CHRISTCHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XV, Issue 46, 9 March 1888, Page 19

CHRISTCHURCH.

(From our own Correspondent,)

The most interesting event of the week in Ohristchurch has undoubtedly been the opening of the Canterbury Art Society's annual exhibition. The exhibition was opened by the President, Mr. Beetham, in the Society's gallery in High street, on Thursday night week. There was the usual conversazione. All the artistic savants of Christ* church were present. The display of work done by the Art Society this year is unusually good. The hanging committee plucked up courage enough to reject all pictures which showed signs of careless work. The result was that the walls of the gallery were not crowded, as was the case in former years, with pictures whose best claims to be considered of value lay in their gilt frames. The pictures chosen and purchased at Home for the Society by Sir Frederick Leighton, of course, attracted the lion's share of attention. These pictures will afford art students some admirable studies in the beautiful effects which can be produced in subdued colours. Young colonial artists,as a rule.ditplay quite too much affection for vivid colours, especially very vivid greens. The whole of the Home pictures were exhibited at the Royal Acadamy last year. The largest one, " Harbour at low tide," is very beautiful. In the foreground there is the bare brown sands, from which the water has receded. The dark hulls of a couple of crafts and a boat or two are seen upon the sand, upon which there is a long atrip of water left by the retreating tide. Upon some heights which occupy the middle distances are tiers of houses which stand out darkly against the red-tinged sky, and are just faintly illuminated by the setting sun. The effect of the reflected sunset upon the still, smooth strip of water upon the sands is wonderfully real. The whole colouring of the picture is in very dark tints, but every detail is strikingly clear. One could spend a couple of hours in studying this picture, which is the gem of the Leighton collection. " The Reverie " is another of the Home pictures. In it a young girl is shown in a most graceful pose in a brown study. The figure is most graceful and supple looking. She is seated upon a table, with a violin in her hand and a music stand before her. She is clad in a blue-grey dress, with just a suspicion of colour round her neck. The furniture about the room is all sombre-toned. The little figure in the blue dress is the only relief to the prevailing dark tones of the picture. The girl's face is full of thought, and its whole expression is suggestive of absolute forgetfulness of all around her. The violin and the music are completely forgotten. Her thoughts have wandered " away, away " beyond the present. The whole picture is exquisite. Another of the collection, is called the '• Tyrant." The picture represents a strong, sturdy baby clad in quaint dress and cap. The eyes are so brimful of baby " cussedness " that you expect as you look at it to behold an exhibition of the " Tyrant's" powers in seeing him double up and kick and scream. Handel Gear exhibits largely. He must have spent the past year in working most industriously at his art. He has invaded Miss Sperrv's territory in the matter ot painting Maoris. His portrait of Wiremu, a Native minister of the Church of England at Bank's Peninsula, is capital. The calm, semi-philoso-phical expression peculiar to the cultured Maori is very happily caught. Mr. Gear alto exhibits a very large painting founded upon a well-known song and named " For evtr and for ever." The scene depicted is illustrative of a phise of the life led by outcast London, A woman with a child in her arms and with a boy by her side is sitting under a London archway, upon the banks of the Thames, and in the distance is seen glimmering through the darkness the " cruel lights of London." The artist has made it patent that the group beneath the archway represents poverty, not vice, for a ray of light falling upon the woman's hand shows the wedding ring gleaming upon her finger. This picture attracted a great deal of attention. J. Peele, an artist whose works are well known in Canterbury, exhibits a most strange and weird picture, entitled "Dawn." It desoribes &, scene from Rider Haggard's " She." It is the morning after the wreck upon the African coast, and shows the Negro's Head, the strange rock which the novelist describes. This rock, Bhaped like the head and bust of a negro Titan, looms up darkly out of the ocean. The waves which wash the base of the rock are darkly and vividly blue, with here and there patches of shadow, almost approaching blackness, reflected from the clouded sky. The black and blue of the ocean is lit up with crimson flashes from the sun, which is f^st making its way through the dark clouds above the horizon and heralding in this most lurid dawn. The startling effect of the contrasting colours and grim, gruesome, and awful rocky shape in the foreground, make up a picture of such strange and startling intensity that the memory of it haunts one like an ugly dream, Miss Sperry's Maori scudies are as good as ever, and " A Study of Red Pines," by Miss Wimperis, is a picture which makes one breat the Tenth Commandment. Sir Julius Vogel has come and gone again and the electors of Christchurch North are left lamenting. Prior to his departure for the Worth on his way home, he met his constituents at Warner's. A little champagne and a good deal of mutual flattery between Sir Julius

•ad the leaders of " United Canterbury " were indulged in. Sir Julias has got pleasantly away. He says he will come back again, but I think that few people believe when Sir Julius Vogel goes he Will be seen in a hurry upon this side of the globe again. Many of 'his own supporters say that he will not, and they ought to know. Bishop Moran has again and again.from time to time, expressed his opinion that the education imparted in our State schools is not very high A circumstance which occurred in Ohristchurch quite recently bears out Dr. Moran's opinion as to the inefficiency of the free secular and compulsory syetem. A school inspector visited a school .in Canterbury, and among other very simple questions asked the fifth standard, as a sum in mental arithmetic, what would be the interest upon £750 ior six months at 4 per cent. The pupils could not tell, and the inspector made an unfavourable report, These- questions were considered so unreasonably difficult for fifth standard pupils that the matter was brought "under the notice of the Educational Institute by a Chriatcburch schoolmaster. Now it is simply ridiculous that with the boasted perfection of the public school system fifth standard pupils should find any difficulty whatever in instantly answering such very simple questions. Remembering as I do the expertness of children in Otago Catholic schools, I am quite sure that to children doing fifth standard work in these schools the simple sum in interest which appeared such a puzzle to the State school pupils* would present no difficulty whatever. Yet the public system has all the elaborate machinery of the State at its back to make it a success and the Catholic schools have no aid or support, save what is due to the energy of the Bishop and the self-sacrifice of his people. One can only come to one conclusion, even from a email fact like this iand that is that the three or four pounds a year which the State spends n teaching the three rules to each child in public schools, is being very badly spent indeed. Dr. Grimes is still away southward, but is expected to return to Ohristchurch next Wednesday. He will be in Aihburton next Sunday. As yet Christchurch people have seen very little of the Bishop and are rather anxious for his return. I think I forgot to mention in my last letter that Father Cummins most earnestly recommends Catholics to study the Bible as an antidote to the infidel teaching of a large portion of the literature of the age. I was pleased to bear Father Cummins make this recommendation. It gives the " lie direct " to statements so often falsely made that the Catholic Church discourages a study of the Scriptures. I think that I mentioned before that it was expected that Prior Butler would give a lecture here. The negotiations are still pending I believe, but whether they will be carried to a successful issue or not, I cannot yet say. Prior Butler's time is very much occupied, and his stay in the Colony is limited. After the taste of his quality which the people had at the Hibernian banquet, they are very anxious to hear him on some national subject. It is to be hoped that they will ba gratified. I do not know if your readers have noticed a very gratifying change which has taken place in the heading of Home cablegrams thisyear. Inthedavsof Reuter, there might have been no such city as Dublin in Europe, for all the cable headings indicated to the contrary 'Sow, it ia very different. Irish news is regularly dated from Dublin. I must say that 1 fjr one, feel a glow of satisfaction at the change, and I only hope that the day is not far d istant when we shall have Irish parliament iiy news dated from the same place. May that day soon come when the doors of the old House on College Green will again be opened, and itj walls ring once more with the tones of Irish statesmen, making laws for Ireland, laws which will fit her and foster peace and prosperity, not such as will squeeze the life out of the country, and drive its people to madness, as the lawß of English manufacture have done in times past, and are doing still. Now I have kept my very best piece of news for the last. After all the Irish people in Christchurch are not going to be behind their compatriots in other parts of the Colony in celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The right spirit is as strong in Irish hearts here as elsewhere. At times, owing to circumstances, that feeling may have seemed dead, but it was not. It only slumbered, and slumbered so lightly that it is easily awakene 1. I knew it was not possible that the Irish people of Christchurch would bo far efface themselves, would to such an extent put their nationality under their feet as to let St. Patrick's Day pass unnoticed at a time when their country — that country whose soil is made sacred by the mouldered dust of O'Connell. Emm^r, Lord Edward, and Wolfe Tone — is making the great struggle for freedom which she is doing at present. Never in all the history of Ireland's long, bitter, painful struggle to recover her national rights, was it more necessary than now that Irishmen all over the world with one voice should give public expression to their sympathy with the national cause. Aided by large-minded English statesmen, the Irish party is daily making progress towards the day, when backed by a world-wide public opinion favourable to granting justice to Ireland, they will wrest from the reluctant hands of their country's cruel rulers the great boon for which Parnell and Gladstone so long have striven — Home Rule for Ireland . Every public meeting held, every public speech uttered, every true thought written in favour of Home Rule goes to strengthen the position of the Irish party at Home, and | helps to swell the stream of public opinion which will one day sweep the last bank of English prejudice away, and obtain for Ireland the rights which have been so long, and so unjustly, withheld. It may be ■aid by a few '• What is all this to us? We have left the old country with all its woes behind us. We have become New Zealanders. It is no concern of ours whether Ireland ever gets Home Rule or not." I am glad to say that there are not many Irish people who will reason thus, and those who do co are not the most estimable of their race. A man's ideas must be very low-roofed, indeed, when he ceases to sympathise with the misfortune of his country, because he himself is at a safe distance. But, as I have said, this stamp of Irishman is very rare. An Irishman has degenerated indeed, when, no matter how widely fate has decreed that he should be parted from his Irish home, he becomes indifferent to the welfare of his country or his heart ceases to thrill.

On Sunday there wasia most entbußiEstio meeting held in the schoolroom in order to make arrangments for carrying oat the celebration of St, Patrick's Day. Father.Smyth was in the chair, and said that Dr. Grimes bad consented to preside at the St. Patrick's banquet, which it was decided should be held oh Monday evening* the 19th- inst. This is a gracious act on the part of the Bishop and will be duly appreciated. The time > before toe committee is very, short indeed to make arrangements, but energy and enthusiasm can earmount all small difficulties. The gentlemen who have pluckily come to the f rout in inaugurating this celebration and in jremoving a longstanding reproach from the Irish Catholic* df Christchurch, deserve tery great credit indeed, and their namesoshould be remembered with *" gratitude by the Irish people of Canterbury. -They have at last made an effort to cause Irish Catholics to emerge from the obscure position which they have hitherto held, and I can only hope that the 'movement will be a great success. While most earnestly hoping this, I wish that the proposed celebration had been upon' BomewbmtK broader lines than those upon which it is to be carried out. from the days of Grattan and Cnrran down to our owa times some. of > the. bravest and most self-sacrificing patriots who have .done and dared all for Ireland's sake .were non-Catholica. It is only by the alliance of nonCatholics that justice will ever be won for Ireland. ' That this is 'so is readily recognised by Catholic national leaders at Home, whew the battle is being fought out on purely national principles. We should not orget in any of onr national celebrations how- much we owe to those of a different faith, and we should not repay generosity with narrowness. We need not be more exclusive in this Colony 'than strict conformity with Catholic doctrine demands, and that Catholic doctrine does not call upon us to make national celebrations exclusively Catholic we have the authority of the Tablet to prove. However, if it is deemed better by those who have undertaken the conduct of the matter, to make the celebration strictly Catholic, instead of national, all the same the celebration deserves the support at all events of all Catholics who truly love their country. The banquet may be taken as heralding a new era in Christchurch, and as such I hope it will be largely attended and will prove a brilliant success.