CHRISTCHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 19, 31 August 1888, Page 5

CHRISTCHURCH.

(.From our own Correspondent.) I WAS exceedingly pleased upon pnsaing the Brothers' schoo 1 the other day to find that the bint which I had given a we* k or two ago about the necessity of gravelling the playground and the entrance to the Brothers' house had been acted upon. Mr. O'Donoghue, a contractor in Christchurch, had, in the mest generous manner, gratuitously remedied the defects to which I allude i. The improvement is very marked, indeed, and wi 1 fiee the teichers and their pupils from a very great deal of discomfott in wet weather. Mr. O'Donoughe deserves credit for his prompt action in this mattar. He sets an excellent example, which I should like to sec produce its due effect upon other members of the congregation. Father Cummings hts initiated his reign as parish priest by reducing !o system the work of the p-irisb. Father Marnane has been appointed visitor to the schools, and Fa her Briand has been made chaplain to the Hibernian and Literary Scc.e us. Father Cummings himself undtrtakes the somewhat onerous duty of attending to the spiritual requirements cf the nuns and penitents at Mount Magdala.

This looks as if the new parish priest intended to set to work with a will to put the parochial house in order. There is not much doubt, I think, but that Father Cummings will prove himself equal to the work before him. Although a compaiative stranger in Cbristcharch, he has achieved considerable popularity, and that fact will go a great way towards simplifying matters for him. Father Briand is making rapid strides in attaining a mastery over the puzzling idioms of the English language. He read the announcements on Sunday, and does not display that tendency which is so peculiar to Frenchmen in their early and, indeed, late struggles with the Anglo-Saxon tongue — namely, to deprive the last syllable of every word of its due sound. For some weeks past Dr. Grimes has been delivering a series of lectures up n '• Indifferentism ; or, Modern Unbelief." In these addresses the Bishop very eloquently pointed out the unsatisfactory neßs and hollowness of Agnojticism, which, he stated, could never sntisfy the longings of the human heart, the restless yearnings of which could only be calmei by a knowledge and love of the one ever eternal God. There is not the smallest room for doubt that, as far aa New Zealand is concerned, the root of the evil which Dr. Grimes deplores his been hindered in making vigorous opposition to allowing the impressionable minds of children to fall under tha sway of the vicious faiib-sapping system of education which obt ins in thia Colony. This has opposed the only effectual barrier to the progress cf infidelity ia tnis country. If the child, even of Catho'ic parents, is allowed in its youth to fall under the influence of persons who openly scoff at or ignore religion, almost to a certainty, when it reaches maturity, the mind of that child will be an arid desert of unbc'ief. If the maintenance of a system of Catholic c location for Catholic children will not stem the torrent of infidelity which is rushing over this world, nothing on the earth will. I see the tickets are out for a concert in aid of the Lyttelton Catholic School fund. The entertainment is to take place oa the 13th of September. It is very rarely that any institution belonging to the Lyttelton parish comes " before the public" of Christchurch asking for patronage, and for tnat reason, if there were no others, the audience at the Lyttelton conceit ought to be considerably augmented by a large contingent from (Jhristchurcb. But there are other and better reasons why this concert should commend itself to the Catholic people of Christchurch. In the first place, it is always an excellent and most praiseworthy form of charity and a positive duty on the part of Catholics to assist the cause of Catholic education under all circumstance?. la the second place, this duty can be nothing else than a pleasure when it is Father Kickham who asks for its performance Reason number three wby the attendance from Christchurch should be large is>. that on its own merits alone the concert will be well worthy of patronage, If a fourth reason were wanting. 1 Bhould gay that a very good one could be found in the circumstance that the concert occurs on a Thursday evening, and as Thursd»y evening is late train night, the concert will afford a pleasant pretext for people to form themselves into parties and pay a flying visit to port, as Lycteltoa always looks its best when seen by night, especially on a dark night, and for a very short space of time. Whichever of these reasons should chance to have the strongest influence over the m nds of the public of Christchurch is, I hope, the one which will be acted upon. I shall expect to see a v?ry large number of Christchurch people at Father KickbauTs concert oa the thirteenth. Mr. Bobert Lonargan his just received from the members of the Literary Society a beautifully illuminate 1 address, a co^y of which was published in the Tablet a few weeks ago. The printing and ornamentation of the address are exquisite, and refltct great credit upon the artistic taste of the Sisters of the Missions, by whom the work was done. The address is b )rdered with a runniDg design of wild roses, forget-me-nots, and shamrocks. Below the text of the address there is a charming little sketch of the meeting of the waters. The whole design is most artistic and the execution is perfect. There seems to be s )»ne difficulty in getting the St. Vincent de Paul Society fairl-y under weign. In fact it is not an easy matter to persuade the Catholic congregation to enter heartily into any project. Everyone agrees that the St Vincent de Paul Society is an admirable organisation and that it is very much wanted here, but there they seem disposed to let the matter end. A St. Vincent de Paul Society, no more than any other society, cannot exist without funds. At least if it does manage t> eke outfla lit,gering existence without the sinews of war, its operations in regard to usefulness must be very circumscribed. If people sympathise with the objects of the Society they ought to back up their sympathy with the kind of practical argument which after all is the bright arterial blood of real sympathy. The officers at d members of the Society ought to adopt the plan of making everyone who professes to admire the work of 8t Vincent de Paul substantiate their opinions by giving a donation for the poor or by becoming, at least, an honorary member of the Society. The framework of the Hibernian Hall, in Barbadloes street, is beirg put into place. The erection of this hall will doubtless give an impetus to the Society and increase its membership. Hitherto the Hibernians have had do hall of their own wherein to hold their meetings. This will tc their "very own' as the children say.aod the consciousness that they have a "stake in the country" in the stiape of a good, substantial, respectable building over which the green flag has a free right to wave, will add considerably to the self respect and seise of importance of t h-: H.A.C B.S. Tne Hibernian Hall when completed will be a most creditable addition to the Catholic pioperties in Barbadoej street, but if it were not half the size it is and if it were only built of zinc, I should be glad to see v. Its existence is an evidence that the old-time system of keeping! everything Irish out of sight here is getting played out. I hope that when the building is finished, the Hibernian Society will take steps to have the christening ceremony celebrated in a proper manner. The opening of the hall will be an event which should not be allowed to piss unnoticed. It will afford a great deal of pleasure to many Irish people to learn from your correspondent, "West Coaster," that Mi« Nellie Gribben, who took a leading pait in the debate upon Home Rule at the

Dialectical Society, is a young Irishwoman. Miss Gribben is also a distinguished student of the college. She received her diploma for the B.A. degree on Friday. It is pleasant to find that in her pursuit of knowledge Miss Gribbon has lost none of that patriotism which in one of the most beautiful attributes of a true Irish worn an. That she has not done so is, I ihink, another proof in favour of the theory tnat the more cultivated the Irish mind is tbe less likely is it to harbour the despicable sentiment that to be Irish born is something to deplore and be ashamed of. Diploma day at the College, on Friday, was concluded by the performance at night in the Oddfellows' Hall of a translation, which was much modernised, of the " Cloud" of Aristophanes. The " Cloud," as most people know, was a bitter satire upon the teaching of Bocrates, to whom tbe Athenian dramatist bore ill-will. He wished to bring the teaching of Socrates into cootempfc, and to bring upon him the punishment due to irreverence. Even from Professor Haslam's version one can readily understand the effect which the " Cloud " would produce upon the minds of the Athenians, imbued as they were with superstitious reverence for the gods whom Socrates and bis followers are made to defy and blaspheme. After the production of Aristophanes, Socrates could have had but little chance of freeing himself from the charge of having corrnpted the minds of the Athenian youth. The students who took part in the performance acquitted themselves well, and all wore the classical gaib with much grace and dignity. Mr. Cohen especially, as the fast young Athenian, and apt pupil of the " Beflectory," who soon learned to laugh at the gods, and finally undertook to prove to his " governor " that it was quite right for a young man to cudgel his father, played very well indeed. Arrayed in all the bravery of a gold braided tunic and purple toga, he looked a very dashing specimen of an Athenian youth. Mr. Alpers as Strepsiades, was the life of the play. As the plot of the"Clond "developed one could not help thinking that there was a great and eomewbat close analogy between the teaching of the " Reflectory,"ag represented by Aristophanes, and that of the State cchool system of education at the present day. The " Reflectory " dethroned Jupiter and all the gods, and in doing so wrought its own destruction. What the school of Socrates did, the State is doing here, and it may share the same fate. The godless teaching of which it is DTOud, may one day cause its ruin, Mr. Nolan promises to reao a very interesting paper upon Irish matters shortly to the members of the Literary Society. It is to be hoped that the public will not be excluded, as from Mr. Nolan's ability and the attention which he is giving to his subject, I am quite sure that a treat may be expected. I see tbe Tablet bids a warm welcome in New Zealand ta the expected Home Rule delegates. That welcome will surely be echoed by all Irishmen in this Colony, as warmly and as genuinely as it is given by the Tablet. It is true that in the reception accorded to the Irish delegates in Christchurch, we have not a very brilliant record, but it is to be hoped that the mistakes of the past will not be repeated in the future.