The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-01-11 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEW.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

The Worcester Town Council have resolved by a
majority of 24 to 10, to provide cutlasses for the police of the
town.

The death is announced of Dr. Mark, so well known
for his exertions in popularising music among the young.
Dr. Mark die at Manchester after an illness of live months.

The New York. Herald states that the authorities at
Montreal apprehended a Fenian rising at Christmas, and
the troops were held in readiness to act in case of necessity.

The death, a week since, of Mr. Joseph Glass ought
not to pass without a word of mention. Mr. Glass was the
originator of the chimney sweeping machine, without the
aid of which the efforts of philanthropists to do away with
climbing boys would hardly have succeeded. Mr. Glass
never patented his invention, but gave it to the public with-
out any remuneration.

Mr. John Sarah, of Plympton, under steward to the
Earl of Morley, has been found dead in the river Lairs. His
death is believed to have been aenidentaL

The news given that Mdlle. Patti WU about to be
married to the 31 arquis de Cams, sou-in-law of the Duke de
Valmy, is contradicted.

- •
The proposition asking Congress to retain the Freed-
men's Bureaux has been defeated in the Virginian Con.
vention.

A delegation from the Virginia Conventi^n has
petitionei Congress to enact alaw for the further protection
of negro rotor, in Virginia, who, the petition alleges, are
competted to vote In accordance with the views of their
employers.

The Unita Cattolica gives the number of CathOlio
journals published in Italy as 30; 10 daily, 15 weekly, and
13 monthly.

"A work is preparing for publication which is
likely to attract more attention than most of the class to
which it professes to belong. It is a collection of original
poems on occasional subjects and a great variety of themes,
nearly all of a serious stamp, and of a character which by
many may be deemed to belong to the moralising vein. The
volume will he inscribed, by permission, to one of our most
distinguished men of letters: and the author is no other'
than the celebrated Miss Ada Menken."—Court Journal

The average cost of a Prussian soldier,. includ ng
the pay of the officers, dcc., is estimated at aao a-year ; of a
French soldier, £4O a.year; John Bulls re-Pcoats, £lOO a.
year.
. . . . . .

--Another military reform is taking place in Prussia;
the authorities are shortening the men's trousers and
lenkthening their hoots !

This curious theatrical announcement has been pub-
lished A society belonging to the New Jerusalem
Church, Portland, are about to bring out a new fairy we.
rette." 0 Jerusalem Jerusalem 1

Of the 109 railway bills announced for consideration
In the impending Session of Parliament, six have bean already
withdrawn. One of these is the bill by which it was pro-
posed to dissever the blintonrgh and Glasgow from the North
British. The railway landness of Parlianient in 186815 likely
to bottle lightest known in ainy year since 1856.

The Catholics who some time ago committed such
shocking excesses at Barletta have been tried. There were
sixty-two prisoi.ers. Twenty-four were acquitted, and
about a score were sentenced to a term of years' imprison-
ment in irons. The rerna:nder received.mipor punishments.

. • -
The French authorities have lately been buying up
in the English market large quantities of teak. .Now, as
this wood is used largely for armour backing,jt would follow
that iron shipbuilding for war purposes is not to be
neglected during the present year in France.

_
A list of 24 British railways, with the prices quoted
on the Ist of January, 1807, and on Thursday, Janus's, 1,
1868, shows a loss of value in twelve months of £l7 137 JOO.

_ .
In the United Stites paper is being introduced asp.
material for mill bands. It appears to arswer very well,
being stronger than, and as flexible as leather ; lust the
specimens are not very even at the edge. Great diffi-
culty has been encountered in de‘ising machinery for trim-
ming the edges of the belts as the cutting blades cannot
be kept sharp.

It is said that the gold mines of Nova Scotia, taking
their magnitude into account, are among the most produc-
tive in the world. The yield in 1866 was 25,484 minces, and
this year it is expected to reach thirty thousand ounces.
The imartacrushing has been especially successful, and the
earnings of individual miners averaged upwards of three
hundred pounds per annum. These facts will serve to make
Nova Scotia a more attractive field of emigration than it has
hitherto been.

The licenses for keeping dogs issued last summer ex-
pired on the 31st ot December, and will require to be re-
newed immediately by persons who Intend to keep spy dog
or dogs of the ace of six months and upwa,ds. In addition
to the licence duty of Is., persons who kept dogs before
May last have still 7s. to pay, under the old laws.

_
It is stated that Mr. John Bright, M.P., has de-
clined more than twenty invitations to atteng public meet-
ings since the close of the special session.

The insurance of money on the lives of great public
characters is a common thing. It is said that, for instance,
when the Duke of Wellington and Lord Palmerston diet, is
large 111110,.er of policies became payable, of the existence
of which neither of these eminent men knew anything : and
Oil di/ that when the Queen ,Whom liod preserve!, dies, the
same thing will happen, though on a much larger scale.
There is a mani I for Mr. Dickens's readings in the
United statas of such force and magnitude that the day
breaks—we hope not no cold a day as we have had recently
in England—on hundreds of persons waiting in file at the
box office to be supplied with tickets.

- -
The eruption of Vesuvius has ceased to be merely
a beautiful spectacle, and has become a source of panic. It
has assumed, we are told, alarming prottortions. An im-
mense current of lava has overflowed the central cone, and
is now skirting the hill on the west and north-west, and
approaching the village of Cercola Constant shocks and
detonations are oceurroor, and terror prevails in the villages
on the slopes of Vesuvius.

The weather appears to he much more severe both
in France and Italy than in Enchant. The Seine is frozen
over at Paris, awl from the South we learn that the Rhone
and the Durance are also frozen over. At Avignon the ther-
mometer was seven degrees below zero on Friday.
_ _ .

---
Marshal Niel has been moat severely tried by sue•
cessive family afflictions. A telegram was handed to him
as he concluded his speech In the French Senate, which
created so great a sensation, on elame 5 of the Reorganisa-
tion BIM lie contents conveyed to him the sudden death of
his brother. Six days later his sisterrin-law, Nlaianic
Nee Dc Saget, died ot tile same disease as her bighead.
The last shipload of eons jets for Western Austtalia
left this eountry three weeks since. Henceforth no holds
will In sent to any part of Australia, An engagement nag
entered into In 1564 by the home gpvernment with the
Australian govertonent that no convicts should be sent to
that colony atter the end of 1067. •-

Some said that the Parisian custom of sending cards
on New Year's Day was gradually dying out but this season
it seem's to have become a greater furore than ever says a
Paris correspondent. In fact, it is a capital molest way of
gently reminding grand acquaintances Of one's existence of
making party givers understand that the sender is ready to
dance, eat dinners, and is in every way open to invitations.
Since the Ist, no less than three millions of cords have been
posted and distributed! A tangible proof that the practice
Is not about to fall into desuetude !
A correspondent of Saunders's News. Letter says that
on the night of the find instant a murderous attack was
mace on COIOnd Forbes, a magistrate of the county of Gal-
way, at his resideuce, Rusheen corns, by a man with his
fate blackened and otherwise disguised. Colonel Forbes
lies in a precarious state. Die residence is about fifty miles
from the tosu of Galway, in • very lonely part of the
country. Colonel Forbes's housekeeper sem thrown down-
' 6tairs by the perpetrator of the outrage, and considerably
hurt.
The Board of Trade have ordered a gold watch to
he prepared for presentation to Captain Bering, master of
the Danish brig Plink, as a reward for his humane service
in rescuing, on the 30th November last, 14 of the crew of
the British steamship Bride!, and the master's wife and
child. The Betetol foundered before the boat of the Plink
could return to rescue the 'master, and the carpenter and a , seaman, oh,, utifortunately went dewn with the ship. The
Plink seas bound to Hull, but notwlthstandine the violent
Storm that was Mrwins, this courageous and humane Dane , changed the crone of nis vessel, and after eII C • motoring heavy
gales for four days, lauded the crew of the Bristrd at Cher- 1 botug on the 4th December last. A reward is well bestowed
ill such • case.