The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-06-25 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Canadian larmers along the lower St. Lawrence are
complaining of the severe drought which threaten to destroy
the hay—their chief crop.
A scheme is on foot to establish a Colony of Jews
in the Western States of America. A Russian Jew is making
arrangements to begin with twenty families of agriculturists,
who are only awaiting his orders as to the spot selected.
The brewers' strike in New York has ended in A
triumph for the masters.
Letters of credit for American travellers on England
are larger this season than ever known.
Xll Shakespeare's English historical plays are to be
performed at Munich in the autumn.
Divine service was conducted at Balmoral Castle on
Sunday in the presence of the Queen, the Royal family,
and the household. The Rev. A. Campbell, of Crathie, offi-
ciated.

A small memorial cross of stone has just been
erected in the cemetery at Southampton over the grave of
Mr. Sothern, the actor. The cross stands about 21t. high, is
enclosed within a stone coping, the grave itself being only
turfed, and bears the inscription, "Edward Askew Sothern,
born Ist April, 1826, died 20th January, lasi."
A large specimen of the rare sea angler, known as
the fishing frog or devil fish, has been caught in Sandowu
Bay. Its measurement was 4ft. Gin, in length and 2f 1. 10in.
in width. In its capture it received such injuries that it
died in a few hours.
In Liberal circles in Madrid great satisfaction s ex-
pressed at the coxduct of the King and the Ministers in in-
viting Jews expelled from Russra to come to Spain. Sixty
thousand Jews are expected to immigrate into Spain, and
they will be allowed to take up their residence where they
think proper.
A subscription is being set on foot in Paris for the
relief of the sufferers by the fearful conflagration at Quebec.
A. telegram says that the quarter that was burnt down was
all French, and that it will take twenty years for Quebec to
recover from the disaster.
The rateable value of the City of London has (says
the Citizen) during the last quarter of a century increased
nearly 300 per cent. In 1856 it was £1,203,466; in 1876
£2,90g,086; and the total on the new valuation which has
just come into force is £3,537,561.
By a rarliamentary return entitled "Evictions
(Ireland)," issued on Tuesday morning, it appears that
during the quarter ended March:3 I, there were 1,732 persons
evicted, of whom 181 were readmitted as tenants, and 737 as
caretakers.
The death is announced of Sir George Kinloch, Bart.,
of Kinloch. He died at a ripe age. His family was one of
the oldest in the country, having existed fully five hurdred
years. His father, Mr. George Kinloch, was outlawed for
his Radicalism, but on the passing of the first Reform Bill
of 1832 he was elected member of Parliament for Dundee.
Sir George took a great interest in politics, and maintained
the Liberal traditions of his family. For this, and on account
of his father's services, he received a baronetcy from the
Gladstone Administration.
At the weekly meeting of the Land League in
Dublin, subscriptions amounting to £972 were announced,
including .£BOO from the Irish World. •
In London last week 2,480 births and 1,403 deaths
were registered. Allowing for increase of population, the
births exceeded by 29, and the deaths by 19, the average
numbers in the corresponding week of the last ten years.
The minuet death-rate from all causes, which had been
equal to 205 and 18•3 per 1,000 in the two preceding
weeks, rose again to 19.1.
There were 11 British and foreign wrecks, of which
three were British, reported during the past week, making
a total of 870 for the present year, or an increase of 226 as
compared with the corresponding period of last year. The
approximate value of property lost was £2,000,000, including
isritish £150,000. Only one vessel was lost off the coasts of
the United Kingdom.
The Agent-General for Queensland is advised of the
safe arrival at Townsville, Queensland, of the ship Seottieh
Knight, on the 15111 inst.
About eight o'clock on Tuesday night, OA the mail
steamer Blenheim was snaking for Plymouth, a pilot was put
on board off Cawsand from a boat, the crew of which then
pulled for shore. When off Penlee she was struck by .a
heavy sea and capsized. One of the occupants disappeared
Immediately; three others held on to the boat, which was
full of water. The steamer put about, but when nearing
the men another sea struck the boat, turned her over, and
all the men disappeared. One came to the surface and was
saved, but the other three were seen no more. Two of them
were Trinity pilots.
! On June 21 forty-three thousand eight hundred and
fifty-two emigrants had arrived in New York making
225,y94 tor this year against 165,034 for the corresponding
Period last year. , The steamer agents say that the move-
ment will continue at the present rate during July and
August.
' At Bournemouth, on Monday, a fatal accident
prei,rred in some works on the hest Cliff. A man named
Eli Newman was working in a sewer at a depth of Oft., when
the side gave way, and about a ton of sand fell upon him.
The deceased-was dug out, but it was found that he had been
*crushed to death.
The will of the late Mr. Hermon, M.P., has been
proved, the personalty being sworn under £588,600. There
are no charitable bequests, but legacies have been left to
brothers, sisters, nephews, and servants. All the mil and
personal property is vested in trustees, with power of solo.
Mrs. Hermon hits an annuity or £3.503 •, the stepson, Edward
Ryan, has £20,000; two sisters, £lO,OOO each; the residue
being divided between his son and daughter.

The Bishop of Ely, in opening the annual conference
of the clergy and laity in the Cathedral on Tuesday, expressed
regret that they met again under continued circumstances of
'ditnintdied prosperity and grave anxiety for the agricultural
:interest, which materially affected the incomes of the clergy.
Benefices had been vacated from the impossibility to hold
them, and others had remained vacant from there beitqf no
income. The question must soon force itself on for pAblic
discussion whether or not it is desirable that there should
be a consolidation of small parishes. Not only the money
question, but the' question of work, would force the matter
on. •

• A Reuter's telegram from Adelaile, dated June
18, says :- -" A. grand ball has been given by the Mayor of
A delaide in honour of Princes Albert Victor and George of
Wales."

Walter Brannan, a jouineyman baker from Liver-
pool, was drowned on Sunday afternoon at Llandndno, whilst
bathing near the Little °rifle's Head, lie and two other
young men went into the water together. The deceased
went out of his depth and sank. His companions, who were
unable to swim, raised an alarm, and a boat manned by some
local boatmen put off, but too late to save life.
At a meeting of the cleaning and lighting committee
of the Town Council of Edinburgh it was resolved to recom-
mend to the Council the experiment of lighting for three
months Princes-street and the North-bridge, as far as the
Tron Church, with the electric light. It is proposed to adopt
the Brush system. •
As a result of communications just received in Bir-
mingham precautions are being taken against possible out-
rages by Fenian agents. The Town-hall and Council-house
.are now specially guarded during the day by officials in ,
charge, and caution is exercised in the admission of
'strangers. At night a 'force of constables and detectives is
stationed about the buildings, and a strict watch is kept.
The additions to the Zoological Society's Gardens,
Regent's-park, London, during last week include a Chacma
baboon from South Africa, presented by Miss Agnes
Robertson ; a Rhesus monkey from India, presented by Mr.
Hamilton Kerr ' • Is Malbrouck monkey from West Africa,
presented by Mr. 11. Aylesbury, steam yacht Albion ; a
common ocelot from America, presented by Mr. P. Leckie ;
two common peafowl* from India, presented by Mr. George
stevensou ; a lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo from the
Moluccas, presented by Miss Rose Hubbard; three waxwings,
European, purchased ; a Cape buffalo, a Japanese deer, born
in the Gardens ; nine tamper ducks; a Jameson's gull, bred
In the Gardens. - ;, ;:, _

4hiott4 1,01

A war has broken out between the Sioux and Cree
Indians. The latter resisting the Sioux, a battle took pla2e
on the Woody Mountain, thirty Sioux being killed.
Leave of absence to recruit his health has been
_

gra—nie-di)iihe-Enlpe'r-or of Germany to Prince Bismarck.

Advices received by the Liverpool Journal of Com-
merce from Canada states that gold mining is creating a
large amount of interest. On the river Du Loup there are
richer indications than in either California or Nevada. In
Halifax several gentlemen are engaged in gold mining, and
at,Waverley some rich barrel quartz has been discovered.
The Cittre Journal- Nays -that the season of 1881 will
go down to posterity as the great "bazaar" epoch.
It is pointed out in the return of the Registrar-
Genera that there were S 2 deaths from small-pox in London
last week, including 23 of children under flve years of age,
22 of persons between five and twenty. 29 between twenty
and forty, while 8 were upwards of forty years. The number
of small-pox patients in the Metropolitan Asylum Hospitals,
which had been 1,6;4 and 1,633 at the ends of the two pre-
ceding weeks, were 1,612 on Saturday last.
The results of the fishing season on Loch Tay which
has just closed show that, although the sport has been
better than during the last two years, it is very far behind -
that of most former seasons, and especially of 1878, when
828 salmon were killed, against 366 this spring. The
heaviest fish weighed 39 lb., and the average was 21i lb. ;
last year a fish of 49 lb. Was landed.
The London Gazette of Tuesday night contains •
Orders in Council declaring particular areas to be free from
or infected with foot-and-mouth disease, and laying down
regulations as to the movement of animaLs in Warwickshire,
the borough of Kendal, and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
Her Majesty has forwarded valuable portraits of
herself and the late Prince Consort to adorn the walls of the
Royal British Female Orphan Asylum, at Devonport, of
which institution, for the reception of children of soldiers,
her Majesty and the Prince became patrons shortly after the
accession of the Queen to the throne.

An inquest has been held near Leicester on the body
of William Elson, a labourer, who was blown to pieces by
an explosion of dynamite in a tunnel which is being made
for the Great Northern Railway extension to Leicester. He
fell asleep in one of the headings, and did not hear the
warnings to retire. Death was instantaneous. A verdiot of
"Accidental death" was returned.
The German Government, alarmed at the number o
people leaving the country, meditates, it is reported, the
ntroduction of coercive measures against emigration.

Prince Bismarck has issued an Electoral Manifesto
In the shape of a letter to Herr Peter Odenwald. He says
the accomplishment of his economical programme depends
mainly on the support which it receives from the agricultural
population, who constitute a majority, and are strong enough
to secure by legislation their own and the country's interests.
A new uniform stamp, applicable for letters as well
as for receipts, will be issued by the Post Office in a few
days. It will be of a colour and texture which it is to be
hoped, cannot be tampered with for fraudulent purposes.
The stamps now in use will continue to be available both
for letters and receipts until the present supplies in the Post
Office and in the hands of the public are exhausted.
There is not, says the .Daily News, the slightest
foundation in fact for the statement that the Government
propose to have an autumn session. "In view of the fair
rate of progress now being made with the Land Bill, the
report, regarded as a conjecture, is singularly unfortunate."
A fine young shark, Bft. 3in. in length and rneasnr- •
ing 3ft. llin. in girth, was captured in the inner harbour at
Torquay on Tuesday evening by a number of fishermen.
It has been announced that the review of Scotch 4. • 3.!
Volunteers by the Queen will take place in Edinburgh on ...it
Wednesday, the 24th, or Thursday, the 25th August. It is
expected that Her Majesty will be accompanied by one or
more members of the Royal Family, and that she will stay a
few days in Edinburgh. Preparations are being made at
Holyrood for the reception of Her Majesty.!
The total value of the exports of domestic bread-
stuffs from the United States during May, 1881, and during
the five months and eleven months ending May 31, was re-
spectively 19,804,575 debt., 91,375,196 dols., and 244,955,370
dole., as compared with the following in 1880 :-20,032,441
dole., 94,100,895 dols., and 253,876,828 dols.

The electric light is likely to be adopted in the
Paris Champs Elysees, where also an electric railway is being
planned from the Place de la Concorde to the Jardin d'Accli-
matation in the Bois de Boulogne.
At Plymouth, in view of the prevalence of small-
pox, the Admiralty have directed a general examination of
the officers and men of her Majesty's ships at the home
ports, for the purpose of ascertaining the extent to which
revaccination may be necessary, such revaccination to be
performed by the medical officers of the ships.

A boy named John Baston, 13 years of age, at the
Tyne Theatre on Saturday night, was sitting on the outer
rail of the gallery, when he overbalanced himself and fell with
a crash into the pit, smashing one of the seats. The poor
lad who was terribly injured, lingered until Sunday after-
noon, when he died.
As many as 60,000 hides were recently exported
from New York in a single week. The average shipments are
about 20,000 per week.
Last week's receipts of cotton at all United States
ports have been 28,000 bales, and since Ist September
5,585,000 bales. shipments to Great Britain, 27,000 bales;
and to the Continent and Channel, 12,000 bales; total since
lit September, 4,212,000 bales. Stock at all ports, 403,000
bales.
A New Orleans telegram says that the visible
supply of wheat on June 17, was 17,200,000 bushels ; Ditto,
Indian corn, 11,500,000 bushels. Export clearances of
wheat for Europe during the past week, 2,370,000 bushels;
export clearances of Indian corn for Europe durin,g the past
week, 1,4243,000 bushels.

Count Baworowski has left his fortune of two million
guldens to the Austrian province of Galicia for scientiill
articles and philanthropic purposes. The capital is first to
accumulate to ten millions, half of it to be then expended,
and the rest to accumulate to 20 millions. The town of
Tarnopol receives his library and a bequest for an agricultural
institute.

At the sale of the Cobham yearlings on Satunlay
the twenty lots sold brought a total of 6,100 guineas. The
highest price obtained was for the half-brother to Sabena,
by Wild Oats from Jocosa, which sold for 1,500 guineas.
The eighteen Brenham House yearlings realized 3,650
guineas.

Another discovery of concealed dynamite has been
made by the St. Petersburg police. The police have for
some time been dragging the Ekaterinhof Canal, and on
Saturday they found two gutta-percha bags tilled with
dynamite, and connected by wires. Experts have pronounced
the substance to be black dynamite mixed with nitro-
glycerine, and it is believed to have been placed in the water
very recently. The quantity in both bags was 1 cwt. 201 b.

Professor Henry Morton, President of the Stevens
Institute of Technology at Hoboken, New Jersey, has
recently fitted up one of the large halls of the institute with
a complete and useful collection of machines, tools, and all
necessary appliances. This admirable workshop was form-
ally presented by Professor Morton on the 14th of May.
The fifth annual report of the inspectors of explosives
has been issued. They have visited every factory and
magazine on their books, and report with satisfaction that
not a single death has been caused by accident in the manu-
facture in the United Kingdom during the past year. In 306
licensed magazines two accidents have occurred, causing
three deaths, while miscellaneous accidents with explosives
have caused 29 deaths. There are over 15,000 registered pre-
mises for the sale of explosives, the condition of which is
reported as generally satisfactory.
Under the head of "Conscience Money " the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer acknowledges (in The Times), the
receipt of the second halves of notes amounting to £9O from
A shocking accident occurred on Tuesday morning
at the Chadwell Heaths Station of the Great Eastern Railway.
The express train from Colchester does not stop after leav-
ing the Brentwood Station until it arrives at Liverpool.
street, London, and as it was passing the Chadwell Heath
Station about ten o'clock, a middle-aged man stepped from
the platform and attempted to cross the line. He was
knocked down and killed by the train, his body being
mangled in a shocking manner. No one present was able to
identify the deceased.

The Lords of the Admiralty have decided upon
getting rid of a number of the steam vessels lying at the
various dockyards which have become altogether useless for
fighting purposes. On Saturday an order was receiied at
Chatham for several vessels to be broken up, the whole of
which were attached to the Medway Steam Reserve. After
the vessels have been destroyed the material will be sold by
public auetioa

In America an obnoxious insect having appeared in
certain parts of the West has given rise to a locust scare.
There is great alarm in consequence, and this is natural, in
view of the depredations committed by grasshoppeis in
recent years. Professor Riley, chief of the United States
Ethnological Commission, declares that the insect which is
supposed to be the locust is perfectly harmless.

The New York correspondent of the Standard says
that the largest purchase of land ever made by a single per-
son has just been effected. Mr. Hamilton Beeson, a promi-
nent manufacturer of Philadelphia, concluded a contract by
, which he secured four million acres from the State of Fl arida.
The land was a part of the public domains of the State of
Florida, Lnder the control of the Board of Interaal
Improvement for the State. Ur. Deeson's intention is to
work out a great emigration scheme with offices in England
Germany, and France.
About eight o'clock on Tuesday morning an alarm-
ing collision occurred on the North British Railway. While
a passenger train was approaching Camero. Bridge Station
it came into violent collision with a goods train which at
that time was being shunted. There was considerable
destruction of plant, and a goods van and waggons left the
rails. The passengers were greatly alarmed, and two or
three were so severely shaken that medical aid was neces-
sary. Fortunately no one was seriously Munk