MR JOHN L. GILLIES' ADVERTISEMENT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 10, 5 July 1873, Page 1 (Supplement)

MR JOHN L. GILLIES' ADVERTISEMENT.

In the •' Bruce Herald ' of the 24th instant, Mr John L. Gillies thanks his friends for supporting him in what he calls " both the late political contests." With thi3 we have nothing to do. But not content with thanking his friends, which was both natural and graceful, if he does not curse, he calumiuates and threatens not his enemies— not all who voted against him — but his Catholic fellow-citizens, whom it serves his purpose for the moment to affect to consider his enemies ; and he is particularly unjust and severe on their priests. Perhaps he means to be a candidate for the Speaker's chair in the new Council. If so, he could hardly have hit upon anything better calculated to recommend him for the post than the publication of the following : " In connection therewith, the only thing that I regret is, that for the first time a portion of the community should have allowed themselves to be influenced by denominational considerations and religious intolerance. Hitherto our political atmosphere has been peculiarly free from such influences as those I have referred to, but if the priesthood are determined that such should no longer be the case, then the battle must and will be fought out to the bitter end."

In the first place it is absolutely untrue that this is the first time a portion of the community has been influenced by denominational considerations and religious intolerance. We by no means admit such has been the ease during the recent elections, but for the sake of argument we let this pass for the moment ; and we say boldly, and without fear of contradiction by auy dispassionate man, that so far from Mr Gillies' statement being true, on the contrary, on almost every occasion when a Catholic presented himself as a candidate for any office or position, whether it was that of Provincial Councillor, member of the General Assembly, or .Mayor of Danedin, the majority has been influenced by denominational considerations and religious intolerance. And to such an extent has this been carried that the very fact of any one candidate, though a Protestant, being supported by Catholics is sufficient to ensure his rejection, as in the case of the Queenstown election last year. Indeed, so certain is this, that, were it not it would be opposed to honor and conscience, Catholics could adopt no surer means of defeating their enemies than by supporting them at the hustings.

Again, Mr Gillies seems to consider it a crime in Catholics to be influenced by denominational considerations. He refers, no doubt, to the Education questiou. Is not Mr Gillies influenced by denominational considerations? Is he. not a strenuous supporter of the present system of education, which is intensely denominational ? So much so, indeed, that no Catholic would have the remotest chance of being appointed teacher in any Government school in Dunedin, or auy other place of importance in the Province, — no matter how qualilified. On what principle can that be a crime in Catholics which is a virtue in Mr Gillies ? Why should not Catholics be influenced by denominational considerations? They are compelled to pay taxes for the support of schools belonging to other denominations, whilst obliged, by unjust legislation, to bear the entire expense of their own. Mr Gillies and his party must be permitted without remonstrance to take our money to educate their own children according to their heart, whilst ours must be excluded from all participation in the expenditure of money unless theh> parents consent to endauger their faith and morality at the bidding of the AntiOatholic party, to which he belongs ! Why did not Mr Gillies censure hisj other opponents, — why reserve all his venom for the Catholics and their priests 1 The reason is, the man knows what he aims at : he wants rehabili bation, and he is well aware of the best means iof securing popularity.

Mr Gillies says : "But if the priesthood are determined," &c. What does the hon. member mean ? Is a man to be deprived of his rights as a man and a citizen because he is a priest ? Is Mr Gillies to be at liberty to proselytise Oafcholic children, and undermine their faith by his system, of education ; and are the legitimate guardians of that faith to be denounced as criminals because they dare to stand up in defence of that faith?

But we ask what have the priests done ? We have not heard of their interfering at all. Certainly they took no part whatever in the contest in Dunedin, They neither harangued the people, nor canvassed ; nor did they think it worth toeir while to record their votes. If they wished to interfere wsd exert their influence to defeat Mr Gillies, they had as -nactx right to do so as any of their fellow citizens j as much ci^xt to speak and canvass, as lie had to stump the Province,

did not however, interfere at all, for the very simple reason that it was a matter of indifference to them whether Mr Gillies was rejected or elected. It would appear, however, that this honorable gentleman, who has been a steady and determined enemy of Catholic Schools, and an unswerving advocate of injustice to these schools in the columns of the ' Bruce Herald,' is disappointed because Catholics did not fawn upon and support the man that had lost no opportunity of opposing their dearest interests.

True, this journal did not advocate his interests, and we do not deny that Catholics generally voted against him, probably turned the scale in favor of his rival. But this is> not to be attributed to the influence of the priesthood. The Catholic laity are not simpletons, nor are they forgetful of their friends and enemies, and had they done otherwise than they have, they would have disgraced themselves as a body.

The ' Cromwell Argus' of Tuesday says:— "The whole of the men employed by the Heart of Oak and Star of |the East Companies struck work yesterday morning, in cousequence' of having received notice of a reduction of wages. The Heart of Oak has been paying £3 12s, and the Star £3 10s, per week of 49£ hours j and the reduced rate now offered is £3 5s for the same number of hours. Wages men working on the lower grounds — at the Bannockburn, for instance — are paid from £3 to £3 5s for 44 hours' work ; and the reefers claim the right to resist any reduction on their former wages, on the grounds that the climate of the Range is more severe, the work more arduoui, and the hours of labor longer, than they are in less elevated parts of the district."

The ' Daily Times ' has been shown specimen of selenite (the crystalline form of gypsum), which was obtained in the Oamaru district, where a seam of this substance about a foot in thickness wag lately discovered. Should the seam prove to be an extensive one, the • Times ' understands that it will pay well to work it, selenite being worth eight or ten pounds per ton. Fiji Items.— The s.s. Star of the South arrived at Auckland on the 25th iust., from Levuka, with six passengers. Her dates are to the 18th June. She brings the following items of news : — Parliament was dissolved after a session of ten days. The new Parliament, it was expected, would restore confidence. The planters are turning their attention to the growth of sugar. The mail service, it is anticipated, will cause good results in Fiji. —The schooner Florence was seized by H.M.S. Chameleon, at Apia, through the intervention of the Consul there. Captain Beaton and Paterson were tried by a court martial, which lasted for three days, the result being that they were ordered to be forwarded in irons to Auckland, to be dealt with there. Tue Florence sailed for Auckland on the 10th June.— —On June 3rd, H.M.S. Alacrity struck on a coral reef in Vita Bay. In getting her off, a boat was capsized, and one mau drowned. A merchant named G-eorge Renny has been sentenced to two years' penal servitude for an aggravated assault. The brig Jeanne has sailed for England with a cargo of cotton.

LatS Auckland News.— The Auckland Freight Co.'s barque Hylton Castle has arrived from London after a voyage of ninety-six days. She brings no passengers. Complaints are made by a body of settlers who have purchased land beyond the boundary of the confiscated land, that the Q-overnment refuses to protect them, although they had been to the Native Linds Court, and had recived cheir titles from that Court, Frederick James, clerk to Messrs Henderson and Ataofarlane, and formerly resident at Wellington, has been committed for trial for embezzlement. The full amount of his defalcations has not yet beea. ascertained. An accident of a serious nature has occurred in the Thames Pumping Association's works. It will be tea or twelve days before the repairs are effected and pumping is resumed. — —Mr Saunders reports buyers of shares as follows : — Caledonian, £22 10s ; Sons of Freedom, £15 ; Ruby, 4s j Eureka, 11s j Central Italy, 15s; Bank of New Zealand, £16 j South British Insurance, £2 is. At Q-rahamstown, at an inquest on the body of a ohild exhumed at the cemetery there, it was elicited that it was still-born.

Br the capsizing of a boat on the Molyneux, near Alexandra, on the 25th instauG, two of its occupants — a man named Scott, and Captain Mclntyre — were drowned. iScott leaves a large family. The • Argus' of the lyth June reports :— ln the import markets business is dull. .Flour is without inquiry. At the auction sale this forenoon, an easief feeliug was eviuced, Ll4 5s to Lll 7s 6d having been taken for country brands. We cannot in consequence quote over Ll4 7s 6d to Ll4 10a for parcels, although no transactions can yet ba reported. The ordinary trade demand continues to be met by sales at Ll4 Ids to Lid. Inqnires for wheat, on the other hand, have not relaxed, but, if possible, buyers are more keen thru ever to operate, aud business has been transacted at an advance ou yesterday's figure. No sales were effected at aution, but we hear of 1000 ba<rs of prime Gtoulburn having changed hands at 6s 104, while a similar offer made for a much larger parcel ivas refused. Cheaper wheat has also been placed at 6s (3d, and Tasmanian is offering at 6s 3d. Oats are very firm. Under the hammer a small parcel of inferior was sold at v 4s 9d, but the balance was withdrawn from sale. Maize is in good request at ss. A moderate business is done in sugar, but almost entirely in the finer sorts ; a parcel of whitish counters realised L 39 10s, and a ltne of 400 bags middling white has been taken up at 41a. Operations in teas have not been of freqnent occurrence of late, but we observe that some 700U packages will be submitted to public competition r,o-morrow uftdrnoon. .Little has cotnu before us in regard to liquids. iiaLes of JDK4 geneva, nowover, have oeen reported at 15s b'l for 15 bottle, auJ ids tor 20 oottle cased ; ouc <xi abjc*.* mw become so much redaced, the principal holder scili refuses cj qaJoe under 16a all round. Hennessy'a case brandy, xn small pai'cula, is moving off at 275.