biglam/hmd_newspapers huggingface dataset:
The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-30

Lately Publ ished.—.serenth Edition.

STAMMERING,
_STUTTERING, LISPING,

eze., Their CAUSES and CURE;
By Wm. ABBOTTS, M.D.,

Physician to the Dispensary for Affections of the Speech

" This is the only Special work upon the subject of
Impediments of Spee&i, written by a qualifi,A mediral
man for many years. It is ealcula:ed tl improve °lir
knowledge of a remarkabla group of affe4ion3."
cal Review.

Yu? l!slied by GEO. PITMAN, )40, tiowEn ETLEET,

1.4,,ND0N. W.O.
Price 28: sent post-free for 26 stamps.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-30

L.

FRESH GOLDFIELDS IN AUSTRALIA.

Recent advices speak of the discovery of a new
goldfield in the most inland part of New South
Wales which is causing some excitement among the
gold-mining community. The scene of the find is the
Grey Ranges, a well elevated country in the extreme
north-west of the colony, and on the borders of
South Australia. Apart from the nature of the de-
posits, which are said to be rich, the discovery is
interesting as a mat ter of science, as being a deviation
from the rule which has hithert2 prevailed that all of
,the mineral wealth, and especially the gold deposits,
in Australia have been found within a short distance
from the coast.
The nearest village to the Grey Ranges is Wil-
cannia, on the Darling River. some 600 miles from
Sydney, and 200 miles from the goldfield. Water is
scarce, and only to be trie with at distances of fifty
miles apart, so that intending prospectors will have to
encounter more than the usual amount of difficulty.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-30

THE CHANNEL TUNNEL.

On Saturday the experimental works in connexion
with the proposed Channel Tunnel were inspected by
Sir Edward Watkin, M.P., chairman of the South.
Eastern Railway, and between twenty and thirty
other gentlemen, among whom were M. Leon Say,
Lord Brabourne, Colonel Beaumont, R.E., Captain
English, R.E., M. Sigou, Baron de Rothschild, Mr.
J. Shaw, Mr. Myles Fenton, Professor Browning,
Hon. J. Byng, M. Duval, M. Achille Adam, M. de
Warn, Mr. J. Mellor, Mr. A. M. Watkin, &c.
Sir Edward Watkin and the whole of the company
expressed themselves highly gratified with the satis-
factory progress made in the drilling operations since
his last official visit, and they are still sanguine of the
fina,l triumph. The geological formation of the strata
through which the headway is being drilled continues,
and it appears likely to continue, to be composed of the
gray chalk, a geological composition which is peen-
Early/ fa,vourableho the operations from the remarkable
resemblance between the geological strata on either
side of the Channel even to the minute particulars.
It seems more than probable that the formation is con-
tinuous throughout the bed of the Channel. The
circular heading starting from Abbot's Cliff is 90ft.
below the level of the South-Eastern line, and 30
yards in the cliff, measuring from the down rail.
The drilling is advanced by means or one of Colonel
Beaumont's compressed air engines, at the average
rate of- about a quarter of an inch per minute, the
disc to which the cutters are attached revolving twice
in that time, and the entire length of the heading is
now rather more than three hundred yards. The
debris is removed from the heading on a tramway in
trolleys drawn by ponies of a Welsh breed.
Another shaft now being sunk, and already in an
advanced stage, is on the west side of Shakespeare's
Cliff, and as soon as the required depth is reached the
drill machine will be removed here, so as to enable the
minera to meet the present heading. This, it is cal-
culated, will greatly assist the progress of the work,
as any water that may percolate through the chalk
will run towards the shaft._ - -

The gradient is one in eight, and the ventilation of
the heading is effected by means of the exhausted air
from the engines.

THE LARGEST FERRY-BOAT IN THE WORLD.—There
is now plying at the mouth of the Sacramento, in
California, a steam ferry-boat, which is probably the
largest, in.thi world, The sttarn.er, which is named
the Solano; carries over trains of the Grand 'Central
Pacific Railway from Benicia to Port Costa, on the
most direct line from Sacramento to San Francisco.
She can carry several trains at once, without detach-
ment of locomotives. On the deck are four lines of
railway abreast, did these are capable of receiving 48
goods-wagons with their locomotives, or 24 passenger-
cars of the American type (each supported on two
jointed trucks).
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-30

FATAL FIRE IN LONDON,

A fire, resulting in the loss of four lives, occurred at
96, Walworth-road, London, between twelve and one
on Tuesday morning. The premises were occupied by
Mr. Allen, a stationer, who, with his family, were in
bed at the time of the outbreak. Finding their means
of escape cut off by the staircase, and flames ascendirg
at the front of the house, they rushed to a back room,
where they were not discovered till the fire was ex-
tinguished.
Mrs. Allen and her three children were found all
dead. The smoke had evidently suffocated them, for
there were no signs of burns upon the bodies. Mr.
Allen was injured by partial suffocation, and was
taken to Guy's Hospital. The names of the deceased
are as follows : Clara Allen aged thirty-five; Daisy
Allen, four years ; Owen Alien, two and a half years;
and Rhoda Allen, fifteen months.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-04-30

SMOKELESS COAL.

One of the things usually noticed by English
travellers in the United States is that coals are there
divided into two classes—" hard" and "soft." Soft
coal is much disliked by Americans, who speak with
unmitigated disgust:of the smoke evolved in such places
as Pittsburgh, where it is largely burnt, chiefly
on account of its being a local product.
This soft coal is in fact, a similar variety to
that ordinarily used in England, and it is rather
curious that the two countries should differ
so much in their appreciation of this common I,)ael.
"Hard coal "is decidedly the favourite in the United
States and with some justice. It is clean enough
to handle without inconvenience, and though some-
what more difficult to ignite, it is economical in
combustion, while scarcely any smoke or soot at-
tends its use. Even in America, however, the
general use of hard coal is a modern innovation.
The venerable Josiah Quincy, in an interesting
account of "Harvard Sixty. Years Ago," re-
ferring to the decoration of college rooms at
that time says: "My classmate Otis had orna-
mented his mantlepiece with two curious black
stones, which excited great interest in his visitors.
He had made a journey to Washington to see his
father, who was a senator, and had brought these
varieties home as precious memorials of his travels,
He had a strange tale to -tell concerning them. It
seemed that the people in Baltimore actually burned
just such stones as these, and, wonderful to relate,
there was no smoke in their chimneys. I believe
that these singular minerals have become so
popular in Harvard College that they are now
bribught there in considerable quantities. The
only change is that they are no longer displayed on
the mantelpiece, but just below it—in the grate.
They will be recognised under the name of anthracite
coal." :ids is the coal of which a huge lump is now
to be seen at the Agricultural Hall, and it is likely—
as it is deserving—to come into much more extensive
use in London, probably to the immense improvement
of olir smoky atmosphere.—Building and Engineering
Times.