PASSING EVENTS. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 49, 27 February 1908, Page 4

PASSING EVENTS. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

AN EXAMPLE TO EMPLOYERS. Tho example of the late Mr. Henry Fletcher, of Blackhcath, is one that must bo approved by all persons employed by others. Mr. Fletcher was a prosperous dry goods merchant. By his will he berpicathed £10,000 to his chief clerk, £500 to each clerk of ovor fifteen 'years' service, £200 to each ,clerk of fifteen years' service, with proportionate legacies down to clerks and packers of five yejars' service. It is a matter difficult to decide (says St. James's Budget), but our impression is that there have been more such wills of lato than used to bte made. Nor, on general grounds oi justice, can tho practice of not forgefclfcng one's dependants bo criticised. If tho legator can afford it, he can find j^aod reason for helping at his death thosfe who have helped him in his life. Tho best of business men must depond fctf their success on the energy and abilitjy of those who servo them. When thsr are satisfied that they have been sensed well and faithfully, and when tho family circumstances permit, they should not he forgetful of the contributors fro their fortunes — tho men to whom they may indeed have paid good salax'ies ajnd wages, but whoso loyalty in their cause may have , been beyond j price. ! THE "SMARt"sET" AGAIN. Two Midland clergymen are reported 'i}o jhaver resigned-^ono an honorary canonry Otf Worcester, another a rural deanery — on account of the immorality of the upper classes. The reason seems so strange that \\o hesitate to give it credence, sayfi an English paper. Yot here it (stands in black and white. "It is undeirstood that the reason for their action its dissatisfaction with the state of.morcflity prevailing among some of tho upper classes in certain districts of the diodose." There can be littlo doubt that eve(ry conscientious clergyman finds cause to deplore the immorality existing not only among the upper but among the middle classes with whom he is brought in contact. Whether the aristocracy of the Midlands is worse- than the aristo- , cracy efsqwhere — whether, tho smart set of the {Midlands are sfnarter than they are di^overed in other districts and cities — We cannot take upon ourselves to say. ijbrhaps the tw,o clex'gyraen who loave reeigued could throw some Jight on the question. But 'it will appear to most readers of tho news that the better pol icy in any case would .be to retain the positions of responsibility and influence in tho hope of making an impression on tho wicked ones. Surely tho way to «ombat evil is not to lolinquish the weapons of warfare. That is so obvious that we could fain think the clergymetn could a bettor reason if they wo'ujld for their action. . SEDITION~IN INDIA. Yet another prosecution of the "Yugantes:" one of tho Indian vernacular journals has ended in tho conviction of tho new printer and publisher, who has been se.Otoncod to rigorous imprisonment for two ytears and a fine of Rs. 1000, in default of which ho is to undergo v further term of imprisonment. The article on which tho conviction was based was so vilo a nature that Mr. Kingsford refused to allow the reporters to mako a copy of the translation,, but it appears that in tho course of it an appeal was made 'to Sikh soldiers to mutiny- T3io Chief Presidency Magis-. trato in delivering judgment pointed out thaji tyio paap, like so. many others, showed'the necessity df s6 'amending the law as to make it possible ior the police to prohibit altogether tho continued printing of a paper which persistently appeals to tho masses to overthrow the Government by violence. In the case of the "Vungantar >!> as soon as one printor or editor is sent to gaol, another takes his place, and the sheet continues to disseminate poison. Thia, of course, comments tho Calcutta Englishman, is in pursuance of a settled plan of action. Tho probabilities are that in no caso has the actual writer of the seditious articles been punished. A SAMPLE. While judgment in the above case was pending the ''Yugantav" published the following: "-"You shall have to fight an inevitable battle with you opponents. In this battle you shall bo tho victorious p«T-ty, because Dhavma is on your side. The longer do ther foreign rulers reign in the country, the greater will be tho destruction of the people. Save tho subjects of tho mother country, and fall to' worlt at once. By war, heaven is attained: whethei you fail o* win. Without war life will not be saved." This is the first time that a vernacular paper urges war and quotea the Shaatras, says the Englishman. The paper continues :-•«' '.Upon your rise of power, tho throne of tho burglarious, wicked ten-headed monster beyond the seas is trembling ; his' crown has fallen to the du&t. BJiarat Santan ! The foe has lost his head, and is faint with fear of the shouts of Bande Mataratn. Thosewho aro accustomed to respect, those brave Europeans Who onco disarmed battalions of Indian warriors by a signal from the finger, are now trombling at the sight of the . lathi and the school- | boy. RUSSIAN MONKS' AND THE MASSES. "' If the Russian people cannot take care of themselves, tho Russian monks can. No reason to throw at them tho rebuke which Becket flung to his brethren in the play — "Monks, not me." We are told that, in the prevailing unrest iii Russia, churches and church property have been treated with scant respect by the masses. There has been sadly too much pillaging; and the iidlest foundations are naturally tho worst threatened, or most fears aro felt on their behalf. Now tho Glinski Monas-

tery, which is near Putivl, happens to be .one of tho richest in Russia. The Abbot is a stalwart. With tho permission of his Bishop, he has rai&ed a band of defenders from the monks. Thoy wear a kind of Cossack uniform, and are armed with the terrible nagaika, as well as revolvers and rifles. What seems, likely to .prove equally effective, however, is tho supply of ammunition stored by tho careful Abbot at the monastery gato. It consists of a cask of sulphuric acid and a huge squirt. Should pillagers come — whish! they have a dose of acid in the eyes. Should they perbist — Shr-r-r! they have snuff in their noses | — top much nniiff, for every soldier-monk carries a' small packet. Tho dofence would appear most complete. Tho Abbot's notion may be commended to the Cossacks themselves. Would it not be as effectual to give the people snuff, on occasions of popular uprising, as to kill them with sabres and cut them with nagaikas ? • GENERAL BOOTH AND LORD ROSEBERY. General Booth, at tho opening of a Salvation Army home for working men, said that he had an interview with Lord Rosebery, who received him rather stiffly. He observed that numbers of leading men were a little stiff when ho first entered their rooms. He supposed they were afraid he was going to pray with them. After a time his lordship became exceedingly friendly, and apked him questions as to the character of the people the Salvation Army emigrated. The General said that he could not guaranteo that every man they sent had never bad a glass too much, or had never told a fib, or was born with a liking for work. He added, ''You would have to go to the Houso of Lords for that class of man." Lord Roseber-y nearly jumped off his seat, and said that they wore all archangels there. showmakteTfortune. Probate of the will of Mr. James Anthony Bailey, managing director of Barnum and Bailey, has been granted in London to his widow. Mr. Bailoy, whose real name was Gordon, had long been supposed to bo a millionaire. In the document's admitted to probate, however, his personal estate in England was returned at £29,670, and the net value of his property in the United States £72,8p6, making the total net value of his property £102,526. Ho loft the whole of this to his wife, giving as his reason, "she having, by her counsel aud devotion, largely aided me in tho acquisition of my property," and "feeling that none others have claims upon my bounty." INFLUENCE OF TOBACCO. Professor J. H. B. Masterman, Vicar of St. Michael's, Coventry, referring* to the success <that has attended a mission lately started for men in his "parish, where smoking is permitted before service begins, says ho is quite certain that the privilege of a pipe of tobacco, which the mqu enjoy togethor, has had a great deal to do with the popularity of this brotherhood. He points out that the building in which the members assemble is not a church. The premises are licensed for services, aud the whole of tho church is completely screened off. He was absolutely convinced abput tfo value of bmoking being encouraged as a means of getting into social relationship with tho men, and disposing of stiffness and the rest of it. X THE CALL FOR MEN. General Sir John French, InspectorGeneral of the Forces, recently presented the prizes to the men of tho 4th Battalion (Volunteers) Essex Regiment at Shoreditch Town Hall. Referring to the new Territorial Army, General French said the old distinction between the Regulars and the Auxiliaries was finally broken down, and they wero now all military brethren throughout the Empiro, and wpuld bo banded together in future in one great national army. He wanted to impress upon them that in the past the Regular and Auxiliary forces had never been properly welded together ; they had never beon one. The great gap which had existed had, in recent years, been widened, because whilst the Regular forces had takon all the advantages they could of the lessons of tho war, and made enormous strides in efficiency, tho Auxiliary forces had been moro or less standing btill. Now all that was broken down, and they had this great national army of a first lino and a second line. Mr. Haldane hdd applied for 300,000 mou, and he wanted to impress upon the.ni that it was (he greatest chunco the Volunteers had ever yet had to display that loyalty and love of the country which they had over displayed, and unfailingly showed in times j of stress and difficulty. Let them answer I like men to the call. Sacrifices wero necessary, but let them look at the end in view. If they could only attain to that end they would present a spectacle I unique in the history of the world ; a I strong national army, bound together, I and ready to face any enemy, and without any compulsion at all, but simply from a sense of patriotic duty.