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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXI, Issue 214, 9 September 1887, Page 3

Sin, — I think "Voritas" ill-advired to attempt to defend the Turks. A Turk rnoy be "as mild a mannered man na ever skittled sbip or cut a ihroi'." He may r ppect a woman, or a couple of hundred of tlipin if he can afford to keep ihem, but he decidedly is not what mipbfc be expect d from a na'ion of total abstniuors. L't us quit this uueavoury subject. Now aa regards " The whisper that smells of calumny " (not a bad ti'lo for a sorg by any means, only a little mixed). I c mfess lam no hero worshipper, nor do I thirk the G.O.M. a demi-god, but I I do know he siys very unwise things in very J splendid language. Tbel>t> Lord Beaconsfield, his superior in intellect in my opinion, was irreverent enough to describe him as "intoxicated with exuberant verbosity," and in such a loud whisper that all the world lientd it, so you s- e I am not singular in my opinion. My unfortunate comparison of Itt-ligion v. DriDk seems to rouse " Veritas' " in>. Hod I known that he was poßsctec 1 of such simplicity of intellect', I would have explained moro fully that I had placed the two fallacies together to show how ridiculous they aro, and yet so easy to ar^ue upon. If his objection w. s a peg to hang opifches upon I must remind, him that uncontteous phrases are the lntt resource of barren minde. " Verita* " aeke, " do I maintain that all religions, some born in sin and shf>pon in iniquity are God-given 1 " To bhis I reply, " every religion is good that teaches man to be good, and I know of none that instructs him to be bd. Any religion that teaches mercy and goodness is God given. It is His owd. If it do?s not reach this standard it is :>o religion at all, but a weak invention of man." I am accused of being irreverent in mentioning the episode of the marriage at Caua. If so, I sin in good company, namely, " Sr. John." I merely mentioned the facts and made no comments. Now, I osk a question in my turn, "if in the best wine no trace of alcohol is found why does it make men drunk 1 or if this is true, why don'c we drink this extraordinary liquor and make teeto'al lecturers impossible? An ingenious au'hor once proved to Lie own satisfaction tha'u Torquemada, the chief Inquisitor, was a most amiabln ard benevolent gentleman in bis private relations, and that he tortured and burnt poor wretches with tl.o purest and best of intentions. Now this is where the danger lies. The transition from z ealot to bigot is very easy. It seems strango.that, pariah as I am in teato'al eyes, yei I should be the apostle of modera'ion and peace in dealing with our fellow men, for one section of whom thiy seem to entertain a r.'itid hatred. Every hotel, tavern, or inn is thn nliomuvttion of »bomiuntio»9 in thoir nye«. No words are bad enough i'or Ui« people who keep them. Yet th y forj,-vt tin", tlio Saviour of tho worll narrowly escaped being born in one of t.l:cm. "y\n( who bronght forth h r lin>t Lorn child »i d wraj-ped him in swaddling clothci and laid him in a manger because thcro was no r^om for them in the inn."— Chip, li, voise 7, St. Luko. I hope this U nno irreverence ; if so I hold St. Luke responsible. Subsequently he is reproaoi.cd with consorting witb dissolute charao'.ers by tUe Pharisee. (It is just possible the s cfc exists to this day,) Buo we may bo sure Ilia grcioua wise rebuke wai inora efiicaciou.3 than the " If you dou't we'll make you" policy of (hn present day. Of all the follies tho world hns a .-cu, going to war i'or rn idea, crotches, or 'Tank is tho racsi ridiouloup. This lif) h only endurable by a sysiem of compromise. If a man slicks his arms akimbo and stalks obsiuately on, that man's life will be a most unhappy one. -From the mighty Enperor to the humble man the only ptaoraaker is compromise. If you cannot get all you wish for, put up with what you can get. No scheme ever invented by man but waa cu l , and carved about before it became acceptable. Even Christianity had to compound with heathendom. A wise man is content to control what he cannot prevent ; a visionary fondly hopes to exterminate the evil altogether. What is man but a savage animal kept in a cage called civilisation ? The more he is civilized and educated the gentler and less brutißh he becomes. But in our fallen state, so full of faults and imperfejtions, all that can be hoped is to ameliorate the condition of mankind — to expect to make human angels is Utopian,— l am, &0., Hokney. i • I