WEAK BRETHREN.

Temuka Leader, Volume 2, Issue 119, 5 February 1879, Page 3

WEAK BRETHREN.

There are thousands of people who, though they dance, do so in the firm belief that that they are waltzing to perdition, and who when they venture to visit the theatre, shudder at the allegorical words " The way to the Pit." Millions of children are under terrible apprehensions that " Father is a goat," as a popular tract says, because father smokes his pipe, drinks his glass of beer, has a throw at skittles, or reads his Sunday newspaper. Weak brothers and sisters are responsible for the existence of generations of pietistic little prigs, who may perhaps never recover their healthy tone of mind, or, more fortunate, may live to laugh at their absured delusions. The religious weak brother and sister are remarkable at once for their amazing credulity and for their maddening scepticism. They are the natural advocates of the hypocrite and of the commercial impostor, because in all attacks on him they see a virulent assault on religion. They are capable -of believing the most monstrous figments against the character of their neighbours who make no particular pretensions, and they swallow camels in the way of taking the virtues of the humbug at his own valuation.—' Saturday Review.'

Sir Wilfred Lawson might do worse (says the Pall Mall Gazette) than undertake a crusade in Russia, where the prospects of the Permissive Bill are not bright. It is stated that some Polish Roman Catholic priests lately succeeded in inducing their parishioners to abandon the use of alcoholic liquors. The local authorities complained of this to the governor of Grodno, who thereupon ordered an inquiry. The priests were found to have acted solely for the purpore of benefiting their parishioners; but the governor of Grodno ordered them to be transported to the interior of Russia, in ordei to give them time to reflect there on the presumption of depriving a paternal Government, by preaching sobriety, of the revenue from the duty on spirits. I commend these figures (writes 'Atlas' in the World) to those who think that the Divorce Act is responsible for all the mischief in England. It is known that divorce does not exist in France. The nearest thing to it is the separation de-cor-ps, equivalent to the English judicial separation. It is therefore interesting to know how our neighbours fare under that r gime. From 1846 to 1850 the average of separations was 1080. This gradually increased untill 1876, when the number was 8251 —or exactly three times the number in 30 years. Strange to say, only 14 in every 100 are asked for by the husband, the wife thus having 86 per cent, to her credit. Is this to be attributed to jealousy of the fair sex. or the indifference of the sterner? Seventeen out of the total number do not wait for the twelvemonth to expire before trying to rid themselves of their bonds. Onethird of the 3000 live together from five to 10, an another third from 10 to 20 years, before they asked to be separated, and upwards of 500 only do so when the silver marriage approaches. The London Week gives some particulars with regard tc the fastest railway travelling in the wor'd- It says; " The fastest train run by the NorthWestern Railway does the distance from Euston to Rugby in 1 hour 50 minutes, but this speed is equalled by the South Eastern Mail, which runs to Dover, 76i miles, in 102 minutes. Both these are far exceeded by the Great Northern Scotch express, which only takes 129 minutes to run 105£ miles to Grantham from London, and by the Great Western Flying Dutchman, which reaches Swindon, 77 miles in 87 minutes. These trains run at 50 and 58 miles an hour respectively, and the last named remains, as for many years past, the fastest train in the world." A correspondent sends us (' Nelson Evening Mail') the following regarding the D'Urville Island Coppermine :—On a recent visit to the above island I was very favorably impressed with the progress made by the manager in conducting the works at such small expenditure. Several shafts have been sunk, all of which contained good ore, but I will confine my remarks to three of those, namely, Redwood's, Owen's, and Manton's. Owen's shaft is sunk to a depth of 90ft. from the surface, which contains rich ore all the way down. The first 30ft. consists of green carbonate, then it changes into extraordinarily rich silver' grey ore, and at the lowest level the lode is fully 2|ft. thick. A tunnel is now being driven to strike the shaft at a much greater depth, and another to intersect Man ton's shaft, which also contains rich ore. When both tunnels are completed it can be raised in large quantities and at a very trifling expense. An excellent sleigh road Jr constructed

to the harbor underneath, and a substantial wharf erected to water sufficiency deep for vessels of a moderate size to come along side and take their cargo aboard. The 'Spectator ' considers that the war with Afghanistan is unjustifiable, and puts the following case : —The civilised must acknowledge that the first rule of justice is to treat the feeble as we should, if feeble, but fully intelligent, think we ourselves ought to be treated. Have we observed that rule us regards the Ameer ? Should we think it fair if China demanded that a resident Ambassador entitled to give advice should be permanently stationed in Calcutta and on our refusal should flood India with Chinese troops, and demand as the least concession that China should obtain both sides of the Himalayas, lest otherwise we might invade Thibet by the Sikhim or the Bootan route.