious to conciliate
those Republicans who wish the crown to be sold
because they don't want anyone to wear it, the
Government have decided upon the following course.
The Crown diamonds will be divided into three
classes :-
1. The heraldic ones, having some artistic or
historical interest. These will be deposited in the
Apollo Gallery of the Louvre, and among them the
famous Regent. _ _ _

2. The diamonds having a special mineralogical
value will be sent to the Museum of Natural History.
3. Those which may be considered mere jewellery,
and of which the value in estimated at three millions
of francs, will be sold for the benefit of the Museum
funds.

A FACT FOR NATURALISTS, - Young Housewife:
"Dear me! what very small eggs for twopence-
halfpenny each! It seems quite extravagant to take
them! "—Affable Dairy-Woman (who has always a
conclusive reply for complaints) : "Well, yes, M'm,
so it does. But I've always noticed that new-laid
eggs are small I "—Punch.

DEAN STANLEY ON THE DISTRESS IN
IRELAND.

Two services were held on Sunday in Westminster
Abbey, at which collections were made in aid of the
Duchess of Marlborough's Fund for the relief of Irish
distress.
The sermon in the morning was preached by the
Rev. H. A. Cotton, that in the afternoon being de-
livered by the Dean. The congregation in the after-
noon was very large, most of the chairs being filled by
hajtpast two, and before the service commenced the
aisles were crowded by persons standing.
The Dean took for his text the words, "Give us
this day our daily bread," which had also formed the
subject of the morning's discourse. After explaining
the views in which the sense of the petition was to be
understood, the preacher said that the distress in
Ireland was exactly the case which illustrated and was
illustrated by the remarks he had endeavoured to
make. The Irish people—what a difficulty, what a
problem to be thrown on any Government or any nation
to solve i
A difficulty rooted partly n the accidents,
partly in the crimes of years and centuries long
gone by, occasioned partly by the faults of the
governed, partly by the faults of the governors, partly
by the virtues of both. By what untoward fate
they might ask, was it that Julius emu did not land
at Cork instead of Dover, so as to have brought the
westernmost isle of the sea within the pale of the
Roman Empire instead of leaving it 500 miles behind
In the race of human civilization? What a dismal
tale of accusations and counter-accusations, of mas-
sacres and connter.massacres, of benefits turned into
injuries, and kindnesses received as insults, of acts
of justice rendered too late and when rendered, often
in the worst form and with least chance of securing
the effect desired! Whet an almost unpracticable
combination „between the susceptible, imaginative,
irrational Celt, and the plodding, prosaic, powerful
Saxon! All these things and many others rose to
their minds whenever Ireland was mentioned, and
they were tempted to fold their hands in despair, and
to say, "What can we, what can anyone do, to un-
ravel such an entangled web of mingled suffering,
and sin, and folly?" Yet the thought immediately
retuned upon us, "This must not be. In spite of all
provooetrons we are bound by an indissoluble bond of
a common history, and a common country, and a
common Christianity, not to leave them to their fate."
England from her brilliant but unfortunate neighbours
had received benefits which no one else could have so
well bestowed as they, and which no one else could so
well repay as she. It was one of the misfortunes even of
Ireland that the gifts of her most gifted sons had been
more useful to others than they had been to herself.
Columba, the wild hermit of Derry, was so long as he re-
mained in Ireland a fierce, faction-fighting partisan, but
when driven across the channel he became the evan-
geliser of Scotland. Edmund Burke, with no sphere
for genius at home, when transplanted to England,
became the orator of Christendom. Goldsmith,
Irish as he was in many of his traits and peculiarities,
became almost the spoiled child of English society.
. The Irish brigade, who in their own country fought
only to be beaten, after their emigraticn to the Con-
tinent became the heroes of the armies of France.
Arthur Wellesley, who began his life as an undistin-
guished member of the Irish Parliament, became
in Spain and on the field of Waterloo the greatest pro-
tector of England and of Europe against their enemies.
For all these gifts as well as the inimitable charm
which fascinated all, of Irish life, Irish manners, Irish
humour, they owed to Ireland a debt of deep gratitude.
And how could they pay it? Alas! it was there
the difficulty began. A hundred methods sprang to
mind, and they said to themselves, "Were Ireland
the home of those who derived their fortunes from
Ireland as Scotland to a large extent was the home of
those whose fortunes were derived from Scotland, or had
there arisen an Irish genius who should have created
Son Ireland the attraction which Sir Walter Scott
imparted to the manners, customs, scenery, and history
of Scotland, or had the English Church in Ireland in
its earlier days fulfilled the mission of civilizing life
I which it was beginning to kW at the time of its
recent misfortunes, there might have been many
channels through-which the best influences of Great
Britain might have flowed into the sister island. But
that has not been so, and the very peculiarities of the
Irish character which caused them to suspect every
measure proposed for their benefit would render such
measures unavailing. What then, could they do?
The answer at any rate under the present circum-
stances and on that occasion was very homely and
very plain. It was found In the words—" Give us
and them this day our and their daily bread."
After pointing out to his hearers that private oppor-
tunities might be open to some of them for the dis-
position of their money, the Dean said that if they
had no such special claim then the fund formed by the
generous and energetic lady who held the highest
place in Ireland was the obvious channel for their
contributions. Among the congregation were Lord
Hatherley, Lord Carington, and Mr. Shaw, M. P.

The collection at the two services amounted to
£lll 18s. 9d., £33 18e. 2d. being received in the morn-
ing and £7B Os, 7d, in the afternoon,

The Lord Mayor of London has received a letter
from the Duchess of Marlborough acknowledging the
receipt of another £4,000 towards her fund for the
relief of distress in Ireland, raising the sum received
directly from the City of London to a total of £203000.
On Monday afternoon the,Duchess of Marlborough's
committee held a meeting in Dublin Castle. Her
Grace presided. It was announced that the total
amount of lodgments in the bank to the credit of the
fund up to the present was £72,204 13s. 7d. The
receipt of various sums was acknowledged, amongit
which was £396 Os. 91. from the French committee per
Lord Lyons, accompanied by a letter from Count de
Flavigny, expressing sorrow at the distress, and atating
the contribution was the third part of a subscription
raisel at a meeting presided over by the Archbishop of
Paris.

At a meeting of the Dublin Mansiouhouse commit-
tee on Saturday it was stated that £1,908 had been
received since the last meeting; making the total
amount £84,405, of which £43,219 had been voted in
grants, leaving a balance of £41,186,

Under date March 1, the Philadelphia Corre-
spondent of The Times says :—" The New York Herald
Irish Relief Fund amounts to 258,014 dole., the New
Orleans Picayune contributing 2,619 dole. collected in
New Orleans. The aggregate amount of the American
contributions is 841,100 dole.; besides which the New
York Emigrant Society reports remitting to Ireland
since November 1 email drafts amounting to 221,114
dole.

A committee has been appointed in Calcutta to
collect fucds for the relief of Irish distress, A large
sum has already been subscribed. At a meeting at
Hyderabad over 50,600 rupees were subscribed, of
which the Nizam gave 20,000. About 2,000 rupees
have been collected at Caudahar.

The following contributions were announced :-
21,000 from Hobart Town, Taamania ; £5OO from
Bombay; £5OO from Baltimore; £45 from Milwau-
kee; £5l from Jersey City; £250 from Hull; a third
instalment of £ICO from Cardiff; and £369 from the
French committee.

The last returns from the Poor Law unions made
up to the 21st of February, show an increase in the
amount of destitution as represented by the number
relieved. The total was 113,137, of whom 60,342 were
in the workhouse and 52,795 received outdoor relief.
The total in the corresponding week of last year was
96,424, showing an increase of 16,713. Last week's
total was 108,405,

Mr. Shaw, M.P., Colonel King-Harman, M.P.,
Cardinal M'Closkey, Professor Baldwin, and Mr.
Hepworth, as the committee for the management of
the New York Herald Irish Distress Fund, have
issued a circular stating that they are ready to grant
relief where required on the production of proper
evidence in favour of the applications which may be
made. Applications are to be signed by clergymen of
at least two denominations, or by the chairman of the
local Board or municipal body. Professor Baldwin
and Mr. Hepworth, who is an American representa-
tive on the committee, are to proceed on a tour through
the distressed districts, being accompanied by Colonel
King• Harman, M.P., in the west, and by Mr. Shaw,
M.P., in the south of Ireland. A scheme of per-
manent benefit to the distressed districts is under the
consideration of the committee.

_
" Simpson's Bowl," after having been on the Liver-
pool landing stage for sixty days on behalf of the suf-
fering peasantry of Ireland, was withdrawn on Sunda/
night, the total sum received being £521.