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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 53, 1 March 1872, Page 2

The Bishop of Lichfield on America and England. — The Bishop of Lichfield has just returned to England from America, whither he had gone with several clergymen as a deputation from the English Church to the American Episcopal Convention at New York. Previous to his departure his lordship was entertained at a breakfast, over which the Bishop of New York presided, and at which many other dignitaries were present. In replying to a toast, Bishop Sehvyn said in the visit he had paid to America he had been struck with the many indications he had seen of the intense feeling of cordiality existing on the part of the American States towards their Euglish mother (applause). In no instance had he heard a single expression which led him to think that in the hearts of those with whom he had come in contact there was the slightest ill-feeling towards England (cheers). He had heard sung in their For remainder of news see fourth page.

normal schools our National Anthem " God save the Queen," and the spirit appeared the same as that in which their chairman had just uttered ihe words " God bless her," after making mention of her name. For himself he never could understand why there should be any disagreement between the two countries ; tfue, a hundred years ago there was a dispute as to whether England should tax America, or America tax herself, but it was settled in favor of America, which could now compete with the old country for the honor and glory of being the best taxed country on the earth (laughter). He was happy to say he had everywhere found evidence of thankful recognition on the patt of America for those benefits it had derived from the mother country ; and he hoped the fraternal and amicable feeling would continue mutual ; and in the event of disagreements occurring between the two nations, the people of England and the people of America would say to each other, " Let there be no strife between me and ' three^ for we are brethren " (loud cheers). His lordship's concluding remarks referred to the subject of arbitration, which he considered the best mode of settling international quarrels. John Knox and Education. — The Western Weekly News, a Plymouth paper, has the following : — Scotchmen who are fond of paying due honor to their national celebrities, are already talking about keeping the Tercentenary of the birth of John Knox on November 20th, 1872. Scotland is indebted to the stern Calvinist for the initiation of that system of National Education to which her sons owe so much of their success in life. Mr. Disraeli once said that wherever he had travelled he had always found a Scotchman, and that Scotchman was generally at the top of the tree — a fact which he attributed to the excellent education of the Scotch. Before the days of Knox, however, the mass of the people were deplorably ignorant, though even in Wickliffe's time, Scotch students found their way to Oxford. When the ecclesiastical reformers had to dispose of the rich lands belonging to the abolished bishoprics and monasteries, the great Calvinist drew out a scheme hy which a good school was to be founded in each parish, and a university in every town. The unscrupulous greed of the Scotch nobles of those days interfered with the full development of this plan, but its partial execution gave Scotland her admirable parish schools. The Puritans in the New World acted upon much the same principle, one of the fundamental laws of New England being that every hamlet of houses should have an elementary school, and every town a school or college of a higher class. Southern Insurance Company. — Writing upon difficulties which have beset, the Southern Insurance Company, the flrgus says : — Tbe best thing that many of our colonial insurance companies could do would be to bring about a union between themselves. They would by this means not only decrease the expense of management, but what is of far more importance, they would lessen competition to such an extent that there would be some chance of conducting insurance business at rates justified by scientific deductions from known data, instead of as at present leaving everything to the chapter of accidents, and depending entirely on luck. With a greatly increased capital they could spread their risks over a wider surface, and not find at the end of the year that they had unfortunately insured only those ships or houses which the fates had doomed to destruction. We are convicted that the true policy of insurance companies to pursue is, not to draw in their horns and pick their business too nicely, but to endeavor to extend their transactions at fair rates to the utmost extent possible, while at the same time preparing for the inevitable losses which must come sooner or later by increasing their capital and accumulating an ample reserve fund. A timid policy is ruin to an insurance business, but a bold one must be backed by adequate resources. The New York Tribune having contributed its share to the exposure of Tweed and Co., is now directing its attention to the scoundrels of the judicial bench. It seems that some of these worthies are in the habit of putting a great deal of money into the pockets of their friends aod relatives, by naming them as referees in cases of arbitration. The following illustration is given by the Tribune :— " Some time ago a very important case, involving a large amount of money, was brought before Judge Barnard for reference to commissioners. As the case had attracted considerable public attention, great care had been taken by the counsel on both sides to select well known citizens to act as commissioners. The proper motion was made in court, and the papers handed up to Judge Barnard for signature, the counsel little dreajning that any objection would be made to the commissioners agreed upon. Judge Barnard looked at the papers

and said, «Yes, this is all right, all perfectly proper, with the exception of the names of the commissioners.' He then took his pen, scratched out the names of the prominent citizens, and inserted those of Samuel Jones and two others. The council in the case were astounded. One of them arose, and said, ' But, your honor, we thought that as the case was one of great public interest it would be well to have men of known integrity — men who have the public confidence.' Judge Barnard cooly replied, 'You are perfectly right, sir. I don't know any men better in the city than those I have appointed. One is my father-in-law, another my brother-in- j law, and the other my family physician." Infamous Outrages on Board English Ships. — Captain Sergent, of the ship Artist, which has arrived at Calcutta from Liverpool, has jußt published a statement which will go far to show how the destruction of many a noble ship, accompanied with loss of life, is attributable to the mutinous conduct of some of Ihe crew. Captain Sergeut states that : — On the voyage out from Liverpool to Calcutta, and when in lat. 31° 6' S., long. 57° 1' E., on the 29th April, the chief officer reported that the fore, upper, and lower topsail braces and lee crosejack braces bad been cut. On examination it was found that the spare bower anchor lashings had been cut, and the anchor set adrift; and the pump handles, winch handles, and the cat block missing. All hands were called aft and questioned, but denied any knowledge of how the mischief had been done, and I offered a reward of £10 to anyone who would give me information on the subject, but without effect. At the time of discovering the damage to the ship, we were expecting bad weather, there being every appearance of one of those severe hurricanes which traverse the Indian Ocean, and the barometer had fallen from 3030 deg. to 28*96 deg., and two days afterwards very heavy weather was encountered. Had the mischief not been discovered in good time, it is probable we should have lost some of our spars and our crew overboard. On going up the mizen rigging a few days previous to inspect some of the carpenter's work in the top, I afterwards went on the mizen topsail-yard, where I found the footsteps cut through, evidently by a knife. Although it bore my weight, tbat of any addition man would, I feel confident, have been sufficient to break if. About ten days previous, from information obtained from the crew, I had three men — James Murphy, Dennis Sweeny, and another — put in irons, and afterwards the two former made voluntary confessions in the presence of several witnesses, their shipmates, stating that they had done the mischief. On arriving at Calcutta, I handed them over to the police, and the case was tried. The two men named were sentenced to only eight weeks' imprisonment, and a fine of £1. I may mention that tbe man Murphy boasted that when on board the ships Candahar and Zuleika he had caused considerable damage to the rigging. A Sanguine Legal Manager.— JEgles in the Australasian says : — He is at it again. Mr. Spain, a legal manager (who really should not be tied down to so prosaic a pursuit), dazzled the shareholders of the Tookey mine with visions of England, home, and beauty as the imminent consequence of owning that very peculiar stock. About another mine, the Prince Alfred, Gipps Land, he has fallen into fresh ecstacies. He furnishes a report of prodigious dimensions, of which this is a sample : — " Ten months ago when adI versity had fairly set in, and clamor was rampant, I intimated that the time would certainly arrive when I should be enabled to refute every accusation, and substantiate the statement that the Prince Alfred would become a wealthy and important company. Gentlemen, — that time has arrived, and I am prepared to fulfil the undertaking I then pledged myself to accomplish, to leave not a charge unanswered, but to convince the weak-hearted by the soundness of my judgment, and satisfy them of the integrity of my motives. .... Frankly, aud I trust comprehensively, I have endeavored to impress on your minds, with all the full, unerring force that truth can convey, my conscientious belief of your mine's worth, and it is not enthusiasm, but a wellgrounded opinion, justified by fair inference, which prompts me to admit the probability that, attendant on successful development in the present level, and a display equal to that exhibited in the Concord, the stock will yet be in great demand at prices far in excess of those now ruling, and even when they shall have advanced to double their present value," &c. After these glowing periods it must have rather a chilling effect to learn from Mr. Spain that " the income for the half-year has been derived exclusively from capital account obtained by six calls of Is. each ; " and from the mining manager that " the operations at the mine for the past

half-year have been on a rather limited scale." The drop from the sublime is just a little abrupt.

A Strang's Story is related by the Kyneton Guardian :— " The police have recently been investigating a case, the chief peculiarity of which is that they have been set in motion by an alleged communication from the spirit world. Some 20 or 21 years ago there was a man named Waugh residing in Melbourne, whose avocation was that of a carrier. Returning from a trip to the country, he found that his daughter had got married in his absence, and he was greatly annoyed thereat, as she was only a girl of 15 or 16 years of age. However, his resentment was not of long duration. He was reconciled to his daughter and her husband, and promised to start them in business. He left them shortly after the reconciliation, and was never more seen by them — all they knew of his intended movements being that he was to sleep that night at the house of his sister, in Bourke-street west, near Goldsbrough's wool stores. His sister's account was, that Waugh went on business to Dunsford's station (now Lacenfield) and that whilst riding from there to Kyneton he was accidentally thrown from his horse and killed. She disposed of a quantity of personal property belonging to her brother which was in her possession, the curator of intestate estates being seldom troubled in those days, and, in the excited times which followed, Waugh's disappearance was soon forgotten. Recently a man named Campbell has informed the police that he has received a communication from Waugh's spirit to the following effect :— ' I was murdered by Liz (his sister) with a poker. Dig four feet under the ground at the rear of the house, and you will find my body.' Taking into account Waugh's mysterious disappearance, and the fact that no authentic record can be found of his death, the police Itave considered themselves bound to make inquiries to test the value of this information. So far, we believe, they have been unable to find any confirmation of the reported accident by which Waugh was said to have lost his life, or indeed to learn anything at all about the man in this district. Whether they have searched the premises in Melbourne, we are not aware, although we understand, they have received permission to do so. The publication of these particulars may perhaps assist the police in obtaining a clue to the fate of Waugh. It may be added that both his sister and her husband committed suicide by cutting their throats."