The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-01-03 00:00:00

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King Amadeus, weary of the strife of parties, met
finding it impossible to make any progress with the
reorganization of the country, announced his intention
to abdicate. He canted out this revolution on the fol-
lowing day, and &Republic was at once proclaimed by
the Spanish Cortes by 256 votes &safest 32. Oa the
12ch a Government ,was elicte by. the Cone' - with
Soifer Fignesas as Rrepideht the Council. the the
130 of May thee *an a neral eletios which
Malted in the return of 3 Mininteffal Fefferat
lets' 30 extreme Radicals, 8 internationalists,
10 Independent Histeblicans,* and 30 Monarchies.
The newly•electel Cortes met for the first time in
Main,' early in June ; on the 7th there was a meeting
'of tho,Expublican non's, anSon the 8-h the Corte,
proclaimed • Feder-MA iiepublia-by- 210 votes against
two. Another Ministerial cries followed, and Sefior
Salmeron was elected President of the new Govern-
ment. This was on the 18th of July, and on the 4th
of September Salmeron's Ministry resigned on a vote
of the Cortes rejecting their propoml to exclude the
punishment of death from the military code. Three
days afterwards Seiler Cast elar VMS elected President
of another Ministry, and still remains at the head of
affairs. With the troops of Don Carlos fighting
againet him in the- north of Spain, and the city of
Carthegena long held by a band ol resolute insurgents,
Centrist's difficulties Dave been heavy indeed. They
were added to by the complications which swkleuly
arose between Spain and the United States. On the
nit of October, the ship' Virginias, which the
Captain-General of Cuba had long suspected of
ansisting in the insurrection on that inland, was cap-
tured upon the high seas by the Spanish ironclad
Tornado, and a number of her crew, including sixteen
British stobjects, were summarily ;hot The United .
State. Government then demanded that the ship and '
the remainder of the passengers and crew should be
surrendered, and after some hesitation the Spanish
authorities acceded to this course. It has, however,
since been discovered that the vessel had no right to
carry the American flee-.
With the two exceptions of France and S pain, little has
passed upon the Continent demanding especial attention
here. Austria has done her best to continue in the
path of constitutional reform, and to cultivate the arts
of pence. She has followed in the train of England,
France, and other countries in opening an International
Exhibition, and the ceremony of the let of May, at
Vienna, when Great Britain was represented by the
Prince of Wales, will be long remembered for its im-
posing character and the magnificence if its surround.
Moe It was brought to a close on the 2nd November.
Italy has passed what may truly be called an unevent-
ful year, if we except the visit of her Sovereign to
Vienna and Berlin, which at the time was regarded as
possessing some political significance, in view of the
turn which political White load taken in France.
Prussia, as throughout 1872, has been recovering from
the fatigues of war, and developing the arts of peace,
although the conflict between the Church and the
State still continues, and st times gives rise to much
acrimonious discussion. Tine internal affairs of the
vast Empire of Punta have attracted little notice, and
even the expedition to Khiva has almost panted out of
our memories already. The little dispute which we
had with Turkey a short time ago was Nati- factorily
adjusted. It appears that about a thousand Turkish
troops took possession of the territory belonging to the
Sultan of Laleej, one of our allies, who applied to the
British Reeldent at Aden for assistance. Being de-
pendent ma his territory for provisions and a supply of
water for our thriving and valuable settlement at Aden,
it was at once our duty and our interest to interfere for
his protection. Five hundred British troops wereaccord-
ingly despatcher' from Aden to Labej ; and the Turks
were at once withdrawn. Aria our relations with the
United States, these are new more satisfactory than
they have been for many years past. The Alabama
indemnity has peen paid off, and Mr. Rumen Gurney,
the Recorder of London, has returned home from
Washington, where he was engaged nearly two years
In anteing to adjust the claims which arose under the
Treaty of 1871. Both countries may well be congrat-
ulated on the termination of • dieputs which, al-
though it was at length settled by the payment if a
comparatively email sum of money, was for years a
source of strife and of embittered controversy. And,
lastly, in our review of foreign &liana,. we must nit
omit to mention the signing of a treaty with the
Sultan of Zanzibar by Sir Bartle Frere, whereby the
slave markets in the dominions of that potentate have
been closed.

This year has witnessed a viait to our shores from the
sovereign of one of the most ancient empires in the
world. On the 17th of April, amid the plaudits of a
hundred thousand of his subjects, the Shah of Persia
left his capital of Teheran to see benne of the great
homes of civillzation in the western lands. He was
first received by the Czar of RllbßiS next he VIM in-
troduced to the military glory of the German Empire
at Berlin; and after passing through Belgium, he em-
basked at Ostend on the morning of the 18th of June
for England. lie was escorted by a squadron of iron.
dads across the Channel, and on landing at Dover
was received by an enormous number of spectators.
He arrived in London the same evening, vast
marines of the population turning out to wel-
come him, and took up his quarters in Bucks
bighorn Palace. On the 20th the Shah was re
ceived by her Slangily at Windsor, and on the same
night was entertained by the Corperation oi London at
Giuldhall in a most sumptuous styli', which recsl'ed all
the splendeura of Oriental koluarme. On the lied he
was present at an inspection of the Chsnnel Firet at
Spithead, on the 24th her Majesty held a review of the
troops at Windsor in his honour, on the 25th he visited
Greenwich Hospital, and next day went to Liverpool.
On the 30th he attended a magnificent fete at the
Crystal Palace, and having taken leave of the Queen
on the 2nd of July, embarked for France on the sth
of that month. Subsequently he visited Vienna and
Constantinople, and returned to Teheran on the 23rd
of September, after an absence of five months.
Amongst our other distinguished visitors have been
the Czsrewitch and Czarevna, who were for several
weeks the guests of the Prince and Princess of Wales
at Marlborough House.
The maritime disasters of 1873 have been so recentiy
reviewed that a mere reference to them here will suffice.
On the night of the 22nd of January, while the emi-
grant ship Norrhsteet was at anchor off the coast of
Kent, she was cut down by the Spanish steamer
Murillo, when 293 lives were lost—the extremely pain-
ful particulars of which will be long remembered not
only by the relatives and friends of those who were lost,
but also by the public generally.—The second great
shipping calamity of the year took place on the night of
the 31st of March, when, amid &dense fog, the et esmer
Atlantic ran upon Mars Island, off the coast of Nova
Scotia, and became a total wreck. It Is estimated
that at least 500 lives were lost —The collision between
the Ville du Havre and the Zoe/Learn will be fresh in
the memories of all our readers. It happened in Mid-
Atlani ic on the morning of the 22nd of November,
and of 313 person on board the Alle du Havre, only
87 were saved. The Lee/sears sought to continue her
voyage, but she had received such fearful Injories that
she was abandoned at sea a iffiin a week of the
collision

Of domestic calamities there arehappily few to record.
Loudon has been comparatively free from great Bres ac-
companied by loss of hie, and in our coal-producing die-
riots there have been re ouch disastrous exploeions as
those which darkener+ -l.ssing days of 1866. In the
month of February, after a long continuation of mild
and rainy weather, a cold wave of considerable sevtrity
swept over Great Britain, and many deaths resulted
from the snow storms which passed across the land.
On the 25th of April there was a great fire at Man-
chester, destroying the works of the Lancashire and
Yorkshire Railway Company, with stock trebled at
£200,000. The Alexandra Palace at Muswell
whicn after years of labour and disappointment was
opened to the public on the 24th of May, was totally
burnt to the ground on the 9th of June, ao id the
general regret of all who had wished well to finch a
place of recreation for the immense population inhabit-
ing the northern part of the metropolig. July and
August were marked by Fevers thunderstorms in the
midland and northern counties, and in these many
lives were lost. The second half of the year has been
characterised by an extraordinary number of railway
accidents from various c meek Indeed these have fol-
lowed each other almost wlt't the rapidity of 1611
epidemic, and have eli3iteti a strong remonstrance on
the part of the President of the Board of Trade. In
the middle of December, after a few days of frost, the
wind suddenly shifted to the south•westl and rushing
down upon some of the towns in Yorkshire and Derby-
shire' unroofed houses, blew down chimneys, out de-
stroyed many lives. Yet, looking abroad, we find that
our sorrows in this respect are but small as compared
with those of other countries. On the 19. h of January
these was a terrific gale in the West Indign Islands, and
the injury to property was estimated at illoo,ooo. In the
early days of March there were earthquakes in Central
America and one t.f these involved the total destruc-
tion of San Salvador. On the 29:1 of June a similar
convulsion of nature shook the towns of Filet° and
Vittoria, in Italy; and on the Bth of July there was
an earthquake at Valparaiso. In each case great
damage was done to property, but in neither wag the
loss of life serious.

Ireland hap, tjp.,:n the whole, been free from political
agitation during the year. The Home Rule movement
seems to have mve I rogress, and from November the
18th to the 21st, both inolustve, a representative Con-
feren,e sat in Dahltn, at which resolutions were
passed, declaring the convicti me of the speakers that
it was essentially necessary to the peace and pros-
perity of Irtland that the right of domestic legisla-
tion on all Irish affairs should be restorwi to that
country.

The commercial and trading prosperity of Great
Britain has suffered little uimunieion ; capital and
enterprise will have full scope, and there has been an
abundant demand for labour. In some parts, as in
1872, contests have taken plive b-tween masters and
men, the latter demanding higher wages, which in
most cases they ultimately obtained. NVi h the first
day of the new year there seas an extensive strike of
colliers in S.nith Wales, and in other directions the
same example has from time to time been followed, the
results being mostly in favour of the men. In June it
appeared as though there was to be another strike in
the London Building Trade, but on a spirit of con-
cession being manifested on both sides, the dispute was
amicably settled on the 19th of that mouth. The high
price of coal he, not ceased to be the suhject of cow
met,t, atd when, in the middle of February, beet
, Wallsemk, was quoted at Mr. per ton in London, the
matt.r assumed a serious aspect, and on the 21st
the House of Commons appointed a Committee of
Inquiry into the causes of the high rates and scarcity
of this necessary of life. The committee eat several
weeks, examined • large number of witnesses, and
presented an elaborate report showing that practically
there was la, scarcity of coal in Great Britain, and
that the high prices were the result of artificial
causes. And although the year closes with coal
considerably in excise' of the rates which people have
been soenetomed to pay in days gone by, our