The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-11-21 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

The Licerpool Mercury states that of LT, persons
arrested by the Liverpool police between Saturday evening
mid Monday morning, 128 were drunk.
A Manilla paper relates a story of the doings of a
Chinaman who won upwards of three thousands dollars in a
lottery It seems that lie was a contractor for supplies to
the Manilla prison. After coming into possession of his
money, he gave a feast to all the prisoners.
The latest explanation of the report that Don Carlos
was at lieudaye is a statement that a.Dutch consul on the
frontier, who resembles lihn In features, recently had
occasion to visit Bayonne.

On the Jour des Morts (the 2ml of November)
213,900 persons visited the different cemeteries of Paris,
bearing crowns of iminortelles and other pious tokens of
regard, destined to adorn the tombs of friends, relations, and
celebritiet It ispillcially stated that the crowns sold on All
saints' Pay and the Jour den Monts fetched a sum of over one
million francs

A Russian gentleman has wagered that he will
travel from Vienna to Paris in 13 days in a troika, drairn by
three horses drives by his Tartar coachmaq Sanaa.
- • - • • • • •

The Prince Imperial has had a small fortune of
£6,000 left him by a private person, formerly a Bonapartist
official

The 42nd Highlanders embarked at Portsmouth on
Saturday on board the Himalaya for Malta, their new
station. This gallant regiment, famous u the Black Watch,
consists of about 700 men, all told.

The London correspondent of the Manchester Guar-
dian learns that the mania to be given to the son ot the Duke
and Duchess of Edinburgh will be Albert Alexander. The
young prince vrill thus be called alter bath his paternal and
maternal grandfathers.

Mr. Macdonald, M.P. who presided at the con-
ference of the Miners National Association, which com-
menced on Tuesday at Barnsley, complimented the delegates
on meeting in a magnificent budding which belonged to them.
lie hoped it would he set apart for the instruction of young
and rising miners who were in the pursuit of knowledge.
Mr. Normansell stated that £450 a month was paid to the
widows and orphans on the books of the association.

•
The French are getting exceedingly sentimental
about their tailors, says the Court Journal. Tailor anecdotes
are being searched for and given to the world. A learned
and pathetic contemporary mo s : —"The oldest tailor in the
world haa jut died in Paris. Ile was 109 years of age. Ile
was called Father Fipps. Ile began his trade at nine years of
age, and continued at It till his 100th year lie worked or
95 years ! Three months ago he made a pair of trousers for
his youngest great-great-grandchild. It took him a fort-
night "And to think," said he, "that once upon • time
I could make a pair in half-a-day !"
The Btrmingham Post states that the Mayor has re-
ceived from the Prince of Wales a cheque for .ClOO. as •
donation to the building fund of the Midland Institute.

A daring robbery of 8150,000 had been committed
In an express car on the Great Western Railway of Canada,
near Toronto, by five men, who entered the car, and gagged
the officials in charge. The thieves escaped with their
plunder.

" Mr. Gladstone has intimated that as it is beyond
his power to reply individually to the very numerous corre-
spondents who have addressed him respecting the Vatican
Decrees, he must request them to accept a general acknow-
ledgment of their coalmunications."—Da jig New.

~
Mr. Gladstone is stated to have sent a copy of his
pamphlet to Prince Itiamarck.

Intelligence has reached the Hague of renewed
hostilities between the Dutch and the Atehinese. The
former captured omen forts and three bridge*. They
have also gained complete possession of the Pedir embank.
meet.

At the clew of a very long letter in The Times on
the Epping Forest Case, Mr U. ii. Lefevre recommends the
Government to pass an act which 'shall maintain the use
of the commons for the teeming . population of London,
and put an end for ever to further attempts at land
robberies."
The Scottish American Journal says ;—"Over fifty
thousand artisans in New York were reduced to pauperism
and beggary last winter, and thousands of tnem got their
meagre supply at the souphousee every day, and slept in
the police stations at night. There will ties still worse state
of things during the coming winter."
A railway accident is reported from Italy. A lug-
gage train going Pi 13ologra ran into a passenger train which
was stopped by snow. Forty persons were injured and one
was killed.
It is proposed to construct a railway up Snowdon on
the plan of the Riga line in Switterland. Notices have bee
issued of a bill to be brought before Parliament bent sessio
fur that purpose. The line will commence near Llanbe
Railway station, and terminate at the well known sp
about 000 yards from the summit.
The " robbevaots " have no mercy; they are tha
most ruthless of Insects A naturalist has been closely
watching their way., and he says of them :—" once upon •
time there dwelt in my yard a flourishing colony of the very
smallest species of black ant. The servants about my cook-
house had spilled a quantity of syrup, which ran through
the floor. The little anti had found it, and seemingly the
entire population were out and busy packing it away to their
home. The microscope showed that they carried the syrup
in their abdomen; but before they had secured all the
syrup, I observed that there was great excitement along '
their road. The larger, black, erratic ants had discovered
them while carrying home the syrup, and were takiug it
away from them. It was really painful to observe the ruth-
less manner in which they slaughtered and robbed the help-
less little ants of their distended sacs of sweetness. They
grabbed up the heavily-burdened little fellows, doubled
them, and, biting open the abdomen, drew out the full sac,
and messed to swallow it then, casting the lacerated car-
. cue aside, they fan, only sprang upon another of the panic.
stricken crowd, and repeated the horrid operation. Million,
of these heartless butchers were at work, and soon, on ac-
count of its wealth, that populous city was exterminated"
The Postmaster-General has, it is stated, repre-
sante(' to the Home Office that great trouble and expense is
occasioned to the department by the common practice of
throwing stones and other missiles at telegraph insnlators.
A circular has in consequence been addressed to the chair-
men of quarter sessions calling for the assistance of the
police in apprehending offenders and in summarily taking
them before the magistrates. The local postmasters an
farther empowered to prosecute in the Barge of the Post-
maaterGeeeraL In Addition to this the police are required
to examine from time to time the telegraph posts for them-
selves with a view to discovering what damage has been
done to then, The Home Office has taken the further step
of communicating to the Lord President of the Council an
expression of their conviction that among the agents of
tintructlon will probably be discovered boys and girls who
ought to be at school. The co-operation of his Grace is
sought for in taking such measures as may appear best for
drawing the attention of the managers of MI elementary
schools tuader Government supervision to the subject,