Weekly News. — 1891-07-09 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

THURSDAY. JULY 911 i, 1891.  Among Nonconformists, and, in fact, among persons of all creeds and sects, great and intense interest is taken in the daily reports of the health of the Rev. Charles Spurgeon,who is lying dangerously ill. His condition is a very critical one, and his death would be a national calamity. His enormous labours as a preacher and werker have at last told on his powerful constitution, and he now lies in a terribly weak state. There are few men who have commanded more sincere admiration and respect from the people among whom they have lived and laboured , than the eloquent minister of the Newington ' Tabernacle. He has brought fame and distinction to the Baptist Church all over the English-speaking world, and he has brought to its service gifts of brain and heart, and above all, of organising power, which in the Church of England, if combined with a little classical scholarship, would have most assuredly seated him on the archiepiscopal throne of Canterbury. We can only express the hope, which we feel sure is the desire of all our readers, that a speedy recovery from a severe illness will be granted to this eminent and worldwide respected preacher.  * • Judging from the mass of correspondence which has appeared in the columns of a London evening paper, in which the "woes and wants" of ftrvants have been graphically depicted, the next strike will probably be among the domestic servants. According to the statements of some of the writers they are "downtrodden, abused, and badly treated," and their position is becoming unbearable. We see no reason, now that the followers of almost all callings have their unions or societies, why the domestics should not have their association. On Sunday week they took the first step and held a demonstration in Hyde Park. We observe that the chair was occupied by a gentleman who desoribed himself as "a butler in a good, family." The object of the meeting, was, he stated, to establish an organisation to protect their interests. While many mistresses may think their servants already quite capable of holding their own without any assistance from outside, still there are servants who deserve better treatment than they get at some places. Union, however, is clearly the order of the day.  The foolhardiness of some individuals seem to know no bounds, and it is not surprising to hear that another death has resulted from the senseless and dangerous practices of men entering the cages of wild beasts. The victim this time is a man known as "Captain Cordova, the greatest of all lion tamers," who, while in a cage putting some lions through their performances, was knocked down and bitten, death resulting from the terrible injuries inflicted. The coroner rightly described the exhibition as being "neither brave nor interesting, but simply foolhardiness," Why such insane performances are tolerated is difficult to say. There is a portion of the British public who seem to have a relish for such scenes, but by sensible people, the r( uidess way in which some people risk their lives, is regarded as approaching idiocy. If a person attempts to commit suicide, he is liable to be punished, and surely entering a den of wild beasts is tantamount to courting death.  The Bishops are again taking into consideration the Church Patronage Bill, which, in 1887, had a lively time in the House of Lords. On that occasion it got to a third reading, but an article by Lord Grimthorpe in the Quarterly Review, and an overgenerous amendment by Lord Cowper, secured its quietus. As the scandalous practices which the Bill proposes to abolish are still in active operation their lordships may well direct renewed attention to the subject. There are at least 6,000 benefices of which at any given moment the Bishops cannot tell the names of the patrons, so easily and so rapidly do they change by private bargain. No such thing as a register of patrons exists, and the ordinary clergy lists—so far as these 6,000 are concerned—are simply misleading. Of course, sales by auction, whether of advowsons are next presentations, are now very rare, although they do occur. These the Church Patronage Bill would put an end to Unhappily, the House of Lords is also a house of patrons.