The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-02-05 00:00:00

EPITOME oi3l NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOB,BIGN.

According to present arrangements the Queen is es,
pected to leave Osborne for Windsor about the 19th of
February.

Last week's receipts of cotton at all United States
ports wore 124,000 bales, and since Ist September 3,945,895
bales. Shipments to England and Great Britain, 83,000
bales; and to the continent and Channel, 26,900 bales;
total since Ist September, 2,447,573 bales. Stock at all
ports, 863,000 bales.
The model of Mr. E. Onslow-Ford has been selected
by the umpires of the Rowland Hill Memorial for the statue
to be erected at the Royal Exchange, Loudon.

The Government t f India have offered a prix) of
£lOO for the best manual of hygiene for the use of Brt Ish
soldiers in India.

As a number of men were descending a mine at
Ryhope Colliery,.Sunderland, the other day' a huge piece
of ice fell down the shaft, lodging in the skull of Mr. Bank's,
an organist at one of the local chapels, and instantly kiLing
him.

Over thirty bodies have been found on the stret:l2
of exposed downs in Wilts and West Berks of persons frozen
to death during the recent snowstorm.

The South-Eastern Railway Company has given
orders for the erection of a large glycerine barometer on the
pier at Folkestone, and there is very little doubt that this
example will be followed by other railway companies
having marine termini.
The Irish state trials have cost the enormous sum
of £15,000 or £20,000.
The Chairman and directors of the South Eastern
Railway on Saturday inspected the works now being carried
on at Abbot's Cliff, near Folkestone, in connection with the
proposed Channel Tunnel. So far the boring is a, complete
success. The boring machine cuts into the chalk at the
rate of half an-inch per minute.

The branch of the Irish Land League established in
Montreal has sent 1,000 dols. to the head office of the organ!.
sation at Dublin. _ _ _

A Bill to amend the laws relating to the custody
and treatment of lunatics, and a Bill to amend the Agricul-
tural Holdings (England) Act, 1875, and to secure to tenants
comVensation for their improvements in all cases, were
issued on Monday.

A barque which arrived at Greenock on Monday
afternoon from Pernambuco reports that on the 24th al
she passed an English vessel, of about 200 tons, bottom up,
on the 26th she narrowly avoided collision with the hull of a
vessel entirely submerged, and having spars and rigging
attached

It may be some consolation to those of her
Majesty's subjects who have been kept within doors by the
weather to read in the Court Circular that their Sovereign,
even in the Isle of Wight, has been prevented from going to
church for twb successive Sundays by the state of the roads.

The number of petitions presented against perpetual
pensions is 274, with nearly 92,000 signatures.
A number of fishing boats, on account of the
weather, could not get into port at Sables d'Olonne on the
"Vendee, one day last week, and were driven by the gale
against the rocks. Forty-six men are supposed to have
perished.

-
There is much anxiety felt in Bristol for the safety
of the Bristol City, one of the City Line steamers trading
between New York and Bristol, and new thirty-three days on
her homeward passage. All vessels recently arrived report
very heavy weather in the Atlantica

A return was issued on Monday from which it
appears that between January 1 and August 31, 1830, judg-
ments for the recovery of land in Ireland were obtained in
76 cases, for the non-payment of rent to the amount of
£8,505 17s. lid., andwrits of possession were not taken out
afterwards. At the late Michaelmas Sessions, for the
whole of Ireland, 926 decrees were obtained in cases of
ejectment for non-payment of rent and ejeetments for
overliclding, the total asnount of rent in arrear being
421,970 las. 3d.
In South Staffordshire circulars have been issued
from the Earl of Dudley's offices, stating that the price
of coals will be advanced one shilling per ton, and slack six-
pence per ton.

Much damage has been done in California by the
heavy rainfall, eight inches having been registered in twenty-
four hours. At a place called Windsor, thirteen inches fell
In seventy hours. A land slip near-Santa Cruz killed eight
Chinese woodcutters, and Camp Capitole, a village was
washed into the sea, only four houses escaping.

Mr. Pell, MP., speaking at the annual meeting of
the Leicestershire Chamber of Agriculture on Saturday,
referred to the Government Conservancy of Rivers Bill. lie
expressed the opinion thalthe owners of uplands would not
be fairly treated if charged with part of the cost of removing
obstructions from rivers. lie thought low-lying lands would
be so much benefited by ihod works as to be able to pay the
whole cost of the improvements.

Mr. Thomas Burt, M.P., replying to an invitation
to attend a public meeting in Chelsea to protest azainst the
proposals of the Government Coercion Bill, has written to
Mr. George Mitchell stating that although he is strongly
opposed to coercive measures, unless they are absolutely
necessary—and of the absolute necessity in the presentease
he is not convinced—yet he does not see his way to take
part in any public meeting on the subject.
The proposal for the adoption of the ClGture, which,
as is known, has been accepted in principle by the Cabinet,
remains in abeyance until the official Leaders of the Oppo-
sition have communicated their final determination on the
eubject to the Government.—Monday's Standard. •
A correspondent at Stockbridge writes :—About
fortnight since (13th of January) there was found not far
from this place a wren's nest containing seven newly-laid
eggs. The weather for some time had been unusually
mild, and the little bird had chosen rather a protected spot
for the home of its expected family.
In London, on Saturday, Mr. W. J. Payne held an
inquest at the City Coroner's Court, Golden-lane, on the body
of a man, name unknown. It appeared from the evidence
that there are some buildings in course of erection in Niomi-
ment-yard, London-bridge, and here the deceased was found
dead in a vault, with a couple of bricks placed for his pillow.
Dr. Clarke was callei in, and made a post-mortem, examina-
tion, when he found in the stomach a quantity of gravel and
lime which the deceased must have eaten. Death had re-
sulted from privation and exposure to cold, and the jury
returned a verdict accordingly.
--- - - -

The Royal National Life-boat Institution have
allowed double the usual amount to the crew of the
Whitby life-boat, in testimony of cheir high admiration of
the bravery disprayed by them during the recent terrific
gale.

There are now two grandsons of the late Sir Robert
Peel, the Prime Minister, in the House of Lords—the Earl
of Jersey, who is the son of Sir Robert's eldest daughter,
and the new Lord Camoys, who is the son of his youngest.

M. de Lesseps presided on Monday at the first
general meeting of the Panama Canal Company, held in
Paris. The report spoke of the difficulties that had been
overcome, the immense support given to the scheme by the
public, and the progress that had been made. An expedi-
tion party of engineers had left France for Panama to begin
the works, orders had been given for machinery, and it was
anticipated that the construction of the canal would take a
year less than was originally contemplated.
It is understood (says the Standard) that no formal
agreementof
glau d
ehasndbn Russia enteredela ivnet ot
ob ea t wmeuetnu
mutual
relinquishment
Governmentslnqu shnlen
of Mery and Candahar ; and that, beyond simple and demi-
official inquiries as to the contemplated policy of either
Government, no negotiations on the subject have taken
place.

-
The mounted branch of the Irish Constabulary is to
be increased. Inducements are offered to those who
formerly belonged to that branch of the constabulary to
return to the service.

A singular case of sudden death in the street oc-
curred at Brighton on Monday afternoon, John Mac-
donald having dropped lifeless whilst following his child to
the grave. His wife, being quite blind, was not amongst the
mourners.

The Berlin Town Council have marked the
hundredth anniversary of Adalbert von Chamiso's birthday
by presenting a congratulatory address to his son, a medical
practitioner at Berlin. The address gratefully extols the
merits of Adalbert von Chamiso, who went to Germans as a
boy, the son of a French refugee, to become one of the
greatest and most truly national poets in Germany.

In consequence of the improvement in trade the
colliers in the Leicestershire coal-flekls have begun on full
time, and this will be the first week of full work fos two
years. The price of coal has been raised is. per ton, and the
miners have given notice of an intention to apply for an
advance of about 2d. per ton. It is anticipated that the
masters will agree to an advance of Id. per ton, which will
be accepted by the men.

While skating on the ice at Portumna, county
Galway, on Tuesday, Lieutenant Lewis and some ladles who
accompanied him fell into the water. Mr. Lewis was
drowned, and one of the young ladies was taken to her borne
in a very precarious state.
Eighty-five Prussian towns have combined to pre-
sent ornamental plate to the heir to the German Crown on
his wedding day. The sum subscribed is 400,000 marks; but
as the plate will not be finished before September models
can only be presented on February 27.

- -
A telegram from San Francisco says that the King
of the Sandwich Islands, arrived there on Sunday last, with
his suite, on board the steamer City of Sydney. It is said
that the object of his trip is to visit the different Asiatic and
European nations with a view to ascertaining the most
feasible means of attracting a desirable class of immigrants
to Hawaii, in order to take the place of the natives, who
seem doomed to extinction within a comparatively short
time. King Kalakaua does not favour Chinese immigration,
and he believes that the natives of the Celestial Empire would
not be well received by his people. The King was to leave
by the next steamer for Yokohama.

The wedding dress of Princess Augusta Victoria of
Holsteln-Augustenberg, whose marriage with Prince William
of Prussia takes place on the 27th inst. at Berlin was, by
permission of Princess Christian, on view at Windsor on
Monday. The train, just four and a half yards long, is
broadly bordered by wreaths of roses, made in silver lace at
Berlin. under the supervision of the Crown Princess of Ger-
many (Princess Royal), from a design sketched at the School
of Art, Kensington.
The Directcrs of the North British Railway Com-
pany, at a meeting held in Edinburgh, considered the
question of the height of the new Tay Bridge. It was re-
solved to ask the sanction of the Board of Trade to have
the proposed structure of a less height than 77 feet above
the water.
A very sad accident occurred at St. Gemmes
d'Andigne, in Maine et Loire, during the terrific hurricane
of Friday night, in last week. The church was filled with a
large congregation, that had assembled in honour of the
festival of the Perpetual Adoration, when suddenly, at
about two o'clock in the morning, and just as the priest was
on the point of bringing the first mass to a close, one of the
four turrets flanking the belfry was thrown down by a
furious blast of wind. The turret in its fall broke through
the roof of the sacred edifice, killing three women on the
spot, and severely injuring three other persons.
Lord Roseberry presided on Saturday at the annual
meeting of the East and North of Scotland Liberal Associa-
tion, which was held in Edinburgh. Allusion was made in
the report to the development of the system of fagot voting;
and the chairman, in referring to the subject, spoke of the
arduous struggle in Mid-Lothian at the general election.
His lordship said ho hardly knew which to admire most, the
behaviour and courage of the candidate or the spontaneous
and united endeavours of the Liberals of Mid-Lothian. )Jr
Gladstone gained a victory which, to those who were behind
the scenes and knew what was done against him, would
appear little short of miraculous,

It is stated that the Egyptian cotton crop will
exceed the first estimate by about 80 per cent.
Severe floods have again occurred in Spain, and
much damage has been done in several provinces. Floods
have also occurred in France owing to the sudden melting of
the snow.

The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon was sufficiently recovered
from his recent attack of rheumatism to officiate on Sunday
at the Metropolitan Tabernable. The rev. gentleman
preached at the morning service before a crowded congrega•
ton.

Mrs. S. C. Hall, who has been associated with her
husband, Mr. S. C. Hall, in Eiterary work for more than
half a century, died on Sunday evening, at Devon Lodge,
East 3folesey, at the age of 74.
- -

- -
Messrs. W. T. Weekes and Co. despatched frcin
Plymouth on Monday to Sydney, New South Wales, the
ship Blairgotorie, 1,550 tons, Captain Samuel Park, with 3i3
emigrants, of whom 150 are English, 22 Scotch, 171 Ir,sh,
and 10 foreigners.

The conditions of peace imposed by Chili upon Peru
and Bolivia are stated to be: The cession of Antofagasta
and the surrounding district, the surrender of the tn. ed
fleet, the payment of a war indemnity of 750,000,000 f. Peru
to contribute 500,000,0001. and Bolivia 250,000,000 f. 'fintil
full payment of the indemnity Chili to occupy Calls' o, nd
to work on her own account the guano deposits and the
copper and saltpetre mines.

Hospital Wards in Paris have not escaped the
seculaming agitation. Hitherto every ward has been called
after some saint, in future each will bear the name of a
philanthropist or distinguished man of science.
A little boy named Adamson was drowned at Kirk-
caldy on Saturday by the breaking of theicc on a pond.

At Horsham, on Monday evening, a magnificent
display of the Aurora Borealis was witnessed in the north-
west heavens. The light seemed to radiate from a low back-
ground of clouds, and spread far up into the sky. So intense
was the light that the dark outlines of the Surrey Hills were
distinguished about seven o'clook for several sonds. Later
the radiations gradually faded away. The display was also
visible at various other places in England.

The Secretary of the New Zealand Land Corpora-
tion (Limited), writing under date Jan. 29, requests The
Times to state that a telegram has just been received from
New Zealand stating that the first party of.settlers to Mr.
G. Vesey Stewart's third special settlement at Te Puke,
Bay of Plenty, was received at Tauranga with great enthu-
siasm, and that the first drawing for land took place on the
26th inst.

In London a meeting has been held at the Mansion
House in support of the movement for holding, at the Crys-
tal Palace, a series of International Exhibitions illustrative
of our great industries and manufactures. The first Exhibi-
tion, which is to be devoted to the woollen manufactures,
will be held from June to October next. Lord Elcho,
Sir W. Cole, Sir Julius Vogel, and others, spoke in support
of the movement, for which success was predicted.

An inquest has been held in Liverpool on the body
of Elizabeth Jane Eccleston, a girl of 19, who was scalded
severely by an explosion of the boiler in the house No. 26,
Beaconsfield-street, and afterwards died. The explosion
occurred in consequence of the frost. The Jury foqpd a
verdict of "Accidental death," and recommended that fires
should be extinguished when the water-pipes became frozen.
A public 'laboratory for the analysis of anything
sold as food has been establisbed in Paris by the Prefect of
the Seine, the fees being limited to from five to twenty
francs, according to the difficulty of the operations.
The Sheffield Postal Telegraph clerks have unani-
mously resolved to memorialise the Postmaster-General
asking that the Playf air scheme be applied to the telegraph
service and that it be retrospective in its effect; also for
payment of overtime, and holidays of one month in the year
for clerks receiving £2 per week, and twenty-one days under
that amount.

With a view to the elevation of the character of the
private soldier, many noblemen and gentlemen have been
promoting the employment of discharged soldiers as an act
of Justice to honest men who give to their country the years
of early manhood which are devoted by others to the ac-
quirement of a trade. To find employment, a register is
kept of good men who can be recommended.

St. Paul's Cathedral is shortly to be lighted by the
electric light, as an experiment.

Express trains are now running between Paris and
Bordeaux at 41 miles per hour, which is only about 2i miles
per hour less than the speed of the Flying Scotchman on the
long Journey of 397 miles, from London to Edinburgh,
which is done in nine hours, including stops, or at about
434 miles per hour.
It is said that Prince Bismarck has 466 decorations
and orders of nobility.

The population of the Grand Duchy of Baden, ac-
cording to the census of December the Ist, 1880, amounts to
1,570,189 souls. This is an increase of 63,010 since the year
1875, when the last census was taken.

A bill has been introduced in the United States
Senate appropriating 100,000 dollars for the purpose of fit-
ting out a ship in the United States Navy to go in search of
the Arctic exploring vessel Jeanette.

A supplementary estimate was published on Tues-
day showing the sum required to meet excessive expendi-
ture for the Transvaal during the year. The total amount
Is £146,000. Of this sum £135,000 is for transport abroad,
£112,000 for cost of provisions, and £33,000 for cost of
forage.

Mr. John E. Redmond, a Home-ruler, was on Mon-
day elected without opposition as member for New Ross. •
Mr. Errington, member for Longford county, writ-
ing to Major Nolan, says :—"So:many changes have been
made in the constitution and policy of what was once the
Home Rule party that, with regret, I must inform you I can
no longer act with it. In the intelest of the tenants I can
never consent to repudiate fixity of tenure, fair rents, and
free sale."

A conjugal discussion from a French play :—Mon-
sieur: "Do I make the laws here, or do I not?" Madame:
"Possibly—but nothing shall hinder me from presenting
emendments."

The Naples Correspondent of the Daily News writes :
"A new invention is reported from Turin. It consists in
the application of light-giving materials to printing ink, by
which print becomes luminous in the dark, so that in future
It would be possible to read at night, in bed or during a
journey, without the assistance of candle or lamp. A new
daily paper, in which this luminous material will be used,
is, it is said, about to be published at Turin."

The death has occurred at the age of seventy-one,
of Mr. William White, a well-known chemist and mining
authority. He was the author of numerous works on
chemistry and mineralogy, was a constant contributor to
scientific literature, and had held lectureships at various
educational establishments. He died in London on Sunday
last from a painful disease contracted while conducting ex-
periments in his laboratory.

The Sheriff of Bombay, Mr. Sorabjee Shapoorjee,
a Parsee, has contributed £5,000 towards the education of
girls of the Parsee community.

In London, an inquest has been held at the "Four
Acre" Tavern, Lorrimore-street, Walworth, on the body of
Mrs. Louisa Rowlands, aged 82. Miss Rowlands said that
her grandmother had been bedridden for the past two
years. On Thursday night week, prior to her death, a large
cit jumped on the bed on which the deceased was lying.
attacked her, and scratched her arm and hand. On the fol-
lowing morning her arm began to swell at the bend of the
joint, and on Saturday a small lump formed behind the
elbow joint. On Sunday the hand and arm became inflamed
and enlarged, extending to the muscle of the arm. In con-
sequence of her condition witness sought medical aid. De-
ceased lingered until Tuesday when she died.—Mr. Morden
Wright, surgeen, who had visited the deceased, said that
there were no symptoms of hydrophobia in the case. The
death arose from blood poisoning caused by the scratch of a
cat and shock to the system.--The jury returned a verdict of
"Accidental death.

The ex-Empress Eug4nie arrived at Bournemouth on
Monday morning on a brief visit to the Queen of Sweden,
who is now residing at Craig Head, on the East Clitfe. The
Imperial party crossed over from Osborne Cottage to South-
ampton to the Royal yacht Alberta, and proceeded to Bourne-
mouth by train. Here they were met by the Queen of Sweden,
the Countesses Jarlsberg ,and Mr. Engedius, Swedish Consul
at Amsterdam. The Empress, who was accompanied by the
Due de Bassano, Captain Bigge, and Madame D'Arcy and Mille.
Rouher, ladies-in-waiting, drove to the Royal Bath Hotel
in an open carriage, and subsequently drove along East Mille
to Craig Head House. The Empress remained with the Queen
of Sweden for about a couple of hours, after which she
returned to the hotel, leaving again in time to depart by the
3.40 train.

In London last week 2,864 births and 2,114 deaths
were registered. Allowing for increase of population, the
births exceeded by 196, and the deaths by 347, the average
numbers in the corresponding week of the last ten years
The annual death-rate from all causes, which had been
equal to 2r3, 226, and 284 per 1,000 in the three pre-.
ceding weeks, further rose to 29*8, and exceeded the rate
In any week since the middle of February, 1880.
A mass meeting of miners numbering about 8,000
was held on Monday afternoon on Newton•common, near
Wigan, when resolutions were adopted that the men
should continue the strike until the employers conceded an
advance in wages and agreed to pay weekly. Extra precau-
tions were taken by the police and military in case any dis-
turbance should result, but everything passed off quietly.
An adjourned meeting of the miners' delegates was held at
Wigan on the same day. A committee was appointed to act
for the men as to the sliding scale, and the masters were
asked to meet them to discuss and arrange as to the basis
for a sliding scale.