CATHOLIC INTERESTS IN AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 38, 17 January 1874, Page 9

CATHOLIC INTERESTS IN AUCKLAND.

Yotm " own " correspondent will no doubt keep you will posted up in' what relates to Catholic interests, and other public affairs of colonial interest here. I may Bay generally, that Catholicism gets on swimmingly here ; could not do better hardly. The Cathedral fund now amounts to a large sum y and I hope ere long to see a stately and graceful Cath»lic Temple adorning this city of Auckland ; a city which' for' picturesque beauty is perhaps unrivalled in may part of the world. The convent of the Sisters of Mercy and their handsome little church adjtoining to it, already add not a little to the beauty of out town. Our good and ever active Bishop has purchased a modpst " palace ' near tne convent, and paid for it too. The grounds and building command probably the finest view among the many fine views in the town or vicinity t and he is getting the properly improved with great taste. It must be borne in mind that we have raised our cathedral fund out of our poverty and not out of our abundance. We have not the lich cattle- squatters and other millionaires, but there are a few " lucky diggers " among us, and only a. very few. If we are not good Catholics it will be no fault of our Bishop and his clergy. There is one thing that keeps us back, I believe, more than anything else, and that is the prevalence of intemperance among us. JNot that in this respect we are worse than- our neighbours, and probably we are some« tiling better — our young men especially. A fiver or better behaved class of youths generally, the town does not contain. This in part, I believe is owing to the Catholic Literary Institution, and the Christian Doctrine Society. The latter has been lately established among us Hinder the Bishop's auspices. It has a good though yet small library attached, where Catholics and enquiring Protestants may find many books of a useful kind. Talking of enquiring Protestants, I was glad to see a pretty good sprinkling of Protestants in our Cathedral last Sunday evening. Whatever the motive which brought them there, the conduct of some who sat immediately before me wis most reverent and edifying. This is not at all times the case when Protestants come to a Ciitlioiicjcliurch. Therj hive been whisperings of a cotniag Auckland Catholic Total Abstinence Society. The subject ia full of difficulties at all times. It may not be " opportune "to attempt to establish suoh an institution among Auckland Catholics at preseut, however much it may be needed ; yet when so many in' public as well as in private are working to seduce Catholics into intemperance or at least into wasteful and unnecessary expenditure of their hard earned wages on drink, to the great injury of themselves, their frugal wives and 1 iniiocent children, it does seem' almost a duty to form some public Catholic institution which should at. least protest against such seductions, and try cautiously, yet opeuly, to work in an opposite direction. But any Temperance Association among Catholics can only hope for success iv so kr a-s the clergy take the le<ul. To them we ot the laity naturally look for instruction and guidance in matters of that eort. They will no doubt act for the be.-t. We can harcllv take up a newspaper but we find the account of some fatal accident or sudden death through drink. Many of the unhappy victims' are Catholics. The idea of any member of the Catholic Church dying " a sudden and unprovided death," is inexpressibly painlul to every Catholic heart. Tins consideration alone if there were no others, should induce all good Catholics, I think, tD co-operate in the format io 1 of some public temperance league, which should undertake a spirited crusade against the worst of public enemies — drink. To Christendom in modem times, drink is a far more terrible enemy than ever the Moslem was in bygon« uges. I hope yet to see many temperance " crusaders " in Auckland " the cross " to use Cardinal Wiseman's words, <l not in their hearts only, but on their garments too." A badge of total übstinance is often a passport to good employment and good wages It is notorious that total abstainers as a rule are the best and mo»t trustworthy men — in railway duty esp^cnlly.