HAMILTON NOTES.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XXI, Issue 1063, 17 April 1890, Page 3

HAMILTON NOTES.

(From An Occasional Correspondent.) This has been an exceptionally dry season, the scarcity of water for mining purposes, however, being experienced with calm resignation on this side of the plain—all the more praiseworthy when it comes to be considered that the late rains have not even furnished a sufficiency of.mushrooms wherewith to make a solitary bottle of catchup. Hard lines this for a family man after haviug just come back from the Dunediu Exhibition, where such condiments are always handy, although little domestic troubles like these soon give way to, the singular flavor of the Maniototo mutton.

By the way, referring to the Exhibition, Ifind visitors to it, likemyself, liavecrammed their heads so inordinately, full of knowledge concerning the varieties to be seen there that this knowledge—typically related to the coaching of that promising young student jocularly referred to here the other evening by Mr. Wilmer—is more than likely to remain in its present caterpillar condition, through a total lack of discernment as to how it may be best transformed into that of the butterfly. There are to be seen pictures, a New South Wales Court, Maori curios, the backswitch (as an esteemed friend of mine has it who returned without a reserve place for a single other idea), jumping fleas, the Eiffel tower, Potiphar's wife en dishabille, Phryne era nalurel, and that, I think, is about all.

Of course, scraps of song come inhere and there. Towsey is stowed away in the brain with very little probability of getting at him, it being impossible to reproduce his artistic performances up-country. Band contests play whop with you at most unexpected seasons, and eveu the taste of a cooling draught of beer, obtained in the shades, touches up the palate at intervals, more especially if you have a barrel on top to make good the illusion; but what I mention in the former paragraph are the things that come uppermost. Adverting to topics of more local interest, I may say we had an exceptional night of it last Monday week, two divines in turn betaking upon themselves to enlighten us upon the subject of religion. Mr. Williams officiated as chairman, and made a good little speech, having a sufficiency ot humor in it to render him agreeable to the public. It may be said of Mr. Wilmer that he was certainly funny in his recitation concerning the Sunday-school boy, and 110 doubt he wished himself to be ; but would it not have been wiser had he chosen another subject in which to display his presumed powers of oratory ? One boy who tells another that he (the other) is going to hell because he doesn't attend Sunday-school, is not using the best of language, even allowing for the truth of it, though I should like to argue the point as to how he became possessed of his supernatural information, it being always the other fellow who has to make—happily in the light of a Sunday-school boy—for such an unearthly goal. Theu, that a boy must necessarily get his fist into a hole in a tree and not be able to get it out again, be most unmercifully beaten with a big stick and by a big man, have bad dreams and goodness knows what all, simply because he was not at Sunday-school. Well, it may be a very pretty story, highly probable in the mouth of a minister dealing with it in half rhyme, half prose, but give me " Old Mother Hubbard" in preference, with no more questions asked as to the truth of it. It is said comparisons are odious ; but I disclaim any such hyothesis, we living by little else. Men, manners and machineries are all compared, with the result that those only are distinguished which prove them, selves of sterling material. I thus arrive at a few. remarks, concerning;;' the .Rev. Mr. Spence, lie unfortunately having to make way for the Sunday-school boy, with the consequence, I am inclined to fear, that he was compelled through the circumstance to shorten his address. : This minister appears to be exceedingly earnest, evidencing besides an enlightened.view on the subject of religion, taking up no extreme position in dealing with sects, but rather regarding the various denominations as established on the one similar basis of truth. Beginning withperfect confidence, Mr. Spence throws off all reserve, and appears as a pastor addressing his people, edifying them as he proceeds in a masterly grasp of his snbject, his fluent language and choice metaphors proving him a scholar of 110 mean capacity. As I sat listening to the intellectual treat, I thought : Give me more of a similar logic, but spare me in future from the Sunday-school boy. I may say in conclusion that I thoroughly .acknowledge the benefits of a Sunday-school, desire all boys to attend one, yet fail to see why an undoubtedly good institution should be made the medium of such unsound reasoning, of which I have given a specimen.