CANTERBURY CATHOLIC LITERARY SOCIETY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 32, 7 December 1883, Page 13

CANTERBURY CATHOLIC LITERARY SOCIETY.

Christchurch, Nov. 31. At the ordinary weekly meeting of the above Society on Monday evening, Nov. 26, one candidate was balloted for and elected. The programme consisted of papers by Messrs. Perceval and Nolan, but as the first named gentleman's contribution was very interesting and created a good deal of discussion, it was found necessary t& postpone Mr. Nolan's until some fatnre occasion. Mr. Perceval said tbat aboutiten years since, after a very pleasant journey by way of San Francisco. Chicago, Montreal, New York, etc., lie arrived in Liverpool, the first town of the United Kingdom that he had ever been in. He was astonished at the poverty and wretchedness of. the lower orders, such misery as he had never conceived the rainti at idea of. The same thing met hisview hi London— men, women and children clothed in rags, with attenuated frames, and wizen face* importuned the passer by, at every corner, for a copper. This misery, which seemed so dreadful to a colonist, is almost unnoticed by the wealthy clasfes, who say it does not exist. Even the new arrival gets used to it after a while and hardens his heart against the mendicant s appeal, as if he were used to such scenes all his life. Ua the other side, no country can boast of such wealth,— a fact which can be veufied by going into the Park in London, and there seeing the magnificent equipages of the wealthy, on a fine afternoon. The Park is crowded with these well-appointed carriages, every one of whiek represents an owner with several thousands per annum of an income. Another way to see the wealth oE the metropolis is by attending a musical "at home" or asocial gathering of some Bort. There is no place in which the two extremes— great wealth and the most degrading poverty— are seen so prominently. This state of thing* led a great many persons to suggest various antidotes for the increasing evil, Malthas said .the population doubled .itself in a fixed period, whilst the produce of the soil increased at a more moderate proportion, from which he concluded that, unless the land was made to grow more prolific crops, the production would not keep pace with the consumption. Then other politicians suggested as a cure the education of the people, reform of the land laws, extension of the franchise, liberal governments, and lastly, came Mafor'Atifcihaoa'a scheme of national insurance. The most startling' aspect of tb.e question is the broad gulf between the classes^ and also the increasing vrreligion of the masses. Each government becomes more liberal than its predecessor still, instead of matters improving, they are driving from bad to worse. The pat look is dreirtj, and- would be more so were it not that there~ remains the Church wjiere'the classes meet on an equality. " " Mr. Leahy complimented Mr. Perceval on the style of his papew although he would prefer pulling it to pieces, but the writer did not leave much room for doing that. Mr. George disposed of the Malthusian theory, as "he said that every man was" born with two hands and a head, and was therefore competent to make a living. Education was a great factor in helping to improve the condition of the people. Land nationalisation would be moat conducive to the welfare of the masses, but national insurance he considered to be a chimerical idea. Mr. Kennedy was pleased with the papef just read, which opened up a very wide field for discussion. He was rather disappointed, as he was led ,to believe from the opening remarks that the writer was about to give his impressions of the various towns and cities of the United Kingdom he had been to. He hoped Mr. Perceval could give them soon a paper on his travels through the States from San Francisco to New York. The president disagreed in a lew points with Mr. Perceval, one of which was that the Church should take no part in politics. He wag of opinion it should, but not in party" politics. Politics were th« essence of morals, and good government included the morals of the people. There was a growing feeling nowadays, of separating Church from State. In past time?, when England was in close communion with the Oatholis Church, there existed not that amount of wretchedness which is there at present, nor that treffleridons gap betweea wealth and poverty. • """•* ~* Mr. Nolan considered the duty of the Church was not so much te lessen poverby, as to mitigate the sufferings entailed by poverty. We have no such misery here as can be found at Home, but we will, if we sit idly by and allow land monopolists to seise, the- best -part of the country. Mr. Milner thanked Mr. Perceval for nis interesting paper, but disagreed with him ia dealing with the position of factory hands in Lancashire. Since the passing -of the '! .Factories' Asl," the lot of the people who are employed in those places is much improved. ewnaMr. O'Connor regiv tted he did not hear, the first part of the paper, but what he did hear convinced him tbat it was tbe 'best original contribution read before the Society for sometime. Mr. Dobbin said that people were bom and died in the large cities at Home, who never saw a gr6en field in all their life. These people were born ia misery, lived ia it, and were incapable of gettin* out of that state. At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Maskell said that he received a note from Dr. Bakewell, at the close of the previous evening's meeting, enclosing that gentleman's resignation as a member of tbe Society. He remonstrated with him at the time, and pointed out that it would not be a reasonable course for every member to take who found his ideas opposed by the majority. He. > would not have allowed such a motion to be introduced, had it not been a direct censure on himself and on the Council, and be therefore could not see his way in opposing its introduction ■ ,