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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XX, Issue 34, 10 June 1892, Page 15

Mr Gladstone's pamphlet on the Women's Suffrage question appeared on Wednesday, April 20. He is, on the whole, opposed to any legislation on the subject, and argues that in any case it needs lurtber discussion before any action is taken. *v £ he L Eev M - Watson, S. J., thus concludes an interesting article on the Catholic Church in Australia in the Austral light of May •— From the Catholic Directory of Australasia for 1892 I find that our ecclesiastical statistics may bt thus summarised :— 1 Cardinal- « op » 5 Archbißh <>P8 ;26 Bishops and Vicars- Apostolic : about 1000 Priests ; 2806 Nuns ; 2 Ecclesiastical Seminaries ; 22 Colleges for boys ; 90 Boarding 6chools for girls ; 118 Superior Day School ; 776 Primary Schools ; 57 Charitable Institutions ; 85,176 children in Catholic Schools, and a Catholic population of about 700,000. This list may be looked upon as summarising about 50 years of progress, for when Dr Polding commenced his career in 1835 as Vicar-Apostolis of N. 8. Wales theie were in all Australia but eight priests and four •cclesiastical students. This rapidity of growth may be aptly cumpared to that of our Bemi-tropical Australian vegetation. In the fertile valleys that are to be found among our mountains, me healthgiving eucalyptus takes root by the running waters, grows quickly, and finally attains the mighty attitude of from 400 to 600 ieet— so the Catholic Church has found in this land a rich and kindly toil ; it has been blessed with abundant increase and even already it stretches ont on every side branches laden with fruit for the healing of the people.