ST. JOSEPH'S CATHEDRAL, DUNEDIN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVIII, Issue 5, 30 May 1890, Page 15

ST. JOSEPH'S CATHEDRAL, DUNEDIN.

On Sunday the Feast of Pentecost Pontifical High Mass was celebrated by bis Lordship the Bishop at 11 a.m. The Rev, Father Golden acted as deacon, the Rev. Father O'Neill as sub-deacon, and the Rev. Father Lynch, Adm., aa Master of Ceremonies. An excellent sermon on the Festival of the day was preached by Father Golden. Haydn's Mass was performed by the Choir, and at the offertory Giorza'a "Gratis Agimus " was sung as a duett by Mrs Angus and Miss Smith. Mr. W. Ward conducted, and Miss D. Moran played the organ. In the evening, Vespers and Benediction of the Most Holy Sacrament took place as usual. At the conclusion of Vespers a reception of asfiranta into the Sodality of the Children of Mary was he\ A , the Bishop officiating. The altar of the blessed Virgu had been beautifully adorned for the occasion, and owing to the exceptional mildness of the season a profusion of choice flowers had been available for the purpose of which the ladies of the Sodality had made the best possible use. The arch above the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, surmounting the altar, had been illuminated, and a blaze < f lights added very effectively to the beauties of the whole. When the ceremony terminated, a hymn to the Blessed Virgin was sung by the congregation and choir in union, and afterwards the Bishop preached a Bhort sermon on the descent of the Holy Ghost and the foundation of the Church. While the high altar was being lit for the Benediction, Vlr. Schacht, with his weli known skill, played a solo on the violin. After Benediction had been given the Blessed Sacrament was removed from the Tabernacle and an address of congratulation was preseuted to his Lordship the Bishop on the payment of the balance of the debt due on the Cathedral. This step had been determined on at p large and representative meeting of the congregation held in the afternoon. Messrs Callan, Mtenan, and Perrin, the gentlemen appointed for the purpose, entered the sanctuary, and Mr, Callan spoke as follows :—: —

May it please your Lordship, — During the past week the gratifying intelligence came to the knowledge of the congregation that the final debt on this beautiful cathedral had been paid, and that there is not a single shilling now owing. The congregation thought that such an event ought not to be passed over in silence, and they came to the resolution to present you with an address in which to express their congratulations and reasonb for feeling proud. They thought also tbat this was a suitable occasion to present an addiess because they heard that about this time — I believe it was yestercay — wasyour birthday. They met — the meeting I might describe as a very large one, an i it was very enthusiastic — and iesolved to mark the occasion, and they thought the best way to mark it was by nn address. It is needless for me to dwell on the occasion, because I would only be repeating what the address sa) s. I will now read the address :— " Lord Bishop, — We have come together this evening to congratulate your Lordship on the complete freedom from debt in which your cathedral now stands. Such a result, so soon obtained, must be very gratifying to you. It must be the more so since the heavy burden entailed upon your people by the treatment they receive in the matter of education might be supposed to hinder them in contributing towards other Catholic woiks. The efforts, however, that a Catholic people, led by a wise, devoted, and zealous pastor, can successfully make have often been remarked, and it would nave been strange had your Lordship and the people you guide proved an exception to the rule. " We also desire, Lord Bishop, to congratulate you on the occurrence of your birthday, and it is our ardent hope that you may live to see many returns of it, and many more years tilled with good works and labours for the benefit of your people. " it is our very particular aspiration, and our sincere prayer, that your Lordship may esppcinlly be epareu to carry uut to a victorious end your valiant struggle in the cause of Cathoac education, which, even though it has not as yet resulted in full succebs, has at least had the effect of putting the Catholic people of the colony thon uglily on their guard, of instructing them in their duty , and of confirming their resolution never to relinquish their detu ruination of educating their children in accordance with the law ot God and the precepts of His holy Church. " Signed on beiialf of the congregate n. " J B, Callax, '• John F. Plkrin. " Mian cis MeenanV The Bibhop, in reply, said . — My Dear Friends— You have every re&eon to congratulate yourselves on the pleasing fact that this cathe-

dral is free from debt. And not only you, but every Catholic a'so in this diocese will rejoice and give exprcs-iioa to feelings of thanks \nd gla lness on hearing the good rew^. Tlhh affords anothc pr >of of wh i f priests and peopie unite 1, Rjmpathis n^ with each othei, f. eiing coi fi fence in each other, and working toge'her for a common object can i_ffjct within a reasonable time . and it is to be hope that the les»ou thus taught will bear fruit throutrl.out the entire dkcise iv all future time. It is only becoming and ]ii t on this occasion to thank all 'hose not belonging to this congregation, or, indeed, to the C itbo.ic body, who during the erection of thi<- e Uhedrai have g neiou-ly aid d

us to bring it to completion to fir, and whilst donig so we should be canfu, to pray the great and good God to bless abundantly their hb>rility andchai.ty. My thanks are due t iyou illf. ryour kind wor is on this occasion, r id are hereby heartily given. Cuu'tnue to pray that your bisaop may have to the end all the grac j a he tmy need to secure for him necessary light nnd strength i.ere and m the end a happy de^th and a favourable judg n< ct. O.i tbequestion of education a great deal might be said, but whether this is the time or place lor saying all one would be disposed to say. is not qui'e clear. It may be permitted tome, however, to repeat what has been already affirmed in many quarters, that certainly the claims of Catholics tj have their schools recognised by the Government and aidel out of tue public revenues, are acknowledged and supported by an ever increasing number of the most experienced and intelligent amongst our fellowcitizens. Any one who has read the speech of a Cabinet Minister at Queenstown tie other day will see that notwithstanding the progress the Catholic School question has made, it has not reached the Cabinet, and that whilst money is to be borrowed to build schools for children who pay no fees, the old, shocking injustice done to C-itholics is lo continue. It is to be hoped that the Catholics of Queenstown and every other constituency will bear this in mind, and steadfastly refns3 to vote for every candidate, no matter who he is. who refuses to concede justice to us m reference to schools. The attitude of certain members of the New Z> aland Government and certain members of Parliament on this question is simply unjust, and were it not so unjust it would be ridiculous. To aid Catholic schools out of public funds towards winch Catholic^ contribute tueir fair share would be an act of the commonest justice, an ordinary act ot honesty, whereas the present s)Stem is one of dishoiusty aud plunder, so far as Catholics are concerned. In the second place, to aid Catholic schools would be the promotion of economy, and calculated to save the btate a large sum of money each year. Let us S3e how the case stands. Suppose the propobal made last session of Parliament were carried mo effect, the result would be an enormous saving. It was proposed to give Catholic and private schools a subvention (f £2 sterling per head for all children attending such schools. Well, suppose again that, say, 20,000 c-ildren were withdrawn from public and sent to pnva'e schools, a saving to the Government of £40,000 a year would be the result, so that a large saving would be effected, because m^teai oE paying £8o 000 a year for these children to public schools, the Government would be only called upon to pay £4J uDO to private schools. So that the policy recommended by Catuohes whilst securing peace and largely aiding the cause of real education, would at the same time enact justice and most powerfully promote economy. We must not, however, close our eyes to the objections raised to the concesbion cf justice to our schools. One is that such concestijn would lead to additional expense. From what has been already and it is manifest that such would not be the case. But it is affirmed th.it

if a subvention of H2 per bea<l be granttd to Catholic children, will not this entail on the Government the necessity of providiug an annual expenditure of £40,000 ? Our answer to that objection is . if the 10,000 childicn now frequenting Catholic schojls be withdrawn and sent to public schools, this additional £40 Ut>o must be provided. Whit doe- the objection amount to, then, but a mean deteimmntiou on the pirt of enemies of Catholic schools to make money out of the great stead fasti.ebs to principle of Catholic?, and t) pocket their money because they are Catholics ' If it were not well known that this objection is urged, no decent, light-minded man would believe that any New Zealand citizen would be capable of entertaining such an idea. Another objection is that if Catholics obtained aid the consequence would be the break up of the present public school system. Our reply is that no intelligent well-informed man thinks such a result would follow. In the province of Ontario, Catholic schools are not only subsidised by the Mate, but are on a tooting of perfect equality with public schools, and yet the public school system is not only not destroyed but is actually ilounsmng. Iv England, Scotland, aud Wales all denominational schools are aided by the State, and, nevertheless, the public school system in these countries is not destroyed. There is no reason in justice or policy for treating Catholic schools as they are treated here by the public authorities.— On the contrary, both justice and policy demand that Catholic schools should t3 recognised and assisted. We have been asked Are we prepared in the event of obtaining subst .ntial aid from the public funds to submit to Government inspection? My answer is certainly. We not only do not fear inspection, but in the event contemplated we should court it. There is noting reasonable to which we have the least objection. My dear fnenns, 1 thank you very heartily for this addrt-ss— this new proof of your kindness and consideration for which I feel extremely obliged, and pray God to bless you in every way in this lift and the next. The congregation, which was densely crowded, then dispersed.

After nearly four centuries of Lutheranism the Emperor of Geimauy is forctd to face a social problem that threatens the church aii'l society. The Kaiser's declaration 1 ? regarding: the duty of the btate towards the working classes are very much id accord with the sentiments expressed by the Holy Father on the same sublet. The Emperor'i sincerity is questioned by some, but no breath of '-uspicion attaches to the utterances of Pope Leo who baa pointed out the way by which the relations of labour and capital can be adjusted. The ruling powers in Europe would find i study of the Tope's encyclical profitable,