The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-03 00:00:00

CHILDREN'S REVIVALS.

In the Monthly Magazine Mr. Spurgeon notices
the criticisms upon the children's services in his
Tabernacle. He does not consider himself responsible
for them. He did not take any part in them,
did not invite Mr. Hammond, and was not even pre-
sent on one. occasion. He says : "We cannot
refuse to lend our vast building to good men without
acting the part of the dog in the manger ; and,
at the same time, we are not prepared to be praised
or blamed for all which may be done by persons
to whom we so lend it." As to the services, Mr.
Spurgeon says : "We cannot at this moment say
more, personally, as to the services, than that they
have evidently been a blessing to our school ; and
that, with much that is not at all to our taste, there
was the true ring of fervent love to Christ in them,
and we intend to wait and watch results. As to
frightening or terrifying the children, nothing of the
sort was attempted or accomplished ; such remarks
chew a want of information." With all this, Mr
Spurgeon declines any responsibility in the matter.
Were a clergyman of the Church of England to take
this ground if the services at his church had been
criticised, we know that he would have to shift it.
If the Tabernacle is only a large hall, to be devoted
to any purpose not absolutely pernicious, then it may
be that Mr. Spurgeon is right. He does not deny
any of the leading features of the services as hitherto
reported ; and we still think the conductors of such
services are strangely ignorant of the organisation
send training of children.

HONOURS AT OXFORD.
The undergraduates of Oxford are making a cry
just now about the treachery of examiners, who allow
themselves to be " drawn out." Thus it is generally
known that this man was a good first, the other a
bad second, and his friend the best third, while
it is actually true that rumours get about
as to which class a man has got before the list comes

out. The love of power which is given to the possessor
of secrets, though chiefly a feminine weakness, is not
unknown to the other sex, and it must be sore
temptation to an examiner to be able to confide

what some men are dying to know.

THE MERCANTILE MARINE.

Mr. Harry Leach, of the hospital ship Dread-
nought, having noticed a letter in the Times from
Mr. Hall, of Newcastle, on the subject of the demand
and supply of British sailors, writes to that paper to
draw attention to the neglect of sanitary arrange-
ments for the health of the sailors. When a ship
starts on a voyage good care is taken to
have a supply of spare spars, sails, and
ropes 3; but spare men cannot be taken, and so,
unless proper attention be paid to the sustenta-
tion of crews and to the preservation of skilled
hands, no number of training ships will be able to
find sufficient material or manufacture enough
sailors to supply the increasing wants of our mercantile
marine. The. Merchant Shipping Act of last year is
a step in the right direction, and the beneficial results
will appear six or eight months hence. There still
remains, however, a strange apathy amongst ship-
owners on the subject of diet and health. Varied
provisions of good quality can bo procured at as cheap
a rate as salt beef or pork, and every captain can
take a sound and healthy crew with him by the means
provided by the Legislature. Mr. Leach thinks that
attention to these matters is in the interests of sound
commercial economy. There are many higher
reasons than these, reasons which should never appeal
to humanity in vain. Our jolly, generous Jack Tar
of the stage type is too often represented by a
wretched creature, distorted in body and mind—a
prematurely old man through hardship, and a
cunning villain, in spite of the traditions of
fiction.