Savory Morsels.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4288, 28 September 1882, Page 2

Savory Morsels.

The Melbourne Argus contains the following :-^-" The Chinese »re in the; habit of holding an annual graveyard festival, with the object, it is said, of' hunting out the devil.', Mr Brophy mentioned in the Assembly that the police have notified that nothing of the sort will be allowed at fiallarat this year. As the trustee of the cemetery, Mr Brophy objects. He is aa advocate of tolerating all rites, and, moreover, he regards with favor an. annual effort to,' hunt the devil' out of Ballarat, no matter who makes 1 it. The Government, it appears, have not interfered in the matter, and the local police must be acting upon their own authority." Among the many huge sweepstakes for the English Derby which,: despite the keen eyes of the myrmidons of the law, are annually got up, is the one which is coofiDed to members of the Stock Erchange. The drawer of the Derby winner netted £12,000 in return lor £100 expended in a ticket. The House of Commons sweep, it is said, allowed a first prize of £3,000, while other smaller prizes, which were, nevertheless, small fortune's \ in themselves, were known to be in the market in circles where betting would, under its ordinary guise, be frowned out of court. " ,

In his address at the opening of the De Burgh Adams Lodge Boom, New Plyi raoutb, od Friday, Sight Worshipful Provincial Grand Master G. P. Pierce,. said:— "It is painful. in this age of enlightenment, to be obliged to say a word in defence of oar order against the attacks of those who misunderstand ougir--principles; but it is well knownT to you that the Church of Rome has put its ban on Masonry, classing us with Socialists, Nihilists,, and Fenians and even declaring it a 'deadly sin' to be. a Freemason. One of the rules hid down in our book of constitutions is, that 'no discussion on religious or political matters shall, under any pretence whaterer, be permitted in any Masonic assembly.' Happily for us, in these colonies, and in our Mother Country, such perversions of' Freemasonry are altogether unknown. Let us prore, brethren, that these charges against us are fallacious, by ourpeaee* able, law-abidiag, loving conduct, remaining faithful to our God, our country, and our Queen." The announcement has just been made by the English judges, that in future they will not only hear the prisoner's counsel speak, but will afterwards listen to the prisoner himself, and is likely to have aa important influence on- future trials. Most of us hare seen/the way in which hastily instructed, but self* snfficient counsel- have refused to profit by a prisoner's knowledge of his own case, and ..the annoyance'of the man oh learning that he was not allowed. to say a word for himself. The new rule'

. will make counsel more cautiousjn setting up theories of defence, and while it is not likely to damage any innocent men, a few rogues may be-convicted-out of their own mouths. The Wanganui Chronicle says :—ln a certain parish not a hundred miles from Mount Egmont there dwells a Protestant minister of the Gospel whose congregation i« divided in two sections, one of which is desirous ofhis removal, the other of his •retention, and both striving hard for their particular aim. One of those in opposition to bis reverence it seems.some time ago bed been summoned before the Resident Magistrate's Court for having „ unstamped weights in bis possession) and /this, it was considered by the other party, / rendered his individual opinion of, very : little value. Therefore, with the object :. in. view of obtaining from the constHble wbo bad charge of the case an official of the decision thereon, the clergyman waited upon that officer, who, ' in reply to questions, said that, although a conviction had been recorded, yet it did not affect the defendant's moral character at all, for, as a fact, the weights were perfectly just, and defendant bad. merely omitted to get them officially stamped 'according- to the requirements of the Act But continued the policeman, is there not something in the Bible about returning ...good for evil, and about forgiving one / another, which seems a good deal better - .than;stirring up strife and trying to show - a man up. However, as I am a Roman '-* Catholic, and don't read the Bible much, , perhaps lam wrong as to what it sßys. - It is said the clergyman bad heard enough and did not wsit for a certificate. •' The Patea Evening News says :—The RVv. Mr Keating, who has made himself 1 so active during the short time he has been '' ■ litre in awakening a sense..of interest in his'church, has do desire to conceal his High Church tendencies. He has every „ window in tbe church, embellished with ' colored .symbols, and part of The service is , ' intoned by himself. On Sunday ho ac knowledged tbe gift of two tablets bearing c/, tbe, Ten 1 Commandments, and a gilded i, crucifix. 'He did not fee why, when they believed in the crucifixion, they should " dispense with tbe cross. It was a mistake for people to think that it made the church look like, a Turkish mosque or Mahoromedan temple. , : Archibald Forbes said in Melbourne :— " There was orce a' steadfast old gentle-man-of the name of Palmrrston; If be -could be spared from the other world for about a weekly would settle tbe Egyptian difficulty with neatness and promptitude." Would be fix Ireland as well ?