ST. JOSEPH'S ORPHANAGH BAZAAR. THE OPENING CEREMONY.

Evening Post, Volume XLI, Issue 104, 4 May 1891, Page 4

ST. JOSEPH'S ORPHANAGH BAZAAR. THE OPENING CEREMONY.

A now nrphanago in plncn of the one nov known an fet. Josoph'H, which ia in a ver} dilapidated condition, in a v,»nt which hat long bern felt by tho Catholic community o1o 1 Wellington. With characteristic onorgy v n imbor of influential Cutholio refltdenta som< time ago propounded a scheme for holdiDg i bizaur on a somewhat extended scale foi tho purposo of assisting in getting a new orphanage, and tho rc-ult of thoir labour in this direction was tho bazaar which f pened in tho Garriaon Hall on Saturdaj evening. The opening ceremony was performed in tho presence of a vory larei-a-sembly of pcoplo, and tho hall presented a most brillinnt Bpeotacle. The wollb wore hung with flags of many nations, admirably hot off with rich green foliage, fernß, and coloured lightH ; from the ceiling was bubpmded dmpory in altornato colours of rod, white, and bluo; on either sido of the floor were tho fantastically draped bUHh, literally overflowing with choice markntablo warea of almost overy d j^oription ; then there worn the a-tHistantH nt tho various stalls, dreased i i fancy eontnmes, ond a moving merry o 'owd of people. All thin, viewed in fho a ilondidly lighted building, made up a scene of rtplendour. Tlio inaugural addiWß was dolivered punctually at 7 o'clock by th« Hon. Dr. Oraco, II L.C., who. with his Worship tho Mayor, several member* of tho Catholic clergy, committocnion, and prominent oiii/.ons, occupied snatH upon a platform e.-octori for musical purpoaoH Ur. Oraco first apologised for the nonattendance of His Grace Archbishop Redwood mid tlio Hon. the Premior, tho former boing. away on a diocesan visit and the latter also abnont from town. The hon gentleman then addressed himaelf moro particularly to t'ia objeot lor which tbe bazaar was hold. He rf ninded his nuditneo that the establishment of the Orphanage wns duo to the sagacity, f ircgight and mnnifioonoo of Sir George <>:'ey, who had endowed several of these Jn-titutionH with tho oaro and cnltnro of • irplian cliildron of all creeds within those j v aters Provision was mudo within_ its walls for iho accommodation of 00 girls, lmwy of whom wero rfceivod at a vory Umdnt ftsre. All woro obliged to undergo a ( crtaiii oonrso of instruction, and ultimvtoly loft tbo infilitution well prepared f -r tho dornpstio duties of lifoand to become, i " nned be, f uturo matrons of _NNe w Zealand In the who o experience of his life in thifioity, t, io ilootor Piiid, nothing had a(T>.rdßtl him so niunh ploaturn aa tho contemplation of these orpliaiiH. Of the motherly interest which the goO'J nuns who Biiperintondod the Home disin.iyefl in Urn woll-boingof their charKes, and fc'm care mul kii.dneas shown by them, too much could not be Eai'l Kcar after year ho had Hf<-u tliPße jfirla trow up into usefulness and vigour, fit for every honourable position i-i litu, 'iu'l ho fclfc proud of' such an institution. (Applauno.) Hib VVorali.p the Mayor said that he must firat express tho plcasnro ho l'olt in being present thut evening. Ho was not altogether in sympathy with bizaara as a rule, but v.hnn it was for Huoh a noble and henovolenf. objoct uh hu orphaungo ho thought no one could rai*o objection. An appeal for help for tho poor and tho orph'iu alwaya found its way to tho heart, and, looking round him th>vt evening, he felt bonnd to congratulats i lioso who had aMintod in. tho bazaar upon tho success which had att mrlod their efforts I; allowed ib&t they must havo been atimul»fcd by the knowledge that they woro porfurmmg a noble work. With all tho wealth and prosperity whit'h he felt confident Wellington waa gninjj to onjoy in tho futuro, f.'my must not forget the poor and tho orphans; it was a duty incumbent upou every citizsn to provide for thorn Ho niiioorely hoped the bazaar would bo tho RitcOriPH it deserved to bo, and amply repay tho labours of those engaged in superintending it He was not a believer in tlie present system of administering charitable aid. It was a hard, dry, and matter-of-faot system, uud, in his opinion tondeel rather to dry up Iho fountains of charity than otherwise, and did not serve to elovnte tho character of human kind. His Worship then, amidst applause, deolped the bazaar open. The mormaids next, sang a ohorns from their " pond," which is siiua'ed in tbe southernmost corner of the building, and business was commenoed immediately afterwards. Tho stalls, eight in number, are ranged a^ong 1 the sidos and at the end of the hall, and are distinguished by numbers. They are superintended as follows :— No. 1 (fanoy stall), Meadames Graoe, Baohoutf, Loughnan, and various assistants ; No. 2 (fanoy stall), Meadames Sharp, R. O'Connor, Miss Igglesdon, and assistants ; No. 3 (named the " Children of Mary "). Meadames M'Donald, L*wlor, and Brown, Misses M'Manaway, M'Carthy, Sheridan, and a number of assistants ; No. 4 (Orphanaee stall), Mesdimes O'Moara and Maginnity and Miss Cimino, assisted by a number of tho children of St. Joseph's Orphanage; No 5 (the mjrmaids' pond), Mosdamea Browne and T. j. Davis, as-sisted by the children of Ss. Mary's Convent Sohool ; No. 0 (refroshmont stall), Meadames A. M'Donald, J. J. Casey, Mies M'Oonald and assistants • No. 7, (flowor stall and gipsy tent), Mrs. G. Fisher, the Misses Fisher, M 'Clean and assintants ; No. 8 (agricultural produce), Messrs. Hyland, O'Neill and tha members of the Committee. Then there is a telegraph ofijco, with Mr. C. J. M'Carthy as officor in ohavgo, apd from whence myiterious missions are issued, for the privilege of perusing whioh a em«.ll fee is charged. Tbe raffles are managed hv Messrs M'Aliater, Davi?, and a large staff of handsomoly dressed young ladies are O7er on the alert to relievo tho unwary visitor of superfluous cash. One of the piottiest features of the bazaar is the flower stall, which has been designed in the form of a gro l to. It is situated under the aroh at the Waring Taylor-9treet entrancp, whioh has been temporarily olosed, and is enoircled with a mass of evergreens. In the centre of the stall is a fountain, in constant play, and surrounded by coloured lamps. Iho most delightfnl bouqueta and buttonholes may be purchased here for a very small fee. The most novel, aa well "a handsome side attraction, is the mermaids' grotto, where quite an army of sea nympbs a" 1 - csraitod in disposing; of " treasures of the J,:up" to visitora who may desire them. The grotto is built of fern and rock. A huge sheet of plateglasn makes an admitablo representation of water, and upon this, in fantastic groups, are beds of coral, soawrod, shells, &o The mermaids themselves are drpsaed in fanoy oosturaes of seagreon, with oirolets of pearls around their heada. The effeot is very pretty indeed. Of the remaining stalls, we must content ourselves with a panning notice. Suffice it therefore to say that each and all contain both useful a 9 well as ornamental artioles. Soma of tho art work whioh is on view at the fancy stalls is exceedingly beautiful. The musio during the evening was wholly supplied by the Brass Band of St. Patrick's College, under Bandmaster S. Cimino, and was really first-class for co young a company of musician*. Tho band-stand is situated immediately inside the entrance door, a position selected principally on account of the peculiar aconstio properties of tho building The programme was aa follows : — Quick step, "On tho Banka of Alien Water'; euphonium solo, " Alice where Art Thoji"; fantasia on Irish airg(No.l) ; valse, " Vaterland"; polka, " Liliputian "; slow march, " Wise Men of the East "; euphonium bolo, with variations, "Tbe Minstrel Boy "; sohottisehe, "Al fresco "; fantasia on Irish airs (No. 2); valse, "For Ton"; finale, quicketep, "St. Patrick's Day"; "God Save the Qaoen." The pianoß used were lent by tho Dresden Piano Company and Messrs. Hoffman and Sons. The flags used for decorating the walls w n re kindly lent by tho several Consular officers resident in Wellington, the Caledonian Sooiety, and tho Captains of the ship <Jlenlora and tugboat Mana. The Wellington Naval Artillery supplied the coloured drapery with whioh tho ceiling ot the hall ia festooned, and also went to the trouble of hinging it. The fountain with which tho flower flail is ornamented was temlerud gratuitously by Mr. T. Ballinger The Committee wero also offered a fountain by Mr. J. ti. Hayes, but bad not spaoi for it in tho ball. Tho Committee who have carried ont the arrangements is a largo one, bat Messrs. T. J. Davis, K. Burneja, J. Maginnitr, S Kohn, Byrne, Dnijrnan. N. Reid Carrigan, Hcaly, tiedmond, Coogan, Hvland, and Dr. Gra".\ together with tlio rieoretary (Mr. J. P. M'Alister) and thn Trrasurers (Messrs. J Cumin and J. O'Mearn), may be said to have done tbe prinoipal iiharo of the work, and to tbem, therefore, and the superintending ladies, is due the great success which attended the opening of the bazaar. The bazaar will bo open to-day from 3 to 5 in the afternoon, and from 7 to 10 in the evening. The musio to-night will be provided by Gray'a Band.