The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-17 00:00:00

AN UNUSUAL " CIIURCHING."

On Wednesday forenoon, a large number of nailers—
male and female—met at Hales Owen, and, having
formed in procession, marched through the principal
streets of the borough to the parish church, where a
thanksgiving service was held, in consequence of the happy
termination of the nailers' strike. There were about 1.000
persons present, a large number of whom were women. The
sermon was preached by the Yen. Archdeacon Hone,
rector of Hales Owen. The text was taken from the
12th chapter of Ist Corinthians, the 26th verse "And
whether one member suffer, all members suffer with it,
or one member be honoured, all members rejoice with it."
The Ven. Archdeacon went on to say that he believed
that the day might be regarded among them as
a day of good tidings ; and they had done well to
desire to assemble together in the house of Almighty God,
to manifest towards Him their thankfulness for the
mercy vouchsafed towards them at that time. Looking
back a little time in that place he could remember
that many of those present had been called upon to
go through a great many trials, and many of them
had even had to feel, both in their own persons and in
their families, what it was to want a sufficient supply of
wholesome food. He was sure that many had suffered
with them, and felt deeply for them in these
circumstances. There were the tradesmen, for
instance, who had suffered with them. Many of
them had given to persons whom they believed
they could trust the necessities of life, and he hoped
that it would not be a matter of complaint among trades-
men, now that better times were come, that those whom
they had trusted made no effort to pay them. It had
been so before, but he hoped nothing of that kind
would be heard this time. Many of the straight-
forward masters, too, had suffered with them, and
he urged upon them not to encourage those wtho carried
on the truck system, and who asked them to take goods
of bad quality at a high price and of short weight instead
of wages for their work. It was that system which
tended to lower their wages, and which led to these un-
happy strikes.

A Scotch gentleman puts the postage-stamp the
wro..g way upon his letters, and calls it with a tender
feeling—turning a penny.

There are watering-places for flirting, like Scar-
borough ; places for talking scandal, like Brighton ; places
for romping, like Margate ; for gambling, like Baden ; but
as to St. Lecuard's, it is merely a place for mild starving.
Everybody stares at everybody else—across the shingle,
along the esplanade, up at the verandahs, down from the
windows, it is staring, staring, nothing but staring.

The dispute in the building trade in Manchester
appears likely to be continued throughout the winter. In
order to settle the difficulty, the operative masons agreed to
accept wages at the rate of 30s. a week of 48f hours, but
tho masters, at a numeroosly attended meeting, have de-
clined the offer, and have resolved not to employ mon "but
on the terms that have been adopted during the last few
months."

It haying been reported to the Queen that the
annual prize of twenty-five guineas, given for the last
eight years in the name of the late Prince Consort, through
the Society of Arts, had been three times obtained by the
City of London College for Young Men, and for the last
two years by the Polytechnic Evening Classes, her Majesty
has been graciously pleased to present copies of " The
Early Years of H.R.11. the late Prince Consort," and
" Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands,"
to each of those societies.

Artemis Ward once lent money. He tlin.9
recounts the transaction :—" A gentleman friend of mine
came to me one day with tears in his eyes. He said,
Why these weeps ?' He said he had a mortgage on his
farm, and wanted to borrow £2OO. I lent him the money
and he wont away. Some time after he returned with
more tears. Ho said he must leave me for ever. I ven-
tured to remind him of the £2OO he borrowed. Ho was
much cut up : I thought I would not be hard upon him—
so told him I would throw off £lOO. He brightened—
shook my hand—and said, Old friend, I won't allow
you to outdo me in liberality—l'll throw off the other
hundred !"

RARE FOSSIL FOUND TEAR, BRADFORD.--
William Firth, miner, of Dudley-hill, near Bradford, while
at work in a coal mine at Toftshaw, recently discovered
fragments of bones in the roof of the black bed coal. Tho
pieces were carefully united, and on being submitted to
Professor Huxley, he pronounced the remains to be those
of a now batrachian, constituting a new genus and species,
to which he proposes to attach the name of pholiderpeton
scutiyerum, and has fully described it in the Geological
Journal. The specimen, which is one of the most com-
plete fossils, is nearly six feet long, and has been purchased
for and placed in the museum of the Bradford Philosophi-
cal Society.

Every now and then an unpublished letter or
other document gives us a glimpse of the sad state of poli-
tical corruption which prevailed in the last century. Here
is an extract from a petition from the Earl of Chesterfield
(the author of the " Letters " ) to his Majesty George 111.,
to raise his pension to £3,000 a year, " and if made of gold
the more agreeable." It is in the Earl's handwriting, and
occupies three pages folio : in it the petitioner declares him-
self "ready to support the worst measures proposed by his
Majesty's Ministers," and, if refused, to use "the utmost
acrimony " against the best measures his Majesty himself
"can ever propose or promote." And this is the man whose
" Letters " are looked upon by many as a code of political
and social morality !
A WONDERFUL ENGINEERING OPERATION.—In
the work of straightening and widening some of the very
crooked streets of Boston it became necessary to move a
huge building known as " Hotel Pelham." This building
is of freestone, 06 feet high, and weighs ten thousand tons.
It was moved 14 feet in three days, by means of rollers and
screws, a portion of the side walk being also moved with it.
So carefully and well was the work done that not a crack
was made in the building, and nothing in it was at all
disturbed. Large crowds of people watched the process,
.snd the fastest time accomplished was two inches in four
.ninutes. A large bank building adjoining the hotel was
used to brace the screws against. A great number of these
screws, twenty-one incises long, were employed. Twenty-
five thousand dollars were paid the contractor for moving
the hotel.

At the metropolitan Court of Common Council yes-
terday Mr. Deputy Atkins asked the chairman of the Markets'
Committee whether the foot and mouth disease prevailed
to any extent among the cattle in the Metropolitan Cattle
Market, and if so, what steps had been taken to prevent the
spread of the disease ? Mr. Sowell said the disease had ap-
peared to some extent in the market, but during the last
week or ten days the number of animals affected had very
much decreased. Arrangements hitd boon made, at the
market for polling affected 0411talp iieParik tiliftcf tbQ
. .
tgarket•

DEPOTS FOR THE SAYE DEPOSIT OF
SECURITIES.

There was recently much discussion in England about thc,
deposit of securities with bankers. Until recently it hat'
been thought that bankers were liable for the loss of them.
A recent decision showed that they were not so, that bondf
stolen from a banker's strong room had not to be replaoee
by them, but the owner had to bear the robbery. In Eng•
land the discussion did dot excite near so much interest at
in America. In this country bank robberies are rare—sc
rare that tho proposal to have a Bond Security
Association has met with very little support
But in England even many bond-holders began to take cart
of their own papers. In America, however, nearly every-
body began to remove their papers, with a result told it
an interesting letter from New York to the Daily News,
The correspondent writes :—" In obedience to the great
law of supply and demand, with the multiplication
of bonds there arose a largo band of thieves,
specially devoted to the work of stealing bonds,
and now well known to the public as a distinct
profession, called 'bond robbers' I think lam within
bounds when I say that they have during the last
seven years relieved the lawful owners in this city of
transferable securities to the value of a million sterling.
They have performed some very remarkable exploits in
what is known as the "butchers cart game." In that two
or three confederates cruise along the streets, towards the
opening or close of business hours, in a light butcher's cart,
with a fast trotting horse; they see a porter or clerk walk-
ing along with a tin box ; perhaps they have watched him
from his bank or counting-house—in the full confidence in-
spired by the presence of crowds of his fellows-citizens, and
the presumptive nearness of the police. They drive rapidly
up beside him ; one of the gang descends, knocks hire
clown by a smart blow in the eyes, perhaps peppers him
profusely at the same moment, flings his box into the cart,
and off they go at the rate of a mile in three minutes, and
are out of sight before the bystanders have fairly begun
to comprehend the nature of the transaction. This has
led, of course, to extra precautions, and now no clerk or
porter goes to and fro in the streets alone with a box in
his hand ; he has a companion, and the two are apt to 156
armed. But the thieves were not foiled. They followed
the bonds into the offices and counting-houses, and some
of their most tremendous strores have actually been per
in the offices of bankers and brokers in the middle
of the day, during business hours, and in the presence of
the clerks. They go in in couples, or trios, having of
course previously reconnoitered the ground; one or two to
distract attention by a pretence of business, while
another calmly walks up to the safe, draws the securi-
ties from it, and goes out with them, the employes
not noticing him. This may seem incredible, but it has
been done over and over again. In the famous Lord case,
two years ago, nearly 300,000 dollars worth of Government
bonds were taken out of an office in this way, and nearly a
similar amount in the Royal Insurance Company's case. In
neither, I believe, was there the Slightest proof or suspi
cion of complicity on the part of the clerks. Each was
simply an illustration of the art of distracting attention, to
which the success of so many jugglers' tricks is due, carried
to the highest point.

"The general alarm and anxiety caused by this state of
things called into existence what we call ' Safe Deposit
Companies,' of which nearly every large city has now two
or three. There are two at least in New York. They are
corporations chartered by the State Legislature, for
the safe keeping of valuables, and offering as a
guarantee to depositors unlimited liability on the
part of the directors and stockholders. Of course
it is a prime requisite that the directors should be
men of high standing both as regards wealth and character,
and they are. I may take one with the working of which
I am personally acquainted, as a sample of all of them.
Its premises are in the basement of a fire-proof building in
Broadway, the offices occupying the front, and its vaults,
all lined with iron, extending some ' distance back, with
the usual defences in the shape of double iron gates,
patent locks,! and so forth. Each of these passages is
lined, from the floor up as high as a man can
reach, with small iron safes or closets of various
sizes, in which tin boxes containing valuables can be
placed. These safes are rented only by the company, at
prices varying from £2 to £8 a year, according to size ; the
hirer keeps the key, of which there is no duplicate, and
over the keyhole lies another lock, or stopper, of which
the company keeps the key. At night the gas is kept bril-
liantly lighted, rendering every part of the premises, in-
cluding the passages in the vaults—for they are closed by
gates, and not solid doors—visible from the street; two
watchmen keep watch and ward within, and two with-
out, and to obtain access to the vaults, the combination of
three different persons—the president, secretary, and safe-
keeper—is necessary. The company does not offer any
legal guarantee for the safety of what is placed in these.
safe. As they have no knowledge of what is kept in them,
to offer to become liable for the contents would,
of course, expose them to innumerable fraudulent
claims, and a combination amongst the principal
officers undoubtedly might bring about a robbery.
Should you, however, not wish to hire a safe, and desire
to have the company liable for the safe keeping of your
property, you have simply to take your bonds, or stock, or
other property down and present them, and take a receipt
for them, and pay one dollar a thousand per annum on
their nominal value, and the company will charge itself
with their safe custody, will deliver them to you on de-
mand, and will, if you desire it, collect the interest or divi-
dends on them, and forward to you."

A young lady explained to her inamorato the dis-
tinction between printing and publishing, and at the con-
clusion of her remarks, by way of illustration, she said,
" You may print a kiss on my cheek, but you must not
publish it."

Mdlle. Pauline Lucca has addressed a letter to
11Idlle. Nilsson, after hearing her sing the other day at
Baden-Baden, in which she says :—" I am charmed with
you ; it is not possible to be more dramatic, to sing better.
Once more, ma chore, you have been sublime, am! I rejoice
greatly at this opportunity of saying so."

A SCOTCH IDEA OF PATRONAGE.—There died,
not a generation ago, a well-known pawky old Scots mem-
ber, who used to say that the proper time for asking an
appointment from a Minister was just before a critical
division. Instances are told of his pressing a little too
closely on the division—as, for example, when the Minister
is striding through the lobby full of the memorable speech
he is to deliver for victory or an illustrious
fall. The sedulous member walks alongside of hire
mumbling his queries whether that matter of the tide
waitership at Dumdurum has been settled yet. Th-
Minister cannot attend to such business until the great
question is decided, and ends the colloquy, as ho supposes,
with " And of course, Mr. , we count on your vote."
Mr. cannot honestly leave such an impression. "The
.act is, Mr. Cawning, I am so concerned for the fate of
that puir faitherless laddie, that really, unless I feel some
assurance, I cannot get my mind into a proper train for
considering so large a question."
PROFANITY IN THE PULPIT.—An American
paper says that, much as the pulpit censures profanity, it
is sometimes guilty of the same sin. It refers, in proof, to
a recent lecture, by a reverend gentleman, on
" Mud," based on the text, " Prepare ye the way
of the Lord ; " to another sermon, preliminary to a
summer vacation, from the words, "I go a fishing ; " to a
third, addressed to fast young men, from the words, "Let
her drive." Such perversion of Scripture by those who have
been set apart to defend, unfold, and enforce it, cannot be
too strongly condemned. We know of hardly anything
more calculated to bring the Word of God into contempt.
It is undoubted profanity. It is downright trifling with
sacred things. No harm is meant ? Of course not. The
profane man outside the pulpit means none. Both, too, alike
bite at a naked hook. The wrong use of texts, however, is
not confined to those who use them profanely. A living Ameri-
can divine, of some eminence in our own denomination,
preached a discourse on certain Protestant tendencies
towards Popery from the words of Luke respecting Paul's
journey, "And so we journeyed towards Rome." Dr.
Porter, in his "Homiletics," tells us of a minister who
preached a number of sermons from the smallest possible
fragment of a sentence, the interjection "Oh" If this be
not "handling the Word of God deceitfully" it is next to
it, and tends greatly to lower the popular reverence for it,
and to kill out confidence in it as an ultimate standard of
truth.

CLOTHED BY THE LIIV.-A French mayor of a
commune can sometimes say a good thing as well as do a
foolish one. An example of the latter kind is furnished
in the case of one who nearly caused the loss of the vintage
in his commune by obstinately persisting that the grapes
were green and unfit to be gathered, and therefore re-
fusing to permit the villagers to gather them ; and it was
only on one of the individuals ing under his autho-
rity suggesting that the aspect under which the fruit
appeared to him might arise from his looking at it
through the green spectacles he wore that ho took a
different view, and one that was in accordance with
the representations of the villagers. An instance of the
former kind in related in reference to the case of a
rural constable, who, having drunk too freely of wine or
brandy, suddenly rose from his bed, and apparently under
the impression that his services wore required somewhere,
buckled on his sabre and marched up and down the
village. The commotion caused by his appearance in such
a condition was great, and a complaint was made to the
maim that his subordinate was walking up and down the
village in a naked condition; to which that functionary
replied, "You are mistaken my good people, ho is covered
by Alitisl9 70.0 the CPcle."