MISCELLANEOUS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1256, 9 April 1883, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

<♦ The libel action iv Melbourne — the Rev. Dr Jacobsen v. Julius Matthews has resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff for £800. The evidence for the defendant corroborated the defence set up, that the plaintiff, while filling the oifice of rabbi, acted contrary to tlte law of the Jewish Church. It costs 2,062,785d0l per annum to maintain the Protestant, and 1,125 OOOdol the Catholic, churches of NewYork city. There are contributed, annually for benevolent purposes by the Protestants, 1,381,000d01, and the Catholics, i,125,000d01. With the addition of the sums charged in the

church building account, the gross expended by churches of all denominations is 6,500,000d01. A lady correspondent of the Christchurch • Telegraph' writes :— " Letters from some Melbourne friends give me accounts of one of the grandest -weddings that ever took place in Australia. The bridegroom was Lord Charles Scott, a son of the Duke of Bucclemch, who commands the ship on which the sons of the Prince of Wales •served. He married a Miss Ryan, daughter of a well-known stock and station agent, and a cousin of Lady Clarke's. Her wedding dress was a -white satin trimmed with a lace one •does not often see, called point de gaze —Brussels lace, cost £40 a yard. This -will be indeed family lace to hand down 1w future generafions. It is said fthat now the same lace cannot be got under £86 the yard. The eight bridesmaids ' Hrore fine Swiss mnslin with lace bodices and draperies over petticoats -of white silk, and princess bonnets, «otae trimmed with red and some with "blue. The Melbourne ladies seem ■anxious to retain in their midst some ■of the sprigs l of nobility who are con•stantly coming to Victoria. At this -wedding, which toot place at Sir Wm. {Jlarke's house, it was announced that the Hpn Ivo Bligh was engaged to the pretty but moneyless daughter of a police magistrate, and it is said that Mr Tylepote and Mr Steel are likely to follow the. example of their captain. !Soi jbn the whole, the cricketers cannot be said to have wasted their time when not playing their matches. The Titnaru Herald -winds up a very tslever article on temperance thus : — Example creates custom, and custom is more potent than any law. Yet Archdeacon Stock would have us believe that it does not help an advocate of temperance to be himself a teetotaller. We cannot agree with him, and we cannot understand him . In our opinion, the example of teetotalism is by far the ihost powerful of all agencies in promot. ing temperance; more affecting than the most splendid eloquence, more penetrating than the clearest argument, more convincing than the weightiest statistics, and a hundred times more effective than the most comprehensive legislation that ever was framed. One great reason for .this, perhaps the greatest reason, is that example is not aggressive. It excites no suspicion, it arouses on opposition, it hurts nobody's feelings, it rasps nobody's prejudices, it' puts nobody on their metaL It operates silently, secretly' and continuously, and every day, every hour, it puts drunkenness to shame and incalculably strengthens and extends the cause of temperance. The time will come when the power of example will make even the English people sober. The Otago Daily Times says :— A most interesting drama was enacted yesterday, assisted at by hundreds of people, of all sexes, and conditions, resident in Dunedin and the neighbourhood. The prologue was furnished by he following apparently innocent paragraph which appeared in the Saturday's issue of our evening contemporary : — v A large sperm whale, about 70ft long, was stranded on the Ocean Beach, near Lawyer's Head, by the last high tide." This narrative, by reason of its very conciseness and simplicity, ■carried with it a certain amount of conviction, and during the greater part of yesterday, despite the inclemency of the weather, the confiding public trooped down to the beach in almost unprecedented numbers. In the afternoon an almost unbroken line of curious pilgrims might be traced going and returning, and there were about the procession singular features which could not have escaped the eye of a philospher. There was, for one thing, observable about the returning groups a uniform solemnity of expression which contrasted strangely with the eager hilarity of those they passed. It was evident that the aspect of this particular fish was a peculiarly melancholy one, orthat whales in general did not agree with the visitors. Still, no word was said on any side, and it was not until each pilgrim reached the supposed locality of the "find" that the ghastly truth broke upon him. The whale was a whale of the mmd — a fraud ; and hit reported finder, owner, purchaser, and boiler-down were frauds also. Th( pathos of this fact needs no embellishment It may be remarked, enpassam that yesterday was a day celebrated ir the calendar, but it would require i jester not only of genius but of daring: to plan and execute such a gigantic hoax, expecially on a wet day. It has been reported to us * Waipawt Mail,'* that another gigantic anc fraudulent "job " has taken place. I •is said that Messrs Whitaker anc Uussell have " acquired " a block o 1 native land IjOOO.OOO acres in extent bordering on Kawhia, and between thai place and Taupo, at the ridiculous prict W from 10d to 2d per acre. It is fur

ther stated though the statement seems . and ought to be incredible, that a well-known Native Lands Court Judge, receiving a yearly salary from the Government of nearly £1000, and bound by his position to be continually adjudicating upon native lands, is also in receipt of £1000 per year from Messrs Wbitaker and Russell to "watch the interests " of the latter in native land speculations. We sincerely hope the report will turn out to be ill-founded, although we are bound to confess that our hopes are not sanguine enough to confer any great degree of confidence. If this "job " has taken place it does not need a very acute intellect to discern the bearing it probably had on the pardon of Te KootL The Mr Wbitaker alluded to is not, we believe, the Premier himself but his son, and the Mr Russell, Mr T. Russell, of the Bank of New Zealand. We sincerely hope, for the credit of the country, and for the prospects of the rising generation, that the report may turn out to be without foundation.