POSTSCRIPTS.

Evening Star, Issue 4954, 18 January 1879, Page 4

POSTSCRIPTS.

It seems rather a queer ideal of the “ eternal fitness of things ” that a coffee-stall, the propinquity of which to Mr Dorn well’s premises has nearly driven that respected flesher mad, has been coolly, by the sanction of his Worship the Mayor, moved across George street for the delectation of the landlord and sojourner at the Koyal George Hotel! As Councillor Isaac expressed himself so much enamored with these peripatetic centres of loud-mouthed midnight brawling, why not make a vender of Mocha move on and establish himself under the windows of that learned and vo'uble gentleman himself? who, we fancy, could talk down even a coffee stall mob, , _ The new method’ of teaching the piano is, it would appear, to handcuff the patient. An American inventor,is of course responsible for this novelty, which is thus described by a contemporary “ The hand-letter, or hand-rest, eonsisrs of a round bar of,polished walnut of the length of the pianp, to ivhich it is intended to be fixed by. means of Jc!am screws, leaving a few inches’ space between,'the rod and the instrument. Upon'this bar are- 1 two steel wristlets, which are intended for the pupil’s wrists.' This has the effect of keeping the wrists in a proper position, and Kelps to prevent-the pupil from getting into the bad habit of’ moving the whole arm whilst striking the notes. The wristlets move up and down the rod with the greatest ease, and can be raised or lowered as required. The introduction of this useful aid is to be regarded as encouraging alike to teacher and pupil.” Very capital idea for the teacher, who can .thus ensure, keeping his or her victim up to thqwork But how about the pupil? Good news for the ratepayers! Claim No. 1 has been sent in to the City Council in connection with the construction of the Silverstream Waterworks. Mr WilliamTaylor demands L 2,375 as compensation for the diversion of the water.; suppose , the usual course will be adopted—first, reference to a,special committee; secondly, doing nothing but waiting to be sued ; thirdly, jury disagree after about L 1,500 has been swallowed up-nn costs; fourthly, more cost ; fifthly, and, lastly, payment in full; Epilogue i Councillors'' Fish and lsahc abuse the Mayor and everybody else, and highly extol their own wisdom for not “seeing it 1” It was too bad altogether of Mr Charles Bright to imply by the title of his lecture the other Sunday (“ The Elders’from the days of Sus,annah”) thftt there;-was any possible analogy/ between the “ elders” in . that naughty little" biblical romance and the respected and liberalminded “.elders”. of the present day and hour. We: are sure those venerable but morally, defective persons would not have advocated Bibleo eading in schools had they thought their own story would have been included in the canon.

The “Professorial Board” {why “board? ” Is this “sarkasm?”) have put their united feet into it this time, and no mistake. They have actually committed themselves to the assertion in a formal document that “ physical science is the basis of the sciences.” . .This astound- (•) proposition has . aroused the righteous wrath of the Kt-v. Mr Ryley and other members of the Presbyterian Synod, who designate it as ‘ the g- o*se=t and .most, revolting Matenausm. . JDnless the evidence of the senses is :not to be admitted, painful os it may be to well-regulated .minds, this 1 proposition must l ecessarily beA true/’Are ' Mi- Ryley Jill Paniiei-maii, and others who support their views prepared to deny the •existence of “ matter ” ? or-.will they assert that mathematical truth is dependent upon theological conclusions, deduced, as‘they must needs be, from premises not capable.of direct or logical substantiation ? There is nothing antagonistic in the laws of riiatter to f the ,‘‘xhoral and spiritual nature of man,” and it miist be conceded that the moral and spiritual nature would be rather •adnftwithoufc the corpus vile of the material nian. The Professors were only stating an accepted axiom when . they said that “ physical science was the basis of all sciences/’ and we are inclined to think that a little closer study of the exact, sciences ” would keep the mind ecclesiastical clear from many perplexing and mischievous vagaries, __^ a t much-abused individual Councillor M Kinnpn has .had a field-day over the hulk Industry business. The : Council refuse a committee of-inquiry upon the grounds, so far ?« S w <>uld ft PP Gar > that such inquiry might spoil _ the fun ” of a probable lawsuit. The discussion was in some degree amusing—every councillor trying to put the blame of the stupid bargam upon somebody else, and Captain jb. Rmnon. i himself most ungratefully turning upon his trusting colleagues, who left the arrangement of the purchase, to him, and saying You ought; to have gone and seen’what you were buying before you bougbt.it I” After all, it would appear that them has been a great storm in a teacup] about the whole matter. The foUy was in deciding upon a 1 hulk- at all • the margin of profit to the owner- of this derelict may not be found to have been so very much cut of the way, considering the amount of work and material necessary to convert the rotten old null into floating baths. ’ What makes Councillor Isaac always in such a pelter about the depth of water jn. the resem voir? Is he afraid that the supply of “ aq. pok,” will fall short, and the “mixture as before” have to be curtailed in quantity ? or that the leeches will “ dry up and bust ?” or what ? Being a member of the Council, why does he invoke the assistance of the Press instead of trusting to his own unvarnished eloquence to advocate high water level in the reservoir ? . These are things difficult t to understand.,, But what is the meaning t of,. the Mayor’s speech at the last meeting-of the Council upon the subject of water supply; which is thus reported in aeontemporary “The Mayor added that the Corporation also supplied the organ at St, Paul’s Church, and the choirmaster of that church, after being spoken to about the matter, discontinued the usual organ practices ; so that it ’would be fieen lie (the M&yor) had been very watchful over'the subject.” Are the vestry mean enough to have the organ blown by waterpower, instead of keeping the conventional pious old man, with a tasto for strong drink, who is to be found in this position all over the civilised world ? Mr A. C. Begg got a proper “dressing down” irona the Rev. Ur Stuart at the meeting of the Presbyterian Synod on Thursday, Mr Begg made a speech in his usual high-faintin’, not to say arrogant style, pitching into the AttorneyGeneral for. his .actiou.in.the Assembly relative the Otago University Bill, designating the attempt -Hd fake tKe.’Ap;poihtffient. o^;j)rbf essors °ut°f the hands of the Synod as little less than tmbfcry, and generally painting Mr Stout in

colors sufficient to be appropriate to another high official also belonging to the ultra “liberal” party both in religion and "ethics He further denounced Professor Macgxogor for sitting at Mr' (Stout's “right hand” at the meeting lately held in the Queen's Theatre, “listening to Christianity being he’d up to ridicule and statements made that were utteily subversive of all religious morality. 5 ' Dr Stuart waited “ a ‘wee, 55 and then came down with the sledge hammer- force which is the wont of the reverend doctor, even where he has only a fly to smash. “He'had listened,’ 5 he, said, to Mr Begg in his criticism of Air Stout with curious feeling*. Why did not Mr Begg, who was at the meeting he had spoken of, stand up and protest against the vote of confidence which was passed in Mr Stout ? He (Mr Begg) had told them that at last meeting (the meeting of Friday last) the Presbyterian I’hurch had been misrepresented and held up to ridicule, anti that he saw a professor applaud some of Mr Stout’s remarks, and yet he (Mr Begg) was actually dumb. Had he (the speaker) been present, as he had intended to fce, he would not have allowed that vote of confidence to be passed unanimously.” Well done, Dr Stuart,! outspoken and manly always; a hater of humbug, and a despiser of cant.-

.Sir George Grey has again nobly vindicated the independence of New Zealand and “ the freedom of an oppressed and down-trodden people ” by refusing Lord Nonnaoby the use of the Hinemoa to convey his Excellency and family to Victoria. The yacht being required for purposes, political and eleemosynary, cannot be allowed, it appears, to loave .>ew: Zealand waters. Otherwise, the “ trenchermen 15 of both branches of the Legislature would be deprived of their well-deserved free passages and run of the trough. The honorable Captain This would have to forage for himself, or go home to his family, and Mr That, M H.H., would have to retire beneath the shadow of his owin carp-t bag and “smoke the calumet” of any tobacco he could borrow This-refusal of the Hinemoa to his Excellency D a fitting sequence to the treatment of Sir \V. Jervois last 3 ear, which was commented upon throughout the Empire in hardly favmable terms. People outside the Colony of course are unable to understand the exigencies of the position, and we should not be surprised : if the conduct of Sir George in this matter should be stigmatised as spiteful and hardly becoming what might he expected from a gentleman of parts arid breeding. There is one comfort, that Lord Nortnanby’s successor has proved himself of very tough political fibre, and wi 1 be at hard a nut to crack as the Marquis. He bears, moreover, a name of good omen —“ Hercules.” If he does hot strangle the lion, it is to hoped at all events that he will succeed in cleansing' “ the Augean stable ”!