THE REV. FATHER MOREAU.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 128, 15 October 1875, Page 12

THE REV. FATHER MOREAU.

The Feilding correspondent of the * Wanganui Herald/ writes :— " The Rey. D. Moreau, Catholic Priest, paid Feilding a visit on Thursday last, and remained until this morning, when he left for hisflxed home at Otaki. His well-known energy in the cause of truth has made him appreciated hy all who have had the pleasure of his acquaintance, and although now in his sixty-third year, he is stopped neither by flood nor storm when on his mission of love, and for the past thirty-three years he has unremittingly, I am told, travelled over the length and breadth of ITew Zealand, to preach, and to teach peace and good will towards men, not only to the white man, but amongst the savage tribes of natives who in days past infested the land. This is a man whose life has indeed been devoted to the service of tha Most High, and although I differ with him indeed in religious views, I always feel delighted at his visits. " To sit by a good log fire of a cold night, and enjoy the treat thepriest is certain to give in repeating the various scenes he has been witneßS to ; his struggles to reach the habitation of man, after days in the bush, almost starving, and finest of all, to hear him tell how delighted certain Maoris became when he (the priest) had followed the example of St. Patrick, and by the illustration of the leaves of thetrefoi), showed the poor heathens the symbol of the Holy Trinity. " Father Moreau officiated at Mass and Sunday school yesterday in the dining-room of Plummer's Accommodation House, and, as he lias got a gift of a section from the Corporation, you may depend hewill not be long without a church." The following story, by Father Moreau, is told by the same correspondent, and will be read with, interest m Otago :—": — " Perhaps most of you have read or heard of that gang of had men, three of" whom were hanged at Nelson for many murders. Their names were Burgess, Kelly, Levy, and Sullivan, the latter of whom is in Melbourne Guol, and there likely to remain. Well, these men did settle in what manner I was lo be murdered and buried; and I listening to them all the time ! I had been but a short time in Dunedin when the gold diggings were opened on the Dunstan, and my Bishop ordered me to go up at once. You must know the track was bad and heavy, and the way long ; but there were plenty of ' swagmen ' for company, all bound for ' the diggings,' so that 1 wanted not for food on the route upwards. I stayed at the Dunstan about two months before I set out on my return to Dunedin, this time alone. Aboub three days' journey from Dunedin, at noon, I laid down to rest, and fell into a quiet sleep, from which I was aroused by voices near me arranging the mode of my murder and burial. I was indeed frightened, but m an instant I remembered the words of the Lord, ' That whoso putteth his trust iv him need have no fear of the wicked man.' So I got up from the ground and walked up to these men, who lay in wait a few yards from me — but not without a slight trembling — and looking up suddenly said, ' G-ood day to you, men.' They touched their hats, all but the Jew, and replied, ' G-ood day, your reverence.* So you see Grod did not desert me in the hour of trial, nor will he fail anyone who trusts Him sincerely. Whilst Sullivan was confined in Dunedin Prison the priest visited the Roman Catholic inmates, and a mutual recognition and explanation took place. Sullivan stated that he alone prevented the other three from murdering the holy father : ' For, although I have spilt blood like rain, thank G-od the death of a priest is not on my head. 3 Who can tell that this man, murderer though he be of the worst type, may not ere this, in his secret heart, have repented his sins ?"