NEWS BY THE MAIL

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1152, 8 April 1872, Page 2

NEWS BY THE MAIL

Fifteen Scotchmen, chiefly agriculturists and skilled workmen, with their families, besides several ladies, not without means, have volunteered to initiate an Industrial Christian Mission, upon the Moravian plan, in behalf of, and among the Christian refugees in Turkey, whenever arrangements are made for them to go out, while many more are looked for f to present themselves for the object. No intoxicating liquors or narcotics, such as tobacco, will be allowed in the settlement.

Captain the Hon. J. Colborne, of the 11th Regiment, having backed himself to go on foot from the Curragh Camp by the main road to Dublin and .back, a distance of 61^ miles, in 15 hours, the match accordingly came off. At 5.20 a.m. the gallant captain started from a flagstaff of the Curragh Camp and reached Nass at 10.30 a.m., where he rested If hours. He then started back for the Curragh,] which he reached at 9.45, having accomplished the entire distance in 14 hours 25 minutes, thus winning his wager with 35 minutes to spare. The greeting on his return was very enthusiastic. -

At the Lord Mayor's banquet at York, on January 10, Mr Millbank, M.P. for the North Riding, in responding to the toast of " The House of Commons." denounced Sir CJ'Diike as" a traitor in the camp, who had made statements contrary to truth, and had made insinuations against the Crown/ the Government, and the Queen personally. He would, himself, on the first opportunity, ask Sir Charles Dilke whether he was prepared to repeat his statements in the House of Commons. There should be no shirking of the matter. The directors of the Freemasons' Tavern have refused the use of their Hall for a Dilke demonstration. Application has been made for other halls, but in all cases it has met with a refusal.

The tendency of the Scotch to migrate southward has passed into a proverb; but the South has never been burdened very heavily with Scottish paupers. Two years ago some [gentlemen interested in the matter took the trouble {to obtain trustworthy returns of the number of Scottish poor in the metropolis receiving parish relief as indoor paupers. By the census of 1861 the population of London was 2,808,982; the number of Scots in this stupendous aggregation of humanity was 35,733. The total number of indoor paupers in the metropolitan workhouses was 27,697, and in those thousands there were but 205 Scots. While, therefore, there was one Scot in London in every 80 of the population, there was but one Scot in every 135& paupers in our London workhouses. Or to put the case in another way— there was one English adult indoor pauper in every 102£ of the English population of London, k while there was but one Scottish pauper of the same description in every J.7BJ of its Scottish population. " ...... : ' . '■

On January 9, a meeting in favor of the establishment of a Republican Club in Glasgow was held.. The constitution proposed that the Club should promote the substitution of the existing monarchical system of government by a thoroughly democratic Republic, under which all citizens shall enjoy equal privileges, and be equally subject to the same laws, and be eligible to occupy any official position in which they may be called by the free suffrages of their fellow-citizens. The Club should also promote the abolition of a hereditary and privileged aristocracy, and of a State-favored and endowed Church; the institution' of equal electoral districts ; and the right of every citizen who has attained the age of 21 years to be represented legislatively. The constitution further denounced and disclaimed all violence of speech and action. The question as to whether female suffrage should be promoted was negatived

by a majority. The constitution, with a few slight modifications, was adopted. For some time past the Roman Catholic priesthood of London and the different cemetery authorities have had brought under their notice the scenes which are generally attendant upon occasions of the Burials of the poorer classes of Irish. In Lambeth and the Borough the priests informed their congregations that the cemetery officials had stated that they would not inter any corpse that was not accompanied by a priest, and that in every case the priest would refuse to go to the funeral unless the relations pledged themselves to prevent drinking on the part of those attending the funeral while going to and coming from the cemetery. For a few weeks the new system, which has been rigidly carried out, particularly on Sundays — the laborer's funeral day— has been found to work well. On December 31, the Rev Mr M'Grath, of the Roman Catholic Church in the Camberwell New Road, announced to the Irish portion of the congregation that the priests had decided in future to attend no funeral when a wake had been held over the body, and no Roman Catholic service would be held over it. The practice of wakes was a disgraceful one, and it was terrible to find, as some priests had done, forty men sitting with a corpse in a small room, and drinking amongst them 14gals of beer. Mr Spurgeon, on January 2, lectured at the Metropolitan Tabernacle on his recent visit to Rome and his journey thither. The magnificent building was crowded in every Dart, and even the passages were turned into sitting places. The sight of thousands of well-dressed people rising to their feet by common consent, in a beautifully lighted building, to welcome the lecturer with every demonstration of enthusiasm, was a sight not soon to be forgotten. Such a gathering at the Metropolitan Tabernacle is always an attractive harvest-field for the pickpocket fraternity, and although Mr Spurgeon at the time early warned his audience of the presence of thieves, the rogues managed to gain their end, and amongst others who were robbed, a lady brought by Mr Spurgeon himself had her pocket, containing a pane, dexterously cut away from her dress. The eagerness manifested to hear the lecture was so great that a promise was held out during the evening that it would be repeated at some future time. Just before the lecture one of the gifts common at the Tabernacle was handed up, viz., a cheque for L2OO, half for the Orphanage, and the remainder for the College connected with the church.