The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-11-09 00:00:00

creased her reputation by sustaining various parts at The—Meetin9 between Liringstone and Sta;-detT is
the Dundalk and other theatres; but her first import .
. nightly performed on the boards of one of the New tork
ant performances were at Belfast and Dublin, where theatres.
she had to sustain at a very short notice the character Amongst the passengers who left Liverpool on
Saturday for the United States was Mr C. F. Adams, the
of Zorilda in Tiniour the Tartar. In this too she made
American arbitrator upon the Alabama claim at Geneva
a still more decided success, and became for a time the
"Heroine of the Hippodrome." It is announced that during the current week the
A higher r&/e, ltiwever, was in store for Miss O'Neill, French Government will pay a further contribution of
200,000,000
who in Dublin gained fresh laurels in the characters francs towards the discharge of the indemnity.
of Lady Teazle, Portia, Blanche of Devon, ke in It is stated by the Paris Libcrte that smuggling has
gree,ltly increased in the north of Fran.,
which her wonderful command of expression in ail its and that the Govern-
variety soon made her something more than popular.
Her acting of the part of Adelaide in the play of that hOn Saturday a guard of a goods train was crossing
e Gat ss'estern Railway, near the Bridgen,l station when
name, written by the late Mr. R. Lre
. SheiL first made te was Imozked down by a passenger train and killed imme-
the famed Mi. O'N ei 11 widely known in London, where thately. The deceased was a native of Gloucester.
she made her debut on the 6th of October, 1814, at Covent The Frenchmen resident in New York have formed
(-1 ard en, under the auspices of J aim Kem ble, as Juliet. In a society for the in-lief ,d refugees from Alsace and Lorraine,
thisshe made a greater hit, to use the professional term, many of whom have conic, and are now coming, to this
than any actressof herday haddone. "When the curtain country. They are gattiming a fund for this object.
fell," writes one who was present on the occasien
, On account of the dissatisfaction caused by the per-
and the comedy of the Mercy Wives of IVinelsor was mission given to six publicans at Brighton to ktep open one
announced for the next evening, there was a universal hour longer thou ihe rout--three of the house. being near the
cry for the repetition of Borneo and Juliet, which was theatre—the privilege has been revoked.
accordingly substituted, in compliance with the Early on Monday morning, the large drapery ware-
house of Messrs. Nathaniel Evans and Co., at Limerick,
loudly expressed with of an audience crowded up to
the very ceiling." From that day forth Miss O'Neill was burned to the i.touud. The entire street was en-
became one of the leading favourites of the London daug'rel
stage, and it was whispered by many of
.her admirers hT ho report that Mr. Edmund De La Poor, M.P.,
that she would ultimately disturb Mrs. Saldons in her r.ti.,:uaretoirrrer firhozomthee
iwsnihdti;manel. wiliisrabi!isoututopeeeni!ser a
possession of the tragic throne. But here they were tiroment will cause a vacancy in Waterfordcounty. re-
mistaken ;it was not likely that the " Dove " An excellent id a '
O'N she was called by friends would Th being carried out m' Mauchester.
e school children hyacinth bulbs given them to grow, eill, as her .
enter upon an equal contest 'with an " eagle" of the and nourish, and attend to. Prizes will given to the best
stamp of Mrs. Siddons ; and, to do her justice, it must spike of bloom in due season.
be owned that Miss O'Neill enjoyed the refutation of A Berlin correspondent writes that the Russian
being one who always wished to avoid actingcharacters Government have determined to construct a military port in
for which she felt herself unfitted from youth, her the Bay of Balaklava, the harbour of Sebastopol being set
manner, and her want of physical force—such as Lady apart for merchant ships. 1
Macbeth and Queen Katharine, characters better The Treaty of Commerce with France was signed
p:ty,.tatc.,lndhy.,la.
suited to actresses of the Siddons type. But the on Tuesday by Lord Granville, on behalf of her Britannic
Belvedera of Miss O'Neill comprised probably the
ntd";ll."Ostiet7uve7do.nc behalf of Atlin'ei'Pere' al-
most perfect combination of youth, beauty, and in- nut of the French Republic.
tellect which the English stage has exhibited since
finAt
ot,e‘ltrebearlf
offm,(....alctutta announces that from the
the early days of Mrs. Siddons. The melting power
been h'2S 7 s anli tAsr,adehattrir itin°geati of tenderness was always her peculiar attribute, and .2.5 ft
gt tr,er ha.vne
that which called forth the glowing admiration of her soldiers and their wives and children. the disease was still
audience, and hence she found herself especially at lingering, but its intensity had decreased.
' home in the character. Her reign in London, however, A miserable boy bought a Roman candle, and chalk.
was brief, being limited to five years; as at the rod of lug it perfectly white succeeded in palming it off on his aged
that time, in December, 1819, at the age of 27, she grandmother as a genuine tallow article. When that ex-
gave her hand to Mr. (afterwards Sir) William Wrixon cellent lady came to light It, the deception was soon ap
Becher, lit. P. for the borough of Mallow, an Irish parent
gentleman of fortune, and an accomplished theatrical At the Lancashire District Quarterly Co-operative
amateur; the ceremony being performed at Kilfane Conference on Saturday, a resolution was adopted in favour
of forming a national co-operative union. It was stated
by the can of Ossory. that there are in England and Scotland about 400 000 re-
During her brief reign on the stage she had made gistered members of co-operative societies, with a capital of
money enough to secure a provision tor her father and £3 004),000, and a turnover" of four times that amount.
other relatives, and a contemporary account adds that In the last nine months the total of silver and gold
the whole of her earnings were settled on her family, exported was £22 304.935, against £l9 895.193 in the corers-
LadyprecedingG.nyrand.n y t
amountedyh' year
hr . e
. Thetl
0 largestls6toamount272a n s
tsu nt
to
Becher bad spent the last 22 yearn of her life
l'wXg:ypnatiittr.ht'prYehere'ri‘edsTooGfrtthemteo in widowhood, retired from the world, and residing for
the most part in the remote district in which she
breathed her last. By her union with Sir William It was only on Monday last, that the Leicester
School Board, which has been in existence nearly two years,
Becher she had a family of three sons and two appointed a committee for the purpose of framing bye-laws.
daughters, and her eldest son is the present baronet. No schools have yet been erected by the board, but provision
for 6,000 children is contemplated.
At the half-yearly meeting of the National Agricul-
tural Union at Leamington, on Monday, a message of cordial
sympathy was received from Archbishop Manning, and EMI
from the Trade Council of London. It was decided to-bold
a mass meeting in London next month, to promote the emi-
gration scheme. _ . _

Ile remains of Lady Becher were interred last
Friday in the family vault, at Castlemartyr church.
yard. The funeral certege was more than a mile in
length. The chief mourners were Sir Henry Wrixon
Becher, Bart., Mr. John Wrixon Becher, and Mr.
William Wrixon Becher, the three sons of the deceased.
The tenantry of Sir H. W. Becher, to the number of
200, walked four abreast. The windows of the Bally.
haPs National School, in which the deceased lady took
a deep interest, were draped in black, and a black
streamer was suspended from the roof.

A labouring man and his wife have been burned to
death in their residence in an alley off the shank-hill-road
Belfast. They were seen to enter their home on Saturday
night in an intoxicated state, and both were found dead on
the neighbours breaking opeuthe door next morning.
The Japanese ambassador, accompanied by Sir Harry
Parkes, visited Coventry on Saturday. He was received by
the mayor, and after visiting the various factories, churches,
and St. Mary's Hall, lunched at the Chamber of Commerce.
In responding to the toast of hie health the ambassador said
he would try and send more and better silk.
Intelligence has been received from Boulogne of the
death of a French fisherman, named Coppiu, from injuries
received in the Kelvedon railway accident. The deceased
marl was on his way home, and although he was supposed
not to be seriously injured, the shock to the system caused
death a few hours after he reached France. Ile leaves a
widow and three children.
There is a story going the rounds that M. Thier's
tailor sent him a dressing-gown some Inches too long.
Madame niers, her sister, and a lady friend were present at
the trying-on, and noted the number of inches necessary to
shorten it. All three ladies, severally and unknown to each
other, effected the alteration, and when the Head of the
State next essayed it he found it had been improved into a
jacket.
An agrarian outrage is reportd from Ballintemple,
near Longford. A farmer named Farrell, residing there, was
sitting on Wednesday night at his own fireside, in company
with another man, when two men entered the house, pre-
sented firearms, and made Farrell go omen on his knees, and
promise to give up immediately a fann which he had recently
taken front Mr Cuaack. The men fired shots as they were
leaving the house. Farrell states that he is unable to identify
the men.
On Saturday night, Major Beaumont M.P., speaking
at Southampton, said that the Roy-al Engineers were not
adequate in numbers to perform the duties required of them.
He spoke highly of the Volunteer service, and said the
Volunteers ought not to be asked for more than their time;
Geverrimeut should grant enough to relieve them of their
pecuniary responsibilities, demanding of them in return a
fair standard of efficiency. Army organisation had not re-
ceived a satisfactory solution by the recent MIL
"A woman of notoriety in Rutherfordton, N.C., has
been fined by the Mayor of that ilk for the dread fel offence
of calling the Marshal • Old Pewter Buttons ' It was felt
that if such disrespect for dignitaries was permitted, the
liberties, prosperity, and possibly the very existence of the
United States (so called) would be seriously threatened. So
the buttons of the N.C. Bumble were avenged, and that par-
ticular part of the country, at least, is safe."—Nelv York
Tribune,
The Correctional Tribunal of the Seine has just
given judgment in the case of the duel between M.
Ordinaire, deputy, and M. Cavallg, a writer on the Patrie.
An article in that journal, and which provoked the en-
counter, related to the Bordone affair and General Gail-
baldis staff during the war. M. ordinaire, being named,
took offence and sent a challenge, which led to his receiving
a slight wound. The court condemned 31. Cavall6 to six
days' imprisonment and 500 f, fine, and each of the seconds to
pay 1001.
A newspaper correspondent in Italy, writing from
Ferrara on the 30th ult., gives a melancholy picture of the
inundated districts. Trees lie flat on the ground, rooted up
by the force of the floods. The meadows and fields are strewn
with sand and stones. One-third of the houses facing the river
at Casalmaggiore are entirely covered by the water. Those
which are not destroyed are abandoned. The wealthy have
fled the neighbourhood; the p, or wander about, trusting
to charity for their subsistence. No such inundation of the
Po, says the correspondent, has been seen during the present
century.
The Dundee Courier says :—" On Sunday, the
Queen, accompanied by Prince Leopold and Prineees Beatrice,
attended Divine service in the parish church, Crathie. The
Rev. Or. Barns, of Glasgow, preached an eloquent sermon from
Revelations, chap. 22, v. 28, • Surely I come quickly ; even so
c ,me Lord Jesus' The church was well filled. The Right
Hon W. E Forster hae left the Castle, and Lord Cherie.
Fitzroy has arrived. Priuce Leopold has recovereo so far as
to be able to walk a little, butts >et very lame. LI is under-
stood the Queen leave Balmoral on the 21st inst.-
A few days since a lady, well known in the literary
annals of Germany, died at an advanced age at Weimar.
Ottilie von Goethe, the widow of Goethe's only son, and
herself a writer of uncommon ability, departed this life ma
the 26th of October. In the days of her father. in-law she
used to do the freemen of the house, and presided at many a
social gathering marked by the presence of the most emblem
authors and politicians ot the age. Goethe, it Is well kno 555,
loved her as a daughter, and admired her as a poet and a
littgratenr, and at the time when she edited the Mitternaeht
Zeitung (Midnight Gazette), used to speak of her as oue of
the ablest critics of the age. She retained the vigour of her
mental powers until her death.
During the week ending Saturday last 5,363 births
and 3,163 deaths were registered in London and twenty other
large cities and towns of the United Kingdom. The mor-
tality from all causes in these towns was at the rate of 22
deaths annually to every 1,000 persons estimated to be living.
In the metropolis, 2,291 births and 1,306 deaths were re-
gistered, the former having been 34, and the latter 230,
below the average. Fourteen persons died from small-pox,
12 from measles, 21 from scarlet fever, 2 from diphtheria,
28 from whooping-cough, 24 from different forms of fever,
and 18 from diarrhea. 'these 119 deaths were no less than
198 below the corrected average number from the same se
diseases lathe corresponding week of the last ten years.
There has been great excitement at Kidderminster
at the municipal elections, and in the streets there was as
much commotion as at one of the old-fashioned parliamentary
elections. Several persons were mused by the roughs in the
streets. A considerable number of "illiterates" polled.
The election was fought out as a party question, and ended
in the return of four Mende and two Conservatives. Al-
though there was so much excitement in the streets, the
polling itself went on quietly, and was in marked contrast
to what has been seen at former municipal elections in the
town.
A serious dispute has arisen between the employers
and the workmen lathe engineering trade of Glasgow. By
an arrangement come to in the spring, an immediate reduc-
tion in the hours from 57 to 54 per week was granted, and a
further shortening of the time to 51 hours was to take effect
on the let inst. The men had privately arranged to take the
extra half-hour's leisure at the close of the working day, and
to change the dinner-hour, but to this the employers object,
as it does not suit the arrangements of the works The cote
sequence is that several hundred engineers came out on
strike on Friday, and the dispute has teen further cor,pli.
rated by a misunderstanding which has arisen as to Voether
the same wages will be paid for the 51 hours as frJr the 54
hours week.—Scoeonon.
A few days ago the Rev, Erskine Neale, vicar of
Earning, Suffolk, met, according to annual cestom, his allot-
ment tenants. The poor fellows said their "potato crop
had proved a total failure ;" but, nevertheless, one and all
came cheerfully forward quite prepared, then and there, to
pay their rent. The vicar returned it to them in full. He
remarked no abatement seemed to him to meet the severity
of the case; and therefore he declined to receive a single
shilling of rent—so far, at any rate, as the potato patches
were concerned, lie stipulated that next year they should
change their crop, and towards this he promised the cost of
seed, wheat, barley, oats, or beans, whichever they might
prefer. A meat supper and " bomabrewed" followed as the
finale of the Mint
There was a large and representative gathering at
the Mansion House, London, on Monday, to protest against
the evils of the existing African slave trade. The Lord
Mayor presided. Resolutions were unanimously carried de-
claring the suppression of the traffic an Imperative duty on
Great Britain, asking all who desired to promote the aboli-
tion of the trade to make its enormities as widely known as
possible, pledging the meeting to use all constitutional
means for the attainment of that end, and suggesting the
preparation of petal°. to Parliament. Amu/aura the
speakers were the &shop of Winchester, 31r, K. D. Hodgson,
M.P., Mr. H. Si. Stanley, Bishop Cleughton, the Earl of
Harrowby, Mr. (Away, B. P., Sir Bartle Frere, Bishop Ryan,
Lord Lawrence, and the Rev. Mr. Moffat,
Another great Frenchman has died—the great cal-
culator, Babinet. lie was not always fortunate, however, in
his predictions. It was Dr. Lardirer who expressed his readi-
ness to eat the boilers of the first steamer that crossed the
Atlantic—a diet to which even an ostrich might base ob-
jected, despite its proverbial appetite for iron. The doctor
also staked his reputation as a Anzio, to a Committee of the
House of Commons that no railway train could ever he pro-
pelled faster than ten miles in an hour, and that the slightest
curve would infallibly throw it off the rails. Si. Behind
also staked his reputation that no telegram would ever be
transmitted under the Atlantic to America. He did not offer,
like the aforesaid ',Sonya., to eat the cable which might
falsify his predictions, but was very angry with the Great
Eastern for precutting to uncoil the long rope under the
yeasty waves.
In expression of public sympathy with Sir Bartle
Frere'e mission to Zanzibar, a very influential meeting was held
at the Mansion House, in London, on Monday. The Bishop of
Winchester, who was one of the speakers, eloquently ex-
posed the cruelties perpetrated by the East African slave-
traders, who make the country explored by Livingstone the
basis of their operations, and urged the necessity of England
putting a little friendly pressure on the Sultan of Zanzibar.
'SD. Stanley was convinced that the suavity of Sir Bartle
Frere eminently fitted him for the delicate and difficult duty
he would have to discharge, but he was clearly of opinion
that the British Foreign Minister used not hesitate to use
very decisive measures to suppress the nefarious traffic. Sir
Bartle Frere spoke of the desirability of the political mea-
sures of the Government having the co-operation of com-
mercial men. Bishop Claughton, Bishop Ryan, Lord Bar-
rowby. Lord Lawrence, Mr. Otway, ?d.P., the Rev. Dr.
Moffatt, Mr. Kirkman Hodgson, M.P., also spoke, and
resolutions were adopted in sympathy with the object alike
meeting.

mII-po;

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