The New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1882. A LETTER FROM WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 461, 10 February 1882, Page 15

The New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1882. A LETTER FROM WELLINGTON.

§N another column there will be found the letter of a gentleman resident in Wellington, who has been from the Tablet's first establishment a warm supporter of it, and who for some time was a shareholder in the company, he having at the outset taken up what was then considered the large number of five shares. Mb. O'Brien, however, as he tells us, about two years ago made * donation of his shares to Bishop Moran in which

generous act he was joined by several other gentlemen who held an equal number of shares with him, and who, like himself, were desirous thus to express their sense of the Bishop's merits, as well as take a step which they believed would be conducive to the promotion and permanency of this newspaper. The Bishop, it will be remembered, at the time, made a due acknowledgment in our columns of the gift, and expressed his determination of keeping in view the intentions of the donors with regard to the Tablet.

Mr. O'Brien very justly implies in his letter that Bishop Mohan has been the true source of the Tablet's success, and the constant spring of its life. His Lordship has been always noted for his special gifts in this regard, and during his episcopacy in South Africa, he founded a Catholic paper, and a printing office connected with it in which several boys were trained with such success that some of them are now editors, and some of the ablest of our secular exchanges are those for which they are accountable. — It has always been his Lordship's hope, we may add, to be able to accomplish a similar work in connection with the Tablet.

The Bishop, it is true, invariably when congratulated on the success of the Tablet with the humility which distinguishes him, disclaims the chief credit of the work. Even in the answer made by him to the address with which he was presented on his approachiug departure last year we find he spoke as follows :—": — " So far this paper has been successful, but in reference to it also, much more credit is given to me than I deserve. It must be borne in mind that, standing alone, I could do nothing ; and I take this opportunity of acknowledging our obligations to the gentlemen who, whether as directors, or writers, or subscribers, have so materially aided from first to last, particularly to the gentleman who will now occupy the place left vacant by its first editor." But, nevertheless, so far as the management and editing of the paper are concerned, the Bishop alone deserves the praise. He always gave the right advice, always saw the right thing to be done in any difficulty, and his word was always received as decisive by all who were concerned in the matter. The writer of this article also, appointed to fill the vacant place, acknowledges with gratitude that it is to the Bishop's instructions and encouragement he owes whatever credit he may have gained from the literary work done by him in the paper. — " et sentio guam sit exiguum." In whatever way then the paper is considered, the Bishop has been from the first, and, though absent for & time, still continues its true life. Nor has he been so without heavy labour — for it has been heavy labour among the multitudinous duties of his days.

But his reward so far has been in the sense of s access alone ; it is true he has seen the cause he has so much at heart advanced and supported in the columns of the Tablet, but this is a reward that he shares in common with all his people. If the cause of religion be advanced and supported, their cause is advanced also, and his no more than theirs. The especial reward, therefore, which Mr. O'Brien proposes should be conferred upon him is not uncalled for, and would be a very suitable one. — Yet consider how he is to be pergonally rewarded, whose whole reward would go to support further the cause of religion ; for all the profits made by the paper, if any were made, thenceforth would go towards the building of churches or the endowment of schools. The Bishop would be rewarded, and, our confident belief is, would feel sufficiently rewarded, by a gift made in fact not to himself personally, but to the cause of religion.

But it is, moreover, most fitting that a Catholic paper should be permanently under the control of the Church. That it should be owned by any but Catholic proprietors would be an anomaly, and an opportunity to do grievous harm, that every one must condemn, but, even with a Catholic proprietory, things are not always found on the footing that is desirable. While we write, in fact, an instance of this is before our eyes, and, with much concern, we see our contemporary the Sydney Freeman's Journal, an old established Catholic paper, condemned by the Express, a newspaper whose establishment, we understand, was promoted by Archbishop Vaughan owing to his disapproval of the manner in which the Freeman's Journal was conducted. The condemnation, moreover,

we regret to say, is as well deserved as it is severe.

In the case of the Tablet, so far, the control of the Church has always been fully exercised. During the Bishop's present absence even, it has been by no means relaxed. His Lordship, it is true, appointed a lay editor to fill his place while he was away, but ho strictly charged him, in any case of doubt or difficulty, to apply at once to a certain priegt

attached to the Dunedin mission, and he also enjoined it upon the rev. ecclesiastic in question to be careful lest there should be any departure made from the lines in which it had been his own habit to conduct the paper, and in which he wished that it should continue to be conducted. And the Bishop's instructions have invariably been acted upon. It strikes us, nevertheless, that things would wear a better appearance, and certainly the danger of departure from the right course, however little it may now be, would be altogether removed, were the suggestion of our correspondent, Mr. O'Brien, adopted, and the paper which the Bishop, to aIK ' intents and purposes, himself established, whose life he has been and continues to be, on which he has expended so much hard labour, and which must always be at least indirectly under his control, or that of his representatives or successors, presented to him.

But, in any case, the movement made to do this is much to the credit of Mr. OBrien and the other gentlemen in Wellington with whom it originated, as well as of those shareholders elsewhere, and there are a good many of them, who have followed the example so generously afforded them.

Letters received by the Suez mail from his Lordship the Bishop of the Diocese announce that the Bishop was to leave London on his return voyage on January sth by the s,B. Chimborazo. His Lord•hip, was, however, undecided as to whether he wou'd break his voyage by a stay of some few weeks at the Cape, and, therefore, the time of his arrival in Dunedin is still uncertain — but it cannot now, in any case, be long delayed.

We are requested by his Lordship the Bishop of Wellington to acknowledge the receipt from Newton, Auckland, of £18 6s towards the Nelson Industrial School Fund. The ram in question came to hand too late for insertion in the list published by us last week.

The Rev. Father Newport has made arrangements to open a school at Port Chalmers on Monday next, 13th inst. The classes, though specially intended for Catholic children will, nevertheless, bo available for those of all other denominations whose parents may choose to send them there, and, in such cases, care will be taken, as usual, to avoid all interference with particular religious tenets. The course of instruction given, besides the customary branches of English, will embrace French, Latin, and music, and plain and fancy needle-work. The services of a most efficient teacher have been secured, and the work of the school will be carried on under the direct superintendence of the Rev. Father Newport.

The Diamond Fieldt Advertiser of a late date complains of the depression existing in Kimberley share market. It attributes this to the effect of mining failures elsewhere on the British public, and to the attempts to float ground of small value on thy London market at preposterous prices; the Advertiser also complains that mining companies which had promised well have turned out comparative failures, and gives, among other reasons for this, illicit traffic, twenty per cent, in number and thirty per cent, in value of all the stones found being illicitly disposed of.

Our contemporary the Lyttelton UTimes is acquainted with some nuns who, as school mistresses, have applied to M. Paul Bert for " aid and counsel and given him — Atheist and Materialist as he is— their prayers and blessings in returu." That is, there may be some nuns still left in the French Government schools who have been obliged to apply to M. Bert as Minister of Education, in connection with their duties, and we may be fully persuaded they would very much rather have applied to anyone else. As to their prayers and blessings being given to an Atheist and Materialist that was only to be expected. It is part of the duty of all nuns to pray for and bleßß every one, and they will pray all the more for those who the more need their prayers. But to hint that nuns or any other faithful Catholics with the use of their wits have the least confidence in M. Bert or look upon him as anything other than a bitter, unscrupulous, and lying enemy is merely absurd.

Another suicide has been committed ; this time at Kaiapoi Island, where a farmer named Whitmore hanged himself last Monday. Oar good friends who so anxiously point to the criminal statistics of the colony in order to cast a slur upon their Irish and Catholic fellow-colonists do not, we understand, regard self-murder as a serious offence. Otherwise we should appeal to them to throw in, to the advantage of their fellow-colonists whom they are anxious to bring into contempt, the instances of the crime in question com* •mitted by those who were neither Catholics or Irishmen within the last year, and which do not appear in these criminal statistics that 'give them so much delight. A natural consequence, however, of the secularism they advocate, as, indeed, the Poet Laureate has lately very strongly testified also, is suicide, and why then should they bo expected to disapprove of it. Meanwhile the old discipline of the stake and the cross roads fox the deal body of the self -murdered may

come to be regarded as hardly so barbarous after all, if it be concluded that it was at all effectual in preventing the commission ef the terrible deed in question. A correspondent of the West Coast Times writing from Olcarito speaks highly of the hot springs at Waiho Glacier, and predicts that they will in time rival the Waiwera springs, at Auckland.

A shepherd named Thomes Mackay was drowned in the Wai-

pori iiver on Wednesday week. It is supposed that the horse on which he was attempting to cross the river was swept down by the tTde.

The Imperial Parliament was opened on Tuesday. The Queen's speech, which was read by the Lord Chancellor, declared the state of affairs in Ireland to be improved, and crime diminishing. It also made reference to the employment of coercion which, it said, had been large. Meantime it is particularly ominous to find Mr. Clifford Loyd, a gentleman with all the dispositions of a modern Nero, appointed as one of the five stipendary magistrates placed, with despotic powers, over the disturbed districts. From such an appointment none but the worst results can be expected. The Roman correspondent of the London Tablet mentions the

name of the Bishop of Dunedin among those of the English speaking prelates present at the canonization on December 8. On St. Andrew's Day also his Lordship Pentificated the Solemn High Mass offered at the Scots College.

The Dominican Sisters acknowledge the receipt of remittances

towards their Invercargill art-union from the following : — Mesdames O'Neil, Hall, Sullivan, Mcc, Pitchers, Misses Hegarty, Quinn, Diamond, Mahoney, and Messrs. O'Neil and Martin Burke.

We learn that it is the intention of the Dunedin Branch of the H.A.C.B.S. to celebrate the anniversary of the Branch which occurs on St. Patrick's Day by a concert. Preparations are busily in hand to make the affair a brilliant one, and as the proceeds will be devoted to the aid of the benevolent fund, persons who patronise the entertainment will be combining charity with amusement.

The name of Mr. Colehan, of Blueskin, was omitted from the list of gentlemen appointed to collect on behalf of the presentation to his Lordship the Most Rev. Dr. Moran, which appeared in our last issue. The hon. secretary has received several replies from gentlemen in the country districts, who were appointed to collect, promising their hearty assistance and co-operation in the matter. A meeting of the Dunedin General Committee will take place on Tuesday evening next, the 14th inst, in the Christian Brothers schoolroom, Rattray street, at 8 o'clock. It is very desirable that all should attend this meeting, as a matter of great moment will be brought forward on the occasion. The collection for this presentation will take place at the church doors on next Sunday week, the 19th inst., unless otherwise announced by us next week.