Correspondence.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XI, Issue 734, 11 July 1854, Page 3

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Southern Cross. Sir, — Allow me to call attention, through your columns, to the foot-path round the Barrack wall,^ which is now almost entirely destroyed through horses, ' and even caits, being allowed to pass over it. Need I call to mind that this foot-path was constructed partly by public subscriptions and partly by Government funds, and for a long time it was of great public convenience, but particularly to the large number of people now living in that neighbourhood. A short time ago it was enclosed with a fence, but now there is not even the remains of it to be seen. Although the head of the Executive and some of the minor of its members pass that way every day, the destruction of the foot-path seems never to have given them the smallest concern. Surely a public work of this kind— small in extent— yet large in practical comfort and convenience— should be under the charge of some one, and ought to be attended to. Had the foot-path never been constructed, there might have been a question whether or not the particular locality had a preferable claim over another for the expenditure of the public funds ; but when once constructed there could be no question as to the propriety of keeping it in repair, nay, from destruction. I know who formerly has been to blame, but under all the transformations which the body politic has been undergoing lately, I have now lost sight of the culprit, and can only hope that this public notice will be the j means of calling him from h:s obscurity, and urging him to do his duty. I am, &c, Citizex.

To the Editor of the Southern Cross, Sir, — Nothing, under (rJinary circumstances, could be more repugnant to my feelings than to bring any matter in which I am privately and personally concerned, before the public. But as Mrs. Graham's sad accident is already public property, and as we have moreover experienced so much sympathy from so large a portion of the community on this trying occasion, I consider it my duty to waive my own feelings for the sake of laying befoie the public a biief statement of the case, and shewing how much I owe to Dr. Fischer and Homoeopathy. About five o'clock on Thursday afternoon, Mrs. Graham and myself were about leaving Mr. Langford's store, arm in arm, when, without the slight3st warning, the joists of the upper floor gave way, and I was struck heavily on the back, and thereby driven forward, by which Mrs. Graham's arm was snatched, as it were, from my own, and she was in an instant buried beneath bags of corn, potatoes, &c, from which it took the exertions of many people for several minutes — some say as many as ten— before she was extricated, apparently in a hopeless state. We carried her across, to Dr. Matthew's shop, and very soon six or seven medical gentlemen were on the spot, a\ hen it was discovered that several of her ribs were broken, the breast-bone injured, and the whole bodygenerally severely crushed and bruised. Her chest was bandagecl, and opium and other remedies administered, and I feel well assured that these gentlemen did all they could for her. She was to all appearance dying, and the whole of the medical gentlemen declared her case to be utterly hopeless, so much so that Mr. Thatcher advised me to desist from giving her even a spoonful of cold water, as the medical gentlemen thought, in humanity, I ought not ; as they considered it could do no good, and increased her pain, but I could not resist giving her occasionally a spoonful, even although I believed tier to be dying fast. Mr. Thatcher was very kind, and remained a long time with us ; but as the medical gentlemen assured aim there was no chance of Mrs. Graham's reason returning, he at length left, after offering up with a few af us a prayer to God to receive her unto his care. All ihe medical men assured me that there was no chance af her living through the night, and left one after the 3ther, until only one remained to watch the close. It was about 11 o'clock at night, when a seoond at:empt to find Dr. Fischer at home proved successful, and ivhen brought, it was almost too late, as her breathing md pulse were both becoming momentarily weaker, md she seemed to he rapidly sinking. Dr. Fischer, rt'hen requested to take the case in hand, in a most gen:lemanly way, hesitated out of medical etiquette, but on ny assuring him that all the other medical gentlemen lad given her up, and begging him to tiy what he could lo to prevent my eight children being left motherless, he at last consented.

Only one mcd : cal gentleman was with Mrs. Graham wlie i Dr. Fischer can.c in, and he was requested to.etay and see the effect of the Homoeopathic treatment, but he declined, having no faith in this mode of practice, and accordingly left the shop. Mrs. Graham's teeth were by this time fast clenched, but through the opening caused by two of them having been knocked out when she received her oth?r injuries, Dr. Fischer poured a tea^poontul of medicine like cold water. The moment before administering this, her pulse was down to 54, her lower extremities cold, as I believed never to be warm again, (we had previously tried hot water bottles and bricks in vain,) her hands cold and clammy, but immediately after thU medicine was administered, a sudden chanje took place : her hand, which I held in my own, began immediately to grow warm, and in less than a quarter of an hour her pulse rose to 15, her breathing became more regular, and her limbs became of a natural heat, and the shadow of death passed away from her face like the damp off a glass which has been breathed upon. In about an hour she, for the first time, spoke and also recognized me and her eldest son and daughter, and then dropped off to sleep. Dr. Fischer remained with her the whole night. He administered four different kinds of medicines, and told me beforehand how each of them would act, and as he predicted so did the symptoms in each case come on. She continued gradually to improve, and about h past 6, Dr. Fischer sanctioned'her removal to her own house, where she was safely carried by six policemen, and though the road be very rough, she arrived at her own house without being awakened. She still continues, thank God, to improve. Of course, she suffers a great deal of pain ; but she can breathe freely, and her pulse and other functions are all regular. Dr. Fischer's medicines, (one teaspoonful every hour,) are keeping clown the inaammation, and instead of a corpse, I am able to look upon her really healthy countenance, and do not fear her ultimate recovery. Like many others, I had little faith in Homoeopathy,— even though I have had all my children vaccinated to prevent small pox,— and this every one must confess is very much a homoeopathic proceeding. lam only sorry that none of the medical gentlemen stayed to witness the treatment and the effects of the very small doses of these very easily administered medicines. I know some of those gentlemen were iir&t class medical men, and have no belief in this wonderful and simple system ; but I feel confident myself that Mrs. Graham would, that night, have died, as they all declared she Avould, had not Dr. Fischer arrived when he This case, where such severe injury had been sustained, and where all the Facility were of one opinion as to the result,, should cause the most sceptical, in cases of accident or danger, to put their trust in homoeopathic reatment. And medical gentlemen would do well to watch every case of homoeopathic treatment narrowly, instead of turning into ridicule a system which gives such speedy lelief, and admits of medicine being administered in such small doses as in this my wife's case, with such beneficial results, and at a time when she was perfectly unconscious. ' I remain, &c. Geo. Graham. Auckland, July 10, 1834.

We reprint, in this days issue, a most amusing letter, wkich appeared in the Wellington " Spectator" of June 24, concerning the acts of the House of Kepreseutatives, ani which excited great merriment among the members in the refreshment room attached to the House of Assembly It is evidently written by some one who was present at the proceedings so sharply criticised therein, and is signed, Fidelis, — that is to say, one of the faithful ; but which one among them, we cannot undertake to indicate. The style aud tone are suc'i, that it is altogether harmless; otherwise we should have denied ourselves the pleasure of inciting.

The First Acts or the House or Representatives. To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. Sir,— The House met on the 26th May, and on the motion of Mr. Bartley, seconded by Mr. Fitzgerald, elected Mr. Clifford to be Speaker of their House, unanimously. When the Speaker has been conducted to the chair, Mr. M'Andrew calls the attention of the House to the propriety of commencing proceedings with an acknowledgment of the Divine being, and a prayer for his guidance and assistance in their deliberations, and moves a discreet and temperate resolution to that effect, which is seconded by Mr. Mackay. This well-judged motion — worthy of Christian men met to legislate for Christain communities — vvoithy the children of Great Britain, whose glory it has ever been hitherto to acknowledge as a nation the Lord as her God, this wise counsel of men, — sensible of their own weakness, and the foolishness of all human wisdom without the blessing of God with it,— is ilippantly met by a Mr. Lee, with a nonsensical charge of turning the chamber into a conventicle, and a negative to the motion for prayer, and lie is consistently seconded by Mr. Revans ; but finding, it is to be presumed, but little countenance in theh scoffing, this amendment is dropped. Mr. Weld (the Speaker's partner in his religious profession as well as his wool-growing avocation) then comes forward to oppose the shocking notion of opening the proceedings of the House with prayer, and gravely asks the members to agree with him in declaring that while having every proper respect for prayer in the abstract, they have none for the reality, and to deprecate it in this instance as an inconsistency — though why, in the name of all that is strange, he should presume to suppose that a majority of those present would declare it inconsistent in theni to pray for God's blessing on their labours, passes knowledge. Ihe Hon. Stuart Wortley seconded this sage axiom, and eight other lionorable members weie found to step into the same hole of inconsistency, among whom figures his Hon«r af Canterbury, prohpi'dor ! — hide your heads, ye high 2hurcJi inimaculates, who strain at a gnat and swallow a. camel. This we might have thought would have been enough for honors and honour ables at oue sitting, but there is more to come ; not content wilh a negatixe of twenty to ten on Mr. Weld's indecorous proposal, liis honor of Canterbury has the good taste to try again to get rid, by a side wind, of the impending danger, viz., the public acknowledgment of Gecl by the representatives of a Christain people ; yes, by a motion for adjournment; blush again, Canterbury, great in profession, but in practice wanting ; this motion being also negative (the numbers we have yet to learn) it devolves on the Roman Catholic Speaker to ask for the unwelcome services of a Protestant minister, and again, of course with perfect sincerity, to thank him for the same with the grace and dignity Mr. Bartley celebrates. And now, I would ask, is not this all in good keeping ? Is there anything here but what might have been expected ? Should we have had this disgraceful exhibition if influential Iloman Catholics hud not been chosen to represent Protestant Chiibtians ? Can auy one doubt that the determined opposition in this case is attributable to the Romanist element— to its utter intolerance of every phase of real Chiistianity r This country in general, and Wellington in particular, may yet have to rue the total disregard paid to the experience of Popish mischief contained in the annals of our past history. Soe with, what unblushing effrontery the assertion is* made, aye, and not denied, by so called Protestant legislators, viz., the perfect leligious equality recognised by our Constitution, — where and when ? Show it by all means, show us the actual unprotcstantising of us as a British people. I thought we In cd under our glorious Protestant Constitution, but in leaving our native land, according to this theoiy, T/e must have left that behind us, and Parliament has kindly assisted, it seems, to severe from us entirely all such, ridiculous fancies. Our forefathers must have thought somewhat differen:ly from this when at the Union .of England ami Scotland, it was enacted by the former and. received by the latter, that the Presbytenan Establishment of Scotland should be on an equality with the English Establishment in all England's colonies— but small thanks for small mercies might Scotland have said, if according to the modern cons tmction, they were only placed on the same footing that Papists might claim, who wore regaided as idolaters by both communions. And where will this" perfect religious equality, as it is called, carry us ? Are we not shutting ourselves out equally from questioning any and every religous error ? Is there any exception taken against Judaism, Ma-< hometanism, or Paganism ? May Turk, Russian, or abject Hindoo legislate for freemen? Rather let us consider if true freedom can exist where religious error holds despotic sway aver the mind. Surely there is something in ths geniuis of real British freedom, that is not attainable by any of these, and why but because the mind of Briton's sons, in the matter of religior , has been unfettered by aught but Bible truth for centuries, And, in consequence, the God of the who?e universe has blessed with hapiness and prosperity tre nation, that as a nation, in her Councils, by her representatives, and her national acts, has given the glory to God and not to man— has attributed her success, her world-wide empire and renown, to God as revealed a the Bible, and not to priest, saint, or virgin. I remain, sir, your obedient servant, Fiweli*,