Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XX, Issue 33, 3 June 1892, Page 1

Current Topics

AT SOME AND ABROAD.

Pbeparations, we understand, are being initiated APPBOAOHIKO in Auckland for the reception of the Most Rev Dt BETTJBN or the Luck on his return from Europe. This is as it bishop of ought to be, and nothing else could possibly be AUCKLAND, expected. The manner in which a Catholic com. munity treat their Bishop is a sure index of their faith and fervour, and we are well aware that the Catholics of Auckland fail in neither. The responsible and important position occupied by the Bishop of Auckland has been recognised in the old countries. In Italy bis Lordship was most kindly welcomed, and great interest was manifested in his mission. He had many details of the work among his Maori flock to relate to Italian congregations, and they were fully appreciated by his hearers. Undoubtedly the twofold duty that devolves upon the Bishop of Auckland of providing for the wants of two different populations — the great majority of the Maori population being natives of his Lordship's diocese— makes the position filled by him additionally difficult, and calls on his flock to respond with even more than the accustomed docility and teal to his efforts for their benefit. The Bishop of Auckland has done a great deal to deserve the gratitude and support of bis people. Under his wise and devoted rule religion has made notable progress in his diocese. New life has been infused into the Maori missions ; Catholic schools have been placed on a better and more permanent footing, the Marist Brothers being introduced to teach the boys ; and the work of church building and the establishment of missions among the European population baa prospered. The Bishop will, moreover, return from a protracted tour, involving many difficult and fatiguing dutieß, all undertaken in the interests of his people. It is, therefore, only becoming on the part of his Lordship's people, and worthy of them as Catholici, that they should receive him in a manner that will assure him of their gratitude for the past and of their co-operation for the future. But all this is a matter of course, where the Catholics of Auckland are concerned. They are certainly not going to fall behind in their performance of a duty of this kind, or to leave anything unfulfilled to rejoice the heart of their good and devoted Bishop, and to do credit to themselves. We may certainly expect that the return of the Most fiev Dr Luck will be the occasion of a reception which we Bhall be glad to report as another mark of Catholic fidelity and generosity, and of the teal and affection for their bißhops and priests that distinguishes a truly Catholic people, and for which in particular Irish Catholics, who form in Auckland also the bulk of the Catholic population, have always been famous. The preparations so auspi ciously begun, therefore, are sure to result in a brilliant success.

Mb W. F. Lobd, a friend and would-be adviser of XTHFOBTUNATE the Italian Government, who writes in ooe of the ITALT. London reviews for March, gives anything rather than a favourable account of things in the kingdom alluded to under its much-vaunted condition of unity. He writes to contradict the proud saying put forward by Italians in proverbial form, to the effect that they could manage their own affairs — " Italia fata da to." He Bays it is most notable that Italy cannot manage her own affairs, and he proposes for her a system of foreign management. But how would this serve to free her from the greater proportion of disease that falls to her lot ? and, perhaps, it is not for nothing that the band of Qod is thus heavy upon her. Her population, the writer tells ue, is about equal to that of England and Wales. Her proportional death rate is, scarlet fever, 2 to 1 ; diphtheria, 3£ to 1 ; typhoid fever, sto 1 ; malarial fever, 100 to 1 ; cholera, 7to 1 ; small pox, 32 to 1, As an iustance of the evils arising from the employment of too many officials at low wages, the writer gives a case in which a gentleman of benevolent disposition found that a neighbour of his bad so removed the boundary marks of his estate as to deprive him of a considerable portion of his land. He immediately took law proceedings. The consequence, however, was a visit from the pretore, who fell at his feet and with teais besought him to desist. ,* My pay," be pleaded, "is £44 a year ; it is not much, but it is all

I have to live on. For the lore of mercy withdraw your suit. Your case is so clearly established that I cannot but decide in your favour. What will happen f Tour adversary has retained X, who is a Deputy, He will go straight to tbe Minister of Justice and get me discharged ? I shall be ruined." Mr Lord compares this to a scene in the Arabian Itights, and indeed it would seem more suitable to Turkish rule in a less enlightened centnry than to that of one of tbe progressive countries of the world at the present day; Bat the dishonesty bo naively confessed is the most significant point about the matter. What magistrates, what Deputies, what Ministers, are those who conduct the affairs of Italy, emancipated from the control or influence of the Church. But Mr Lord describes a general state of confusion in which dishonesty has everywhere, from the highest places to tbe lowest, a principal part. His proposal is that a remedy should be sought in the appointment of a German administrator to direct tbe Minister of Finance, otherwise he hopes for no amelioration. And this is the condition of things, a? described, moreover, by a friendly pen, that has ensued on the expulsion and persecution of religion.— Even Austrian rule seems almost justified by the event.

Fancy any journalist remembering, after a lapse of A shabby weeks or even of months, a typographical error dodoe which had occurred in the columns of a contemporary. The head must needs be pretty empty in which such rubbish can find a resting place. But let ue, for the credit of journalism, explain that it is not the stupidity of the Tablet's reader that our " Nemo " bo much recalls as his own astounding sharpness and cleverness in perceiving the error. He actually knew when he saw the word " rabid," spelt with two " b's ' that it was wrong, and he made a brilliant point of his discovery in a note. We made him a present of his cheap joke at the time, not considering ourselves very generous in doing so, and we again give him free permission to lay it up for service when his wit fails him on future occasions, as is likely to be not unfrequently the case. A fool, however, can often be Bpiteful as well as foolish, and we find that this " Nemo " is employed to play a spiteful trick. They. have made his Bgreeable sentences an echo of the dirty little device recently made use of by the Rev A. R. Fitchett in the Otago Daily Txmei. Evidently acting on the accusation brought by the late Canon Kingsley against Cardinal Newman, to the effect that, in preaching at Oxford, the Cardinal— or Dr Newman as be then was— had been in the habit of constructing a whole sermon for the conveyance to his hearers of one little barbed point, the Rev A. R. Fitchett wrote a whole letter to the Otago Daily Tines, advocating the concession of their educationallclaims to Catholics, in order to have an opportunity of publishing the falsehood that he had it on good authority that the Catholic schools could not bear the test of Government inspection. There was not a word of truth in the statement. The Rev A. R. Fitchett had nothing of the kind on good authority, and the schools, aa the public of Dunedin and of the colony have themselves seen, are at least quite on a level with the Government institutions. But the rev gentleman had his own reasons of which, perhaps, we are not quite ignorant, for his mis-Btatement, and ho made it without scruple. This " Nemo," then, has been induce J to repeat the lulac statement made by the Rev A. R. Fitchett, and to give it the additional circulation commanded by the columns of the Star. He uses the typographical error, by which tbe word "rabid" was spelled some months ago in our columns with two " bs," in forming a peg to hang his quotation on. A fool, as we see, can be spiteful in his folly. Is " Nemo " quite sure that any error of spelling or grammar, or anything else, at which a petty pedant or literary snob of a smaller type can cavil, occurring in ttvh v Tablet is to be attributed to the influence of Caiholic echoo b ? A. little belter information, perhaps, might reveal to him quite a different state of affairs, and one not altogether independent of secular education. We are told, however, that a fool shoold be answered according to his folly. It iB rather the designing Bpite of the Rev A. R. Fi'chett than the folly of " Nemo " that we have kept in view in this reply.

Mb AKTHUB SYMONB, who reviews, in «he /^rtfBINBTEB BUO- nightly Review for March, the novels of J. K. HuysGEBTIONS, mans speaks a word or two that is very surges ivo as to the temper of the times. la w rit ing of La Bat, one of the novels in question, "It is," he says '.' a study of batamam,

a dexterous interweaving of tbi history of Oil let de Bets (the traditional Bluebeard), with the contemporary manifestations of the black art, * The execration of impotence, the hate of the mediocre— that is perhaps one of tbe most indulgent definitions of Diabolism,' says Haysmans, somewhere in the book, and it is on this side that one finds the link of connection with the others of that series of pessimist studies ia life 'Uh naturalitme spiritualitte,' he defines his own art at this point of its development, and it is in somewhat the ' documentary ' manner that he applies himself to the study of these strange problems, half of hysteria, half of a mystical corruption that does actntlly exist in our midst. Ido not know whether the monstrous tableaux of the Black Mass ... is still enacted in onr days, but I do know that all but the most horrible practices of the sacrilegious magic of the Middle Ages are yet performed from time to time, in a secrecy which is all but absolute." Huysmans' definition of Diabolism, at ttated by Mr Symoor, that in, " tbe execration of impotence and the hate of tbe mediocre " seems very suggestive of that pride of intellect that is a chief characteristic of the day. Mr Symons' comment teems also apposite. " And it is on this side one finds the link of connection with tbe others of that series of pessimist studies in life." Hat not the Church justly placed pride among the deadly sins ? But as to the revelation made by Mr Symons that the sacrilegious magic which was a sin and a crime of earlier ages, is still practised— tbe returning boldness of the preternatural powers— made evident, for instance, by the wonders of spiritualism and theosophy seems to bear it ont. Some, a majority perhaps, of the people who take part in these systems may be unwise only — but the Btrong presumption is that there are others of them who are wicked as well. The philosophy of the age bat certainly its sinister aspects .

Thb following paragraph, which we take from the ▲ SIGN or Brisbane Worker, is very significant as to the spirit thb times, of the age, as indeed the writer himself seems to perceive :—": — " It is not generally known to what an amaeing extent suicide has increased of late. A hundred years ago self-slaughter was so rare that it was looked upon as a most terrible thing and was very generally associated only with irretrievable loss of honour. Nine suicides out of ten were either of betrayed damsels or of insolvent traders and all were remembered for generations and embalmed in tbe legends of their respective localities. Now suicide is to very common that none of us would be overwhelmingly astonished to bear that anybody we knew bad gone to the grave that way. The deaths by suicide form an important percentage in the death rate and even insurance companies accept suicide as a risk, knowing very well that if they didn't tbe life insurance business, would very soon pass into new hands, The growth of suicide is a peculUr accompaniment of the degeneration of a people. Among tbe Romans of the Empire, Seneca chanted its praises and advocated the right of every man to end bis life when he chose, an advoc-.cy which finds an echo in the morbid thoughts of modem timeß. But tbe peculiar thing is we no longer kill ourselves because we value life much but honour more. Tbe suicide of to-day looks upon honour as a mere folly and kills himself usually solely because he would sooner aot live than live. Which is what civilisation is bringing us to.' 1 The writer does not add, as he might, that the civilisation to which he attributes this condition of things is the civilisation of secularism* and which makes war upon religion.