THAT TERRIBLE YEAR 1881.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 489, 3 January 1880, Page 3

THAT TERRIBLE YEAR 1881.

\_lfam/!lon lx his sermon recently, the Venerable Arch deacon Jnness took occasion to refer to contain paragraphs which have appeared in the newspapers, ibreall sorts of judgments upon the < earth, to be caused by a conjunction of N certain planets in the year ISBI. lie strongly cautioned his hearers against b-lieving that the Almighty had been so caxvlcss about his "Work, that the earth and stars were always liable to be getting out ot older, and he partly condemned the modern pulpit tor teaching the people that God’s judgments were delivered in a capricious manner. For instance, some men go out s;iiling r in a boat on a fSimday, and are capsized and drowned ; next Sunday the pulj.it declares it was God’s judgment on these men for Sabbath-breaking, ignoring the lact that a hundred other boats were out on the same day, and returned in safety. These accidents were not caused through the caprice of God, but by either of the men not knowing how to manage the boat, or else by their taking too much strong beer, as a general rule. He stated he was not afraid of the stars going wrong, and causing a pestilence. Ihere was more danger of pestilence ln-re from from the sparrows*—which God did not bring here, but man did than from the stars. 1 hose little creatures carried feathers and straws from the filthiest places, filled np the water-channels, with them, and thus masoned the water which people Hbank.

causing diphtheria and such like complaints. People went .about wit’s t'eir heads tinn dto the sky, lookii". h.r a star io 1,-.,; isp'ii) them. v;h. :i. i : v !.■ ■■! boon '.pi;;;.'! Upon I.!,: ;'i a:, ; i, (’;• v Would nothaVo i. over u inch: m.i hj :rt themselves.