The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-02-24 00:00:00

Rlistrilancous

HOME, FOREIGF, AND COLONIAL.

A MATERNAL PREFERXNCE.—(From "A Book
of Parliamentary Anecdote").—Brougham, after his
elevation to the woolsack (representing the county of
York at the time), likea pious son—" as he ever showed
himself," says Lord Campbell—took a journey to
Brougham Hall, to visit his venerable mother, and,
kneeling before her, to ask her blessing on a Lord
Chancellor. The good lady still preserved her fine
faculties quite entire ; but while she reciprocated her
boy's affection for her, and was proud of his abilities
and the distinction he had acquired, she said, with
excellent good sense and feeling, "My dear Harry, I
would rather have embraced the member for York-
shire; but God Almighty bless you
THE BALANCE SHEET FOR 1871.—1 n the year
1871 the public income of the United Kingdom com-
prised £20,236,000 from Customs duties • £23,238,000
from excise; 19,644.000 stamps; 22,338,490 land and
assessed taxes; £688,000 property tax; £4,090,000
Post-office ; £685,000 telegraph service; £385,000 Crown
lands, net ; and £4,305,111 miscellaneous receipts. The
total income, therefore, was £72,209,111. From this
must be deducted the cost of collection and service
viz.. Customs and Inland Revenue departments,
£2,593,426 ; Post- office, £2,431,742 ' • packet service,
£1,170,128; telegraph service, £442,273. The expen-
diture for interest of the public debt amounted to
226,834,499; army, £15,342,080; navy, £9,780,530; vote
of credit (war in Europe), £1,350,000; civil services,
232,061.953—viz., £1,837,072 charged oa the Consoli-
dated Fund, and £10,224,881 voted in Committee of
Supply. The total ordinary expenditure, therefore,
was £71,981,633, leaving 2227,478 excess of income
over expenditure. There was also an expenditure of
£150,000 on fortifications, bringing the total expendi-
ture of the year up to £72,134.633, and reducing the
surplus to £77,478 ; but this item is not paid out of
the year's income, but is provided by the creation of
terminable annuities, which will increase the annual
charge for the public debt until their termlination in
1535
_ _

THE COMMUNIST PRlSONERS.—According to
an official statement preseutid to the Committee of
the National Assembly, to WTllch the proposition of
M. de Pressens4 for an amnesty had been referred, it
appears that the cases of 24,914 prisoners have been
disposed of. No less than 20,704 were discharged
without trial, and in the remaining 4,242 cases the
sentences were as follow :--Thirty-six prisoners were
condemned to death, 54 to hard labour for life, 341 to
confinement within a fortress, 1,002 to simple trans-
portation, 470 to detention, 21 to solitary confinement,
184 to imprisonment for periods of three months or
less, 584 to imprisonment for periods ranging from
three months to twelve months, 425 for periods
exceeding one year, 80 to banishment, 1 to the public
works, and 1,012 acquittals. Of the total number of
prisoners tried, 25 per cent, had been previously
convicted, and between 3 and 4 percent. were foreigners.
There were 11 escapes from the prisons and hospitals,
and 213 deaths in the prisons at Versailles.

HAIRY RIIINOCRROS.—A fine specimen of the
Rhinoreros Suniatrensi.l brought over to England by
Mr. William Jamrach, and purchased by the Zoo-
logical Society, was last week safely deposited in her
new Dome at the Gardens, Regent's Park. The den or
cage in which the animal came to this country was of
such gigantic proportions that it was found impossible
to get it into any of the, gateways belonging to the
menagerie ; Mr. Bartlett, the able superintendent,
therefore determined to back the " trolly " against the
palings, and having previously removed a portion of
them, the work of tethering the brute was commenced.
Fortunately, the animal is of a docile disposition,
otherwise Mr. Bartlett and his assistants would
have had a hard task. The roping having
been completed, the huge door was removed,
and the animal issued slowly forth, haa-ing care-
fully surveyed all round, and the men giving a
pull at the leading rope she started for her journey to
the elephant house. She behaved remarkably well,
and with a little gentle manipulation of the ropes and
with many a snort was led to her new domicile. She
now stands in the next apartment to the large male
Indian rhinoceros. This is the second of this rare
species ever brought to Europe, a much smaller one
having been landed in London about a month ago and
forwarded to the Zoological Gardens at Hamburg.
Mr. William Jamrach also brought over with him an
extraordinary collection of wild animals, consisting of
three tigers, two large tiger cat., live elephants, cue
male Indian rhinoceros, five eassoawries, some gigantic
storks, and a large number of smaller animals and
birds. It is remarkable that this large collection was
brought over from India through the Saes Canal with-
out a single accident or death._ _ .

- - -------
BARONETS.—The Lancet gives the
following list of practising physicians and surgeons
who were created baronets as a professional reward :
Edward Greavea, M.D., 1645 [There is some doubt
whether Sir Edward Greaves was ever legally created
a baronet; but Dr. Munk, a great authority, claims
him as the first medical baronet.— Vide Roll of Cattroe
of Physicians, vol. 1, p. 60.] ; Hans Sloane, M.D.,
1716; Thomas Molyneux. M.D., 1730; Edward Hulse,
M.D., 1733 • Edward Wilmot, M.D., 1759; William
Duncan, Mb., 1764; John Pringle, M.D., 1766;
Edward Barry, M.D., 1775; Clifton Wintringham,
M.D., 1776; George Baker, M.D., 1776; Cesar
Ilawkina, 1778; Lucas Pepys, M.D., 1786; Walter
Farquhar, M.D., 1796 ,• John Hay., 1717;
Francis Milman, M.D., 1800; Henry Stafford, M.D.,
1809; Gilbert Blanc, M.D., 1812; William Knighton,
M.D., 1813; Everard Home, 1813 ; James Wylie,
M.D., 1813; Wathan Waller, 1514; David Dundas,
1815: Matthew Tierney, M.D., 1818; Astley Cooper,
1821 ; Patrick Macgregor, 1818; James Alacgrigor,
1831; Charles Clarke, M.D., 1811; William Russell,
M.D., 1832; Stephen Hammick, 1834; Benjamin
Brodie, 1534; James Clark, M.D., 1837; Henry
Marsh, M.D., 1830; Philip Crampton, 1839; Henry
Holland, M.D., 1853; Charles Locock, M.D., 1857;
Thomas Watson, M.D., 1866; William Frrgusson,
1866; James Simpson, M.D., 1866; Dominic Corri-
gan, M.D., 1866; William Lawrence, 1867 ; William
jenner, M.D., 186 S; Jam. Pag,et, 1571 ,• Robert
Christison, M.D., 1871; William Gull, M.D., 1872.
The total being thirty-one physicians and thirteen sur-
geons. Sir A. Douglas. Sir A. Bannerman, Sir Henry
Northcote, Sir George Hampson, Sir James Stonehouse,
Sir William Dundas, Sir Eichard Croft, and Sir G.
Duncan Gibb all succeeded to family baronetcies while
practising medicine. Sir George Staunton, Sir Robert
Wigram, Sir J. Hutton Cooper, Sir J. Kay Shuttle.
worth, and Sir Charles Nicholson practised medicine
for a time, but were created baronets for services un-
connected with the medical profession.
Sr. VALENTINE'S DAY AT THE MANCHESTER
POST OFFICE. —lt is estimated that the number of
valentines which passed through the Marich.ter Post
Office on the 13th inst. was 251,000, being the
greatest number on record (says the Manchester
Courier.) In consequence of the reduction in
the postage which took place last October
the valentines, as a rule, were of a larger size
than in former years. Although the number posted
was in excess of previous years, it was found that the
whole of the valentines posted for the night mails
almost without exception, were duly forwarded. The
letter carriers were delayed much beyond their proper
time—notwithstanding the fact that each letter carrier
was allowed to have a boy to assist him in his delivery.
An amusing scene took place in one of the suburbs. A
post-office clerk on his way home, was astonished to
observe a policeman apparently converting himself
into a pillar letter box, and upon inquiry it turned
out that the pillar box near to which this sympathetic
member of the force had been on duty had been com-
pletely filled with valentines, and the officer, with
great consideration for the convenience of the people
of the neighbourhood and for the safety of their corre-
spondence had constituted himself an auxiliary box and
received in his anus the valentines which the box
would not contain. He would soon, however, have
been overwhelmed by St. Valentine had it not been
for the timely appearance of a butcher with an empty
basket, which was at once impounded by the officer,
and made use of as a receptacle for lettersuntil a mail
bag was procured and the officer relieved from this till•
wonted responodbility.