Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1889-11-09 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

NOTES AND QUERIES,  BY O.L.A.F.  Tim has been a stirring week, ladies and gents, a very stirring week. As the reviewer of passing events I may be allowed to know, and I unhesitatingly pronounce it a very stirring week, principally on account of the visit of his Russian Highness, Prince Krapotkin and Mr. Mather, which was quite a local event, and also on account of some minor but not unimportant meetings and things which have occurred in our township, and which shall be reviewed in due course. I  last week expressed the hope that the Prince would have a good audience on Tuesday evening and that wish was pleasantly realised, for the People's Hall was well filled with an attentive and by no means unappreciative audience.  PRINCE KRAPOTKIN it is needless to say is an enthusiast in anything which he takes an interest in as being calculated to produce the greatest happiness for his fellow-creatures. He is cosmopolitan in spirit, his sympathies knowing no distinction of country or of race. He has been lecturing in the Manchester district upon a variety of subjects, a knowledge of which bears undoubted evidence of his versatility and the wide scope of his enquiries and experience. The subject upon which he addressed the Denton audience was the "Moral Influence of Prisons upon Prisoners."  A GREAT many of the Prince's ideas and suggestions were of great value and his enunciations with respect to capital punishment have my entire approbation. In these days of boasted enlightenment, when we have society banded together for the prevention of cruelty to the lower animals, it seems, on the face of it anomalous, to inflict on men and women the horror of fixing the day upon which they shall die violent deaths. The great majority of mankind are not cowards by any means and can meet death with fortitude, but for society to deliberately condemn a human being to the mental torture of contemplating the hour of his dissolution is a re. finernent of cruelty more natural to dusky Dahomians than to the citizens of a free and Christian nation.  I AGREE with the Prince in all this and a great deal more, but when it comes to recommending that private persons should take malefactors into their own houses to reform them, it becomes quite another matter and from the practicable and useful we conic to the Utopian. Prince Krapotkin may himself have sufficient faith in human nature to board and lodge a few convicts, guilty of more or less serious crimes, but I fear he would not overcome the prejudice which would be found to exist amongst a great number of the respectable classes in England and other countries, and I shrewdly suspect that it would require some very strong inducements to get an ordinary private individual to cherish a murderer or assassin in the family circle.  WHAT else is there of interest? Oh, yes, certainly, the St. Lawrence's annual congregational party, at which the shepherd of the Haughton Dale flock was present. Mr. Schuster spoke at some length on the advisability of securing the union of Churches in the district. I presume "Churches' mean Churches of the Established order. What a happy family we should have if this were carried out ! As the poet sings, "It is a pretty sight to see birds in their little nests agree," and the benefits that would arise from Ibis union would be simply incalculable, at least it appears so to me, so let us hope that this "Union of Churches" so dear to Mr. &imager's bean, way be accompiisbed.  Tea Paovosan Naw Linanan CLua.—Theinoveineut in favour of a new Club being provided for the headquarters of Liberalism in Denton is again afoot. Share. to the amount of over £lOO have been taken up during the past week, and as a gentlemun has offdred to take ahares to the amount of .C2OO on a similar amount being raised by the members of the Club, it will be seen that the project has now been placed inn tangible form, and there is every probability of it being brought ton successful issue.  THB Conservatives of Houghton Green held a social party at the Club on Monday evening. Mr. W. Mather, Mr.. will present the prizes to the succeatul pupils at I.l..ushaw's Blind Asylum, on the 25th inst.  THE HIAKie teat. on the Bench at the Ashton County Police Court, on Wednesday, were Messrs. N. Buckley, R. Mason, md F. Andrew. CHRIST Cituiseu