THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 195, 16 August 1879, Page 2

THE WEEK.

It is a pity tbat we had not some one studying the political atmosphere just now whose duty it should be to issue periodical weather warnings. At the present moment a dead calm prevails, but we can see the clouds on the horizon, and every now and then bear the soughing of the wind in the distance, a sound that is full of portent, and is the invariable precursor of a storm, and if there were such an officer as I have alluded to, we might expect at any hour to get some such message as tbis from him :— " Mind your eye! Very rough weather approaching from any and every direction, north, south, east, and west. Expect awful lot of biow during next four weeks. Glass will begin to rise at end of thirty days." And, with regard to the "blow," I thinkjbe would be quite right. Iu the excess of their zeal, clergymen, it must be admitted, occasionally do "and say very foolish things which are uot at all calculated to promote the religion they teacb. A more glaring instance of this than the following it would be difficult to find. A church meeting was recently held at Wellington, and there was a di^cussiou regarding tbe raising of funds for a certain purpose, whereupon, says the newspaper report, the Rev. Mr " related au anecdote of a missionary iu the South Island, who waited ou a wealthy gentleman aud solicited a subscription towardsafuud for building a church, and upon meeting with a refusal the missionary requested the gentleman to engage in prayer, to which the latter consented, whereupon the missionary commenced praying fervently for the rich man, who was | o.se ssed of tbe tneaus, but not the heart, to do good. The missionary went on praying, and the gentleman offered first oue, then two, then four, then five pounds if he would leave off, but the missiouary disregarded all the offers uutil at length the gentleman consented to give most liberally." What an edifying spectacle ! The missionary praying his victim into a state of despair until he was willing to give " one, two, four, live pounds," not with a willing heart nr from a desire to do good, but a.s a bribe to his tormentor to cease his importunities ' It is difficult to say which of the two was the more wanting in discretion and good taste, the missionary who tljus demeaned himself or thj clergyman w*bo told the story. I don't thiuk, if I were in Mr O'Rorke's place, that I should attach very much value to the testimonial presented to him tbe other day by the Committee clerks and messengers of the Assembly in recognition of his services in obtaining for them half-pay during the interval between the twosessionsof Parliament. I know lots of fellows who would sign any number of testimonials for seven and sixpence a day. Besides, there are many men who are far more entitled to testimonials than Mr O'ltorke, if the right to them is to be gauged by tbe amount cf money obtained or the number of those who reap the benefit of it. Look at those thirty six representatives who voted the 120 members of the Assembly fifty guineas a week each for four weeks ; don't they deserve richly illuminated testimonials ? Synonymous terms are dangerous things to meddle with. There is tbat poor, muchmaligned Mr Macandrew, see what trouble he got into over that railway map business, nil because be " understood that the Thames' and Grahamstown were synonymous." Then in that same report there is another synonym, at least an implied one. *" You stated, Mr Wrigg," said the questioner, " that Mr Koch said it was a swindle. What did you consider be meant at the time ?" Answer .- " I am uot a politician, but I facy he meant to say it was something political.'" Has it then come to tbis ? Is it really the case that there is of necessity an affinity between those two words which I have given iu italics ? There was a time, now many years ago, when in tbe colonies the great eud and aim of a man's existence was to become a flock owner. Grocers, drapers, clerks, meu of every class, and every descript ion of business, as soon as they had saved a few pounds used to thiuk that all they had to do was to try and get a bit of couutry aud put a few sheep on it, and tbeir fortunes were made for life. Perhaps there was more ground for this belief then with sheep at a guinea and twenty five shillings a bead, and wool at ls lOd a pound, but scores of ihem found out their mistake wheu it was too late. Now, however, what with sheep at three shillings, wool at tenpence, and, above all, tbat Scab Act of last year, perhaps the man of all others the least to be envied is the runholder. How the Act referred to affects them may be judged by the following extract from a letter from a station manager which was shown to me tbe other day:— "The Sheep Act 1878 is more iu demand here thau any other form of literature. When we are not dipping we are attending the Court in compliance with the Inspector's summonses, and if the policeman is not here at least three times a week we feel quite fuuny." So Mr Macandrew is sending up a gentleman from Dunedin to ask the electors of Collingwood if they will bo good ei ough to give Otago another vote in the House, and so help the Minister for Public Works to inflict more injury upon Nelson than he has hitherto done. Imagine the Collingwood people doing anything ot the kind ! Fancy the fabled frogs solemnly drawing up an address to King Stork expressing the immense amount of gratification it had afforded them to see how dexterously he had already swallowed bo many of their brethren, and