Topics Of The Times

The report, probably untrue, that a man who was hauged ia Arkansas ten days ago was afterward resuscitated by his friends, and is now alive, opens up an interesting question. Tho senience of tho court was that he should behangedby the neck until he was dead, and the officers may insist that it is their strict legal duty to hang birn again, and to keep on hanging Mm until the faot of his death is indisputably established. On the other hand, his friends may claim that he has already complied with the demands of the law. He was hanged by the executioner until the physician appointed to that service pronounced him dead. He was cut down as dead; transferred to his friends as dead," and in the eyes of the law he was dead. What right, thercfore, has the law to execute a man twice for the same crime, or to hang a man who is legally dead? The murderof Dukes at Uniontown, Pa., by the son of Dukes' unfortunate victim, is another one of those deplorable cases whero private vengeance takes the law ia its own hands, and deals out justice in its own way. ïhat the son had ampie reason to wish to avenge his father's death, no one will deny, but that he had a right, either morally or legally, to take the lifo of another in his thirst lor revengo is another matter. Dukes had been acquitted by a jury, and by his acquittal was eniitled to live. and the question of his guilt or innoeence was not for the outraged son and brother to determine. But in this case private vengeance se over-balances the sense of law that ought to pervade everv communily,that the acquittal of Nutt is already assured, and the crime committod by the hands of the young man, doubly outragcd by Dukes1 crimes, will not involve him :n any penalty. The Dakota Capital Cornmissiou, whose appointment a couple of months ago excited general comment, much "f which was not flattering, have completed their labors by the selection of Bismarck as the seat of government for the Territory until it is divided, and of North Dakota for all time to come. Their decisión is n general surprise, for it was generally believed that the fortúnate place would be in Southern Dakota, and so sanguine were the citizens of that part cf the Territory that a Chicago paper in the same issue contained a two column advertisement of Fierre, declaring it to be the probable future capital and there were several other towns as certain that they would get the capital, as that death and the tax-gatherer would sorne day get hold of tbern. The conimission did well in selecting Bismar',: for it is well situated and as easy of ace i from all points as any place in ■ - The great value to real estáte owm of lts selection as the capital is show:, .. -y the f act that as soon as it became i.uown that the Commission had decided upon it, one man sold in one day 8250,000 worth of lots. The bcautifu! ciiétom arnong the Methodists of giving one Sunday in the year wholly over to the children, was very generally observed on Sunday, June 10. The custom is a beautifulone, and by its observance niaDy a darkened soul has been brought to load a bctter life. On this day the lil.tle ones are gathered into the church from highways and by-ways, and each little onc, however poor, has its floral offering. No long. tedious sermón is given thein, but in simple language the story of theNazarene is told them, and the music is the hymns. rising in their sweet, untaught voices like holy incensé up to heaven. fhis beautiful custom is not without precedent, for in the old Moravian Church fiere is the anniversavy of the day on which Christ entered the holy city and was met by children who strewed palm leaves in his way, shouting their íílad Hosannas. On the anniversary of this day the Morav:an children as semble in the church and are taughtthe dlessed truth that thcy are the younger children of the HeavenJy Father, and as obedient children they have a work to do. It is not only the children who are helped by this beantiful religous festival- fathers and mothersare benefitted. The poor dranken father, who never enters a church throughout the year, w ill go on this day to see his little girl, with her clean dress, her bright happy face and listen to her childish voice in the hyiuns that are sung, and irresistibly the story of the Savior as told to her will have its effect upon him. "A little child shall lead them," even almost against reason itsclf. No forcé of public opinton, no argument, not even the rough experience gained by contact with a rougher worid, can silence the -.;„o r,f tVip rnvfi-minded child nor do iway with its impr;ssions and faith. If Dur christian churoh would establish shristianity more firmly in the world [orty years henee, let them devote more time to the trainine and culture of the little ones in a firm faith in Christ- and teach them they have a work to do even now" - The stories whieh are being oiremated n various newspapers of the failing health of the Queen, and the probabilïty that she wiil soon abdícate the throne are without any foundation. Ever since the accident which occurea a iew waw ago, by which Her Maiesty's kaee was maiaed, there have been wild rumors concerning her health; and not only is it said that she has been artlicted with rheumatism, gout and kindred ailments, but that she is now suffering trom serious melancholy and strange fancies. It is also said that she i a believer in ■pirituaüsm, and imagines that her band, Prince Albert, aids her in the discharge of the duties of her office, and that she also comnwnes with the spirit of John Brown, deceased, whose loss shö deeply mourns. In view of all these things it is said that she is unablo to properly discharge the duties incuinbent upon her, and that her abdication will very soon be a matter of neeessity. While all of these rumora are purely iraaginary, it is not a matter of surprise that she should be breaking down. She is well along in years, and her ar dents and afñiutions irakés it very able that a serious chango may be i... pending. It is a well-known historica fct that she inheritsa predisposition to insanity. George III, her grandfather, was seized with a fatal madness which made it necessary for hini to resign, and which necessitated the regency of Georgo IV. Added to this, there is another very signifficant reason why she should be melancholy, if such is the case. She leads a locely life, oven amidst her sovereignty. Swaying a scepter over a kingdom on which the sun never sets, around her is drawn a circle, over which none can step as companions and friends. Her posilion isolates her from society, and the plcasures so necessary to one's comfort and happiness. So, that while there is no ground for these vague rumors, tliere is in her past and antecedent history, somo littl j ground for alarm, out of which iournalistic enterprise (?) ran weave a sensational item. A bout a month ago severa! of the overgrown newspapers oí the country, among them the New Yorit Herald, Philadelphia Press.Chicago Intcr-ücean and the Cincin-nati Commercial ontercd into a comfcination by whicb. they were to furnish the readers of their Monrlay morning editions with the sermón preached by Spurgeon in London the day before, The scheme was a wild one, and involved an enormous expense tor eabling, beside the expense of telegraphing from New York to other papers in the combination. ïhis seheme was carried out wíth a view to do something extravagant and unexpected and to serve as an advertisement. Thus far it answered every purpose, and worked weli for two or three weeks. But onc or two rival papers had a plan by which they could reap the benefit of this enterprisc and at less expense. The Chicago Tribune managed to get one of the first copies of the Philadelphia press and had the sermón telegraphed to Chicago, and by niaking allow.ince for the difference in time, it was an easy matter to get the sermón in the Tribune at the same time that it appeared in the Inter-Occan. This action of the "second-class" sheets discouraged the origlnators of the enterprise and Spurgeon's sermón will not appear again. But what is there to regret? Spurgeon's sermón is not news, and would have been. just as readabl'5 and interesting two or three m henee as on the day it was preach iif and of just as much benefit to the community. Spurgeon is a great man, and can teil ns all about human depravity and the plan of salvation, but nis sermon is not news, and whena newspaper,, and particularly a daily newspapor, publishesanythingof the kind, ït goos bevond its provinee. To a newspaper belono-sthc work of chronicling the events of the day, whüe theological and scientifie discourses belong in books and magazines, aDd when editors of newspapers and magazine do well the work withia their provinco then wilJ the best interests of all bc snbservtMi.