GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Tablet, 2 March 1877, Page 17

GENERAL NEWS.

coun^ cve v, Di T se Of Pc ? 8 ' which «»l»»ees the whole of Wexford *p^S!" egUla ? On !*■ "»«*»»» *tt which i^SySS reSi™ »St S P^ 81 ? n . of - th ! viee ' Pointing out that the S,p ™T^ he "«»s tumble positions in the social scale to reach the most elevated? Demosthenes wa 8 the son of a blacksmithmakerT wi" J^w" 8 ™- Dupo^ aud Beaumarchais of watohmakers. Was not Homer a mendicant f Francois Arairo had a Hn^J ' f f r^ f^ r '; Canovawas attached to the service of thS ™ a f a p en ; 9 0lum^«8 was the son of a wool-carder rCookof a peasant; Copernicus cf a baker. D'Alembert, a foundling, was reared by a draper; and Franklin and Fulton started from much more miserable .positions in life. Jacquard was the offspring of a weaver ; Herschel was a street musician ; Monge, the eon of a hay Sv ; , . Bernard PaU^ sy and La P lace were the « hil dren of pedant J and Volta was brought up on charity; Sixtus V. had been a herder of pigs, and Colbert was the son of a cloth merchant.—' Mirror ' +^ *ii V^stant correspondent of the St. Louis 'Globe' gives the following statistics of the Church in New York city • " This ia °ff °a i he strongholds of Catholicism, being, it is said, the second largest Catholic city in all Christendom. Paris only exceed! r&i, r i^i* that we have 43,000 German Catholics, 40,000 Irish, 25,000 French, 15,000 Italians, 10,000 Spanish, and several thousand Portuguese and other Europeans, nearly all of whom are at least nominal Catholics, our Catholic preponderance will not be wondered at. I have doubt, that taking into consideration the luke-warmness and skepticism of many ot Ihl &Sfl? 8 te U* "agonal faith, and the general earnestness of the Irish, Germans, Italians, and other foreigners in their creed, it 18 WW° bab }. c thafc New York «»*•&» more determined, downright Catholics than any other capital. The churches here number it is said, nearly sixty of all kinds, many of them very^Snary! although it is expected that the new Cathedral, in Upper Fifth Avenue, will when finished, be the finest ecclesiastical edifice in the metropolis. Cardinal McCloakey, the head of the Romaniste tw^ nl 7 T? cou . ntr y> has no fix ed income. Monetarily, the [ .Koman Church here is on an extremely sound basis. One of the best-known and most-widely respected priests of Cork has just passed away in the person of the Very Rev Precentor Falvey, PP., St. Patrick's, in that city, and Vica/-General of the Diocese of Cork. Precentor Falvey, who was in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and the forty-fifth of his priesthood, distinguished himself highly m Maynooth, in the pulpit in Cork that had been adorndd by the eloquence of Dr. England, and finally on the political platform as a follower of O'Connell. «He was,'' says the •Cork Examiner,' "a powerful foe to the anti-Catholic agitators of the period. On a memorable occasion when John Baptist Noel and Captain Gordon, a Scotchman, held a series of controversial meetings in Cork, Father Falvey was facile pr biceps amongst those who accepted their challenge to a public discussion on points of doctrine, and signally vanquished them. O\ onnell and Shiel were m v Z\ matt l r - aids." He developed a special gift of music, which led to his being chosen the first choirmaster in Maynooth or indeed, m Ireland; and the service he rendered the Ghuroh in the matter of the ecclesiastical chant, beginning at Maynooth was. continued all through the period of his ministry. His funeral waa one of the largest seen in Cork for many years. California bids fair to rival Spain in the field of raisin production. .Last year she sent to tho San Francisco market 20,000 20-lb 1 S 22 f j; aisins - , This y ear she will produce 60,000 boxes, one vinel 240 tons^f aCreS 6 yielding thh season 80 of raisi »s from A new industry has sprung into existence in furnishing a substitute for sand or sawdust used in sprinkling the floors of saloons and restaurants. The new material is of paper, and is the cast-off of another industry, namely, the particles accumulating from feh» process of perforating a heavy paper used in working mottoes fair framing commonly called mats. Instead of being returned to tha paper mills, as heretofore, to be re-made for use, it is saved and sold to saloons and restaurants at a profitable though low figure Being perfectly white, it has a fine, cle\nly appearanS, and Sato used much longer than sand or sawdust.—* Boston Advertiser,' The Rev. Isaac Mitchell, Protestant Eector of KUtoom. made use, at a public meeting lately, of language that deserves to come under the attention of Mr. Gladstone and the others who araso. anxious about the loyalty of the Catholics. "Who," says the t ?f^ gen ,? eina ?i Z wou i d ha ™ thou §r h t forty years ago that the Irish Church would have been disestablished, w& the Sresbyteriaa Church stripped of her Regium Donum, or that a Monarch would perjure herself in the face of 300,000,000. 0f her subjects ?-" Calling the Queen a prejurer is not a habit with at least tottotfo cfcrgJSS

The will of Cardinal Antonelli — I mean his moat recent will — has not been found yet. The only wil\ discovered as yet is one that was made in 1871. Hia natural heirs, however, maintain that the Cardinal made another quite recently. Cardinal Antonelli waa enormously wealthy. As there are contradictory reports current aa to the amount he jiossessed in round numbers, I shall forbear mentioning figures until something definite be ascertained. Hia jewels, however, with valuable collections of rock crystals, ambers «the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and velvets, represent P^um of twelve million francs. All this goes to the Vatican xseum. He was passionately fond of this style of art, and embraced every opportunity of adding to his collection by purchases. The best and richest specimens in his collection were donations. His rings alone would form an interesting study of themselves for the jeweller's art. And yet he did not love display. In the palmiest days of the Papacy, aa known by him for the last thirty years, his " turn out" was always of the simplest, yet a model of elegance. In his habits, he was alike simple, elegant, and refined. People Baid of him that he was born to shine as a brilliant courtier, so graceful were his manners. The representatives of foreign courts and of the aristocracy from every part of the civilized world were charmed with his pleasing manners. — 'Catholic Standard. 1

Histobical ! Vide " Jurors Reports and Awards, New Zealand Exhibition." Jurors: J. A. Ewen, J. Butterworth, T. C. Skinner. 11 So far as the Colony is concerned, the dyeing of materials is almost entirely confined to the re-dyeing of Articles of Dress and Upholstery, almost useful art, for there ara many kinds of material that lose their colour before the texture is half worn. G. HiBSCH, of Dunedin (Dunbdin Dye Wobks, George street, opposite Royal George Hotel) exhibits a case of specimens of Dyed Wools, Silks, and Feathers, and dyed Sheepskins. The colors on the whole are Tery fair, and reflect considerable credit on t he Exhibitor, to whom the Jurors recommended an Honorary Certificate should be awarded." Honorary Certificate, 629 : GustaT Hirscli Dunedin, for specimens of Dyeijg in Silk Feathers, &c.

"DtiKß ov Edinburgh"— The old wooden structure thafc did duty as the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, in Russell-street, for so many years, has, we are pleased to observe, given place to a new brick building, erected at considerable cost, in order to meet the rapidly increasing requirements of this popular and important part of the city. The present proprietor, Me. D. Habbis, has spared no reasonable expense in furnishing and fitting the building with every modern comfort and convenience. The situation is extremely healthy, and commands splendid views of the oc^an and harbour, and is within easy raach of the business part of the city. Persons in pursuit of a respectable and comfortable residence will do well to go to the " Dake of Edinburgh " Hotel, Russell-street Dunedin. — [Advt.]