CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 186, 6 August 1872, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

:' -0 — *_* "We are desirous of affording every reasonable facility lor the discussion of public subjects; -but 'it must be understood that we arc in no way responsible for the opinions" expressed"!)}* Correspondents,. . :; y;' t To dnE Editor of the Nelson'Evewtng Mail. ( . g IR) — I regret to^eekhy your issue of Saturday last that the Central Board of •Education have judged it prudent, to prp- ? , pose a censure uppn^n teacher for extract-;! ing a.leaffrmn his- class book containing a. lesson ;he ; could not conscientiously teach.. That a teacher under ordinary circumstances should' in no way. ioj ure school property is is quite 'evident; but, "as inthe oft quoted case" "of •" Bullum 'versus Boatum," circumstances alter cases. The censure, would; have, been deserved had. hebeen . a-' careless, .worthless teacher, but' careful diligence producing the confidence of the committee and showing itself in the advancement of the school gives certainly some license, and, when added to this, we take into consideration the fact explained by the teacher that there was some difficulty in obtaining a committee meetiDg ; while his state of health would not allow of his waiting on them ; all these things taken into consideration show but little ceed for giving such publicity to the fact that the Central Board did not approve of his action in the matter.- . „' The Act requiring no instruction of- a controversial character must necessarily preclude such, an exercise as- the one objected to where- children of all denominations are assembled, and I : would submit that it is somewhat qf a paradox to require a conscientious teacher, and at tbe same time disallow him the exercise fif his conscience and reason in teaching an evident absurdity. I think that if the Central Board considered it necessary to enquire into the matter, it would have been better taste to have written to the teacher privately, which vvould have rendered him less liable to puerile and probably unjust complaints from the various sources of disquiet a teacher is so frequently subjected to.' I am, &c, ,• Carolus. For remainder of news see fourth page.

Cricket is extending on the Continent oij:.Eurppe. r A club has been formed at Geneva. ; .A Hint to Parents. — Do all in your power to teach your children self-govern-ment. If. a child is passionate, teach him by patient and gentler means to curb his temper j if he is greedy, cultivate liberality "in him j if he is selfish, promote generosity. .A_ Wife's Rebuke.-*- As a wife was holding her husband's aching head in her hands one morning, she asked, "Are a man, and his wife one? 1 ' — "I suppose so," said the husband. — << Then," rejoined the wife, "I came home drunk last night, and ought to be ashamed of myself." The Medical and Surgical Reporter says that distillers are experimenting with a process for making spirits from fermented garbage. This repulsive matter is placed in water-tight vats and boiled for several hours, the grease is then carefully skimmed off for soap making purposes, and the remaining mass ia fermented and distilled. The refuse is used as manure. It is stated that a barrel of garbage yields three pounds of soap grease and four gallons of proof spirits. Germans Leaving En Masse for America. — The German correspondent of the London Guardian says a curious phenomenon is to be seen in the northwest and east of Prussia. An emigrant mania is in full progress. In SchleswigHolstein it assumes extraordinary dimensions; whole villages are being emptied, and people are selling houses and land at ruinous , prices. There is a wholesale exodus. Emigration agents are busy shipping off the people, the greater and superior part to America, and the lesser part to Queensland. Another correspondent writes : — *'A village with good land in my district has only three families left in it, and they go in a week or two." This mania is fast spreading to Posen and East Prussia.. Hundreds camp out at the railway stations, waiting for the trains to convey them away. -A Correspondent of the Mass. Ploughman asks how many hens equal the v profits of an average cow per year; to which the editor replies as follows : — That depends very much , perhaps chiefly, upon the management. Some farmers manage to get a profit of fifty, and in rare cases nearly a hundred dollars per cow, while others scarcely make a cow pay. Some poultry men and many boys who devote their time and attention to it, make more than a dollar per hen, while others hardly do more than to "jnake both ends meet." So you see it is hard telling. Taking the. average of fair management, we should say about twenty-five. But with - first-rate management of hens and poor management of cows it would take a lesser number. With first-rate treatment of cows, and neglect of hens it would take many more. The/ Pall Mall Gazette says: — Prudence, says Milton, is that very virtue by which we'discern what is proper to be done under the various circumstances of time and place. The truth of this aphorism is exemplified by the conduct of Mr Byrne, of; Brooklyn, under every distressing circumstances, related by the New York Times. Mr Byrne, it seems, about a month ago, on entering his house, was ' shocked to find Mrs Byrne hanging by the neck oa a rope, and perfectly inanimate. Domestic, difficulties, combined witb gin, had caused. that lady to commit suicide. _ Hai-^, Mr. v Byrne •• been an impulsive, man" fie would have immediately cut her down. Mr Byrne, however, . possesses that 'invaluable 1 quality of prudence, and : calmly viewed his position. '" If, said he 'ilseYJer^tlie^rojp^'UD'd' find that she, for wbomalbne v I live, is past recovery, our neighbour^^ suspect that X have *» > •h^dfao^SlKarid in her death ; arid how shall I' without her eyideririeV refute the calumny. A He ; therefore: ifelt] hCrv pulse, and having A-, aßSOTea^imielf^^ ; A leisure]^ i-''f),wsi^ IjpV 0 v atponoe,he ' 4^eplied^ yt^Jend ure , ;; ?fbrsone!H^ ,y lDgsi/he,^

Pitched Battles between regiments of larrikins have been frequent in Glasgow lately, even on Sundays. According to General Pleasanton, who collected the tax on them, there were 1,332,^46,000 cigars used in the United States last year. 1 Sunflower as a Preventive of Fever. — All those who live in malarial districts should if possible, test the asserted influence of cultivations in removing sources of fever. German, Italian, and- French, savans have testified as to its efficacy in this respect. An account comes to ..us from Holland of a landowner on the banks of the Scheldt who planted three or four plots of sunflowers a few yards from his house, with such effect that for ten years there has not been a case of miasmatic fever among the tenants of his property though tbe disease continues to prevail in the neighbourhood,. ; A Suggestive Message. — The Emperor of Japan recently called his nobles together, and delivered a message, .touching the educational interests of the people. It is a remarkable document, and fully confirms the reports of the revolution of ideas which has taken place in Japan. The Mikado declares that the ancient system has been changed, and that a new departure has been made. He /hot only advises his subjects to go abroad and study the systems of other nations, but declares that there is not the slightest objection to taking their wives, daughters, and sisters with them, that they may learn in other countries the best manner of instructing children. The ex-emperor Napoleon has sold to tbe Western Union Telegraph Company the property in New York known as the old Franklyn House, for £168,000 sterling. A few years since it was bought for him by Dr. Evans for about half that sum. It may be remembered that soon after the ex-emperor's flight from Paris and arrival in England, it was stated that he had ample means on which to live io luxury. This statement was persistently denied by his adherents, who asserted that the fortune of tbe ex-empress was all upon which the couple had to subsist. The truth is, he is the actual owner "of a large amount of property in New York, besides holding several millions of dollars in the public funds and stocks of other countries. . What the Irishman said of himself* " that he was not dead but speechless,' may be said of the submarine cable between Port Darwin and Java. It is not dead but speechless, or but very; faintly transmits the signals. At some point or other the cable must have received severe damage. Tbe links of connection at one given point must be very few. There ia something to be glad of in tho fact that the cable has not been quite cut through. The Investigator, if she once manages to lay hold of the spot where the damage is done, will soon repair it, and next week it is anticipated that we shall again be on speaking terms with the Old World. Before/ however, we can hope for permanent communication, it is very likely that another cable will have to be laid, and then all contingencies can be provided against. The risk of disaster would thus be fairly met, and the transmission of messages be uninterrupted. — Age, July 20. A Private Letter, published by tho Otago Daily Times, gives the following amusing account of " Vaccination from the Heiferj" as practised in Auckland :—Attracted by the glowing descriptions in the papers, I found myself, with forty or fifty others, at Dr W.'s, waiting my turn to be vaccinated. The Doctor's house is a remarkably nice one,: and the garden and grounds among the best in Auckland. The Doctor was one of the lucky, holders, remarkable for the tenacity with,, which be stuck to his shares, and the readiness with which in adverse times he paid up his calls. Now he has his reward, and has become & great public benefactor, .by purchasing heifers, vaccinating them from the' human subject and then.: re-yac-cinating from tbem. Of course it . was' necessary to make a small charge to cover the loss in reselling these heifers, -as the" newspapers put it, which small charge the doctor has fixed at ss. On. my visit the scene was curious. A -heifer tied to the verandah post" and surrounded with iron" hurdlest Inside the hurdles, the 1 doctor with two assistants, and hanging over' the ■ hurdles an array of arms, white, black, and whitey brown; ; Outsideithe'hurdles, the owners of the said arms— -men, women, arid JcTiil'd reb;, 1 of •* 'all ages^'sexesl-class;!^rad'-color. On the verandah^^croVd waiting its turn, and. t a gen table registering names arid taking' fees. In a corner another smallcrowd-clustered round a young lady who had faintedjinder the exciteaiejpt. or the, procesß. , ..What is ; "iriohi£sfy^^^ whar may be seen at! the v .house. of every medical man in town, . excepting in some caws- the h^ those who'iiave gre«ter»ffiith in^lhe^rmio'