ECHOES FROM DUNEDIN.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1114, 28 June 1883, Page 2

ECHOES FROM DUNEDIN.

TUB VAGABOND. Soma years ago Melbourne was startled by a series of articles which appeared in one of the papers there (the Argus I think) which were evidently written by a vigorous and able bat totally unknown hand and which purported to describe, on the authority of the writer as an eye witness, the internal arrangement and management of a large number of Public Institutions in the Victorian capital. The internal economy of the local Hospitals, Gaols and Lunatic Asylums, was described in so graphic and faithful a manner that no doubt could be entertained of the genuiness of the reports. They became a nine days' wonder, and of course rumour was rife as to who the author, who signed himself simply " The Vagabond", was. It turned out afterwards that the unknown correspondent was a man named Julian Thomas, a sort of adventurer from America who had disguised himself in various ways, and obtained temporary employment in each of the Institutions he purported to describe. The articles were afterwards published in book form, under the title of " The Vagabond Papers." This gentleman, tired of journalism, is now travelling round the colonies lecturing on his experiences, and giviug the public the benefit of his extensive information. Amongst other probable and possible dangers to be avoided, Mr Julian Thomas warns colonists against the latest craze,

THE SALVATION ARMY. The chief officer in New Zealand (Captain Pollard), hns been expounding hia views and enlightening the public, as to how he came to be enlisted. He informs ua that he was converted at about tho age of twelve years, but. aftorwarda bocame a backslider, and took a great liking for the sea. As the sea, or rather the sea captains, would have nothing to do with liim, the natural conclusion is. that he stayed on hind. A year or two afterwards he was n.-converted, and thus explains the process " Ju«t as I was turning into bed the Word of tha Lord came unto me saying 'Son be of good cheer ; fhy sins which were many are forgiven thee." He was then enlisted in the Army by Mr Bramwell Booth and the " two opened firo at Peckham on the 30th January 1881 " Some lime after this lie was despatched to take charge of the Portadown Irish Corps, which must have been very disorderly since here he was thrown into the river and nearly drowned. However he survived and then went to New Basford. "From here orders cams for me " he says "to take charge of the ' Marylebone. 1 Here things got low and we unitedly went in for God, and soon had the victory ; and took a big theatre for Sunday at a big rent, in the name of the Lord." Shortly after this he was ordered to New Zealand. From " Capaia" Pollard's narration it also appears that over 500 have joined the ranks in Dunedin. They have taken the Temperance Hall here for two years, and are rapidly spreading their influence everywhere. This may be seen from the production of Salvation lollies and boots ; and hats selling at Salvation Army prices. The latest advertisment, and perhaps the most unfathomable of all, is that Salvation Army beer is on tap at a certain I have been quite unable to unravel tt^H d£i

mystery of such an incongruous term as Salvation beer, and as my curiosity, though very great, has not yet led me to taste it, I can't express an opinion as to what it is like. Notwithstanding the many . doings and sayings of the Army that appear so absurd, if not blasphemous, to intelligent persons, the scum of the city is being quickly absorbed into their ranks, and there is a noticeable decrease in the number of young men that are accustomed to haunt hotel bars every evening. To these if it lasts the Salvation Army is undoubtedly doing good. But, as in all revival times, there is an almost corresdonding amount of profanity indulged in, by those who are not attracted by the excitement of the services, and who have not the sense to abstain from ridiouling those who are. Whither a reaction sets in, as very often happens after religious excitement, remains to be seen. Purhaps, and 1 think it very probable—a stay of two years of the \rmy in any place will tend to deepen the impression made on the converts, and as tims goes on, those who have been led by the excitement of the moment, and nothing more, will gradually drr.p their connection with it, and this thinning process will go on till only the genuine converts remain. In this way it is probable j that they may succeed better than the j ephemeral revival meetings that we have, hitherto been accustomed to. Having attended one or two of their meetings, I hope 1 will not be trepassing on your ■pace or time by giving a brief description of what I saw and heard. It was a Sunday afternoon and the Hall and galleries were densely crowded. The seats on the platform were raised one above another in the fashion of a circus, and were ;black with people— men, women »nd children. Amongst the audience hid away in the background was a good sprinkling of the well-known genus larri- I kins. The conductor of the service— j Captain Pollard himself—in a fearfully and wonderfully made uniform, which appeared to be a sort of cross between the liveries of a railway guard, and a postman opened the proceedings by bursting forth solus into sacred song to the familiar tune of "Little Sally Water "" Bitting in the sun." Ho was quickly followed by the platform occupants, and the audience was also soon at work on the aame lines, and certainly lung power was not deficient, for every soul seemed to sing as if future fate depended entirely on their capacity to literally pierce the Heavens with their song. During this musical performance the people conducted themselves in a most free and easy manner some sitting, some standing, some talking, some laughing. At the conclusion of tl>e hymn, the larrikin element, evidently dissatisfied with its brevity and charmed with it* melody, insisted upon beginning at the first verse and singing the whole thing over again. After gratifying themselves in this way for a short time, Captain Pollard became impatient and orders were issued to desist. No notice of the request however being tfcken, a stalwart policeman in all the glory of the coat, bright buttons and white gloves, was introduced upon the ecene. Immediately the Hall was turned into a pandemonium. The audience rose to their feet en masse' Shouts, yells, hoots, groans, hisses and cheers were mingled together, while above all the din, ro»e the strains of a spiritual song, sung at the very top of their voices by the party on the platform, all of whom occupied themselves during the whole of the time by waving in an ecstatic and highly excited manner their while cambric pocket-handkerchief s. After a time through the efforts of the officers of the Army, and the perspiring guardian of the peace, one or two of the prominent disturbers were ejected, and order was in some measure restored. The j gallant captain then remarked that he guessed they»were going to have an "exbibition " there that afternoon—a remark that was certainly justified by the subsequent events. The " exhibition" consisted of the production of some of the late converts who detailed for the information of the audience the benefits they had received from the working of the Army. The first person that appeared was a hardened looking sinner of some 50 odd years of age. A colloquy ensued somewhat after this fashion.— Convert: My friends you all know me — Ist Youthful larrikin ; Yes, by Jove, we do ! 2nd do : So do I, to my cost. Convert (a little staggered) : Wtll I s don't deny, 1 was a bad 'un, but it's all • over now. I've been converted my friends, I've been converted through the ■power of the Cross—and the Crosa has ( power to sav« you, even the worst of you, i even the people in Walker street, even / the heathen, ay, my friends even the '' Chinamen ! Ist young larrikin (apparently deeply '' affected, and in an ecstasy of fervour, with uplifted eyes hands): God bless the Chinamen ! A roar of laughter, collapse of convert, and deep disgust of the army. After one or two scenes of a similar character, the meeting concluded by the singing of a hymn with the extremely cheerful refrain " My old companions fare you well I will not go with you to he'l." organisation is doing some gocd

in its own peculiar way, I may add, for fear your readers should think that I was •xaggeratiDg, that I have only given them a very fair account of an ordinary meeting. MR M. W. GBEEIf. A consideiable furore has been created hero by one of our well-known ministers, Mr M. W. Green, M.H.R., who has changed his place of worship from the Volunteer Drillshed to a sanctuary known as the Union Church, and lately occupied by a theological legal luminary who hails from Melbourne, aMr Forlong. It appears that the latter gentleman has retired from the ministry, and that Mr Green has agreed to finish nut the lease of tha Union Church by using it instead of the Drill-shed. Now some narrowminded individuals consider that the doctrines of a Church are implanted in the building—not in the minister. Consequently Mr Green has been accused of changiug his views by a number of per--Bonp, inasmuch as he has changed his place of worship. The other evening he held a meeting at which ha denounced the attacks made on him, and denied having in any way altered his views on religious subjects.

EDUCATIONAL. Tha Education Board afc a late meeting received a letter from the Governors of the local High School, informing them that all pupils of th& Public Schools who gained 50 per cent of the marks at the Board of Education's Senior Scholarship examinations would be admitted into the High School free ; that is to say their fees, about eight guineas, would be remitted. It has of course been the custom of the High School authorities to remit the fees of scholarship holders, and this late movement is simply an extension of the former remission. I have watched with interest the struggles of some other Education Boards in the Colony, with High School boards, to gain a like privilege for their scholars, but without avail. There has of la f e been a cry for free secondary education. Now if the governing bodieß of educational institutions would only work amicably, secondary education would be practically free to those on whom otherwise it would be a burden. Every child with a glimpse of intelligence and a grain of perseverance could gain half the maximum marks of most of the scholarship examinations held by the Boards of Education, while the stimulus to work and perseverance would be more honorable than at present, —the object aimed at would still be money, but simply as a means of raising his or her rank, so to speak, that is from a Public School scholar to that of a High School one. One of the great causes of the success of all our educational institutions is the amicable way in which their governing bodies work, and undoubtedly if the High School and Education Boards would only pull well together, and especially in this matter of scholarships, they would bestow an everlasting benefit on children whose parents are uuable to pay the fees for secondary education at our High Schools, and in this way the cry for free education would be to some degree obviated. EdsTicua.