Notes

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 8, 21 February 1907, Page 22

Note s

His Only Lapse „ A story is going the rounds of our exchanges which, though it may be nothing more than the fabrication of an imaginative reporter, is still rather too good to be lost. We find it told thus in a Christchurch . weekly : ' ;Is there anything" known against this man?' asked Mr. V. G. : Day, S.M., during the hearing of a charge of theft, at the Magistrate's. Court on Saturday. ' Only that he is a "married man,' replied the station sergeant. Thus, adds the Christchurch paper, is greatness thrust 'on our harmless sergeant.

Mr, Dooley on Divorce ' Mr. Dooley has made a pungent, and in "its way, a powerful contribution on American divorce in the ' New York Times,' We make, the following extracts : J Till death us do part,' says th" preacher. •Or th' jury,' whispers th' blushin' bride. Jln Nebrasky,' _ continues Dooley, • th' shackles arre busted because father, forgot to wipe his boots; in New -York-because mother knows a judge in South Dakota. ' Tfre* laVs ought to be the same ivry where. Army man oiigbtto be able to - get divoorce with alimony, simply-Dy.mak-in' an affidavit that th'- lady/,s facer has gsow nfn f 'too bleak for his taste. Be hivins, Hiniiisfcy;- I'd go farther. I'd let army man escape by^ jumpiri' the coriitract.' 'What do ye raaly thinrc ? '' asked'' Mr. Hfeh- , uessy. 'I think;' said Dooley, •if people wanted-; to be divoorced I'd let thim, but I'd give th? children' th' custody iv th' parents. They'd lam thim to ti&fove.'

The March of the Motor Motoring is so eminently fashionable, and the mania -is becoming so entirely universal, thai? anything, in the liature of criticism or remonstrance can only^ be. offered with bated breath. It is, therefore, "in a becoming spirit of meekness and humility, tb&t, in view of the" two fatal accidents near jQhtistcliurch the other, week, and of the many minor casualties that are continually "occurring, we venture to suggest .that- iF'is, time'tha-t • strict and definite regulations were put in force regarding the management of motor "cars. The sublime disregard which the average motorist shows for all other traffic is a serious menace .to the public safety, and unless the enthusiasts* be brought to reason the

following picture, given by the " Speaker,' of the present "condition ,of things in the Mother Country will soon :be < with but .little qualification, toour -own Colony : ' The Work of destruction proceeds as merrily as of yore ; old men and maidens, dogs- and young children, are still done to death in our highways -and 'byways ; nimblest man moves in' peril of bis life. It is safer to walk on the six-footway of a railway than on a- oountry road. But all this is now " inevitable " and '•• accidental." ; breaches of the law- are venial or " technical," and v no one is to blame except perhaps the unhappy victims who" would not get out of the way. . . The outer doors of the justice room are blocked by the cars of - the magistracy, who in dulcet tones impose , mitigated penalties on offending -millionaires. Peers, statesmen and officers of high rank— nay, even judicial authorities— habitually disregard the ,iaw, while county councillors and county officials career through their districts in costly cars bought out of .the .rates and driven -by chauffeurs engaged- at public charges. 1

A Merited Tribute

lOf the dead be nothing said 'but what is- good ' ■ ran the old Latin proverb, , and there,, are few cases where the maxim has more fitting application than in that of the late Michael Davitt. John Dillon's recent eulogy of Davitt was a noble tribute, and its concluding paragraph will touch -a responsive chord in many hearts : There never was, said Dillon, a sweeter or more loveable nature than, that of Michael Davitt. Brave to a fault, hot-tempered; and fierce in bis anger like a true Celt, the storm passed quickly, and his nature was quickly all sunshine again. He harbored no = rancor against any man, not even against those who had injured him deeply. And one of the faults on which his friends were inclined to rally him. was that»he forgave too quickly . and *was a bad -hater. His was a great Christian life (, and in the two main virtues 6f Christianity— love fo*r his fellowmen and the true, spirit of service and unselfishness — I can not recall that in my life-journey I have ever met his superior. And in my humble judgment some, people who have felt called upon to find fault with Michael Davi'tt would be much better employed if they offered up to God an humble' prayer that grace might be given to them to do for their fellowmen during their lives one-tenth of the work which Michael Davitt did during his strenuous life^ so gloriously accomplished. # ' ■