The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-07-10 00:00:00

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HOME, FOREIGN, MID- COLONIZ

A FAIR SWEET WILLIAM.—" The Deceased Wife's
Sister Bill" isgan impossibility on the very face of it.
Whoever heard of a wife's sister that was christened
"Bill" or even William ?"—Fun.
THE GOVERNMENT AND THE FARMERS.—At a meet-
ing of the Essex Chamber of Agriculture at Chelms-
ford, it was resolved—" That this chamber views with
much satisfaction the praiseworthy action of the
Government in the proposed abolition of the malt tax,
and in bringing forward the Hares and Rabbits Bill,
and expresses the hope that the Government will make
the latter Bill to override all existing and subsequent
agreements and leases, subject to equitable compensa-
tion."
MONKEY • versus Com : A monkey Punkah
Wallah is employed by a nious official in India
ikir
in place of the hitherto in i pensable coolie, whose
somniferous qualities are well known. He describes
his experiment as follows :—" Some years ago I had a
Langur, which, when standing erect, measured
2ft. Gin. The animal was very powerful, and could
easily putl a punkah. Seeing the great power this
monkey possessed I wanted to utilise it, and, therefore,
determined to teach him to be a punkah wallah. I
tied him by the waist close to a strong pole, so that
he could not move either backwards or forwards, or
right or left. Both hands were tied to a rope
attached to a punkah, which was regularly pulled
from the other side by a man. Thus the animal had
to sit in one place, and could only move its hands up
and down with the punkah rope. In this way the
monkey, in a comparatively short time, learnt to pull
the punkah by himself, and was so employed by me
for several years. He always kept in first-rate health,
enjoyed his work immensely, and did equally well, if
not better, than a coolie. Putting this trained
monkey in the place where the men used to pull the
punkah, and a new Langur in the place whsre the
trained monkey formerly sat, I attempted to teach
successively four more monkeys, two of which were
females. I succeeded perfectly in teaching the males,
but was quite unsuccessful with the weaker sex."

THE END OF THE LONDON SEASON.—The West-
End.—Judy.
THE HABITS or CUCKOOS.—The eccentric habits of
the cuckoo, which have long been a subject of com-
ment among naturalists, have been again brought
forward by two correspondents of the Live Stock
Journal, one of wligni writes, "Last week I shot what
I thought at the tfrne was a sparrow-hawk, but upon
examination it proved to be a male cuckoo, and
tightly in its claws was a cuckoo's egg; which it re-
tained some time after it was shot. I believe the
supposition that the bird carries its eggs about in that
way is a much disputed point; but I cannot but after
this regard it as a positive fact."—The second corre-
spondent, however, does not hold the same the9rtee,ans
he states that "no doubt the male euelco° .a
1
pilfering a small bird's nest, which theseabird sare
very fond of, and by chance came -11)u
cuckoo's
egg deposited therein, and being
away with the egg in its claws,
them
lv disturbedhthueietgowgawssahsiotfi fl
mew
nn
in the death struggle (convulsion)
clenched in its claws. I nevaern:ndaetwh
time,
k
c pilferingoo s to
and carrying
their eggs, but I have watch
sucking small birds' eggs m e
distances from the nest
the shells considerable
plundered."
T
H 0 ME • —ones (an eligible Bachelor,
MUSIC AT
There's too much music in this
''should have been • d
whispering tenderVl
world, Miss Mary. married long
amusic!
it o
sing,
ingWhaennd-
ut
began
g
' ed up 111Yc o popping
ever I'd screw
the question,
I,lB°ad to—"—Chorus of Bystanders,
When-
ago, if it hadn't
mbeebeond
yt
pluckoratlwooa
to
12—[Poor Jones is frustratea for the
" Shshshs •
—Punch.
twelfth time.]
of coursehsh
FALL 0F A. HOUSE IN PARIS.—A dreadful accident
on Saturday in the Avenue Ma,cMahon.
se in construction, No. 13, fell suddenly,
burying under its ruins the numerous workmen
tAookh
then at work. It appears that the walls separated.
A fire brigade arrived at the first notice of the disaster
opulace.
and began clearing away the ruins, b•ut the work
of salvage had to be suspended on account of the danger
presented by the remaining walls, Galignani says
the building, which was a five-storey house, had its
stone facade entirely terminated, and the workmen,
thirty-five in number, were busy inside, when at half.
past eleven a crash was heard, the stones, iron beams
and brick-work fell on all aides, burying six inen
under the ruins. A man named Lazare Gouy, aged
21, was found dead in the cellar, Jean Mayer, 18,
had to be amputated of the right arm, his state is wry
proarious; Jean Thibeuf, 21; Fernandi, an Italian,
21; Lazare Comte, 30 • and Jean Leysalle, 42, re-
ceived severe wounds, but are not in danger. It is
really wonderful that in such a crash so few men
suffered, as thirty-five men were collected on the
spot. A collection has been Blade for the unfortunate
sufferers,


"CONTRADICTION IN TERM." —4. "big ti 11.% in
derarfs."—Funny Folks.
WAVES OF COLD.—At a recent meeting of the
Dulwich College Geological Club, Mr. R. G. Jenkins;
F.R.A.S., read a paper "On the Origin of Waves 0'
Cold." The object of the paper was to show the verY
remarkable effect of the planet Venus upon the earth;
Many years ago the present Astronomer-Royal prove°
that the disturbing effect of this planet was so gre.3'
that the earth was materially pulled out of its ottit.
Mr. Jenkins shows that it is to this disturbing action
we must look for rn explanation of the cold wave°
which roll through the atmosphere on an aver,e
every eight years—as in 1829, 1837, 1845, 1855, 18ovt
1871, 1879—and that for the next forty years the te.to'
perature will be below the average, as it has during
the past forty years been above the average. In re:
gard to high temperatures, he stated that for the laP
fifty years a heat-wave has been observed to pass over
the earth every twelve years, nearly and cotemporarl
with the arrival of the planet Jupiter about per!'
helion, and we are on the eve of the next heat-wave.
A STEAM TRAMWAY LOCOMOTIVE.—Hughes's patell
tramway locomotive, which has already been adopt!l
in Glasgow, Wantage, Paris, and Lille, made a trial
journey through the streets of Birmingham on Fridsl,
in last week, with the Mayor and several members
the Corporatiou. Thelocomotive resembles external-I
a small tramcar on a level. It draws three cars, eaoo
containing 40 persons, and is calculated to draw a ear
of 40 passengers up a gradient of one in 13. It hel
9in. cylinders, 12in. stroke, and 3ft. 6in. cells, fitteo
with a condensing apparatus, and runs five miles with
one supply of water and coke. The trial was deemed
satisfactory.
FAINTING IN CHTIRCII—It seems strange at first
sight, but not at all wonderful when we come to loolr
closely into the conditions and circumstances of the
case, that fainting in church should be a frequent
(occurrence, and in some congregations even reach the
proportions of an epidemic. There can be no queetioo
that the ventilation of many churches and places of
worship, which are wont to be crowded, is radicallY
defective, and the vitiated atmosphere inevitabit
effects the weakly as a powerful depressant. This
is a matter which requires attention. Medical officers
of districts might bring more influence to bear on
churchwardens and the wardens of chapels, that
measures may be taken to receive the ingress of pure
air without draught and the escape of foul vapours.
Meanwhile it cannot be doubted that there is room'
for a little serious argument on this subject, and
ministers might do well to remonstrate from the,
pulpit with congregations in which the " habit " 0!
fainting is prevalent. In some of the chapels attacheo
to lunatic asylums there are special apartments for
the accommodation of epileptics who have "fits." It
would almost seem that in some churches and chapel!
there should be rooms set apart for the retirement or
those who contemplate fainting. —Lancet.
DIFFERENCE IN MOTHERS.—Tommy (whose mamros
had been reading to him about Eve and the Serpent.)
"She wasn't like you, mamma, for you're afraid of
mouse."—Judy.

AN ABYSSINIAN CUSTOM.—A gentleman who WO
recently returned from Abyssinia, says a curioae
customs prevails there, which has not been befor.e
noted, and which he thinks would be acceptable in thle
country. If a young man, for instance, wished to be,
adopted as the son of one of superior wealth ape
station, he takes the latter's hand, and sucking one of
his fingers, declares himself his child by adoption,
whereupon the new parent, although he should hold te
financial position analagous to the Rothschilds, woula
be bound to assist him to the best of his ability.
AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The followirl
are the averege prices of British corn for the week
ending July 3, as received from the inspectors and
officers of Excise :—Wheat, 445. 7d. ; barley, 31s. lid.,
oats, 28s. 2d. per imperial qr. Corresponding week
last year :—Wheat, 425. 4d.; barley, 245. 6d.; oats,
245. 2d.

POPULATION OP AMERICAN CITIES.—The officisi
census returns of the American cities on June 1 shosv
that the population of New York was 1,209,561, an
increase in ten years of 234,269; Philadelphia,
847,432, an increase of 173,430; Brooklyn, 554,696, an
increase of 159,594; Boston, 352,000, an increase of
101,474; Baltimore, 331,000, an increase of 63,646.;
Chicago, 477,500, an increase of 176,023; Cincinnati.
246,151, an increase of 29,914; New Orleans, 207,324
an increase of 15,910; San Francisco, 227,350, an ill'
crease of 77,877; and Washington, 160,000, an increase
of 50,801.

THE REVENTIE.—The Builionsst says :—"The re.
vivid of trade is slow in showing its influence on the
revenue; but once it has really begun to produce
effects these go on increasing rapidly. And we noW
see that it has begun. The June quarter of 1879 was
—as compared with the previous year--the best of the
four quarters, as the March quarter of 1880 was the
worst. But the June quarter of 1880, following this
worst period of the same year, already exhibits the
great advance adverted to. Thus, there is fair ana,
reasonable prospect that the advance will zrow and
expand steadily—it may even be largely and swiftly'
Mr. Gladstone had—he could not but have—a goo°
idea of all this when he introduced his disturbing
Supplementary Budget."
AN AMERICAN Cow.—" The most famous living
butter cow to-day" is, according to the Amerietto
Agriculturist (New York), Jersey Belle of Scituate,
the property of Mr. C. 0. Ellms, Scituate, Masse"
chusetts, -U.S.A. She was dropped in 1871. VIP
journal quoted above says that "she holds that pole'
tion only until some rival shall be fully attested t°
yield more than 22 pounds 13 ounces of butter in 9
week, or more than 705 pounds a year."
EDITORIAL Du•riEs.—The duties and the labours el
the newspaper editor, the San Francisco News Le_Leter„
tells us, are seldom estimated at their full. Te'
editor of a New York paper has been disabusing 9
young aspirant on this point. The young man wrote
that he wanted to become an editor, and this was the
reply he got: "Canst thou draw up a leviathan viitl!
a hook thou lettest down? Canst thou hook up grees
ideas from the depths of thy intellect, and dean,
scale, and fry them at five minutes' notice? Care
thou write editorials as they may be wanted—t°
measure? Canst thou write an editorial to Et in.°
three-quarter column of the paper, which shall be lug
length just twenty-two inches, having three inches ;I
fine sentiment four inches from the beginning, an'',
nine inches of humour in the middle, and an outbure)
of maxim and precept nine and three-quarter inches
long at the close?" Our Transatlantic contemporariv
however, does not tell us whether the young man
subsequently offered himself for competitive examins-
tion upon these points.
SERVICES AT FUNERALS.—The following is the repll;
sent by the Lord Chancellor to a clergyman who Asko,
hi* whether, under the Burials Act, women eouje
officiate at funerals :—"June 26, 1880.—Rev.
reply to your letter, I have only to say that there is n°
provision at all in the Burials Bill as to any 0,e6
officiating' at burials under the Bill, male or female'
but that the friends of the deceased are left at libertl
to be religious in their own way, whatever that rile
be, so long as they are professing Christians, or us;
any religious service of a Christian character, ant'
so long as their proceedings are orderly, &c. S°
ministerial office or character in any person is re'
quired by the Bill.—l am, rev, sir, your obedient
servant, SELBOURNE."
THE RICHEST WOMEN IN AMERICA.—The Atlantci

Constitution says that the richest woman in Americse
is Mrs. E. H. Green, the wife of the Vice-President
of the Louisville and Nashville Read. She was
Mt
iss
Robinson, whalingkn master
own s
a New
.a n he e
or
wfnaet
dh ear
fleetw a
of
ships
the blue line of whalers, and from his pirofession was
known as "Blubber Robinson." He died when his
daughter was a mere girl, and left her a fortune of about
Bbiendsfoonrh
eight millions. She lived slenderly and prudently,
and gave the management of her affairs to Mr. John
J. Cisco. As her tastes were simple and her wants
few, she was able to transfer her enormous income
almost every year to the body of the fortune itself.
and it has now accumulated Co more than 27,000,00
dollars. Her husband, Mr. Green, was a very
man when she married him and has been success&
since. It is said by one who should know that the in-
come of this couple is 2,500,000 dols. a year. Mr. Green
is rather large in stature, quiet, reserved, sagacious, and
of modest habits. He is about forty-seven years of
age and she is about forty-three.—The richest young
ladies in New York are the Misses Garner, the,
daughters of Commodore Garner, who was drowneca
under a yacht that overturned a few years ago. Fte,
made his fortune in Wall-street, and upon his death
was able to leave his daughters four or five million
each. They are charming young ladies.
THE MAORIES OF NEW ZEALAND.—A recent censt.ls
of New Zealand has revealed the fact that the Maories
are rapidly decreasing, and it is quite possible that a
generation or so may find them exterminated alto'
gether. The causes given for this national decay ao
love of drink, bad food and clotting, unwholesoine
dwellings, neglect of cleanliness, and generally loll'
social habits. In 1861 the Maories were estimated tie
number 55,336, but since then they have decreased to
43,595, or about 20 per cent. in 17 years, The natives
of Hawaii, however, are showing a still more rapid
destruction, for they have decreased from 57,125 in
1866 to 44,088 in 1878, or at the rate of 23 per cent. in
12 years, or 324 per cent. for 17 years. In their cao
the mischief is hastened by the prevalence,of lepros3r-
The Registrar-General of New Zealand is not vet
sanguine as to the recovery of the Maories from their
downward career, for, apart from their deficiency int
moral qualities necessary to arrest the process ei
decay, the history of aborigines invariably shows sA
inability to graft the habits of civilization on native
habits and customs.

GRAIN FROM AMERICA.—The shipments of grali'"
from the United States become increasingly heavy
the harvest approaches. During the last fortnigh°
no less than 761,500 quarters of wheat have been
despatched for Europe, of which 381,000 quarter
were consigned to the United Kingdom. Of mai!!
the shipments were still heavier, reaching 020,50;
quarters; and the shipments of flour have amountel
to 155,000 sacks. These large consignments have tolui
on the stock in hand, and the "visible supply
wheat is now only 14,000,000 bushels or 1,00,00ri
quarters, That of maize, however, is still high, ar''
this week has even increased a little. It stands now at.
15,000,000 bushels.
TIiE SUNDAY SCHOOL CENTENART.—We all knell
the questionable proverb that Reformed Raikes make
the best husbands. Going back a centurl, and look'
ing at what our street-.A.rabs were a hundred yetr!
ago, and what they are now—though still bad enougP
Heaven paid the other place both know—in one co°
at least we feel that "Raikea' Reformation" has beef'.
the best husbandry.—Punch.
THE CENSUS ENUMERATORS.—The Census will see:
concern England—it is coming on. The Unite
States has just had its turn, awl a paper is thus sar
eastic on the subject ;—The happiest men and wows
in this world are doubtless the census enumerato
Their daily labour is one continued round of pleasurf4
Their visits are never misunderstood. They are neo
mistaken for book pecUers ,or for agents who ha
the latest inventions in household utensils to rec
mend to the lady of the house. The domestics syll
answer the doorbells always recognise that they
bent on puhlio business, and no difficulty is found
obtaining suitable replies to any questions that re
be asked. Indeed much information is voluutee
that sensibly lightens the labours of the cee°:
enumerators. Their lines are indeed poetic ones, '
they deal in figurative expressions, and numbers
their days with music, while they learn the tims
at all their lady acquaintances.