Notes and Events.

Manawatu Herald, 17 May 1894, Page 3

Notes and Events.

The. letter A, the first in the English alphabet is frequently used to denote the leading position of men and things. Sam in Pickwick says : "He must be a first-rater/ "A 1 " replied Mr Bolter; It n*ay riot be generally known that in Lloyd's Register of Shipping vessels are rated A With many numerals, such as A 1, A I£, A 2 and so 6H. A 1 ptanding for the highest and A 8 for the lowest grade. Vessels classed as A lor A Vj are regarded fit for the carriage of all kinds of cargoes on all kinds of voyages for a specified term of years ; those classed Alfor A 2 arc regarded as fit for all cargoes on Atlantic voyages, and in exceptionable cases on long voyages,, and for such cargoes as oil sugar, &c. on any voyage ; those classed A 2£ or A 8 for coasting voyages only, with wood or coal. "

As we have said elsewhere the Roman Catholic Censorship of the Press began very early. The In&tx Iribroruin Prohhitoriim et Expitrgandorum was first published in 1559 under Paul IV, nud some forty subsequent editions have appeared, the latest in 1883. As an instance of what we might have lost, had these prelates had their way, we need only mention that Milton, Spenser, and Chaucer were among the prohibited authors.

It is mentioned that the Archbishop of Dublin stated before a committee of the House of Commons in 1825 " The Index Expurgatoruis has no authority whatever in Ireland ; it has never been received in these countries, and I doubt wry much whether there be ten people i a Ireland who have ever seen it.".

During the agitation on prohibition it may be as well to recal the outcry about the opium traffic. Sir Lepel Griffin an acknowledge authority points out in the flineCeenth Century that already evidence has shown the temperate habits of the Indian people, and that consequently opium is taken in moderation, not in excess ; that its results are beneficial and not injurious ; and that, in many unhealthy districts, it is a necessary rather then a luxury. The anti-opium agitation he declares to be one of the most immoral in modern history. He thus explains the difference between the agitators and the users " Poor, simple, honest hearts 1 They did not know that, judged by any truthful standard, the people of India were on. a far higher level of morality than English men ; that they were industrious, sober, chaste and religious ; that a drunken man was rare, unless he were an Englishman; and that a drunken woman was unknown."