Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1889-12-07 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

THE DANGER OF ELECTRICITY.  Another electric light fatality is reported from New York. Two clerks were removing a show case from the pavement into a shop preparatory to closing for the night. An electric light wire, which ran to an arc light suspended in front of the shop, hung down low, and as the men raised the show case the metal lining came into contact with a portion of the wire where there was no insulation. One of the clerks clutched the metal bars with his hands, so that as contact was made the deadly current flashed along the metal through his body, back to the metal and to the wire again. He uttered a cry, and fell to the pavement dead. The other clerk felt no shock at all and ran to his companion, caught him up apd carried him into the shop. A physician was quickly summoned, and said that death had been instantaneous.  There were 23 British vessels (including two lost with all on board) reported as shipwrecks during the past week ; also 18 foreign vessels (including two lost with all hands). Collision cases numbered 32, of which 24 took place on the British coast. A German steamer was lost with 11 persons. It is stated that several remonstrances have been addressed to the Court against the cruelties alleged to have taken place during a recent run with the Royal Buckhounds, although the noble Master has explained that these were exaggerated. However, it is an open secret that the Queen has for many years been strongly opposed to stag-hunting, and, had the matter rested solely with her, the buckhounds would probably, by this time, have become foxhounds or would have ceased to exist altogether.  The editor of tne Potsdam Zeitutsg" is being prosecuted for Lem Majeste because he asserted in his paper that when returning from the swearingin of some recruits recently, the Emperor rode in a common second class cab. This is held to be an instilting reflection upon his 'Majesty, hence the strliige pro,ecution. Work at the shipbuilding-yarde in South Russil is just now very active. In addition to five ironclads and several torpedo boats at present being constructed, a German firm at Odessa has received orders from the Russian Minister of Marine to construct two more first-class torpedo boats with a guaranteed speed of not less than 21 knots per hour, besides two steamers which are to be employed for coast defence, one to be stationed at Sebastopol and the other at Batoum.  Anew anti-Semite book, "La Mystere du sang chez lea Juifs," in which the author perpetuates the Middle Ages calumny that the blood of murdered Christian children was necessary :or the performance of their rites,has lately been published. A cuPy was, sent to the Pope, and Cardinal Rampolla, writing to the author, M. Desportes, says : "His Holiness sends you with his whole heart his ApostoliCal benediction, for he greatly appr.)yes of your work on the horrible custom of the Rabbinical Jews."  An inquest has been held at Wellington on the body of a young woman named Eliza Corbert, found in a pond, into which she had thrown herself while suffering from a fit of religious mania. The deceased, a member of the Salvation Army, left behind her a letter, in which she attributed her fate to " her own unpardonable sin." "There is no forgiveness for me," she added, "as I have spurned God's mercy." The young woman was about to get married. The jury found that she committed suicide while insane.  The Standard correspondent at Vienna gives some particulars in connection with a snowstorm there which had then lasted for 36`hours. To clear away the tons of snow no less than 3,000 sweepers were employed in the centre of the city alone, and the rough work was done by 24 snow ploughs, each drawn by four horses. Railway traffic has been seriously interrupted. Passengers in several train; unable to proceed on account of the mass of drifted snow, left the carriages, and were conveyed to the neighbouring stations on sleighs.