The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-02-28 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

According to the latest returns, C )penhagen has
a population of 235,000 inhabitants. In 1850 it contained
129,000, in 1880 150,000, and.in 1870 181,000.
The Dresden authorities announce that suicide is
Jargely on the increase in the administrative district or the
Saxon capital. Last year there were in that district alone
348 cases ol suicide—that is, seven more than in 1878, 25
more than in 1877, 36 more than In 1876 and 136 more than
in 1876

A Bill has been introduced in the Roumanian
Senate for the restriction of the liquor traffic and the pre-
vention of drunkenness in the country districts.

The Right Hon. and Right Rev. John Jackson,
PD., Lord Bishop of London, who was born in London on
February 22, 1811, completed his sixty-ninth year on Sunday.

Her Majesty has received favourable accounts of
Princess Louise, that of Sunday speaking of considerable
Improvement in the condition of her Royal Highness.
- - - -

Mr. Gladstone was present in his place in the House
of Commons on Monday night for the first time this season,
and looked remarkably well.

A novelty in wedding presents has been introduced
In Amerloa—a jewel-box, composed of real flowers mid in-
tended to hold bridal gifts. Floral f Of natural roses,
lilies-of-the-valley, and violets are also a tasteful innova-
tion. _

An explosion has occurred in the military arsenal at
le alparalso, by which twenty persons were killed, and half
the building was destroyed.

It is said that there are in the United States 380
theatres, and 120 halls and lyceums. There are 150 regular
travelling combinations, fifty minstrel or variety companies,
sixty-eight companies formed to support stars and play In
spectacular pieces, and seven resident stock companies.
Fresh strawberries can be purchased now in New
York at from fifty cents to seventy-five cents per quart.
A rumour of the death of M. Gambetta was, it
seems, current in Paris on Sunday. It was soon ascertained
to be absolutely without foundation. M. Gambetta is de-
clared to be in the enjoyment of perfect health.

Owing to large demand for potatoes for export to
Ireland, the price of this article has considerably advanced
In the markets of Forfar and Perth•shlres, and is still rising.
The demand Is chiefly for the variety known as Champion,
and as much as ZS to £8 ss. per ton was freely offered in
Arbroath market on Saturday.

London was visited on Sunday with another dense
fog. It began about nine o'clock in the morning, and sud-
denly disappeared about tvro.though in some suburban dis-
tricts it only made its appearance between three and four
o'clock, but continued only for a vary short time. Street
traffic was greatly impeded, the boats on the river had to
cease running, and in the churches the gas had to be lit.
Riein, a Rornansch•speaking village in the Grisons,
Oberland, consisting of some 40 houses, with its church and
public buildings, was destroyed by fire the other evening. A.
strong south wind was blowing at the time, and the inhabit-
ants who were able to save nothing from the conflagration,
barely escaped with their lives.

_
The Cologne Gazate estimates the annual produce of
the proposed Wekrgeld (the tax to be levied in Germany on
those who are not taken for military service) at from 15 to 20
million marks, and says that although the greater part of
this sum will hive to be employed for the army, par; of it
should be employed for constituting a fund from which in
time of war the families whose supporters are in the field
might receive assistance.
The nutiaber of emigrants from the Mersey last
month was 4,B47,_sgainst 2,462 in January, 1879.

- -
Winter in Egypt this year has been marker by
unwind severity, and the natives, totally unaccustomed to
g.teat cold, have suffered bitterly. Thin films of ice have
frequently been found on the water in the morning. As
usual, when the Old World suffers from cold, the winter
across the Atlantic has been milder than for many years,
and in Florida it has been perfect summer weather, with
only one or two froots. On Christmas Day new potatoes,
green peas, beans, and otber summer vegetables were pleu-
tifnl, as well as strawberries which had been grown during
the winter.

From an official return ironed at Berlin it appears
that the German Government at present maintains 725 con-
sulates of various grades in foreign countries. at the entire
number only e 4 consuls are paid. There are 71 consuls
general, 333 consuls, 716 vice-consuls, 85 consularagents, and
six attachos. Nineteen consulates and ten vice-consulates
are vacant at the present moment.

The Bibliotbbque Nationale of Paris has received
Information of the discovery of some very interesting manu-
scripts in the shape of two autographic fragments of the
epistles of St. Paul in a volume ot the St. Ambroiss Library
on Mount Athos. On being compared with the authentic
epigtles which are at the Vatican, the two fragments were
found to tit perfectly to the tofu pages of the Vatican manu-
script.

Owing to the revival which has taken place in the
trade of the Glasgow district, it has been resolved to closet
the relief-rooms which were opened in thst city in Sep-
tember la*. The applications for aid made by able-bodied
poor—not fit subjects of parochial relief—have amounted to
2,218.

According to a statement in the Russian press, the
number of peasants in the thirty•seven provinces of the
centre and west of Russia who at the end of last year had
purchased their lands was 8,470,018, being 83i per cent, of
the total number of serfs formerly in these provinces. But
the work of redercption proceeds far more rapidly in the
west than in Mb centre, the proportion of peasant proprie-
tors in the centre being only 77i per cent. 01 the total
number of peasant proprietors only 642,804 redeemed their
lanes without State aid.

The highest rent paid for any theatre in the United
States is that of Booth's, New York, for which the Oakes-
Ames estate receives £8 000 per annum, The Fifth Avenue
is at present estimated at £6,000, and Wallack's at £5,0,0.
The terms on which Jr. Goodwin leased the Walnut litreet
for aree years were £l,OOO per annum, besides £l,OOO worth
of improvements every year.

In IsT3w York a dry goods house at 384, Broad ray,
has been destroyed by fire. Too loss is estimated at 1,000,000
dots. Two firemen lost their lives while endeavouring to
extinguish the flames.

depoaits receivei in naysl savings baLks in the
year elided March 31, 1879, was £112,259 lie. lii. and the
total amonnt due to depositors on Mitral 31 (including
£7,145 15s 61. for inte,rest), £139,029 51. 4d. lhe number ot
accounts open was 12,081.

The Artiste' Masquerade wan the only noteworthy
feature of the Roman Carnival this year. It represented the
Court of a Feudal Baron 6f the Middle Ages joining in
State procession, and was perket In every detail, all
dresses, carriaees, horse-trappings, being of the period,
some the property of the artists themselves, and others lent
from private collections of the Roman nobility. Men-at"
arms and mousquetaires opened the procession, headed by
the Grand Constable, next came the Baren's Judge, with hie
halberdiers, servants, and two
the Barons
executioners and followed
by the lawyers, then a goat•carriage, w
children, accompanied by mousquetaires and huntsmen, the
all '
Castle Dwarf, and a number of musicians. The Baron and
Baroness and their heir appeared next in a rnagnid'ent
carriage, a page following with the Castle keys, and subse;
quently came The ladies and gentlemen of the Court, th
procession closing with twelve knights.
Gold mining in Wynaad district has been warmly
taken up by the Indian Government which Proposes to
auth i
orise the Madras Government to ssue mining leases of
lots varying from one to thirty acres, for a period of ten to
twenty years The rent would he 5 rupees per acre, on the
condition that not leas than dye labourers are employed per
acre on bond fide mining operations, subject to Government
approval, the lease being forfeited on falltlre to comply
with this regulation No tax or royalty woutO he levied for
the present in order to attract capital to the Wynaad The
opinion of Mr. Bough Smyth, the mining engineer who has
examined the district, is that the reds numerous,
thicker than usual, and highly auriferous, while they offer
great facilities for the mining operations being pursued at
small cost.

• rAttfiorap esz a-.

Mr. Gladstone will contribute an article on " Rwssia
and England" to the forthcoming (&Larch) number of the
Nineteenth Century.
The Legislative Aesembly of Ontario have passed a
bill for ascertaining the value of the Niagara Falls pro-
perty, with a view to the formation of an international
park, comprising the most picturesque portions of the site.
Murad Effendi, Turkish Minister-Resident at the
Court of Holland, has written a tragedy entitled Selim th.!
Third, which has been read at the Literary Club of the
Leyden University. The here of the tragedy falls, as the
victim of Court and harem llitrigue, in his striving after
social reforms.

htelligence received at Madrid from Tripoli
announces that fifteen hundred houses have been destroyed
by floods. No loss of life, however, is reported.

- - - -
The chief French railway companies have decided
on establishing a uniform tariff for all France, so that every
species of goods shall be charged at the same rate, whatever
line it traverses In whatever part of the country.

Seventy-four streets were added to London last
year.
The Italian Government has offered three prizes
amounting to £3BO for vineyards raised from grafts of
American varieties capable of resisting the phylloxera
The first cargo of American cattle arrived at Barrow
on Monday per the Anchor Line steamer Assyria, from New
York. The captain reports experiencing very severe weather
and two violent hurricanes. Oat of the 200 head of cattle
shipped only 95 were alive, but they were in fine condition.
In the London Corn market on Monday there was a
fair trade at an advance of is. to 2s. in the price of wheat.
Barley was unaltered, but maize was ed. to is. dearer, while
oats also realised ed. more than on that day week.
It has been resolved by the weavers of North and
North-Bast Lancashire, through their central committee,
to take measures to secure a general advance of wages after
the Burnley dispute is satisfactorily settled.
The Berne papers publish some statistics in
reference to Swiss citizens settled in foreign countries, and
the means taken to relieve the necessities of those who fall
Into distress when away from their native land. From
these figures it appears that there are Swim clubs and
benevolent societies in most of the leading cities of
Europe. The total number of such societies on January 1
of the present year was Si, and the total of the funds in
hand amounted to 1,004,653 L

- -
The cattle disease has considerably diminished in
Cyprus, the measures adopted by the authorities haying
confined it to a few villages. Heavy rains have fallen
over the whole island, and the harvest prospects are much
impreved.

There are over one hundred and fifty foreign race-
horses now in training at Newmarket.

The Empress of Ausbria had a most brilliant run
(lasting an hoar and 45 minutes) with the Ward hounds on
Monday. The meet was at a place sailed Culmullen, and
the deer one of the fsvourite ones in the herd. During
the greater portion of the run her Majesty was in the first
flight.

Berlin papers annonnoe the death in that city. on
February 16, of disease of the heart, of Dr. Paul Men.
deissohn-Bartholdy, at the age of thirty-nine years. He
was the second son of a composer, and was born at Leipsic
In January, 1861. 'Upon the completion of his studies, he
devoted himself to practical chemistry, and was a leading
member of a Berlin firm which carried on an extensive
trade, especially In colouring stuffs, with China and Japan
—Obituary of The Times, Feb. 24.

We may expect shortly to hear that the United
States Government has put a prohibitory duty on Australian
meat, as it is quite clear the Australian graziers can under.
sell American graziers In the markets of the latter. Then
why should not the American grazier—pretty little dear—be
protected as well as the manufacturing baby I—Mark Lane
Express.

As the passenger train from Huston, which is timed
to reach Birmingham at 8.30 p.m., was entering the New-
street Station on hignday night, it Came in contact with a
shunting engine, which had somewhat overrun the points,
and threw it off the rails. Several of the passengers by the
London train were shaken, but none seriously injured, and
the footboards of some of the carriages were broken off by
contact with the shunting engine. The traffic from the south
was partially interrupted for about an hour.

-
On Saturday night General Grant arrived at the
City of biexico, where he was received by the G3vernment
officials who escorted him through the crowded streets to
the Mineral College, where a formal reception was given
him; and 2,500 troops paraded the city, which was illumi-
nated for the occasion.

During last week four steamers reached the Mersey
from the United States and Canada with fresh meat, bringing
‘4,672 quarters of beef, 1,492 carcases of mutton, and 335 pigs;
and two steamers arrived with live stock, which brought
about 400 head of cattle, making the arrivals of fresh meat
more than the previous week, and lees of live stock.

Nearly' t 4,000 has been oollected towards the fund
for erecting a memorial to the late Prince imperial. The
sympathy of the Unitdd Services towards the above object
La evidenced by the large number of members who have
contributed, which Includes field- marshals, admirals,
generals, cfilaers of the staff at home and abroad.

Cardinal Newman is now confined to his room, at
the Oratory, Birmingham, in consequence of a somewhat
serious aocident which he met with a day or two ago. Whilst
walking across his room he stepped upon his gown, and fell
on his side against the projecting corner of a heavy piece of
furniture. After the accident Cardinal Newman breathed
with difficulty, and a medical examination showed that be
had broken one of his ribs. Hts Eminence, under the cir-
cumstances, is progressing favourably.

According to the Neue Freie Prase, the diptheria
raging in Central Russia has carried off since November over
40,000 victims in the two provinces 01 Charkoff and Poltava
alone. Of fall-grown persons 40 per cent, and of children 70
per cent, of those who have been attaoked have died. In the
neighbourhood at \Valli whole villages are satd almost to
have died out

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is being urged by
the tobacco trade to return to the old duty, and the argu-
ment addressed to the right hon. gentleman is that before
the alteration in the duty, and in spite of bad years and
strlkLs, the consumption regularly increased, whereas from
the time of the alteration the use of tobacco has consider-
ably and regularly decreased.

According to the latest advice!, the loss on the
CM lan side at the battle of Tarapaca, was 608 killed and
258 wounded. The allied Bolivian and Peruvian forces
suffered a loss of 233 killed, 281 wounded, and 76 missing.
The Queen, accompanied by the Princess Beatrice
and attended by the suite, left Paddington last Saturday
afternoon for Windsor Castle. A large 'concourse of spec-
tater' aerembled on the Wind or platform and along the
route.

The City of Paris has come into a large property,
and no inconsiderable patronage, by the recent death of M.
Benjamin Rampal. The deceased scholar was well known
among European economists as the translator of the writ-
tings of Schnlze-Dolitzsch. He has left by will the whole of
his property to the Paris Municipality, on the condition
that is it expended exclusively upon the foundation of work-
men's associations, after the model of Schulze-Delitzch's
famous Arbeiter-genossenachaften. The sum exceeds two
million hancs.—Echo.
M. Rouher, who is the only survivor of the authors
of the French Treaty of Commerce made in 1880, spoke for
four hours-in the French Chamber of Deputies on Saturday
on the question of commercial treaties. He pointed to the
fact that since 1867 the import of raw materials into France
has trebled, while tha exports, though inferior in amount,
revealed the increasing activity of the oountry. He con-
tended that the result of adopting the Protectionist pre-;
potash' before the House would be to ruin the commerce of.
the country, and he implored the Deputies not to recede on
the path of political progress.
The Duke of Richmond and Gordon has granted sc
reduction of 20 per cent. on the rents of last season's crops
to his tenants in the Glenlivot and Huntly districts, owing to
the unprecedented season following so closely on the two
previous bad years.
On Monday night the crew of the Brixham schooner,
Gazelle, 177 tons, Captain S. Bartlett, were landed at Ply-
mouth, having had to abandon their vessel in a sinking con-
dition, on Sunday week last The Gazelle was on a voyage
from New York to Exeter with a cargo of oil-cake, and left
for her destination on the 28th of January. She experienced
frightful weather from the time of sailing, and on the 20th
of February one of the crew was washed overboard and
drowned. Her decks were completely swept by tremendous
seas which broke upon her, and her boats were washed out
of the davits. She also suffered severe damage on the two
following days from a hurricane On the 12th inst. the
Gazelle sprang a leak; the efforts of the crew to get the
water were unavailing, and on the 15th inst. they were
taken off the sinking ship by the Norwegian barque Mindet
and brought to Plymouth.
Further Government assistance is about to be given
In the dlOribution of relief among the distressed inhabitants
of the islands off the Galway coast. The gunboat Orwell has
been directed to join Her Mr,jesty's ship Goshawk in this
duty, and orders have also been given for the Coastguard
steamer Hawk, now at Sheerness, to be held in readiness for
relief service on the Irish coast.—Wednesday's Standard.
There was a further and serious rise in the waters
of the Thames in the Windsor and Eton district on Monday.
The Inundations In the valley of the upper river have
extended considerably since Sunday, the level of the stream
being quite a foot higher than on the preceding day. A
bird's eye view of the Inundations from the Bound Tower of
the Castle showed a chain of lakes, extending from Maiden-
head for several miles in the direction of Staines.
A letter from St. Petersburg to the remeniassn Empireayathat
the news received from the interior of h
beartren.ilog. Famine and diphtheria are (iecimating the
population. The provinces of &veto! and Kiel, which
annually export enormous quantities of grain, scarcely had
any crop at all last year. The calamity is aggravated by the
want of fodder for tha cattle, the peasants being forced to
sell them at any price. In the Caucasus the famine is still
greater.

Monday was the eighty-fifth anniversary of the
birth of Sir Josiah Mason, the munificent founder of the
Erdington Orphanage, near Bilsmingharn, and of the Birming-
ham College for the Study of Practical &fence, who was born
at Kidderminster on Februsry 23, 1795. In acknowledgment
of his munificewe Sir Josiah Mason received the honour of
knighthood, by patent, in 1872.
King Oscar 11. of Sweden has ordered four gold
and 46 silver medals to be struck for the officers and crew
of Professor Nordenskjiiid's Arctic expeditiun. The medals
bear on one side the image of the King, and on the obverse
the insigna of the Order of the North Star.
At the annual meeting held in Manchester on
Monday, of the Central Association for Stopping the Sale of
Intoxicating Liquors on Sunday, a report was presented by
the committee expressive of thankfulness that the movement
has reached so advanced a stage. The results of the Irish
Sunday Closing Act filled the friends of the mivement in
this country with sanguine anticipations of its success in the
not distant future.—ln the evening a public meeting was
held in the Free Trade Hall. The Archbishop of York, who
presided, delivered an earnest spcech in support of the
movement, and a resolution condemning the sale of drink on
Sunday was unanimously passed.

Mr. Archibald Forima lectured at the Town Hall,
Bournemouth, on Monday afternoon, on the Zulu War,
Admiral Sir Jame' Saliva!) preriding. In according the
thanks of the meeting to Mr. Forbes for his lecture, the
chairman said they would Ilk' to hear a slnallar cub about
Afghanistan and other places, and referring to Mr. Forbes's
heroism in the Ryber Pass, maid he thought most of them
who had heard that story would agree with him that some
decoration w4R well earned. It had been said that civlllkna
,Wt. to military employ coull not receive the VicOria Cross,
but he could Ore I.:swim:es in which it had been award.d,
and he did bct. thick it would do to allow the law to be laid
down that civilians, however distinguished, when serving
with the army, should not receive such honour and distinc-
tion.

The rectipte on account of revenue from the let
April, 1,79, when there was a balance of £6,915,756, to
February 21, IbSO, were Z 70,299,604, against 472,118.571 fo
the corresponding period of the preceding fluancial yea;
which began with a htlance of £.6,213,889. The net expen.
(Mare wars £72,954,925, against £74,771,826 to the same date
In the previous year. The Treasury balances on February
21 amounted to £6,861,830, and at the same date In 1879 to
£5,649,858.
At the tueeting of the London and North Western
Railway Company Mr. Richard Moon, (the chairman) said
that he was thankful to say that there was not a single
passenger who met his death during 1879 through any
fault of the company, and in the two years 1878 and 1879
only one passenger had met his death from accident caused
by any mistake of the company. He did not mean to say
that they had been without accident', and he was afraid
that they could not hope to be without them, whatever
they did; but they had minimized the number, and he
hoped, as they got their lines doubled and their quick and
other trains separated, they wonld reduce them still
further.

A novel experiment is being tried in Canada, iu the
shape of a temporary railway over the ice it Hoeheloga. In
that climate, when winter sets in, it Jests: and the ice
may be expected to remain until the spring The Canadians
have taken advautage of the fact to lay a timber road over
the frozen surface of the river, and thus have a cheap
bridge which wilt last through the winter. The fce has a
minimum thickness of eighteen inches, and the timber work
was fastened down by pumping water on the substructure,
which, freezing, secured it firmly to Us bed.

Mr. Mechi says that he estimates the loss of the
farmers in 1879 at £100,000,000 Mr. Thomas Scott, upon
the othe; hand, puts it at £150,000,000.

The general reunite of the Greek census of laid year
have just been published. The total popnlatlon of Greece
L s now 1,679,000 souls, against 1,457,000 in 1870. The increase
per annum has accordingly been 169 per cent. From 1860
to 1870 the annual increase was 1 per cent

The allotment of spacs to British exhibitors in the
Melbourne International Exhibition is now in process of
being made, and between eight and nine hundred firma have
already received letters informing them,that space will be
allotted to them,

Manor Denza, of the Moncalieri Oheervatory,
points out the cnincidence of a shock of eszthonake in
Lombardy and Piedmont on the 9:12 init. with the. great
activity of Etna the same day, and an eruption of a volcano
in S. Domingo.

Christmas on a Thursday promises a good fruit
year, and so should a wasp on the wing la February, as was
seen in Scotland a few day. since. Last year wasps were
very scarce, and so was fruit.

"The intelligence which for some weeks hag been
regularly received from Afghanistan has been, on the whole,
and continues to be, as encouraging as could reasonably be
expected."--Leader in The Times, Feb 23.

An International Exhibition of Dogs, under the
patronage of Prince Karl of Prussia, will be opened at
Berlin on May 28. One thousand two hundred dogs are
entered, including two hundred English.

A. large meeting of Freetradere haft been held at the
"Grand" Hotel, Paris, when a memorial was prepared, and
afterwards presented to the Minister of Commerce, against
the maintenance of duties which press heavily on the trades
that do most to enrich France.

A snit has been brongbt against the Sulphur Bank
Quick;ilver Company at San Francisco for employing Chinese
labourers, the object being to tes; the constitutionality of
the law recently passed by the California Legislature pro-
hibiting corporations from employing Chinese.
From a statement in an American agricultural
paper it would appear that a peculiar dark and heavy honey,
which now and then finds its way to market, is the product
of the humble bee. This honey remains limpid much longer
than ordinary honey, is of a milder flavour, and to many
persons is said to be particularly palatable and pleasant in
taste.

It is estimated that the Austrian Empress's visit to
Ireland, the journeys to and fro, and concurrent expenaeg,
will cost upwards of £3o,ooo—Court Journal.

The Royal Commission on Agriculture has decided
to deal first with England, then with Scotland, and finally
with Ireland. The work of the Commission is expected to
extend over a period or two years -at least. Up to the pre-
sent time no report has been received from any of the
Assistant-Commissioners, but several of these reports will
shortly be ready.

According to this year's issue of the " 4nnuario
Militate," the Italian army comprises two generals, whose
rank apparently corresponds to that of field-marshal, forty-
six so-called lieutenant-generals, eighty-four major-generals,
282 colonels, 340 lieutenant-colonels, 731 majors, 2,002
captains, 3,493 first lieutenant., and 4,770 sab-llentenants—
making a total of 11,750 officers.

The accounts of the Duchy of Lancaster for the year
ended the 21st of December, 1879, show that the total
receipts in the year 1879 Were £76,185 19s. 2d. The disburse.
mental, including £41,000 paid for her Majesty's use to the
Keeper of her majesty's Privy Parse, amounted to £58,463
ls. 81. The balances (less £ll4 65. 7d. due to capital)
amounted to £17,276 75. 10d. The capital account shows
that the balance of stock on December 21,277 7s. sd. 1878, was £56,239
Sc. id.: on December 21, 1879, it was £5B,
The death is announced of Lord William Brook
Phipps, at St. Remo, Italy, at the age of thlrty•two. The
deceased was the second sea of the present Marquis of
Normanby, Governor of Victoria, by his marriage with
Laura, daughter of the late Captain Robert Russell, ILN.
He married in 1875 Constance Emma, youngest daughter of
Mr. Alfred Keyser, of King's-bill, Great Berkhampstead,
Hertfordshire, by whom he has left a youthful family.

• -
i
A pamphlet written nimitation of "The Battle of
Dorking," by a RaesLan, and entitled "The Fiftieth Anni-
versary of the Battle of Warsaw, "is exciting some notice
abroad. It describes a war between Germany, Banta, and
France, supposed to have been fought in the years 1880 and
1881.

"A rumour reaches me that M. Gambetta has been
ordered by his physician to give up smoking altogether, if he
be desirous of retaining in full power the splendid voice
which has made the greatest French orator of the present
day so famous. This must be a terrible blow to the Pre-
sident of the Chamber of Deputies, for he is as great an
admirer of the fragrant weed as General Grant himself, and
I have never seen him with a cigar oat of his month except
wben presiding or—when about to light another !
half Review.

-
The Qaeen and Princess Beatrice left Windsor
Castle on Wednesday morning for Chiselhurst, on a visit to
the Empress Eugenie. Her Majesty arrived at Chiselhun
at a quarter to twelve o'clock, and left on her return to
Windsor at twenty minutes to one o'clock.
The South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire coal
owners have adopted a scheme tor a sliding scale.

Mr. Jacob Bright, M.P., speaking at Manchester
on Saturday, said that for years and years the land question
had been discussed, and at any rate the extreme wing of the
Liberal party had sought in vain for great changes. What
had been refuted to argument, however, would probably be
given through disaster. It seemed likely that
abec e
large
proportion of landowners of England would
embarrassed through the competition in the food supply,
and from this embarrassment he expected the nation would
derive the great advantage of having its land set free.
The Worshipfni Company of Cutlers of London
o at
mh aovneeyunder u
annually,
imy itdoe rbaet lon
applieda s cihnetmh
ee
aptoprregrnatinctiiilrespect.sumo
able youths to members of the cutlery trade. It is also
proposed to confer the freedom of the Company on those of
the apprentices who, on the expiration of their period of
service, produce satisfactory proofs of good conduct and
excellence of craftsmanship.

The magnitude of the speculation on the London
Stock Exchange has again been shown by the Clearing
House Returns. On the lust settling-day the clearings
amounted to the enormous sum of £54441,000, against
£33.825,000 on the corresponding day last year. A fortnight
previously the clearings exceeded 60 millions, also againat
33 millions. The total clearings for the past week were
millions, against 109 millions twelve months ago.

Sir Thomas Frederick Elliot, G.C.M.G., and Lady
Elliot have both died at Cairo from typhoid fever. Lady
Elliot died on the Bth inst., and Sir Frederick on the 12th
Inst. Sir Thomas Elliott, who was born in 1808, was son of
the late Right Hon. Hugh Elliott, Governor of Madras, and
brother of the first E trl ot Mint° and of the Dean of BristoL
He entered the Colonial Office in 1825, and was Under-
Secretary for the Colonies from 1847 to 1888. Lady Elliott,
who was his second wife, was the seeend daughter of the
late Admiral Sir Robert Howe Bromley, Hart.
- -

The total number of vessels which arrived from
foreign ports in the port of New York during January, 1880,
was 697 Distributed according to nationalities, there were
210 British, 12 American. 926 Norwegian, 48 German, i4B
Italian, 20 Austrian, 11 Swedish, 41 French, 9 Spanish, 8
Danish, 7 Belgian, 4 Netherlands, Portuguese, 3 Haytain, 1
Brazilian, 1 Mexican. One American war vessel also arrived
from a foreign port. During the month 014 vessels engaged
tates show some
in
Recentth co aa tsint
agttirsatidcese notef rtehdet hue pnoitr.
etd s
easternn o table phenomenaand weswestern
isnt,
slates,
y ° comtnpeat ltriaopnid inbesthwifetength of
the balance of industry from the former to the latter. This
,wa tendingl
Is more particularly conspicuous in the iron trade and that
of agricultural machinery. In this latter manufacturing
branch Illinois audits vicinity turn out more than the whole
world put together, and the production last year was nearly
28,000,000 dole. in value, an amount equal Co the half of the
production of the United States only nine years ago.

Colonel Synge, who about a month ago WWI de-
spatched by Sir A. H. Layard to distribute relief to the
Mussulman.refugees in Eastern Bournelia, has been captured
near Salonica, together with his wife, and carried off by
Greek brigands, who demand a heavy ransom for their
release, and threaten to kill both if any armed force is sent
to effect their liberty. Sir A. H. Llyard has sent three of
her Majesty's ships to Salaam for the purpose of making
inquiries as to what is best to be done to prooure the release
of the captives.
About one mile from Ones Bridge, York, adjacent
to the Falford.road, the new Infantry Barrack?, which have
been some time In course of erection, are approaching com-
pletion. York is one of the principal military centres of the
kingdom, and. it is said to be the intention of the War
Department to concentrate near the old city men and
material that will be readily available in the unfortunate
event of an outbreak. It may give some idea of the size of
the barracks when it is known that there are 10,824 yards of
smoke flues, and that 40,000 squares of glass have been used
for the windows. The barracks were commenced In October,
1877, and will be completed in the same month of the present
year.

The Dean of Manchester, preaching at St. Jude's,
Liverpool, on Sunday, on behalf of the Liverpool Bishopric
Fund, said that it was a movement on behalf of Church
enterprise in its truest and most important aspect, caused
by the wonderful growth of our great commercial oentres:
and he contended that it wee the duty of the National
Church to make provision for the whole population, at
clergy h
as;
ad
rliagi h laity t
to
episcopal
though some of them seek aid from other Christian bodies.
alike. He
maintained that all endowments were private gifts, and
unryget
dhethCathuthrcehlaihtey
as wellmeant
as all
clergy
services
A good time has come for the flower-girls of the
metropolis, who, if they choose to ply their dainty trade
respectably, are now encouraged and assisted so to do (says
Land and Water). Last spring a "Flower-girls' .13rigade"
was formed tinder the patronage of the Baronets Burdett
Cou.tts. At the headquarters, Clerkenwell-clese, girls are
supplied with flowers and sent off to private customers or
various stations ; they are neatly dressed, and wear an
ivory badge hung round their neck with a blue ribbon; they
gee not only weekly wages, but a commission on the sale of
the flowers. At present there are more sellers than buyers,
but as this excellent society becomes better known plenty
of work will be found so long as the prices asked are
moderate. In the winter the girls are taught to make arti-
ficial flowers and show much taste in the art.