NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 71, 5 September 1874, Page 6

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

We understand that the choir of St. Joseph's have been requested to repeat the programme of their late concert at an ea-ly date, in aid of the erection of a church in Port Chalmers. We m<o not in position at present to particularise the arrangements, but we believe it is intended that the concert shall be given at Criekmore's Concert Hall, at the Port. In addition to this, it is contemplated to charter a steamer and band ot music so that no doubt a large number of town residents will be induced to lend their patronage, and contribute to its success. For some time past subscriptions towards building a church at Tort Chalmers have been made, but the amounts collected Lave been so small that seeing the unmistakable success of the efforts of the choir in aid cf St. Joseph s School, their kind offices have been a<*ain enlisted and we trust their efforts will meet' with equal success ° '

♦l v, i V ™ "T eSfc WBS Y d at tho 110s P ital on Wednesday on the body of Charles Burgess, whose death was caused by drowning in Anderson s Bay on Monday. After hearing the evidence of the brother ot deceased, and two other witnesses, the jury returned a verdict of aecidontaldrowmng. ' Burgess was a bricklayer, and leaves a wife and family in England.

An accident of a most serious character, resulting in the' death of one man, and the severely injuring of two others, occurred on Friday at the Deborah Bay Tunnel. It appears that a man named John .enshaw, employed as forman at the works, and who has the reputation of being a thoroughly reliable and careful man, was using for blasting purposes the composition known as lithofracteur, not taltin* the usual precautions towards safety, an cxplo-ion occurred, blowing away one side of the unfortunate man's head, completely disembowel line him and fruitfully shattering the body. Two men, named John Sims and Alexander Simpson, who were assisting Kenshaw, but fortunately, were at some distance, were somewhat bruised • on beine removed to to the Hospital, the wounds were found to be but flesh deep, received from the articles scattered by the force of the explosion. Tho contractor for the works at which the accident occurred Mr McKenzifc, not long sine.-, met with injuries involving tho loss of an eye, by the accidental explosion of some of the blasting material A most distressing calamity, and unfortunately terminating in the death ot one of the victims, occurred at the Taieri on Tuesday week It appears hat a number of Germans, who are engaged on the rait way works m the vicinity of the White Horse Hotelf have encamped with their families m tents. On the night mentioned, one of tha men heanng cries of distress rushed to the door, and to -his horror dis* covered that the tent of his neighbor, a man named Gutschlay, was on fire, out of which was rushing the owner, with his hair in flames With great courage he entered the buramg tent, and with difficult succeeded m rescuing a woman and her infant. The poor creature had received frightful injuries, the flesh on her arms being almost a charred mass, whilst her »eck, head, and breast had been literally roasted, lhe unfortunate sufferers were- removed to the Dunedin

Hospital, but, after lingering in great agony till the following Friday the unfortunate woman expired. Mrs Gutschlay was quite voun» not having reached her twentieth year, and possesled of con! siderable personal attraction. The cause of the firo is attributed to some charcoal which had been carelessly left burning, on the family retiring to rest, for the purpose of warming the tent. The writer who photographs the political portraits for the columns ot the ' Daily Times ' is evidently not impressed with the abilities of the Jate Minister of Justice, and appears of the opinion that the Council of State was not materially effected by his withdrawal. However, Mr Bathgate may question the accuracy of the estimate given he must in common justice acquit him of all inclination to flattery. After stating that Mr Bathgate had come before the public like a St Catherine wheel, all splutter and fizzing, and people had be<mn to* wonder ho\y it was possible, unless through some flavr in the tele°3cooe he became elevated from a very small twinkler to a high place in the zenith, he subsided into peace again, the writer says :— " So ungrateful is our age, that even Mr Bathgate may be allowed'to slide into oblivion ana it is an unfortunate fact that all his Mends insist upon believine .hat it la the very best place for him. And so it is. A man who is deficient in brain and sense is better able to magnify those wants by a judicial seat and a -wig, than to cope with those are more than his equals in on open war ot words. Mr Bathgate is likely to be less objectionable where he is than where he was."

It must indeed be gratifying to Mr Justice Gray to find such, unanimous expressions of sympathy ond regret at his failin* heath, and the promptitude with which members of both sides of the House bore testimony to his labors in the service of the country. On the proposition of the Premier to increase the retiring allowance, Mr McAndrew, amongst a host of others, paid a high eulogium to hia unremitting exertions during the last dozen of years, and statedJ,hat ho had completely shattered his health in his zeal for the welfare of the country. When Mr Wilson Gray quitted Victoria, some fourteen yeais since, so high was he held by the public, for whose good be had labored m Parliament for many years— during which tir&e he had refused seats in variousa Cbinets— that a public subscription to present him with a fitting testimonial was organised. In the course of a fewdays, five thousand pounds were raised for that purpose. But although Mr Gray was far from being a rich man, he declined the proffered testimonial, and landed on the shores of New Zealand, when far advanced in life, to commence the world anew. A worthy tribute was paid to his ability and honesty of purpose when he was elevated to the .New Zealand Bench, and how he has acquitted himself of the trust needs no comment. Some few years since, an offer was made to him by the Victorian Attorney. General of a seat amongst the Supreme Court Judges of that colony, but it was declined, on the plea of the gratitude he considered he owed the New Zealand people.

On the 2Sth ult., a bill, sent up from the House of Kepresentatives, was passed by the Council without a division, granting advances of £60,000 for rail way works in this province. This is a'matter for congratulation, providing, as it will, funds for the employment of labor, without the necessity of disposing of the Waste Lands.

Hia Excellency Sir Jam^s Fbr&tjssok, during his speech afc prorogation of Parliament, delivered his valedictory address to members of both houses, and testified to the courtesy and consideration which lie had experienced from all classes. He briefly alluded to the various measures which had been before the House durinc the Session, congratulating the country ou the passage of the Stale Forest Act, and regretting that the length of the Session forbade the dealing with the question of commercial intercourse -with Polynesia. A promise wes held out that the re-eattiblishment of the Califprnion mail service, in conjunction with New South Wales, would have" the zealous attention of the Ministry during the recess. In referring to the question of Abolition, he pointed out that the decision arrived at by the Legislature is indicative of the desire that the land fund of the Colony should be applied to suitable purposes, and, as far as possible, localised. He denied that any ground for apprehension existed that the change in the Provincial 3ystem would be followed by the absorption of the land fund. His Excellency expressed a deep interest in. the welfare and prosperity of the community, pledging himself, should opportunity occur in another sphere, to forward its interest to the extent of his ability.

Tub arrival of the immigrant ships, Otago and Corona, have once more caused n stir at the Caversham barracks. Some few who had possession of the buildings for some time were removed to the Princes street dep6t, with the view cf giving the married couples among the late arrivals better accommodation The authorities intend despatching, in a few days, batches to Riverton, Oamaru, and other places where their services are at a premium, so as to avoid a recurrence of the trouble experienced a few days ago, and to place them within reach of employment.

We regret to learn from our Ilome and imerican files that deatli has been thinning the ranks of the Catholic hierarchy, no less than three Sees being at present vacant. Bishop O'G-orman, the Vicar Apostolb of Nebraska, an Irish missionary, whose labcs in America date from 1830, died on the 4th of July; Bishop Wheelan, the Bishop of Wheeling, after ailing for some time, succumbed three days later; and advices from Rome announce the decease of Jlgr. de Mei-ode, the Archbishop ef Mitylene, and Private Chaplain to the Pope. The deceased prelate belonged to, a nolle Belgium family, his father being Count Felix de Merode. In early life Bishop de Merode had followed the profession of arms, in which capacity ho made two campaigns in Algeria under the great and good Lamoriciere. In 1848 he resigned his commission and repaired to Borne, and in 1859 became Secretary of War to his Holiness.

Through all the trials to which he has been subjected, as well in the zenith of his temporal puwer, the Holy Father has had no truer sons, or more practical sympathisers than the children ot Erin. Scattered throughout the universe they contribute their humbla mite

to the offerings of the faithful being sent to the Sovereign Pontiff, in lieu of the patrimony of which ho has been robbed. It was but natural, then, to expect that in a land whose children had never ■wavered in their allegiance, the 28th anniversary of the Holy Father's coronation would have been celebrated with fitting solemnity. Iv another column we give the eloquent sermon delivered on that day by the Lord Bishop of Auckland, in the Church of the Conception, Marlborough street, Dublin. Wo regret that the space at our command precludes us from publishing it in extenso this issue, but we will give the concluding portion in our next.

The following has been telegraphed by the Wellington correspondent of the ' Daily Times ' to that journal : — " Mr Vogel has strongly urged Mr Stafford to join the Ministry, offering to resign the Premiership in his favour, and go home himself. Mr Stafford positively refused to join on any consideration, and objected strongly to Mr "Vogel leaving the colony \mtil after next session. He said financial difficulties, for which Mr Vogel was responsible, were looming, and he must stay and faco them. Mr Vogel says his health requires change of air, and if he cannot go home he will probably follow Mr Russell to Sydney. He his much dissappointed at Mr Stafford's refusal and attitude." If any reliance can be placed in the foregoing, the intelligence is most important, and desirable an acquisition as Mr Stafford undoubtedly would be ia any Ministry, the •wisdom of his refusal must be apparent to every one. Mr Vogel is committed to a policy which so far has proved to be a" success, the merit of which he alone has been accredited with, but until that policy be carried to an issue, there is no man cnpable of talcing his place, and Mr Stafford was most wise to refuse to do so.

The ' Advocate' of the 22nd has the following : — " We extremely regret to have to announce the death of Sister Mary Angela, of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy, which took place on Wednesday la3t, at the St. Vincent de Paul Orphanage, Emerald Hill, where she had passed the previous two years. GChe deceased lady was the eldest -daughter of a very old and highly respected colonist, Mr Patiick M. Mornane, of Stephen street, in this city. She was a native of Melbourne, and on Tuesday next would have completed the 29 th year of her nge. But although her life was short, it was faithful in the service of God. Miss Mornane became a novice in the Order of Mercy, at the Nicholson street house, twelve years ago, when she was but seventeen years of age. Her reception took place in St. Patrick's Cathedral, and ehe made her solemn vows in the chapel of the Nicholson street Convent. May she jrest in peace. Amen."

Some time ago (Says the Grey Star) we remember an editor of a "Weßt Coa9t paper stating that some " cold-blooded miscreant, dead alike to the promptings of moral rectitude and humanity, had poisoned the postmaster's poodle dog." For years we lost sight of that writer, but fancy we have discovered him : for a late Tokomairiro paper in its report of a municipal election at Milton speaks of a person guilty of throwing a snowball at the candidate as a " fiend in human form! "