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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 14, 24 July 1885, Page 16

Thu. Scapular of out Lady of Pellevoisin, under the title of Mother All-merciful, has been blessed and approved of by his Holiness the Pope, and is now worn by many prelates in the Vatican, and by cardinals, bishops, and the heads of religious orders all over the world. The devotion is besides spreading daily among the laity and has been the source of countless blessings everywhere. Consignments of the scapular, and the book explanatory of the devotion have lately been sent to San Francisco and Sydney, and any of our Catholic booksellers desirous of obtaining a like benefit for New Zealand will do well to apply to M, le Cur 6de Pellevoisin, Indrr, France, or to Miss M. B. Casey, 86 South Circular Road, Dublin, who will see that their requirements are attended to. Exceptional advantages may be gained by all those who interest themselves in making thi3 devotion known and practised.

And so all our " kids " are to become sprouting scientists incontinently. So, at least, decrees our minister of Education, and he is the supreme authority of course. All the big words are to be done away with and the infantile understanding is to be reached by means of the " well of English undefiled " as it exists in the brains of our primary school teachers. It is a pity by-the-way that Mr. Stout himself would not give a few lectures, or at least write a pamphlet, on a subject, which, as we all know, he is eminently qualified to deal with, but he may yet find time to do so and we shall await with impatience bis series of lessons on words in whatever form they may appear,—

Mr. Stout, meantime, has done the next best thing and treated Parlia* ment to a few specimens of the simple expressions he would substitute. Geology is to be called "earth-knowledge, botany plant-know-ledge and so on." And philosophy, for is not that also scientific, O, thou teachar of men ? Philosophy will be called— perhaps goose - knowledge. Some such name at least, we should judge to be appropriate reasoning from several utterances made by onr philosophical Minister, and by none more than the extraordinary. fustian now pufe forth by him as an education statement. Surely rhe Colony sorely needs to be educated, and being so its first act would necessarily be to dismiss with all due ridicule those who now pretend to teach it. The choice betweea the pedant and the fool is verily a difficult one* and sometimes, for all the show of learning and wisdom, both characters seem inseparably combined.

The Dominican Convent High School and the Schools of the Christian Brothers, Dunedin, were re-opened, on the termination of the midwinter holidays, last Monday ;

We would remind our readers in Dunedin and its vicinity of the concert to be given in aid of the Cathedral Building Fund at the Princess' Theatre on August 7. The rehearsals promise> true musical treat, and the object will commend itself to every member of the Catholic community and secure the active co-operation of all.

" tapley " writes as follows in the Melbourne Advocate of the 11th inst : — I had an interview with Mr. Boucicault daring the week » and, as I expected, I found that he .is an Irishman of whom his countrymen may well be proud. He is a gentleman with strong feelings for his native land, and he has always given expression to these, even though his candour may have sometimes caused him some pecuniary loss. I give Mr. Boucicault, on behalf of his countrymen, a cead Mills failthe to Australia.

In reference to the denial given by our Minister of Education to the fact that secular education produces crime, and the authoritative hope uttered by him that he might hear no further accusations of the kind, we beg leave to say that his aspirations will be fulfilled 1 when crime and immorality all over the world have ceased to increase as godles&ness advances ; when the figures — whether cooked or otherwise — relating to convicted criminals, cease to be supplemented by the number of suicides ; of f radulent people undetected or un prosecuted, bat known to exist ; of those addicted to gross vices but untouched by the law, and by all such cases. — The tendency of secularism everywhere is shown to be the promotion of immorality, and in some instances common decency is outraged even in the lessons given by its hand-books. In Italy, for example, the lessons on " beast-knowledge," hitherto known as zoology — but a science in this instance well named by the Tather obscure simplicity of the new title, — whether the idea expressed relate to the knowledge concerning beasts, or to that possessed by the beasts themselves— since the filthy manner in which the subject is dealt with is pronounced to be such as would not be suffered by the decent students of any anatomical school, and may well bestialise the minds of the boys and girls obliged to receive it.

Dxjnedin, which has lost several of its chief musicians of late, is now about to suffer another loss in the departure of Signor Carmini Morley. It is proposed to give this gentleman a farewell benefit on August 11, when his claims upon the public should result in attracting a full attendance.

" Tapley " also writes them : — 1 am glad to see that the miners of New Zealand are again to the fore in the National cause. Recently over £250 was received from that colony for the P.iy tnent of Members' Fund, and I learn that another £40 have been received. 1 have always contended that the miners of New Zealand are the best specimens of Nationalists to be found in Australia. Like thei P co-patriots of Tenaora they are continuously subscribing to the National cause. They believe in the doctrine of practical patriotism. I am sorry to notice tint Victoria is behind the other colonies in reference to the Payment of Members' Fund. This fund is, to my mind, the question of questions for the Irish people. If the members of the new Parliament can be sustained in their labours, legislative independence is certain ; but if from any cause there should be a break down, it will be many years, if ever, before such a favourable opportunity will present itself again. What a vast amount of money was collected and expended in O'Connell's days in the attempt to win Repeal, but the question was never so ripe for settlement as it is now. This fact should encourage all to lend a helping hand in sustaining the efforts of the Irish Parlia mentary Party in the great struggle which will soon take place.