Persecution Rising in Australia
By Editor
In our issue of June 18 we noticed the prosecution of two men at Parramatta, Australia, under an old law of Charles II. for working on Sunday. They were sentenced according to the law, a fine of five shillings, or in lieu thereof to be placed in the stocks for two hours. They refused to pay the fines, and the town has no stocks. A recent number of the Melbourne Age, in giving an account of a business meeting of the Fern Tree Gully Council, near Dandenong, states that one of the council, Mr. J. J. Miller, well known in sporting circles as a race horseowner, submitted a motion "that a sum of money be voted for the purchase of stocks for the punishment of persons who dig gardens or commit similar offenses on the sabbath." It was received as a joke, but was pressed most earnestly and seconded. It was finally left over till next meeting. This is but a straw showing how the spirit of persecution is rising in Australia.