biglam/hmd_newspapers huggingface dataset:
The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

"Social fusion" is a new name for marrkge out
West. Sometimes it means social confusiou.
For sport, go to Texas. They have panthers there
thirteen feet long, and exceedingly vigorous ; and if you have
no sport, the panthers certainly will.
A young Paan. charged with being lazy, was asked
if he took it from his father. "I think not," was the reply.
"Father's got all the laziness he ever had."

An American, speaking of spiritualism, says, `f We
don't believe in any medium except the eirculating
medium,' and that has become so scarce that our faith in it
is shaky."

A lady, who has been reading law, is in the most
fearful and agonizing doubts regarding the legality of her
married condition. She says, "Lotteries are illegal, and
marriage is the greatest lottery in life."

An American says that, from his late experience of
English weather, he should imagine that "Rain, Britannia !'
oucht to be as popular in England as "Hail, Columbia !" is
In the States.

A local editor in Pekin, 111., introduced himself to
the public a few days since as follows :—" Sensational, dis-
tressing details of revolting murders and shocking suicides
espectfully solicited. Bible class presentations and minis-
terial donation parties will be done' with promptness and
despatch, Keno banks and their operations made a speciality.
Accurate reports of Sunday school anniversaries guaranteed.
The local will cheerfully walk seventeen miles after Sunday
school to see and report a prize-flght. Funerals and all
other melancholy occasions written up in a manner to chal-
lenge admiration. Horse races reported in the highest style
of th report.' tut are. I,roils sod c011i.1.6.1 in-
felicities sought for with untiring avidity. Police court pro-
ceedings and sermons reported in a manner well calculated
to astonish the prisoner, magistrate, and printer. Prompt-
paying subscribers and good advertisers, when stricken with
mortal illness, will be cheerfully interviewed, when lying
at death's door, with a view to obtaining obituary items ;
and the greatest pleasure will be taken in exposing your
private affairs to the critical gaze of an uninterested public.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

THE SUNDAY DELIVERY OF LETTERS.

At the Birmingham Town Council the question of
abolishing the Sunday delivery of letters, which has
been a good deal debated in the town of late, was
brought forward for consideration, and gave rise to
a rather protracted and animated discussion. A
few weeks since, at the instance of the advocates of
abolition, a town's meeting was called and presided
over by the Mayor, when a resolution in favour of
the discontinuance of the Sunday delivery was passed
with unanimity. In reply to the memorial embodying
this resolution, the Postmaster-General stated that the
question was one which must be decided by go-
verning body Of the town, and that if the house
delivery of letters were abolished on Sundays it must
be understood that the delivery of letters on personal
application at the post-office would be suspended also.
This latter intimation rather weakened the strength
of the Sunday rest party by detaching from them
many persons who saw no objection to the suppression
of the house delivery so long as they could obtain their
letters on demand at Um post-office. Nevertheless, it
was resolved to elicit the view of the Town Council on
the question, and a formal motion affirming the desir-
ableness of abolishing the Sunday delivery of letters.in
Birmingham was therefore brought forward by Coun-
cillor Wbateley. An amendment was moved by Coun-
cillor Collings to the effect that the stoppage of the Sun-
day delivery of letters would entail on the inhabitants
much inconvenience and suffering, and that any
further reduction in the postmen's hours of labour
which may be deemed necessary should be effected
by giving additional assistance, and not by depriving
the public of a privilege which they have so long
enjoyed. After a lengthened discussion the amend-
ment was carried by a majority of 31 votes to 22,
thus prolonging the existence of the present system.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

THE NEW WILL OFFICE AT
SOMERSET HOUSE.

We gave an account some little time since of the
New Will Office at Somerset House ; it is of interest
to notice the increasing number of wills and adminis-
trations to be recorded in it (remarks The Times). The
official return from the Court of Probate for England
shows that the number of wills and administrations
amounted-t 0.40,960 in the year .1873, being 1,000 more
than the number for the year 1872, and above 8,000
_more than for 1863. The personal property left by
these 40,960 persons Was sworn under £119,387,091,
being nearly four millions more than in the preceding
year, 1872. The average amount of personal property
in each case was, therefore, £2,915; the amount in
1872 was £2,888; in 1871 it was £2,826; in 1870,
£2,696 ;in 1899, 212,634. Every year the majority of
wills are "proved" (as the technical term is) and ad-
ministrations granted, not in London, but in the 40
district registries in the country. In 1873 there were
15,711 wills proved or administrations granted at the
principal registry—namely, in London, the personal
property being sworn under sums amounting to
the whole to £70,576,080; and at the country re-
gistries 25,249 wills or administrations, the property
being sworn under £48,811,011. If the deceased had
a place of abode in one of the country districts the
parties concerned have the option of proving the will
in the district registry, but not if the will is disputed,
unless, indeed, the small amount of the property
brings the case within the jurisdiction of the Judge
of the county court, and he makes an order to that
effect. These statements relate only to -England.
The volume of "Judicial Statistics" for Ireland
shows that in that country in the year 1873 there were
1,808 wills proved or administrations granted in
Dublin, and 2,152 at the district registries, making
-)ther :5,960, which is 90 more than in the preceding
The personal property of the deceased persons
was sworn under £7,301,614, averaging £1,844 in each
case.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

KINVER.

UNLAwFur, ASSAULT. - At the Staffordshire Quarter
Sessions, on Tuesday, before the Hon. and Rev. A. C.
Talbot, Deputy Assistant Chairman, Wm. Jones (on bail)
was indicted for unlawfully and indecently ansaulting
Harriet Goodwin, on the 3tb November, 1874, at Kinver.
Mr. Young prosecuted; Mr. Motteram defended.—Pris-
oner was found guilty of a common assault, and fined £5.
or, in default, to go to prison for two months.
ALLEGED TIIEFT.—At the Staffordshire Quarter Ses-
sions, on Wednesday, before Mr. R. A, Kettle, George
Caswell (on bail) was indicted for stealing, whilst servant
to James Samuel Bourne, on the 2nd April, 1874, at
Kinver, certain garden produce, and on the 25th June
certain other produce. and also on the 16th:July certain
other garden produce. Mr. Macnamara prosecuted, and
Mr. Corser defended the prisoner. The prisoner was
h employed
ewasehabrygetah ewpi
trho ssetceuatlino. r.g awnedrethe
ee r
taaritni eel
ue se
uwmitbhe
rws which
apples, which the prisoner had disposed of without proper
authority.—The Jury acquitted the prisoner.
SCHOOL BOARD.-1 meeting of this Board was held on
Tue-Alay, at which the Rev. John Hodgson presided. It
was decided to send a memorial to the Education De-
partment, in accordance with the form suggested by the
Hull School Board, asking the Department to adopt
seme method by which the efficiency of a school shall be
determined, the Board having experienced some diffi-
culty in enforcing their bye-laws, in coasequence of child-
ren attending dame schools, from the teachers of which
no returns as to attendance can be obtained. Generally
no registers of attendance are kept at these schools, and
the children are practically receiving no education, being
only sent to such schools in order to evade the operations
of the bye-laws of the Board.—After some business of a
routine character, the:Board adjourned to the 19th inst.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

PRICE ON ii PENNY.

PUBLIC NOTICES.

WANTED Immediately, for a Shunt. Time, a
YOUTH, cbo eau write Neat ti and no Quick
at Accounts—Apply to Perry awl nobberley, HiAll-street,
Stourbridge.

VV WOMAN,
ED, ItumediAtely, a Rerpectable
WOMAN, or MARRIED COUPLE. to Keep
Vie House of a Bachelor. Hu-band must have:r,golar
emplopueot elm-where. Good I;efer- ices n.quired.—
Addre-s, " 21 8.," Obset ver. Office.

A LADY of Many Years' Experience, who
resided s.veul yes.rs on ti.e. i.t, pro-
-1.06. s tinz LISSONS iii the_FitENCEI, GELMAN,
aou I.I.aLIAN LANLATAGL.S. No übj,-.etion to a
Morning Engagement for the vsnal bram,hes of npolishcd
education. Terms moderate.—Address, " Obser-
Ver Office, Sturliridge.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

BRIERLEY BILL.

DDUNKENNESS.—At the Police Court, on Monday last,
before Messrs. H. O. Firmstone and H. Smith, John
Smith was charged with being drunk whilst in charge of
a waggon and three horses, at Enville, on the 18th of
December last. The case was proved, and the defendant
fined 65 and costs; or, in default, 14 days.
DRUNN. AND REVDBING TO QUlT.—Titomas and James
Masefield, of Bobbington, were charged with being
drunk and refusing to quit the Bed Lien Inn, on the With
Decentter. Fined 4s 6d and costs, each.
COAL STEALINO.—Barah Bird, an old woman, and her
two grandchildren, Sarah and Samuel Bird, aged seven
and eight years, respectively, were charged with stealing
coal, on the Ist instant, from the Clay Works of Messrs.
Trotter, Haines and Co., of Brettell Lane. The case
was clearly proved, and the Magistrates having severely
reprimanded and cautioned the old woman, dismissed
the three prisoners.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

COMPULSORY GENERAL DISARMA-

MENT.

Under this heading the France remarks that an
enumeration appears in the Almanach de Gotha of the
strength of the German military establishment, in-
cluding Bavaria, amounting to a total of 31,830
officers, 1,379,600 men, 314,970 horses, 2,700
field guns, and 820 .pieces of siege artillery,
In detail these forces are classified as follows :
Staff and attendants, 17,000 men; infantry and
chasseurs, 994,900 men; cavalry, 107,000 men; field
artillery, 109,500 men; siege artillery, 61,700 men;
scientific services and railway corps, 40,900 men;
transport train, 45,800 men; administrative staff,
2,800 men; altogether 1,379,600 men. Moreover, an
order of mobilisation would call into the field an
additional force of 710,130 men, as follows: infantry,
578,310; cavalry, 67,580; field artillery, 51,00 ;
scientific services, 13,120; wherein are not included
the staffs and their attendants, transport train,
equipage, &c. To these figures must be added the
fourth battalions which Germany proposes to form,
counting for 3,400 officers and 152,100 soldiers.
There yet remains the new Landsturna, comprising
234 battalions of infantry, 17 regiments of cavalry,
and 34 companies of chasseurs, amounting at least to
3,718 officers and 202,500 men. The grand total re-
presents an army numbering over two millions and
three-quarters, viz., as above, 39,918 officers and
2,483,278 men, with about 320,000 horses and 3,520
guns, and a supplementary contingent of necessary
forces representing at least 335,003 men, or in the
figures given above no account is taken of the ambu-
lance staff, nor of the men liable to be enrolled under the
law of 1813, which would augment the army by at least
that number. If France, says the above-named journal,
for the future were to seek only to become the most
laborious nation in Europe, it would be for Germany
to set the example, by exacting disarmament from
.its
government; for Germany is far from being rich
enough to sustain in perpetuity the burden of an army
of 39,000 officers and 2 millions of men. An effective
strength of such exaggerated proportions places Ger-
many in the position of having to choose between
two alternatives—a new and early war, or conapulsory
disarmament.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

SUMMER AND WINTER.
fe e ta. (From Punch).

How curiously our fancies vary
Betwixt July and January! , , •
In Summer, little lady mine, `.l "
I twined your hair with eglantine,
In Winter, as, of course, you know,
Nought so becomes as mistletoe.
In Winter Cupid's favourite shop is
The drawing-room, and not the coppice
Your slippered foot adorns the carpet,
Each eye islike an azure star, pet, - f ,
And the white hand that pours the Hyson,
By Aphrodite! 'Us a nice 'un.
Forgetting Summer's golden splendour,
Let's sit with feet upon the fender:
Let's put the skylark on his mettle,
With singing of our silver kettle,
Laugh at the follies of this clever age,
And brew our Punch—all-year-round beverage!
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

THE "BESSEMER" STEAMSHIP.

We are informed that last week the propelling engines
of the new Channel saloon steamship, the Beasemer,
having been completed and the hull finished, excepting
some small matters of upholstery, &c., arrangements
were made for giving the vessel a preliminary trial.
Unfortunately, the machinery for working the saloon,
although in an advanced state, is not fully completed,
so that the trial of Mr. Bessemer's remarkable inven-
tion cannot be made for some two or three weeks to come.
On the run back to Hull, with the steam at a pressure
of only 191 b., and the engines making only twenty revolu-
tions, the speed against a strong head wind was ascer-
tained to be fourteen knots, or over sixteen miles an
hour, which was considered to make it certain that a
very high speed indeed will be attained with full steam
power, which should be 301 b. pressure, and with the
engines making nearly or quite thirty revolutions. The
steering of the ship was admirable, the ship answering
the helm very quickly, and turning in a very small
circle for so large a vessel. The behaviour of the
lower freeboard bow was watched with great interest
by all on board. The bow wave carried was remark-
ably small, and even when steaming at over sixteen
miles an hour, against a strong head wind and some
sea, the low deck was seldom covered by the waves.
On one point the trial exhibited a very remarkable
and highly satisfactory result, namely, the manner in
which the two sets of pa4dlexheels worked together.
The effect of the broken water of the forward wheels
Is so slight in its action upon the after pair of wheels
that; the difference between the revolution of the two
wheels was never greater than one to two revolutions.
—Railway Times.

A SINGULAR CLAIM FOR COMPENSA-
TION.
The Civil Tribunal of the Seine has given judgment
on a singular claim affecting the liability of Railway
Companies (says the Paris correspondent of The Tintez).-
Ten months ago a young man named Lubanski was
murdered in the conpe lit of the night express from
Lyons to Marseilles by a discharged convict named
Bayon, who was aterwaids convicted and executed.
The father of the deceased claimed 100,000 f. compen-
sation from the Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean
Railway Company, whose officials allowed the mur-
derer to transfer himself from an ordinary first-class
compartment to the coupe lit without paying the extra
fare, while the electric bell which the unfortunate man
had apparently endeavoured to ring was not in work-
ing order. The Court held that the officials were not
bound to demand the era fare at any given time,
that Bayou's appearance gave no ground for suspicion,
that Lubanski had not hired the whole compartment,
that communication with the driver is not obligatory,
being only affixed by way of experiment and having
been abandoned on other lines, and that it was doubt'
ful whether in any case Luba.nski could have given
the alarm. The claim was consequently dismissed
-
with costs. •
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-09

these youngisterg require strict handling, and the Fr-Ant
is whether rlafa.shing retards education or aids it. Each
contention has its advocates, but there is no dcnbt
that in the best schools of Germany, which is not
considered to be behind other countries in educational
inatters, flogging is unknown. There Seems to be a
_general demand for teacters4 a_ high order—for
thoroughly qualified men and women trained to the
profession after the most approved methods, who, in
the long run, will have little difficulty in moulding
their scholars to the performance of their behests.
Such teachers are obtainable only in one way—by
making their career attractive through the payment
of liberal salaries.

The recent discovery of gold in the Presidency of
Madras has not commanded that attention which so
tempting a subject might be expected to excite. One
reason of this, it may be assumed, is the general
recognition of the fact that all is not gold that glitters.
Quartz crushing and gravel-washing are expensive
operations, so that a district may contain tons of gold,
and be none the richer should it be spread over too
wide a superficial area. Besides, if the deposits are
worth anything, they very speedily attract all sorts of
characters from the uttermost parts of the earth, and
it that case it would appear doubtful whether India
would greatly benefit in the long run from an increase
of intrinsic wealth. The Indian Government has
sent a gentleman well versed in mining lore to
Malabar, to report upon the nature and extent of
these discoveries.