MAIL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, 30 March 1876, Page 3

MAIL NEWS.

x — -♦ j THE REV. T. S. GRACE IX LONDON. 1 The annual sermons in behalf of the Church. - Missionary Society, at the Church of St. * Catherine Coleman, Eenchurch Street, wero s preached by the Rev. T. S. Grace, one of t the bociety s missionaries from New Zealand, f His sermon in- the morning was preached from the text, "Thy Kingdom come." Ho * ran over in brief review the history of missiouary work until our own times, and coni eluded with an urgent appeal for help, ground- , m S. that appeal on the fact that heathen : nations were now- iraking up from tlieic i £ i /"id becoming more and more sensible of the miseries connected with their superstif tions and false system of religion. In the 3 afternoon ho took his text from Matt, vi., 7. 3 " Use not vain repetition as the heathen do." t Amongst other incidents, he mentioned his i having been imprisoned, together with his 1 fellow-inisaionary, Mr Yolkner, at the com- - mencement of the New Zealand War, audi L having been led out to execution with him, * and having seen him put to death by tho ■ relentless natives—the only Christan inartyc , of the war. He then gave a graphic descrip- ■ tion of his own miraculous escape, and couf eluded by pleading earnestly for more means 2 in money and men to enable the Society to 1 carry on the noble work of Evangelising the r heathen. The amount of the collections was T £3 13s. 7d.—-a small sum in itself, but not r small considering the character of the congregation in city churches. NEW ZEALAND TRUST AND LOAN" COMTANY. * -^ e half-yearly meeting ©f the shareholders Z of the New Zealaud Trust aud Loan Com * pany was held on January 17, at tho offices, J 12 King William Street, Sir Chas. Clifford, Bart., in the chair. The secretary haviug , read the notice calling the meeting, the chairman said that was only a meeting for the de- > claration of an ad interim dividend, and conJ scquently there was no report to present, bufc he might mention that the accounts had been: p audited, and that there was sufficient to provide, after payment of all claims, the * usual dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, per ) annum. The present accounts from tho > colony were most satisfactory. Tho public works system, joined to the large emigration T going on to the colony, created a large demand for capital, which they were endeavour--3 ing to supply as fast as they could. With rek gard to the new loan which they had endeavoured to get, that matter was going on " very satisfactory, and lie thought they [ would be able to go on in the future quite as 3 satisfactorily as they had done before. The general manager had been to this country, and the directors had been enabled to arrange with him a better management of the ■j business, and he would be prepared to carry l out the views of the board with even greater 1 profit to the compauy than hitherto. He , concluded by moving the declaration of an interim dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. [ per annum. Mr. Dalgetty briefly seconded the motion, which was unanimously agreed 1 to. TOE QUEEN ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. L Dr. Cumming, in a recent sermon, stated that some time ago he preached at Balmoral p on the subject of the " Communion of Saints j in Heaven." He dwelt in his sermon on the doctrine that all souls in a better world , would recognise those whom they had known [ on earth, and would fiud pleasure iii conversing on tho cveuts which had happened to L them on earth. At the close of the sermon, J the Queen, who was one of his hearers, : thanked him for the comfort which the subject of his discourse had afforded her. Dr. » Cummiug added that he felt honoured by the ' r recognition of so excellent a Sovercigu, and J he was assured of the truth of his doctrine. X SCOTLAND FURNISHING CLERGYMEN* , A correspondent of the Daily Review says ; 1 —" It would be interesting to know to what l extent England draws, upon her Northern. 3 sister for the supply of the pulpits of hcc i various denominations. We suspect to a - somewhat larger extent than may be comL monly imagined. At any rate, we have - been somewhat struck with the number of > Scotchmen we have had occasiou to meet $ who are ministers in all the different sec- ) tions of the Church. In the town in which i the writer lives, he found the leading High Church clerical devotee to be Scotch, besides , the superintendent of the circuit of the chief body of Methodists and tho Presbyterian minister, with a Congregationalism pastor in the immediate neighbourhood. This is, doubtless, an exceptional instance, . yet the average amouut is unquestionably , very considerable. This year, the chairman t of the Congregation Union aud of the ; Baptist Union are Scotchmen—Alexander * Thompson and Alexander M'Laren, both of - Manchester. The Archbishop of Canterbury is a Scotchman, and so are many leading men i of the Disseuting bodies ; like Drs. Kennedy and Raleigh of the Independents, Angus and Laudels, of the Baptists ; while even tho more distinctively English bodies of Methodists are not without a fair proportion. The ' Macs' figure largely on all their preachers' list. This is only what we might expecfc from the theological and ecclesiastical proclivities of the Scottish mind and education.'' CATHOLIC UNION 01' IRELAND. > The annual meeting of the Catholic Union J of Ireland was held in the chapel of the 5 Roman Catholic University, Stephen's Green, ' on Jan. 2S, under the presidency of Lord > Granard. Amongst those present were * Cardinal Cullen, Major O'Reilly, M.P., Mr. 3 Martin, M.P., Serjaufc Sherlock, M. P., the * Bishop of Ardagh, the Bishop of Kildare, and k the Bishop of Clogher. The president said * the necessities for which the Union was 3 founded still existed in full force. The dark J clouds that had gathered round the Eternal y City still darkened the existence of the Holy * Father ; the persecution of the Church con- " tinued on the Continent, while the education 3 question remained unsettled in Ireland. The x Union should join with the Duke of Norfolk e in any movement His Grace commenced. The education question would be the principal matter before the Union during the coming year. Cardinal Cullen addressed the meeting at some length. The state of the Church in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland he said, contained very little encouragement. The prelates of Germany had beeu left to choose beween beggary aud apostacy. The Pope, " though assailed, maligned, and misreprcj sented, was the admiration of the world. No I country was treated so badly as Ireland in re- ' gard to education. The means of obtaining I education were taken from the Catholics of J Ireland, and theu they were insulted and rcproached as if they were hostile to education. When some attempts were made to establish k education in tbte country they were always directed against Catholicity. The attempts at proselytism were gradually being abandoned; but the institutions which were erected in the time of the persecution were still maintained in the Protestant cause, and for the purpose of upholding and encouraging Protestantism, Even the national schools have something suspicious about them. They had to complain that fair play was not given the Catholic religion even in the schools that had been established - for Catholics. A resolution was adopted expressing a renewal of the Union's unalterable attachment to the Infallible Head of the Church. This resolution was at once telegraphed toKome. Resolutions ' were also adopted' the unsatisfactory state of University, primary, aud intermecliater education, so far as Catholics are concerned, and deprecating the establishment of school boards. The meeting expreßßed sorrow and indignation at the continued religious persecution on the Continent. — . .