The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-11-06 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

The Prinoess Olga, the youngest daughter of the
King of the HeHones, died on Monday after a few days'
Illness
A Reuter's telegram from :Naples states that
Vesuvius is now very active. Lava continues flowing from
the crater, and present indications point to the probability.
of increased eruptive energy.
As a man and boy, supposed to be father and son,
were avoiding the up-train at Polmaidie, near Glasgow, on
Tuesday morning, they were run down by a train on another
line, and cut to pieces. The man was about fifty years of
age and the boy fourteen. The bodies were not then
_identified.
George-square United Presbyterian Church,
Greenock, of which the Rev. J. B. Thomson is pastor, was
on Sunday morning destroyed by fire. The burning origi-
nated at the heating apparatus, which was constructed on
the hot-air principle. The alarm was given at 9.45, and by
eleven o'clock only the walls remained of the church.
A tombstone of Aberdeen granite, about Bft. in
length, &as just been placed over the grave of Flora
Macdonald, in Kilmuir Churchyard, Skye. This new
memorial replaces the original monument, which was broken
In 17114,

I The Archbishop of York has been ordered to
leave England for the winter, and goes to Biarritz in a few
days.
During the late storm on the American lakes 17
vessels were wrecked, and 66 more or less damaged. 93 lives
were lost.
Dr. von Nordenskjold's account of his voyage of
discovery will shortly be published in German by Herr
Brockhaus, of Leipsic. The total cost of the Vega expedi-
tion amounted to 419,177 crowns, of which the State con-
tributed 59,957, while King Oscar, with Messrs. Dickson and
Sibiriakoll, each gave 120 000 crowns.
The marriage of Prince William of Prussia and the
Princess Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein is to be celebrated
in February at Berlin. It is hoped that Queen Victoria will
honour the wedding of her grandson, the future German
Emperor, with her presence.
It is stated that M. De Neuville has received and
accepted a commission from the Queen to paint a picture
for her Majesty of "The capture of Cetywayo by Colonel
Marten" The painting is to be commenced towards the
end of the year.

According to official returns just published the value
of the exports of merchandise from the United States in
September exceeded that of the imports by 18,000,000 dole.
The imports of gold and silver exceeded the exports by
19,000,000 dole.
The electric light is making its way in New York,
for nearly all the large drapery establishments now use it,
both for inside and outside illuminations.
At the end of this month there will be opened in
Paris, a place of refuge for homeless animals. .Z. 4 umerous
subscriptions have been olitained of late for this purpose.
A "Lunatics' Newspaper" is one of the curiosities
of a madhouse at Pesaro. Entitled The Diary of a Hospital
—for the word " madhouse" is carefully avoided, the journal
is written entirely by the patients themselves, each treating
of his particular mad-point, whilst the head doctor edits the
periodical, and adds a sketch of the chief patients. The
journal is then sent to other asylums, several of which intend
to undertake a similar publication, and to those doctors and
scientific men interested in the working of lunacy.

The Custom House returns for -October show that
the shipments of pig iron from the ports on the River Tees
have been about 90,000 tonsl the largest quantity in any one
month this year, and very little less than that for October
last year, when the shipments to the United States were so
exceedingly large. The increase is largely due to growth of
the shipments to Scotland and Germany.

In London, on Tuesday, the Central Chamber of
Agriculture met in the Hall of the Society of Arts. A long
discussion took place as to the incidence of local taxation,
which the farmers complain presses with unfair severity
upon them. The Highways Act of 1878 was eondemned as
unsatisfactory and as requiring amendment. A report on
the mode of ascertaing the corn returns for the purpose of
levying tithes took exception to the omissions in the pro-
posed Bill on the subject.
The death, from apoplexy, is announced of Mr.
Nicholas A. Woods, a well-known journalist. In 18.54 he
acted as special correspondent for the Morning Herald and
Standard. Some years later he accompanied the Prince of
Wales on his tour through Canada, and was subsequently
mployed on the staff of The Times.

On the 31st ult. the twenty-first official year of the
Volunteer organisation was brought to a close, ,and, in
aecordance with the regulations, returns must be forwarded
at once to the War Office by every regiment, setting forth
the enrolled strength, number of efilcients, dtc. At the date
of the last returns there were, out of 208,250 enrolled Volun-
teers, no less than 197,485 efficient*.

The Queen has been pleased to contribute £5OO,
through the Hon. Charles Gore, Seeretary to the Commis-
sioners of Woods and Forests, towards the fund which is
being raised for the restoration of the ancient .Abbey
Church of Minster-in-Sheppy. The church possesses
features of deep interest to the antiquary and archseo-
logist. _ _

A memorial to the late Marpais of Tweeddale is to
be erected at Haddington, at a cnt of upwards of 11,000.
It will consist of a reproduction of the beautiful old well
at Pinkie House, a mansion once in the possession of the Hay
faintly.

• Gallant service was ,done last week by the crews of
the National Lifeboat Institution's boats at the various
stations on our coasts, and many lives have by their agency
been saved which otherwise would have been lost.
Old Lady (to modest curate). " Lor, Sir, Ido
like to 'ear you preach extrumpery !—Your language is that
won'erful fluid I "—Punch.

Last month a further reduction of £1,420,000 was
made in the debt of the United States, the total amount of
which is now £381,700,000. At the end of August, 1865,
when the debt was at its maximum, it amounted to
£600,000,000; so that within the past twenty•five years the
people of the United States have paid off no less than
£218,000,000 of the liabilities they incurred during the
Civil War. In the debt of this country during the same
period the reduction has been only £41,000,000.
It has been resolved to hold an international rail-
way exhibition in Berlin in 1882.

It is stated that the Foreign Office is in communi-
cation with the Gov.ernment of the United States of America
respecting the disposal of the remains of the late Lieutenant
Irving, of her Majesty's ship Terror, which were discovered
and brought away by the Franklin Search Expeditfon. It is
desired that this unfortunate officer's remains shall be trans-
ported to the United Kingdom, it being the wish of his rela-
tives that they shall be interred at Edinburgh.
Mr. Siegfried Hess, a trader well known in Port
Elizabeth, and favourably known on the Grahamstown
ostrich feather market, was recently the victim of a most
unfortunate casualty. Mr. Iless was leisurely walking
through Mr. Goedhals's ostrich camp when suddenly a large
male bird went for him, knocked him down, tore the cloth-
ing off him, and mutilated him in a very serious manner,
literally clawing portions of flesh from his limbs.

Sir R. Cunliffe-Owen has just returned from an
official visit to the museums and to the Imperial and other
collections of St. Petersburg and Moscow. He brings back
a selection of facsimiles of about 250 objects, ranging from
goldsmith's work of early Greek art, exhumed at Kertch
through mediteval times to English plate of the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, and excellent pieces of French
art of the periocrof Louis XV.

Great excitement prevailed last week amongst
underwriters for the Liverpool marine insurance companies,
owing to the reports of wrecks, which were constantly
arriving at the Exchange Newsroom. The boards presented
a most unusual sight, temporary stands having to be fixed
for the exhibition of telegraphic news of casualties—a
circumstance which, in the opinion of some of the older
members, had not been witnessed for many years.

A letter from Cardinal Manning was read in the
various Roman Catholic churches of London last Sunday,
asking that the names and addresses of parents whose sons
are attending non-Catholic schools should be sent in to him
through their respective clergy on or before -the 15th Noyem-
ber. This information is sought with the view of finding
.out what support might be expected for a proposed central
schdol in London, which would meet the higher educational
wants of the Roman Catholic middle-class.

On Sunday the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, owing to a
fresh attack of rhematism, was unable to preach at the
Metropolitan Tabernacle His son, the Rev. Charles
Spurgeon, officiated at the morning service.

The British barque County of Richmond, from New
York to St. Thomas, has foundered at sea. Her first officer
and one seaman were saved, but the rest of the crew were
drowned. .

The London correspondent of the Manchester Guar-
dian says :—Mr. Carlyle having on account of his recent re-
lapse into poor health finally abandoned his intention of
writing an autobiography, Mr. Fronde has been intrusted
with the immediate preparation of a biography. For some
time he has been in Dumfrieshire collecting historical ma-
terials about Mr. 'Carlyle's family.
There has been very stormy weather of late in the
Baltic and German Ocean, occasioning many disasters.
The lifeboats of the "German Society for Reselling the
Shipwrecked" have succeeded, however, on three occasions
in saving fourteen lives.
It is estimated that Montana Territory, U.S.A.,
will produce 50,000,0001 b. of wool this season.
Denmark has suffered severely from another hurri-
cane and heavy snow-storm. The railways were blocked,
and many wrecks are reported.

The officers of the 80th Regiment are about to erect
a stained glass window in Lichfield Cathedral to the memory
of those officers and men of the regiment who lost their
lives during the recent campaign in South Africa.
A" Blushing Bonnet" for the benefit of would-be
bashful ladies has lately been invented. Hidden behind the
strings are two tiny steel springs, which, by the wearer
merely drooping the head, are brought to bear upon the
temporal arteries, thus causing a charming blush at any
appropriate moment.

'MO Home Secretary has sent a letter to the London
School Board stating that he has at present under considera-
tion the state of the law concerning the treatment and
punishment of juvenile offenders, and requesting the board
to furnish him with their opinion on the subject, especially
with regard to the prevention of the imprisoninent of young
children.

Under the head of "Conscience Money," the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer acknowledges in The Times, the
receipt of the second halves of two £5O notes from " Mis-
take. _ _

--
Mr. McMinnies, M.P., speaking at the Centenary
of Congregationalism in Preston, said that only in the pre-
sent year had they succeeded finally in opening the national
graveyards to the nation. (Cheers.) They had done this
after forty years' ardent and earnest effort, and now the
House of Commons had gratified the natural yearning of the
people to be buried near those who were dear to them.

A stained-glass window, in three parts, to the
memory of Mr. Mark Lemon, has just been placed in the aisle
of Crawley Church, Essex. In addition to various texts
round the borders, the following inscription is placed at the
foot of the memorial :—'To the glory ef God, and in memory
of Mark Lemon, who died May 25, 1870, these three lights
are placed by his family?'
On Sunday afterncton, on the arrival of the tidal
train from Newhaven at the London-bridge Terminus, some-
thing was observed to be wrong with the engine. On its
coming to a standstill at the arrival platform the driver
proceeded to examine it, and found•the greater portion of
the wooden casing in which the boiler is enclosed OD fire.
Steps were taken to draw out the lire, and,,. it having been
subdued, the engine was taken to the New Cross Locomo-
tive Peptt. The mishap is supposed to have been caused by
an over-heating of the furnace.

The production of gold and silver in the United
States, for the year ending June 30, 1179, showed a consider-
able falling off, notwithstanding the increased number of
mining enterprises. The yield for the year was 38,900,000
dole. of gold and 40,312,000 of silver, while that of the pre-
vious year was 47,226.107 dols, gold and 46,726,314 dols. of
silver, a falling off for 187 g of 20 per cent. in gold and 12 in
silver. . _

The ship Glamis, 1,150 tons, Captain Rollo, chartered
by the Agent-General for New south Wales, sailed from
Plymouth for Sydney on Saturday, the 30th ult., with 376
emigrants, under the. supervision of Dr. Dawes, as surgeon.
superintendent, with kiss Chicken in charge of the single
women.
King Luis, the reigning sovereign of Portugal, was
bornton Oct. 31, 1838, and thus completed his 42nd year on
Sunday. Ile is the second son of King Ferdinand, the
titular King of Portugal, and of the late Queen Dorma
3131-ia, and succeeded to the throne on the death of his
elder brother, King Pedro V. on NOT. 11, 1861, being mar-
ried, on Oet. 6, 1862, to Queen Pia, the youngest daughter of
Victor Emmanuel, the first King of United Italy.
- -

The Resolute steamer arrived at Dundee on Mon-
day from Davis Strait, with six whales, being equal to 60
tuns of oil. She reports that only three whales have been
caught by the Dundee fleet since previous reports. The
total catch of the twelve Dundee steamers at Davis Strait
this year is 113 whales, yielding 1,100 tuns of oil, compared
with 68 whales and 700 tuns of oil last year.
Maritime disasters on the British Coast during the
year ending June, 1879, amounted to 3,002, and cost 490
lives. Although the list seems a large one, it must be re-
membered that sonic 600,000 British vessels alone enter and
leave our ports within the year, carrying on an average
three or four million passengers, and that the loss of life
in this case was about one in twenty-five of the vessMs.
In London on Tuesday the Lord Chancellor enter-
tained the Judges and Queen's Counsel at breblfast. The
legal procession arrived at Westminster Hall at two o'clock;
and when the Court of Appeal had been opened, the Lord
Chancellor spoke of the losses they had sustained since they
last met, by the death of the Lord Chief Baron and Lord
Justice Thesigcr. The Attorney General reciprocated the
feeling of regret, in the name of the Bar; and to his brethren
delivered a message from the death-bed of the Lord Justice,
how he desired they should be told that, in his last moments,
he had not forgotten their kindness and consideration. In
the Exchequer, hr. Baron Pollock referred with much feel-
ing to the high qualities of the late Sir Fitzroy Kelly as a
Judge and as a man.

A daring attempt at escape was made by a convict
on Tuesday afternoon from Portland. The prisoner was at
work with a number of others at the citadel, when he
eluded the vigilance of the warders, and boldly crossed the
barracks square dodging the numerous sentries on his route.
Clear of the fort he started at a run down the hill side
towards the sea, but being missed, an alarm was raised, and
a large party of military were at once in pursuit. In the
meantime he had been secured by a civilian at the water-
side, and was soon safe inside the prison walls. The chase
was most exciting and was witnessed by a large nUtnber
of persons occupying points of vantage overlooking the
course,