CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 2631, 5 August 1908, Page 8

CHRISTCHURCH NEWS.

(by I'ELEGEAfH—srEOIAt COBEESrONDENTS.) August 4. The lately assured tho House that "no member could point to a case where the Registrar of Old Ago Pensions or any of his officers had not carried out the decision of the Magistrate whatever it was." A correspondent of tho "Pross" asserts that in September an old man applied in the Rangiora district ajid was granted tho pension 011 October 29 at the Court there, and up to last Monday ho had not received any of tho eight months instalments due to him. Tho reason given is that tho Chief Registrar is contesting tho Magistrate's decision. The City Soal. iU tho meeting of tho City Council last night tho Finance Committee reported that nono of tho designs for a new city seal were of sufficient merit to warrant departure from the present design, and tho committee recommended that a new seal of the existing pattern be ordered. Objcct Lesson from the Pulpit. The object lesson sermon was given on Sunday by the Rev. Harold Ensor, vicar of Phillipstown, with the aid of a largo blackboard placed across the altar. The. subject of the sermon was "heredity and duty," and after opening his discourse the preacher turned to tho blackboard and sketcned the well-known figure used by Professor James of Harvard in his "talks on Psychology," illustrating the change which takes place under training or education in the relative influences of the higher centres of memory and will, and the lower instinctive centres, passing on to a practical application. The instinctive characteristics of our northern forefathers wero placed in order on the board—warlike, clannish, true to tho blood tie, faithful to tho chief—and as an evolution from then by education of' civilisation, and above all of Christianity the best characteristics of the modern Anglo-Saxon were written down as brave, home-loving, truthful, law-abiding. Coming to our own days the characteristics of tho pioneers wero put down as independence, desire to possess a homo, hatred of being cramped, and pluck. The preacher warned nis hearers that there was such a fhirig as devolution, as well as evolution, and bade them think whether thero ivas not a danger that prosperity might be, nay was in many cases, leading to those, high characteristics of the pioneer sinking into.dislike _of control, selfishness, dislike of work, worship of pluck, in others. ■