MUNICIPAL CORPORATION.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume II, 8 April 1843, Page 227

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION.

T6 the Editor or the Nelson Examiner. Sir — I think your correspondent of last week xnißchose his signature when he decided upon that of " A True Friend of Local Government/ A tree friend of economy he unquestionably is; npr would I blame him for that virtue, nor for his preaching the practice of it to others. It is said that " cleanliness is next to godliness," and long assent has given a sort of truth to the saying, if it have ifc not by right. But, so or not so, would this friend of local government talk of rejecting with " contempt and indignation " (to say nothing of other somewhat unnecessary fullmouthednesß) the advice and opinion of any one who would not always be concerning himself about the market price of soap, scrubbing-brushes, and towels, but, instead, dwelt with energy and some elevation of tone and style, not unsuited to th« elevated nature of the subject, upon that higher purity of character, which, under the name of morality and virtue religion and godliness, has made good its claim to some respect from all good men, aHd is not unworthy the attention of the greatest advocates of bodily lavation and ablution. If your remarks have, as "A True Friend" says, cooled the zeal of more than one friend of local government, they must be persons of peculiarly constructed minds, nor do I envy them the facility of ridding themselves of their caloric. The zeal which could be thus extinguished must, I think, have been got up by some prospect of pecuniary gain; for, certainly, only to the money-loving and money-making could your remarks have been offensive. I do not at all accord with the doctrine which, judging by the tone of his letter, appears to haye v so strong a hold upon the mind of your correspondent, viz., that a newspaper is merely a vehicle for the transmission and spreading abroad of facts, or that anything which appears in it not being essentially practical, in the vulgar sense of that word, is out of place there. Doubtless, a newspaper should contain practical information on subjects of interest to the community at the time ; but every number cannot be complete ; and I should indeed regret to find the practical (still in the vulgar sense) overcoming in you the higher and more important, which is, in very truth, the only practical; for no word in the English language is so habitually and shamefully misused and abused. There is but little necessity for men to be recalled to or reminded of what are called their interests, though there is a daily need of filliping the flagging recollection of what are their interests. The higher considerations respecting a matter are those which are likely to be generally overlooked : the pecuniary, the mere profit and loss, are sure to be conned by all. There is no want of leaders to stimulate the zeal of men in the work of grasp and hold ; but, what is wanted, and what I take it to be your duty to do, is — on all subjects which, as affecting the public, you are called upon to treat of— to keep before the eyes of all the higher and more elevated view; and, though not neglecting practical matters, yet to treat •them as secondary, for 6uch they are; and, as such, men will not think of then) if they can help it. I am not writing now in support rf or against a corporation, but as being one who found nothing to cool his zeal on the subject in what you said, but who agreed with the tone which you adopted, believing it to be at least as important as the statistics of the matter ; and I could not refrain from entering my protest against what I must look upon as a narrowminded view ; at th» same time expressing my humble opinion that a stimulus to the higher motives of action is at least as much required as assurances of feasibility as to the carrying out of the lower; being also anxious to assure you that, though there may be many who speak of it as bullying, cajoling, and mystifying, yet ! there are some who appreciate as it deserves your endeavour to check the downward tendency, and who believe that such endeavour is the legitimate and most required employment of the pen of the journalist. I am, sir, Your obedient servant, _______ D n.

Testimonial to Father Mathbw. — A requisition is in course of signature in Ireland, for the purpose of convening a meeting in order to decide on the best mode of erecting " an enduring testimonial of the esteem in which the labours of the Reverend Mr. Mathew are held by all classes of the community." Among the names already authorized to be attached to the requisition are the following :— The Duke of Leinster, the Marquises of Anglesey and Conyngham, Viscount Duncannon, Lord Talbot de Malahide, Lord Lurgan, Lord Stuart de Decies, the Earls of Gosford, Meath, Shannon, Arran, Wicklow, Charlemont, Charleville, Glengall, Mayo, and Lucan. Automaton Vocalist. — A mechanician of a little town in Bohemia has constructed an automaton which imitates perfectly the human voice, particularly the soprano notes. It sings several difficult airs with the greatest accuracy. Shakes, runs, and chromatic scales are all executed with surprising precision. This automaton, in singing, even pronounces certain words, so as to be easily understood. The inventor hopes to arrive at such a point of perfection as to bring his machine to pronounce all the words of the best operas. — London paper. The late Dr. Hirschel. — The office held by the late Solomon Hirschel, D. D. (chief rabbi of the eastern synagogue), has become extinct by that gentleman's death, the committee for regulating the ecclesiastical affairs of the Jewish body having passed a resolution, about two years since, that the office should be abolished at the death of its then occupant. The salary of the late rabbi is stated to have been £1,000 per annum, and a considerable addition to bis income was derived yearly fc—a presents of various descriptions from the more wealthy members of his nation.