NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 196, 5 January 1877, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Mb. Chables E. Bcnxt has been admitted a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. A welcome addition has been received to the strength of the bouth Australmn Mission, in the persons of five Sisters of the Order or bt. J>ominic, who lately arrived in Adelaide from the Dominican Convent at Cabra, near Dublin. Xt A ?5 > TNVINIT NVINI oE fcho Order of the Presentation was opened at v\ agga AVagga, N S.W., on the 10th ult. The ceremony was conducted by Archbishop Vaugban, and the Bishops of Goulburn, itat hurst, and Maitlund were present. £1,300 was contributed towards the building fund. The pupils of the Christian Brothers' Schools, Dunedin, enjoyed a thorough holiday at Portobello on Wednesday last But one contretemps occurred during the whole day. It was in the trip down, when the s.s. Iron Age grounded on a sand-bank, owing to the low state of the tide, so that the . excursionists had to be put on shore in boats, an experience, however, rather pleasing to the juveniles than otherwise. The weather was all that could be desired, and games were kept going with great spirit from the time of arriving at the place selected for the picnic until the ebb ot the evening tide made it necessary to return to to.vn. The kangaroos and wallabies are causing much annoyance and alarm in Queensland, particularly in the north, where large areas of country have been tot»Uy stripped of their herbage by them. -The members of the Society of Jesus in Australia have been reinforced by three fathers belonging to their order, who' are victims of tlie tyranny of Bismarck.

Pebsons desirous of acquiring property in Dunedin will ba afforded an opportunity of doing so to great advantage on Wednesday next, 10th instant, when a valuable leasehold will be disposed bT. The property alluded to is that held by Mrs. Walsh, in Princesstreet South, and which occupies a most eligible position for business purposes. There is erected upon it a brick building, which contains a commodious forge and a comfortable dwelling-house. In addition, a quantity of tools and other matters used in the blacksmith's trade will be disposed of. Further particulars will be found in our advertising columns. _ Owing to the effects of the late fire on his premises, Mr. Behsel has removed his fashionable hair-dressing establishment to apartments on the other side of Princes-street, nearly opposite to those recently occupied by him. Amongst the must efficient educational establishments in the Colony are certainly to be reckoned St. Mary's Schools at Nelson. We constantly are in receipt of intelligence concerning them of an extremely gratifying nature, and it is evident that the Rev. Fathers Garin and Mahoney have the best reasons possible to congratulate themselves on the success of their efforts for the good of the younger members of the Catholic community. The female school is conducted by the Nuns, and is remarkable for the excellence of the instructions imparted there, which, as is usual in institutions of the kind under the care of ladies belonging to a religious order, are wisely planned so ns to combine the- useful branches of education called into play in every-day life with those accomplishments whose effect is refining, and which aid in elevating the mind, and contribute to the spread of a higher civilisation. The boys are under the direction of Mr. Richard", assisted by Mr. H. C. Williamson, and the affection with which the head master is regarded by his pupils in itself affords a most pleasing proof of the excellent management of his school. The prizes gained by the pupils of both schools were, at the termination of the examination this Christmas, presented by the Mayor of Nelson, and his Worship took the opportunity of passing a high eulogium upon each establishment severally. The school of the Nuns was very beautifully decorated for the occasion, and while a profusion of flowers testified to the summer season of the Southern Hemisphere, the winter of the North was recalled by an ornament formed of holly, the good taste of the whole bespeaking the refinement of the most polished nation in Europe, to which thi 1 greater number of the Sisters, we believe, belong. A concert of vocal and instrumental music displayed the well cultivated powers of the young lady pupils; and several recitations in French and English were delivered by them with admirable effect. Their needle work also evoked warm admiration.