The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-12-25 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

A portrait of the late Maharajah of Vizianagram
has been unveiled at Benares. Among the subscribers were
the Duke of Buckingham, the Marquis of ()monde, Lord
Napier of Magdala, Sir F. Haines, and sir 11. Chamberlain:

The Vienna Prase states that in anticipation of the
earthquake that was predicted to occur at Agram on the
16th half the inhabitants of the town either remained in the
open air all night or took shelter in the farmhouses in the
neighbourhood. At eleven minutes past eleven o'clock a
smart shock of earthquake was felt, causing all theiwindows
of the houses to rattle. Two minutes later everything was
again quiet.
A great snowstorth is reported to have taken place
at Ischl, in Austria. There had been no cessation
in the fall of snow for twenty-four hours. So heavy, in-
deed, WAS it that an avalanche occurred, completely block-
ing up the high road leading to Ebensee in the north. With
the avalanche there were brought down huge masses of
rock, which have destroyed a large portion of the aqueduct
through which the water of the mineral springs was con-
veyed.
Colonel John Francis Vaughan, of Courtfield, Here-.
fordshire, whose death is announced as having happened on
Friday, the 17th, at Biarritz, at the age of seventy-two, was
one of 'the oldest and most respected members of the English
Roman Catholic body. He was the father of the Bishop of
Salford and brother of the Bishop of Plymouth. The eldest
son of the late Mr. William Vaughan, of Courtfleld (who was
a deputy-lieutenant for Herefordshire), by his first marriage
with Teresa, daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Weld, of
Lulworth-castle, Dorsetshire, lie was born in the year
1808. He was a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant for Mon-
mouth and a magistrate for Herefordshire and Gloucester-
shire, dr.c. Colonel Vaughan was twice married -- first, in
18.30, to Eliza Louisa, daughter of the :ate Mr. John Rolls, of
the Rendre, Monmouthshire; and secondly to .his cousin
liary Charlotte, only daughter of the late Mi. ;oi-e-pli Weld;
of Lulworth-castle. —Obituary of The Times.

The Lord Mayor of London has remitted to Buda-
reeth £5OO, making in all £l,lOO, in aid of the sufferers by
the recent earthquakes at Agram, in Croatia.

The Duke of Newcastle has again returned to his
tenants 20 per cent, of their rents in consideration of the
severe depression in agriculture.

The Queen has been recommended to allow the
regiments lately engaged in Afghanistan to bear on their
colours the names of the engagements for which special
clasps have been accorded with the war medal.

Lord Winmarleigh, in a speech on Saturday at the
distribution of prizes at Preston in connection with the
Oxford Local Examination, pointed out what he considered
an important defect in English education. Ile urged that,
first and foremost a young person should be instructed in
his own language and the literature of his own country,
and thought it a serious "take off" for a lad who had dis-
tinguished himself in foreign languages to be told that he
was deficient in his own

Mr. Shaw-Lefevre, M.P., speaking at the Liberal
meeting at Accrington which Lord Hartington was unable
to attend on Saturday, said the one dark spot on the political
horizon was the condition of Ireland, and no one could for
a moment doubt that it was absolutely necessary that a Land
Bill of a sweeping, wide, and comprehensive character should
be introduced.
An anti-Jewish meeting, attended by about 2,000
persons, was held the other day In Berlin. Resolutions
were unanimously adopted in favour of repressive measures
against the Jews It was also resolved not to make any
purchases from Jewish shops or firms.
The British Medical Journal states that the Royal
Scottish Academy has offered several valuable paintings, on
loan, to be hung in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. The
managers have willingly accepted the offer.
According to advices from Pyrgos the excavations
on the site of the ancient Olympia, in the neighbourhood of
the so-called " Leonidaion," have brought to light a life-
sized helmeted marble head, a painted terra-cotta head of
Hera, and two well preserved bronze inscriptions.

The population of Paris, which amounts now to
nearly 2,000,000 inhabitants, numbered in 1474 only 150,000;
in 1590 it reached 200,000; in 1749, 600,640; in 1798,
640,000; in 1817, 713,000; in 1836, 800,000; in-1846, 1,053,000;
in 1856, 1,174,000 : in 1866 1,825,000; in 1874, 1,930,000.

Two coming fancy balls are ar3using great interest
in Parisian fashionable circles. The Duc,d'Aumale intends
to give a " Foresters' Ball," at whichall the guests will wear
hunting dresses, while a Bachelor's Club have organised a
"Brigand's Ball," where Spanish costume is obligatory.

The following extract from the Melbourne Argus,
dated October 11, 1880, shows the average yield of gold per
ton obtained from quartz crushing in the various districts
of Australia :-- -Ballarat, 6 dwts. 18-44 grs. ; Beechworth, 10
dwts. 11•04 gra. ; Sandhurst, 9 dwts. 8-09 grs. ; Maryborough,
11 dwts. 22 07 gra. ; Castlemaine, 5 dwts. 1845 grs. ; Ararat,
11 dwts. 1713 grs. ; Gipps Land, 1 oz. 2 dwts. 18-66 grs.
An association has been formed at Madrid with a
view to establish life-boat stations at the most dangerous
places on the coast of Spain. Several members of the
Royal family have given the movement the aid of their
patronage.

Relic hunters in New York are so eager to obtain a
chip of the Egyptian obelisk recently erected in Central
Park that policemen are always kept on guard round the
Needle.

The Governor of Idaho in his message to the Legis-
lature of that territory, Idaho,
that polygamy is being
rapidly introduced from Utah, and expresses the hope that
adequate measures will be adopted to crush out the practice.
According to the audited Imperial Budget of Russia
for 1879 the total war outlay incurred by Russia, from 1876
to 1879 inclusive, amounted to no less than 1,029,578,490
roubles. The cost of the Tekke•Turcoman expedition for
1879 Is put down at 4,686,000 roubleS.

The Birmingham Gazette says it is impossible to
give even an approximate estimate of the amount of
Jewellery manufactured in Birmingham in the course of this
year, but there is reason to telieve that it far exceeds that
of the previous year in quantity, and, to a smaller extent,
in value.

Mr. David Dale, of Darlington, the arbitrator in
the matter of wages advance demanded by the men em-
ployed at all plate mills connected with the Board of Arbi-
tration, has issuedthis award. The men claim an advance of
7i per cent., or a return to the rates of October, 1879, but
Mr. Dale says he has concluded that the workmen's claim
has not been made out, and he therefore feels bound to dis-
allow it.

Mainly with the object of promoting education
among the blacks in the Southern States, the United States
Senate have passed a bill for devoting the proceeds of the
sales of public lands and the receipts for patents to the
establishment of a fund for educational purposes in those
States where such assistance might be most required.
The Town Council of Liverpool have decided to
apply to the Board of Trade for a provisional order to enable
them to construct tramways over thirty miles in exapnt, at a
cost of £200,000.

The Glasgow Parkhead Forge Works, employing
2,000 men, have granted ii percent. advance, and 5 per cent.
to labourers.

The New York. ,Herald publishes intelligence from
St. John's, Newfoundland, announcing the wreck of the
barque ltionantum, bound from Miramichi to Gibraltar,
and detailing the terrible sufferings of the crew, fifteen of
whom perished. The two sole survivors were badly frost-
bitten.

Official statistics show that in the Governments of
Charkoff 20,000 persons sickened with diphtheria in the
year 1879, and of this year 7,000 died. In the current year
there have been 13,360 cases and 5,500 deaths.

The Imperial German Budget for the next financial
year estimates the expenditure at 581,077,972 marks, which
will be covered by the receipts, together with the further
sum of 106,614,431 marks for the matriculatory contribu-
tions, the latter being 24,943,481 marks in excess of last
year.

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Legislature have
made a grant of seven thousand guilders for a new Arctic
Expedition by the ship William Bare ndtz next year.

A dreadful colliery accident occurred on Sunday
night at Dluiredge Colliery, Fifeshire, belonging to Messrs.
Bowmans. Two miners, named Braid and Matthewson,
were descending the pit in the cage, and when they had just
left the top the wire rope broke and they were hurled to
the bottom, a distance of eighty fathoms. The bodies of the
unfortunate men were dashed to pieces, and when recovered
were past recognition. About an hour before three men
were brought up the pit by means of the same rope.

An extraordinary outrage Was perpetrated at
Avignon, in France the other day. A prisoner, while under-
going an examination at the police-court, suddenly ex-
claimed that the magistracy was the enemy of the Republic,
and, suiting the action to the word, threw a large stone at
the py Isident's head, which it fortunately missed. The
magistrate immediately sentenced his assailant to aye years'
imprisonment.

Up to Saturday night (18th) the Lord Mayor of
London had received about £l,OOO in aid of the fund now
being raised at the Mansion House for the relief of the 271
widows, orphans, and other dependent relatives of the
miners who were killed in the recent accident at the Pen-y-
Graig Colliery.—The Earl of Beaconsfield has sent .£lO to
the Lord Mayor in aid of the fund.—The Relief Committee
have decided to give each widow 55., and 3s. for each child
for this week.

While a heavy gale of wind was blowing on Sunday
afternoon from the west-north-west, the Swedish brig Clio
came to an anchor off the mouth of the old harbour at
Ardrossan. Soon afterwards the cables parted, she drove
ashore, and ultimately became full of water. The lifeboat
Fair ilaid of Perth, belonging to the National Lifeboat In-
stitution, went to the help of the distressed crew in the
midst of a violent squall, the result being that the crew,
eight in number, were landed in safety.
Mdlle. Sarah Bernhardt's doings in America con-
tinue to be minutely chronicled by Transatlantic journals.
Thus we learn that she went to see one of the favourite
New York actresses, Min Clara Morris, at the Park Theatre,
and was so delighted with her sister comedian that she
called Miss Morriwinto her box, embraced her warmly, and
decorated her with a cluster of roses and violets torn from
the front of her dress. Meanwhile, the orchestra gallantly
alternated the " Marseillaise " with "The Bells go a-ring-
ing for Sarah." Mdlle. Bernhardt superintends all the re-
hearsals for the French performances, giving directions
through the stage manager, while she will not permit any
outsider whatever to be present. It is said that Mlle,
Bernhardt and her manager will pocket £40,000 by their
season,

The aggregate production of anthracite and bitumi-
nous coal in Pensyrvania to Nov. 20 this year amounted to
24,806,208 tons as compared with 26,560,928 tons in the cor-
responding period of 1879, showing a decrease of 1,754,720 tons
this year.

The French diamonds of the Crown, part of which
M. Jules Ferry proposes to sell in order to buy objects of
art for the national collections, were valued In the inven-
tory of 1791 at 23,783,918 francs. In the inventory of 1818,
59,067 stones are mentioned, and valued at 20,818,551 fr. 80c.
Stones to the value of live millions only will be sold. The
rest will be preserved, as being of historical or scientific
interest.

A French Monsignore ha.s discovered a great catacomb
before the S. Pancrazio gate at Rome. It has ten chapels,
and extends as far as the foundations of the Villa Doria
Pamphily. All the graves have been previously opened,
but the discoverer hopes that he may still come upon some
which have been left undisturbed. He believes the catacomb
to be connected with that of St. Julius, Pope.

The Admiralty have decided that the entry of naval
cadets shall in future take place by means of limited com-
petition. The limits of age will remain as at present.
Details of the examination, the subjects of which will not
materially differ from those at present in force, will be pub-
lished as soon as decided on. The examination in June next
will be held under these.regulations.
The King ef Spain has just presented Madame
Ferdinand de Lesseps with the Grand Cordon of Maria
Louisa.

The London correspondent of the Maneludo.,
Guardian says :—" An interesting feature in the examination
which has just been held at the Staff College at Sandhurst
is to be found in the fact that for the first time candidates
took up the Turkish language as a subject in competition.
A captain of cavalry and a lieutenant were the enterprising
persons who are identified with this innovation and I hear
that their example is likely to be followed in the future. I
may mention that the papers were set by the military attacht
of the Turkish Embassy.

The first list of subscriptions to the building fund of
£30,000 being raised for the Yorkshire College amounts to
£13500. Amongst the donors are the following ; Edward
Baines Memorial Fund, £3,000; the Duke of Devonshire,
£l,OOO (f 2,000 previously); Sir Andrew Fairbairn, £l,OOO
(£2,000 previously); Messrs. Beckett and Co., £l,OOO (£2,000
previously); Edward Baines and Sons? £400: Mr. Edward
Cr £500; and Lord F. C. Cavendish, M.P., £2.)0.
Tossuleesy, day
(21st) was the 75th anniversary of the birth
of the Right Hon. the Earl of
_Beaconsfield, K.G., who was
born in Loudon on Dec. 21 1805, though some accounts make
1804 of the year of his birth. His Lordship (Benjamin Dis-
reli) is the eldest son of the late Isaac D'lsraeli, D.C.L.,
author of " The Curiosities of Literature." &c., by his mar-
riage with Maria, daughter of Mr. George Basevi, of
brighten.
The obituary of The Times of the 16th inst., con-
tained some remarkable illustrations of prolonged existence
In nine persons—viz., five gentlemen and four ladies, whose
united ages amounted to 787 years, giving an average of 67
years and over five months to each.
The French Chamber of Deputies on Saturday last
voted a bill ratifying the cession of Tahiti to France and a
grant of 46,000fr5. for pensions to the Royal family of that
island.
At the little watering-place of Petersthai, in the,
Black Forest, two alarming landslips have occurred in con-
sequence of the great quantity of rain which has 'fallen
within the past fortnight. The falling masses of earth and
rock swept away two houses and buried several persons, two
men losing their lives on the occasion.

The London Correspondent of the Manchester
Guardian says the Government are expecting to receive
Lord Ripon s request to be relieved of his office of Viceroy,
as he is understood to feel at present unable to shake off
Indian fever without returning home.

The thanks of Her Majesty's Government have been
conveyed to Atimiral Sir Frederick B. Seymour for the
manner in which he performed the duty devolving upon him
as senior officer in command of the Demonstrative European
Squadron.

Dr. Diplock has held an inquest at 25, Emperor's-
gate, South Kensington, London, on the body of William
Abbott Sharp, aged, five years, son of the late Captain James
Sharp. Miss Kate Macdonald, a visitor at the house, said
on Saturday morning (11th) she was sitting at the dining.
room window, when she heard a no She looked out and
saw the child hanging from the railiM in front of the house
by his knickerbockers, face downwards. The servant went
out and carried him indoors. He lingered until Tuesday
morning, when he died. Mr. John Grafton, living in the
house, said he.heard a scream and went into the nursery;
not finding the children there, he went to the top front room
and found one of the windows open. V questioned a
younger child, who pointed to the v, •v and said,
" Willie is gone out there." The witness found that
-the deceased had fallen out of the wind, The jury re-
turned a verdict of "Accidental death."

The Prince of Montenegro has expressed his thanks
to the Powers for the satisfactory settlement of the Dulcigno
question.

In Russia two Imperial decrees have been issued,
one forbidding the sale or transfer of vines, kc., in the
Crimea, in consequence of the existence there of phylloxera
and the other ordering General Baron Korff, commanding
the 13th Infantry Division, to take measures against the
spread of the disease.

The Manitoban Legislative Assembly has been
opened by the Lieutenant-Governor, the Hon. J. E. Cauchon,
who, in his speech on the occasion, dwelt upon the pro-
sperity of the province and the rapid progress made in de-
veloping its resources.

Mr. C. S. Read presided on Saturday over a meet-
ing of the Executive Sanitary Committee for Norfolk. It
was officially reported that there had been fewer outbreaks
of the foot and mouth diseaee in Norfolk during the week,
but that the number of animals attacked was as large as
1,754 cattle, 1,640 sheep, and 166 pigs.

The Calcutta Correspondent of The Times tele-
graphs :—"A disastrous fire has occurred at Rangoon. A
large amount of property was destroyed, the principal fire-
engines having completely broken down. The damage is
estimated at 19 lakhs of rupees.
A fashionable young lady in New York, who being
much annoyed by the hair on her arms, has taken to
shaving. She has her arms lathered and shaved from end
to end by a barbar once a month. She has followed the
practice for some time without any bad effect. The skin is
fine and smooth, and there is no indication of the razor.
To Lord Beaconsfield's respect for Mr. Cowen's un-
flinching patriotism may be attributed thb fact that an
elaborately bound copy of Endymion has been sent to Mr.
Cowen, with the autograph of presentation from the dis-
tinguished author.—Court Journal.

A telegram from Panama of the 6th inst. contains
intelligence published by the Star and Herald, which states
that the Peruvians resisted the advance of the Chiliens on
Pisco, and lost one hundred and fifty men in the fighting
which ensued. The Chithan loss was four hundred and
fifty killed and wounded.

The French Post-office employes have addressed to
the Chamber a petition praying that the postal service be
suspended on Sundays, in order, to enable them to have
one day's rest per week, like all other employes of the
State.

The Pope has issued an encyclical letter, in which
he deplores the difficulty which the Church erporiences in
replacing missionaries.

Speaking at a meeting near Halifax on the Irisa
Question, Mr. Stansfeld, M.P., said the subject was one of
too serious a natur.g to admit of being treated from a party
point of view. Mt Irish people were an impulsive people,
and moderation was necessary at the present time. hew
powers might have to be sought to preserve law and order
and, if so, they would be granted. Under the present Go-
vernment that object would be attained with the minimum
amount of arbitrary force.

The Queen has again signified her approbation of
the work of the Female School of Art, 43, Queen-square,
London, by purchasing a life study in water-colour.

-
Last week's receipts of cotton at all United States
ports were 239,000 bales; ditto since Ist September,
3,006,000 bales; shipments to England, 92,003 bales; ditto
to Continent and Channel, 70,000 bales; total since Ist
September, 1,687,000 bales; stock at all ports, 924,000
fiales.

The executive committee of the Lawrence Memorial
have adopted the principle of the design submitted by Mr.
Boehm, who, to indicate Lord Lawrence's character, has
seized on an incident related of his earlier career in the
Punjab. He exhibits a sword and a pen to the Sikh chief-
tains, and demands to know by which they choose to be
governed. The statue is to be placed in the south-east
corner of Waterloo-place, London. opposite that of Sir John
Burgoyne.

An exhibition of historical portraits has been opened
in the Ktinstlerhaus at Vienna. The collection numbers
about 900 works, by German, Italian, and French painters.

Lord Derby has offered the Victoria University,
Manchester, the sum of £2,000 for a scholarship in pure and
applied mathematics.

At the Guildhall, in London, on Friday in last
week, Lord Chief Justice Coleridge was presented with the
chain of office worn by the late Lord Chief Justice Cock-
burn, and which was his property. It is intended that the
chain shall be worn by all succeeding holders of the cffice of
Lord Chief Justice of England in turn.
Among the big game shot by King Humbert at
Castle Porziano last week was an enormous wild bcar,
weighing 15 kilogrammes.

The Emperor of Germany has decorated with Orders
of honour four State officials of the King of the Sandwich
Island, including Kalakaua's representative at Berlin. Two
•young Hawsdans who recently came over with a letter of
introduction from His Majesty to Prince Heinrich have
applied themselves vigorously to their naval and military
studies.

Immense consignments of poultry were sent for the
London Christmas markets from France and Germany, and
large quantities of geese and turkeys from Norfolk and
Yorkshire. Some prize turkeys were Dricediat, from £3 to
£5 each.

In the annual report of the Director of the Bureau
of Statistics just published at Washington, is is stated that
the United States is now the largest exporter of breadstuffs
in the world. It is added, however, that the merchant
marine of the country continues to declines
Mr. J. Rolls, the junior member of Parliament for
Monmoutk, has made a reduction of 20 per cent, in the rent
of the teauts on his estate for the current half-year.
Lord Randolph Churchill, M.P., addressing a
meeting at Preston, condemned the Government for not
having renewed the Peace Preservation Act, and said he had
authority for stating that the Duke of Marlborough would
not have consented to be responsible for the government of
Ireland unless the Executive had been armed with excep-
tional powers. For months before they left office the late
Ministry had been endeavouring to ascertain the state of
the country. All the information they had collected was
handed over to Mr. Forster, together with the draft of a
Bill for renewing the Peace Preservation Act.

The Besancon municipality has voted a commemo-
rative tablet on the house where Victor Hugo was born.

Lord Beaconsfield's " Endymion " is being sold in
the United States as a single volume of eighty-four pages, at
about id. a copy.

At a conference of West Lancashire miners' dele-
gates, held at Wigan on Monday night to consider the wages
question, regret was expressed at the determination of the
employers not to grant an advance of wages, and it was re-
solved that fourteen days' notice, commencing from Monday
next, should be given for an advance in wages equal to the
last reduction. The masters were also requested to take
into favourable consideration the question of payment of
wages weekly.

At a meeting of the Barnsley Liberal Association,
the president read a paper on the Irish land question. A
resolution was afterwards passed in the following terms:
"While regretting the serious outrages and slaughter of
dumb animals that have taken place in Ireland, we at the
same time have every confidence that the present Ministry,
under Mr. Gladstone, will bring in some measure that will
deal justly and satisfactorily with the Irish people."

- -
The New South Wales Parliament has been opened
by the Governor, Lord Augustus Loftus, who adduced, as
evidence of the sound condition and prosperity of the
country, the fact that, since the Ist of July the increase of
revenue, as against the revenue for the corresponding period
of 1879, is nearly £600,000.

A man was found in a dying state on some farm
premises near Chipping Norton on Friday in last week.
Ile stated that he had lain there for four days without food.
His neck, toes, and ankles were badly bitten by rats. He
died in the local infirmary on Saturday morning.
- -

From Dortmund it is reported that a fatal explosion
has taken place in a coal 'Mine near Langendreer. Four
miners were killed and two were severely injured.

The Allgemeine Zeitung gives the results of the census
for Munich. It has now a population of 228,000 inhabitants,
In 1875 the number was 193,000. In 1801, it amounted to
40,000 souls. In 1830 the number was 77,000 ;in 1840, 05,000;
in 1852, 106,000; in 1861, 148,000; and in 1871, 169,000.

Cremation seems likely to be legalised in Rome, as
the Commynal Council hare granted a site in the public
cemetery, where the crematory' process may be carried out
when desired.

The new building of the Birmingham Medical
Institute has been opened by the mayor. The cost of the
building is £6,000, all of which has been paid, and-the
institute starts free. The object of the institute is to pro.
vide a house and library for the medical profession, and
requisite accommodation for the meetings bY the profession.
Upwards of 6,000 bookslare already in the library. The cost
of maintenance is to be defrayed by subscriptions.
We (Globe) understand that the Russian Govern..
meet has given an order to an engineering firm at Abo in
Finland, for 12 torpedo cutters, on a new system, constructed
of wood, and provided with engines of six nominal horse
power. Each of the cutters will cost 7,500 roubles and
together 90,000 roubles, or about £.10,000. They are intended
for Admiral Lesovsky's fleet in the China seas.
The Austrian Metallurgical Department has
recently published the statistics of production of mines and
metallurgical works for 1879. The greatest yield in mining,
matters has been in lignite, which amounted to 79,059,352 cwt.;
coal, to 58,786,040 cwt. ; iron ore, 6,282,469 cwt. ; manganese
34,333 cwt. ; graphite, 114,909 cwt. The production of metals
in metric cwts. was as follows :—Pig iron, 2,559,531; foundry
pig, 298,864; silver, 295,360' lead, 59,803; litharge, 32,012;
zinc, 32,807; quicksilver, 4,285 ; copper, 2,582; tin, 332 ; anti
mony, 846.