CHRISTCHURCH. (From our own Correspondent.)

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 52, 17 April 1885, Page 13

CHRISTCHURCH. (From our own Correspondent.)

April 14, 1885. Since my last writing the Holy Week ended the Lent after the manner of the Church, and the Easter holydays followed after the Holy Week, after the manner of both the Church and the world. In this pariah it has been the custom for twenty years for the choir to sing the " Tenehrse " and to make a special effort at all the services of the week. This year was, of course, no exception, and the services were successfully rendered. The congregations were very large, especially on Good Friday, when the attendance both morning and evening, was enormous. During the " Tenebrse " we had what is looked upon here, by the uninstrncted, as an innovation in the rubric — the Lamentations were 6ung by tbe clergy in the Sanctuary. If my memory of other places serves me truly, we have, however, but returned to the right thing. On Easter Sunday, the crowd of communicants at each of the lower Masses was very great. At High Mass, at 11, tbe choir outdid itself by a good performance of the time-honored " Twelfth Mass.". This work is, in one respect, very like Handel's " Messiah " — every chorister thinks he knows it, and therefore feels absolved from the necessity of practice. On this occasion, however, our '• Twelfth " had been practised diligently, with the usnal result that belongs to that industrious method. On Holy Saturday 1 was rather astonished to see the attendance at the morning Office so small— it was very small. A service of such nobility, euggestiveness, and surpassing interest should attract Catholics generally. For Irishmen there is in this Office a special interest, as Sc. Patrick was performing it on the morning of Holy Saturday on that memorable occasion when he was cited before the assembly at Tara. It was the light from his Paschal candle which' occasioned the peremptory summons he received. That Paschal candle was the strange fire which attracted the attention of the king and drew from the Druid, according to the well-known tradition, the remark, tbe famous warning, that unless that fire was put out it would spread over the whole country, swallowing up every fife in the land. Irish people, of all others, should make a point of attending the ceremony of lighting the Paschal candle to commemorate the greatest event in the history of the Irish Church. ■ Christchurch has been sitting at the feet of Ministers. Sir Julius Vogel has been fencing with deputations, and Mr. Ballance is now preparing us for fencing with tbe enemy. Many of us are full of ardour ; we want to handle big guns, rifles, torpedoes, and to take the sea in fast cruiseis. Those who have some prudence left recall the American story of the famous Captain McKiileen, who, being asked by a lady if a battle was really so dangerous an affair as people represented it, replied : " Well, ma r am, you see there are so many men standing around, and so much careless handling of fire-arms that it makes it really very unsafe." And when the lady enquired with hesitation if the Captain had actually seen any evil results with his own eyes, that veracious hero informed her with martial gravity that " certain friends of his bad received such injuries that they had actually been confined to their rooms for two whole days." But with the proverbial tenderness of all sons of Mars he comforted the poor woman with the assurance that the Legislative ot the state of lowa " was bringing in a Bill for making battles illegal." I should not like to be positive, but I think there are some of us who would like to see battles illegal. At any rate those who understand fire-arms do hope and trust tbab we may not elevate the defenders of the country before the Russian cruisers arrive in the offing. The commandants, naval and military, whom Mr. Ballance is introducing to our notice will, I trust, be able to prevent these little accidents.

The most warlike people in the community are the news-boys who sell the evening papers. The short, pithy, sensational accounts of the Russian doings among the Afghans, which they bawl out to make you buy their third and fourth editions are really quite appalling. They are not borne out by the contents of their broad-sheets, but when did a newspaper ever verify the imagination of a newsboy 1 Talk of editors and journalists I Tbe news-boy has kept ahead of these gentry from the earliest days, and will never be caught. Tbe more peaceful subject of special settlements i 9 not neglected by the Minister for Defence in his capacity of Minister for Lands. What his scheme precisely is, you know so far as anybody can know from the numerous references made from time to time in the public prints. With us here it is not so much a question of tbe scheme as the land on which the scheme is to take effect. That seems the great question with the Minister himself, who started this morning to view the country to see if his theories will stand the practical test. There is not too much land of good quality in our district open under the ordinary regulations. But th ere are some 20,000 acres of Plantation Reserves,very many of which are yet untouched. I should not be surprised if some of these Beserves were to be picked upoD for the site of the special settlement scheme. After the vast land speculationsthat have swept over the face of this part of the country, looking for a few acres for settling the unemployed bone and sinew reminds one just a little of a certain proverb about shutting the stable door. The best hope is that there may be a foal or so in the stable, which may be made a respectable sort of nag if the door of the stable is shut close enough. It is not much to boast of. but it is all we have.

Our newspapers are informing us that peace has her victories as well as war. For example, the meat industry is making great strides. The Belfast Freezing Company's figures show that Bince the beginning of the year they have sent away 27,000 sheep. Where they see the encouragement, as it is not in the London pricea. it is hard to cay. But they see it somewhere, for they are increasing their works to the capacity of 650 a day, or nearly 4000 a week ; and they are increasing their storage capacity, independent of working requirements, to 13,000 carcases. Another victory of peace is the glass factory at Kaiapoi, whose owners gave a most encouraging little spread the other day, at which they showed off their own manufacture, wine-glasses, jugs, tumblers,

lamp-glasses, sodawater bottles, and pickle bottles. One of the local papers, described these articles as admirable, " considering the rudeness of the appliances at the command of the workmen." — From, which I infer that this glass is as yet to be viewed darkly. But' the great fact is that it is glass. Glass-making has actually become on*. . of our industries ; that is a satisfactory fact. . The Wilberforce Keefs bid fair to be another -victory of peace. Three tons of stone sent from one of these to Auckland have just been crushed with the result of 1 oz. 12 pennyweights. They are situated close to. Browning's Pass, beyond " the gloomy lake of Coleridge," as somebody called it in the early days, moved thereto purely by the exigencies of versification. The promoters of the two companies have induced the Government to expend some money on a road to their location, whereby it is brought within a day's journey of Christchurch. The return from Auckland has made the shareholders jubilant. Local Option among us can hardly be cumbered, as yet among victories of any kind. The public is apathetic about Local Option. In Sydenham, the Model Borough, the ratepayers said '• No" in every case, but only about 150 voted as against fiOO on the last occasion. In Christchurch south-east, only nine recorded their votes, of .whom seven valorously said " So" also in every case. The ladies have taken the matter up, of whom a deputation waited on Sir Julius Vogel with the request that he would favour their petition for the inclusion of the Ladies in the Act as voters of Local Option. This is for the obvious reason that the women are very vitally interested in the liquor traffic question — a most reasonable request. It is fair, because in the days of the old Act, when Local Option was exercised by way of written petition instead of voting, the women had the right ' of interference. But Sir Julius would not do anything more than give his opinion that the ladies ought to possess the general franchiseHe was inexorable in refusing to do anything for them in the way of Local Option until they are constitutionally on a level with theirj husbands and brothers — which looked a little like delicate banter.

Mr. Booth, the ttemperance lecturer, is giving some excellent addresses on. that subject, to very large audiences, and has been.' fairly successful in inducing people to take the pledges. The cause has found an unexpected ally in Mr. Swan the pedestrian, who, at • the close of a desperate feat of pedestrianism (484§ miles in 143£ hours against six menalso walking one day apiece only managed to . cover 479), attributes his endnrance to temperance principles; having, he said, taken but one glass of beer, and that towards the end. „ The " moderation" men will probably claim Mr. Swan, for their own. The West Railway delegates have sent word to say thatthey are getting on nicely. They have, that is to say, taken an office, and been introduced by the Agent- General to capitalists. They have hopes, but the money market being uneettled by war-panics, they do not expect immediate results. -