The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-05-14 00:00:00

EPITOME OF NEWS.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN.

Speaking at a meeting of the Central Council for
promoting self-supporting penny dinners, at the
London School Board offices, Mr. kandella, on Satur-
day, referred to inquiries that had been made as to the
causes of irregularity of attendance and insufficiency
of food and clothing for Board School children, and
said it turned out that the greatest evil which England
had to face was drink.
On Saturday a Calcutta correspondent telegrapned
that the Ameer's General has been compelled, it is
reported, to entrench himself near Maruf.
A new law was promulgated in St. Petersburg on
Saturday raising the import duty on iron, steel, and
articles manufactured from those metals.
Sir Arthur Sullivan's "Golden Legend" was per-
formed at the Crystal Palace on Saturday by a choir
of 3500 voices, on the occasion of the opening of the
summer season.
A meeting of inhabitants of Lambeth was held on
Saturday in the Library of Lambeth Palace, the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury in the chair, to take measures for
carrying out the Public Free Libraries Act in that
parish. Subscriptions were announced to the amount of
16773.
All the Ministers, with the exception of the Lord
Chancellor of Ireland and Sir Michael Hicks-Beach,
attended a Cabinet Council held at the Foreign Office
on Saturday.
Isaac Hazlehurst was tried at Leeds Assizes, on
Saturday, for the murder of his wife. It having been
proved that the woman had been guilty of serious mis-
conduct, the jury returned a verdict of "Man-
slaughter," with a recommendation to mercy, and the
prisoner was sentenced to a year's imprisonment.
On Saturday night the Transatlantic packet La
Bretagne, which arrived in Havre on Sunday from
New York, ran into a Norwegian barque, which sank
immediately, her crew, however, being saved.
A despatch from Victoria, British Columbia, states
that 101 whites and 75 Chinese have lost their lives by
the explosion in the Nanaimo Mine. A number of
bodies have been found and others seen. The fire is
still burning, but is being brought under control. Most
of the entombed whites were English settlers from Corn-
wall, Yorkshire, and Wales.
The committee of the Royal Thames Yacht Club
have decided that the Royal Mail steamer Norham
Castle, 4000 tons, shall accompany the Jubilee Yacht
Race round the United Kingdom: The yachts will
start on June 14. _ _ _ _ . .

Since the port of Sandjong Priok (Batavia) was
entirely opened on the 15th of March, vessels arriving
there can unload and load at the quay. Until the
whole administration of imports, exports, and excise
duties, as far as regards vessels not rigged in the
native Indian manner, has been removed to Sandjong
Pt iok, the duties can be paid as well at that port as at
the existing Custom House at Batavia,
On Saturday, as Mr. Henry Irving, the celebrated
actor, was being driven into Garrick-street, London,
the hansom in which he was riding collided with the
refuge in the middle of the road, tsrnites the cab
completely over. Mr. Irving extricated himself with
some difficulty, but, fortunately, he was uninjured.
The Central News says: "We are able te state on
the best authority that the Australasian Colonies have
decided to contribute £lOO,OOO to the Imperial Insti—
tute Fund, to be paid in five-yearly instalments of
£20,000 each. The prcspects of the scheme are con-
sidered to be greatly improving."
A garrison order has been issued at Portsmouth,
directing the military picquets to commence patrolling
at ten instead of eight o'clock every night. General
Willis, in issuing the order, draws attention to the
unprecedentedly good conduct of the troops in
garrison during the last few weeks, and expresses the
hope shortly to be able to withdraw the piequets alto-
gether.
A meeting of the Committee of Council on Educa-
tion in Scotland was held on Saturday at Whitehall,
when there were present the Lord President, the Mare
quis cf Lothian, Mr. Gosehen, Sir Francis Sandford, the
Lord Advocate and Mr. Henry Craik (secretary). The
Solicitor-General for Scotland also attended the
meeting.
Disease has broken out among the grouse on the
Cumberland Moors. On the Fells, in the east of the
county, numbers of birds have been picked up dead.
Most of them were nesting. Very little disease exists
among game on the Westmoreland. Me ns.
At a meeting of the Northumberland colliery owners
and representatives of the men in Newcastle, on Satur-
day, respecting the existing strike, the owners definitely
refused to accept arbitration as a means of settling the
dispute.
Princess Louise visited Sutton on Saturday after-
noon to distribute the prizes at the Girls' High
School. Her Royal Highness, who was accompanied
by the Marquis of Lorne, had an enthusiastic recep.
tion. Mr. C. S. Roulade% chairman of the Girls'
Public Day School Company, presided, and observed
that her Royal Highness was always willing to co-
operate with them in the prosecution of the gzeat
work in which they were engaged. The school revert
was read by Miss White, head mistress, who stated
that though the school had only been in existence
for three ears, there were now over 190 pupils.
Princess Louise then distributed the prizes, and at the
close a vote of thanks was accorded her on the motion
of the rector of Sutton The Marquis of Lorne briefly
replied, and the proceedings closed.
The hearing of the charge against Peter M. Jones,
formerly paid managing director of the Liverpool
Ifbuse-owner's Investment Company, for forging a
voucher for £lOO, was continued at the Liverpool Police-
court on Saturday, before the stipendiary magistrate.
Evidence was given to prove that not only had the
prisoner forged this particular receipt, but many others,
which he had since destroyed, and that he had also
misappropriated a number of cheques which the
directors had signed, including two for £4OO, one for
£2OO and one for £6OO. The forged vouchers were
produced to the auditor when auditing the accounts,
but they were net now to he found, with the erception
of the one particularly in question. The prisoner was
committed for trial.
A number of the West Cumberland otter hounds
which have been taken into Wiltshire by Mr. 11. R.
Chit, of Newbury, afforded a splendid day's sport on
Tuesday, when they hunted the Wylye Valley, between
Salisbury and Warminster, and killed a brace of otters
near Hey tesbury, weighing 14 and 20 pounds re-
spectively.
A fire broke out in a dwelling-house in Cardiff, and,
on search being made, the sole occupant, a woman
named Murles, was found lying on a bed which was in
flames. She bad been unable to escape owing to ore
of her legs being broken, and had been burned to
death. _ _

At the Petty Sessions at Odiham, Hants, on Tuesday,
Elizabeth Henidge, domestic servant, in the employ of
Mrs. Groves, Hartley-row, was charged with attempting
to commit suicide by jumping down a well. About six
o'clock on Monday morning Mrs. Groves found a note
saying he would End Elizabeth in the well. The pri.
Toner vils to have been married shortly. A doctor said
she was of unsound mind. The magistrate cautioned
her, and gave her to the care of her parents.
Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Jesse Collings returned to
London on Tuesday after an absence of nearly a month.
Mr. H. H. Gibbs was examined on Tuesday before
the Roy al Commission on the Currency Question.
Lord Charles Beresford will be the Chairman of the
Select Committee on the Saving of Life at Sea.
At Tuesday's meeting of the Royal Institution of
Great Britain Dr. Tyndall was elected Honorary Pro.
feasor of Na ural Philosophy, and Lord Rayleigh was
elected Professor of Natural Philosophy.
Lord Rosebery has accepted an invitation to preside
at the opening meeting of the International Shorthand
Corgresa to be held in London in the autumn, and will
deliver the inaugural address on the 26th September.
The Queen has signified her intention of laying the
foundation-stone of the Imperial Institute on Monday,
julv 4th.

Mr. W. O'Brien was taken off the Umbria at Sandy
Hook on Monday night by a special steamer, sent by
the Reception Committee. Some of the passengers on
board the Cumarder gave cheers for the Government,
and sane the National Anthem.

Her Majesty's reply to the Address of Convocation
was read in the Upper House of that body on Tuesday,
the Queen observing with gratification the substantial
progress of the Church of England and the increasing
zeal manifested alike by clergy and laity.
The receipts on account of revenue from the Ist of
April, 1887, when there was a balance of £5,950,107, to
May 7, 1887, were £9,030,423 against £9,958,307
in the corresponding period of the preceding
financial year, which began with a bal..nce
of £5,625,944. The net expenditure was £9,995,636.
against £10,489,855 to the same date in the
previous year. The Treasury balances on May
7, 1887, amounted to £2,379,991, and at the same date
in 1886 to £4,497,476. _ _

The trial of the action brought by Mr. Snook to
recover from the late Directors of the Self-acting
Sewing Machine Company (Limited) £5OO which he had
invested in that undertaking terminated on Tuesday
in a verdict for the plaintiff against two of the defen-
dants, Major. General McKay and Mr. Parkhouse. Mr.
Justice Grove gave judgment, and declined to stay
execution.

Mr. Roumieu held an inquest on Tuesday afternoon
at the Victoria Inn, Egham, on the body 'of Edward
Barnard Perrett, aged 40, a butcher, who had been
drowned in the Thames. The body was recovered on
Sunday evening, being found in an upright position
against Bell Weir, Egham. A telegram had been re—
ceived from the authorities at the Bucks County
Lunatic Asylum, Stone, stating that the deceased was
discharged from that institution on probation on the
19th April. When he left the house of his brother-in.
law at Windleshatn, Surrey, on the morning of the 22nd
April he appeared to be rational. He, however, stated
tha'6 he was going to Sunninghill to see a young lady
of good position, whom he had previously annoyed.
He was not again seen alive by his friends. His sister
died insane in Store Asylum while he himself was
confined there. The jury returned a verdict of "Found
drowned."

Attention has been called in the Austiian Reichs.
rath to the management of the Vienna Allgemeines
Krankenhaus, the largest hospital in Austria, and one
of the largest in Europe, with over 2000 beds, in which
211,000 patients are treated yearly. The clurges
which were made, were, says the "Standard " cor-
respondent. denied at first, but it would appear that
they are substantially correct. The food, it is said,
is unwholesome and scanty, and at times the patients
are kept for days without any food at all. In the
whole establishment there is only one bath, and the
nurses, of whom 219 are women and 17 men, extort
money from the wretched patients and ill.tre .t those
who cannot pay. The Government have promised an
exhaustive inquiry into this horrible scandal.
A stormy Jubilee meeting was held in the Olitheroe
Town Hall on Tuesday night. The Mayor presided,
and during a hot discussion that took place, be said'
very little would induce him to give the whole thing up.
Various opinions were expressed as to the best way in
which to celebrate the Jubilee, and some strong feeling
was evinced. It was ultimately resolved to rescind
the motion passed at a former meeting to confine the
festivities to one day, and it was determined that two
days' festivities should be provided, viz., Friday and
Saturday, June the 24th and 25th. The amount of
money collected was stated to be about £l2O. A com-
mittee was formed to carry out the arrangements, which
will probably consist of treats to scholars and old
people.

Prince and Princess Henry of Battenberg paid
visit to Mile.end on Monday, when her Royal Highness
opened the disused burial-ground of Holy Trinity as a
recreation garden for the people of the locality.
Princess Christian inaugurated a fanny fair at
Camden Town on Monday in aid of a fund which is
being raised to provide new mission buildings in that
parish.

- The Greenwich Hospital pension of £5O a year for
captains, Royal Marines,, vacant by the death of
Lieutenant .oolonel James Fynniore, RAI., has been
awarded to Major Hugh Kennedy, R.M.
A Berlin correspondent remarks that the cordial
support of the "National Zeitung " to the views of
England regarding tgypt proves that France cannot
expect Germany to oppose English preponderance in
Egypt._

Itlie Rev. John Marsden, of Southport, Lincolnshire,
on Saturday surrendered to his bail at Wandsworth,
to answer a charge of misconduct for the purpose of
insulting Mrs. Dormer, of Sarsfield-road, Wandsworth.
common, while she was passing in Boundaries•road,
Balham, with a perambulator. The Rev. W. 11.
Marsden, vicar of St. Luke's, Southport, was called,
and said the prisoner, who was his brother, had been
his curate since 1882. The prisoner was universally
respected, and a great favourite In the town. Mr.
Paget said he could trace no Inconsistency in the evi-
deuce of the complainant, and he was compelled most
reluctantly to-find the prisoner guilty of the offence.
He committed him to prison for three months. Notico
of appeal was given, and bail accepted.
On Sunday evening the body cf a respectably.
dressed middle-aged man was taken from the Thames
near Bell Weir, Egham, and, from letters found in the
pockets of thq clothing, the deceased's name would
appear to be Perritt. There is a deep gash over the
left eye and other extensive marks on the back and
chest, but whether these injuries were caused before
death has not yet transpired. Only a penny was found
in his possession.

At feeds Assizes on Monday John Beaumont, aged
80, who resided at Howley, near Huddersfield, was
sentenced to 10 years' penal servitude for having
committed an unlawful operation on a young woman
18 years of age. His lordship ordered the costs of the
prosecution to be defrayed out of the money, amount-
ing to £5O, found upon the prisoner when he was
apprehended.
About three o'clock on Saturday afternoon a lad
named Dale, about 12 years of age. living with his
parents in the Crystal Palace-road, Dulwich, was die.
covered by a neighbour suspended by a rope from the
roof of an outhouse at the back of his father's residence.
11•1 was at once cut down and medical assistance pro.
cured, but life was extinct. His parents were from
home at the time, there being only a nurse and two
younger children in the house. The boy had been
playing with some companions a short time before he
was discovered.

The native Indian cavalry officers coming to England
to represent India at the Jubilee rejoicings, will be
selected from the following corps: The Viceroy's Body-
guard, the Punjaub Cavalry Guides, the Hyderabad
Contingent, and the Central Indian Horse, one each;
Bengal Cavalry five; Madras one; Bombay two. Each
officer will receive LI daily in addition to their Indian
pay. They left Bombay on Friday. Captain Muir, of
the Beth guard, will be in command.
The Virginian Debt Commission held no formal
meeting cm Saturday, but the correspondence between
the English Commissioners and their principals was
considered. Their proposition, which the Virginian
members have carefully considered, asserted a demand
for the payment of 900,000 dole. annually on a principal
of 30,000,000 dole,, whereas Virginia wants only to
allow 750,000 dole, on 22,000,000 dols. Hopes are
entertained of a satisfactory compromise.
At the Admiralty on Saturday the following appoint.
ments were made : Captain Arthur E. Dupuis to the
Carysfort, recommissioned; Lieutenant Robert B.
Abdy, to the Gannet; Lieutenant Algernon J. Hotham,
to the Thalia, for the Albacore; the Rev. Arthur 0.
Evans, chaplain and naval instructor, to the Calliope;
the Rev. H. B. Harper, chaplain, to the Victor
Emanuel, for Hong Bong Yard and Hospital; the
Rev. Samuel A. Shone, chaplain, to the Duncan; the
Rev. Alwyne C. H. Rice, chaplain, to the Himalaya;
the Rev. Samuel St. A. Baylee, chaplain, to the
Defiance; and H. E. Marsh, staff surgeon, to the
Thanderer. _ _ _

---6;711-o-Liday, at the adjourned inquest touching the
death of a young lady who recently committed suicide
near Ipswich, the coroner reiterated his opinion that
from what he knew of the facts of the case the inquiry
ought to be conducted in private. He consented,
however, to a further adjournment on the jury unani•
mously passing a resolution in opposition to the
exclusion ot the press,and referring to the Home Score.
tary the decision of the question whether the coroner
had a light to conduct the investigation with closed
doors.

Mr. Wyatt, coroner, began an inquest at Camberwell,
on Monday, on the body of Tom Seeley Brandt, who
was found dead in his bedroom the other morning with
a bullet-wound in his head and his skull extensively
fractured. The inquiry was adjourned. Shortly before
midnight, on Monday,William Brandt, younger brother
of the deceased, was arrested in East Dulwich, and
charged with the murder.

A 'disturbance took place at Leicester on Monday,
when the police sold the goods to Robert King for
not vaccinating his child, which has been dead twelve
months. The sale took place by direction of the Home
Secretary. This being the second attempt to dispose
of the goods, an auctioneer had to be brought from
Birmingham. The goods were seized amid great boot-
ing, and carried to an open space, where they were
sold. The crowd pelted the police with bricks and
stones. The auctioneer had a very narrow escape of
serious injury, and but for a strong force of police he
would have fared very badly; as it was, he was freely
hit with stones, and had eventually to take refuge in
the police-station. Two men were apprehended.
Mary Ann Riley, at Derby Assizes on Monday,
before Mr. Justice Hawkins. pleaded guilty to a charge
of bigamy at Leicester. The Judge said it was !In
outrageous prosecution. The prisoner's husband in-
flicted on her as cruel an outrage as any man could
possibly commit. He afterwards deserted her, and she
married again. Her second husband also used her
cruelly, and arranged with the first husband to bring
this prosecution. He (Mr. Justice Hawkins) could not
say she was justified in her conduct, but his conscience
would not allow hilt to send her gaol. His lordship
then sentenced her to five minutes' irnprisonment, and
she was at once released.

The P. and 0. steamer Victoria, which was launched
at Greenock on Monday, ran on to the bank opposite
Greenock. The vessel was not seriously injured. Her
dimensions are—length 483 ft., breadth 52ft., and
depth 371 t. She will register nearly 7000 tons, and her
triple expan.ion engines are expected to develope 7000
effective horse power, which should drive her 171 knots
at full speed.

A mechanic named Walter Wood was sentenced at
Manchester Assizes on Monday, to death for murder-
ing his wife at Bury in February. The patties were
separated, and the prisoner went to Bury to induce
his wife to return with him She refused, and while
they were out for a walk he produced a razor and
cut her throat. She died in a few minutes, and the
prisoner absconded. He was appreheaded, after
hiding in a coal-pit several
_days.

Maiy Hughes, a farmer's daughter, was on Monday
remanded by the Conway magistrates on a charge of
poisoning a younger sister by giving her rat poison in
a cup of tea. Thi death of the girl formed the sub-
ject of a two days' inquest by the coroner, and resulted
in en open verdict. The alleged poisoning originated
in jealousy respecting the attentions of a neighbouring
farmer.

Points relating to the jurisdiction of colonial
governors and the uniformity of census returns were
considered at Monday's sitting of the Clolozial Con—
ference, which was the final one.
Several witnesses were examined before tho Com.
rnittee on Public Petitions on Monday in reference to
the fraudulent petitions recently presented to Parlia,
rnent in favour of the continuance of the coal and wino
dues.

The draft report of the Selact Committee to whom
was entrusted the inquiry into the charges against the
City of London Corporation was distributed on Monday
night.
A Vienna correspondent announces that Count
Andrassy on Monday held a long interview with Count
Kalnoky concerning the revelations recently published
by the "North German Gazette"
The German Emperor is so well that he held an
inspection of the Prussian Guard on Tuesday in person.
His Majesty will leave Berlin for Ems about the third
week -n June.