CHRISTCHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 35, 25 December 1885, Page 16

CHRISTCHURCH.

(From our own Correspondent.)

Dec. 21, 1885. During the past week education has gathered up all her bands, and sent them forth to do holiday upon the face of the earth The schools— primary, secondary, tertiary, and fossil— have all had their examinations, their prize distributions, their speechifying, and their breakings-up. The Government institutions have done according to their usual wont, as have the group of colleges under the wealthy endowments of Canterbury College. All these are they who believe in the omnipotence of secularism. The great college on the borders of the Domain, founded thirty years ago by the Anglican denomination, furnished a contrast by the religious tone which the Anglican Primate imparted to th^ proceedings at the breaking-up by his speech. If the right rev. gentleman's flock would ouly adopt his sentiments, and make them a guiding rule— which would be easy enough, provided only they would only believe what their right rev prelate believes on the subject— there would be a strong majority here for what may be called the denominational ticket Bishop Harper's speech to the boys of Christ's College was the speech of a man who believes that no education is worthy of the name which is not associated with religion. Our own school, I rejoice to say, have not been behind in the general display. Every Catholic parent buying either of the daily papers has had the satisfaction of seeing the record of the school in which he is interested, and the greater satisfaction of perusing the chronicle of the prizes gained by his young people. The arduous work of examination fell principally to Father Bowers, who spared neither time, nor trouble, nor ability in the work The whole of our Catholic educational establishments passed in review b-fore him— the Sacred Heart High School and Select School, the Girls' Parish School (with its classes of St Mary's, St. Joseph's, Bt. Patrick's the Holy Angels) ; St. Joseph's, Papanui (a mixed school) ; St. Agnes' Halswpll (also mixed) ; the School of the Sacred Heart at Addington (also mixed). All these, with their sum of some 400 scholars passed before him. There passed also the St. Leo's High School the School of St. Patrick and the school of St. Aloysius— the two' last being the parochial primary schools for boys ; they, with the St Leo s, accounting for another 400 in round numbers. The teachers" have all earned the commendation of the examiner, I understand. That is to say, all have done what was expected of them viz., the nuns of the convent, who have such a large share of the educational burden on their shoulders ; Miss Kealy, of Papanui ; Miss Liddy of Addington ; Miss Donnelly, whose labours at Haiswell are well known ; Mr. Dobbin, who is making progress with St. Leo's ; Mr. 0 Connor, who has served so many years at St. Patrick's ; and Miss Carr, who, as the lady principal of St. Aloysius, will be as famous as any in our educational history. The discipline of all these Bchools is well known— it is, in fact, the talk of the whole town. If their pr >fie ency in their books is equal to it, their education must be at a hmh level indeed. The opportunities for observing this discipline aie numerous. There are the Ma-ses twice a week which the schools attend, and the several holydays besides, on which they are seen filing through the streets to Mass, and attending in their places with a behaviour which betokens the most careful command on the part of their teachers. The average attendance I have not been able to get ; but I am assured ibat since Father Ginaty took the overseeing of this department into his own hands, the attendance is almost equal to the aumber on the roll. The reverend father manages, in the multiplicity of his business, to find time to visit the schools daily at an early hour and call over the muster roll. The examinations and prize distributions lasted all last week. We have a first-class mystery on hand here. Some two or three months ago a gentleman named Howarde went to bathe, as be gave out. on the Bumner Beach. His clothes being found some time after it wasconjectured that Mr. Howarde had been drowned. His repre' sentatives, finding that he had made certain arrangements for their advaatage with certain insurance offices, naturally wanted to wind up that part of the deceased gentleman's business. The insurance managers thought that a sum of between S2OOO and £3000 was rather much for the insurance on the life of a mechanic drawing, as they thought, at the outside tea shillings a' day, and without any extra means to speak of, that they knew.— Being, therefore, suspicious they said : " produce the body or satisfactory evidence of death, and we will pay, till then, we wait." The representatives did nothing. After two or three months a gentleman walking in the next bay to that in which the clothes were found is attracted by a peculiar and repulsive (something in the breakers'. It is a human hand— a ring is on the fiuger, attracted by the flash of lit?ht upon the trinket the horrified discoverer snatches up the ghastly flotsam and jetsam, and reads the name of Howarde. The next chapter opens with a still incredulous insurance crowd. Medical men and policemen are made to intervene, and where there is even so small a portion of a carcass as a hand there are the eagles of the law gathered together. An inquest is threatened, it is put off for a time, 1 believe three weeks, and a cast is taken of the hand. There are arrests, their is talk of collusion, and there are indignant denials, tears, protestations, woebegone clsims— that is the stage at which we of the printing press must stop. The public, disturbed by no fear of anything, prattle away about the matter in a way eminently worthy of its dear delightful self. When I next wnte I may have a great deal more to say on this head. At present I have a great deal to say on many other beads, but feeling that I have already exceeded the bounds of your space and probably of your good nature, I must content myself with the pleasure of wishing jourself aud your readers a Merry Christmas.

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