CATHOLIC NEWS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 12, 21 July 1893, Page 19

CATHOLIC N EWS .

(From our Exchanges.) The Pope is preparing an Encyclical to tht Churches of the East. His Holiness, it iB said, will confirm and develop in the document the doctrine proclaimed at the Council of Florence in the fifteenth centnry. Mrs Lyne Stephens is the only woman who has ever presented a cathedral to a religious community. It stands at Cambridge, Eng * land, is dedicatel to Catholic worship and coßt 400,000d01a. Monsieur Chartran, whose portrait of the Pope is the most admirable likeness which has yet been executed of him, has been created a Roman count in recognition of his successful achievement. Miss Agnes M. Clerke, a Catholic lady, has this year won the five hundred dollar prize given every seven years by the Royal Institution of England for the beat essay on the " Wisdom and Beneficence of the Almighty in the Department of Science." The Abbe Laval, Chaplain for twenty years at the fortress of Yincennes, near Paris, has just died in his eightieth year. He was a valiant and active priest and an officer of the Legion of Honour. His heart is to be embalmed and put in a shrine in a chapel of the keep.— B.l.P. The Catholic associations of Switzerland, such as the Federation of Catholic Workmen, the Pius Verein, and the Catholic Confederation, have fully established a number of insurance and pension funds throughout the Catholic cantons. Rev Francis M. Craft, the Indian missionary, who has aboriginal blood in his own veins, has established a community of Indian Sisters at the Sacred Heart Mission at Fort Berthold, Garfield county, N.D., of which he has the care. All the Sisters of this community are of Indian or mixed parentage, and the prioress is of pare aboriginal descent This mission is located in the diocese of Jamestown, of which Bishop Shanley is the ordinary. London, Friday Night.— Cardinal Moran, who has been on a visit to che Pupe at Rome, is about to publish a Som&n Catholic History of Australia. So runs a cable ia Monday's daily papers. The information is, however, somewhat stale. It was announced in the Freeman as far back as 1888, that the Cardinal had undertaken the task of writing the history of the Church in Australia, and just before the departure of hid Eminence for Rome we stated that the book was almost finished. It is not the Cardinal's intention to publish the book at his own expanse, an enterprising Sydney firm of publishers having purchased the copyright more than three years back, The late Admiral Tr/on svnile in charge of the Australian station proved himself a friend of Si Vincent's Hospital, Sydney. It ie an open secret that an attempt was made to induce the naval anthorities to cease sending the sick and wounded sailors to St Vincent's. Those who moved in the matter claimed that Prince Alfrid Hospital was the proper place to send Bailors in case of accident or illness Tne Admiral, however, refused to disturb the old order of things, and St Vincent's continues as the naval hospital, a portion of the new wing being Bet apart for the blue-jackets. To mark his appreciation of the kindness and skill of the Sisters, the late Admiral, by an orier signed by bis own hand, appointed the fleet surgeon one of the honorary officers of St Vincent's. Tne Admiral paid many viaite to the hospital, and his name will be found here and there in the visi« tors' book. Although all the reports regarding the German Emperor's interview with the H)ly Father agree in denying that current politics were touched upon, the same will hardly be maintained of the audience which was afterwards accorded by the Pope to Baron Marschall von Birlenstein, and lasted for an hour. The attitude of the Emperor and bis Government towards the Papacy can only be adequately accounted for, say some observers, by the exigencies of the political situation. The contention of the Government organs in Geimany is that the constituencies are much more friendly to the Army Bill than the Deputies, although, at the same time, it is not denied that a dissolution would most probably result in considerable gains to the Opposition parties. Could the great mass of the Catholic electors

receive the impression that the Emperor and his Government have gone beyond the usual limits of mere courtesy in thtir manifestations of deference to the Pope, the hope might be justified that the Catholic electors would put pressure on their Deputies to induce them to vote for the Army Bill. Some rather wild words in the Mo%iteur de Rome give colour to tbe idea that the Emperor hopes to win Catholic political snpporfc by his personal attention to the Pontiff, The Princesß of Wales did not see much of the convents during her stay in Rome, her former visit it 1874 having flatiffied her curiosity on that score. At the audience nearly twenty years ago (the Princess does not look it), Piub IX. inquired in what way he could please her Royal Highn^pp, who begged to be allowed to vinit some Btrictly cloistered runs. His Holiness accorded permission to tbe entire Royal party, with their respective suits, to visit two con p vents, the choice to be tbe Princess's own, aod appointed Father Mullooly as gnide and interpreter, conferring on him full faculties to dispense any cloister, however strict. The conventß selected were those of the Benedictine Nuns of Bt Cecilia and of the " Sepolte Vive '• or "Entombed Alive" Community. The party of visitors, numbering in all some thirty pereone, passed several hours in tbe last-named oonvent, examining everything. Later, Pius IX. desired to know on which of the convents tbe choice had fa'len, and on being told, be langhed merrily, saying, " I was sure it would be so. The Princess expected, no doubt, to behold the unfortunate nuns actually walled into a species of living tomb." la bis reply to tbe address presented to him on his return from Rome, Cardinal Vaughan said : — We must build up the education of our own youth of all classes alike, upon a Chris' ian basis and on Christian lines, in a Christian atmosphere, from the foundation to the summit. Christian principles and practice are to be woven, like gold and silver threads, into the very texture of the cloth, during the whole process of formation, if due regard is to be bad to worth and durability. Of this fundamental principle every Catholic should be the guardian. Every one of us ought to feel a personal responsibility for the maintenance of a Pablic Elementary system of Christian education. The sooner we make the world understand that the Catholic education of tbe Catholic people is not the mere shibboleth of a caste, not a mere tradition of the priesthood and a work carried on in the interest of the clergy, the better will it be for all parties. Catholic education is the inalienable right of a Catholic people— their morali'y, their virtue, their work as citizens, their happiness here and hereafter, depend upon it. An official of the Vatican gives to the Italia Jleale tbe following details of the Imperial visit to the Vatican. The Emperor, entering the Pontifical apartments with the Empress on his arm, showed a very unmistakable embarrassment. Wnen he left them his face looker! exultant The Pope had teken pains personally in the preparation of the Bala Gialla. On tbe evening previous to the audience His Holiness bad himself directed tbe placing of flowers and of thd three equal chairs upon a dsis. The Emperor expected to take leave at the door of this room ; but the Pope, af er shaking hands, seemed to change his uiiuj, kept the Etnperor'a hand in his, gently cons'raining His Majjsly (who tried to take the left side) to walk on his right, and went with him to tbe distant threshold of the Throne Room. A double file of Pontifical gendarmes presented arms on the Emperor's passage from St Peter's to the Court of St Damasus. Having returned the salute of their rmjor, the Emperor turned to his wife with the national exclamation, '• Wundersccoi 1" The mosaic presented to the German Sovereign by the Pope is a view of Bt Peter's and the Piazzi, The Empress's bonnet was almost as much a veil as a bonnet, being 8") draped about with lace and tulle that it differed little in appearance from the regulation Vatican coiffure. When the Empress paid a private second visit to the Vatican Museum, Leo XIII. gave orders that she and her companion should be presented with flowers from the Vatican gardens. Count Albert de Mun deliverad a stirring speech at the Catholic Congress at Toulouse. M. de Mun is still labouring to form what be describes a 8 a Christian Socialist party. The following passage from his speech conveys the views ani aims of the movement : —We egree with M. CavaigDac that we must turj over a new leaf, and Btart a new system in politics. Tbe old system is founded upon Atheiam ; that is tbe evil which Bhould be remedi d ; and to sum up our programme in a single sentence, " 11 fautfaire rentrer Dieu dans nos institutions." We shall fivour Progressive ameliorations, but clearly indicate the final end we must strive to attain, nimely, to wrest France from Freemasonry, which is supported by Jewish capitalists, and from the social egotism which ia its ou'cjme. Gxl has been excluied from tha domestic heartn, from tbe school and the workshop, and Hie place bas been taken by The mean calculations of self-interest. For this reason we must accept the bUtkfiild indicated by the Pope, namely, the existing constitution ; and this we are bound to make widely known in order to put a sop to the allegation which misrepresents us as tbe servants of a special regime. It is thus that we shall gain the support of the popular masses. SsciaHßm is the great question of the day. To carry on the struggle

there mast be concentration, either with the capitalists or with the people lam for c imentratior with the people. To attempt concentration with the Je*B and the Haute Banque is merely paving the way for a Socialism the excesses of which cannot be forefiesn. It is not capital, bat labour, which has to be protected. We matt not allow the people to regard the Church ag a gendarme in a surplice, bnt muHt convire thn people that the flhnrch acts in the interest and in behalf of the weak ard the oppressed. Once the people ate convinced that the Church has been instituted not for the rich but for the poor, success will bi close at hand, and the ideas of the Pontiff will ba realised The eighth hundredth anniversary of the foundation of Winchester Cathedral has made the continuit? people imagine vain things. The dean's disc nirae on the occisi >n was a ridiculous attempt to pietend that the building was always in the h&ada of the present Church as by law es'ablished. It was nearly as contra* dictory as Mr Nye's " story " ; and, to use Father Luke Bivington'a words, were the matter not so serious, it would ba enough to make one hoarse with laughter. Just imigi le the great Chancellor Bishop of Winchester, William of Wykeham, and Cardinal Bsaufort, whoM chantry is in the present cathedral, belonging to the Protestant Chnrcb I Imagine it being Protestant *U the time that it was served by Benedictines when the Mass Be Bpiritu Sanoto was solemnly sang in the presence of the prior, sub-prior, and brethren assembled to elect the bishops. Imagine it as Protestant when St Swithin's relict were translated and placed in a rich shrine of gold and silver on July 15, 971. Imagine Protestantism in Winchester when St BiriouV Bishop of Dorchester, founded the first church on the site of ft heathen temple in 643. St Birinu9, by the way, was a Dative of Borne, and sent to England by Pope Honorius. Although be could not speak a word of Saxon when he arrived, ho was the friend of King Cynegila, the ruler of the West Saxons. Th church, founded bj St Birinui, was known bb " Peter bus " for more than two hundred yean before the present cathedral was built, but we rather think that the dean did not care to allude to eucb fact in his c?n innity dieconrße. The most beautiful volume among the half million in the Congressional library at Washington is said to be a Bible which was tianscribed by a mock in the sixteenth century. It could not be matched to-day in the best printing office in the world. The parchment is in peTfect preservation. Every one of its thousand pages is a study. The general lettering is in German text, each letter perfect, as is every one, in coal black ink, without a scratch or blot from lid to lid. At the beginning of each chapter, the first letter is veiy large, usually two or three inches long, and is brightly illuminated in rtd and blue ink. Witbin each cf these capitals is drawn the figure of Rome saint, some incident of which the following chapter tells, is illustrated. There are two columns on a page, and nowhere ia traceable the slightest irregularity of line, space or formation of the letters. Even under the magnifying glass they seem flawless. Tb.il precious volume is kept under a glass case, wuch is sometim '8 lifted to show that all the pages are as perfect as the two which lie open. A legend relate? that a youDg man who had sinned deeply became a monk and resolved to do penance for his misdeeds. He determined to copy the Bible, that he might learn every letter of the Divine commands which he had violated. Every day for many yeari he patiently pursued his task. Each letter was wrought in reverence acd love, i»nd the patient soul found its only companionship in the saintly faces whicb were portrayed on these pages. When the last touch was giveT to the last letter, the old man reverently kisaed the page and folded the sheets together. Soon afterward ht died. There is on view in the window of Mr Jam^s Kerin just now a turnip of exceptionally largf size. Its weight is 231 b, and it was grown at Tanas by Mr Jjhn MUcrae. It is worthy of note, perhaps, that this large turnip was grown in a patch of ground turnad up by one of Messrs Reid and Gray's digging p'oughs, where companion turnips, if not of equal size, at least of fairly large proportions, were raised. Alongside, in the same field, in the Btrm lciud of soil, and sowed with the same seed, but whore th« ordinary plough wa<j uaed, the average siz j of the tubers was about a mins fiit oaly. Here is proof positive of tbe good resulting from deep ploughiDg. — Cromwell Argus. Our readers will be pleased to hear that the Colonial Mataal Life Office has passed through another succe3Bful year, Tbe returns s^ow tfcnt the new business amounted io 3,576. policies issued for £1,148 940, that tha annual inr.ome was over £400,000, and that the total funds were £1 522,593. Notwithstanding the large new business completed, it is satisfactory to notice that the expense ratio has been still further reduc 'd by 2 per cent, makiog a total re iuction of 6$ per cent < fE 'Cted during the lust 4 years. A'l who are interested in cycles or sewing machines should see the stock on tund at the establishment of Mr H, B. Stedman, 166 G orge street, Dunedin. Excellent machines ar > offered at the lowest possible rates, Repairs also are cheaply and skilfully executed. Mb F. Mbknan. Kinp street, reports :— Wh >le-«ale price — Oats : li lOd to 2s 2 t (baga extra). Wbeat (sucks included): Milling, 2h 9 1 to 3* 01, demanl fair ; fowls', 2i Od to 2i 7d. Chaff : Inferior to medium, good supply, dtrnani dull, £1 10s 0d to £2 5s 0J ; prime up to £2 13s 01, fair d.-majii ; hay, oaten, quality new, good, cWmand dull, £2 15' to £3 0j ; ryegrass, £2 15s to £3 os, of good quality. Potatoes, kidneys, £4 10a Od ; derwents, £5 0i Od, market bare. Flour : Roller, £7 159 t> £8 s* ; stone, £7 0s to £7 10a, demand quiet. Oatmeal, bulk, £10 0s ; 251bs, *IO 10s. Butter, fresh, 8d to lid ; potted, demand easier, 7d for prime, Fggs, Is 6d|per dczen.