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Evening Star, Issue 10339, 12 June 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

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GLEANINGS. .ii! r,' ]>' ■.":!".? is given or the , \\>-'> ,<-••: Motiioifis;*. and of their sppre- -•«*:• v.' •■;' :t:'.v Si'hooi* as mi important i>ij>> '1 .-.f ;heir i'i':ic-'.i work, i*i returns ■which "mvc ?'C?t: I'lU'iisbed to !-i>o Kni'lieh Eiueaiion U-pirtm*nt ii* to the expenditure on the provision, as distinguished from the maintenance, of their elementary schools since 1870. The total amount, including voluntary contributions, as published in Government Blue Books, is £1,065,297. The annual report of the Wesleyan Education Committee further states that, besides the above sum of upwards of £1,000,000 expended on Wesleyan day schools, Methodism has contributed an additional amount of £147,52*2 towards the support of the Westminster and Battersea Training Colleges. The Rev. C. S. Dewsbury, who died at Palmerston North last week, at the age of fifty-three years, had experienced broken health for many years, and often suffered severely. He began his ministry in connection with the Wesleyan Church, but retired because he was not equal to the strain oi the itinerant system. Since then he has supplied for various Congregational churches, his last charge being Devonport, a suburb of Auckland. He was unmarried.

In announcing his intention of departing for Eogland, the Rev. A. C. York took occasion to reprove his congregation in the folio ving plain terms :—" I may say with all boldness that since I have been in Masterton I have found that spiritual life is dead. When I came amongst you you were all spiritual zeal, and I would never look for anything better than to have finished my work among you. That zeal is gone, and by working where spiritual life is dead I am bringing on myself a spiritual deadness. I feel that I am bringing on myself a mortification of my own spiritual life. I may say in closing that never, never, will you find any clergyman bold enough who will ever be able to fight agaipet this spiritual deadness. It is like touching mouth to mouth with a corpse—breathing death. If any clergyman lives among spiritual deadness it kills the spiritual life in him. We part in three months from now. It may be for your good." A Methodist minister in Cincinnati, named Dr Fee, wa3 conducting a mission assisted as usual by his wife. The latter had entered the pulpit, and during her prayer expressed the hope that she might never again meet any one present on earth, but that their next meeting place might be in Heaven. At the close of her prayer the lady fell in the pulpit and died. The Rev. P. T. Fortune, of Petone, has been appointed incumbent of the Anglican Church at Woolston, near Christchurch. The Most Rev. M.. Sophonios, Greek Patriarch of Alexandria, is the oldest prelate in the world. He was born at Constantinople in February, 179*2, and is, therefore, now over ono hundred and five years old. For eighty-five years he has been a priest, and has held the highest offices in the Orthodox Greek Church. He is still sturdy and vigorous. One of the last things the Archbishop of Dublin did was to write an introduction for a work which is appearing on the Spanish Protestants in the sixteenth century. In a letter to the lady who compiled it from the German, Lord Plunket expressed sincere pleasure at having been able to finish his little contribution.

"A nice, bright young fellow, who during three years' stay in Whitton, New Ipswich, has won all hearts," is the character given the Rev. Harold Anson, who is now on his way out from Eugland to take charge of the Anglican parish of Hawera. He resigned his former parish because " maDy will gladly take his place there, but few will emigrate." It has been proposed to place the general church fund of the Anglican Church in the Nelson diocese on a different basis, and with this object in view Archdeacon Grace is making a four months' tour of the diocese iu order, by canvass, to ascertain what support will be acorded to the proposed change. Pope Leo has thrown open the Borgia rooms iu the Vatican, after spending 100,000dol in having them put in repair. They consist of the Borgia Tower, three large halls, and the Hall of the Pontiffs, which has 250 square metres of floor area. The whitewash has been removed from the frescoes and the pavements restored according to the original designs, in majolica tiles. The work was done in four years, and was hurried as much as possible, as Pope Leo was very anxious that the restoration should be completed before he died.