PRESENTATION TO BISHOP LENIHAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12713, 16 November 1904, Page 6

PRESENTATION TO BISHOP LENIHAN .

A PURSE OF 220 SOVEREIGNS. Thebk was a large attendance at thi Ma riot Bros. School, Pitt-street, last even ing, the occasion being a, complimentary concert and presentation of .a purse o sovereigns on behalf of Lis friends t< Bisihop Lenihan, in commemoration of th< eighth anniversary of . his consecration t< the Roman Catholic episcopate as IJisiioj of Auckland. The Mayor (the Hun. E. Mitcheison) presided, and was supported on his right by Bishop .Lenihan, and on his left by Mr. p. Darby. Amongst the large number of others present were the Revs, Father Patterson, Very lie v. Dr. 1 Egan, Bight Rev. Monsijr.nor O'Reilly (Thames), Rev.. Fathers Uiliaa, 0 Gorman (Sydney), Oahill. Diguan, McMillan, jieaghei,, i>a,hdah (Wellington), Duffy, Bncluey, Lynch (CoromandeJ), Tormey (Onehunga), 'Hoibrook, and Wust (Ng.iruawahia), Hon. T. Thompson, M.L.C., Messrs. A. Kolm, f. M. Hansen, E. Mahony, J. J. - O iirien, M. O'Connor; 0. Higghus, and many others. An apology for the absence of His Excellency the Governor (Lord Plunkst) was read by the Mayor, and apologies were also sent, by Sir Maurice O'Rorke, Hon. J. A. Tole, Mr. J. H. Witheford, M.H li, •itiid Dr. Moliaughkn (Rotorua).' The Mayor, in " making . the presentation to the, guest of, the evening, said ; it gave him as, much pleasure to-be there that night as it did on being present twelve months ago, at the presentation of a motor car to His Lordship. In regard to the presentation of that evening, he said th&t* its value was £220. It must, he said, be very gratifying to His Lordship to find that he hud such generous friends. He (the Mayor) had been brought very much into contact with the Bishop during the past 18 months, and he was now proud to look upon.him. as on a personal friend. He then presented the purse of sovereigns to the Bishop, after reading the following inscription on the purse:—"To His Lordship Bishop Lenihan, with best wishes, from his admiring * friends; the eighth anniversary, November 15, 1901, Auckland, New Zealand." He also handed to the Bishop, on behalf of Mr. A. Kohn, a gold pen, with opal handle, inscribed as follows — " Eighth anniversary, to Bishop Lenihan, from" his friend, A. Kohn, November 15, 1901." Mr. E. Mahony, in the course of an address, spoke of the value of such occasions as affording an opportunity of bearing tes- ! timony to the high respect in which Bishop : Lenihan had been held by his people and all classes of the community, ever since he bad first labourer l in the diocese as a parish priest. He hoped that such gatherings '.would be held annually in future, and that the Bishop would long be spared to preside over the first and premier diocese of th© colony. (Applause.) Bishop Lenihan, in returning thanks for the kind presentation, said he was not aware of having done anything during the past year to deserve "such generosity, especially after having received such a handsome presentation last year, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary, and what was generally termed the 'copper jubilee of his episcopate. In three Years' time, when he had completed his 25 years' work as a priest, it was possible* that something might be done in this respect, but he could think of no reason for the present gift, except that he had been on a trip to Australia. He referred to the Congress at which he had assisted in Australia, and the work done there, and said it was very gratifying to know that the expense:* of the visit would be more than defrayed by the present at ion. He alluded to 'the good work done toy the former bishops of the diocese, and said that he had lately ordered some stained glass windows for the chapel at his residence, as a memorial to these good and illustrious men. The cost would be £60 or £70, and he would be able to meet this also out of the purse which they had given him that night. He said that he usually had very little money at his command, and the expense of the upkeep of his large house was sometimes a matter of concern to him, but something I always seemed to turn up just when it was wanted. He thanked all his kind friends, especially Mr Kohn, Father Patterson, and Father Keogh, for their generosity. He also thanked the Mayor for his readiness in presiding at- such social gatherings as the present ■ (Applause.) During the evening a musical programme was rendered consisting of .selections bv the Mari«t Bros.' College orchestra, ,under' Mr. P. F Hiscocke, choruses by the boy?, of the Marist Bros.' School, and.the girls : of the ,oi*ters of Mercy's schools, songs bv ; Madam Cosier, Miss Lily Thomson, Miss. I Annie l,orrigan. Mr. and Mrs. .Hamilton j Hodges, Mons. Cnsier, Messrs. C. F. Bennett, F. rah 'ii. and R. Mantel!, a duet I by Messrs. Whyte and Bennett, and ''a i humorous recitation by Mr. F. 'VVhittaker. Mr, T. E. Midgley acted as accompanist.