MISCELLANEOUS.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 305, 25 April 1874, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

It has long been customary at the Preston parish church, mil, indeed, at most of the parish churches in Lancashire, bo receive just prior to any of the great festivals of tho year a large number of notices of marriage from working people in town and country, all to be solemnized on tha same day— such as Easter Sunday or Monday, Whit Sunday or Monday, Christmas Day, &c. The crowd of young men «nd women having gathered before the communion rail*, where the mariiage ceremony is about to be commenced, each pair being attended by its little coterie of friends, the brides and bridegrooms aie "sorted out" by the cleik or verger, whose endeavours to prevent mistakes are not always successful, as instances have occurred iv which the wrong persons have been married. The preliminaries h aviiig been thus arranged, the marriage ceremony is then gone through in a wholesale manner, one reading of the service sufficing for all, no matter how many coiiples may be present. The Bey Dr Lee, curate of Jfreston, how ever, has conscientious scrup-es about this way of going through the solemn ceiemony and has resolutely set his face against it. On Christmas Day morniug last no fewer than 22" couples presented themselves for mairiage at the Preston parish church, but undeterred by this large number, the rev gentleman read the whole service of the solemnization of matrimony for each couple separately. The ceremony began shortly after 9 o'clock, and was not concluded until 11, the ordinary service for the day being delayed half an, houi, during which time a large congregation witnessed three or four of the last maniages. M. Edmund About writes of M. Gustavo Dore in the Alhenaum :—" L' Eipagne of Enron C. Dnvilher is theworthy jiendnnt of the Rome o\ M. Francis VTey. The book of M Da\ llHer is enriched by 300 engravings, ufter designs by Gustavo Dore. You know Dore. He is at least v* p'opulur m London as in Paris. To me, who have never lost sight of him s nee ho was scrawling his first sketches on, i-wrusi- books at the College Charlemagne, these illustration* of Spain seem among his bc.-t productions, among those in which he is absolutely himself. It has bceu at once thegood and tho evil fortune ot this strange genius to lm\» succeeded to soon. He was still eu vhelonque when Vlnlipon, the publisher, brought out his first woik, an album of caricatures of the labours of Hercules. Tho public found mit i such cleverness, such good-humour, and §uoli astonishing futility with the pencil, that they adopted th» child— nncl one law, incredible prodigy, on artist of 17 earning Ins brrud £ From tiic mon«ent of his debut, Dore had nothing but success, and success of more than one sort, for nature has been bountiful to him. Ho plajed the violin like a 'aureato of tho Consenutoire ; ho sung "with a beautiful tenonno. voice, in such « way as to deserve tho applause of Rossini ; ho was as great tin athlete n» the most muscular undergraduate of Oxford or Cambridge. His genial and loyaL character disarmed envy ; while his private life under hismother's roof wins universal esteem. In one word, eversince his five-and-twenticth year, his life r unique in it» character, lias been one long triumph, cheered by an incessant toil, happy, ens\, and conlant de sourte. We Frenchmen arc styled capricious, jet we have never tired of hi* woiks; we have never even shown oursehes satiated ; wo have never found that the author produces enough. Publishers of prin's, of journals, of book*, have not for onemon.ent ceased plaguing him. I haye seen bun over ami over iigh.ui finish a design on wood while the publisher's, messenger was waiting at the door. The mislortune is, thato this rapid production under pressure ever since he begun hiscareer bus not left him time to complete the (studies wuioh. make great masters. The public expected greater things of him than marvellous sketches. They laid him under aa injunction, so to say, to undertake vaster aad more finished works, but hare not left him the timt necessary. That is why I prefer his living nnd sparkling studies of Spain to the largo designs in the Dante and Bible, where we dont find Midiel-Agelo ar Dore cither." The following reply of the New Zealand Government to the memorial recently presented on behalf of the National. Agricultural Labourers' Union praying that free passages may be granted to suitable emigrants has been received by Mr J. S. Wright, of Birmingham, and communicated by him to tho Birmingham Daily Poit .— " Since the reply sent toyou by the Under Secretary for Immigration, the Government of Now Zealand have fouud it necessary, in the mtcicst of the immigration so urgently required, to make more liberal the terms under which assistance is granted. A few days linco the Agent-General of New Zealand waslnstructed by cable to give, until further instructed, free passages to suitable emigrants, exercising a rigorous scrutiny as to their fitness. Tho high character, both for ability and for unflinching honesty of purpose, which Mr Joseph Arch cnjojs, induces me to ask you, without any delay, to miorm the association with which he is connected that the free passages sought for in the memorial forwardtd by you are now being granted. If the Association will place th» Agent-General in the position to choose those persons who are suited to became settlers in the colony,, it may rely that all reasonable assistance will be granted the persons selected on arrival to enable them to obtain employment. Every industrious emigrant, who is blessed with good health, may relj on success in tho colony. The demand for labour isample, the rate of wages high, und the cost of living sufficiently reasonable to enable irugal persons to mike considerable savings. After a tune these savings should enable the immigrant to cultivate land, which he may acquire on Tery reasonable terms, and, in fine, the position of a prosperous farmer is open to the immigrant who lands on tht shores of New Zealand, no matter how poor he may be, if be ii only gifted with temperato habits, frugality, and industry. I may add that the immigrant will iind special facilities for tho education of his children. Should Mr Arch, or some one appointed by him, be inclined to visit New Zealand, to. report to the association on its capabilities, the AgentGeneral will grant him or his nominee a free passage out and home, and his expenses in tho colony for a reasonable time, say for six months, w ill be provided. It will give the Government pleasure to have the resources of the colony reported on by an unprejudiced and intelligent representative of the Agricultural LabouieiV Union. lam not able to assure you that we shall continue for a lengthened period to give free passages." On the recent trial of Tweed at New York his counsel, when the the jury was about to be called, presented in court a protest against the ense being tried by Judge Davis, on the ground that he bad formed, and upon a previous trial expressed, a most unqualified und decided opinion unfn\orable to ihe defendant upon the lacts of the case, and that br declined to charge the jury that they were not to be influenced by such expressions of his opinion. After the trial the Judge fined three of these counsel— Mr W. Fullerton, Mr J. Grakam, and Mr W. O. Buitlett— §2so each. The junior counsel were only admonished. Judge Davissaid :— " Counsel have sought in vain to u'nd an instance in the whole history of the jurisprudence of this counti v, at> 1 think they would search in vain in the history of that country whence wo have derived our laws, for an occasion where the Couit has been approached in a manner like this, with a paper of that character at the moment ol trial, and counsel will fail, I think, ever hereafter to find a case where a Judge endowed with decent self-respect will fail to take notice of Mich a paper. 1 have no hesitation in saying thit it is my firm conviction that if »uch a paper m that had been presented to one of tho tribunals ot .England at this hour, clothed ft* them tribunals are with a power which the law of this country withholds from its Judges, not one of the counsel who signed tho paper would be sitting before . the tribunal to-daj, and net one of tbcm would nnd bis i, name upon the roll of the lawyers or barristers or counsellors ■ ' ot that oanlrv a single Lorn atti-i tl « paper »a* presented."

1^ Advertisements — (In comparison, nt least, to met wit'i.) 'Edwin to Agelina. — All serene, j you shall hare alnrch -key and si cigar, yes, even ooni Afrit, ecoute moi, jp fimjAcre. You Jerieho,|>ti d girc her launch's Almanack on her joiuutj ' ' Alis-iing — A perambulator, two fine bnbies. Straw h«U iind pink ribands ; air and turn-up nose*. Aiuwer to the names ot Sn q mid l'ootty Iclfle Pettums. Whoover w ill to their disconsolate pnrents «'inll be lnuv' w ilh a pre-x>ntation copy of J n ich'x splpw d ' ' Next of Km Wanted. — If hem in ile or Jem c, the family, of Benjamin de Bojpm, othmu.e Ha resident ut Honolulu in the year 1535, v» ill apply Almanack at the office, 85, Fleet-«treel, they see something rerr much to their advantage.' substitute for coal is Punch's bright and sparkThe brilliancy of iti contents will cheer coniji.nn, and people who are warmed by the w it will find they can dispense with hnlf their ' Porphynus Nolan us. — Scholars well acquainted of this old poet are requested to supply the Examiners with the oriainal text of the passage „ v. 265, ft seq , so admirably translated and to illustrated in Punch's dazzling Almanack for the ' 'The Hyena to the lien Canary. — Please moonlight alone, where the aspens sadly quiver, horrid torrid zone, or on the rolling frozen will I breathe soft kisses in tliy* captive ear, thee Punch's Almanack, delightful and not dear.' C.ib — A lady's sealskin jneket, containing in the scent- bottle, u silver snuff-bji, an ivory fun, a purse, a pair of scissors, a gold thimble, and an copy of PitncJi's Almanack for 1874. Whoever the latter precious article is welcome to retain and the rest of us contents. Address " Sopho-Grosvennr-squnre.' — Punch. Hhmnns Keble, jnn., in a letter published by the H"> wiites : — I have lately found the enclosed draft Her among my uncle's papers. It may be of value your readers as serving to indicate what part he ime taken in the present contro\ ersj\ H> Vicarage, Winchester, Nov. 21, 1863. Dear HH — The 1 13 th Canon of IGO3 is, I conceive, a distinct Hum of the 'seal of confession* on the part of our H Ihe Visitation Office and the Communion office Htarnl to authouze ' foiinsd confession,' though they Hi escribe the form. The latter, by the clause ' let He to me or some other,' sets the penitent, so far, to choose his confessor, and in equity, therefore, sets the priest, not being the parish minister, or Hu licensed to the cure of the applicant's soul, free H whether he will hear the confession or no. As to Hilar pastor, I do not remember to have seen the ■I (low n by authority, but it is ruled in the rubric ■ must always consider whether the sick person ■ and heartily desires it, and it stands to reason Hie must be the same condition in every other case. X understand how it can be consistent with the third Im the office for ordering of priests for a clergyman ■to decline receiving the ofFerc.l confession of a ■>ncr, or, if the confession be foimal, to regard it ■so than as under seal. But a confession • forced ■in' cannot be formal, and to such a case I conceixe bilence would not strictly apply — i.e., he would HI mothei communications to judge religiously aud ■>ly how far he uiight disclose anything or no, ■h, of course, there must be a general understanding, mm the sacramental seal, that all which passes li pnest and penitent is privilege'!.. As to 'not npon' knowledge obtained in. confession (so acting, I, as not to betray the informant), I have often heard 1. 1 rule, but could never see the force of it, or con- ■ earned out by a Christian man — c y., in the case mded murder or other great ciimc. You seem to teuu 'as in confession' in a soit of technical sense. isc you mean 'having the seal, though without the ice ' I cannot understand that. I can understand m pledge in a pai ticular case ; but that, though ciud, is no part of the ordinance. You speak of i' .is applied to secrecy in confession. I should ha\ c tit w <is a practical, not a dogmatical question. 1 littcu the above trusting that the case submitted to fioiidjule practical question, and not au abstract !s,in^ out of dissatisfaction wit Si our English Church. the latter be the case, you will pardeu my saying w ould have been better if the letter had said as Pol aluiic os fuel that timber trees nre ralucd for their K^p. We can no longer iind oak ior shipbuilding, ik ii a good cubdtitulc, mid ulien the teuk iorests ure .md tin j ate going fast — Borne other mutable timber obiibh he found. It cannot be doubted, however, u- intruded cost oi coal will considerably ail'eet the tiding I nide, and the « niplojiment ot non will ill mid limber will be moie Ltrjielj employed than Tins ie a matter ol immense importance to a maritime Hitli cucli n coinmeico as wo carry on, for the coriott of (oiil bears dnvct relation to tho employment of in u-i (oal and iron pass out of use theu a will follow leased consumption of timber, both lor fuel and con,lc ]<tupo>c4. Jt is a question if we could iind in the totmtM at the pirsent tune suflicient home grown suitable quality to pioride the furnishing of u Puf English cathedrals, as we usually find those s fui imhed, with scieens and pulpits and stalls of oak oi the finest texture, and apparently nnperishThere me innumerable uses for timber that admit of atitute, and it might make a sensitive person shudder the extensive employment of Meniel blocks for pavulu the city oi London at the present tune, and the ng of frkcpcis to the Hold Coast, where it i» impossible stiilct a railway and the logs are not needed ior fireIt lequires but u lew yeuM to grow polei and not to grow plunks, where soil and climate are suitable, it there cannot be a doubt that in all the regions ol trth where human industry and civilisation have ed power to influence the aspecti of nature, timber i* tied at a more rupid rate than it is produced, and khe tendency is towards scarcity. A proper know- ' the uses of timber would suggest the necesnty and >uns oi its conservation and increase, and the cultiyaml diiiuMon of such knowledge might tend to the ig, or, ut least, the mitigating, of disasters that appear nly possible but probable, and less distant than a no a lew of the case would encourage. — Gardener's zinc