ANCHORS AND TOAST.

(FKOM OUl^trtfjN CORRESPONDENT.) London, August 25. DISMAY AMONG THE RITUALISTS. The Session of the British Parliament ■which has just closed, although a quiet one, has not been by any means spent in vain. It has given existence to more than one Act which cannot fall to have a marked influence upon the future of the country. The most important of these, at least the one which has ex cited most interest and attention is the Public Worship Regulation Act. In troduced as it was by the Archbishops and passed by the Upper House, it was brought before the Commons by a private member, and it was for a long time veiy doubtful how the Govern ment would receive it. Whether Mr Disraeli was waiting, like a skilful general as he is, to see whether or not the feeling of the House was in its fovour will probably never be known, but when he did speak, "he spoke to some purpose and after one of the hot test fights or rather series of fights that ■we have had during the session, the Bill was carried amid tumultuous cheer ing from all p.arts of the House. ' Mr Gladstone was one of its most deter mined opponents, but then Mr Glad stone is one of . the most advanced Ritualists of the flay. He is an " auax i.andron," as his favourite poet would ■ have said, amongst that "small but I. pervicious section," to use the words of I Mr Disraeli, which has been sowing the seeds of discord and rottenness in the Church of England. It is well that the opportunity was given to the nation to I declare its sentiments. It spoke out in the House of Commons through the voices of Tepresentatives in tones of thunder. Liberals, Radicals, Canserva tives alike joined to express their ab hororence of Ritualism, andthe long faces of the gentlemen' with broad-brimmed hats and cord tassels to be seen abont the streets during the progress of the ■ Bill through committee told plainer than words the story of their disap pointment and bitter mortification at finding themselves and their principles in an insignificant minority. The fact is the Ritualists, though few in num her and largely consisting of young girls and boys, silly women, had writ ten and talked themselvesfinto a belief that they really represented the ideas and wishes of England's people. No thing could have been wider of the mark. They had been attacked, and dragged into a position of prominence and importance by suoh papers as the and the Record and the Mock, and th edaily papers as a rule not caring to dabble in religious questions, very much sharing indeed in the sentiments of the much : abused Gallis, had refrained from de claring themselves. No sooner, how ever, was the|question made a great and public topic by the bringing of the Bill before Parliament, than almost the entire daily press, hd by the Times, attacked the Ritualists most fiercely, showed up their foolishness, exposed their weakness, and declared that the . thing must be at once wiped out or the ; Church must be disestablished. The Act which is now law does not in any way interfere with the existing Church Canons and Rubrics. Church law re mains precisely in statu quo, but the effect of the measure is to facilitate the commencement and carrying out of legal proceedings against clei'gymen offending against the Canons and Rubric. Hitherto these lawless per sons, have set the Bishops and the people at defiance, and owing to the difficulties and expenses attending the initiation of legal proceedings, they, have been able to do what they-liked. , Now, however, it will not be so. Looking at the matter in a business like and common sense point of view, it is nothing short of a deliberate :, swindle on the part of a cleryman who solemnly undertakes to conduct certain I services in a certain manner, to carry out his engagements in a precisely I opposite fashion to what he is paid for doing, and it is a vast relief to know that these rogues will either have to mend their ways or leave the Church which they have so sadly disgraced and ■which in most cases they ought never to have been allowed to" enter. It is ; a noticeable fact that the bulk of the Ritualistic parsons are men of neither breeding nor education, who have in numbers of cases been let in to I the Church by all kinds of bye-ways V and back-stairs, and who, thinking that 6 Ritualism is chic distingue, whateveryoix please to call it, are trying to make up for their absence of family and eduea- I tional position by going in hot and strong Ipor isymboiism. All the brains are to be found amongst the moderate men of ;;the Broad and Low Church, and a very ; HtUe in the High. None in the ■Ritualistic. This fact would be easily discovered by their external appear ances. . On the Darwinian principle, ,; most of them look as if they were a r emant of a former development. ! DISGRACFUL SCENE IN ' PARLIAMENT. Parliament was prorogued by Royal Commission on the 7th inst. For some days before there had been a general skedaddle-on the part of members, with «ue exception of the Home Rulers, .•cei'haps these comical creatures thought *^^i«?ht. by holding on hard get rid *er ? a T 3oep?H"l Act > but # so they ai a^ ,^ bI .Y mistaken. However, they •»*- 5-4^^ row over it, and those of u?*ho attended the Ho ass on the {?#t of their*! discussion obtained a inkling jttf what a Home Bi^e

"Parliament on pt Stephen's- G-feen wnuM he like. The noise was awful- Mr Butt was perhaps the best bebav-d man in the lot ; but after midnight, when the toddy was begi- niug to work, h'* lost control over his mob and the floor of the House was a dis graceful scene. Language of a very fWce kind was used, and groans and hisses were heard above everything except the voice of Major O'G-orman, who is an enormous creature only ranking second to the late *' claimant" in bulk, and who has a voice like the roar of many waters. Finally, "when TVTr. Butt implored his party not to disgrace themselves he was hissed down. The storm of noise had sent the wearied Speaker to sleep, or else he must have cilled some of the wild Irishmen to order for their disorderly language. On the whole the Con servative party have materially strength ened their position by their very mode rate conduct, and Mr Disraeli has received the thanks and compliments of some very prominent members on the Liberal side for his able and patri otic leadership. The Liberals are more disorganised than ever, and there is no sign of a revival of their combination. GIGANTIC RECLAMATION OF LAND. The Duke of Sutherland is setting a grand example to other large land owners in Scotland and elsewhere in the reclamation, in a wholesale manner, of waste lands. Out of nearly two millions af acres in the county of Sutherland belonging to him, only 20,000 are arable, and the consequence has been that the stock farmers have had to import all their winter food in the way of turnips, hay, &c. The Duke determined to end this state of things, and after various consultations with his agents and with practical farmers, has entered upon a gigantic plan of improvements. He is doing everything by steam. He has got two tremendous engines for ploughing, which have very broad flanges to their wheels so as to traverse swamps. These plough about an acre a day in the following way. They dragi backwards and forwards between them a plough which turns Up the ground to a depth of nearly two feet. The plough is a massive concern which goe's right through everything, and is not stopped even by large boulders. Whenever it comes against an unusually large boul der it is lifted over it, bnt it is followed by a large hook attached to its tail, which scoops out stones of almost any size. If on the other hand the plough reveals the outcrop of solid rock a party of men rush up and fix to the obtrud ing excrescence a charge of dynamite, which shatters the rocks to atoms, and ' the next time the plough comes up every thin g goes smooth! y. The plough ing is followed by a draining machine, which is in the form of a huge anchor or hook, which is dragged by main force through- the ground to the depth of three or four feet, according to' cir cumstances, and so loosens the earth that a party of men with shovels can throw out the soil with the greatest ease and rapidity. The drain pipes are dropped in, the earth is filled in, the steam harrows fol low, the sowing machine comes next, and almost before the idea can be realised the face of the country is changed as if by magic. In a few weeks, what was a short time previously a barren moor, supporting a few head of sheep, is an expanse of smiling corn fields. I have not been able to get an exact account of the expenses, but I believe it is about £8 per acre, and the appearance of the crops is stated to be most satisfactory. SACRIFICE OF HUMAN LIFE.— HORRIBLE CRIME. Thank your good fortune which placed you in a land where human life is rather prized than otherwise, and not in this unhappy country where people are murdered in cold blood in broad daylight in the public streets, and where the police can't get hold of the murderers. A few days since a quiet man was returning home from his work with his wife through the streets of Liverpool, when he was accosted by three loafers who asked him for six penoe. His reply was that he wanted 1 all- the sixpences he had, and if ■ they wanted any they ought to go and work for them as he 1J did. "N"o sooner were the words out of his mouth than he was knocked down i and kicked ferociously. The wife ■ threw herself across his body, but was kicked and thrown on one side. The , kicking was kept up with the utmost vigour .and enthusiasm, the three roughs taking simultaneous running kicks at the man. which were so violent as to hurl' his body right across the street. As may be imagined, the stingy wretch who would not part with his six pence did not long retain conscious ness, but the kickers were determined not to leave any doubt, on the question of life or death, so they did not leave off their exercise until they had broken every rib in his body, and until the corpse was a bloody shapeless mass. Lots of people saw the fun—only one interfered, and got kicked for his pains, and the police "can't find" all the kickers. As a little variation to kick ing, which is getting vulgarly common, three colliers in the same blessed and delightful county of Lancashire, who were out on the spree, and who were tired for the tame amusements of wife murder and highway robbery, hatched a most happy thought. They entered a house inhabited by an aged couple of the labouring class, and found them at

tea. The first'part of the performance .consisted in knocking them both down, which was done with great neatness. The old woman got np and scrambled out of the house with nothing move than two or three playful taps with a coal hammer, and set to work to raise an alarm. In the meantime the old man -was held down on the floor by two of his visitors, while the third— playful dog—scooped ont one of bis eyes with his fingers. As one witticism begets another, so, looking round for further means of enjoyment, the party discovered a bucket of quicklime stand ing in a corner. With some of this soothing material the empty socket of the eye was quickly filled, and as a screaming climax to the whole joke the bucket was emptied over the old man's head, and with a few parting kicks he was left for dead. Strange to say, however, he was not dead, and although quite blind and not expected to live, he was enabled to make a de position. The most extraordinary part of the thing is that the police have captured these amusing rogues—the three colliers. In the mean while revolvers are at the present time likely to become much more important articles of equipment for your English town pedestrian than umbrellas. We hear that you have made us a present in the shape of the West Coast mur derer Sullivan. He will find congenial society in this land of the free. At the same time you might have forwarded a few photographs of your friend in order that we might be able to recognise him, and not permit his greatness to pass away unnoticed and unknown. THE MONUMENT TO NEW ZEALAND HEROES. The "New Zealand war and the naval heroes who fell in it have just received a tribute of respect and honour in the erection of a monument at Greenwich Hospital to their memory. The monu ment is a massive stone affair, and is placed just opposite the Ship Hotel, from the windows of which hostelry I first observed the structure, and thtis was led to enquire about it. It is erected, so says the inscription, by the surviving officers and men to the memory of their comrades of Her Majesty's ships Curacoa, Miranda, Harrier, Esk, and Eclipse, who fell in the war in New Zealand in the years 1863-4. The names of J^hose who fell are ca T-ved and gilded on the four sides of the base of the monument. A RIVAL TO ISAAC WALTON. I don't know whether I have pre viously mentioned to you the charming series of papers on " Fishing" which are now appearing in the Gentleman's Magazine. They are quite Waltonian in their rusticity of feeling, and are read with the greatest delight by anglers and non-anglers alike. The magazine in question is one of the best of the day. NEW ZEALAND AND THE HOME JOURNALS. The Wellington correspondent of the Times has sent to that journal one of the ablest letters he has ever contri buted. It was published this month, and contained a most complete and calmly - judged statement of the con dition and prospects of the colony and the prospects it holds out to working men. It was followed by a leader in the' Times, which might have come from the pen of Lady Barker or her husband, ' for it exhibits a considerable knowledge of the colony, and particularly of the South Island. Referring to Mr Hollo way and his criticisms on the colony, at least of Otago, the Times says, "whatever report Mr Holloway may bring home of unfavourable land laws or other matters there is not the slightest doubt th^t New Zealand does offer the prize of independence to every emigrant who can and will work for it." The speaks strongly in favour of your colony above other colonies. Statements of this kind coming from such a quarter is most satisfactory, and cannot fail to carry weight. ' The Standard and other papers have also opened their columns to cor respondents on the vital ques tion of emigration, and it is noticeable that a large preponderance is strongly in favour of New Zealand above Canada. Your climate is decidely your strong point, but it is hard to persuade people that wages are better and provisions cheaper than in America, although that such is the case is indisputable. America has always stuck up herself to be such an an "almighty" country that people have got a belief in her excellence firmly rooted in their minds, and they have a habit of putting down all statements in favour of other emigration fields as in terested representations by agents, quite oblivious of the fact that it is for dodges of this kind that American agents are deservedly famed. THE LATE ADMIRAL WISEMAN. Another actor in your native troubles has passed away at a compara tively early age. This time it is Admiral Sir Wm. S. Wiseman, who figured so largely in your annals of the Waikato war. He died at St. Joseph, Missouri, on the 14th July, aged 59. He was the second son of the late Sir W. S. Wiseman, his mother being the daughter of the late Sir J. Mackintosh, M.P., the historian and philosopher. I-fe was born in 1814$ and was edu cated at Harrow and the Royal Naval College. In his youth he served on the Mediterranean and South .American stations, and subsequentlybntheNorth 1 American, and West; Indian, stations.

He got his captaincy in 1854, and was "made made Bear-Admiral iii 1869. He was nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1867, princi pally in recognition of his services in New Zealand in 18634. He was a magistrate and deputy-lieutenant for Middlesex, and in 1859 was appointed Vice-President of the Ordnance Select Committee. He was the Chief repre sentative of an old Essex family, from the ancestors of which the late Cardinal Wiseman also claimed descent. His wife was a daughter of Admiral Pater son, and his only son "William, a com mander in the Royal Navy, who was born in 1845, succeeds to the title. ANNEXATION OF FIJI. The debate on the question of the annexation of Fiji, which took place before the close of the session, - was rather a heavy affair. The Govern ment have quite held aloof in the matter, but it is generally understood that they are only waiting for Sir Hercules Robinson's report to annex the Islands. They desire to undertake the whole of the responsibility, and probably for no other reason than that they can see the vast importance to our Southern Colonial Empire of the move ment, and they wish to enjoy all the credit of it. Mr M'Arthur, who is, as you know, great on native colonial questions, brought forward the question in the House, and his motion was seconded by Mr B. Cochrane. The motion was as follows :— " That this House is gratified to learn that her Majesty's Governmeut have yielded to the unanimous request of the chiefs, native population, and white residents of Fiji for annexation to this country, so far as to direct Sir Her cules Robinson to proceed to those is lands with a view to the accomplish ment of that object." Sir Charles Dilke, who knows such a great deal about the colonies (vide his Greater BVitain under the head of Auckland) moved as an amendment, to leave out all after "That," in order to add, •' this house considers that, having re gard to the existence in the case of Fiji of difficulties caused by the necessity of 1 subjugating and removing' 20,000 ferocious mountaineers, and by the fact that domestic slavery is pronounced by Commodore Goodenough and Consul Layard, in their official report, to be 1 the foundation of social order in Fiji, it is necessary that great caution should be used in approaching the sub ject of annexation." This was seconded by Sir F. Goldsmid, and then Mr Gladstone plunged into the debate and talked rather widely, as he usually hap done of late, about New Zealand ex periences. Mr Lowther, who repre sents the colonial office in the Lower House, followed temperately, recom mending the withdrawal of Mr Me Arthur's motion. He hinted that the Government would only accept an unconditional cession of the Islands, and that slavery could not be per mitted in any shape or form. He believed the condition of a Crown colony was the only feasi ble form in which Government could be carried on in Fiji. I cannot forbear quoting fully from one part of his speech:— "Hedidnot admit that the colonising mission of Great Britain had come to a close. Such a state of things would be the precursor of national decay. He did not deny the serious responsibility attending the possession of our colonial empire. Her Majesty's government were truly alive to that responsibility, and not disposed lightly to regard any additions to the labours imposed on the Colonial Department. But he must demur to the idea that had found favour in many high quarters that our colonies bi*ought us all their responsibilities without returning any thing worth having in exchange. If we were engaged in a life-and-death struggle it would be found that we should have to reckon not only on the 30 millions of the British Isles, but in the background many other millions of the Anglo-Saxon race who looked to the mother country with feelings of veneration and regard, and who were by no means indisposed to accept the duties and obligations which attached to them as members of a great colonial empire. Her Majesty's Government repudiated most emhpatically any sympathy with what was called ' the abandonment of policy.' They viewed the retention of our colonial empire as subject of great importance, and they believed that the colonial populations were amongst the most faithful and loyal subjects." There was a great deal of cheering all through his speech, and after one or two other members had spoken both amendment and motion were negatived. Sir "Wilfred Lawson, the Permissive Bill man, made a most amusing speech about the cannibalism of the Fijians, and the hard-drinking of the white settlers, and thus perorated :— " "Were we such excellent ' governors that our rule must be^ perfection ? He did not think this country an absolute paradise when we had a stahdinganny of a million paupers, and while our gaols were filled in the midst of our civiliza tion. As to spreading our national religion abroad we raised about 30 millions by encouraging people to drink, and we spent nearly the same amount on our army and men of war, and therefore it appeored that our real gods were Bacchus and Mars, or the \ god of battles and the god of bottles. Surely this Parliament had enough to to do already. How many harassed and worried classes, and individuals and ! trades had they- put tight during the

session ? For five months they had been engaged with enthusiastic Hitualist, plundered publicans, indiscreet bishops, aggrieved parishioners, and bona fide drunkards. The House was over-, burdened, and he entreated it not to increase its anxieties by annexing the King of the Cannibal Islands and those interesting savages who had wound themselves round the heart and affec tions of the hon. member for Lambeth (Mr M'Arthur). THE HARVEST IN ENGLAND | is earlier than usual, and promises re markably well. In many parts of the country everything has been got in, and even in the far north the reapers are in.full swing It i 3 pleasant to note that in spite of the threats of the agricultural labourers in the "Pastern counties there has been no difficulty in securing abundance of men. A Imost all the crop reports from various parts of the country state the results to be over the average. Wheat especially has succeeded very well. On li?ht lands the long continued droughts which prevailed all the summer have had bad effects, but the strong clays have been in splendid producing condition. Potatoe crops are also good. GAS FROM SEWAGE. # A very important discovery is spoken of as having been invented by a Mr A. Beay. This is nothing less than the art of manufacturing a very fine descrip tion of illuminating gas from sewage water. The problem of what to do with our sewage is yet very far from being solved, but if there be anything in Mr Beay's discovery it will tend very much to a solution of this very diffi cult problem. Now that so many people heat their houses to cook their food by means of gas it is very impor tant that some cheaper kind of gas should be discovered than that which is exti'acted from coal. It is said that a quart of sewage water will produce 47 feet of this new illuminator, which possesses three times the illuminating power of coal gas. A ROMANTIC MARRIAGE. Bather a curious and a very ro mantic marriage has just taken place in Norway. t*ome time ago a clever hook appeared entitled "Tent Life with English Gypsies in Norway," the author being a Mr Hubert Smith, a man of property in Shropshire, who had always takea a lively interest in fhat singular nomadic race known as gypsies, and who had encouraged them to hang about his estate. The book was very clever and amusing, and its heroine was a certain " Esmeralda," a gypsy girl described as of ravishing beauty. This girl, who was born on -mith's estate, and who has been edu cated at his expense, he has now married with great festivities, and the sffair has created quite a sensation in N"orway. "he lady is rrost accom plished, beautiful and graceful. The marriage was celebrated before a mag istrate but the parish priest was pre sent, as well as a number of great folk? from C hristiana. The oddest sounding part of the story is that the happy oair left the scene of the ceremouy for the Beech forest of T ourvig, where they will spend the honeymoon under canvass. Talking of marriage reminds me that as usual at this time of year people seem to have given up dying and being born,- and the first column of the Times is almost wholly given up to wedding announcements, in many instances the result of managing mothers during the season. Perhap the swellest wedding of the season has been that of Sir Tatton Fykes. Bart., and Miss Cavendish-Bentwick, wh'ch was one of the "loudest" things we have had for some time. It was " done" in Westminister Abbey by the Archbishop of York and Dean Stanley, and what made it more in teresting was the fact that Sir Tatton has always professed himself a misogynist, and was supposed to be too nervous to speak to a lady. However, he has managed it somehow, and perhaps his change of condition may work some of the " bees out of his bonnet " in the shape of ritualism and fanaticism in worship. A FORTUNE OF TWENTY MILLIONS STERLING. Fancy a fortune of £20,000,000! That is the sum of which the late Baron Anselm Rothschild has died, seized, and possessed of. As a Txlasgow cabman said to me the other day in reference to a robbery in which the thief had se cured jewellery to the amount of some £300, "Eh! man, but it's a horrid heap o' money." They say that nearly all this wealth is lefc to Baron Na thaniel, the eldest son, and that the daughters are to have nothing beyond what they got in their fathers lifetime. As the Austrian law makes it com pulsory for all the children to share it is not unlikely that a lawsuit may ensue. Gad ! what times it will be for lawyers and their fees in Frankfort on the Maine ! LONDON DESERTED. The West End of London is com pletely deserted, and those who are too poor to go out of town have drawn their blinds and are living in the cellar kitchens, and have given out that they have gone to the Continent. It would be considered shocking bad "form" for a swell to be seen in London in August. Why this should be common sense is at a loss to understand, but so it is. The Queen, the Empress of Austria and the Crown Princess of Germany are ml the Isle of Wight; and a friend of mine who lives next door to the la*fc named lady "at Sandown de*

dares that he is sadly annoyed by the immense number of champagne and i beer bottles which her servants persist in throwing over the fence into his garden, and which he amuses himself by shying back again. I suggested that he ought to collect and sell them as relics of the Imperial visit, or. have them refilled and sold by auction as having been in the Imperial cellars. All the members of the Government and other leading politicians are dis porting themselves in the country, some on the moors, others on the wild hills of Wales and Scotland, whilst some are daring the vasty deep in their yachts. London is therefore dull, and yet there are no less than eight theatres open, vainly straggling to attract audiences. The fact is there is such an aping of fashion amongst all classes that even your London shop boy does not like to be seen in a theatre when the nobility are out of town. The old Adelphi, managed by Mr Chatterton, is giving us " The Prayer in the Storm." Mr B. Webster is playing at the Princesses in " Janet's Pride." Tom Taylor's " Clancarty" is drawing as well as anything at does this time at the Olympic. The Strand gives us " Paul Pry" and the burlesque of "The Field of the Cloth of Gold." The Gaiety has a new drama by Boucicault. Mr Henry Irving is playing in " The Bells" at the National Standard, and Emily Soldene is doing opera bouffe at the lyceum. The great operatic singers are all rusticating somewhere it Switzerland, and a number of the gentlemen of the " tipper ten" are dancing attendance on the beauties of Her Majesty's and the Royal Italian. LADIES' SWIMMING MA CH. We are beginning to follow the Yankee example, and every day sees us nearer the manners and customs which prevail across the Atlantic. Our speech, our literature, all is approaching to wards this very undesirable consumma tion. T was forcibly reminded of this state of things by a public ladies' swim match which took place the other day at Blackrock, near Dublin, when five ladies .swam a match of one Irandred yards. There was an immense crowd of spectators, and the competitors beguiled the time before the commence ment of the race by taking headers and diving, <fee, for the diversion of the company. The race was won by a Miss Rounds, of Dundrum, by a length, Miss Adelaide Dixon coming in second. By the way swimming is now taught at the best girls schools as a portion of the programme of " Calisthenics."

WEDDINGS.

No man who has any regard to truth will deny that young men who do not marry do worse. All the specious argu ments in the world will not alter this fact, and statistics do not affect it in any other way than to prove the case be yond all manner of doubt. It is ridi culous to pretend that grave encourage ment should be given, to organised, libertinage, and that young men should be seriously enjoined to act in a manner which the laws and opinions of all civilised nations justly condemn. It is not at all silly or romantic to say: that any good hopeful girl, worthy to be a brave man's helpmate, would sooner share honest poverty and struggles with the husband of her choice than fade away into an old maid at home. Young women were intended by Providence to become mothers, and if they do not marry they are miserable, because the great law of nature is outraged. Poverty, moreover, is not a grevious thing if fearlessly con fronted. Nothing but false pride and foolish hallucinations make it at all bitter; and the healthy young man and woman who have received a sensible education, and who cannot earn enough to keep themselves, must be two dolts of a character too rare to be ever seen together. It is untrue to assert that children ai*e an incumbrance or a nuisance; they are only so among dirty slovenly people, who would be equally slovenly'and dirty if they had ten thousand a year. It is the mere shabby excuse.and unworthy pretext of the good-for-nothing to contend that they are dragged downwards in life by their children. No such thing as hu miliation by these means exists in reality. The nrost numerous families are tha most prosperous and the most happy. They do best in every career upon which they enter, and help each other upwards. The sneer at children is in the last degree illiberal and unfair y the refuge of small wits who have nothing else to say upon a very solemn subject, which we .do not and will not take the trouble to understand. Jokes and side-blows at women are not arguments, and. do not touch the question at all. The point really at issue is : Shall young men fairly take their share of the legitimate burdens of life, and marry wives of their own 1 or shall they shirk the duties of life altogether, and be constantly found flirting with the wives of others people 1 It is very easy to cry '•Fie!" and beg this awkward part of the question ; but men and women of the world know very j well what to think about it; and idle j leering louts slinking about other folks' houses in fine clothes should be shrewdly watched, or things some-1 times turn out badly. If it is | thought a desirable consummation of our affairs tthat stalwart lads who have a■. ■ hundred v a year and upwards should live a thriftless ridiculous life at clubs and eating

bouses, and spend every shilling of their wages on their own selfish wants —very well ; only it might be worth v while to ask the writers who take this view of the case to state it in plain English and not to confuse it by wide- -v away nonsense about season-tickets and railway accidents. A man and his wife who only desire to be properly fed clothed, and housed may live very well for a hundred a year, if they are not two fools. If children come to them they will come as a blessing and not as a curse. The world is quite wide enough for twenty times its present population, and the eternal laws by which it is governed would be very different to what they are if it could be shewn in any single instance that people did not thrive infinitely better when doing right than when doing wrong. Whatever smart writers may affect to think upon the subject* they 'j; could not maintain their cause for five minutes without being ashamed of. their own arguments. The pretences urged against marriage are all of the same character—base, cowardly, egotistical, immoral. When put into practice they fill our hospitals and our gaols. What is this new infirmity that has seized upon us requiring that , . we shall all become rakes and concu bines, in order that we may wear smart clothes and eat in clubs I Herein ' is an odd notion. Shall we have neither hope nor courage sufficient to enable us to enter upon decent and innocent i lives ? Cannot we place sufficient trust ; in Providence to believe that human beings will not be suffered by IHvine wisdom to come into the world with out due provision being made for keep ing them there ? Besides, employ ments of a remunerative kind are, not, scarce in England. There was never so large a demand for brain -work of ■ every description as there is now; and, . if a young man can do anything at all that is useful he is sure to be hand- ' somely paid for it. Honest trust- _ worthy workmen are, always were, and always will be scarce; in all ; countries, and a mere clerk or mechanic who has any intelligence may^ "realise a handsome income. But 'the fact is, every parent who has the means of bringing up his children is bound to pi'ovide them with some business or profession, and directly a person is thus; qualified for any of the usual liberal or r mercantile careers he has only to attend* to his business to make a ■ very good X thing of it. If this is not to be done immediately at home, it can always be done very easily abroad. English en-; gineers, doctors, tradesmen, and artizans have high reputation all over the world^ and can command any reasonable price , for their services. Even clergymen are > far scarcer than cures; and thus much : is very cei*tain, that a married man: will always do better in any serious calling than a bachelor, because he will inspire more confidence and respect than one who has given no hostages to Fortune, and whom every one thinks may be here to;dsy and gone to-morrow. Children, - if properly brought up, are far from T being a burden ; they are wortE very much more than their keep in any household, however humble. To be sure, if people on. a hundred a year determine to pass their time in sighing behind cigars or smelling-salts; : and to bring their children up to do likewise^ there is a bad look-out for them; but a; neat-handed girl will serve a simple dinner none the worse for being a daughter of : the man who is going to enjoy it j and a boy must be a stupid boy indeed if he can be of no vise to his father almost as soon as he can walk alone. These are, simply stated, the true facts of the case, and 'garden parties,' milliners' bills,' 'opera stalls,' and the ' Polo Club,' though doubtless smart arguments of the very latest fashion, have nothing whatever to do with it. A drove of ifuman donkeys, who talk ribaldry to each other at unreasonable hours, over whiskey punch, are the real opponents of matri mony ; and they are all right eously visited by . red noses in middle life for their reward.1 Let us be taught, if we are to be taught a truth as old as the hills, not by braying but by facts. All the best men who ever lived have partaken of wedded bliss. The eminent Mr Gladstone has a wife, and so has Baron Julius Beuter ; so had Socrates, and so had Dr. Johnson. Even that high-class nobleman Lord Bute might not have held so important a position (at Cardiff) if the late Lord Bute had not felt it his duty to go to the hymeneal altar with her late lady ship. For rich and poor there is but one decree : youth is a courtship, man hood a marriage, old age a party ; or libertinage, vagabondage, aud loneliness.—^^? World. , ■ ..

TOB EVENING STASt, OTB3BAY, O0TOBB&13, 1874



A magnifiuint assortment of expensive gold and ( silver Knglish levers, from T-ißussell anil Son's factory, London, ha* been imported by oar enter ! prising citizen, F. H. Lewtaon. >he watches seem to be of tbebs«t description ever imported into" *eW Z aland if th» prices are criterion to jro by. Each watch is accompanied by a certificate from the. makerii, with a description there is one "a calendar witch, which gives the day of the month in addition to the cor ect time. This watch Is jewelled in ten boles, and priced at £50 Ac other of the b«st three quarter plate independent centre - »e<*ot-<d keyless . watch, jewelled watchen, jewelled'in 18 boles, chrono met»r balance, ia priced at £60. This i> (ra»raiitee4 by the maker*, and is the, only watch in few Zealand of the bind, and is worth looking at Besides these {there aro - ladies' and* gentlemen's gold r'keyless I watches; gentlemen's gold c mtre-se -ond stop watches, ' an t a variety of other kinds of watphet, clocks, and ; jeweMery. — From the Evinino Star of September 30 1874.-[A.i>VT.] ' Shortt's Hair-cuttingß* loon, three doors below the Greyhound Hotel First-class Attention, Civility and Cleanliness - [Advt. ] COKFKE! —Blown, Barrett, and Col's BUndard Coffees both delicious and strong. Brown, Barrett, and Ca's excelsior Coffee deserves preference t-> »ay Coffee on account of pnrlty and distinctness of flavow. Note the brand. Bold at almost ev«iT fW«*T«i * ftbllshmuit in town and piovino*.—Abti. , j . ■ '■■-"■■• ~ — ..-. _.i■ . ~ , _ ;/ t ,.-. ... t