FROM OUR EXCHANGES.

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

FROM OUR EXCHANGES.

A friend came into the office the other clay when we were busy going- through a a pile of exchanges. Of course the scissors were in constant request and he sneered at the borrowed wit, and hinted that a movo versatile man might sit in the chair. The simple explanation offered, that a good clipping was better for the public than a weak original joke, did not seem satisfactory ; a request that he should compose some witty pieces for the benefit of our columns at a fixed price, with a regular and unfailing supply of origirfat matter mot with no satisfactory response. At last we offered to sit down and write bad jokes quicker than our visitor could find them and cut them out of New Zealand newspapers,—American, Australian, and foreign wit being excluded. Our friend, having looked through several papers and thro-vn tlvmi into a corner in disgust, left hurriedly, saying he had an engagnieut. — Times.'

Recently a lady bequeathed to Mr Spurgeon several thousands pounds for his own personal use. Mr Spurgeon was induced to inquire into the circumstances of the relatives of the donor, and finding they were needy and that nothing had been bequeathed to them, he very generousfy divided the legacy among them. The Bishop of Dunedin has appealed to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel for a grant of L3OOO, with which to purchase Government lands in New Zealand as an endowment for the Diocese of Dunedin. He says that had any considerable portion of the Government lands been purchased at the date of the formation of the diocese, there would have been no occasion for the Bishop to be time in England for the purpose ™Wbf raising funds. A gentleman in the timber line has inserted the following advertisement in an Auckland neAvspaper :—" Wanted known, that F. Carr has for sale, in lots to suit Surehasers, all that timber used in the late !-. C. Mission building. Zealous Catholics who may desire relics of Father Hennebery, will not be charged extra for that gratification ; or bigoted Protestants can find vent for fanatical zeal by buying to burn ; and sensible men of all parties, who are not influenced by such feelings can get useful timber at low rates." His Honor the Chief Justice, tn passing sentence on James Allen Mackie for forgery and larceny at Wellington rcently, said :—" Though I must not consider the inadequacy of your salary as an excuse, I may remark that, there is a tendency at the present day, not only in banks but in other business, to pay those in a position of trust too lightly. It is supposed that a person maybe safely entrusted with money though he has not been in the habit of handling it. I apprehend that this is a false idea, for it is just as necessary to have a man experienced in the resistance of temptation as a man experienced in plastering walls." The strange news is announced (says the ' Figaro') that Prince Bismarck is about to be prosecuted for defamation. The ' Fremdenblatt' gives the following explanation of the cause : —"ln the book recently published by M. Moritz-Busch are reproduced some very severe remarks said to have been used by the Chancellor relative to the Count de Goltz, formerly Prussian Ambassador at Paris. The family of the deceased diplomatist considers its honor affected by some of the assertions, and purposes taking legal proceedings. Consequently incidents of great interest may be looked for." The foreign residents of Hongkong held a public meeting recently to consider the insecurity of life and property in the Colony, when the following resolution was adopted:—"During the past eighteen months life and property in the Colony have been seriously jeopardised, and a feeling of insecurity, the result of recent events, has been engendered, which, in the opinion of the meeting, has been mainly caused by the policy of undue leniency towards the criminal classes." Other resolutions in general terms favoured a return to flogging and other severe punishments practised under former administrations, and X\v appointment of a commission by the Home Government to inquire into the present administration of the government of the Colony, especially as regards the application of the criminal laws. The chair- • V'a.n was instructed to forward the re- ~ solutions to the Colonial Secretary for transmission to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Hong-kong is to be pitied, "but, remarks and English paper, it is not the only place where life and property are insecure. A greater security in London is just now a desideratum.