The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-11-05 00:00:00

MikEI,LANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

A COOL RIJNLWAY. —The failure is announced of F.
A. Williams, trading as Williams and Co., curriers and
leather merchants, of Northampton. The liabilities are
stated to exceed £30,000. Several thousand pounds of
forged acceptances are, it is said, in circulation.
Williams absconded, and directly afterwards a letter
was received stating that he would soon be" where the
Queen's writ did not run." A heavy loss will fall upon
the Northamptonshire Banking Company, and the
directors have resolved to meet it from the reserve
fund.

TIN WORKS STOPPED.-Mr. P. S. Phillips, the pro-
prietor of the Nantyglo, Blaina, Abertillery, and
Pontymister Tin Works, has decided that the whole
four works shall be closed, in consequence of the
advance in block tin and steel bars, und the lowering
of prices for tin plates. The stoppage will affect 4000
men. Mr. Whitehouse, of the Abercarne Works, has
already partially stopped both his works for the same
reason.

EXRIBITION AT WARSAv7.—A memorandum received
at the terireign Office from Mr. Henry Grant, her
Majesty 'a Consul at Warsaw, say s that an exhibition of
textile goods and machinery (open to all countries) will
be held at Warsaw about the middle of December, and
might afford a good opportunity of increasing the
importation of British textile goods and machinery
into Poland. The articles which are specially suited
for the Warsaw market are—Cotton yarns and threads
of high numbers, cambric, serge, Irish light linen,
Scotch tweeds and fancy cloths, silk stuffs and dyes,
beltings, and all kinds of textile machinery.
A MADMAN Deoiveree.—An inquest has been held
at the Barming-heath Lunatic Asylum, near Maid-
stone, upon the body of a patient named Arthur Linch,
belonging to Lewisham, who was drowned in the
Medway on tee previous day. The deceased, with
several other patients, was out walking in charge of
three attendants near Farleigh railway station, when
Linch, taking advantage of the fact that one of the
lunatics was seized with a fit, divested himself of his
coat and boots, and endeavoured to escape. He
jumped a hedge, crossed the railway, ran through a
wood, and then attempted to swim the river. He was,
followed by an attendant, and when he had neatly:
reached the opposite bank he suddenly sank, and when
the body was recovered 20 minutes later life was EX•
tinct. A verdict of "Accidentally Drowned" was
returned.
DON'T USE STALING•WAX.—A Paris corresnondent
writes: In a notice just issued the Post Office recom-
mends the disuse of sealingewax on ordinary letters for
countries over the sea. It often happens that the wax
is melted by the heat under the tropics, or by the
fnmigatiocs to which mail bags are subjected. In La
Plata, for instance, the letters are found to stick
together, so that they cannot be separated without
injury to the address, d are in this way often lost.'
Ortlieery letters ate quite sufficiently sealed with gum
or wafers, and registe e I letter', for which wax seals
are required, are carefully handled on the way.
HOOKING A Ha.—Three Paris gamins Were lately
observed to hold a long rod over the wall of an en-
closure wherein were several fine cocks and hens. Tbe
witness thought they must be "fooling," when sud-
denly he heard one of them cry out, "It bites
Tben he saw the rascals draw up a hen, which had a
fish hook stuck in its throat. and kill it. While they
were preparing to resume their operations the witness
ran fe. r a policeman and bad the " anglers" arrested.
They were each sentenced to a fortnight's imprison.
ment.
AN OLD ROYAL SERVANT.—Mr. William Wiltshire
one of the oldest of her Majesty's household servants,
was buried in Bromoten Cemetery the other dray. He
joined the household of King William IV. in 1836, and
was afterwards taken into the service of her Majesty.
Mr. Wiltshire held the office of Queen's Marahalrnan,
an mas on duty in charge of her Majesty's Jubilee
presents at St. James's Palace until about three weeks
ago.
A POSTM A STE R DISMISSED.—The Postmaster. General
has dismissed from his office Mr. William Owen, post-
master of Bodfari. near Denbigh, for taking part in sr
demonstration aeainst tithes.
FRT4INCIT FOOD.—Toe returns of the consumption of
food for Paris in 1886, as compared with those of 1881,
show a slight falling of in poultry, game, meat, fish,
eggs, wine and beer, and a slight consequent increase
in the cheaper articles of food—viz., bread, butter,
cheese, pork, sautaves cider, and perry.
Tete PLANETS.—Venus is now very brilliant in the
early morning. rising about three o'clock. She is in
the. constellation Virgo, and very near Spica (about
4 deg to the north of it). Macs is in Leo, and rises
aleant an hour after midnight. Jupiter does not rise
until about seven o'clock in the morning; and Saturn
alone of the large planets is visible during any part of
the evening, rising about half.past nine.
CENTENARIANS.--Mrs. Michael, of North Somercotes,
Lincolnshire who is well boo nin the neighbourhood,
attained her 100th birthday on Saturday last. The
death was on Saturday recorded of Mrs. Margaret
Brace, residing at Ty patrish Farm, Pembrev, at the
remarkable age of 104 years. The old lady had been
in the enjoy ment of all her faculties, and was in
excellent health to within a fortnight of her death.
A. I.IUNDIZED TIIOUSANO POUNDS !—A torpedo range
which is being made at Horses Island, Portsm' uth, at
a cost of about a hundred thoueand pounds, is to be
completed by the end of March, after which Portsmouth
is to be the centre for adinetirg, repairing, and storm r g
all torpedoes for the service.
A DRUNKARD'S FORTUNE.—A dealer in sacks, named
Tierney, has died suddenly in Dublin from excessive
drinking.. In his rooms was found nearly £2O( 0, and
having tao relatives, and there being no will, this goes
to the Crown. A neighbour who intended secretly to
extract the safe and claim the contents was cleverly
foiled by a charwoman.
LAST WEEK'S WRECKS.—Thirty-one foreign and 17
British owned vessels were reported last week as ship.
wrecks, being a slight increase against the previous
week. Off the Britieh Isles three foreign and nine
British vessels went down, two sinking by collision
Total collision cases decreased in eurnber to 29. A.
French s'eamer and a British barque were destroyed by
fire. A Genoese seller was reoorted with all bands.
Total wrecks for present year, 1296. Total number of
lives lost in all bottoms for present year, 2547.
SWINE FEVER. - Swine fever, which has created con-
shierable havoc in Lir celnetire this year, has now
abated to alargeextent, the Spaleing,Bourn, and Sleaa
ford divisions being prsetically free front the disease,
and the markets in the different towns being again open
for the sale of twine.
AN ENORMOUS EAGLE SHOT. Mr. 0003 era, of
Castletown (Thera era. county Cork, Las just shot an
enormous eagle, which for the last month had preyed
on the poultry of the farmers. Mr. Conyers saw the
eagle from a hill and fired at it; though ?lightly
wounded the eagle immediately made a desperate
swoop, but a second shot fired at 30 yards partially
disabled him. The eagle, however, still showed fight,
till a third shot placed him "hors de combat." 'The
eagle was found to be 6ft. 6in, from tip to tip, the
talons being of great length.
A NOTORIOUS NIHILIST—The Russian Nihilist who
has been arrested at Vienna and who gives the name
of Volgin, is believed by the Russian Embassy to be
really Leo Jassevitch, who manufactured the bombs
with which Alexander 11. was killed. The prisoner, on
the other band, denies ever having seen any bomb, and
asserts that at the critical moment he Was actually in
Siberia, whither he had been exiled for taking part in
the Anarchistic propaganda His extradition by the
Austrian authorities will, says the " Standard "
correspondent, depend on his participation in the
attempt on the late Czar being proved or not. How-
ever, the prisoner appears hardly likely to live even
until the documents for this purpose arrive from
Russia. He is in the hospital dying of phthisis with
Immorrhege.
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—The addiiims to the gardens
of Zoological Society of London during the past week
include two NiSDAS monkeys, from West Africa, pre-
sented by Mrs. Benett Stanford; a brown capuchin
from Guiana, presented by Mr. Edward A.B. Pitman ; a
dusky ichneumon from South Africa, presented by Mr.
L. G. Morell ; a three-striped paragloxure from India,
resented by Mr. J. Millar; a buzzard, British, ores
tented by Mr. F. Austin; a Pennant's broadtail, from
New South Wales, presenled by Mrs. Brooks; a
common chameleon, from North Africa' presented by
Mr. Abseil, two burrowing owte from South America,
Mr. John
0
n°l4:l' FE awe ahrtwe, F.Z.S.
Foxpresented by
IN
COVENT on Saturday
pre
morning an exciting scene was witnessed in Covent.
garden, London. By some means a fox had entered the
market, having, as it is supposed,escaped from a country
carrier's cart. At once it was eepied, and a chase in
pursuit of it commenced. At one time as many as 300
persons were in full cry after the affrighte i
Apples, potatoes, cabbages, even baskets and sacks,
reined around it as it ran. For fully twenty minutes
the sport continued, enlivened by a humorous incident
that provoked roars of laugh,er. One man more define;
than his fellows took off his coat, and, approaching the
animal, thought to throw it over it and then lie upon it.
He tried the experiment, the fox escaped, and the man
injured his face in the fall. At last the animal ran
under a travelling waggon, and was crushed beneath
the vs heels, a market constable taking possessien of the
body.