Cotiespoiibeiitc.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 181, 15 July 1859, Page 3

Cotiespoiibeiitc.

To the. Editor of the Colonist. Sir, —May I trouble you to publish the enclosed copy of a letter which has been refused publication by the editor of the Examiner, on the ground of its being "very angry and very personal," as I would much rather that the public should judge of the character of that letter by a perusal of the wholejof it, than by the very brief, and not strictly correct quotations which the editor of the Examiner 'has thought proper to make from it. The letter, as you will perceive, is of itself a thing of very little consequence; but i think you ■will agree with me that the result it has produced cannot fail to give it an importance not intrinsically its own. My anger (of which 1 was quite unconscious) appears to have been so infections, that the mere perusal of my letter causes the editor of the Examiner to be so violently attacked with the same.complaint, that he was put completely off his guard, and has at last plainly stated—yes, even written and printed—" that the natural 'interpretation of it (the Superintendent's speech) is that the size of the block applied for waa the reason for refusal—that it was so understood^-it was so censured by the Council." Such an opinion, which I have a hundred times heard and seen insinuated, but which I could never before hear or see stated, now openljr avowed by the organ of the Superintendent's enemies, gives -quite a new face to the whole question—converts what was a_ contemptible quibble into a most .■serious and important accusation, and one which, if proved, would justly entitle the Superintendent .and his Executive not merely to the censure, but to the contempt and-execration of every honest man. The editor of the Examiner says, "But if the words used did not mean this^ and we understand .our correspondent to say they do not, why was <this not stated at the. time,, or up to the present moment?" Simply because no one, until now, ev,er had the hardihood to say plainly ami pubflickly■ that they did "mean this;" and .if they fyad said so, a reference to the speech itself would jjav.e ■been all £he answer that would have been

required to refute such,an utterly unfounded assertion. No person who has read'the speech, and understands English, will venture to say-that the size of the block i;s (here assigned as a reason, much less the reason, for-ils refusal. If that was the reason, why does the Superintendent assign two other reasons ? The size of the block, if excessive, or beyond that allowed by t!,ie regulations, would have been a reason for not entertaining the application at all, and not a reason for not "acceding" to it. The Superintendent would have been bound to state that objection, not to the Council, but to. Mr. Gibbs. Officially speaking, it would not have been an application at all, and could not have been a subject for the consideration of the Executive, much less for announcement to the Provincial Council. But if the editor of the Examiner really thinks the Superintendent such a consummate yiliian aa to wish to stato a wilful falsehood to the Council, he cannot surely think that both the Superintendent and all the members of his Executive Council are so totally destitute of the smallest particle of common sense; that they are such absolute idiots a3 to suppose for one moment that the Provincial Council could be ignorant of any material fact connected with an application which had come into the Superintendent's office in the handwriting of Dr. Greenwood, the editor oH\\b Nelson Examiner, which had been made the subject of at least half a dozen public meetings, some hundreds of hole-and-corner ones, and—Greenwood only knows how many leading articles. Can any one who has lived a single week in Nelson, or ever seen a siugle number ot the Examiner, think it at all likely that the Superintendent believed Dr. Greenwood to be such a great friend of his that he would forget his duty, both as editor of the Examiner, and as Mr. Gibbs' agent, and join the Superintendent in an attempt to deceive the Provincial Council ? The editor, Shy who '"triahes to promulgate such absurdities as these, does well to suppress any letters that may be offered for publication in opposition to them. A reasonable or righteous cause will shine the brighter for being thoroughly sifted ; but such fabrics as these can only be supported for the short period of their natural life, by the careful exclusion of even the faiui.e3fc breath of truth. Yours, &c, ALFRED SATJNDEIiS.

To the Editor of the Nelson Examiner. Sir, —In the notice with which you honored my last "amusing" letter, you have furnished your readers with some very valuable information, and after what you have now told them, I hope they will always bear in mind that your elaborate commentaries upon the proceedings of the Provincial Council are confessedly based upon "recollection only " of what " our reporter " has happened to write about them, and that his report is confidently appealed to by you as a final authority. You say that " the whole affair as reported, does not take up half a dozen lines." I am surprised that it should " take up" so many, "as our reporter " was not in the Council during any part of the day on which the debate took place, and I don't think any of us spoke one word loud enough to make him hear in his office on the opposite side of the street. If Mr. Bailey can report correctly under such circumstances, it is a great pity ho should stay in a small unimportant place like this. Would it not be much better for him to go to London, get into some office room there, and report the proceedings of the Paris Conference or United States Legislature, thereby rendering the Atlantic Telegraph altogether unnecessary ? You admit,'with unusual frankness, that what you said about Mr. Robinson's hustings pledge, was utterly untrue, but as it was only the Superintendent who was thus maligned, and as he must be thoroughly used to it by this time, I suppose it never occurred to you that most persons would have considered themselves bound to offer some excuse, if not an apology for printing and publishing such an utterly unfounded assertion with a view to injure his reputation.

You decline to answer my question as to whether the Superintendent in his speech did assign the size of the block applied for by Mr. Gibbs as any reason for its refusal, &c. You very naturally prefer to favor your readers with what they have so often had to. read before, viz., your version of the Superintendent's speech.

You say that my " assertion must go for what it is worth." I never- had the slightest wish that any assertion of mine should go for one fraction more than it is worth; but as the public of Nelson are very generally aware that I am not Mr. Gibbs' agent—that I am not the hired eulogist or apologist of any party in this province, and that I am not the holder of any well paid public office—l have the vanity to believe that the few simple " assertions " I occasionally make to the public, will be received by most of my fellow-settlers with quite as little suspicion as your own. j I suppose the last paragraph of your article is j intended to make your readers believe that the statement which I have made is the same as that which Mr. Parker wishes to withdraw; but I expect Mr. Parker will see the necessity of performing that task himself for the future, and not get you to do it for him, as I see you have contrived to do it in such a way that the withdrawal may be applied at pleasure to any statement Mr. Parker has ever made at Motueka about " the application." I am, &c., ALFRED SAUNDERS.

To the Editor of the Colonist. Sib, —A very nice interesting little case was heard on Wednesday at the Magistrate's Court, in which the renowned Board of Works was concerned, which I could not understand, and I shall be glad if you will enlighten my dull ideas on the subject. A certain individual was summoned for theBoard of Works rate ; he produced papers which proved him to have been a weekly tenant, and consequently, according to ."things not generally known," not liable. Tho worshipful Resident Magistrate, however, gave the case against the defendant, and, I think, very unjustly. When the case was decided, Mr. S. B. W. rose and said that he was very sorry that the defendant should have been summoned for the rate, as he was perfectly satisfied that the defendant was not liable, but the large proprietor of the property would not pay, so the defendant must—a piece of logic illustrated by the monkey plastering the cat's head with brown paper after breaking1 it. According to the Nelson Almanac, amongst other "things not generally known," it states that " weekly or monthly tenants are not liable;" yet here is a case where the defendant proves himself as such, and yet he is compelled to pay, because the owner won't.

I should advise the defendant to imitate a party who some time ago polished his pistols, or the poker, or something else for them, for it is evident that the Board is in great distress, or they would not try to make a man pay the rate when he is not liable.

I am, yours, &c, " AT-ANY-RATE,

[Our correspondent has scarcely stated the particulars of this case as we understood them, which were as follows :—The Secretary stated " that the defendant had been assessed as a yearly tenant, but had not appealed 'against the assessment, for which purpose ample time is allowed after the notice of rating is advertised. The defendant called at the office and stated that he was a monthly tenant, hut too late to alter the assessment; and as the landlord refused to pay the rate, the only course left to the Board to recover the rate was to sue the person who occupied the premises; but had the defendant supplied the information while the assessment was open, the alteration could have been easily made."—Ed. GoL]

To the Editor of the Colonist,

Sm,—Perhaps some of your many correspondents, bettor acquainted with the subject than I an), would confer a boon upon the public by informing them what member or members of the Board of Works concocted !hat precious "Bill 1' denying the liberty to the poor man to graze a cow in the by-]ano3. of our city, for streets they cannot be called, while the wealthy are not only allowed to

fence off public thoroughfares for their private convenience, but are allowed to purchase roads, when such roads interfere with their domains. Look you, on the Beach alone I know of four or five roads cither sold or fenced off, to accommodate private individuals; and I may ask what has become of one end of Brougham-street? Why, allowed to the owner of " Sunnyside," throwing the public living on the cemetery side of the town to the inconvenience of a long walk to got into Brookstreet. If I chose to be personal, I could name move streets and paths- that have been interfered with ; for instance, Examiner-street is turned into a paddock, and a road is fenced across leading from Washington Valley to the Port. It ia true, in two or three instances there fire what miiy be termed stiles, so that passengers are not prevented from using the roads, that is if they happen to have a map which clearly delienales what is and what ia not public property—a matter of difficulty, as so many changes have taken place since the first map was printed ; indeed, it is only a few early settlers who are acquainted with what were formerly the boundaries of our streets and roads, and you know, Sir, we could not all land in 1342. And I rany remark Nelson has been unfortunate in having been settled before the surveys were properly completed, and this may have led to the desirability ■of some roads ■ being altered. But, Sir, granting this, the public should have had a voice in such alteration, otherwise a road once surveyed should never bo changed, altered, or closed. •What is our Board of Works doing that they.do not stir themselves, avid stop such mal-appropria-tion? They have been in office long enough, and some of them will, in all probability, shortly come before the public to solicit to be again elected as members of the " Board," when I hope they will be cheeked in their career. I repeat they have been in office long enough to have recovered some of the lost property to the public, a far better employment than first grinding ua with taxes, and then spending those taxes in washboards, things on stilts, wooden bottomed culverts, &c, and giving salaries to men who are not competent for the offices thoy hold. By-the-by, I wish you could inform the public what has become of the extra rate levied upon the town to build a bridge, which has not yet been erected, and which I cannot believe it was ever the intention of the "Board" to build. I consider this extra farthing in the pound ought to be deducted from the next rate; and I would recommend at the coming election that the candidates bo pledged to vote that such sum be refunded, and that an assessment be" taken giving a juster value to proper'}'. These two things, at least, are expected by the public from the Board, and not being granted, I say sweep the lot out of office. Yours faithfully-, SENTINEL. Nelson, July 14th, 1359.

Diptheiha.—Mr. Andrew Henderson informs the London papers that he treats this disease successfully by " the external application of water to the throat, at degrees of temperature alternating from the highest that the human skin will bear, down to almost zero."

The Two Sailors.'—Captain Jones relates a " good story" of the conduct of two of the Naval Brigade on sentry duty at Allahabad :—" One who was on sentry on the main works of the fort by- moonlight, looking over the parapet, saw another who was on sentry on the ravelin, or some outwork. Now Jack, though he could tell the head from the stern of a ship, and perhaps of a horse, bad not passed a competitive examination before his admission into the service, and no doubt his education in fortification, and engineering had been sadly neglected, and, therefore, he was not aware that the outwork was not part of the fortification which he was so vigilantly guarding, and seeing a man walk up and down outside of what he considered the fort, and of course his head being full of spies, lurking Sepoys, &c, challenged him. The sentry on the outwork not imagining that it was he who was the subject of his messmate's anxious inquiries, held his peace, upon which Jack in the fort let drive at Jack on the outwork. The outwork Jack, a little taken aback by the musket ball whizzing near his head sung out—' Hallo! that's your game, is it, my buck! Here's let drive at you, then !' and immediately returned the fire. On their being relieved and taken to the guard house, all that passed between them was—' Well, I'm blowed, jack, but we are mortal bad shots, we are.'"— Literary Gazette.

The Egyptian- Mummy Wheat.—We see that Messrs. Eddy and Rayment, of Pall Mall, have received a quantity of this wheat, rather a noyelty here, although now pretty common at home from the large quantities that have been grown from the original few grains discovered with a mummy in one of the Egyptain catacombs. The wheat is known to be of the most prolific nature, and will no doubt, be estimated as a curiosity of no common order.— Bendigo Advertiser.

An Economical Governor.—The West African Herald, in a recent article gives the following anecdote of Dr. Lilly, who succeeded Captain Hill. All that can be said is, that he wa3 very fond of money and an excellent hand at whist. He never committed any act of hospitality except (if I remember rightly) on the occasion of the visit of a French man-of-war, when his Excelloncy reluctantly entertained the Commander and officers at a grand feast, composed of ship's biscuits, and wine of a description, till then, unknown to mankind. There is a tradition that his Excellency, goaded to desperation by the taunts of the military, did once attempt to give a feoMe dinner. The fare was not abundant, the wine was neither plentiful nor drinkable. The next day the Governor, with remorse, sent for the celebrated S. W., purveyor of the feast, and asked him to make out a hill of the expense for the banquet. The purveyor retired, and shortly returned with an account:, setting forth that his* Excellency was indebted unto him in the sum of £117s. 9d. sterling. His Excellency examined the bill tremblingly and with tears in his eyes, and grasping W—— by the lmud, said" My dear W ,here is a pair of boots for which I gave £2. Take them and send me the balance in cash."

The Dowagbh . Lady Cork and a'Cockney Upholsterer.—Her mode of signature led to a funny quid pro quo the other day. She wrote to an upholsterer in'the city, to send her some expensive nieuble that had caught her eye en passant in hia shop. His answer was —''D.B. not having any dealings with M. Cork and Orrery, begs to have a mere explicit order, finding that the house is not known in the trade.I'— From the Autobio-graphy-of Lady Morgan.

A Delicate Search.—A young lady of "most undoubted respectability, " entered n store in this city and asked to be shown some gaiter boots. A number were shown- to her, which she examined and tried on. While the attention of the storekeeper was occupied with another customer, several pairs of gaiters disappeared. Tho lady concluding not to purchase, he was compelled-to accuso her of secreting life shoes. She denied it, and he insisted, proceeded to search," and found several pairs suspended by hooks attached to her garters. He took from the hooks those belonging to him and left there several others, which had no doubt been taken from other .stores. She was allowed to -depart.— JSt. Lords He) aid.

"A'nfc there, no exceptions to your law about punching a fellow?" said a scamp to a Yankee judge. "No, sir, no exceptions whatever." '"Now, Judge,-1 guess you are mistaken. Suppose, fin-Instance, i should brandy-punch a man, what then?" "No levity in court, sir. Sheriff", expose this man to the atmosphere." An ■ unfortunate female was under examination by a' brpwbeater.■ "Madam," he demaiukd, "what, sort of conduct have you pursued through life that should subject you to the susoicion'of this outrage upon the pl/intiff?" She answered, " Impudence, which has been the making of yon, and has been'my, ruin."

Clearly So,—A young lady, professing an attachment'to'a'bosom friend snid, "Yea lovr>, I first fell ia love1 with him in church." "Ob." replied the black-(.yed conajanta archly, " then it must be a pewer love,"

THE NEWSPAPER.—DAY AND NIGHT. Fhom a late number of the Eclectic Review we take tho following graphic and well-written description of the Inner Life of a "leading journal," which will serve to enlighten tho outside public as to the internal management of the Times —a subject in which no one who reads can help taking an interest. Tho perusal will suggest to newspaper readers with what labor of brain and hands, with what expense and elaboration of system, these broadsheets are produced which are sold to them so cheaply, and are too often valued lightly because of their very cheapness. Tho organisation of a great daily journal is one of the most perfect examples of government and co-ordination of labor that the age cftn shew :-—•

In the dying number of the Cambridge Essays is a paper by Mr. A. Beresford Hope, M.P., on newspaper writers, wherein the claims of the oiass tia the respect of society, or to a reception equally sympathetic with that which is accorded to the members of other professions, are generously and successfully urged. Mr. Hope has been amongst them, aad is pleased to think their company as agreeable as that of the more strictly fashionable and aristocratic sets with whom the greater part of his leisure is spent. He is very good, and we wish to thank him in a, manly way for his services. In the meantime, his remarks have brought us under the lorgnettes of the -curious, and some wonder is excited as to the real nature of our vocation. A day and night in tho office of a.daily journal must be a round of experience, people say, very unlike the ordinary ways of business; there is something of mystery in the matter, and they wish to learn the actual operations. There is no objection, that I see, to telling them: the movements are multifarious, and swiftly executed, but they are simple enough, and easily understood. An idle hour may, perhaps, be spent, without causing anyone in the end to fee! bored, in giving a matter-of-fact description. Nothing shall be said to magnify the details into great occurrences; and the accusation of dulness is preferable to the suspicion of putting in colors for the purpose of effect.

The postmen, despite the regulations of Mr. Rowland Hill, are always sure of a handsome Christmas-box at the newspaper-offices; and if they deserve it at any hands, it is at those of "our people." There is the great packet of letters by the early post; the huge bundle of papers from every corner of the British Empire, and, in turna, from every civilised part of the globe; and lesser rivulets run in all the day long. If I were to break the seals, and begin to scan over the lines, I should want all the pages of this number of the Eclectic to myself. The " letters to the editor," in a regular way, form a respectable part of the morning journals; but the unpriuted myriads, who can describe 1

It is known by tho learned, that a letterwriting madness is a distinct and definite form of lunacy. I have found people write long pages, week after week, to a journal for a series of years, without a single line ever obtaining admission; and yet every letter ciearly indited with that object. There is a lady in London who scatters printed letters over the land, in which verses of Scripture are incoherently mingled with current eveuts. She spends a handsome income in this mission; but I never saw one of her letters in a newspaper. I remember the sensation produced-one evening, by a card with her name upon it being sent up; the unknown was at our gates; the interpreter of prophecy was at our bidding. She came in an elegant carriage, and her pair of dappled greys were the admiration of every beholder. She had her interview; but as strict orders were given that, for the future, she was to be courteously sent away, it must be supposed that her conversation was not more intelligible than her epistles. Another unfortunate creature sends, nearly every day, a card, on each side of which are extremely absurd ejaculatory expressions, for the special belief of the editor. Sometimes (when the moon is at the full) the outer cover of the envelope is similarly ornamented. In short, a more medley heap could scarcely be collected, than that which is forwarded to the editor's room, and lies there biding his corning.

But wa have a form of mental derangement more troublesome still —viz., " calliug to see the editor." No amount of denials v/iil intimidate some ; nor the assurances of the most gentlemanly of secretaries satisfy others. The errand is often richly ridiculous. The story is told, that a day or two after the death of a gentleman known " to be connected " with the Times, a person in a threadbare suit called in Printing House-square to learn "if an editor was wanted ?" And I can believe it. But, of. course, they never see the great man. When the hour of the first editorial visit arrives, say^ two o'clock in the afternoon, quite another order of beings are admitted to his presence. First, let him fill his waste-paper basket, tear off the wrappers from the parcels of'books from the publishers, examine the cards of " private views," or first representations, and determine their fate, and then our favored friends shall step in. How soon the room resounds with pleasant laughter ! Stories from the clubs and the law courts, and gossip aneot the broadsheets'of the morning, carry off the first half hour, and lead .the way to suggestions for the morrow. Mr. Hope doe 3 not, think so, but newspaper writers do go into society a good deal, or, at least, into " representative " circles, where they can-observe and gather the opinions of the outer crowd. At a dinner, the other day, a vivacious and clever lady was drawn' into an argument with the gentleman who was her nearest neighbor, and she combated his views with a considerable degree of spirit. The conversation on her part was forgotten, but was recalled.to-her mind in a startling and unexpected fashion before the week was out, by finding not her sentiments only, but her anecdote, her illustrations and her language, printed in a leader in a certain tremendous organ of public opinion. She intends, when at. that house, for the future, and when entrusted to the charge of a stranger, to ask the hostess if be is a " gentleman of the press."

The Bub-editor of a morning journal is usually in his room of an evening by eight o'clock. A box—his box'—lies on the table, and the printers, some distance off, are restlessly waiting his inspection of its contents. There is the heavy packet from the city editor; a host of parcels from the country, and reports of public meetings in the metropolis, sayiDg nothing of the reams " flimsy ;" but. it is not long before his decks are cleared. Off fly wrappers and envelopes, snap goes the string, and, in a few minutes, the printers have each a morsel to stay their insatiate appetites. I never Imew any oae yet who conld define a s&b-editor's duties; who could tracoout his province • and clearly indicate the boundary line. Off en he is the editor's closet confidant; and contributors, who scarcely are aware that a sub-editor exists, have nob a tithe of the sympathy from their chief which is enjoyed by the

resolute ami industrious sub. The t?'o criticise in company, they take council together, thoy, perhaps, alone feel a personal, individual interest apart from professional duty, in their work.' Atlas Boi unfi-equeuHy shifts his burden to the Junior's shoulders, and has no uneasy fears, as he ruminates in a rural retreat, or joins the gambols of his children on the beach. A good " sub " has a rarely-erring instinct that detects the false news from the true. There are so many rogues and fools who can write, that he needs sharp wit to preserve him from the hoax. Occasionally a trick is tried —the death of a celebrated personage, a sham murder, a fictitious "state document." A graphically-narrated story was received one night, setting forth that a boy had crept into a baker's oven somewhere in the West End, had. fallen asleep and been shut in ; how the fire was kindled, the child suffocated, and his "charred remains" (those were the words) afterwards raked out with the bread. The baker's name and address were given, and tallied with the Directory, so a messenger was despatched to inquire if "a boy had been baked thera that day?" How intensely horrified the tradesman must have beetr, may be guessed, when I tell you that he wasa'Vnan remarkably fond of children, and peculiarly proud of the attention with which the process of baking was carried on in his establishment. The foregoing is a specimen of the annoyances a sub-editor ia liable to. experience. But though often with no other guide than his common sense, scarcely ever i 3 he caught in a trap.

The lamps are lighted in all the rooms, and the brains of the workers are quickening into play. The sub-editor has given some portion of the drudgery to one assistant, and another portion to another, while he himself is engaged upon a pet task; the development of a luminous idea; a discovery in the regions of "intelligence," something at which he is to gaze triumphantly to-morrow,; and with which he will inwardly taunt his contemporaries. The foreign editor is reading the Independanee Beige, while the Allgemeine Zeitung is at his elbow, and the Debits upon his knees; and within call is a translator painfully deciphering the MS. of an Italian correspondent, dating from Turin. The reporter's room is beginning to fill. Heavy debates are proceeding in both Houses, and a cab every half hour brings up gentlemen mentally burdened with notes that are disagreeably copious, and who have the prospect of a similar jaunt when the transcription is completed. The conversation is but fragmentary, and in whispers. It is best to avoid interrupting thorn. The expression upon a reporter's face when his notes are abundant is not the most amiable he oan summon. He scowls rather than looks at his book, and thera seems to be a yell suppressed, as he bends over the leaves. In the printingrooms the men are at work afc what they regard a comfortable pace. The readers are not goaded at present for proofs; and in their closets, also, there is as yet tranquillity. The reading boys (the shrewdest lads in. the world) snatch a " fearful joy " at odd intervals, by continuing "Peter Simple," or "Dombey and Son," borrowed from the Compositors' Library, and which they huddle away in an odd corner at the first sound of an alarm. The hours pass to the worker, as minutes pass to the idle. As the night deepens, tha exceptional characteristics of newspaper production become prominent. The high houses on either side are in darkness, the shutters are up, every blind ia unrolled, and excepting it may be the faint light in a siok room, there ia nothing to disturb the aspect, not so much of .vest as absolute extinction : so the contrast of night and day always presents in London. You can hardly suppose those dwellings are full of sleeping people; that tired limbs lie there in rest; that eyelids are closed in peaceful sleep; they rather appear as if deserted, as though life had fled. The sounds, too, of London, the rattle of wheels, the din of voices, the monotonous hum, hays died away. But the gas burns steadily, brilliancy, passionately, on every floor, in every room of the news-paper-offices. Life is beating there; the "tick" of the type as it h picked out of its abiding place, is faster and faster as the stillness of the other world becomes more profound. (To he continued.)

Taking the Census in the Backwoods of America.—" I never told you the history of my census-taking, I believe. Well, I took Jim Wilkov's place when he was laid up at Chicago, and I had some tough customers, I tell you. I came along one day to a cabin, some four or five railes from ray neighbors. In answer to my knock an old woman of about forty carac to the door. Jj How d'ye do ! walk in; folks all gone; take a chair—were you wanting to see my old man?' .'No, ma'am,' said I, after accepting her invitation, *I am taking the census.' ' The who ?' said she. ' The census of the people, the —' ' Oh, well, you won't find muoh ssuses in the people about here, the fever'n ager's shook it all out on 'em.' I proceeded to evplain. ' Dear sir, I thought you might be a magnetism mau, .or a frenoledger.' I proceeded to get her husband's name and age, and also the children, but when I asked her her age, she came down on me flat. I smoothed it over, however, and let it go. Kising, I said, 'Is there any one elso in your family?' 'There's aunt Sally, but you don't want her name, do you.' 'Certainly, ma'am,' I replied, and proceeded to take it immediately. • Then there's old Jerry ; but he's Inamost gin out this fall. I don't think the poor fellow'll last to another spring.' 'Jerry— what's his other name?' 'Oh, he hasn't got no other name—we never call him nothing else.' ' How old i3he ?' ' Why let me see—fifteen — twenty—twenty-six—he must be hard on thirty.' 'An old man at thirty !' ' Old man ! who's talking about old man?' I'se telling you 'bout our old horse!' Perhaps I didn't pick up ray-hat and take a very hasty leave/

Ladies of the Peess. —" Since you mention the ' independent factory girls,' you ought not to forget tho girls of our independent press" observed the Bostonian. " What sort of girls are those?" demanded my friend. " They are employed as compositors and pressmen iv our printing offices," replied the Bostonian, reducing.the wages of journeyman printers, and preparing themselves for housekeeping by composing the works of our best authoi-3. I know two of them who became expert cooks by. composing ' The Frugal Housewife,' by Mrs. Child ; and a third prepared herself for her approaching marriage by setting-up ' The Mother's Book/ These girls, you must know, are characterised by a highly aristocratic fading ; and would no move condescend to speak to o-ae of our waiting women, than the wife of the president of an insurance office would deign to leave a card for the poor consort of a poor professor iv one of our colleges. They divss and nci; as ladies; audif you do not believe the claims of gentility they, will shew them to you iv print. It is not move than a month ago that, while in Washington, I had occasion to call at one office of one of

my friends, wbo is an editor of a daily paper Not finding Mm there, I entered the press-room where, ranch to my surprise, I found three pretty girls, dressed as if they had been measured by Madame Vietoriue, in bonnets corresponding to the last fashion of the Rue Vivienne, busilyengaged in multiplying the speeches of our orators and statesmen, lib.is, however, was done in the most dignified manner; for when I asked for the master of the establishment, where I could find him, wheti he would be in, &c, ouaof them, in lieu of an answer, pointed to a large placard stuck on one of the columns that supported the ceiling1, on which was the following preremptory request, printed iv gigantic letters: —' Gentlemen are requested not to stand and look about—because the ladies don't like it.'" "Aud did you then immediately leave the room ? " inquired the doctor. " I had no other alternative" replied the Bostonian. '"If I had remained one minute longer there would have been an article against me iv the next morning's paper. This is a sort of trades' aristocracy, formed by the female part of the population; for such saemed to be the disgust of our girls for domestic occupation, that they will rather become tailoresses, printers, bookbinders, or work at a manufactory, than degrade themselves by ' living out.' "—Grand's Aristocracy in America.

Mr. Bright and the Aristocracy.—Tha following letter appeared lately in the Times :-— " Sir, you inquire why the aristocracy of Britain, titled and untitled, are silent when Mr. Bright lifts up his voice and heel against them ? My reply is—and were I not a man of letters as well as an aristocrat, it would probably never have been uttered—that the wise are not known by the multitude of their words, nor are the strong eager to engage in strife. The British, aristocracy—the gentlemen of Englandspeak by deeds, not words, and while they can point to Stanleys and Russells, to Cannings and Braces, to a Brougham and a Lansdowne, to Napiers and Campbells, Cochranes and Keppels, to Shaftesburies, Buceleuchs/ Nightingales, and Burdetts, as heading their competitors in every branch of statesmanship, diplomacy, government, civil and military, and benevolence; while our leading bankers and merchants are Grurneys and Drummo ds, and the very sect whose rule of charity Mr. Bright forgets in hia practice owes the philosophy of its creed and its brightest ornaments as a religious body to the moat ancient Anglo-Norman aristocracy; while thecottage and the castle are linked, as they still are, in familiar friendship, through tha ministrations principally of that gentler sex wbo now, as ever, are the medium of ail softening influence between man and man; while (to speak with 'bated breath) the naraesof the dead heroes of action and thought to whom England owes her liberties and her grandeur, civil aud ecclesiastical—to wit, of Wellington, Nelson, and Mariborough, of Russell, Blake, Hampden, and (eve») Cromwell, of Bacon and Raleigh, of Ridley and Latimer, of Simon de Montfort, and, of the barons who extorted Magna Oharta—all of them gentlemen of blood and birth—are fresh in the historical memory of England; while such is the case—while the true character, of the aristocracy is written in the heart of thafc people from whom they can only be .disth%iuslie& in their common fatherland by the imposition and cordial acceptance.of severer duties—under, these circumstances, sir, the aristocracy can well afford to let the wind and the earthquake pass idly by, secure that the still small voice of truth will be heard at last, and trusting themselves in silence to the justice of their countrymen. I have honor to be, sir, your obedient; servant, Lindsay, 21 Berkeley-square."

Liberty of the Press.—Curious Astiok. for Ltbel.—ln the Court of Queen's Bench, was tried Neal v. Seal. It was an action by Stephen Neal, a mining engineer, against E» W. Seal, publisher of the Sunday Times, foi? a series of alleged libels reflecting on the plaintiff's character.—Pleas—not guilty, and justification. The alleged libels were three articles published in the Sunday Times, shortly after tha trial of Neal v. Isaac, in which the plaintiff obtained a verdict in this court for J2347. The arti-« clea complained of commented upon the proceedings at the trial, and sketched the plaintiff's career, and his connection with Colonel Waugh, and spoke of him as a " Manchester schemer," and promoter of bubble companies, and said, " What an awful amount of gullibility there must be in London when such a man as this is allowed to propagate schemes, and to victimise th:3 credulous to this enormous extent."—The plaintiff having been examined/ Mr. Hawkins adorassed the jury for the defendant. —Lord Campbell said : The Sunday Times had a right to comment on the trial of Neal v. Isaac, and on the conduct of the judge and jury, but it is not a duty imposed on a journalist to introduce a whole history of the parties, and to bring charges against them as public prosecutors. Still, if .you prove the truth of the charge, y?u ought to have a verdict.—Evidence having, been adduced for this purpose, Lord Campbell summed up, and the jury returned a verdict for. the plaintiff. Damages— £2oo."—Observer.

Theatrical Goats.—The goats introduced into the rehearsals of Meyerbeer's new opera at the Opera Comique, Paris (a fair damsel having to fall into a stream while crossing the bridge with a goat), were young, and pretty, and white; but no power on earth, it Las been said, would induce them to cross the bridge. As to pulling them over, the only result was to make, the animal rear on its hind legs, and assume the attitude of a certain learned goat who played the " tabor" before Queen Elizabeth, and whose image, whilst so doing, is preserved in .old print 3. At last, however, the stage-manager bethought him of a way, and carrots have accomplished what a regiment of sappers and, miners would'have foiled to achieve. A bunch of the largest, freshest, finest carrots is held conspicuously in the wing opposite to the bridge, and the four-footed actress 'rans towards it as soon as her conductress lets her ioo3e by tumbling into the water.

Education in Upper Canada.—-The total receipts of common school moneys in-Upper Canada, last year.;was ,£323,604; the legislative grant in aid of those schools was .£32,951; the municipal assessments for the same purpose, £61,954; the school section free-school rates, £146,285 ; the rate bills on children attending the schools, ,£37,624; the amount paid to teachers, £215,057; the amount raised and expended for school sites and in building schoolhouses, £15,972; the number of pupils attending the schools, 247,434; the number of teacher employed, 4083—0f these, 742 were members of the Church of England, 438 were. Roman Catholics, 1201 Presbyterians, 1165 Meihodists, 211 Baptists, 57 Congregationalists, 21 Lutherans, and 85 Quakers. The whole of the grammar schools have greatly improved in, Upper Canada during the last few years.

The only victory that costs no tears is that over ignorance,