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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1878-02-15, Page 1tole and brhaginie tend still. The unabated Speed, :attling at their e stopped at the aert was- hurt a ind a second had I. They eseaped omen a few days one of tile eiti- the pbrpose of t she had gone a ug and other art lee were missing. Es procure& and -LTC found in the at her father's :re stayed fee the the girl allowed up the stolen E. J. Robinson,. ter at Brussels, e- night by a large D took possession short time sat ttlipper, and en.. R. -very pleasant ; when they homes, leaving ,iisltels of oets, a ions and some lath of the late Minton., a local venty--one yearS elinten, waddle knitn of Maar.= —wad was Reeve a. a remarkable !father, mother Y a railway ecei- even years ago, home near Ot- , ate Clinton: TiIrt ,ured for n000., pen temperance village of (ran ofGrey, on Wed -. r 30th, under the l'ivi.tion Soles Of.; by the brethren was crowded to- ad the greatest fested by those i'Iartry occupied manner. After her Gerry, iiatert -ren by Brothers }Aker, McKenzie, ierry which were it'd were wellere. Divikon ehoir Brother cierry, presiding at the sant temperance A eolleeticai expeeses of. the beedinb.us. Votes islerecl to the fol - • TO Alt. A. an; to Mr.' Mc - 'nook friends for te open meeting ?. choir for their meting was the ration ever held Le perfect eerier, hout the proeeede ke on the peoplei eluding coantrt/t in their names a Division of the lich, will he startWe wish them ans., Perth ouunty a from $150 to ervices fire ba - Baptist ehurch,, have signed the St, Marys, tinder „ has started a OIL and when a in the nursery arna J. ession of Elena, -k a Mr. Tarn - Hope, the for - ala the latter 6achers of the blaciols at Ariate superintend - ,11, with en:Ad- ele robe and a ilarteit village, id Occupied. by bud by fire on 1 last week, to- ftdjoiniug and a krt, $4,000; : iii- Magistratc in tarried woman it her husband iport; her, and fter e patient ecetsaxy t6 or laud to pay L Sunday school k3 Tonal Hall, _ t placed in P the iii tuhltake for The honest the unatitke, a eel to the aPpeued to Mr. (ettaxi, while in toe Ile had It in his Wagoen. s seat, when ebarrel ate inan over the hard racture of his who is a i3. iR pOSSOS- birde, a short ,iterontoa.ti-ery lien he thought zed," he let it but it at - tie air, made a a e bee line n :it its old home houns from the atm, January Rev. Patrick Liverpool, into hurch, Strat- a, Those -Mae- The induction .E. W. ;ehustela, ft -teat - minister was 'taaiston. The Roe. Mr. Arc, -Rev. Me, Mac- 5 ELE VENTH Y.N.IAR. WHOLE NUMBER, 532. .SEAFORTH, FRIDAY, FEWJARY 15, 1878. • MoLEAN BROS., Publishers. $1.50 a Year, in. Advance. The Edeteation.al System of Ontario. Ta the Editor of the Huron Eviesitor. Iteee Sin notice in your issue of February 8th, 1878, a letter from the pen of one who signs himself "Tucker - smith," criticizing in severe terms our educational system in Ontario, and en- dorsing all that has been said by the representatives of Huron during a late debate in our Provincial Parliament on this subject, and thereby setting it forth as the opinion of " Tuckersnaith." that the tendency of our educational system is to make the rising generation idle, foppish gentlemen and ladies in- stead of wise, industrious, prudent, moral men and. women who can wisely and. systernatically perform the duties* devolving upon them in any of the vari- ous spheres which they as citizens may be called upon to fill, in this noble and yet to be great country of ours. It is a great mistake to -saddle upon our educational system any such dire re- sults- The production of such worth- less )nembers of society, as described by our Huron M. P. P., is to be traced to a different cause, the social mastems prevalent amongst us. Our farmers, farm laborers and mechanics are in the habit of describing their eccupation, as a species of drudgery, a.n1 undesirable when compared with a profession or business life; and are perpetually pro- claiming in thehearing of their children that village, town or city life is, by far, the easiest, most ,profitable and Most genteel. Now, just so long as this is the case, may we expect to find. our young men forsaking the noble and independ- ent occupation of producers, and _crowd- iteg into towns and. cities to become such ak our M. P. Ps describe. But if we would have our sons and daughters love the occupation in whieh they are reared, we must, both by example and precept, impress upon them that their occupa- tion is honorable and desirable, and en- dear it to them, by making them pro- ficient in it; also that honesty, industry, integrity and morality will make any occupation noble and to be desired. If reading, writing and arithmetic is a suitable and sriffieient education for any child in thq country, as is suggestid. by some of our M. P. P.s (and this is about all that is taught in mu. common - schools, anl that in a very indifferent manner to the majority of our people), why should our educational system be charged. with being the cause of idleness, foppery, cigar smoking, drinking, chc., when it must be apparent to any think- ing mind that reading, writing, Sm., is only the key to unlock the door of knowl- edge, and it would be jest as reasonable to simpose, that a people who had been simply taught how to open a medicine chest had ali the knowledge requisite to cure their diseases, as to suppose that those living in country or town have - enough of education when they have beeu taught reading, writing and arith- metic, or in other words have received the keys of the wisdom box. But it is quite another matter whether they ever open the box or not. It must be ap- parent that if I am a knave or a fool, teaching me reading, writing and arith- metic won't make me less of either the one or the other, unless somebody shows me how to put my reading, writing, (Sm., to wise and good parposes. Then the enormous expense of our educational syatean it referred to and compared with the expense of our menial oipal system—en unfortunate compari- son certainly—because if there is any system in Canada needing reform and retreneb re eat it is our municipal system a -id legislative assemblies If those Scions of ours in the Ontario Parliament would endeavor to sweep away three-fourths of the Members of our County eommils, and reduce the representatives in the Ontario Legisla- ture by one-half at least, it would be a retrenchment in the right direction and would give our legislators an opportuu- ity to use their key to the wisdom box and exteact that knowledge therefrom which they Scorn SO much to require. It would also deplete therpocketsof $800 per FLIMI1111, which they earn by sneering at true educational system. Some of these Members of -Parliament hone by manual. labor tindustry , economy , energy and perseverance raised them- selves to the position which they new occupy, (all honor, to them), but would they not have been better farmers, mer- chants or enechailics arid also much het - ter legislators if theyhad received a more liberal education in their youth, accom- panied by a good, social, patriotic and moral training, which (liberal education) they so much begrudge the rising genera- tion of Ontario. do not suppose by any means that our educational system is perfect, but what I complain of is, in the effort to improve it, to accuse it of being the • cause of certain social phenomena wh'ich are the natural product of ignorance in- stead of being caused by too much knowledge. McKunor PATIlroT. To the Editor of the Huron Expositor. MY DRAZ Sem—Since you have been kind enough to give a plaee in your pa- per to my lastweek's letter, I have again ventured to continuem3r remarks. $:a500,000 are annually expended in the Province for educational puzpotes- in the Commou Schools. About $500,- 000 are also expended for the' mainten- ance of ugh Schools. About nine thousand scholars are attending the lat- ter, the principal portion of whose time is devoted to acquiring a smatteriug of foreign languages and the higher branches onnatherastics. These chil- dren are intended and will no doubt at- tempt to follow some profession or non- productive employment. In. addition to these there will be a numerous body whose education is provided for by the private means of well to do parents, in the different Academies and Colleges. Se that in the course of a few years we will have a stream of ten thousand young persons annually 0mm:educing life, forced into the population, whose only qualification to m ke a livelihood will be:a stock of lit rary knowledge, useless to any indus al pursuit, im- paired in health, tuaa‘b e and unwilling to perform the drudge , of manual' la- bor. The studies as enforced in the ecimmon schools, are directed to prepare the pupils to enter the. e high or. gram- mar schools. So that e may feel cer- tain that in each year further increase will be made in this e ass of scholars, and a still larger publi expenditure for thispurpose will be hi isted on. If the youthfulperiod of our ife from theage of seven to twenty it o cupied in trans- lating. Homer, Solving bstruee problems in quadratic equations or the study of ancient history, it may assist, those who afterwards are celled pon to fill some professor's chair or to ake alpert in the legislation of the cou a try, bat will bp e wretched preperatio to acquire the necessary skill to becoi e an artizan or will be- a sorry substit'to forthe vigor of body required by a uccessful agricul- turist. As the service. of those follow- ing professional and sedentary busi-- nesses,are well remun ratedithe expense of their education sho id not be borne by the state. Three' undred and fifty thousand pupils attel d the common schools, costing three ncl. of dollars a year. Abed nine thousand attend the high scho Os, entailing an annual expenditure of la au a million of dollars. This is an u shift proportion of the public revenues, t ) be diverted to merely confer, what is after all nothing but accomplishments. I am aware that this is treading ma pope r prejudices and that public sentiment is much in favor of superior educittion. Butpublie senti- ment and popular prej dices are not al - 'ways in the right, and Oftentimes rueh to extremes. Public s hoots should be confined to their legiM a:te purpose, to impart that species of owledge which will be of assistance t. those engaged in the common affairs of I fe,to the laborer, the mechanic, the m nufacturer, and. the farmer, and there is no branch of this kind of ediecation IA which can be successfully taught in roperly regulated common schools. great deal is boasted of about th improvenaents made in our educational system by those in autheeity in he different gov- ernments ; but with t • e exception of in- creased taxes, which i these depressed times is a serious t I fail to see that any improvement have been made by them. The nieces which has at- tended our schools ha not been owing to Acts of Parliament, but to the good, sense of the general population and. their anxiety for impr vemeet. , I have had the pleasure of at ending examina- tions in the schools • f this neighbor- hood for e number of years back, and from the qualification of the teachers employed I presume t a ey are carried. on as far as practicable "a accordance with the rules of the Boa d of Public In- struction., but I hay; been surprised that so much time sh id be devoted to unpractical subjects, a no earthly value to the scholars end w ch will be forgot- ten by them in six mei the after leaving school. • TTJGRERSMITII. Writing in chools. Mu. Emeote—In el columns of last week': EXPOSITOR* I was not a little surprised. st an aspersion in the manus scriptura o Canadian pupils —to wit—" they caneet write." Giv me his name and I'll namertalize him. The man capable • ot making such a discovery should have lived centuries ago, and the period ..o the Dark -Ages never would have ma ed the Pages of history, 'Shades of S • akese)eare.! Who is he anyhow- . I'd g farther to make his acquaantance the, to see my grand- mother. • Where are those schools he visited, up in the Sas- i•atcheweeli, Valley among the aborigine.? Certainly not in Ontario; for I have ,seri'writing -ex- ecuted by children ta Ott in Canadian schools that would for ver silence such a slender, and put e the .blesh the author of it, obtuse t he evidently is, "What is the reason 'median children cannot write ?" You'll never know from ya soonato info en snail. El, men— the game not being w rth the powder. It is a base slander aid has no found- - ation except in the b sin Of him who Made the assertion. aiming ever the, : - the "rummies" -Were roused to ven- geance in many cases, and a good deal, it of private property as destroyed by them. Now, too, the local towns are to be congratulated on the manner in which they are making a permanent in- vestment in the results of the revival by establishing places for ' social resort. These are most wisely planned with a freedom from the austererestraints that too frequently defeat the object of such places, and they are for the use of every- body wishing to buy lunch or seek a , respectable, yet conge ial,loafing-place. They are already pro g a very Chris- tian and profitable so iety investment. Canalla. Mr. Thomas Inglis delivered 4,000 sheep skins at Mr. Spiers' tannery in Gait, during 1877. —Some people in Bruce think their county too long from north to south,and are agitating to have it divided. —Mrs. McKellar, wife of Sheriff Mc- Kellar, had her pocket picked on the Hamilton market sqUare on Saturday. —Dr. McGregor; of Guelph, died re- cently. He was in his 39th year; and was considered a very skilful physician. —Mr. John C. Gray, formerly cashier in the Mail office, and lately a real estate broker, died suddenly on Satur- day. 1 —A teamster in Belleville got drunk, and left his horses unprotected in an exposed place for nine hours. He hes not yet been arrested. —It is reported that the celebrated ca,ntatrice, Rosa d'Erina, will shortly 'visit this Province and give several con- certs before prOceeilag to California. —FTwo military officers in Montreal express their willingness, if necessary, to recruit two Canadian regiments of 1,000 men each for, the, service in the East. I —Mr. W. Gibson, °M. P., for Dundee, is mentioned among the aspirants for the Senatorship, rendeeed. vacant by the death of Senator Shaw, of Smith's Falls. I . —Mrs. Peck, of Hespeler, a woman in poor circumstances, is the happy re- cipient of a fortune of 010,000 left her by a relative in German'-. She has two daughters. —Mrs. Collins, of Mount Elgin, aged 87 years, wes seriously burnt one morn- ing last week by her clothes catching fire. It was thought she could only live a few hours at most. —The Reformers of Sarnia are going to have social entertainments in con- nection with the Association, and speeches, readings and. music will be in- -eluded in the bill of fere. —A. Kingston manufacturer of locks and. bolts, Mr. Spencer, has prepared an assortment of these'goods, and of mineral porcelain and plated door knobs fo'r the Paris Exposition. —Charles Foot, Toronto, a civic of- ficial, while laboring under a fever, escaped from home and wandered twelve miles up Yonge street before his friends could ascertain his where- ab,outs. - Barraclough, of Galt, was re- cently fined on two charges of selling liquor without a license. Or charge first $28 40, including °pas, and- on the second $51 75, both of whieh were promptly paid. — Mr. McBain, who has been in the" North-west for 14 years, is lecturing in Oshawa ma that region. Some forty persons have announced their intention of going with him to Manitoba' in the Spring. —The Rine meetines. were inaugurated in Woodstock, on Saterday night by Mr. D. I. K. Rine. The Town Hall was packed to overflowing, and over three hundred signed the pledge: Great en- thusiasm prevailed. 1' —The Dunkinites of Lennox and Ad- dington held a grand deniousteation at Napanee en Friday lest. A deputation has been:appointed to proceed to Otta- wa to urge the necestity for the amend- ment of the Dunkin Act. - —Rev. A. B. Simeon, late pastor of Knox Church, Haanilton, is rapidly re- covering from his rebeet sickness, and it itehoped he will .Shortly be fully re- stored and able to resmee 'his pastoral duties with his usua viL,or. • —A sensation w s created on the streets of St. John, N.'B., a few days ago by Captain. George Sulis 'cowhiding his sou -in-law, Herey G. Belyea, who had given notice in the papers that his wife or her can.nectiens shoeld not be trusted. ° —The Newburg paper raill, formerly owned. by John T, Grange, M. P, P., was bought recentlyin Ton:Alto from the mortgagees by the Nepanee.Mills Paper Manufacturing 'Conepeny. The mill will be started in a few days by the new owners. --Mr. Luxton, editer of the Free Press, Winnipeg, has annotinced that , he will not Seek re,election for the LoOal con- stituency of Rockstoodt because per- ! sepal participation in politics inter- feres with his private conceens and in- terests. —Oirichursday morning a young mar- ried -woMen named .Mrs. Bogaat. at- tempted suicide in Chatham, by taking a Wee dose of strychnine. The treat- ment - of her husband in deserting her is said to be the cause of the rash act. She will probably rebover: —E. -Xing Dodd, the - illustrious , whiskey preacher, gave one of his lec- tures to an audience of about 3,000 in the Town Hall, Owen Sound, the even- ing before the Dunkin repeal by -taw was taken into consideration by the County Counoil. The Dunkin Act was suttainel by a vote of 19 to in the Council. —During the meeting of the West End Rine Club in Toronto, on Sat- ' urday night, some evilly -disposed per- son threw cayenne pepper into the hot- air farukce, and in a few moments the mote was filled with a suffocating air _ that tortured those who inhaled it. , The audience rushed to the doors, anti in the scramble several ladies were For the informatio of "B" who puts the question soniewhi t milder, I might state that with a .mul iplicity of studies on the programme as at present consti- tuted, it is impossible to give that at- tention to writing wh ch itslimportance demands. Writing is a Mechanical Art, aed as such only pr ctice makes per- fect. I am. persuade. further that with the facilities we -have for selt-improve- ment in the art of de- gree of excelleace m y reached by praetice, as to satisfy the iost fastid- toils. Not so, howev e, h intellect- ual subjects; they can only lbe pursued to advantage under td e directeupervi- sion of a qualified in. tructor. Are you. satisfiedfi If not app. y again to .NOSErfEA. The Murphy. M Stat The spread of the movement, inangen Murphy, continues to in its extent and gras town after town, mo hige communities wit developing efficient e unexpected quarters, of grace for all this r alleled in the expe Massachusetts, Th cess must be taken tc parture of the " With malice tower( '-ity for all" is e mote cauce as preached ht aids. Even the . opp, sellers cannot Stan , those who came to so "remained to pray," difference between t same crusade and th merit that the fathe vement in, the iocal 'temperance tea by Francis lie unprecedented p. It it sweepine 'ing sluggish vii - surprising power, °sties in the most and chine a week ,gion quiee, unpare lame of western secret of this sue - be the new de- furphy method." none:, with. char- y of vital signifi;, Murphy and his sition of theeum- before it, e" and. if" literally. have . This marks the e present temper:- Washingtoamove- remember.' Then roughly jostledMr. Farley, the Pres- ident of the club, -offers a reward of $10 for the detection of the persons who committed the mean act. —By the• burning of 'a foundry in Brockville last Sunday, one hundred and twenty-five hands are thrown out of em- ployment. The cause of the fire is un- known; Seppoted to be incendiarism. Less between $40,000 and $50,000. In- sured. for $24,000. • ! —Joseph Pieropati. working jeweller, and W. H. Dowsley, bookkeeper, of Montreal, died suddenly. The former fell dead while at his work, and. the lat- ter was found dead. in bed. An inquest in both cases resulted in a verdict of "Died from heat disease." —Mr. Detid Reaupee, farmer of l'As- soraption, was murderonsly attacked and brutally beaten while driving on the river road near Longue Pointe on Thursday evening by four villains, who - robbed him of his money and then fled, leaving him almost helpless. He was seriously wounded. The habitant is said to hone lost $40. —The Orillia Times says that the Sunday evening meetings of the Young Men's Christian Association have, for - several months, been carried on with difficulty owing to the annoyance of a few roughs, whose only ambAion is to show how they can disgrace themselves and their parents by their conduct. One of them has just been made an exam- ple of. —Mr. McGill, of the Dundee „Stan- dard, has been fined $15 and °este for - an assault committed on Mr. 'James Somerville, of the Banner, in the same town. Mr. Somerville then brought an- other charge rgainst McGill, that of I) . wilful dettruction of property in hard smashed a meerschaum pipe which its in Mr. Somerville's mouth at the time of the assault. —The yilla,ge of Charring Cross, in Kent County, had a, brutal case of wife beating on, Tuesday, 5th hist: The aS Banned wciman swore her husband threat eited to kill her, and that he abused her nearly, half an hoer, trying to smother her in a I snow bank with a cloth over her mouth, and only, relinquished. his. hold -when the faithful dog came to her rescue and compelled him to let go. —At al recent sitting of the county judge's criminal court, at Woodstock, Hugh Perry was arraigned for stealing a qpantity of wheat and oats from Mr. Wm: Schell, of East Oxford, and from Mr. James Anderson,, of Blenheim. He pleaded guilty to the first and was convicted on the second charge, and - was sentenced to three years' imprison- ment in the penitentiary. —In oder to affor,a causdian ship- pers more edvantagebus arrangements for ocean and railway freights between Canada and* Australia, A is the inten- tion of Mr. James Brown, of Montreal, to charter a vessel, to begin loading in Montreal about the 1st of June for Mel- bourne, thould sufficient cargo be prom- ised, in the ,meantime, to, afferd a mod- erately safe basis for the undertaking. , —As the mixed train on the London, Huron and Bruce was approaching Hyde Park, en route fee London, the other day, something went astray under some of the forward loaded freight cars causing them suddenly to stop. ' The cars- in the rear rushed ahead with such force as to smash the ceepling, breaks, and -piatforra of the baggage car, which was being used as a =eking -ear. The result was a big scare foe a few minutes, and adhour's delay. li • =Persons having animals on their premises which do not belong to them, run a great risk in net advertising them immediately. It is a habit to wait a month or so , but then the party is lia- ble to pay damages for detention of property without publie notice..; The rule is that when any animal comes' on the premise e to at Once publish the fact in your newspapeetand charge the own- er, should ' he turn up, for all costs; otherwise the _animal may be sold. ' 1 —A peragraph from ar western ex- change appeared in a regent issee giving the weight of foue " heany men" of the county of Lambton, which was 1,057 pounds. The same number of "heavy weights" from Oxford tip the scales re- spectively as follows: john Oliver, of Blandford, 300 lbs.; J.IllfcCrughey, of Ingersoll, 340 lbs..- Edward O'Neill, of Burgessvi1le,300 11;s.; R. Peers, of Wood- stock, 300 lbs. Total, . 1,240 pounds, beating Lambton. by 183 pounds. , a — Ten riflemen of Ottawa have or- dered, through Major Meepherson, new guns of the latest improved- pattern (soft metal barrels), they being consid- ered simerior to the steel' barrels gen,. orally used. It is understood there is to be a syetem of coaching organized in , the Guards rifle team, bas on the principles laid down by- C I Peel, of the English army, in a, reeent article zceotnt.ributed to till United Service Ga- te , —It.isi understood that his Lordship the Bishop of Ontario has suspended. Rev. Mr Higginson, late pastor of St. Bartholomew's Church, from all clerical duty or employment foe three years. The restraint will apply throughout the whole jurisdiction/of the Church, in Canada, America, and erope. In con- nection with the scandal, in which Mr. Higeriuson was implicated, his friends have, it is said, compromised the matter by compensation to the aggrieved fam- ily, who egree that ncycivil suit shall be brought. —A large and enthusiastic meeting was held at Elmira on Wednesday, 6th inst., to facilitate railway matters for the northern part of the county Of Waterloo, The project dis- cussed by a deputation from Wellesley was for the building of a line from Sa- lem through to Stratford, and by a dep- utation of Drayton, advancing a line from Waterloo to Drayton via Elmira to Mount Forest, and to strike at some point on the Georgian Bay. There be- ing nothing definite to lay before the ,meeting, a Comraittee was appointed from Wellesley to correspond with • the Pre ident of the Credit Val - hey Rs' ay Company for the ex- tension pf that - line. A commit- tee was appointed from Drayton to cor- respond wi, th the Grand Trunk Railway Company to see whether they would ex- tend the line from Waerloo north- ward. _ —On Monday evening of last week, an old gentleman upwards of 70 years of ace, and a great grandfather, was united in -the holy bods of wedlock in Dundee, to a blooming spinster of 40 summers. Both parties reside in West Flamboro' Township, and by siiecial re- quest their marriage is notpublished in the usual column -for such notices. After the, usual ceremony, the happy bridegroom kissed the blushing bride with alacrity. —The Lucknow board of school trus- tees sent a deputation to visit several. schools, from which applications had been received for head teacher, before their present teacher, Mr. J. W. Priest, formerly of Ayr, 'had been engaged. The board were determined to take ev- ery precaution to secure the very, best teachers for their new school. Forty- four applications were received, and having picked on three, they visited the schoolt and chose their teacher. . —Sometime ago, Mr. Win. Ander-, son, the landlord of the Anderson' House, Petrolia, was brought ;before, the: Mayor on a charge of purloining a pocket -book containing $42trbelong,ing to a man under the influencei of liquor. The evidence not being sufficient to convict, Mr. Anderson was honorably acquitted. One day recently, when the chambermaid was making up the bed, in turning over the tick to shake it, out fell the pocket -book containing the ea- a,ct amount of money , lost. This was -the bed and room occupied by the man. *--A petition bearing the' signature of over one thousand persons, including those of nearly all the manufacturers and wholesale and retail merchants of the city of Hamilton, will be presented. at the -next meeting of the Council, praying that a by-law be passed, redlin- ing the city tavern and saloon licenses to one-half their present number, and inereasing to the fullest extent the ,sum payable for such, as may be granted. Also to abolish all licenses to shops and groceries for the Sale of liquors, under section 24, chap. 181, of the Revised Statutes of Ontario.. —A short time ago, a young lady in Allendale, Siincoe County, who was to have been united in the holy bonds of matrimony to a man, coachman to a fautily in Barrie, took her departure on the noon train the day before for Lower Canada. All preparations had beep. -made for the wedding, even to supply- ing the requisite funds to the lady, but all interested were disappointed by the eudden: depaiture of the prospective bride, who, it is said, made use of the money to reach a more favored lover to whom she wishes to be united. The 'deceived man takes the matter very hard, as might be expected. —Last Saturday morning, a little three-year-old was brought into the sta- tion at Hamilton by a constable,- who had found him wandering about the market crying out," I want to go home," The little one was intelligent and be.: tween his ones managed to say that his name was James Latky and that he lived on Bold street. He had not been long at the office when his mother ap- peared, and the youngster was equal tb the occasion, for he jumped up and cried out, "Why did you lose me ?" muchto the amusement of the constables and those present. The mother sug- gested that he had strayed away. —The Him. A. Mackenzie has pre- sented to the Sarnia Curling Club ayery handsome gold medal. Oh one side there is ea representation of a number Of men engaged in curling, and on the other aniinscription, "Presented to the Sarnia Ceirling Chib by Hon. A. Mae- kenzie, for annual competition accord- ing to rule.." It was manufactured by W. C. Merrison, of Toronto, and will be competed for as soon as the ice it favor- able. , Itis the intention of the Sarnia Club to invite Chatham and St. Mary', and no doubt the contest will be hot, as the media is worth fighting for. --The ceremonies, at the opening of the Do inion Parliament at Ottawa on Thursday were marked by the usual fats and excitement. The display of military ' dignitaries in the full regalia of their Offices, and ladies attired- in all the hues of the rainbow, exceeded -any- thing of the kind on previous occasions, while the crowd of sight -seers inside and outside the House was larger than ever before. Ottawaites , apparently never tire of witnessing the semi-annual exhibition of .vice -regal, magnificence. One of the sights was the gorgeous gold mounted harness in -which the horses attached to His Excellency's carriage were caparisoned. This set was a pres- ent from the Queen to Lord Dufferin fee use on state occasions, and was usedfor the fuat time on Thursday. ! —Las Friday some 14 men'were sent by the Secretary of the Hamilton., Temperance Reform Club, up to Tilson- burg to work on Meier Tomassek's con- tract. These men Were duly provided with railway tickets and proceeded to the ecene of operations. But they dill mot like the look of things in general and the Work they would be required to do in particular. Some objected to the. snow, others to the long walk to and! free' the boarding houses, and still other members of the band took - great i and decided exception to the mud t The foreman there in charge could not be- lieve his ears. A navvy objecting to mud was a thing entirely incomprehen- sible to him At all events, about half', the gang walked off with their hands 7 pocketed, vowine that that was not the kind of thing for them. This would have been discreditable to them under any circumstances, but, having had their faxes paid, to Tilsonburg, it just I amounted to stealing for them- to go away as they did. Theremainingseven went to work, bet, a:t latest accounts, they are not likely to remain, being, it seems, as little fond of hard work- as their brethren. The result of it all is, theft somebody is out about $22.80 for fares paid, and that the Club people in the future will use more discrimination in selecting candidates for work—and particularly hard work. , —The other day quite a scene oc- curred on the Hamilton Road, about, 3 miles from the city, for the possession of a e: airl some 12 years -of acre. It seems that in -her youth the child—whose mo- ther's name eEcapes memory, but whose maiden name was Ayledworth—was adopted by a familynamed Brooks. She lived. with -them till the other day,when the mother saw her at school and took her into a -buggy and drove off. Mr. Brooks followed; and, overtaking, it was then the scene occurred. The buggy was upset and smashed, and the child was recaptured by Brooks. What future developments may arise time only can tell. I III _ , The goods lately stelen frthet -tfes. Ross Robertson' t residence, Walkerton, were in the possession of one George Fleming, e yoiMg man, who went to that place about two years a,e0e,when he and his brother entered into businese as tanners'. Up to; the present time he has always been leoked upon as a young man of unexceptionable Charac,ter, and this fact led to his marrying into one of the oldest and /nest respected families Of the town. On getting a hint leis ac- tions had been - discovered, he disap- peared., and his 'whereabouts have . not yet been discovered. A swell warrant was issued, and the peentises of W. 'Fleming, the brother, Fere searched and a number 'ef articles found, which led to his arrest. I ; 1 —Edwin Penny, employed as baggage master on the Hamilton and. North Western Railway, was fatally injured at the water tank at noon on Monday, and died in Barrie an hour- after the train arrived there. 'Deceased was about 40 years of' age, and. leaves a wife . and two boys. Hp was one of the Rifle Brigade, and for about 16 years connect- ed in different Capadities with the Great Westbrn Railway, first as messenger, then in charge of the efficial car, and finally as eonductor on the Sarnia branch. Mr. Anderson, Superintendent of the Hamilton and North Western Railway, gave him an appointment last year, and subsequently promoted him to the position he held 0 his death. —The Detroit Free Press says: One thing that the Canadians are rather touchy upon is the ignorance which Englishmen have about the, Dominion. The leadine°,Canadian journals, often . belabor the Times, Telegraph, and ether London journals on their hick of know- ledge on Canadian politicalinatters,and provincial geographical learning seems to be just as scant even in well educated "hat 'ome." ut. firm in Hamilton, Ont.; are sorely grieved. fest now because a colapany in Liverpool wrote Ito them that one of the. company's agents was going to visit Canada and would. land t at Quebec. The English firm asked I the Hamilton firm to be kind enough to send,a conveyance to Quebec to meet the traveller and bring hien 'to i Ha il- ton ! I 1 —A distressing case of highway ob- bery took place' last Saturday morming between 3 and. 3 o'clock, on he a, ival of the train from the west at :St. C th- arinee. _ There being no busset to ,mneet the train, a men named CharlesN. Fish started. to walk to the c,ity, end When near the bridge 4c)ver the 'Pelham -road, close to the Gr at !Western railway sta- tion, he was Sei ea from behind garrot- ed, thrown initol the mud, nd robbed of a purse containing $6.75 i cash and a promissory potfor $65, besides.a satch- el containing change a of underclothing, etc. The robbers also took the boots off his feet and. held a knife , to his throat, threatening to murder him if he made any outcry. The unfortunate victim Of this outrage had jUst risen froni a sic1. bed, and was obliged to , walk in his steckings to the station, where he gave the alarm. Fish belongh to London. —Mr. John Pearce who keeps a butcher shop en Dundas street, London, was on Friday 'evening last brutally as- saulted in Weetminster.. It 'appears thethe was driving to his home on the Wharneliffe Read, betweee eight and nine o'clock, and when pear Ilessell's Hotel tiv13, Ince in a buggy ran into him. ' He aske4 them what they meant, but fee an ansWer one of he 'parties jumped out of his buggy and, brutally assaulted. him; The, injured man thinking they intended murdering him ran into Hessell's Hotel,, whether he was followed by the parties and further assaulted. Son e outsiders interfering the two rnen jumped into their buggy and drove away., ta,long with them an overcoat belonrleng to Mr. Pearce. One e of the parties is' known, and will pro- bably be arrested.-' This is not the first case of that kind reported from that neighborhood, and it is time such an- tics were pet aniend to. . —The Manitenlin Enterprise tells a -melancholy stoite of the &mini' , of t two men belonging to that district. . Shortly after the local boats had ce sed : running for the season, Mr. W. E.1 Ab- ! rey, of Manitowaning, desiring to retch , Toronto, engaged an Indilm to couvey , line to Killarney, where the schooner ' t Res tless " was lYing, intend lug to take passage on her, but on arrival they., found that the vessel had left the pre- . ceding day. Mr. Abrey then eng4ged. : With Alex. Preax, lightliouse keepee, i and a man named Pheleanx to take him i back to Manitowaning, which place 1 :they reached in safety, and-the!two ; -men left fori1larneyoh the following day, and w re jest seen about three : i miles out, runeing before the wind, , which was blavting very hard at the ; time. - As the time passed on, and the i men did not put in an appearance, their i friendsbecame alarmed., and a search I was instituted, when their worst fears . were realized by finding the boat right side up, lying on the shore near. Rat Portage, about three miles from Killar- ney,- with the body of Alex. Preux lashed to it, but all search for the body of the other unfortunate man was with- out avail. —A man named Alexander- Wishart, residing in West Flambee°, was one day last week found in his ovn. barn sus- pended by a rope attached to a beam in the ceiling, life being quite extinct. It appears that the deceased. had had the typhoid fever some 18 months ago, since which time he had never recovered his health. and that the act of self de- struction was deliberately planned, he being completely tired. of his life. The verdict returned was in accordance with the facts stated. Mr. Wishart was about 63 years of age, and had. never been married. He was a quiet, inof- fensive man, and his lonely habits of life and severe affliction combined, no doubt impelled him to commit self-de- struction. —The annual report of Mr. j. Dickey, Inspector of Division Courts has been published and circulated, It a docu- ment of much general interest. From it we learn that in Ontario during the year ending November ,30th, 1877, no lewer thate 73,374 suits were entered, exclusive of transcripts ' of judgments and judgment summenses. The amount of claims, exclusive of the tran- scripts and summonses just alluded to entered to be adjusticated upon was no less than $2,028,960..84. The number of transcripts of judgments received from other Courts was 4,556, involving the sum $150,810.58. The number of judg- ment sun imonses was 7,753. The total amount of suitors' money paid into Court was $777,967.35, and the sum paid out of Court $759,282.41. —A few days since a young woman _residing in Toronto saw an advertise- ment in a newspaper of that city, pur- porting to be from a lady residing in Buffalo, -who wanted a young lady com- panion. The girl answered the adver- tisement, and was requested to come to Buffalo and. call at a certain house on Beak street. She came here and while enquiring her, way, accidentally attracted the attention of a gentleman., who advised her to go first to the Chris- tian Home for Women, corner of 'Eagle , and Ellicott streets, until she eould-as- certain mare fully the nature of the promised situation. She aia so, end has found abundant cause for thank- fulness on learning that the' adver- tisement was part of a scheme for en- trapping runaway girls into a lifeof in- famy. — On Monday of last week a young man calling himself J. W. Kalbeeer, and. claiming to be the son of a judge of that name in India. arrived in Hamilton from Toronto and put up at the Royal Hotel: On the day following he suc- ceeded in pettier/ an introduction to -Mr. Robert Beech, who keeps a grocery in a locality known as Corktown, situated. in Ward No 1 of the city, in whose fanlily he remained, as a guest until' Monday morning. Last Sunday night on the household retiring to bed, Kalberer ex- cused himself from following on the plea of sleeplessness. Nothing further was, thought of the matter until Monday morning Mr. Breck discovered that a gold chain and $80 in. moneywere miss- ing, likewise J. W. lialberer. It is ru- mored that he has been arrested in Windsor. —Mr. M. C. Morgan, an American, doing a fish trade in Halifax, has failed., with liabilities of over $60,000. After deducting several claime of about $20,- 000, at least $40,000 of liability remains, upon -which, to all appearance, a very meagre dividend will be forthcoming. Morgan had in ten yeare worked up a, large trade in fresh and salt fish and preserved lobsters, for packing which latter he had built several factories along the coast. By a course of appar- ently fair dealing, prompt payment and a pleasant manner, he had made for himself an excellent reputation among all classes of business men in Halifax, and his credit was very good. He is now in the land, of the free, his estate is in the Bankrupt Court, and. creditors ere ruefully wondering where all the has gone. Some very question- able transactions of his have come to light since he departed, and though loath to believe themeelves the vic- tims of a 'dishonest man, .many of hit creditors are ferced to that conclu- sion.' . - IVIiscellaneons News Items. t. Marys Public School Board. paid $118 90 for printing and stationery last year. , —Two rinks of the St. Mary e curlers were defeated in Goderich recently by two rinks of that town. - — '1‘.1r. Joseph Ruehty, from Hamburg, ' has moved to C'arronbrook, where he , has started a boot and shoe store in Carroll's block. L—Last week Mr. Wm. Ettie, of Ful- lerton, sold to Mr. John Whyte, Mit- chell, a large hog, the dressed weight of which was 551 pounds. —Mr. Jerry Robinson, who has been in the mercantile business in Mitchell for many years, has sold out, with a view of moving elsewhere.' Messrs. Babb it, Hord are the purchasers. —The monthly cattle fairs at Lis- towel have not been up to the usual standard lately.- The animals offered have not been of the best quality, and fewer sales have been effected. —Incendiary fires have become so frequent in Listowel, that 'a general feeling of insecurity is entertained by the people of that town. As yet there ifis:111.dos.clue to the discovery of the fire —A gentleman from Waterloo 'coen- ty was in Carronbrook a few days ago, looking for a site to build a grist mill. He selected a portion of the old Don- kin fat= near the station, now owned by Mr. T. King, as the most desirable location, but has not yet finally decided to come.