The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-23 00:00:00

The Dutch Society for the promotion of
now numbers about 1,000 members.
-

crematiol

,
Over 200,000 watches are made every year
America.

------
"Torn Thumb's" fortune is said tube about £lOO,OOO.

Three of*the children of the German Crown Prince
and Princess have been laid up with a serious attack of
measles.
Amongst the charitable gifts of the Orleans Princes
during the la.st year, the Duke d'Aumale gave away 150,000
francs, the Count de Paris 75,000 francs.
The late Rev. Dr. Forbes, of Free St. Paul's
Church, Glasgow, has by his will •bequeathed for various
charitable purposes in that city, in Perth, and in St. Andrew's,
sums amounting in all to £lO,OOO.
Brigham Young is building a magnificent mansion.
"No house in New York or San Francisco," he says," shall
' compare with it."
The Sweli,h Rigsdag was reopened on Monday.
The R3y al Speech mentioned bills for the reorganization of
the army and navy, together with measures to render
inlitary scrvi •e compulsory. The Chambers will also be
asked for considerable grants of money for increasing the
rolling stock on the State railways. Last year's surplus was
stated to have been twelve million crowns.
The Pittsburgh Commercial says that "a pack
playing cards, recently captured in an Indian camp in
Nevada by a detachment of United States troops, was made
of the skins of human beings."
The emigration statistics for the year show that the
number of emigrants, natives of Ireland, who left during
1874 was 73,184, against 80,149 in 1873.
The first and second Kings of Siam have quarrelled.
The latter has disbanded his.forces and taken refuge in the
Britiah Consulate,
Between the let of April and Saturday last the
Exchequer receipts amounted to £55,088,606, as cor.ipared
with £55,732,608, in the corresponding period of last year.
The expenditure has been nearly £61,000,000, sterling.
The Wesleyan 'chapel at Antley, near Accrington,
was destroyed by fire on Sunday morning. The chapel was
built about six years ago, and the damage is estimated at
£2,000, which is partially covered by insurance. A enter-
rs,,,nent had been held in the chapel on the previous
sight.
recent report on paper-making, as conducted in -
Western Massachusetts, contains a list of 112 different mate-
rials for making paper, from all of which an article of fair
quality can be produced. Among the list are enumerated
asparagus, beet-root, cabbage-stuuys, frog-spittle, hop-vines,
hornets' nests, lily of the valley, leather cuttings, mumme
cloth, sawdust; thistles, and s illow: twigs.
An address, signed by upwards of five thousand
clergymen, deprecating any fresh legislation whereby
authoritative sanction might be given to the use of the east-
ward position or a distinct eucharistic dress,. has been
presented to each of the archbishops and bishops.
Mr. Chamberlain' the Mayor of Birmingham, pre-
sided on Tuesday over the annual meeting of the Association
of Municipal Corporations, which was held at the West-
minster Palace RoteL Resolutions indicating the spirit in
which it was deemed advisable to amend the Borough Funds
Act was carried.
The Grand Hotel, Paris, has gone into the dairy
business ; it has long since turned poulterer, fishmonger,
and fruiterer. It has now its own cow-house, and supplies
at the depot, "milk fresh from the cow," at the rate of
twelve sous per quart, or, if bottled, sealed, and duly
delivered at the house, eight sons more.
A sum of £lO,OOO has been given by Government to
be equally divided between Edinburgh and St. Andrews
Universities for the institution of chairs of education, and
this is supplementary to an equal sum given by Dr.
Bell, £6,000 of which goes to Edinburgh an £4,000 to St.
Andrews.
'rue fields of sugar-beet near Sacramento, Cali-
fornis., are reported to have been saved a abort time back
from destruction by vast armies of caterpillars through the
labours of a flock of 3,000 turkeys. The struggle was evenly
balanced for a time, and the success wavered, first one side
gained, and then the other; finally the turkeys triumphed,
with the loss of one overgorged victim, from whose crop
alone were taken 1,500 caterpillars.
The New York Mail says that at the funeral of a
young lady in that city recently, the coffin was placed on a
platform in the parlour, draped with black velvet and, jet.
The flowers exhibited cost nearly 3,000 dollars, and a chorus
was sung by hired vocalists. On either side of the coffin
stood four young girls dressed in white, each holding a
wreath of flowers. While the minister prayed, a bell was
tolled in the hallway, and a chant was indulged in by the
hired vocalists.
On Tuesday evening, at the meeting of the Convoca-
tion of the University of London, a discussion took place
upon the motion of Mr. A. ile1113M&11, affirming the desira-
bility of women being permitted to take degrees in Arts at
that seat of learning. It was, however, ultimately. wish..
drawn.
A "Church Defence" Conference was opened at
Birmingham on Monday—the Earl of Dartmouth in the chair.
Amongst the speakers was Lord Lyttelton, who, after arguing
that a long line of Whig statesmen had always supported the
principles of an Established Church, referred to the difficulty
In which the Liberal party had been for the last few days
through the resignation of its leader. He would advise
Conservatives not rashly to throw away on this matter the
support of such men as the Duke of Argyll. Mr. Goschen, and
Mr. Forster, for so long as the Church dwelt in the affectimis
of the people, there was nothing inconsistent in Liberals sup-
porting it.
"I was talking to an old lady .who keeps a village
shop, and she was complaining that not long ago, when she
had her family of six children all ill, she ran up a doctor's
bill of £B7. Terrible thing for any one in her class of life!
I What do my reader think she did? She put aside all her
threepenny and fourpenny pieces, and hoarded them up for
her friendly doctor, sending a bagful when they reached the
value of five pounds She managed to get over her difficulty in
about four years; and she tells me she couldn't do it now, as
threepenny and fourpenny pieces are scarce. I suppose the
light bronze coinage makes a difference."—The "Loiterer" in
the Pictorial World.
A deputation of gentlemen presented to the Mayor
of Liverpool on Monday a second memorial, signed by 2,650
ratepayers, asking his worship to convene a town's meeting
to consider the position of Liverpool in respect to drunkenness
and crimes of violence. As DO definite answer could be
given to the query whether there had been canvassing for
signatures on Sundays, the Mayor said he would reserve his
decision, and in the meantime consider the memorial care-
fully. He must satisfy himself that the meeting asked for
would be fairly representative of the opinions of the whole
of the community.