A Bulgarian Excitement.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 81, 20 December 1884, Page 4

A Bulgarian Excitement.

The Holy Synod of the Phanar are getting more than the usual amount of excitement out of the election of a new Patriarch. The ex-Patriarch, Monseigneur Joachim resigned a few months ago, and wrote a letter to the Synod stating that he was not a candidate for re-election. So far all was well, when it was discovered that the trademark stamped in the corner of the paper on which the letter was written was the rampant lion of Bulgaria, with the words " Free Bulgaria" in the Bulgarian language over it. Whereupon the venerable prelates of the Synod lost all their small available balance of presence of mind. Such outrage was intolerable j it was an act of bravado on the part of Joachim, and the exPatriarch meant to say by it, "As you nont have me for Patriarch, I'll turn schismatic and go over to the Bulgars." An explanation was demanded of Joachim, and this was his answer ; "1 had no papier minis Uriel in the house, and bid my servant go out and buy some. I did not notice the trade-mark on what he brought me, and I wrote my letter upon it. " Then the servant was examined. " I bought," he said, " the paper at a Jew stationer's at No. 8, Tramway - street." Then the Jew, who said, " This is a paper I import because I have a large Bulgarian clientary who like lions in the corner of their writing paper." But all this corroboration of the exPatriarch's statement goes for nothing. The Orthodox Church of the East has been outraged, the Synod is convulsed, and the press that represents it raves in a style that is awful. The Jew stationer had the best of it ; there was a run upon his shop for specimens of the obnoxious paper ; the price rapidly went up : and the last of the stock was cleared out at the rate of two piastres a lion.—" Pall Mall Gazette."

"From information received," several zealous police-constables went to church on© Sunday. The church they selected was that of St. Martin, Canterbury. They did not, however, go there to pray, but to pry. " Excelsior " was their motto for the occasion, and accordingly the party climbed up into the steeple, and from that elevated outlook proceeded to watch the back-door of a certain public-houße within range of their binoculars. They "booked "it that they saw forty thirsty souls admitted by the said back-door during prohibited hours. Up till now the true reason why our churches are fitted with steeples has* been a debatable point amongst antiquaries Now the secret is out. That particular shape must have been selected to' enable the police to detect illicit liquor traffic. Whether that be so or not, or whether it is the most correct thing to convert a con- ; secrated building during hours of worship to such a purpose, the public, not to speak of the publicans, may decide amongst themselves.