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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 2, 4 May 1883, Page 16

The Wairoa correspondent of the Napier Telegraph writes as follows :—": — " I have much pleasure in bearing witness to the self-sa-crificing character of the visiting Catholic priest, Rev. E. Beignier, a

thoroughness of 'purpose in religion that one rarely sees in these degenerate days. A sister of the Aatepe chief, Berei Te Ota , lay dying of pulmonary consumption, and the husband sent for the reverend priest to minister to her spiritual wants. He started at once (on Monday) for Tunroa on foot, in all the. storm of wind and rain, reaching the pah in time to give the Sacrament to the dying woman' as provided in the Catholic ritual. When his services were no' longer required he started home again via the Toriroa cuttings, reaching his lodgings about dark, having walked over eight miles on -a « beastly road,' and in excessively bad weather. The worthy old priest, when he performed this feat, wanted but one day to complete cycle of 72 years, and this devotion to his duty is well worthy of ecord.

A dreadful row has all this time been going on at Westport about a letter already referred to in our columns, and accusing the school committee of having "prostituted the public fnnds " by permitting Moody and Sankey to be sung in the Slate school. The committee evidently want everyone to agree that the '« Sweet by-and-bye " is as necessary to the repertory of the virtuous young trae-bopn Briton as is " God save the Queen " or " Rule Britannia," and they are quite resolved to prepare a by-and-bye anything but sweet fo r those who dare to deny it.— They want damages, in fact, to soothe their wounded feelings, and are bent on bringing the law to bear on the unfortunate editor of the local Star, and his correspondent. But could not something be done to exchange this committee against that fireless one at Hokitika ?— lt is quite clear that no children under their care need go cold for want of fuel. They are adepts in the art of making matters hot, and a parade made by them through any schoolroom in the Colony ought to be sufficient to warm it up to several degrees of Fahrenheit for the day. Positively the people at Hokitika should borrow them until the money comes in.

But the storm of hatred that has been excited against Mr. Parnel i in England, is only the signal of his coming triumph, and, now that that triumph is so clearly foreseen, it could not have been otherwise, for it would be strange were the enemies of Ireland able to bear the thoughts of it with equanimity, or without a very wild burst of fury. Mr. Parnell's growing strength is well-explained by Mr. Laboacbere in Truth :— " For my part, I have no doubt that Ireland will never be either pacified or prosperous until we recognize the elementary truth that the Irish ought to be their own masters in every matter locally affecting them alone. As long as we arrogate to ourselves the right to dictate to Ireland on Irish matters, so long all Irishmen who are not servile will do their best to render our government in that country impossible. In the next Parliament Mr. Parnell will have at least 70 members at his back. This means a voting power on every division of 140, and to them will be added some English Radicals. Such a voting power, throwing iteelf, now on one side, now on the other, and ready to join whichever side wishes to drive out the other, so long as Home Rule is not conceded, will absolutely command the position, The Irish, therefore, have the game in their own hands, and, as Mr. Trevelyan said, they would do well to be patient, for it will not be long before their patience is rewarded by victory." Standing in the shadow of such coming events as these, what can Mr. Parnell's foes possibly do but gnash their teeth and howl ?

Spain also has had her troubles of late, originating in the starvation of the peasantry of Andalusia, where, for some seasons, the harvest has failed, so that an opening was made for the secret conspirators, who, in every country at present, are on the look out fo r their opportunities, and well know how to use them. The conspiracy alluded to was known as that of the " Black Hand " and was Nihilistic in its plans. Whether, nevertheless, there is, as the Popolo Romano believes, some bond of union between the different conspirators, and they are connected by some common centre of which they are the unconscious branches, varying according to the country in which each is situated, and its particular circumstances, there is hardly as yet anything to determine, but the suggestion seems pertinent, and it would certainly be wise on the part of Governments against whom the anarchic powers may be suspected of making use of the reasonable grievances of the people, to take the advice tendered to them by the Roman journal, and " use every effort to improve the moral and material condition of the lower classes."' But if the fact be as it is suggested, the folly of coercion in Ireland, and the continued irritation of its people becomes still more apparent. The anarchis^if they be at work there, are only so engaged with a view towards gaining a footing in England, and the more violent becomes the confusion, and the more protracted, the better will their purpose be served.

The Bishop of Nelson, it appears, approves of the maxim that the end justifies the means. At least, speaking of the Salvation Army the other day, his Lordship is reported thus .— " Although they did much that was undesirable, let us, he would aay, look more at their object and less at their method of attaining it." The Bishop, moreover, finds the Army fitted to do in a " rough and ready manner" what the Church of which he is a pillar is unable to do at all, and that it will provide for the spiritual needs of the canaille, leaving him to pursue his own particular work of which his hands are quite

fuH, but into which, it appears, the preaching of the Gospel to the poor-at least, the very poor and ignorant-does not enter. And the JJWhop, no doubt, has scriptuie, or article, or homily, or something or another for all this, but still he does seem to us to make a new application of an old saying— ne Suter ultra erepidam. It seems, however, that, although the " pinch of starvation " has hardly had all the success that had been looked for in driving the famine-stricken people into the work.hou6es,-and we are told they are, many of them, as usual, dying rather than be driven there —it has come just at the nick of time to forward the Government's depopulation policy, and shiploads of people are being conveyed away to America from the west of Ireland. They go, of course, under the false persuasion that plenty awaits them on their arrival, and their disappomtment will be bitter when they find themselves even worse off, taking it altogether, in the slums of the American cities than tftey had been at Home.— Among them, moreover, are hundreds of young girls who go out under contract to work in certain factories — Let us hope, however, factories not conducted on the same principles as that which we found described the other day, where a visitor found crowds of children stuffed into close and unhealthy rooms where they worked from ten to twelve hours a day; and whose master boasted that he had made a large fortune.-In any case yjing girls going from the bracing air of the west of Ireland, and *W4 to an out-of-doors life, will feel the change to the close factories sorely, and it is to be feared that comparatively few of them may live out the time of the contract. But what a mistaken policy is this on the part of England, to be heaping up for herself hatred I pon fiatred on the American continent, whose feeling towards her dbe becomes every day less able to despise. Nay, more, is it not a false policy even towards these colonies of ours, whose future career must De to a great extent modified by means of the Panama Canal now soon to be completed, and which the United States may undoubtedly hZ ?°l JH I'- AU theßG P ° Or people * ho S° awft y *««* from taqme by -the « pmch of starvation •• will remember the circumstances under whic .they left their country, and the suffering that lies before them will add fresh bitterness to their recollection. ™n Y^t he e f tor ° f the Dunedin &»*** Star explain why it is well that the public should bear in mind « these two facte-first, that Carey was franked, so to speak, by Mr. O'Brien, the member for Mallow; and second, that his canvas was prompted by the most prominent members of the Parnellite section in the Corooration » ? Is it that the public may fully partake in the virulent and disgraceful inZ s° \ I , eQ that dariDg Ws lon * career ' or 80 m "<* as we know of it, has distinguished the editor himself-that the young may use their strength to insult Irishmen, and tne old, forgetful of the one foot they have placed in the grave, may raise their moribund voices in a pitiable shriek of bigotry and impotent fury ? But what the Uvenmg Star asserts to be a fact, to be borne in mind, is no fact Jt is a miserable lie coined, as so many lies have been, to overwhelm a 3HBt cause by the weapon of the bully and the coward —These particular lies about Carey have been noticed by the Dublia Nation and received from it the fullest expoßure.-Bat what even if the Parnelhtes had been deceived by Carey-is it not known that the wretched informers, the miserable tools which the British Government have very consistently used all along in the tranquilisatioa of Ireland were masters of deceit? If they had not been so, indeed they would not have served the purposes of Dublin Castle, or been suited to act as the faithful followers of those high English gentlemea who forgot their native nobility there to play the part of flatterers to men whom they longed to kick-as one of the highest of them all has left on record. Oh no, there is nothing to prevent an honest man from being deceived by a cunning scoundrel, and, what concerns our contemporary the Evening Star still more, there is nothing to prevent the minds of just men from being perverted by the constant and unscrupulous howling of a bigot.-If, however, our editor did not know this very well he would most probably keep silent as to Irish affairs. There would be nothing for him, then, to gain bj meddling with them. «, iJr w M l SSCS Hume ' 8 CoDcert ' which was gton in the Lyceum Hall on jast Fnday evening, was in every way an unqualified success. f 111 1 6ea i lU buildin e w » 8 occupied, and some few had to becon£T»Z\ , fita " di ; r e rcom - ™« vocalisation of the Misses Hame *as all tbat ocmld be desired, and they well merited the enthusiastic ,ra I6 c betovved throughout tbe evening. Miss B. Hume contributed latter tbe lady was compelled to repeat, althongh she twice bowed tei Ihajks to the audience before doing so. Miss M. Hume gave the JSLaet Watch, by Pinsuti, aisd Mai rial's "The Miller and the Maid." Jdotb lames sang together in the « Venetian Boat Song," their voices harmonising very pleasingly. Signor Carmini Morley, who seems to have regained some of his old vigour, was heard to great advantage duiing tbe evening. Hie singing of the " White Squall " and « Good Night Beloved," was heartily applauded, and in response he gave Good-hye Sweetheart" and "The Bloom is on the Eye," respectively. Mr. A. J. Barth showed his ability as a pianist in the execution of

) Chopin's Polonaise in E fiat, and the fantasia ou " The Ancient . Mariner," and in the duet with Mr. Schacht on the violin on' Hun. garian airs, both instruments were heard to great advantage, the ', violinist was very deservedly encored for his solo. Mr. Jago's contributions, " The Old Brigade" and "The Lighthouse," were well , received, and the accompaniments of Her Steinmetz throughout the , concert were very good. Another portion of the inventions respecting Carey is that he was the representative of a Hadical Ward in the Dublin Town Council, and that he had been elected by Parnellite voters. This, however, is especially a story that may be told to that traditionally credulous body, the " horse marines." Those of us who know anything of Dublin know that Trinity Ward includes Merrion Square and other fashionable quarters of the town, there being few streets in it where it is not considered respectable for members of the upper ten thousand to reside. If Carey, then, got 124 votes ont of 214, it is quite evident he must have been supported by a large proportion of the Conservative and anti-Parnellite inhabitants of the Ward ; and the district is the head-quarters, as we have said, of the fashionable world of Dublin — the hangers-on of the Castle. The opening meeting of the Dunedin Catholic Literary Society was held on last Friday evening, the rev. president occupying the chair. After the business portion of the meeting had been concluded, the rev. chairman delivered his inaugural address on " Literary Societies." The rev. gentleman spoke for upwards of an hour, and gave a very interesting and pleasant discourse on tbe advantages to be obtained from such societies. He was frequently applauded, and at the conclusion of his remarks a hearty vote of thanks was unanimously carried, on the motion of Mr. P. F. Daniel. Mr. J. B. Callan took the chair during the lecture, and in conveying the thanks of the meeting to the Bey. Father Burke spoke with great praise of the lecture, and complimented the various gentlemen who spoke during the evening. He also promised to deliver a lecture on 11 The Reading and Study of Shakespeare." It was announced that the next meeting would take place on Friday evening, May 18. The usual monthly devotions in honour of the Sacred Heart, consisting of Bosary and Benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament, will be held this evening in St. Joseph's Church, at 7 o'clock. The devotions of the Month of Mary commenced on Tuesday evening. The Bank of New Zealand are, as usual, to be congratulated on the very encouraging report and balance-sheet presented at their half-yearly meeting. The Company is in an exceedingly prosperous condition, and tbe Directors deserve the warmest commendation for the management which has conduced to such excellent results. A dividend of 10 per cent, and a bonus of ss. per share have been declared. The proposal made recently with respect to religious teaching in the schools by the Anglican Bishop of Melbourne, and by way of meeting the Catholic claims surprises us by its foolishness, for we had so far supposed Dr. Moorehouse to be- a man of good common sense« No man of common sense, however, and knowing anything at all o* Catholic doctrine could suppose that Catholics would consent to receive for their children undenominational teaching from the Douay Bible. Catholics submitting to undenominational teaching would ba Catholics rebellious against their Church, and exposing their children to infidelity, and as to the Douay Bible, there is no particular reason why it should be made by Catholics the medium of religious instruction.—The Christian doctrine, indeed, is otherwise taught and learned by them. Such an utterance on the part of Dr. Moorehouse we un" derstand to be mere trifling with a subject concerning which some* thing better might have been expected from him. We regret that pressure on our space obliges us to' hold over to next week the conclusion of the list of subscriptions to St. Joseph's Church, Temuka. The stoppage of communication with Christchurch has prevented us from receiving our correspondence thence. The telegraphic news by the San Francisco mail contains a good deal of information respecting affairs in Ireland, but as it is almost without exception culled from the anti-Irish Press, it is hardly worth reproducing, and we await the Irish and American papers for the true details. An exception, however, is that the Freeman's Journal says that "No. 1," whose name is Tynen, was in Dublin until the first day James Carey was examined. He then managed to reach Bremen by way of Hull. From Bremen he proceeded to Havre, and thence to New York. He was a member of a Volunteer corps.— md the fact of his having been a Volunteer strikes us as very sugges live, and as pointing to a different origin for the ''Invincibles " from that they are commonly believed to have bad. It is again interest nc: to learn that the Queen's favourite servant, John Brown, m y '••<} looked upon as having fallen a victim to Irish affairs, — as his dcaiu i said to have been in part caused by an interview he had with Lady Florence Dixie respecting the attack imagined by her.— Poor Johii must have been of an exceptionally sensitive nature.— Not but that a course of Lady Florence's megrims might prove trying to the most robust constitution. — The explosion at Westminster was of amove serious character than we had supposed — shaking the whole neighbourhood violently, and shattering masonry and woodwork, as well as an immense quantity of glass. — The Joss caused by it is estimated at £4000,. :. ...