The Cannock Chase Examiner. — 1877-01-05 (Cannock, Staffordshire, England)

STRANGE UTTERANCES OF A MINISTER.  On Sunday, in the Temperance Hall, Bolton, Mr. J. K. Applebee, a well-known public lecturer, addressed the congregation of the Free Christian Church in that town, as their minister, for the last time prior to sailing for America. Mr. Applebee addressed his hearers as "Ladies and Gentlemen," and said he did so advisedly. If he had addressed them as "Dear friends," or even as "Friends,' as "Dearly beloved brethren,' or even as "Brethren "—he would have used words which would not have been correctly expressive of the emotion he felt. He was a friend and a brother to everybody connected with that church; but that was a very different thing from saying that everybody connected with the church was a friend and a brother to him. He was a friend and a brother to the veriest worm that crawled, yet when the worm misinterpreted the meaning of its worming life, and made his higher life uncomfortable, then, without any remorsefulness he proceeded to do execution on him. This was what he was about to do to-day, but as people ought to be polite even to worms he addressed them all present, worms included, as "Ladies and Gentlemen." On the whole, he had come to the conclusion that Bolton was a most unpleasant place to live in. There was nothing lovely either about it or in its inhabitants. Its people were as cold and cloudy, as muggy and as unsympathetic, as coarse and as boisterous, as its own iskies were cold and cloudy, muggy and unsympathetic, coarse and boisterous. Some of his congregation, he feared, were past praying for; anyhow, he had taught them the unwholesome lesson that if prayers were to do them any good they must be their own prayers, and not those of a spiritual I doctor called in on an emergency to pray officially. I Did they think that he was going to leave his fireside, forsake the company of Homer, Shakespeare, and I Milton, and all other worthies of historic time, to ; listen to their imbecile tittle-tattle, and to sip. the 1 dishes of dirty scandal they were so fond of brewing 7 If he did not speak the troth when he said he would ; go from their midst with hone.ty unimpaired and ; honour untainted, might his right hand lose its cunI meg, might his tongue cleave to the roof of his mouth, ; and, if there be a halt might the light of his soul go ' out in the blackest smoke of it The congregation ; thus ,addressed owns no connection with any denoini' nation, the tie which has hitherto bound them together being simply aduaration of Mr. Applebee'e lecturing,  The °Mears of the Grand Trunk iine are negotiating wo the engineers now on strike.  News from Cape Town, by Messrs. Donald Currie's mail steamer Edinburgh Castle, by ternph from Iludeirs, says the Kadirs are reported to be quiet, sad there Is no prospect of war,  tha West tuineter Police Court, London, on Tnelday, Crederi,k Tram:lawny was charged, on remand, ititt Atte wilrul murder of Ur. Co:lins, at Pimlico. He was furtnee charged with the attempted murder' of Elizabetn Collins, After hearing further evidence, tle ,timuistraze remanded the prisoner till -Monday nett, t  -In a wise of orunkinine,s which ,ime before Mr. Bridge, the Harmilersmith p ilice um,ritra'e, he reumr!,ed that it viis really shocking to see women Aierged every day, there being more women than men. The only way women could expect their husbands T.? keep sober was for wives to give them eomfortabie homes nod ref r Ain from Touching the drink. In his opiniol it woe uuoh worse for a woman to get drunk than er moo.  a. stet 4,!". tl2n sna -In. in G....01.Gt. 31,01!p nbrAtrarti ai Lichfield street, Hanky, fell t•i the ground on Saturday, doing' considerable damrdze to property, but without causing any personal injury.  The .iret of the series of daily celebrations of Holy Comm lion at St. Paul's Cathedral took place on Monday m nhar at eight o'clock. The Dean was the eweWant, there was a very large attendance of communicants.