Ecclesiastical.

Otago Witness, Issue 1585, 8 April 1882, Page 11

Ecclesiastical.

ARRIVAL OP V ISHOP MORAN.

Aftei' an absence from Dunedin of nearly a year, necessitated by an official visit to Rome, tho Very Rev. Dr. Moran returned to this city on Tuesday. His Lordship arrived at Port Chalmers about 10.45 a.m., by the s.g. Hero, from Melbourne, and was met on the Railway ! Pier by a large number of the Roman Catholic ; residents of the Port and 'also of Dunedin. He was at once driven to the local church where lie was presented with the following address by the Mayor of Port Chalmers (Mr J. Morkane) : — May it plea<e your Lordship,— We, tho Catholic people of Port Chalmers, hasten to present ourselves before \ our Lord- hip on the occasion of your return from.the Holy See. We do so to congratulate you on your safe arrival, to offer you words of wi lcome, to show our attachment to you, our respect, and our obedience. In common with the whole Catholic population of your Lordship's diorese we are deeply grateful to God, because He haa brought you safely through your long: journey, and. has blessed that journey with happy success. We know how strenuous have been your exertions to promote the interes'B of religion whilst \ou have bten amongst us. The happy results of j our journey to Europe show how you 'have since laboun d for the same end. If. would therefore ill become us to let the opportunity pass of manifesting to your L,oe ship our appreciation of your labour- for our spiritual wel are, hence it is that, we louder you our warmest welcome, fhat we are rejoiced to see you once more amongst us, and that ' w< invoke for you a continuance of that success which has distinguished the whole courte of your episcopal cai cor. ' > Wfc have special rrasons for testifying: our Jcindly feeling towards your Lordship. During your absence, when jou fourrd you could do so, you erected thia place info a sopaiate mis-ion, you established amongst us a resident priest, who would devote his individual [care to our spiritual interests 'The coed results of this mwitesration of your Lordship's care for us may | be already witnessed in the .increasing spirit of religion amongst us,, find in ,thnt. greatest of sill blessings —the e.-tablishment of a Catholic school for the education of pur children. ' • Permit iis.'then, to tell your Lordship that we are not wanting: in duly appreciating your 'Lordship's special paternal care for us, and that we will not be found indifferent or apathetic in seconding and forwarding your .wishes in regard to tho religious interest of thia portion of your diocese. Tendeiing to your Lordship our heartfelt welcomo, thanking you for your especial kindnes-. to us, acknowledging our increising attachment and devotion to you, and wishing you many long and happy years as a Bishop,— We remain, &c. Signed on behalf of the Catholics of Port Ghalmnrs, James Morkanb. John Burke. Duncan Shaw.

April, 1882.

His Lordship replied: Mr Morkane, ladies, and gentlemen, it gives me the greatest pleasure to find myself hero in the midst of you to-day and to receive from you this address, for which I beg to thank you most heartily. If it gives you pleasure and joy to see your Bishop once again amongst you, I can assure you that the pleasure and joy you feel is not exceeded by that which 1 myself feel on this auspicious occa&ion. Whilst absent from you, you have always been in my mind. I have tried to forward your "interests to the best of my ability ; and the thought uppermost always was how I could promote the intorests of the people of this diocese. As you have remarked, Divine Providence has blessed my exertions singularly, and it has been in my power to prepare for the most pressing necessities of the diocese, particularly in succeeding to secure the services of several wholly devoted and highlyqualified ecclesiastics, some of whom are already labouring amongst you with, as I understand, very considerable fruit. You will be pleased to hear that I have been enabled also to make provision for the future, and that a number of students are now in college preparing themselves for the work of this diocese, who, year by year, according to the exigencies of the diocese and the state of their preparation, will come to this diocese, thero to succeed to those whom Divine Providence may call away from us, or to establish new missions. Also, it has been in my power to provide nuns, 'so that the education of the female portion of 1 the community, at all events, will, after a little time, be amply provided for. The only thing that I have to regret is that I havo not been so successful in securing tho services of Christian Brothers ; and the reason is that tho men are not to bo had as yet, their numbers not being sufficiently large. But tho authorities of the Christian Brothers assured mo that, taking into consideration the state of the novitiates, the time is not far distant when it will be in their power to provide for outside wants. lam sure this announcement will be to you a source of gratification. In the meantime, we shall have to do what we can to provide a Christian education for the bpys of oi.r various missions. For many years it was my most earnest desire to have it in my power to place a resident clergyman here, and nothing prevented the realisation of this desire on my part more than the want of a sufficient number

of priests. Now, however, as soon as I found it was possible for me to carry out the design I had cherished so long, no fame, as you will perceive, was lost in doing so : and it gives me great pleasure that you are also pleased with this arrangement and give me assurance that you will do what you can to provide for the spiritual wants of this mission. I hope the day is not far distant when the priest who officiates here will devote his undivided exertions to this mission, and when it will be in our power to provide priests for the other districts of the mission. Meantime considerable advance has been made, and although wehavenotall we could dosii-o yet we have all we could have expected under the circumstances ; and it gives me pleasure to find that you are pleased with the arrangements that have been made and that ' you are satisfied so far. Of course this new arrangement will impose upon you corresponding obligations, and you will be called upon to make sacrifices in various ways ; but, judging from the past,l have no doubt whatever that these sacrifices will be all cheerfully made, and that nothing will be left undone on your part to make this new, arrangement a perfect success When I was favoured with an interview with the Holy Father he 'was pleased to ask a " great many questions, concerning this diocese. lu'fa'ct he'.'interrogated'm'e upon all subjects relating to it. He wanted to know the size , of the diocese, and the number of Catholics as well as thenumber of non-Catholics, the number of priests, churches, and missions, and also the number of schools. ' Then he interrogated ieven more closely as to the state of the people. He -asked if /the Gospel was preached to them regularly,, if the catechism was taught regularly, 1 if they approached the sacramentß ; "and it was a source of pleasure to Rive satisfactory answers on all these 1 points. He irvyound up. by ''asking,' " Are the t people kind to their priests ?"/ I said, "Yes, kind and generous, to excess." lam quite Bure that any priestlivihgam'ongst you willneverbe permittod to want anything that may reasonably be desired or expected, that every provision will be, made for his. comfort and efficiency as far as! ' lies in your, power. I shall not now occupy • ■ your time at greater length, particularly as the' pebple'in Dunedin are waiting for us, and as the' steamer has .'arrived later than was anticipated. ' I therefore conclude , by saying t that I have-not words to express.my joy andgratin-i cation on this occasion, and that I thank you • most' Heartily'f or this kind reception and^thisj address/ ' , ( ' „'oPne ",ofV '.the '.pupils attending St. Mary'sSchool then presented an address on behalf of' tfhe'soholars, to which his Lordship replied as; follow.8 :— " There are few. greater blessings, my "dear .'children, than that of the course of, imitating, a good, example. , It is therefore very gratifying, to me tbfiiid that you are animated by this principle, and that you evince it here in' your: address. You never can do any- 1 thing I 'better than to imitate the good example. 'of th'ojße who are your' elders, and who have ex-; "perience',' in the world, and X, trust you will .alwiysbeofHhis"njind^-that you will^ever be-/ above; Tfollowingj a,- good-j example.., t.,lt< gives' 1 me -great' pleasure indeed to, receive) : the"address 5 of St. Mary'B Catholic- School,',; IPorf 'Chalmers, 1 ' particularly as it is 1 "the; ■ifiisCJaihe ' ,tb*t such! a' blessing as this; •',has been. vouchsafed to.me. ,The establishment' ,of this> school; is one of, the effects of placing a resident oClergyman. here, 1 and .this shows /of * whathigh importance it isito have as many re- , . BJ&ent' I cle%ymen "throughout 'the diocese; as 'possible;, wonly one thing that would"prevent ,me°,fromymultiplyihg the number of ' priests - immensely,-' j and that .is the want of- ■:■ "sufficient means for ■ their proper support V '*> u t wherever it will be possible, to give decent .subsistence to a clergy* man, ;« there,, it ,i8 t "my, "intention to place as jsqon.as possible, & resident clergyman, not only because, such anmove .on ,the part of jronr, Bishop will' be a satisfactionof the obligations; which I 'devolve 'iipon him, and the* means i ofj' many'' spiritual blessings' to the adults of the' congregation, but I may venture to say chiefly because of -the blessings it .will be the means of bringing to our little' children who are the most,; helpless of our flocks. ' It must be remembered"/that^'out 1 - of - the children .must come ' ! ihe' future' people ; of this > • diocese, < Seldom, Ibelieve,;in the history of the Church, has that had to wage such a, terrible warfare than, at, the present ,time, because the attack <~is '.not made against grown. up people, who are 1 experienced, 1 but the assault is made upon 'the lambs, and most helpless portion of. ''theflqck'.' It' is a 'wicked design. Whether if is intended in wickedness ,qr not I will hot now stop to inquire, but in point of fact it is a , wicked design, because it assaults little helpless children in that which iB of paramount importance. ' So far as l amconcerned myself, there is nothingl would not be prepared to sacrificeprman'a ease, health, more if necessary—in order to give to the Catho-' lie - children of- this diocese a Christian and Catholic education, because their happinesß in this life, and above all in the next, is inseparably bound up in this question. I have -not words therefore to express to you the great gratification I experience at this moment to find on my return from the Holy See that there is a Catholic school here where there was not a Catholic school before. I could not exaggerate the importance of thiß one, nor tell you the joy I feel at finding such is the case. It only remains for you, my children, to co-operate with your teachers, to go regularly to school,' and to be attentive when there (it is wonderful the- amount of knowledge you willacquire if you attend regularly), and your minds will be /.opened and, furnished with, useful knowledge. Your minds .will also be balanced because reli- ,' - gion .will ,be at the; bottom and foundation, of.' 'yovuhqducatiQn. Therefore, come regularly to" j.schopl^.and, labour to , co-operate, with yo.ur, teachers t9 tryjand make it a point to give them as little trouble as possible. If you only .fcnew, howi greats the labour of teaching little v children,! you ..w.ould ; ,have compassion upon .your teachers, and' not; give, them any. unnecessary ..trouble', norj cause them the least

His Lordship .haying . given , the Apoatohc benediction, those present in the church dis-, .persed. „ „ Thereafter the visitors from Dunedin, ,who had driven to the Port in carriages, formed their vehicles in line of procession; and his Lordship having taken his seat in the foremost of them, which was drawn by four horses, the party, prooeded thus to town. At 1.15 p.m. the Octagon was reached, and here an immense concourse of people, numbering, over 2000 persons, had gathered. A brass band began to play as the procession' moved on ' towards St. Joseph's Church, and it was considerably augmented by the children attending the Catholic schools, who marched up in regular order. < As the church ' was neared the bell in connection with it was set tolling, and the pealing organ could be heard inside. Round about outside triumphal

arches of evergreen shrubbery .had beon constructed, and bore striking words of welcome. After some ceremony in the church, an addresß was presented to his Lordship by Archdeacon ■Coleman, on behalf of the clergy, as folJows ; — My Lord,— Though we are satisfied that you are > .perfectly ■certain of our warm and devoted attachment ito you as our revered Bishop, yot we consider it a <duty thus publicly and as a united body, to assure yw of our delight at your safe return to your diooege

after the long and arduous labours of your journey, undertaken to present yourself before the Holy Father, and render an account of your stewardship for the past 11 yeats, and to explain to the Vicar of Christ the Btate of jelijrion hero, and to assure his Holiness of the living and undying |of this distant portion of the ono fold. ,■_..... ... „ For your exertions in this district since us formation into a diocese under you as its first bishop, we cannot but express our gratitude to God for haviDg so ordained that it should bo placed under your zealous, energetic, wise, and prudent guidance. During the past 11 years you never spared youraelf, but rather, with, what we presume to call an excessive zeal and a too lavfsh expenditure of health and strength, laboured.in season and out of season, to promote the well-being of your people in religion, education, and- 6ocial position, and we are glad now thua openly to testify that your course of action has at all times during these years gained the admiring approval of, your people and priests, t The establishing of the New Zealand, Tablet by the cooporation of the Catholics of the Colony showed your wisdom and foresight in securing an able and public means of combating your opponents in educational and religious controversy by fair and honourable argument, and of promoting Catholic education by. proclaiming those truths that prove the necessity of having religion combined with secular instruction if we desire to have the people of the Colony loyal subjects and .faithful observers, of the teachings of Christianity. Your Lordship's action in this matter (rives satisfaction not only to us your, priests, but. to the entire Colony. , ..'>■ 1 ■' n -.-.>•

The many works directly or indirectly connected with religion in which you are engaged j the building of schools ; . the establishment of- various religious orderd ; the all-important work of organising a means of securing a succession in 'the priesthood of, your dioceße ; and, lastly.the steady and persevering effort of building a beautiful cathedral -a temple suitable for the ministration of our holy religion— clearly mark your worth, your J ability, and your, intense devotion to the discharge of those sacred duties which. the Church in her wisdom imposes on you. < ' •• We may be permittedto humbly assert what is well known to you, that in the past we as a body endeavoured to co-operate with your Lordship to the .best .of our ability,; and now on yonr Lordship's return we rejoice, and wish to assure you that whilst labouring in your diocese we shall one and all strive to do our humble part in forwarding the interests of religion under your guidance. ItMs because we know that this askurance will bring an of joy to your heart th*t we take the liberty of giving expression Welcoming you back with heartfelt gladness, 1 and wishing you many years of happiness in tho fulfilment of your episcopal duties, We beg to remain your Lordship's faithful and devoted priests. . ' , (Signed 'by the entire clergy.) Bishop Mokan, in reply, said: Archdeacon, Coleman and rev. brethren, — Often in the' f course of a long term of years spent' in the ser-' vice of the Church have I found myself in em-> barassing positions; but never .before,. I can' assure you, have I felt so embarrassed as I do| on the present- occasion. The seal of. your approval put upon my administration by' my fellow-labourers, who are best able to judge of its merits and demerits, and who, with, singular modesty arid self -denial, seem to for-; get the very large share they have themselves'^ ;had in its success, such' as" it has been, touches ( me deeply-^moffl' deeply tfian any, words, of; mine can'express ; whilst at the same time it* overwhelms .me, suggesting as it ,. does , thes .thought of how really unworthy I am- of the; encomiums your kindness prompts -you tof laVish on- me. At this ihoment the -thought; 'uppermost' in 1 ' my mind/is :^ Will the' T Great; Judge see reason, to approye,'your judgment?' iFor this expression of your' approbation, and 1 ! for your hearty welcome, of which. L never? entertained ! a' doubt, I thank you heartily;, and I beg to' assure"; you, that the expressions of your delight' at ' my safe return td^Dun-: edin . from Rome,, and, of j your resblu-/ ition to continue to co-operate with me inifor-j warding (the interests, of religion and • Chris* tian education, renews- my. courage, renovates my spirit, fills' me- with joy 'and -consolation',,! and will; I trust, serve to nerve me tprenewed* and more strenuous exertions. You. will excuse me. if I decline to notice in detail the paragraphs of your beautiful and eloquent address, in- which you rapidly glance at the various; works, the success 'of > which yonr too great' kindness attributes to me. It must not be for-< gotten that' this success ,has been chiefly.due to', the active and generous co-operation of yourselves and your congregations. In conclusion, . it is' my. pleasing duty to inform you that our Holy Father, Leo XIII., who was pleased to. ,make >cry (minute inquiries concerning you, ' and to whom I was able to speak of you in the highest terms, has sent you through me his, special Apostolic benediction. • His Lordship then visited the Christian, Brothers' school, where another address was? presented to him by the pupils, in which they expressed their sincere joy at his safe return, and referred to the manner in which his absence had been felt by them, on account of the kindly interest he had aiways manifested' in the schpol. In reply, his Lordship said ha claimed to* reciprocate the feelings of joy at meeting the children again, and to say that it was with feelings of delight he returned to his old home.' again. He could well believe, as was stated, ■ that the children had offered daily prayers for, his safe return, and he felt convinced that these were offered up with humble heart and in all sincerity. In calling to mind his absence he> could recollect having met with nothing in the least degree disagreeable— he was never even in< the least danger; and he must say that his" journey to Europe and back again had been an < uninterrupted success, both as to the travelling and the attainment of the object he had in view in going. They did him no more than justice! in saying that he had always taken a great interest in their progress, and had, evinced 1 great anxiety in promoting their happiness ;' and though -'he was not here in the 'body* at Christmas-time he was here in the spirit; He t i regretted that in. making hurried preparations for his journey' hV'had forgotten to make, arrangements as '•to the scholarships, but he' now begged to inform them that there would? be 1 a scholarship,' 'the competition for which would take I ' place immediately on resumption of studies 1 after Basteri Divine Providence,, had singularly' blessed his mission, and; .his. efforts to provide a sufficient number of priests and religious teachers ; and although he had not brought out with him any Brothers, be cause none were to be found, he had brought, back the assurance that after a little time they/ would be forthcoming. The address referred to the conduct of the children, and although he, did not wish to flatter them, yet he wished to speak the simple truth, and to say that their conduct had always given him great satisfaction. He felt assured their conduct in thel future would be as it had been in the past, and that hereafter they would give even more satisfaction than they had hitherto given. Once again he thanked them most heartily for their kind ' address and for this warm reception ; and as they had not forgotten him in their prayers during his absence, so he had not forgotten them, and he promised that he, would never forget them in offering up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 'I

Afterwards, his Lordship repaired to the site of the cathedral to observe what progress had been made in the building of the edifice, and he appeared to be well satisfied with what he ' During the afternoon he visited the Convent, aud there received and acknowledged congratulatory addresses from the pupils. At the church, in the evening, his Lordship' was presented with three other addresses} and the building was literally crammed with One address was from the members of the

Confraternity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ; another from the local Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society ; and the third from the congregation generally. The address from the H.A.C.B.S. referred to the Bishop's visit to Ireland, and stated : — " You have spent some months in Ireland, and your arrival thence renews the memories that many of us cherish, and all of us respect, as it is fitting in the members of a Society into whose titlo there enters the epithet Hibernian. You saw this land in the throes of a great struggle that has endured now for a considerable time, and concerning whose end it is impossible to predict anything certain. The injustice that has ruled for ages seems at last to have mot with an obstacle which it is unable to surmount j but it is not willing to surrender its ancient empire without a Bevere fight. We, from our place, look on meanwhile with anxiety, earnestly longing to see the course of right triumphant, and the people settled down, at peace beneath the mild and fostering care of a just Government." Mr F. W. Petre read the the address from the congregation as follows :—: — Address of welcome from the Catholic laity to the Lord Bishop of Duhediu .' on ' tiia return from 1 ' -Home. ft '" ' i '"'' ' . , Lord Bishop,-We hail yo\w return with joy and feelings of thankfulness to Heaven that has preserved you and prospered- yOur journey, aa our constant prayer has been. The period of your absence has seemed to us a long- one ; but, nevertheless, we have not been wholly separated 'from' you. We have followed you in spirit; and the • frequent tidings received byua from Europe have enabled to do this the wore vivldlv ' ' ' ' * ' l Espeoially.'we' have heard of your visit to the tombs of the Apostleß, and the details thathave reached us concerning your stay in Rome havo been very pleasing to us. We felt, indeed, that we were all honoured when we learned that' our Bishop had, beon invited to celebrate the principal mass Offered on one of the great festivities of the Church, and more particularly of the Etornal City, whose • crown of glory numbers among its brightest jewels the martyr, St. Cecilia. We felt again honoured in you when we heard that the learned' heads of the Scots' College had asked you, already the honoured guest of the Irish College; to celebrate the solemn high mass offered at their alter on the Feast of St. Andrew, the patron Saint of Scotland ; and we have, further, to congratulate you on the privilege you enjoyed by being present at the great ceremonies of the canonisation which has lately filled the Catholic world with joy. But nevertheless we feel, Lord Bishop; that all ' your visit to Rome was not a time of unminglecl happiness and rejoicing. The consolation derived by you from being in the presence of the Holy Father, and the strength you gained from his counsels, came to you when you were saddened by the sight" of many changes, and hiuch,that was strange to you in tho surrounding of the Vatican. When last you hod been there the temporal power of the Pope indeed was crippled, and his dominions had been in 'some considerable degree usurped ; but you saw him reigning as a~ sovereign prince over a faithful people,' Bubject willingly to his sway, and receiving the homage that his high condition naturally demands. In place of this youjiow found the Pope a prisoner, overcome with grief and a Just indignation at the coarse inaults^hat, within his very hearing, had been bffered.fo the remains of his great and holy predecessor. You found, his bitter enemies lodged beneath the windows of'hißpalaeo. You found him despoiled to the utWmoat, sacrilegiously impeded in the fulfilment of 'his- sublime commission, and grieved by the echoes of confusion and* corruption that continuaily.meet Mascara ; weighed down,,moreover, by the sufferings of many members of the religious orders, .whom he is wholly unable, to relieve, .and by the .attacks on religion 1 that are incessantly taking place even at his gates, as well as throughout a wide extent of Europe. ••' - J ' ''• ' ' ' So true a son of Holy Church as you are, Lord Bishop, and one. so faithful- to >thß Chair of Peter, could not have witnessed aUthiswithoutdeep affliction, and therefore we have felt that, while we had cause to .rejoice in the honours conferred upon you and the religiqus consolations , you enjoyed, -the sorrow you experienced also claimed our < sympathy. It was 'in such a spirit that wo followed you in your absence. ' i , It is now, however, in the spirit of joy and thankfulness unalloyed that we welcome your return, hailing it as that of a friend and father, always himself the source towards us of countless blessing*, Mid now, we doubt not, bringing us as well special blessings from the rich treasury of Rome.

In conclusion, Lord Bishop, we are aware that your journey and the provision you have made for the rell'glous wants of your diocese have. been costly. We recognise that it is our duty to bear the coat of these things, which were undertaken and performed by you for our benefit, and therefore we have subscribed the aum of £1000, of which we beg your acceptance.— On behalf of the laity of the diocese,'— 1 (Signed) f rank W. Pmi Jonsr P.'Pbrwn. ' John B. Callan. John J. Connor.

Francis Mkknan. Bobbrt A. Dunnb. The Very Rev. Dr Mohan said that if he ! found a difficulty, as he did, in answering these addresses, it was not because of the paucity of the subjects raised for consideration, but because, unfortunately, he had ,had no time to prepare a written answer to them, as he would have done had circumstances (permitted him. Copies of the addresses were forwarded to Melbourne for him, but they did not reach there until after he had left. The journey had been rapid, and that day, as they were aware, he had been much occupied, so that it was only just j immediately before he came into the church that he had been able to take a cursory glance at the addresses. He accordingly experienced some difficulty in answering them ashe would desire, for they were in themselves beautiful ; full of the spirit of faith and Catholicity ; full of signs of the affection and love of a faithful people. They claimed at his hands more than ordinary . care in responding to them, and it was a subject of regret to him that it was not in his power to treat them with that amount of respect and deference which is due to them and which he would gladly give. They would therefore be so good' as to bear with his deficiencies, and 'if he failed to come up to their expectations, to attribute it not to his will or desire, but to the unfortunate situation, in, which he, was placed.^ He had not words to give adequate expression to the feelings he entertained at that moment, -and even if he had, ' he 'doubted whether it 'would be physically possible for him to express these' 'yftjrd^. ,If , fie did^not ' speak ' as warmly and as affectionately as might be expected of him, the honest reason was that he was afraid were he to do so' 1 he should become unmanned, break down', 1 and make an exhibition , 'of ' himself. It was, now nearly 12 _ months since 'he '. departed '."from 1 / Dunedin, and .during the time" he, was 'away he never forget them nor their interests. He thought he might say truthfully that he had been occupied alone with that which' interested them. He did not claim any credit for this, for if he were not so engaged on their account he should be indeed an ungrateful man, for from the ! first moment he set foot on these shores he j had received nothing at their hands but the strongest testimonies of attachment, of love, and of obedience, and innumerable proofs of their boundless generosity. He should be less ,than human, therefore, if their interests were not paramount in his mind to all other earthly considerations. They had prayed for him he was sure, and to the power of these prayers before the throne, of Christ he attributed the happiness of his journeys to and fro, and the wonderful success that had attended his poor efforts for their interests. They would be happy to hear that from the moment he left these shores until he set foot on them that morning there was nothing disagreoable encountered by him, and no danger. The journeys were particularly pleasing. He did not even encounter a ' single storm, and he met with i nothing butldnduess and consideration and aid from all quarters to which he made application. Of course, as they were aware, the primary ! object of his visit to Rome was to obey the 1 law of the Church, which directs that the \ bishops in these parts of the world should visit

in person the, tombs of the apostles once every 10 years, in order to venerate the records of these great apostles that were there preserved ; that they should pay their homage to our Divine Redeemer, m the person of His Vicar upon earth, to render at the head of the Catholic world an account of their stewardships, giving a minute and detailed account of their dioceses, and all the circumstances connected with those dioceses. He bad. however, made other use of his journey, by making provision for obtaining for the diocese a sufficient number of priests, nuns, and Christian Brothers. His Lordship here ■ referred to several important ceremonies which he had : the honour of beng allowed to celebrate, and took occasion to refer to the wonderful Oathoi licity of the Church," At 1 Rome were to be found various nationalities— people from the ends of the earth, speaking different tongues and belonging to different races, all coming together and being as one in the Catholic Church. Here was the fulfilment of the prayer of our Divine Redeemer^ Our Holy Father Leo ' XIII. was a great > man, and a great Pontiff, of high intellect; and abounding in learning, eloquent and polished, and yet determined and fearless inthe<jause of Catholicity — I fearless and brave in maintaining the rights of the Holy See. His 1 Lordship remarked that there were not such vast numbers of irreligious people in the world as, might be imagined. 1 That was a question he had examined for himself. He had gone into cities in the course of his journeys, cities where he wastold there was little religion, and what did he find ? He found all the churches very well attended indeed. In one place 5000 people attended Mass, which he celebrated at 5 0 clock in the morning, and that all the other masses were similarly well 1 attended. Those who were irreligious made a great noise. They had' got political power in their hands owing to the action of secret societies and thtf fear of the dagger. He asserted without fear of contradiction that there was generally speaking throughout Europe at present more fervent faith and piety, and more practice of holy > religion than at any other period during the last 35 years. Regarding , the state of Ireland, the speaker said that as far as his personal experience went, he saw nothing "but absolute quietness. He never saw such quietness before. No, doubt outrages were committed, but not so many as they had been led to believe. There had been outrages and gross fabrications. He freely admitted that crimes had been committed, and he reprobated them as they all did, but they must not be too I severe on the poor people, who were driven to desperation by long centuries of gross ' injustice. He had travelled many countries and been a close observer, of the inhabitants of i them, and he would assert without fearof contradiction that there was no people in such want and misery as multitudes of the Irish people in their own land. The Kaffirs and Maoris were better clothed and housed. In certain districts in Ireland, even last summer, he saw little girls of 10 and 12 years of age with only a little bit of sack to cover their nakedness. The dwellings of the people were hovels. On ! asking the priests how many children attended school he obtained the reply, '• Not a third there ought to be ;" and on inquiring "Why?" he learnt that it was because the children had no clothes. In one place funds had been raised to buy clothes for the destitute, and 140 children were clothed and' attended school. As soon as the olotb.es wore out the roll dwindled down to 40. Ireland was a fertile land, and it was perfectly clear, even if they had not history to appeal to, that something must be grievously wrong in the government of a people so genecous, so highly intellectual. If Ireland was justly governed the people would be the most easily - managed people on ' ' earth. How was it that in every, other part of the world the Irish people were easily governed. It was apparent the people had quietly and calmly determined to starve no more. They had said, "We have starved long enough ; we will be bullied no more : we have been bullied enough ; we have cried for justice, andwe have been met with coercion." Since the Union there had been 50 coercions to keep the people down, and the very laws which were cried against were afterwards repealed. His Lordship said, in conclusion, that he was very well satisfied with the conduct of the I affairs of the diocese during his absence. Things had gone on better, he thought, than if he had been present. He was more than delighted with the progress the Cathedral had made. He was pleased beyond power of oxI pression at what he beheld at the building that day. He had nothing to regret ; nothing to wish undone ; and he had nothing but congratulations for the congregation. Ho thanked them for the hearty reception given him, and for the magnificent demonstration, which had exceeded his most sanguine expectations. That evening they had crowned all by bestowing on him on him the sum of £1000. He accepted it gratefully, but not for himself. t Every; shilling of it should be spent in promoting their spiritual interests, in endeavouring to help the schools of the diocese, providing a priesthood for the diocese, and in forwarding the great work of the Catholic Cathedral. In these and other things appertaining to religion should every shilling be spent ; and if it were ten times the sum it would be spent in the same way. He was proud of his congregation. They had not great wealth in the things of this world, but they had it in iaith, and in the practice of their faith— in generosity, in love of their Church, and in devotion to their Bishop and their priests. His Lordship having bestowed the apostolic benediction, the proceedings terminated.

The Queen has given Miss Grant a commission for a marble bust of Dean Stanley, which is to be placed in the private chapel at Windsor Castle,' as a companion to the bust of General Grey, and it is to be placed almost opposite to the gallery where Her Majesty sits.

By the doath of Sir Daniel Macnee, Scotland has lost not only one of its best artists but also its best story-teller. If his after-dinner stories could be collected they would make a volume aB readable and as illustrative of Scotch characracter as the " Reminiscences" of Dean Ramsay.

A Paris correspondent draws attention to the non-recognition of the English marriage law in France, which leads to the desertion of many Englishwomen and children on their arrival in this country. .A Frenchman may marry an English girl m\England according to our laws, and as long as ' they remain in England they are lawfully married ; but let a trip to Paris or French soil be taken, and the wife is no longer a wife, and the children become illegitimate. Young women who contemplate marriage with Frenchmen should make themselves acquainted with all the French formalities. It is true that there are Frenchmen who do not know the laws of their own country. A short time ago, a Frenchman came to Paris, and, finding that the Englishwoman he had espoused 18 years was not legally his wife, honourably re-married her according to the French law. But, unfortunately, Frenchmen do not always act thus, and instances may be noted whore the police have been called in to expel the English wife and her babes as intruders at the house of the husband aud father,