NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 149, 10 March 1876, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

The twelvth quarterly meeting of St. Joseph's Branch, No. 73 H.A.C.8.5., was held in the schoolroom on Monday evening last. The President occupied the chair, and there was a large attendance of members, in fact, it was about the most numerously attended meeting held since the opening of the branch. The sick report shewed that that there was only one member on the funds, and the amount due for sick pay — £A — Avas passed for payment. The Secretary read a progress report from the Easter Fete Committee, which was deemed satisfactory. Mr Michael Meenan was duly elected a full benefit member ; and Messrs John Mclntyro, Thomas Heffeman, and John Daly were proposed for membership. It was resolved that the Treasurer (Bro. M. Connellan) should be presented with a suitable testimonial in recognition of services rendered to the branch. On the motion of Bro. J. P. Walsh, seconded by Bro. J. J. Connor, it was unanimously resolved that the members should receive Holy Communion in a body, at 9 o'clock mass on the Sunday following St. Patrick's Day, the members to assemble in the schoolroom at 8.30. The amount due to the late bandmaster was passed for payment. Cash received, >£I 6 Is. The ordinary meeting of the Lawrence Branch, H.A.C.B.S. was 3ield in St. Patrick's schoolroom, ou Monday evening, Feb. 28. The President, Bro. M. "Wbelan, in the chair. The Secretary read over the roll of officers who all auswered to their i:ames. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Sick visitors, Bros. Nash and Spillane, reported with regret that two of the brothers, viz., James Conway and William Corcoran were indisposed, both cases being the result of accident ; but they were glad to state that the injuries received were not of a serious nature, as they believed both of them would be abe to resume work in a week or ten days. They also intimated that Bro. James Conway (?) intended to declare on the Sick Fund. The Secretary read con-espondence from the E.D. Bro. Lawler, and the Secretaries of the Dunedin and Naseby Branches. The President introduced Mr. Thomas Ryan to the meeting as in intending member who was cordially welcomed by the members. The President then reminded the Bros, of the resolution passed at a previous meeting, viz., " To receive Communion in a body on St. Patrick's Day," and said that the importance of this act could be hardly overrated, either in its salutary influence upon the members themselves or the beneficial and edifying effect it would have upon the congregation. He concluded by exhorting the Bros, to keep the resolution well before their minds, and he hoped to see every brother present upon the occasion. Bro. J. J. Harris said he, too, was of opinion that it was their first duty as a Catholic society to set a good example to those around us, especially to the children, and he felt quite sure we could not do this better than by approaching Holy Communion in a body. He also felt assured it would have the effect of encouraging every eligible Catholic in the district to join our ranks. He considered the re olutiou a step in the right direction, and he hoped the Bros, might often have the high privilege of receiving Holy Communion as a society. The vice-President (Bro. Thos. Fahey) appointed Bro. Ford, right supporter, and Bro. Cassidy, left supporter. Cash received £9 7s. The minutea of the meeting were then read, after which the President closed the meeting with prayer. In the Lenten Pastoral of the Bishop of Wellington the following passage occurs : — " Viewed even in its mildest and least objectionable character, secular education is false in its principles, and pernicious in its results. What indeed, is its main and fundamental principle ? That the education of the people belongs to the jurisdiction of the civil power. Now this proposition must be denied all Catholics, and even by all right-minded Christians, and, on the contrary we maintain that the education of Christian children does not, and cannot belong to the jurisdiction of the civil power. The State is incompetent to educate such children both in right and vafact. The State has received no right either by the law of nature, or by the law of Christianity to assume to itself the education of the people." His Lordship further remarks, "We cannot permit without an indignant protest, nay, without an unflagging struggle, the conscience of Catholic parents to be violated, we cannot allow the rights of fathers and mothers to be wrested from them for the sake of a portion of society falsely calling itself the State." The ' Lyttelton Times ' speaks thus of the Canterbury Marble Quarries : — " The operations of the Marble Company are progressing satisfactorily, and as soon as the road is made to the quarries the Company will be able to send down blocks of grey marble 7ft. by 2ft., and also appear to be getting into some rich manganese which is said to be worth about JBI4 per ton. For the information of the uninitiated it may be said that manganese is used in the manufacture of Bessemer steel, both for the bleaching and dying -of calicos, and for the glazing of all kinds of potteryware. The

Sienna reef of marble promises very favourably so far as it is already stripped. The Company propose now to erect limekilns, and to burn the refuse marble into lime, some of which has been already tested in Christchurch with highly satisfactory results." The Auckland 'Herald' states "That Captain M'DonnelL of Wanganui, has, after long delay, procured leavft from King Tawhiao to bring one European with him to Tuhua to look for gold. We need not go over the history of the statements which have been made as to the auriferous nature of the Tuhua country. Some years ngo Mr. P. Nolan and Mr. Barry were sent up there by the Auckland Provincial Government, but they never got leave to penetrate to the country supposed to be auriferous, which is at some of the streams running from the Tuhua range into the upper part of the Wanganui River. Gold was found in this district years ago, and lately some fine specimens have been brought* down to persons in the Muriinotu block." A concebt will be given in Lawrence on the evening of St. Patrick's Day. The programme "will consist of Irish ballads. The name of Mr. J. J. Woods, under whose conductorship the entertainment will be presented to the public, is the best guarantee for the excellence of the performance. Particulars will be found in our advertising columns. We are afraid that we have been the innocent cause of filling certain of our country contemporaries with alarm. In our issue of January 2lst, a paragraph, which -ree had clipped from an American exchange, appeared, stating that a car-driver at Ballinasloe, County Galway, li-eland, named M'Connack, had taken the foot-and-mouth disease from drinking the milk of a cow suffering from the sickness in question. We are not a little surprised to find that this fact is quoted by some of our contemporaries, with this slight alteration, that the town of Ballinasloe, where the melancholy occurrence took place some six months ago, instead of being in the West of Ireland, where it undoubtedly is to be found, is supposed and asserted to be in the Province of Nelson. The Wanganui • Weekly Herald ' says, " The Wellington Education Board have adopted a resolution, which not only affirms the principle of secularism in education, but goes further and disturbs an arrangement made with tv,*o denominations, which, we believe, has been working satisfactorily, and to which only objeciions of an abstract character seem to have been taken at the Board meeting. The concession to which we refer hardly disturbed the secular principle that was growing in the Anglican Church. It was so mild, and to our judgment so harmless, that we are surprised in one respect at the hostility shown to it. But the truth is that the clergy of other denominations are determined to hold no truce with the Church of Rome — Babylon must be destroyed as the prelude to a newer civilization. A Puritan reform being demanded, every vestige of antiquity must be swept before the zealots. We are not in favor of a denominational system of education, and so far as our opinion is concerned, greatly prefer a purely secular system. But as we have always urged, the consciences of a large number of people are entitled to respect and deference, and we cannot find any principle of liberty involved in the cast iron system which refuses to take into account deep religious convictions." We leara from the ' Tuapeka Times,' " That it is now practically demonstrated beyond all doubt that the climate of Tuapeka is well adapted for the purposes of fruit growing. All that is required to bring the most delicate and luscious fruits to perfection, is a belt of trees, or a high edge to protect them from the prevailing winds. This season there is a great deal of fruit in the district, and where peach and apricot trees, or even the vine, are planted in well sheltered parts, open to the sun, they not only grow, but yield large and beautiful crops. Mr. G. Jeffery's peach tree, trained up the wall of his house, and to which we referred last autumn, is a beautiful sight at present, being literally loaded with fruit. The peaches average a quarter of a pound each, but some of them will go nearly half a pound. Mr. Jeffery also has a plant of the vine in a very forward condition, the grapes on which are likely to come to perfection. If fruit growing continues to be cultivated at the same increasing ratio for the next two or three years that it has done in the past, Tuapeka will be able to send a yearly supply to the Dunedin market." The following suggestion is made by the Auckland ' Weekly News ' : — " A new name is wanted for the submarine cable terminus in Blind Bay. Wakapuaka, a local name in Nelson province, is difficult in its orthography to strangers, as we may judge from the many blunders in its printing which we have seen in various newspapers which have printed telegrams from that station. We suggest that • Cable Bay ' should be the title of the new station. Everybody would understand that, and awkward orthographical mistakes as well as errors in pronunciation would be avoided by the use of an English nomenclature which is self-explanatory." On Friday last, at the Resident Magistrate's Court, Dunedin, his Worship informed the Bar that it was his intention to hold Courts in future every day except Saturday, commencing with next week. Under this new regulation the Court will not sit after four o'clock. A telegram has been received from Galle giving further particulars concerning the wreck of the Strathmore. The ship was wrecked on the Twelve Apostles Rock, at the Crozet Islands, on the night of June 30th. Out of 88 persons on board, 49 reached the land ; of these five died from exposure, and the remainder lived in great privation for seven months, when they were rescued by the whaler, Young Phcenix. Half of them were transferred to the Sierra Morena, and landed at Galle, on 24th February ; the rest were taken to Mauritius by the whaler. Simonsen's English Opera Company, numbering forty-eight members, arrived at Port Chalmers by the steamer Arawata from Melbourne on Tuesday the 7th inst. They will open at the Queen's Theatre on Saturday evening, the 11th hist., and if the high encomiums passed upon them by our Melbourne exchanges are any criterion, we may expect for our musical friends a rich treat.

The Circus has been well patronised during the past week, and seems from the interest taken in it by amusement-seekers to be gaining in favor, every available seat being occupied on each night by a highly respectable and appreciative audience. Their stay in Dunedin must be highly gratifying to the management, as judging from the large numbers present they must have netted a good round sum, while to Mr. Dodge, their agent, to whose indefatigable and energetic exertions we attribute its success, it must be pleasing in the extreme. As this is their last week in town, we would advise those who have not witnessed the performance as yet to do so. As will be seen by reference to our advertising columns, Blondin, the celebrated hero of Niagara, will make his first grand tight rope ascension on Saturday, the 11th inst. His monster arena hai been erected at Kensington, wd we understand that he has made arrangements with the railway authorities to run special trains at excursion fares to and from Kensington station, for the convenience of persons desirous of witnessing his performances. We would remind those interested that the sale of the privileges for the Dunedin Kaces will take place at the Provincial Sale Yards, on Tuesday, the 14th inst, at 12 o'clock sharp The advertisements appear in another column.