Tit-Bits.

Evening Post, Volume XLVII, Issue 82, 7 April 1894, Page 1 (Supplement)

Tit-Bits.

A tender-hearted aud compassionate disposition, which inclines mcv to pity aud feel tho misfortunes of others, and which is even for its own sake incapable of involving any man ia ruin and mercy, is of all tempers of mind the most, amiable ; aud though it seldom receives much honour, is worthy of the highest. Some one has said — " Anger is a sinew of the soul, and he who wants it hath a maimed mind." The uncontrolled anger that wastes the forces is the worst enemy of a man. It places him in the power of his foes ; it robs him of his intelligence, makes his mind a blank, and leaves him at the mercy of the impulse of the moment and of every environment. Many men have been saved from the crime of murder, not by self-conttoi, but by the absence of the meaus by which life could be taken. Children are often injured and made to suffer because they are afraid They are often scolded or ly ;-jhed at untill they think that fear itself is something degrading. Instead of learning to cultivate courage to meet every emergency, they merely learn to despise and dibown fear. " You're afraid " is a cruel taunt among children, carrying with it the samo sharp sting whether it refers to a dangerous ieat, or disobedience to a parents command. Thin their inoml soiibc is blunted uud their ideu.s of light aud wrong aio hopelessly coufuspd. Tho grand do^t'ine that every human being should haw tho means of sett-culture, of progress in knowledge and virtue, of health comfort and happiue.-s, of exercising the powers and affection* of a man— this is slowly taking its place as the highest social truth. That the world was rnaJo for all, and not for a few ; that society is to care for nil ; that no human being shall perish, but through his own fault ; that the great end of government is to spread a shield over the rights of all— these propositions are growing into axioms', and the spirit of them is coming forth in all the department* of life. — Dr. Charming. Do not undervalue the average intelligence of mankind, O disappointed genius, who art muttering, " Pearls before swine." An attic is better than a cave, bread and butter better than raw fioh, and your worn, but well-brushed, suit beats the savage's natural hair all hollow. Mankind's average intelligence has given you these. When saluted with a salutation, salute the person with a better salutation, or at least return the same, for God taketh account of all things. — Koran. The grand idea of humanity, of the importance of man as man, is spreading silently but surely. Not that the worth of the human being is at all understood as it should bo — but the truth is glimmering through the daikuess. A consciousness of it has seized upon the public mind. Even the most abject portions of society are visited by some dreams of a better condition, for which they were designed. Bishop Hamilton of Salisbury bears the" following testimony to the influence for good which Mr. Gladstone, when a schoolfellow at Eton, exercised upon him. " I was a thoroughly idle boy ; but I was saved Irom woroe things by getting to know Gladstone." At Oxford, we are told that the effect of his example was so strong that men who followed him there ten years later declare that uuder-graduates drank less in the forties because Gladstone had been so courageously nbstemious in the thirties. — From The Sunny Days of Youth. Genius, like fire, is a good servant, but a terrible master.— Sigouruey. Kiudues^— A language which the dumb can speak, and the deaf can understand. ALCordinx to the modern tenets grey hairs are more ih*ui honourable - they are distinctly smart. Narrowness of mind is often the cause of obstinacy ; we do not easily believe beyond what we can see. Genius is never to be acquired by art, but is the gift of nature. — J. Gay. There are two kinds of geniuses — the clever and the too clever.— G. Brimley. Some people tell the truth for truth's stake ; and some for the sake of their reputation. Luck is the dream of a simpleton ; a wise man makes his own fortune — sometimes. Surprise is always an excitement, and generally by a pleasurable one, and monotony must be relieved by change if serenity uud happiness are to be maintained. Yet the love of what is extraordinary, if parried to excess, may be productive of tnuch harm by hiding the true value of the regular and uniform affairs of life. Three things to cultivate — Good books, good friends, and good humour. Genius does what it must, and talent does what it can. — R. B. Lytton. It is only the unlucky who th,ink fortune blind. The woman who "calc'lates" is lost. — 0. W. Holmes. A Chinese sect teaches that womeu who become vegetarians will be transformed into men in ihe great hereafter. Anger is botli a progressive and a deterrent force. No mau or woman ever made progress in the world who did not possess the ability to feel anger, the ability to pontrol it, the wibdoin to kuow when to express it as well as when to repress it So tremendous is its power on physique that never is anger felt to any considerable degree that it does not leave its mark, not only on the soul but on the body. "SCENE" IN A PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY. A MINISTER IXVAUKS THK HOUSE. The struggles of the congregation of St. Luke's, Bedferu, Sydney, to agree in the selection of a pastor, occupied the Presbyterian General Assembly for about six hours lately, the whole of a day sitting beiug given to vigorous battling with the subject. The difficulty is a very old one. Months have been spent in making calls and counter-calls, getting up petitions and counter-peti-tions, and otherwise carrying on active warfare in the opposing interests of the Eevs. T. J. Curtis and J. Marshall, each of whom has alternately had a majority. Mean? time Mr. Curtis, according to the Rev. R. Dill-Mackay (who stated the reference on behalf of the Sydney Presbytery) has started a Church of tho Covenant with the object of " bombarding St. Luke's." Mr. I Dill- Mackay asked the Assembly not to regtrd the numbers of those who adhered to Mr. Curtis at the expense of their principles, but to support those who continued loyal to the Church and were in favour of Mr. \ Marshall. A petition was received from Mr. Marshall, asking the Assembly to sustain the call to him and protect him. A proposal by the Rev. W. Anson Smith to refer this document to the Sydney Presbytery was negatived, and it was decicded, on the motion of the Rev. J. Kemp Bruce, to receive it. ! The Rev. R. S. Paterson moved j that tho petition be sustained, and i the call put into the hands of Mr. ' Marshall. | On the motion of the Rey. J. Burgess, it was resolved to postpone conblderation of the petition, and ' proceed to hear the parties on the reference. Accordingly (Mr. Marshall having

bar and spoke — Mr. Laverty and Mr. . Uoyce, who supported ALr. Marshall, ' and Mr. Murruy and Mr. Duncan, ! who appeared for Mr. Curtis. The ! sharpness of the difference which has j iiven the people of c?t. Luke's was | emphatically evid enced in the speeches of these gentlemen, and it was made I abundantly clear that if either clergyman was chosen to direct the belligerent miiida of the congregation in channels of Christian charity and brotherly love, he would be entirely repudiated as a brother by the disappointed section — that, as the Rev. J. Burgess said, any clergyman who invaded the disturbed district would require to be simultaneously wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove. Each representative enlarged on the good points of his candidate to the detriment of the other, and Mr. Murray and Mr. Duucan boldly asserted that Mr. Curtis was the minister chosen by God. Mr. Murray had referred to the energy of Mr. Curtis, who collected £5000 or £6000 for the church, and, indeed, founded it. Mr. Laverty, speaking afterwards on the financial question, said that while Mr. Curtis was in office the income never met the expend!' are. Mr. Curtis, who was in the body of the hall as a spectator (he is not a member of the Asbembly), at once rose in his place and called out, "It's absolutely false; it's a lying scandal!" Amidst cries of " Chair " and "Sit down," Mr. Curtis rapidly made his way up the aisle, through the barrier, and up to the Moderator's table, crying the whole distance, " It's a lie ; a scandalous lie !" and resisting the efforts of Mr. Alexander Martin, Mr. Wood, and the Eev. B. M'Kinnon to calm him and get him outside the bar. " It's a lie," shouted Mr. Curtis above the din of cries for order ; "it's a lie." Mr. Martin whispered some caution, but the clergyman wouldn't heed him, and replied loudly, "I don't care if I do spoil my chance. It's a lie, a lie ! No one dare cay that. It's a scandalous lie !'' Eev. J. Burgess called attention to the statements being made by a c ergyman of the Church who had no standing in the Assembly, which statements amounted to defiance of the Church. If he persisted in defying the assembly it might oxercise its power by striking him off the rolls. Mr. Curtis, who had by this time been induced to behave and go beyond the harrier, stood up again aud dured the Asseihbly to '• do what you will." Eev. J. Ewen, whfn peace had been restored, drew uttuntion to the serious charge made by Mr. Laverty igaiust a minister who had been in the Church. Eev. W. Bain, who wjib acting as Moderator, reminded the Assembly that he had several times called Mr. Laverty to order, but tbat his attention was not called to the particular remark which had caused trouble. Mr. Laverty said that he had lever-meant to reflect on anyone. Mr. Martin — That's what you've been doing all the time. Mr. Laverty said that he had always tried to avoid personalities. Here the " scene " ended, and a ajreat number of questions were asked of the parties. Mr. Duncan, in answer to one from the Rev. R. Dill-Macky, said that he believed he 3ould safely promise that the congregation of the Church of the Covenant would join St. Luke's if Mr. Curtis was called, but, of course, "he was only William Duncan," md could not definitely promise for athers. Ultimately it was decided to decline to grant the prayer of the Rev. T. Marshall's petition ; discharge the reference with accompanying documents ; resolve that the election of a minister to the vacant charge of St. Luke's proceed de novo, and instruct the Presbytery of Sydney to ascertain whether or not there should be amalgamation between the congregation of the Church of the Covenant and the congregation of St. Luke's. On the decision of the Assembly being communicated to the parties Mr. Duncan and Mr. Murray acquiesced, Mr. Boyce and Mr. Laverty dissented, and Mr. Marshall said, 11 1 submit, but Ido not acquiesce."