Current Topics.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 50, 4 April 1890, Page 1

Current Topics.

AT IIOME AND ABROAD,

According to our Anglican contemporary, Church Bells, no one but a roaring Irishman can possibly protest against the tyranny of being forced either to send his children to godlepa f chools, or to pay for he privilege of refusing to do so. No newspaper except on« devoted 10 the excitement of Milesian passions can publish such a protest. Our highly respectable contemporary expresses disgust and indignation at our standing leader, headed " Progress and Justice in the Nineteenth Century," and says it is only to be accounted for by our Irish associations and practices. Our contemporary says that in New Zealand, if anywhere, he mi^ht expect to find the roaring Irishman free from oppression. Bat our contemporary evidently forgets that other beatitude, '• Blessed are they who expect nothing." — We have heard an old song whose refrain ran thus : — " It's a pity wien-cbarming women Talk of things that they don't understand." Not, however, that we would imply that oar highly respectable contemporary belongs to the lair sex. But if it seems pitiable to hear a charming woman talk nonsense, much more does it seem so to hear a charming man thus commit himsalf. If our contemporary knew what he was talking about, he would commend rather than condemn the New Zealand Tablet, and, what is more, he wo.ild acknowledge that a roaring Irishman can sometimes roar very much to the point. Or are we to believe that our highly respectable and consistent contemporary was of one opinion on January 31, sni of quit; another on February 1 . At any rate, the week after he attacked us he reproached the members of hi 9 own community for not diing as we have done. In a leader on February 1 he explains the word undenominational as m^anicg anti-Church. "The easy-zoing acquiescence of Churchmen and the persistent push of Disaenters," he says, " has led to undenominationalism being the prevalent spirit of the the Education Department." But, as, on being properly informel, we think even our contemporary himself will admit, we are called upon to protest more strongly. We can say with truth that the ea9y acquiescence of Anglican Churchmen and of Nonconformists, or even more, their connivance and support, have made the prevalent spirit of the Educational system of New Zealand anti-Christian, and have banished God from the schools. Will not our highly respectable contemporary admit that an Irishman roaring at such a result as this may, like Bottom, roar "a 9 gently as a sucking dove ?" Editors) however, who give up tbeir senses to the contemplation of the primrose, no longer by the river's brim and suggesting nothiDg in particular, but in the streets of London and other artificial quarters bnd suggestive of all sorts of absurdity and anon ily, may bs excused if they fall into error and talk at random of what they know nothiDg aboat. Notwithstanding his rash and ill-considered remarks touchiDg our very much called for and perfectly legitimate protest, we Btill think better of Church Bell than to beliere it possible he should dtoy to any body of Christian?, compel lei, as are the Ua'bolisa of New Zealand, to support, at their own sole expense, schools of their own in order to avoid the necessity of sending their children to schools where the name of God is hardly so much as mentioaed, the right to complain that they are subj a cted to tyraany, oppression, aad plunder. Let our contemporary understand the subject he speaks of before he undertakes to pronounce judgment respecting it. Even the roaring Milesian, who roars with his eyes as well as his mouth open, may appear a more sensible being than the decorous A.cglo-Saxon who whißpers at random, and without b ing able to see so far as e\en the length of bis own nose.

IMPEBIAL FEDERATION.

Bib Chables Gavan Ddffy has written in the Speaker an able plea in favour of Imperial federation. The writer, nevertheless, declares that he has not stated the case fully, but baa reserved stronger arguments and more important points, alluding only to an unfair quotation made by Lord Hartington of a sentence or two that he hal

Chvrch Bells KEHUKES US.

written forty-five years ago. Sir Charles pronounces himself opposed to the federation of Great Britain and Ireland alone, as presenting great difficulties, but advocates that of the Empire at large, considering it a measure that would be both wise and simple. Io the first place he looks upon the safety of the English Upper House aa depending upon it. A contest between the Chambers, be says, in effect, must be followed by the victory of the lower, the danger being too complete a victory, resulting in the abolition of the Upper Chamber. Bir Charles Daffy, as we had already known, looks upon the existence of an Upper Chamber as necessary for the welfare of the State and to prevent rash and ill-considered legislation. The transfer of Imperial affairs to the Federal Legislature, he says, would have the effect of making the reformation of the Upper Chamber a purely local question to be solved by the people of England themselves. The writer's opinion Eeems to be that, under such circumstances, the House of Lords as it at present exists would remain long unaltered. But as to the power to be conferred on local legislatures under federation, he looks upon that as fixed by the precedent of Prussia, Belgium, Switzerland, and the United States. An argument recently employed by Lord Salisbury against Home Rale— which in a scheme of Imperial federation must be general— l 9 the effect that the tendency of the present day was to mass^neighbouring nations into prodigious empires Sir Charles Duffy answers by pointing out the danger to the world of the fact. It involves, he Bays, not only the formation of great armies and great resources, but the temptation to make warlike use of them. He further points out the falsity of Lord Salisbury's moral by asserting that it is the duty of the statesman to see that his empire shall become a vivid organisation by means of the local vigilance and patriotism to be awakened by federation. The writer's opinion as to the manner in which the question affects the co'onits is necessarily of particular importance. He warDs the vestrymen in the House of Commons that colonists will not long submit to their dictatioa in peace and war. ' I am," he concludes, '■ for confederation of the JEmpire and as rapidly as possible, under the strong conviction that if it be postponed till a foreign fleet has bombarded Sydney, Melbourne, and Capetown, there will be only broken fragments of cur colonial possessions left to federate." This warning is certainly very eigmficant/'and deserves careful attention from all of us The whole article, however, to which we refer, is extremely able, and should not fail toiproduce a lasting impression on those for whom it,has been written.

AN EDIFYING DEATH.

The death of the famous Jesuit astronomer, Father Perry at sea, on his return voyage to Demerara from observing the total eclipse of the sun on the Salut Islands in the West Indie?, is one of the saddest events that has recently occurred. The islands referred to belong to the French, and seem to be shared between convicts and lepers, the smallest of the group of three being given up to the latter. Tne climate is pestilential, but there also, as we learn incidentally, Luns are engaged in attending on the sick at the hospital, and the piobabilities are, we may add, that in this case the bad example of the substitution of lay-nurses, which has taken place'with such unfortunate results in France, will not be repeated. Dysentery we are told is very prevalent. But the way in which the bodies of the convict 3 who die of it are disposed of is not very creditable to the decency of.French administratiun. " The convicts " says the narrative "are not buried in the burial ground, but thrown into the sea. This keeps the sharks about, and thus prevents thr convicts from trying to escape by swimming. Three or four were thus thrown into the water each day while we were there, nearly all victims of dysentery." Even an influx of recidivists into Australia, we miy remark in passing, could hardly jastify a desire to see such grim warders on guard over the coasts of New Caledonia. But the manner of feeding these sharks and keeping them within call is beyond reprobation. To these pestilential islands, however, Father Perry, in the prosecution of his bcientific duties, was conveyed, and, unfortunately, the necessary exposure to the evil influence of the climate was followed by his locurring the prevailing malady. The account of his illness and death, distressing as it is, is still edifying in the highest degree. Nothing could be more patient or more resigned than the manner in which he submitted him9elf to the will of God. His companion, who

narrates in a journal the course of events, describes as follows the last conscious moments of his illness. " I asked him whether there was anything he would like me to do for him, any message he would like to send to Stony hurst or elsewhere. He answered. 'In this supreme moment one should think ozly of one's self / He exhorted the doctor and mysslf to love God with our whole hearts, sayin? we could not love Him as we should, but we must have a great , deEire to love and serve him. He remained very quiet for Borne time after thip, making acts of love, sometimes in English, sometimes in French. At about 315 he looked up and asked whether there would be any difficulty in landing his body for burial, the doctor said there would not. Father Perry replied " You do your part now and then Brother Booney will take charge of everything and look after all the funeral arrangements ? I assured him I would do so. He seemed very pleased and gave me his blessing. I replaced the crucifix in bis hand and he kissed it very tenderly, as in fact he always did. At times during his illness 1 thought he would break it, he pressed it so hard to his lips. He put it to his lips several times and repeated the holy name, blessing himself with his crucifix." If Father Perry, therelore. has died a martyr to science, he has also die! the death of a Christian hero. How blatant and empty in such a presence appear the claims of those who place an antagonism between science and religion.

HOPEFDL SIGNS.

It would almost seem, however, as if the war against religion in France, which has been recalled to us by the incidental mention, in the account of Father Perry's death, from which we have quoted, of nuns as serving in the hospital on the Salut Islands, must have its limits. The merits of the Sisters of Charity, for example, are too striking to permit the enemies of religicn to carry their hatred against them much further. Indeed, a demand has been made for their restoration to the positions from which they have been expelled. M. Leon Say, for instance, who is a Protestant, speaking on a recent occasion, expressed himself as follows : — " If the heads of the Government were animated by a spirit of tolerance and moderation, which in turn should penetrpte all tba parties of French administration, would not the ground be prepared for great legal reforms 1 If, for example a Minister of the Interior had the courage to re-establish the Sisters in the hospitals, and if, inttead of excusing himself before the Chamber, he should loudly claim the honour of this reparation, do you not think that there would immediately be a grea' change brought about in the political situation of the country?" A writer in the Paix Sociak, a secular paper, Btrongly supports M. Leon Say's proposal, and, of his personal experience, bears brilliant testimony to the worth of the Sißters. 11 When," he writes, " I see, across the great feverish arteries of our dear Pari", the gracious and modest outline of the Sister of the poor, I say to myself there is the sister of us all. Ah ! They are indeed our sisters, because they are formed of our llesh and bone. Daughters of the people, they have clad themselves in the sacrcl garb of the Sister of Charity, so that they may with more generonty mingle their prayers and ttars with those of the vanquished m the struggle for existtnee. Therefuic, if I had been one ot the men returned for the city of Paris, at the Hotel de Ville, I should have made it my duty to defend you and to demand for you the indispensable element of your life of devotion — the care of the poor and sick." — But in the Salut Islands, nature itself fights for the Sister of Charity. It has given the islands a pestilential climate to which the lay-nurse dare not expose herself. Whether the present Government of France will take any steps in the direction to be desired remains to be seen. M. de Freycinet,as we have reason to believe, although a Protestant, is impressed in favour of the Catholic Church, but as we have also, unfortunately, reason to believe, he lacks the courage or consistency to act in accordance witti his religious views. Possibly if he could safely attempt a reform he would make the trial. In any case it is hopeful to see that even Protestant and secular opinion does not fa>our the war against religion.

AN ORIGINAL UTTKRANCE.

We see from a report published by the Dunedin Evening Star that the Rev. A. R. Fitchett has preached a sermon entitled " Law and Liberty." In the greater portion of this sermon we are not particularly interested. The Rev. A. R. Fitchett is a divine who has pretensions to be among the more enlightened spirits of the day, and original views, or what perhaps may be considered so, are therefore to be looked for in his utterances. Oiiginal views, however, as a rule< are stiiking only frcm their originality, and their usefulness is very doubtful. Nevertheless, that portion of Mr. Fitchett's reported Bermon which relates to the Church of Rome is not altogether devoid of interest for u^. It is, for example, rather interesting to find that a clergyman of a tect among whose binding dogmas ia one to the effect that " Romanism," as Mr. Fitchett calls the Catholic Church, is identical with an abominable idolatry, takes a more lenient view, and assign? to the Church a probable place as succeeding the Mosaic law in playing the part of a schoolmaster. But to whom did the Catholic Church ia such a character lead the world ? The law was the

schoolmaster to lead men to Christ, and, being led bo far, we might have thought — without the intervention of originality to instruct us, that they had reached their final goal. If Christ be the Alpha He is certainly also the Omega. Nor does He know development or change ; but is the same,y esterday , to-day, and for ever. Was it.therefore, to Lnther, as superseding Christ, thac the Catholic Church was appointed to lead the world ? Or was Lnther himself also a schoolmaster to lead men to the infidelity and atheism in which the By stems founded by him and his brother Reformers are being merged ? All this is a mystery of which we find no explanation. Mr. Fitchett, however, speaks as follows :—": — " la oar own day," he says, " the system of Rome is an anachronism, a survival possessing, indeed, a strange persistence, but as much out of date as the institutions of feudalism or the divine right of kings." This anachronism, nevertheless, is sometimes even yet found very timely. The Roman system, for example, had but little in common with the institutions of feudalism or the divine right of kings, when the other day a Roman Cardinal, trusting in his system and drawing his inspiration from it, accomplished wtat a chief bishop of Mr. Fitchett'a own sect failed to do, and principally aided in the settlement of the London strikes. — But nations, and the world itself, are made up of individuals, and from the particular effect of a system we may generalise! In times of trial) for instance, even yet the Roman system is found the very comforter and help that is needed. Let us take, for example, two opposite cases of recent occurrence : In the one, a man who stood at the head of the science of the day — who was among the foremost of bis class in the civilised world— was dying— dying as a result of his scientific researches, in which the system of Rome had also encouraged and assisted him. It was to the system of Rome he turned in bis last extremity, finding in it alone comfort and strength in the hour of his utmost need. la the other case, a poor savage woman, the representative of tribes that rank lowest in the scale of humanity, was also dying, and in her extremity also there was nothing to aid or comfort her but the help derived from the system of Rome, A Roman missionary alone, with the prayers and rites of his Church, could soothe her dying agony. Father Perry, the renowned man of science ; a Fuegian woman dying in a London hospital, between whom was as wide an intellectual difference as the world can Bhow, was each alike dependent in the hour of extreme need on the system of Rome, and by each alike the system of Rome was found sufficient, Is not such a system, therefore, suitable to every phase of the world's development ? For an anachronism, as we see, the system of Rome is not only of great vitality — "strange persistence," Mr. Fitchett acknowledges— but of a timeliness that is most remarkable — most anomalous, indeed, if it be an anachronism. But let us be thankful, as the saying is, for small mercies. Even though the Rev. A. R. Fitchett's originality cannot stand the test of examination or experience, and is, in fact, accountable for a good deal of nonsense, it ip, nevertheless, something of a gain that a tendency is shown by the rev. gentleman to depart from the bad old Protestant tradition concerning the abominations of the ages of faiih.

MB. SANILLY'S CONCERTS,

Mk. Saniley's concerts during the week have been the chief attraction in Dunedin. To go once to hear the great sin gar is to form an insatiaole desire to go and hear him again. Every soDg he sings has its own particular features, as interpreted by him, and all the mcoisof human nature, even to their most delicate variations, find expression in his numbers. From severe and terrible majesty t) drollery and subtle humour, from awful magnificence and grandeur, fiotn intensity and earnestness he can pass without difficulty even to mischief and fun. We have heard him now in all extremes. In Mendelssohn's " Elijah," and Haydn's " Creation." — As the sublime prophet in his wrath and scorn, as the great archange' proclaiming the glories of God, and as the first created of mankind wondering at, and rejoicing in the life to which be has newly arisen from the dust of the earth. We have heard him a'so in such trifles as " Simon the Cellarer," and the " Deil's awa' wi' the exciseman " ; in each and all representing nothing short of perfection and making us acquainted with art as we had not otherwise known it, and could hardly even have anticipated its existence. Mr. Santley'a versatility is certainly as notable as the perfection to which he has attained. It is hardly too much to compare him as an interpreter of character through music, to Shakespeare as a creator of character. The interpretation of the spirit of Elijah is as great comparatively, and in its own particular way, as the creation of the character of King Lear— and fun and mischief in the " Deil's awa' wi' the Exciseman," and quaintnesß and humour in " Simon tbe Cellarer " are as vividly expiesstd by Santley as they have been brought into existence by Shakepptaie in any of his humorous and witty creations. In writing of Mr. Santley's singing, in fact, the danger is not of saying too much, but of falling, in an effort to say enough, into f ulsomeness. As to the expression and feeling with which he Bings, they are palpable to those who hear them, but to be realised they must be heard. Once heard they are not likely to be forgotten, but will remain a precious and elevating memory. Of bis art of singing it is vain to speak, We can

fancy some great master pointing it out and explaining it as a model to his pupils-but to understand it thoroughly you must yourself be a master m the art, at least so far as theory goes It is, however, easy to perceive the perfection of ease with which the mellow, delightful notes come forth the clearness of each note, the precise and exquisite divisions and modulations, even in the most rapid passages. It is easy to perceive that here is the art of sieging possessed in absolute Perfect on, since no b,ng can possibly surpass it. Mr. Sa.tley's concerte, then, may wel be a notable event i D any place where they are hllr an th m th" ?*" "* Pr ° bable that We Bhall B ° on a g ai ° hear anything that even approaches them at a reasonable distance.