A GREAT RELIGIOUS CHIEF.

Evening Post, Volume LXIV, Issue 43, 19 August 1902, Page 4

A GREAT RELIGIOUS CHIEF.

The Senussi, whoso death was announced in a telegram we published yesterday was, if we are to believe the apparently reliable reports which have been given to tho world from time to time, the most powerful religious leader in existence. His will was, it is said, absolute law to somo twenty millions of followers who not only acknowledged his religious supremacy but were ready at a word from him to fight to the death against all "unbelievers," and with special zest against tho white men of Christian Europe. He held his court at Jerabub, in t>he hinterland of Tunis. It is some forty years since his rule was acknowledged, and in the interval ho had built up a great brotherhood of religious fan- ! .Hies. His emi-'Siirios carried on a vigorous propaganda among the negro and j half-ca&to Arab tribes of Northern and Central Africa. The cyeed they taught was Mohammedanism in its purest or Wnhabi form. Sensual in somo respects, it was rigidly ascetic in others. Its central tenet was the saving grace of »lealh while fighting against the infidel. The Nemissi has long been an object of anxiety if not of positive fear to British nnd French officers in Egypt, Tunis, and Algiers. Some of the finest fighting men of Africa wore numbered among his ' obedient adherent!!. He was lite contro : of Molinmmedan fanaticism nnd a con- [ stnnt source of religious trouble. He was expected to contemplate preaching a "Iloly Wur" against the European", and bad he done so the struggle would have been very different from that caused by China's recent abortive attempt to drive out tho Westerners. Some have alleged I that the Senussi has not been the same individual during the past forty years, but thiit the organisation has continued under fuccefsive chiefs. Tf there were throughout but the ono Senu<?si his death mny 'huvo far-reaching cotJ!>it[uenccs and lead either to (he break-up of tbo brotherhood or to serious disturbances over the choice of a successor.

The Northern Luminary states that re!ently a party of three visited the sunken yreck of the ohl ship.Boyd, which was :ut off by the Maoris ut WhanKaroa Harjour in 1809. They each had a grappling yon, and in a- few minutes fastened on to i piece of coppei , which on being brought jo the surfaco was found to bo one of ;ho rudder gudgeons ; its weight is 2241b, md it is of solid copper, being none the worse for being under water for 93 years. The tender of Messrs. Davis and Browman has been accented for tne erection, of a, -warehouse of four stories for Mr. E. 0. Batkin. The warehouse ivill occupy the site of Mr. Batkin's present building on Lombton-qnay, and will bave a striking external appearance. The cost will be a little over £4000. Mr. W. G. Chatfleld j'b the architect-. Following is ft list of the lat-^t rinnp. tions towards the funds for establishing a Veterans' Home : — Amount aireauy acknowledged, £1648 14s lOd. Collected by Sir William Russell (additional): J. A. Hannan fil Is, Hone Heko £1 It, W. H. Field £1 Is, A. R. Guinness £1 Is, A. W Hogg £1 Is, R. M'Kenzie £1 Is, W. W. Collins £1 1«, A. D. Willis £1 Is; total, £8 Ba. Collected by Mrs. W. Barber (additional) : James Gear £3 3s. Collected at Kempthorne, Prosser and Co.'s : Kempthorne, Prosser and Co. £2 2s, R. E. Wood 10s, I. T. ss. Collected at Wellington Woollen Manufacturing Co. : A. G. Heelea £2 2i, J. M'Crarie 10s 6d, amount* under Bs, £2 7s 6d, S. Macdonald ss, P. C. Ltucford 6s, Mrs, K. Gear 6s, Mrs. Cleland fl». sundry amounts under 6s, 18s; total, £12 18s. Collected br Mrs. Collins (additional) : J. P, Russell £2. Per his Worship the Mayor: Wellington Fire Brigade Ulub £10 10s*. Dresden Piano Co. £2 2s; Mr. and Mrs. 1 Evans £1 Is; total, £13 13s. Per James Coates: St. Cuthbert's Church, Eketahuna (offertory on Coronation Day) £4 9s 9d. Total to date, £1590 3s 7d. The Auckland City Council proposes making a bylaw providing for fowlyaxda being concreted or asphalted, also for small backyards of, say, 15ft square, and especially those behind phops, factories; or -warehouses, being asphalted or concreted. Notes from utterances made by delegates at the conference of representatives of Education Boards:— "We have a representative of the Government here in Mr. Hogg," said Mr. T. Mackenzie, M.H.R., amid laughter.— "ln asking for on extra half-crown, we are only calling upon the head of the Government to fulfil a promise made last session." — Said Mr. C. A. C. Hardy : "Does Mr. Hogg, aa representative of the Government, saj? that this extra amount will be granted?' Mr. Hogg smiled brondly by way of retort, ana the other delegates laughed outright at the distribution of chaff.— "Whilst School Committees have to get up concerts and raise money by other means for carrying on their- work, ours-oannot be called a free system of education," said Mr. J. A. Hanan, M.H.R. (Invefcargill). — "I Believe that member? of Education Boards should be elected by householders, just as committees are elected, rather than by committees only," a sentiment uttered b"y Mr. Pirani, which was supported by Bix to four of the delegates on a show of hands.— "Notwithstanding that this is a democratic community, I believe in strengthening the hands of our School Committees," said Mr. Hardy when recommending that committees, when wanting teachers, should have a list of six suitable applicants submitted to, them. — Messrs Bridge and Pirnni (Wanganui) thought that the Government should allpvr teachers the amount of the exchange collected on their cheques, and Mr. Hanan said the Department ■ action in deducting the exchange wan paltry. Delegates agreed. Complaints have reached me, writes out London Correspondent under date 12th July, with regard to the way in which the New Zealand Coronation Contingent at the Alexandra Park are being treated^ However, I made personal enquiry ol several members, and thfcii only complaint ■vrna that things were, if anything,' "toe lively," and that money did not go far enough. One of the Maoris characterised j the treatment they were receiving' a« ! "splendid," while one of the white troopers said that those who were not satisfied should liav& smother twelve months on the veldt. On the other hand, some members give a very different account of affairs. One London paper, referring to the Australian and New Zealand Coronation Contingents quartered at the Alexandra Palace, sayh : — "The disgust of the men at being encamped at such an out-of-the-way, dead-and-alive hill is only equalled by the discomforts and drawbacks that devolve upon their friends who would visit thenv and enliven the monotony. The least bit of rain turns the camping grounds into a more or less greasy mudheap. Practichlly overlooked by the Colonial Entertainments' Committee, they have presented themselves at theatres and music-halls, to be asked where were their tickets. Application for tickets necessitates several days' notice^ and then, in nine cases out of' ten, matinee tickets alone are available. A daylight theatre trip is only equalled by an electric-lighted cricket match— novel, but unnatural. "A . little trouble ard little management," continues the same writer, "might' have, done so much to lessen the cruel disappointment of those who came thousands of miles irom under the Southern Cross to see the King." Lieut. -Colonel Gilmour, of $c headquarters staff, Melbourne, has been ap.pointed to the head of the Salvation Army staff in New Zealand, in succession to Colonel Estill. He l*aa been connected with the Army for the last twenty years, and was for several years general secro tpry to the organisation m the Commonwealth. Colonel Gilmonr and family will nrrive in the colony about the end of September. The superior quality of Suratura Tea has given it the distinction it sustains as being unsurpassed. Suratura is pure, honest Cfjyloa tea. — Advfc. The W»inirapa Farmers' Co-operative ] Association notify that Wodn'seday, the 20lh j inst., is the last day on which discount will he allowed on July neoeimbt— Atlvt. The ||!!t principles of domestic economy nre to provide good and pure food. Defiance Butter is pure, fcalafcabte, and good.— Advt. Como one, come all. After a very successful run we are now upon the closing days pf sale. There will be this week a grfcat clearance of remnants ant} oddments left over. These will be marked at specially low prices, and will afford customers opportunities of obtaining some real bargains at C. Smith's, Cuba-street.— A'dVl. 0. Smith's sale having been such a marked sucoess from every standpoint, he intends these last few days to further reduce many lines previoiis Ho stocktaking So you will strike it exactly right if yim pay a visit right now. Now is tho tirae to buy. Closing days of sale; — C Smith, Cuba-street. — Advt, The New Zealand Clothing Factory calls attention by advertisement, to its special measurement in men's ready-to-wear clothing. The company claims to fit any sites. The tall, the thin, the short, or the stou() oan bo perfeotfully fitted. Messrs. Harcourfc and Co. will sell by public auotion to-morrow, nt 2 p.m., on the premises, 162&, Adelaide-road, the whole* of the household furniture aad effects. The goods will bo on view from 11 a.m. to-morrow.

Old-age Pensions in this land Have proved a marked success, They give the old a helping hand, And keep them from distress. There's only just one other thing That s needful to ensure Sound lungs, that we the praise pan sins 0f Woods' Gre»t Peppermint Cur?.