FREE OF DEBT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 24, 30 January 1939, Page 3

FREE OF DEBT.

NEW SCHOOL BLESSED. CATHOLIC EDUCATION. CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' VENTURE. BUhop Liston blessed and opened the new Christian Brothers School. Monntain Road, yesterday afternoon in the presence of a large gathering. The religious ceremony was held indoors, but speeches were made afterward-* from u dais outside. The conditions were made uncomfortable by a slight drizzle of rain. In the course of his address Bishop Liston said the institution had been dedicated to St. Peter, under whose patronage Bishop Poiupallicr had placed the school which he opened at Kororareka in IS4(», the first Catholic school in New Zealand. Thiu it was linked with his memory in the centenary year. The. generosity of the Outhwaite family in providing the site and a large part of the fund required for buildings was referred to by Hishop l.iston. Other trust funds had been brought ill and he was happy to say that the \ieie liein- opened free of delit. A sum of £.->o<> wa.* still recptired for furnishinj; and he made a special appeal for help in meeting this obligation. He expressed liis thanks to the architects, <iumiiK>r and Kord and Partneis; to the contractor. Mr. A. J. (Jood. his foremen and workmen; to the surveyor of the •irounds. Air. K. V. Blake: to the fiovernnient. the Kiuploynient Bureau and the men engaged on the improvement works, and to the supervisor. Father J. J. Bradley. He offered the new director. Brother O'Driseoll, and his staff, a very warm welcome. Poor Boys. The Christian Brothers, founded in Ireland in ISO 2. for the education of poor boys, had established theni.-elves in Austmlia in 18tiH and in New Zealand in 1*77. They now had !)0 schools of various types in both countries, staffed by over .">()(( brothers and attended bv more than 20.000 boys, .said his Lordship. " I his is a very happy day for me. for I owe much more than I ian sav to the teaching of the Christian Brothers in buuedin long yearn ago." lie continued. The new' school illustrated a deep conviction that man did not live by bread alone, and that the things of the spirit were important for the welfare of the nation. The opening of the school in the centenary year was a gift to Xew Zealand for its highest welfare, a tribute of that faith and knowledge which led the way to the highest human progress.

"The Catholic people of the Dominion l»oar a heavy educational burden, but they face the future with courage," he added. "We ed ilea to for eternity and are not to be dismayed by the inevitable vicissitudes of times. Tin* consociation of their life to the work on the part of many hundreds of our teachers and th<> investment that our Catholic people have made in schools throughout the Dominion represent a spirit of devotion to the cause of religious education that difficulties cannot daunt.' . Congratulations. The Attorney-General, the Hon. H. G. R. Mason, apologised for the absence of the Minister of lidiK-ation, the Hon. P. Fraser, and said the Government fully recognised the immense work the Catholic Church was doing for education. He was convinced that schools founded on the Christian faith were of the greatest value. He offered the congratulations of the Government on the inauguration of the school in such happy circumstances. Congratulations were also offered by the Mayor. Sir Ernest Davis. The school would be a welcome addition to the community's educational life and to the social work of the Church. Mr. Justice Callan recalled that hihad been a fellow pupil of Hishop Liston at the Christian Brothers School. Dunedin. He was glad to take part in the inauguration of a fresh venture of the Order. Spcechvs were also made by the Rev. Brother K. Keinry. representing the Provincial of the Ordi-r in Australia and Xew Zealand, and Mr. H. McVeagh, who said he hoped the community's debt to the Outhwaite family would be acknowledged by a memorial brass in the school. A collection on behalf of the furnishing fund realised close on £300.