The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-01-31 00:00:00

Vistellarteous

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL,

MOTTO FOR EVERY WELL-ORDERED DINNER-TABLE.
-" No larks ! "—Punch.

THE GAME LAW:EL—The Anti-Game Law League
has issued an address to the constituencies, in which it
is urged that every liberal candidate should be ques
tioued at the forthcoming election as to 1-ii4 willingne6s
to vote ior the abolition of the Game Laws, The
address also argues the case at some length as it affects
landlords, farmers, labourers, and the people generally,
and in conclusion says No sane man believes that
game would be annihilated if the Game Laws were
repealed, or therefore that moderate sport would be
destroyed. The simple question therefore for the
country to decide is whether the battne system shall
be upheld at the cost of injury to the farmer, demorali-
sation to the labourer, and injustice to the whole com-
munity; while even the landowner him!elf has to pay
the penalty for his enjoyment in ill feeling and a sense
of wrong in the mind of every man on the game-
preserved estate."
ABOARD THE BACOHANTB.—A False Alarm—the
Royal Tatto.—Punch.

DEATH OF A VETERAN.—To the list of Napoleonic
veterans who have died in Switzerland duting the
present winter we may now add the name of Johann
Oulumbert (locally known as Old John the Miller),
who passed away a few days ago at °umbels, in the
Valley of Lngnetz, in Granitinden. Had he lived
two years longer, he would have been able to claim the
dignity of a centenarian. He followed "the great
Corsican" when the latter inundated Spain with his
troops. This recollection was an Inextinguishable
plea%ure to the old man, who has been quite blind for
the la.t twenty years, and he was always glad to find a
listener to whom he could chatter on experienes and
suffrings as a soldier of Napoleon I.
--- -

THE MITT COLLIERY DISASTER.—The Mayor of
Newcastle-under-Lyne presided at a meeting con-
vened to take into consideration the desirability of
providing means for the relief of the sufferers from
the recent colliery disaster. It was stated that those
killed comprised twenty-eight married men and thirty.
three and that there were left dependent
u ba
twenty-seven widows, sixty-eight orphans,
ocsri single e inn
and eighteen aged persons. Mr. S. R. Edge, 3,(1.p.,
said that a permanent relief society should be esta-
blished in every mining district. He said that many
deaths from small accidents were never heard of
except in the4mmediate district where they occurred.
With regard to legislative enactments for the preven-
tion of accidents, he remarked that he strongly ob-
jected to legislative interference with labour, still he
thought, as the Mines Regulation Act had been the
means of greatly reducing deaths from accidents,
further lvgislative Power might with advantage be
breught to bear on colliery work.

A BROKEN "READ".—your pezusal of a favourite
author inter/noted by wait; piano organs. and other
nuisances.—Fun,

MR. GLADSTONE'S BIRTHDAY. —Acknowledging the
receipt of an address from the Accrington Liberal
Association on the occasion of his recent birthday,
Mr. Gladstone writes on the 23rd inst. to the secre-
tary as follows :—" Dear Sir,—l assure you that, even
independently of a very urgent and painful call to
tho Continent, it has been physically impossible for
me to acknowledge the innumerable marks of kind-
ness shown to me on the attainment of my 70th
birthday. But, in answer to your letter, I have much
pleasure in offering my thanks to your Association a%
Accrington, and iu expressing my hearty good wishes
for the prosperity of the body and cause."
MouNTAlNEknitia IN WINTER —A correspondent
writing to the Pall Mall Gazette from Marseilles
say s i—The British vice•consul here. Mr. Francis
Mark, who is a member of the French Alpine Club.
has just distinguished himself by an ascent of the
loftiest and one of the most diffictdt peaks on the
Dauphiny Alps. Mounting trout La Grave, Mr. Mark
and two guides reached the pass of La Leuze, at au
altitude of 11,100 feet above tne level of the sea, and
thence down the ether si.ie to St. Christophe-sn-
Groan°. Upon reaching the top of the mountain Mr.
Mark found that the roof of the refuge constructed
there a short time ago had been destroyed, and that
an attempt had been made to pul,l down the external
'
walls. The cold was intense, and no one who is not a
good climber would be wise to follow Mr. Mark s
example at this season,
MESSMATES.—Waders in the mud of the London
streets after a thaw.—Ptinch.

prevent danger
gEto—The only way '
er should be engaged,
GETTING RID OP RATS AND
of getting rid of rats effectualli, and
a(3 a BUM a year, according
to keep them clear of
of accidents, an expert rat•l'sil
who will unaertake, for a
tees,
house, with hollow walls
to the extent of the pre°'
farm within a hundred yards,
rats. I live luau old tvoated
aline were formerly au intolerable
eight feet thick, and It
serrentli gave warning as soon as
and the rats and
nuisance. Timid
they came, thioiring_ n., „ouse was haunted. "It is
.to lay it to the rats • but
well''m' talVey ni'oailsue's like that ghosts on house-
all very
no rats could
alloning about inside the walls all night."
back were g
I employed a professional rat-catcher, who
At last
Ivy whole f
premises—house, garden, stables,
keeps tear 0., rats and house mice. His plan is
L"oy the haunts of the rats the first night, and to
_"oisen them the second. He counts out and lays a
~,rtain number of pills, going round several times in
the night and renewing those that are taken, and
removing before daylight all that are left. The first
time he came, when he poisoned, as he said, more
than a hundred rats, and still more mice, I expected
trouble from the dead ones; but they seemed, as he
told me they would, to leave the house before they
died. Three died under a floor where a regular rat
warren had been formed. We took up one board to
get them out; the rest disappeared. Since that time
I have sent for the rat killer whenever a rat has been
heard of on the premises, and I have never had either
a rat or a mouse in the house.—" 0. NV, Dod," in
114 Gallas

PEW AUCTION. —The annual sale of pews in Ply
month Church (Mr. Beecher's) on the 6th of January,
produced 27,437 dole,, from premiums for choice, and
the aggregate rentals amounts to 12 852 dols. more,,
making the incriene of the church from this source
during 1880 40,289 dole, In 1878 the total was 38,068'
dole., which was the smallest since 1865. No attempt
was made t., sell the aisle seats.—New York Times.
THE PENALTY 03' PRIDE. Customer. Yes, it.
suits me, but I'm afraid it will be so awfully cold.—
Shop-walker. Cold, madam? Why, it is lined through--
out with real marten.—Castomer. Yes, and would be,
"arm enough if one could be wrapped up in it; but
it would be too awfully extravagant to have such expen-
sive fur and no show it I—Funny Polka.
LADIES' FASHIONS.—Ladies will wear waistcoats
precikely like the gentlemen's this winter (says the
Court Journal). Thiß will cause fearful trouVea.,
For instance, when a married man goes to bed hia
will have to put a chalk mark on his waistcoat, or
next morning he may slip on his wife's and not cis.
cover his mistake until he inserts his thumb and fore-
finger into his right-hand pocket for that "half-
crown," and finds a bent hair-pin or a dress button.
Then, no doubt, he will suddenly remember there was
a sovereign in the left-hand pocket of his waistcoat,
and a five•pound note in his watch-poet, and then
you will see him "do" a mile in about one minute and
fifty seconds.

"URn ATISFACTORY ARITHMETIC." Parson di I
wish to complain, Mra. Diggins, of the conduct .ef
your daughter at the Sunday school tc-day it wan
rude in the extreme "—Mrs, D.: " Ah, it's what they
teach-s her at theer Board school as dun it; yesterday
she come home, and she says, 'Mother, they are.
a.taching of me vulgar fraxshuns.' What can you
expex after that, sir ?"—Fun.
WAGES AT THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINES.—A.
very uneasy feeling has been created among the gold
mine owners of the Sandhurst district, in the colony
of Victoria, where a strike has existed for some con.
siderable time for higher wages on the part of the
miners. The strike has now come to an end, the
owners, according to the Australasian, having deeided
to resume operations at standard wages far day
labour; as, owing to the Government interfere-heel,
they had to choose between submission and confisca-
tion, and selected the lesser evil. To save their pro-
perty they are forced to pay a rate of wages at which'
they declare that their claims cannot be profitably
worked; and they have recorded a vigorous protest
against the coercive attitude assumed by the Minister
of Mines in singling out certain claims ti,orired con-
tinuously, while for many years hundreds of lessees
have employed no men at either low or high wages.

A HINT TO CERTAIN BETTER HALVES.—If you don't
put out your washing you'll very likely put out your
husband,—Judy.
PHOTOGRAPHS IN CoLoußs. —At any time these`
last twenty years it has been said, " if it were
only possible to photograph in colour ! " The mystery
has been solved—the secret has been discovered—so at
least it is said. A. humble little scientific workman
living in a Parisian cellar, has called out "Eureka!"
and coloured photographs, brightened by nature, and
without artificial means, are to be the fancy next
season. There is a vast difference between a photo.
print coloured by hand and an impression that retains
the colour that we see reflected on the glass of a
camera. Already Paris has developed the idea, the
right of this admirable secret has been secured for
England and the Channel Islands, and when the sun
comes again to cheer us the young ladies with beau-
tiful complexions, and the matrons with gorgeous
dresses, can be reproduced in a picture, not in dull
brown and monochrome, but in the colours that are so
charming to the eye. The new invention of photor
crome will cause a revolution in the art of portrait-
taking, and by its means the most charming land-
scapes, forest scenes, and flower-gardens can be
preserved for the memory. So may it be! Bat "hope
tells many a flattering a tale."—lllustrated London
News.

EUROPEAN DISARDIAMENT.—A Conference in sup-
port of a general European disarmament has been
held in Liverpool, Mr. Hugh Mason presiding. A
letter was read from the Bishop of Manchester, ex-
pressing sympathy with the movement, as consonant
with religion, reason, and sound policy, but stating
that it would be slightly Quixotic to think that any-
thing which the Association might say would have an
immediate effect upon the great European Powers.
In time, however, wiser ideas would prevail, and the
principles of peace and goodwill would advance. The
Chairman urged that England should set the example
in this as she had done in many other good works. A
great deal had to be done, however, to enlighten the
people, for there was still too much of that hateful
and ridiculous spirit of Jingoism which was fatal to
the growth of a better feeling. Mr. Henry Richard,
M.P. Mr., Peter Rylands, MX., and other gentle-
men addressed the Conference, and resolutions were
carried expressing regret and anxiety at the enormous
and ever•increasing armaments of Europe, and pro-
mising support to Mr. Richard's motion in the House
of Commons.

FROTHY.—Deuce of a Fellow: "Now, what will
you take? We've everything in the house—only say.
' Ale? ' You're quite sure you woull prefer that to
anything else? Quite ? ' (Calls to Mary to bring up
some of the very best bitter ale at once.)—Mary ap-
pears a minute later: "Please, air how much shall I
get, and will you give me the money'?" (Poor Brown!)
—Judy.
MR. SPURGEON'S lIRALTIL—OR Sunday morning,
at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, the Rev. Dr.
Manning, of the Religious Tract Society, officiating,
it was announced that the improvement which has
been going on for some weeks past in Mr. Spurgeon's
health still continue'. The rev, gentleman has been
so far restored that his determination to leave Mentone
about the 2nd proximo remains unaltered. His nume-
rous congregation consequently expect confidently to
hear him speak from tha Metropolitan Tabernacle
pulpit on Sunday, Feb, 8.
THE STOCK YARDS OF CHICAGO. —According to a
recent report by Mr. Zadok Street to the American
Humane Association on the subject of the treatment
of live stock on railways, the stock yards at Chicago,
which are the largest in America, and, perhaps, in the
world, contain no less than 1,000 cattle pens, 1,200 hog
and eneep pens, and stabling for 1,200 horses, As
many as fifteen hundred cars of stock can be unloaded
and attended to every day. The space they cover is
350 seri s, and they cost five millions of dollars. Even
the matter of repairs alone costs about 150,000 dollars
per annum, while it requires the services of 700 men
constantiy employed in order to do the work that is
required. They will accomodate at one time 10,000
cattle, 120,000 hogs, 5,000 sheep, and 1,000 horses, the
pens for the hogs and sheep being covered, while those
for the cattle are not. The extent and capacity of
these stock yards is not after all so very surprising,
when it is borne in mind that Chicago is the centre of
the system of railways extending for thousands of
miles into the Western States.

A TOWN WITHOUT A. PuBLIC•HOUSE,—Lord Zetland'S
feu rights in Grangemouth contain a prohibition
against premises being used for the sale of malt or
spirituous liquors. This' clause has hitherto been a
dead letter; but his lordship has just notified that it
will come into force on the 15th of May next; and as
the whole of the licensed houses in Grangemouth
stand on ground belonging to his lordship, this town
will be left without a liquor shop of any kind.
DUST STORMS —Writing to Land and Water, a
correspondent says :—I send you an extract from a
frietids letter from Cairo : No one who has not
witne,•sed these strange phenomena can form any idea
of their terrific approach and continuance. The
horizon, as far as the eye can reach to windward,
becomes gradually concealed by the rising of a dark
brown canopy, which continues to ascend, while it
makes a rapid approach towards the spectator. In
a short time he is assailed by a sudden gust which
ushers in the gale, bringing with it the dust sweeping
over the surface of the earth, and at the same time
descending from that height that it appears to fall
from on high, as it were a snowstorm, in particles so
fine as to enter the crannies; of every dwelling, although
doors and windows are closely shut. A universil
darkre,An prevails so far as to render candles imme-
diately necessary within doors. The foot passenger
in obliged occasionally to grope his way, and the
horseman to trust to his horse. The dust and
darkness which continued for half an hour during a ,
late storm, gave this city (Cairo) an awfully dismal
appe •
aranee—all the shops shut, a few solitary pas-
sengers with difficulty making their way through this
streets, the intense heat, and nothing but the whist-
ling of the wind heard, brought forcibly to the
imagination the solemn death of those who are buried
alive in the great desert of Africa."
LORD BEICONSFIEZD'S FANCY. —" Peace with
Honour." Mr. Gladstone's—" Peace, with Homer." I
—Punch.
A SAGACIOUS DOG I— The sporting writer of an
American contemporary gives his paper the following
communication about his dog Pot in lieu of an article,
the writer having been upset by a bottle on his way
home tall hurt his leg :—" He is a good and clever
dog, Sir, and he recently saved my life. A train was
"min', and in ten minutes more I should have been
run over. What do you think that dog did? He
grabbed my red bandanna handkerchief from roy
pocket, ran toward the train, and signalled it, and, b 7
George, stopped it and saved me—yes sir, But in his
death he exhibited a greater degree of gratitude 'lnc:
intelligence than he'd ever done before. The boyshA
leaned h m to smoke, and he'd steal off to some place
and smoke in spite of all I could do. Well, one night
he went to sleep in the cellar with a pipe in his month,
and the tire fell out on some straw, and soon the place
was in a blaze. Pot waked up in time to arouse the
family, and get them all out, but we couldn't save any-
thing. While we were standin' around, looking at the
burnin' house, all of a sudden Pot gave a bark, and
rushed through the flames. In five minutes after he
appeared in the library window, OD the second floor.
with something in his mouth. The flames had cut off
his retreat. He sprang from the window, and fell
lifeless at our feet. And now, sir, what do you think
that dog had in his mouth that he had given his life to
save? It was the insurance policy of my house?'

EXPLOSION ON BOARD A STEAMER. - American
advices give further particulars of the explosion of
gas on board the National steamer Greece at New
York on the 16th of January on her arrival from
Liverpool. The officers and crew of the steamer were
engaged in making her fast, and numerous lor g-
shoremen had come on board to engage in unloading
her cargo. Two of their number, Patrick Dunn and
George Welch, were removing the lower hatch, which
closed a compartment containing the steamer's supply
of soft coal, when a lend report and flying debris
created a scene of great confusion. The bodies of these
two men, who were in the hatchway, were blown into
the rigging, one of them falling on the top of the
charthouse and bounding from thence to the main
deck; the other went straight through the hatchway
and fell upon the coal. Several of the hatches were
also sent hying through the air ; one of them was
thrown into the water over the side of the vessel,
several fell urn the roof of the deckhuse, and one or
two came du.n with a cra3'u on the main deck of the
steamer. As soon as the officers and crew had re'
covered from the first shock the ship's hose was taken
out and water thrown into the hold. An alarm of
fire had been sounded in Hoboken, and within three
or four minutes after the explosion occurred a fire en-
gine was on the pier, and as nothing had taken fire
but the sheet of tarpaulin hanging on the wire-atax,
04 Una won opoodily C4üiguishd,