San Francisco Mail News

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 341, 31 October 1879, Page 9

San Francisco Mail News

(From our Exchanges.) «v A ?- is Holiness en Joys excellent health and spirits, and the report that his physicians have advised him to go to Perugia for change of mr, and that the Cardinals have dissuaded His Holiness from the journey, is altogether untrue. The death of his eldest brother, Count Carlo Pecci, has been a great affliction to his Holiness Leo XIII. Count Carlo was born .Nov. 23, 1 <«>3, and was many years the senior of the Pope, to whom vn, I nth he Was more like a tend>r fetoer tn an an elder brother. 1 he body of Count Pecci was carried from the Pecci residence in Via b. Chiara, to the Church of the Minerva, accompanied by many clergymen, regular and secular. The four Palatine Cardinals, Nina, bacconi, Mertel, Giannelli attended the funeral functions on the Ist of September in the Minerva Church, where the Mass was pontificated by the Pope's Sacristan, the venerable Bishop Marinelli in presence of the chief officers of the Papal Court. Requiem Masses were sung in St. Peter's and St. John Lateran, in suffrage of the soul of the wise and upright magistrate and the devoted Christian. Carlo Pecci. His body was brought to Campo Vereno, escorted by two of the Popes chamberlains and chaplains, and Cardinal Nina and other officials. At Memphis, on August 24, nineteen cases were reported to the Board of Health ; twelve colored. Among the number are James Baker, W. H. West, Dennis Morton. Eight deaths occurred, lotal number of new cases reported for the week, 148; white 69 oolored, 71). Total deaths from yellow fever for the week, 31 ; to date, 177. Crime and lawlessness are increasing here at an alarming rate. Every fire last week was of incendiary origin. The utmost vigilarce fails to discover the perpetrators. The death of General Hood, and his wife, and one of their children, all within a few days, is an especially sad instance of the ravages of yellow fever in families. General Hood fought hard against the North, but he fought like a man, never shirked nor dodged, and came out of the war with a record for biavery that any soldier might envy. He died almost in poverty, and has left ten orphans with no other means of support than gratitude and charity may provide. A movement to raise a fund for them has been started in the South, and some handsome subscriptions have already been made. It is rarely that a worthier private cause appeals to public chanty, and we hope the response will be fully equal to the needs of the case. In speaking of the Retreat of the clergy of the Diocese of St. Paul, Minn., recently, at which eighty-six priests were present, the Norttt-T\rstcrn Chronicle says : "When we look back to the retreats of twenty years ago, at which only ten priests assisted, the rapid growth of the Diocese strikes us most forcibly. Then a few devoted men ministered to the spiritual wants of the few Catholics scattered here and there throughout Minnesota and Dakota. To-day three dioceses are included in the territory then comprised in one, and one hundred and ten priests are scarcely sufficient to care for the souls in the Diocese of St. Paul alone. The following despatch has been received from Father Walsh at Memphis, Term., by Secretary Griffin, of the I. C. B. TJ.- Memphis, Term., Aug. 5, 1879. — About six hundred in camp. General appeal, if possible, will not be made in behalf of our Memphis. About one thousand people will depend on us. Shall endeavour to have a Sisters Hospital. One of my comrade priests dead ; another college mate critical. Must appeal to Catholics through our Bishop Make known this.— W. Walsh. A splendid reception was tendered on the 9th August to Edward O Meagher Condon, by the Irish Nationalists and Emraett Rifles, of Pittsburgh, Pa. The meeting was held at the Fifth Avenue Lyceum, and the address of welcome was delivered by Mr. Wm. Walls, to which Captain Condon responded in an eloquent speech, which was interrupted by frequent outbursts of applause. Other addresses were made by Councilman Sullivan, E. N. Clark, T. J, McGrath, and J. McCaithy. The meeting adjourned at about half-past ten, aud Captain Condon, with a number of his friends, retired to his hotel. Dr. Franklin said that one was almost led to believe that the Deity was not as particular about the observance of Sunday as a New England justice. And the fanaticism that called forth this sneer in 1762 is cropping up in 1879. The Icelanders, whose arrival in New York was announced the other day, passed through Chicago recently for a border settlement on the Winona and St. Peter Railroad. Their first intention was to go to Manitoba, but a " live " passenger agent got them to come to this country. They cannot speak a word of English, and had an interpreter with them. The child] en were all "tow-heads," with blue eyes. The men and women all had white hair, and among the four hundred not one black one. They had an enoimous quantity of baggage : indeed they wcie said to resemble tourists rather than emigrants. The men woie sheepskin overcoats or cloaks, with a head gear or hood attached, the gaimcnts being sewn together by the sinews of the reindcei . The lower extremities weie encased in sheep- I .skin loggings. Their feet -were dieted in wooden clous. The pany had "Jots of cash," averaging 4,000d015. to each family. Oue man seemed rather vain of exhibiting £700 in English sovereigns. They expect to engage in wheat lai&irg and general agr Mure, and if they are suited it is said 700 families will come from the same piut of Iceland next year. The Rev. J. A. Kelly, of St. Peter's Church. Memphis, Term., i who steadfastly remained at his post last year in that city art or | every one of his fellow-clergy m had been strickon down' by the , fever, has written a letter to leccntly, in which he says •— "My great anxiety is about •». We have 92 now. and have refused several for want of Our orphans arc chiefly supported by contributions from t .l markets and these being now closed, they are in want indeed. Two weeks ago vse made application to the powers that be here to get <•' stance. They published ihat all who wanted rations must leave iuo city and they would be'

supplied. The orphans were removed out of town— two miles and a half into the country. And yet, ourwise men, after publishing: to the country that they needed no help and would feed all, white or black, in camps, cannot make up their minds to assist the orphans. If they do not need help, it is hard to tell who does. As a matter of fact they have not tasted meat for two weeks. Last year the ' Howards,' while receiving thousands of dollars, did not give our orphans one cent." The Boston Traveller want to know if The Pilot thinks that the Frye murder was the result of Puritan training and influence. If it will comtoit the Traveller any, we are happy to assure it that we don't think the Frye murder, or the Lite tornado, or the Zulu war, or anything else which had nothing to do with Puritan training or influence, was in any way the result tliereof. The Traveller seems to have a lurking triumph in its query, probably based on an erroneous but natural idea that " Larry O'Neill," as the Italian, Chivarro, is called, must be an Irishman and Butler Democrat, but he isn't. And, on the whole, perhaps the least the Traveller says about the " Puritan morality " concerned in this case the better. The special Rome correspondent of The Pilot writes on August 21st.' — The laying of the foundation stone of anew church, so common an event amongst you, is quite a rare event in Rome. The vast majority of the churches in this city were begun in the earlier centuries of the Christian Era, and have only been enlarged and embellished in succeeding centuries. On Sunday, the 17th, however, this unusnal spectacle was given to the Romans. The new quarter that has grown up on the Esquiline is distant from the older churches. On Sunday, His Eminence Cardinal Raffaele Monaco La Valetta, Vicar of Hj a Holiness, laid the foundation-stone of a new church to be dedicated to the Sacred Heart. A large number of persons attended, and the ceremony was fulfilled with all that dignity and care wbich distinguish Roman ecclesiastical functions. At San Francisco they are having another grab for treasure ; this time diving into the bowels of the ocean. The Brother Jonathan foundered off Point St. George in the Pacific, in July, 186'. 1 ). She lies upright in 22 fathoms of water, some 50 fathoms from the rock on which she struck. She had about 1,000,000d015. in Treasury notes and bullion in her safe, and the finders are fitting out an expedition for its recovery. It is held that the Government's claim to the treasure lapsed on the expiration of ten years from its loss. Members of New York " chowder " clubs seem about as dangerous as New York policemen's clubs. But the chowder club ruffians don't always get off as easily as the policemen do. Thirty-five of them, all young street rowdies, were captured in a batch, the other day, for trying to murder a man who was defending his property apainst them, and put through a course of law. If murderous policemen were served the same way once in a while, it might have a good effect. Texas produces the latest " new religion." Two ex-Presbyterian preachers have started what may be called a Grant sect, though they give it another name — the Tabernacle of the Coming Lord. They preach, principally, the re-election of Grant in 1880, his invasion of Europe, the overthiow of " Romanism " thereby, then his downfall, and after that the millennium. Texas has always had a hard name, but we thought there were signs of improvement till this bit of news came along. Halifax, N.S., August 20 — A sad and fatal stabbing affray occurred this afternoon, by wbich a boy named Allison, aged 16 years, lost his life. About 4 o'clock a number of boys were playing on Brunswick street, near Dr. Sotner's residence. Alli&on, who has been in Dr. Somer's employ about a month as groom was passing, when Rupert Lang, aged 1 1 years son of Policeman Lang, commenced throwing "burrs" at him. The two then commenced throwing stones, and finally be^an to fight. After Allison had struck Lang two or three blows, the latter got his penknife out of his pocket and, after two or three attempts, succeeded in opening it and plunging the largest blade up to the handle in Allison's left side. He then ran, Allison picking up a stone and firing after him. The latter walked into his master's house, a few yards distant, said " I have been stabbed," fell down, and in less than seven minutes died. The knife penetrated the heart. Lang was immediately afterwards arrested and locked up. The prisoner's father, who was on duty at the time, became almost inbanc from grief. The murdered boy lived with his parents in Brunswick street, and has borne a good chai acter. The body was removed to the morgue, and Coroner Lawson will hold an inquest at 11 to-morrow. The other morning the Hon. Gideon Hayncs, ex-Warden of the Massachusetts State Piison, who is in chaige of the old piison at Charlestown, had occasion to visit one of the cells in which arc stored various articles which belonged to the prisoueis. Among other things was a chair bearing the name of Jesse Pomcroy cut in the arm. Mr. Hayncs' curiosity was rewarded by finding, carefully imbedded in the arm of the chair, a stone-cutter's steel chisel about ten inches long, and weighing uearly two pounds. The arm of the cLaiiappears to have been caicfully hollowed out so as to leave a bare shell of wood, and in the space thus made this formidable implement was secreted by covering the aperture with hard soap. The sou)) was stained to the colour of the wood of which the arm of the chair was made, and the job was so nicely done that none but, thoM3 accustomed to the crooked and adroit ways of tlu 1 dangerous classes would be likely to disevner the d' '-option. Had the clmir been sont ro Concord and placed in Ilic c< 11 of young Point ioy, it i.-> the opinion of those who are expeit^ in tlie use of suH- * • 1 . that in an bom's* time he would have re«,i.:'e<l his liberty, 1 in his poss< : '>n a i'oimidable weapon, a single blow from oh would fell the sponge&t man. to the earth. A cablegram, Sept. .jth. says :■ — It is stated ; 'i Dublin, that tlic Lorcl-Lieuttuant of Ii eland, the Duke of Marlbomuch, has requested the police of T.iraerick to make a sp"c-ial u-port of t\o circumstances under which Sir. Charles Stew l'>'nell, mcmlx i >A' the House of Commons for lie nth, suffered ihc hissing which greeted the toast " The Queen" to fiss unnoticed, though he is a magistrate and a Member of P.j^ . .-int. Londo Hi says :- ' What has, been the result? When Mr. Gladstone v.a-s w office hi& Budgets averaged £71,000,000 ; and when

he retired from office he left a surplus of £0,000,000. Tbe Budget now averages £74,000.000 and there is a heavy deficit which will have to be met." The London Times estimates the English barley crop as worth £5 to £6 per acre, instead of £10, which has been the average value in former years. A remarkable illustration of West Country superstition has just occurred in the North Devon parish of Charles. A small farmer, believing he was bewitched by a relative, journeyed to Exeter, and brought home a white witch," who is also a quack doctor. During the burning of some compound resembling incense the wizard repeated an incantation, previously enjoining silence. During tbe ceremony the farmer's wife contemptuously spoke, and the business had to be Teppated. Even then no definite information as to the offender was obtained, as the operator said "he must stay at the farm a week and live on beef." The latest cartoon in the London Punch is called "an unsatisfactory term." It represents Earl BeaconsfiVld and- his Foreign Minister called up in disgrace, in the dress of two school-boys, by their bluff old guardian (John Bull). Each shamefaced boy bears a book, one labelled "Afghan War," the other Zulu War." With a stem face the old man speaks :— Mr. Bull : " And those are your only prizes? "' Master Benjamin. — "Yes, sir. We did our best ; and we should have done better if it hadn t been for those Irish fellows." There is a bitter truth in the cartoon ; .and we are happy in believing that there is a heap more behind it, in the honest and plucky determination of " those Irish fellows" to force a hearing from a brutal majority. We take the following from the Manchester Evening News of August 8 : — A correspondent writes : Last night a number of ' excommunicated Fenians' met together in a weaver's shed, off Lower Tebutt, at Rochdale Road, Manchester, for tbe purpose, as the chairman explained, ' of considering the be3t steps to be adopted with reference to the refusal of the Catholic clergy to admit them (the Fenians) to a participation in the benefits of their religion.' It appears that the principles of Fenianism, in common with those of all other secret societies, have been condemned by the Catholic Bishops as wholly incompatible with religion and good order, and consequently none adhering to those principles are to be admitted to communion with the faithful. The chair was taken by a bricklayer's labonreT, lesiding at Miles Platting, who opened the proceedings in a very temperate speech. Afterwards several pddresseswere delivered. After a few concluding words from the chairman, characterized by moderation and good sense, it was ultimately agreed — " That an humble and respectful address on the subject should be prepared, and presented to the Rt. Rev. Dr. Vaughan, Bishop of Salford ;' and after having appointed an address and a general purpose committee, with secretaries to each, the proceedings terminated." The St. Petersburg papers give currency to a revolting story. A battery commander belonging to the 31st Artillery Brigade, it is related, having sent home by post upwards of 50.000 roubles during the struggle with Turkey, it was suspected that this wealth had been come by in some dishonest way. Investigation being made, it subsequently transpired that the officer in question had cruelly killed or starved to death the horses under his charge and pocketed the money appropriated for the purchase of their forage, compelling the men under his charge to do the work of the poor brutes. Speaking of the late Bishop of Paderborn, a prominent Protestant journal in Germany says: — "Bishop Martin was perhaps no great Church politician, and much less a subtle diplomatist. But he may be held up as a prominent and exemplary type of those faithful, self-denying priests and chief pastors, who, no less to our own joy and satisfaction than to that of our brethren, are numbered by thousands -within the pale of the Catholic Church, and who at last have formally carried off the palm of victory for this Church over the Faik era of the Kvltnrltampf. Faithful, sincere, and firm as a rock, Conrad Martin, a homeless exile on earth, has at last entered his eternal home in heaven. Not only all true Catholics, not only all sincere Christians, but indeed all whose thoughts are chivalrous and lofty. whose ideas are fair and honourable, will with feelings of deep emotion lay a wreath of praise upon the bier c f the hero who fell on the field of battle, and who only after death was permitted to return to his metropolitan see." Popularity is uncertain. It is only a shoit time since Jules Simon, the intimate friend of Thiers, "was one of the idols of the French Radicals. With the bitter anti-Catholic element he was especially popular. But there has been a change. The Radicals idolize M. Simon no longer. He took a leading part in the rejection of Ferry's infidel Education Bill by the French Senate, of which he is a member, and the most violent vituperation is not strong enough now to express the Radical idea of the port of man M. Simon is. He is denounced all along the line, and held up to obloquy as a timeserver, a traitor, and a mere tool of tbe Church. And the tmth is that Simon is not only not a Catholic, but has always been counted on the anti-Catholic side. Tho special Rome correspondent of the Pilot writes on the 21st of August : — It has been remarked with particular emphasis that in the appointments of Mgr. Czacki, the Polish prelate to the Nunziature of Paris, it is the first time that the Holy See, sotting aside a long tradition, has selected, outside the circle of the Italian pi elates, his Nuncio at Paris. The qualities of thp man chosen to this office, however, are so remarkable that the Italian prelates have not only not regarded him with jealousy, but were amongst the first to applaud this most wise selection. The new Nuncio to Paris was consecrated Archbishop of Salamina injwrtihwt, last Sunday, at the Church of St. Louis des Francais, Rome This selection furnishes another example of the delicate and thoughtful manner in which tbe Holy Father proceeds in his new appointments. As a more pointed indication of how the Pontiff respects the feelings of governments and of nationalities, and even their prejudices, it is related that the appointment of a Polish prelate to such a position might displease Russia. Tho Holy Father desirous of proceeding with every caution, made known his design to the Chancellor of the Russian Empire at St. Petersburg. It happened that ties of blood bind the new Nunoio to some of the

most important families in Russia ; and the Chancellor, Prince Goiichakoff, when he learned the intentions of the Holy Father, paying all due re»pect to tbe Polish Prelate, informed Rome and Paris that the Emperor Alexander looked with special satisfaction on the appointment of Mgr. Czacki, and he considered that it was just that a man of such talent and character in the Pontifical Court should be so promoted. The great infidel, M. Littre, has lately published an article entitled " The Catholic Church and Manhood Suffrage," in a magazine called La PMlompMe Positive, and in this paper he tries to ascertain how it is that the French, although the vast majority of them are Catholics, vote for the men who are hostile to their- Church. He puts the case in this way :—": — " Republican Catholicity is at the same time true to its faith yet practises toleration. Within the Church, in the pulpit, in the confessionals, at the first Communion, in the sacrament of marriage, in the Extreme Unction administered on the death-bed, it accepts in a Chnstian-like Rpirit the authority of those who bestow upon it the Word of God. Beyond that, v has no prejudice against heretics or dissenters ; it entrusts to them its dearest temporal interests, if it considers them otherwise worthy of confidence.' 1 This is precisely the case of Catholic Ireland. The only difference is this, that the Catholic voter of Ireland thinks of hie spiritual interests first, and entrusts his temporal interests to a Protestant representative only if he is satisfied that his spiritual interests are not endangered. The French voter, on the contrary, seems to go to the ballot-box with a temporal object alone, and without thinking of his spiritual welfare. Not until French Catholic voters shall have come to act on the same plan as the Irish, will the interests of the Church be safe in the hands of a French Parliament. At Saint Malo and the suirounding districts the processions which took place to celebrate the Fea?t of the Assumption were impressive by the splendour and pomp which they displayed, and touching by the unaffected piety of the thousands who took part in them. The most picturesque of these processions was one at St. Servan, where were an old dismantled fishing boat with tattered sails and boys clinging to its spars hoisted upon imitation rocks, to simulate a wreck below a statue of the Blessed Virgin, whom all the seaboard population regard with veneration, and beneath the statue a scroll bearing the words, " Aye Maris Stella." It was a touching sight to see the stalwart, weather-beaten seamen as they knelt at this simple shrine, whilst the women and girls devoutly prayed at it for the safety of those far away at the Iceland or Newfoundland fisheries. At St. Malo the military authorities refused to allow the band of the regiment quartered there to head the ceremony, but the local firemen turned out in military uniform, and their band played the processions through the streets of the picturesque old town.