The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-07-17 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

The last census of Sweden was taken at the end of
1879, and showed that the population of that kingdom
(without Norway) amounted to 4,577,783 sonls.
During the Queen's stay at Osborne her Majesty
will be visited by the Empress Eugenie, who arrives in
England about the end of this month. The Empress will
only make a short stay at Chislehurst, as she intends spend-
ing the autumn at Arenenberg.
Several of the salesmen of Leadenhall Market
(London) are preparing a petition with a 'dew to urge on the
Government to make it illegal to sell hares and rabbits from
the Ist of May to the end of July. The reason for this is
that during this period both hares and rabbits are injurious
for human food.—Cttizen.
As many as 32,000 emigrants left Hamburg during
the first six months of the present year. The number for
the corresponding period of last year was 12,000.
The Earl of Malmesbury was confined to his house
all last week through a painful accident. On the 3rd
inst. he fell over a piece of furniture, dislocating his
shoulder. Ms lordship was so far better on Saturday as to
be able to take a carriage drive.

The Sultan has extended for another two years,
dating from next spring, the period during which the
employes of the British Museum are to be permitted to
continue their excavation of the mounds of Assyria and
Babylonia.
The wooden coffin in which the remains of Kant
are enclosed, being found to be decayed and broken when
the vault at lionisgberg was lately opened, is to be replaced
by a metal one. •

The Russians have formed three camps on the
eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, and are assembling large
bodies of men there preparatory to an advance against the
Turcomans. General Skobeleff is said to be strongly forti-
fying and arming Banii, and expects to have finished these
works, and to take the field, in about two months.
On Tuesday evening a foreman platelayer named
Ramm was crushed to death at the Rochdale station between
two wagons which were being shunted.

The Warrington Guardian announces that Mr.
Joseph Hartley, agent to Messrs. Greenhall and Co., of
Wilderspool, was killed at Meliden on Monday night. The
deceased was returning from Talacre in a phaeton with
two friends, when the horses became unmanageable, the
wheel came in contact with a wall, the occupants were
thrown out, and the head of the deceased struck against a
stone. He died an hour afterwards from fracture of the
skull. Mr. Hartley was well known in Ormskirk, where he
had resided a number of years.

A telegram received at Capetown, from the Resi-
dent in Basutoland, expresses the opinion that there will be
no general surrender of arms by the Basutos. Great excite-
ment is said to prevail in Lower Basutoland.

A Parliamentary return just issued shows that of
11,396 men composing the Royal Irish Constabulary on the
Ist January last, 8,187 were Roman Catholics and 3,209 Pro-
testants. _ _

The reports from the iron districts all continuos
hopeful, and in general speak of gradually and healthily ex-
panding trade.
The ladies of the Denbigh Boroughs who are
attached to the Conservative cause have presented, through
the Mayoress of Wrexham, a diamond and pearl pendant to
the Hon. Mrs. Kenyon as a souvenir of the late election.
The Hon. George Kenyon acknowledged the gift, and took a
hopeful view of Welsh politics. He thought there had been
a panic. Conservatism had been beaten in Wales from want
of sympathy existing between the upper classes and the
working people. That was one cause ; another had been a
sort of feeling that the Church was antagonistic to the Dis-
senters of Wales. These two causes were now rapidly being
removed.

Concerning the visit of the Empress Eugenie to
Zululand the Times of Natal learns that the sad duty which
Her Majesty had taken upon herself was performed with
touching and impressive solemnity at Ityotyozi. On June 1
those of the Roman Catholic faith who accompanied the
Empress were invited to join in a solemn service, after
which they retired, and during that night the Empress alone
watched and prayed over the spot where her son had fallen.
Funeral tapers, together with wreaths of immortelles, sent
by the Queen and the Prince of Wales, were placed upon the
spot, and the Empress placed similar emblems on the graves
of the troopers and Basutos who fell with the Prince. The
Empress preserved her health throughout

An official assurance has been given to the Russian
Government by the Chinese Chargé d' Affaires, acting in the
name of the Embassy in London, that China has no wish to
go to war with any European rower.

The little steamer Anthracite has arrived safely at
New York. She is the smallest vessel which has ever
steamed from Europe to America. The total length is
84 feet, beam 16 feet, and depth 10 feet. She carries engines
of 20 nominal and 168 indicated horse-power, and her re-
gistered tonnage is a little over 27 tons.

Insects are exceedingly abundant this year. The
various tribes of Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera show,
by their numbers how well the season suits them.
Protection appears to be seriously injuring Prussian
trade, to judge by the corn returns of Konigsberg, where the
imports have only amounted to 40,000 tons, against 117,000
during the first six months of the last year, and 300,000
during the previous year.

The Armq and Navy Ga.zette understands that broad-
side firing, the guns being directed by electricity, is about
to be tried in the ships of the Channel Squadron, and upon
the report received of this new system will depend its adop-
tion in the fleet generally.
The annual
.ftte in connection with the Kent and
Sussex Labourers' Union was held at Chatham on Monday,
and was attended oy many thousands of persons. At twelve
o'clock a procession was formed and some of the principal
streets were paraded. In the afternoon a demonstration
was held in favour of extending household suffrage to the
counties, and addresses were delivered in favour of the
extension by Mr. Broadhurst, 31. P., and Mr. Burt, M.P.
Mr. Macdonald, M.P., was prevented by indisposition from
attending.
In Paris the fashionable shoes for morning wear
are.the Indian slippers, in velvet, embroidered in gold or
silver, fastened round the ankle by a wide bangle, which is
closed by a buckle or gold serpent; also veri high heels.—
Court Journal.

A monster petition now being hawked through
France ask the Legislature to vote more stringent game laws,
with a view of putting down poaching and preventing any
one from killing game otherwise than with fire-arms. A
hundred thousand signatures have already been obtained.

Those versed in oyster culture know how important
is a high temperature at the spatting season The 'spat'
was born about June 18, but just at the critical time the
temperature fell below sixty degrees, and the whole ex-
pected brood has been virtually lost. Lovers of the oyster
must, therefore, still rely on America for their supply.
The whale of the men employed at the Silkstone
Main Colliery, near Barnsley, have received notice dispens-
ing with their services for a fortnight. It is believed that
it is either the intention of the owners to close the colliery
owing to the dull state of the South Yorkshire coal trade,
or that the men will be asked to submit to a reduction.
- -

The Guildford Liberal Discussion Club has resolved
to petition Parliament against the proposed erection of a
statue to the late Prince Louis Napoleon lii Westminster
Abbey.
A thirty miles match between W. Phillips, of
Coventry (the 100 miles champion), and C. Terront (Champion
of France) was decided on Saturday evening at Alexandra-
park, on a track measuring two-and-a-half laps to the mile.
In the 28th mile Terront was seized with cramp. This spoilt
his chance of success, and his opponent was able to draw
away gradually. In the result Phillips won by half a lap.
Time, Ih. 51min. 358ec.
The other night at Kirkwall (Orkney), a young man
named Kirkness found a beautiful gold ring which was lost
some five years ago by a gentleman while bathing.
The Constantinople Correspondent of the Dail?, News
telegraphs that the real opposition to the demands of
Europe comes from the Sultan himself, who is in dread at
once of opposing and offending Europe and of yielding with-
out at least a show of resistance. His Majesty's scruple is
a religious one; he cannot surrender Moslem territory to
infidels except under compulsion. When, however, there is
sufficient show of force, then his religion will allow him to
yield, and it is understood that his Majesty's objections will
be got over. The correspondent adds that he has good au-
thority for stating that this is the Sultan's present attitude.

About nine thousand school children and teachers
paraded the streets of Coventry on Tuesday, in celebration
of the Centenary of Sunday Schools. An interesting feature
in the proceedings was the planting by the Mayor of the
city of a Raikes centenary tree. The nine thousand children
subsequently partook of tea, which was provided by public
subscription.
The persons who witnessed the representation of
"Los Pilules du Diable" at the Chatelet the other evening
did not probably suspect the danger with which at one por-
tion of the performance they were menaced. About ten
o'clock, says Galignani, a piece of fireworks was being pre-
pared in the room specially reserved for the purpose, when
It caught fire and exploded with great violence, severely in-
juring the man engaged in the work and filling the audito-
rium with pungent smoke. Luckily the audience did not
guess the real cause of the incident, but thought it included
In the piece, and confined themselves to loudly complaining
of the smoke. The actors having also the presence of mtnd
to continue their parts as though nothing had happened, a
panic was thereby avoided which mien have been attended
with the most serious consequences.

It is stated that arrangements are being made with
the authorities by Major-General E. S. Burnaby, M.P., for
exhibiting the Swedish system of gymnastics in all the prin.
cipal military centres in the United Kingdom.
Sir Tollemache Sinclair has given notice that, on the
second reading of the Hares and Rabbits Bill, he will move
that the inalienable right of shooting those creatures should.
be restricted to the period between February 1 and April 1 ;
but that the tenants should have the right of ferretting inside
rabbit-holes throughout the year.

The emigrants who sailed from Liverpool last month
numbered 20,757, a decrease on May of 8,535. In the half.
year just expired there sailed from Liverpool 103,194
persons, the largest number recorded in any like period.
The Rev. Mr. Spurgeon, with the advice of his
elders and deacons, has consented to take II sojourn of about
a fortnight's duration in Scotland for the benefit of his
health. Latterly the rev, gentleman has had occasional
twinges of his old complaint, rheumatism; and it is hoped
by his numerous friends that change of air and the
picturesque scenery with which Scotland abounds will act
beneficially on him, physically and mentally.
The Government lately announced that seventy
second-class assistants of excise would shortly be appointed,
the situations to be obtained by open competition. It is
now, however, announced that in consequence of the fiscal
changes proposed by Mr. Gladstone in connection with the
beer duties, no fewer than 300 of the competitors have been
selected for official employment.

It is reported from the Azores that a disturbance of
the earth has occurred in the island of St. George, resulting
In the formation of another small island of about 18,000
square yards and distant 600 yards from the shore.

There is great alarm in West Switzerland owing to
the appearance of the phylloxera in several parts of the
canton of Vaud.

There is great distress in the city of Cabul from the
scarcity and high prices of provisions, but the harvest is now
nearly gathered and should bring relief. It is understood
that on the withdrawal of the troops from Cabul the de-
fences which our security has demanded will be demolished.
- - - - -

At Finchley, in the north of London, there are now
lying plans for 600 houses before the Local Board, whereas
seven years ago, Finchley was ene of the prettiest spots for
scenery and green fields within many miles of London.

An electric railway will shortly run at the National
Brussels Exhibition.

The fifty-sixth cricket match between Eton and
Harrow Schools was brought to a conclusion at Lord's
ground on Saturday afternoon. On Friday evening the
game stood :—Harrow, first innings, 148; second innings, 16
without the loss of a wicket. Eton, first innings, 107. On
resuming play on Saturday, Harrow concluded their second
innings for 142 runs, leaving Eton 184 runs to get to win.
This they failed to do, the eleven being dismissed for a total
of 88, Harrow thus winning by 95 runs.
On Saturday afternoon a large party of Good Tem-
plars, for the most part officials and members of the Bedford
Lodge, one of the largest and most influential lodges in the
East of London, paid a visit to Westminster Abbey. The
Dean of Westminster courteously " guided " the abstainers
through the abbey, describing its many historic riches, and
answering questions as they proceeded. During the visit the
Templars were joined by members of the staff of the
Athenceum and Notes and Queries. Afterwards the united
party were entertained at tea in the Jerusalem Chamber. In
response to a vote of thanks the Dean expressed the great
pleasure he had had in taking BO unique a party over the
abbey and explaining points of historic importance which a
mere cursory glance might have possibly caused them to
overlook. He incidentally mentioned as a remarkable fact
that hitherto political animosities had never been allowed to
i
influence the question of the sepulture n the abbey of
famous persons, many instances occurring In which those
who had dosing life exhibited a deadly animosity to each
other were laid side by side with joint inonumentS over their
graves.

Sixty-one thousand five hundred and thirty-two
persons were present on Tuesday at the Band of Rope fRe
at the Crystal Palace.

The Chamber of Agriculture Journal learns that
applications from as many as 170 teachers have been received
at South Kensington for the promised course of lectures on
agricultural science.

The recent report of the French Minister of Justice
for 1878 shows that the number of judicial separations
decreed in that yearwas greater than ever before, 3,277 cases
having been before the tribunals.

The Mark Lane Express of Monday says that an-
other week of wet weather would have a considerable effect
on the price of corn. Home stocks of wheat have been
worked down to a critically low point.

The number of grilse and trout caught in the past
week in the Tweed show a marked improvement when com-
pared with those a few weeks ago, but salmon are still very
scarce. Prices :—Salmon, Is. 2d. ; grilse, 11d. ; trout, 11d.
A fine sturgeon, Oft. long. 3ft. llin. in girth, and 18 stone
41b. in weight, was caught at Yarrow fishery, in the Tweed
on Monday morning the sth.
The Times says that a movement has been set on
foot among Liberal members of the House of Commons for
the purpose of impressing on the Government the necessity
of modifying the Lords amendments to the Burials Bill
before the measure is allowed to pass into law. The Prime
Minister has been communicated with on the subject, and
has signified his willingness to receive a deputation of
Liberal members for the purpose of hearing their views.

A Blue Book just issued shows that the estimated
number of children of school age in Scotland in 1878 was
645,076, whilst the number of school places was 685,098, or
40,022 places more than there were children. The number
of public schools was 2,503; of non-public State-aided
schools, 605; of efficient elementary schools, 508; and of
higher-class public schools, 17.
"Mr. Gladstone's proposal to reduce the exemption
from beer duty from £2O to £lO houses, and to leave land
out of the reckoning, will be a relief to small farmers and
labourers, but will not meet the case of any farmer of a
hundred acres or more. Cannot he be induced to leave the
exemption at £2O, and still not let land be taken into ac-
count ?"—Mark bane Express.

In London, on Monday, the annual meeting of the
Church of Ireland Sustentation Fund was held in the Library
at Lambeth Palace, when great regret was expressed at the
limited response to the urgent appeals of the Committee, the
amount received during the past year being only £.1,849. It
was hoped, however, that the depression in trade was the
cause of this, and the meeting was congratulated by the
Earl of Harrowby on the fact that since the disendowment
of the Irish Church the society had been able to help her
with between fifty and sixty thousand pounds.

An extraordinary tiger story is reported from
Candeapur (Goa). A tiger, after killing two individuals,
succeeded in snatching a child, one year old, from the lap of
its mother, who was nursing it.

In the London Corn Market on Monday the trade
for wheat was not so good as on the Friday previous, but was
Is. dearer than on Monday week. Barley and maize were
steady, but oats were dull.
- -

Instead of multiplying telegraph stations and wires,
the Parisians have adopted a system of pneumatic trans-
mission for messages, and since the reduction of the tariff
the number of messages has more than doubled. The real
speed of transmission is, of course, much slower than the
electric telegraph; but from the fact that the actual paper
bearing the message can be delivered, and other minor ad-
vantages, the pneumatic system is in more favour than the
telegraph, and is more speedy than the post.

An American inventor has patented a method of
indicating the cost of the gas registered by a meter, so that
those who are now puzzled by the index-dials may be able
to read at a glance how much they are indebted to the Com-
pany.
Among the parliamentary papers just issued is a
petition from the Prince of Wales praying the Queen to
grant a charter of incorporation to the Royal College of
Music. The Prince thinks it would be greatly for the
benefit of the public and the advancement of music if a
charter were granted.

In London, on Tuesday, at a meeting at St. James's
Hall, convened by the Ladies' Committee of the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the
Baroness Burdett-Coutts distributed the prizes to the suc-
cessful competitors for prizes offered for essays on "The
Duty of Kindness to Animals." No less than 15,326 essays
were submitted, and there were 350 recipients of prizes or
certificates.

There were 2,510 births and 1,326 deaths registered
In London last week. Allowing for increase of population,
the births exceeded by 136, whereas the deaths were 81
below, the average numbers in the corresponding week of
the last ten years. The annual death-rate from all causes,
which in the three preceding weeks had been 171, 181, and
185, further rose to 18-9. During the thirteen weeks ending
Saturday, 3rd inst., the metropolitan death-rate averaged
19-4 per 1,000.

On Wednesday morning the whole of the colliers and
their trarnmers employed at the Barrow Collieries, near
Barnsley, received a fortnight's notice to leave work. The
coal trade in the district is in a very bad state.

Amid the general good signs of the present year, it
is unfortunate to have to note an exception in the hazels,
filberts, and cobnuts of Kent. Almost of a certainty nuts
will be scarce.

The Queen, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught,
and Princess Beatrice attended Divine service on Sunday in
morning in the private chapel of Windsor Castle. The Bev.
Phillips Brooks, rector of Trinity Church, Boston, preached.
At a large meeting of the Council of the Mercantile
Marine Service Association, the modal of the association was
awarded to Captain J. W. Rogers, of the National steamer
Helvetia, in recognition of his having rescued the crew of the
brig Kildonan, on the 24th May last, in lat. 49 42 N., long.
20 27 W. The brig's crew launched their boat, but it was
smashed to pieces by the heavy sea. Captain Rogers then
lowered one of the boats in charge of the second officer, and
another boat in charge of the third atter, and safely rescued
the whole crew and their effects.

On Monday Miss Firth, daughter of Mr. Mark
Firth, laid the corner-stone of the north transept of the
parish church, Sheffield, which is now being restored at a
cost of £lB,OOO.

The Thatre des Vari6t6s, at Perpignan, was totally
destroyed by fire on Monday night. The performance was
over, but the artistes were still in their rooms. They had to
save themselves by jumping out of the windows, and six of
them were severely injured. The origin of the tire is attri-
buted to an escape of gas.

A Parliamentary paper was issued on Saturday,
containing, amongst the correspondence printed, an ex-
haustive minute of Sir John Strachey on the cause of the
errors in the estimates for the war in Afghanistan, and a
memorandum by the Financial Secretary to the India Office,
showing that the cost of the war is now estimated at
£16,000,000, and excess of £9,000,000 over the former esti-
mate.

Dr. Farquharson has presented to the House of
Commons a petition from the committee of council of the
British Medical Association, representing 2,000 medical men,
against the Vaccination Acts Amendment Bill.
A considerable extension of the field telegraph ser-
vice in the German army has, it is state% been decided on.
When the proposed augmentations have been completed
there will be seven field telegraph divisions ready to take
the field when the army is mobilized, and of these two will
always be attached to the great headquarters for establish-
ing communication with the several army corps and with
the stations on the lines of communication. Four other so-
called " etappen telegraph directions" will also be orga-
nized, whose special duty it will be to take charge of all
telegraph lines in the rear of the army of operations, and
complete and maintain telegraphic communicatidn between
the latter and the German telegraph lints.—St. James's
Gazette.
His Royal Highness the Prince and Princess of
Wales gave a garden party at Marlborough Ildlise on Tues-
day afternoon to the Queen. Her Majesty was accompanied
by her Royal Highness the Princess Beatrice. Their Royal
Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of connaught, Prince
and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-
Augustenburg, the Duke of Cambridge, Princess Mary
Adelaide (Duchess of Teck) and the Duke of Teck were
present.

An extraordinary cause of death has been reported
to the Liverpool City coroner. Mary Holden, four years and
eight months old, died after a short period of illness, in con-
sequence of eating buttercups, which, it appears, are an
irritant poison. The child had picked the buttercups in
Newsham Park.

Intense heat has prevailed in Spain, the thermo-
meter having reached- 128 deg. Fahrenheit at Seville and
100 deg. at Madrid. There have been many sudden deaths,
especially among children. In Italy also the weather is
very hot.
A singular case of death from lock-jaw has been in-
vestigated by the Brighton coroner. Deceased, a cowman,
named Puttick, injured his foot with the prong of a hay-
fork over a fortnight since, but took no notice of the matter,
and followed his calling as usual until Sunday, the 4th,
when, experiencing a difficulty in swallowing his food, he
called in a doctor. It was, however, too late. The more
violent symptoms of tetanus set in, and he died on the 7th.
A verdict of Accidental Death was returned.

The arrivals of live stock and fresh meat from the
United States and Canada last week showed a large decrease
as compared with the previous week. The totals were as
follows :-1,923 cattle, 1,667 sheep, 524 pigs, 4,811 quarters of
beef, 800 carcases of mutton, and 121 dead pigs.

General Garfield has written an official letter, ac-
cepting his nomination as the Republican candidate for the
Presidency of the United States. The views he expresses in
this letter are in complete accordance with those of the Re-
publican party.

Mr. Molloy, M.P., has given notice that, in the
House of Commons, on Monday, August 9, he will propose
the following motion :—" That, in the opinion of this House,
it is most desirable, having regard to the future contentment
and prosperity of Ireland, that further facilities should be
given by the State for the conversion of tenancies in that
country into ownerships by purchase."

- - -
The tenants of the Duke of Rutland, and also those
of the late Mr. Dunn-Gardner, of Fordham Abbey, have re-
ceived a reduction of 10 pr cent. on the amount of rent duo
at Lady-day.

An improvement in the gun trade of Birmingham
is reported. The sporting branch of that trade is at present
more active than has been the case for quite two years. This
improvement is mainly caused by an extensive American de-
mand for breechloaders, orders fqr between 14,000 and 15,000
having been already accepted. The military department is
comparatively dull, only about one-third of the anticipated
Government demand for 10,000 Sniders having as yet
arrived.

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mlinate of the Military Female Orphan Asylum, has
treated the Maharani of Cuteh. Miss White's
btained for her the special thanks of the Maharani's
family.
Princess Frederica of Hanover presided on Saturday
s4ircvcrcse sf
oully
at the annual distribuion of prizes to the choir, day, and
Sunday school children at the Chapel Royal, Savoy, London.
iler Royal Highness delivered a short address, in which she
expressed a wish to do all in her Dower to forward the
education of children in a land which she was proud and
happy to be able now to call her home.
, The Judea trees in the Jardin des Plantes have
ceased to exist. They had been planted by Buffon, in 1775, in the
avenue leading from the zoological to the botanical garden,
In two lines. They numbered about twenty; many have
been partly destroyed, nothing remains of them but the in-
scription : " Suffered during the winter, 1870 (23 deg.)," or
"during the winter, 1879 (25 deg.)." The last winter caused
their death. The acacias and other species have well
resisted the long and severe frost of December and January
last.
Whether or no certain marks on the American
Cleopatra's Needle are masonic, has excited much contro-
versy, and according to a letter received from Mr. H. E.
Davis, who is superintending its removal from Egypt, the
masonic emblems are without doubt genuine. He says:
" You will see the foundation is composed of three steps, the
mystic number in masonry, and inside of these steps was
- found the square, which is of granite, the same as the
obelisk, also the perfect ashler and the rough ashler; they
are both granite, the lamb-skin is of the whitest of marble,
the square and perfect ashler are polished, the trowel is per-
fect in shape, although rather rusty, the steps are limestone
Ithat has evidently been subjected to volcanic action at some
period of the world, as they are very hard and take a tine
polish. Mr. S. A. Zola, the Grand Master of the Grand
.Lodge of Egypt, says there is no d'. . cil la* bdu Dunly
MllholliCa inake is dateidgad tlio .-" at=ty Lerant.."

On the 10th inst. the youngest son of Comte de
Paris was christened at the Castle of En. Only the nearest
relatives and friends of the family were present. The infant
Prince received the names of Jacques Marie Antoine
Clement.

--------
An Imperial decree has been published at St.
Petersburg, according to which east and wrought iron im-
ported into Russia from abroad will henceforth cease to be
exempt from duty. Modifications are also made in the
customs tariff for iron, steel, and metal manufactures and
machines.

The Trustees of the British Museum received a
deputation from the Sunday Society on Saturday last in
favour of opening the British Museum on Sunday. Earl
Sydney, in replying to the deputation, said the Trustees
could not grant their request without referring the matter to
the Treasury.

A largely-attended meeting of licensed victuallers
and restaurant-keepers was held on Monday in London, for
the purpose of concerting measures for protecting the inte-
rests of the trade against the effect of the alteration of the
licence duties proposed by Mr. Gladstone.

- -
Professor Mommsen's villa at Charlottenburg, a
Berlin suburb, has been burnt down and the library des-
troyed. The great scholar and historian was severely
Injured.

The President of the French Republic, by decrees
dated July 6, has granted pardons and commutations of
sentences to over 1,300 common law criminals at present
undergoing punishment in the home and colonial penal esta-
blishments of France.

The text of a Tre tty or Convention concluded be
tween her Majesty's Governmeutiand the Government of the
German Empire on the 29th March, 1879, extending to that
Empire the provisions of the treaty made on the 20th darof
December, 1841. between Great Britain, Austria, France,
and Russia for the suppression of the Slave Trade has been
published in the London Gazette.
The telegraph office messenger boys in Newcastle-
on-Tyne turned out on strike on Tuesday against a proposal
to reduce the amount of payment for the delivery of each
message from a id. to N. There are upwards of eighty of
the boys. In the meantime the letter carriers and office boys
took out the messages.
The Rev. Dr. Treffry, one of the wealthiest land-
owners in the county of Devon, is reported to have died on
Saturday on board his yacht as she lay in the English
Channel. He had been suffering from heart disease, but
having partially recovered, his medical attendant gratified
his earnest wish once more to visit his vessel, where he was
attacked with syncope and succumbed. Although for many
years taking no part in Church matters, it is said he exer-
cised an important influence in political and public affairs.
The London Hospital Sunday Fund now amounts
to £30,500, which is about £4,000 in excess of the sum col-
lected last year.

The receipts on account of revenue from the let
April, 1880, when there was a balance of £3,273,428, to July
10, 1880, were £21,970,284, against 1:21,638,280 in the corre-
sponding period of the preceding financial year, which
began with a balance of £6,915,756. The net expenditure
was £26,902,824, against £27,304,325 to the same date in
the previous year. The Treasury balances on July 10
amounted to £1,560,318, and at the same date in 1879 to
£1,455,067.

A very large congregation assembled on Sunday
forenoon at St. Alban's Church, Holborn, London, there
being an impression that some further steps would be taken
in connection with the notice of sequestration against Mr.
3fackonochie, which was posted on the door of the church
on the previous Sunday at the instance of the Bishop of
London. It is understood that the action taken by the
bishop is to be resisted.

The Duke of Marlborough and the Duke of Itox-
burghe have gone to Norway on a fishing excursion.

Naila Mohamed, the bearer of an autograph letter
from Queen Victoria to King John of Abyssinia, has returned
to Cairo after a favourable interview with the Abyssinian
monarch, who expressed himself as desirous of maintaining
friendly relations with Egypt.
The death is announced from Paris of M. Isaac
Pereira, a prominent French financier and an ardent free-
trader. His age was seventy-four years, and the immediate
cause of death was cerebral congestion.

Mr. Malet, the British Consul General in Egypt,
has just forwarded to the Foreign Office a number of reports
made by his subordinates respecting the present condition of
the country, and how far the administrative changes made
by the Government were producing effect. The result of
their reports, he says, is extremely satisfactory, and leads
him to hope that the misrule and oppression to which the
fellaheen have been subject for centuries has passed away
for ever. There is, he adds, a gre4 deal still to be done be-
fore it can be said that Egypt is well governed, but the result
of the first half of this year gives good hope for the future.
In a telegram from St. Petersburg, a Correspondent
of the Daily News says : —" Reverting to the vital question
of the Russian grain crop this year, the Gobs publishes
an article based on the returns sent by the governors of
forty-eight provinces in European Russia, showing that the
total deficit of grain under the average crop; will amount in
those provinces to 9,761,310 quarters, the total production
being less than in 1878 by 39,717,300 quarters, and in 1877 by
31,030,300 quarters. During the last ten years twice, viz,
in 1871 and 1875, there was less than in the present year. In
view of the poor harvest, it is considered impossible to ex-
port the usual average 40 million quarters without suffering
from insufficiency for home consumption. Reports of the
hay crop are also desponding."

During the 'Present year important additions will
)9e made to the building of the British Museum. By the
death of the widow of Mr. William White— who himself
died as long ago as 1823—a sum of over sixty thousand
pounds, the "White bequest," has become available for
additional buildings. According to the suggestions at pre-
sent before the Trustees, it is intended to expend a consider-
able sum in extending the accommodation available for
Greek antiquities.

Mr. Labouchere has placed on the paper of the
Rouse of Commons a notice that on the second reading of
the Flares and Rabbits Bill he will move "That no Bill re-
lating to game will be satisfactory which does not give to
the oc;upier of the land power to control the preservation
of game of all descriptions upon it."

The total number of paupers in the metropolis on
the last day of last week, exclusive of lunatics in asylums
and of 860 vagrants, was 83,219, of whom 46,163 were in the
workhouses, and 37,056 received out-door relief. As com-
pared with the corresponding period in each of the three
preceding years, these figures show an increase respectively
of 2,636, 6,043, and 5,650. In only one of the five great
metropolitan districts was there a decrease, viz., the West,
where there were 81 fewer paupers than in the correspond-
ing week of last year.

An inquest has been held at Chiswick, on the body
of Harriet Williams, aged fifty-nine, the wife of a brick-
layer, who committed suicide by swallowing a quantity of
paraffin oil. It appeared that she lad been suffering from
pains in the bead, caused by a fall downstairs two years ago
On Wednesday (the 7th) a daughter noticed a strong smell
of paraffin and asked her mother what she had been doing.
She said she had drunk a pint of paraffin oil_ She became
insensible on Thursday, and died on the following Saturday
evening. The jury returned a verdict that " the deceased
committed suicide while in a state of unsound mind".

Cardinal Manning stopped at Milan on his way
home from Rome, and the Pungolo states that, on visiting
the Cathedral, he said :—"lt would be my desire, my
ambition, to erect a cathedral in. London which, if not equal
to this, would still be an imposing monument of Chris-
tianity, and my predecessors left me a considerable suns to
effect such an enterprise ; but in existing circumstances I
have thought it best to devote the interest of that capital to
creating a Catholic seminary in London." The Cardinal ex-
pressed a desire to possess some relic of San Carlo Borromeo,
and one of his vestments was accordingly prgsented to
him.

The Bishop of Manchester, in a sermon at Rochdale
on Sunday, alluded to the differences existing between
various religious bodies, and said he should like to see a con-
ference of representatives of all denominations for the pur-
pose of seeing whether it was not possible even yet to adjust
their differences and place Christianity on a common basis,
in order that they might have a common Christianity running
through the Sunday schools of the land. Referring to the
Sunday School Centenary, he said that if it resulted merely
In processions and a few extra tea meetings he did not think
much permanent good would result from It; but if it en-
abled them to find out the weak places in their armour and
make Sunday schools more useful, then the Centenary would
be a blessed thing.

Mr. J. Russell Lowell, the American Ambassador,
In presiding at the Society of Arts, London, at the
annual meeting of the Index Society, the object of which is
to promote the compilation of indexes of important depart-
ments of history, literature, and science. His Excellency
had a cordial reception from a large number of literal,'
men, who were present, and in the course of his remarks,
after promising to bring some aid to the society from his
countrymen in America, said he felt great pleasure in pre-
siding, not only for the sake of the socie•ty itself, but that he
might have an opportunity of giving expression to the good
feeling which existed between the two countries—a feeling
which he loved to cherish.