The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-02-13 00:00:00

CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS.

The following special regulations, supplementary to
the General Regulations issued on the Bth of April,
1872, and amended by subsequent notices in the London
Gazette, are published respecting open competitive
examinations for clerkships (Class 2), supplementary
clerkships, &c., in the Civil Service :—" 1. The limits
of age for these situations are sixteen and twenty,
and candidates must be of the prescribed age on
the first day of the competitive examination. 2.
At the competitive examinations exercises will be
set in the following subjects only: the maximum
of marks for each subject being fixed as follows—
viz. :—Handwriting, 400; orthography, 400; arith-
metic, 400; copying MS. (to test accuracy), 200;
indexing or docketing;; 200; digesting returns into
summaries, 200; English Composition, 2001 geography,
200; English History, 200; bookkeeping, 200. Candi-
dates will be at liberty to offer themselves for exami-
nation in any or all of these subjects. No subjects are
obligatory. 3. No candidate can be admitted to the
competition who has not previously satisfied the
Civil Service Commissioners that he possesses
the requisite amount of proficiency in the follow-
ing subjects :—(1) Handwriting, (2) orthography, (3)
arithmetic (to vulgar and decimal fractions). With
this view preliminary examinations in these sub-
jects will be held at such times and places as
the Commissioners may appoint. Application for
permission to attend one a these preliminary exami-
nations must be made in the writing of the can-
didate, at such times as may be fixed by the Commis-
sioners. 4. A fee of 10s. will be required from every
candidate attending a preliminary examination, and a
further fee of £1 from every candidate who may be ad-
mitted to the competition. Civil Service Commission,
Cannon-row, S.W., April 8, 1872. Notice.—An open
competition for clerkships (Class 2), supplementary
clerkships, &c., in the Civil Service, will be held in
London, Edinburgh, and Dublin under the above
regulations, on Tuesday, the 9th Of March, 1875, and
following days. A preliminary examination will be
held in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin on Wednes-
day, the 24th of February."

11 THOMSON v. THE METROPOLITAN
RAILWAY COMPANY."
The above cause has been tried in the Court of Common
Pleas, and was an action brought by a child, through his
father as next friend, to recover damages for the alleged
negligence of the defendants' servants.
It appeared that on the 18th of November last the
plaintiff was a passenger in one of the defendants'
trains to Kensington, and was riding in a third-class
carriage. His governess was with him, and, accord-
ing to her evidence, the child was kneeling on the
seat of the carriage when a man ran up, opened the
door, and tried to push a basket under the seat.
While he was doing so the train began to move' and a
porter hurried up and pushed the man and his basket
into the carriage. The child was nearly thrown off his
seat, and in recovering his balance, and as the porter
slammed the door, his hand was shut in and badly
hurt. On taking off the glove the forefinger bled pro-
fusely, the nail came off, and with it some of the flesh,
exposing the bone. Corroborative evidence was given
of these facts, but before the conclusion of the plain-
tiff's case the jury intimated to the learned Judge that
they did not think there was any evidence of negligence
on the part of the defendants.
Upon this, after some discussion, a verdict was
taken for the plaintiffs, but execution stayed, his
Lordship remarking that it would have been absurd
for him to have left the case to the jury after what
they had said, and although he himself was of a dif-
ferent opinion, he would not decide merely that there
was evidence to go to them, and then leave them to
decide for the plaintiff or defendant. Perhaps the
somewhat hasty course they had taken would put both
parties to some considerable expense.
•

THE TERRIBLE FIRE AT THE CAPE.
The Cape Argus of Jan. 15 gives the following particulars
of the great fire at Stellenbosch
The prettily-sequestered village of Stellenbosch has
been the scene of a most fearful calamity. In a few
hours, something .like fifty -houses have been com-
pletely rased; numerots tiffanies have-been rendered
homeless, and an immense amount of property has
been sacrificed. Few places are more carefully guarded
against fire than Stellenbosch, where to smoke a pipe
Or cigar in the streets is deemed a henious offence, and
no disaster can have been anticipated less than that
which ti as sbnu fortnn ate ly happened:- :About it al f-past
two o'flock on'Thursd ay af ternooir a Cairn an shoemaker,
named Stadler, living at ,the corner of Church-street
and Andrenca-Street, gade instructions to a boy to
melt some pitch and other ingredients for making
cobbler's wax. The liquid boiled ever, and in a moment
the chimney ,was in a blaze: A besom was used ta
attempt to put it out, but the efforts to extinguish the
flames only seemed to make them burn, the worse.
The-thatched roof was not long in catching fire, which
communicated with an adjoining house., Sparks and
burning thatch soon flew about, and the roof of a shop
opposite ignited next, and then a whole row of
houses and shops on the left hand side of Andrenca,
street. As, the fire spread it naturally gaiii3d increased
force, the flames licking up everything that came in
their way. It soon being evident that extraneous aid
must be called in, unless the whole village was to go, it.
was resolved to telegraph at once to Cape Town for
assistance, which speedily arrived. Although !there
had already been an immense destruction of property, i
and the conflagration had covered a large extent of
ground, the flames were still raging, and it was some
time before they could be got under, the masses of
heated and smouldering thatch being difficult to deal
with. At eleven o'clock houses were still burning in
Plein-street, but the fire seemed now to be spreading
towards Ryneveld-street, where the efforts of the
municipal engine were mainly directed. Efforts were
strenuously made to cut off communication by pulling
down walls and .othez means, but it was close upon
midnight before the immediate danger had subsided.
Thq_fre seemed'to ha-ve: stopped ultimEit)ly at a house
belonging,to,Mr. Faure, in Ryneveld-street, which runs
kikt right drlgThsio Plein-street. At the top of the latter
thoroughfare was the handsome and commodious dwell-
ing occupied by Mr. Anderson, rector of the Stellen-
bosch Gymnasium. The house had only recently
been renovated, at considerable expense, but both
it and post of its contents are destroyed in com-
mon with about fifty other houses, large and small,