NAPIER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXI, Issue 48, 30 March 1894, Page 19

NAPIER.

(From our own Correspondent.

March 22, 1894. The late floods in Hiwke's Bay, I am sorry to say, hava left their evil effects after them, i hat deadly diseas*, typhmi fever, has made its appearance throughout the couo'ry, anl a large number of people have already saccumbed to it. It is supposed the quantity of stock that was drowned in the flood h»s resulted in the present outbreak. On Sunday last a youag woman named Monogue, who had been employed for some time at the Napier H*»pital, w .8 buried, the cause of h?r death being tbe above-named disease. Her remain! were conveyed to 3t Mary's Catholic Cnurcb, where tha ceremony usually performed over the dead waß attended to by Father Kerrigaa who, in a few appropriate words, expressed his sympathy with the bereaved relations, and consoled them by saying that she h%d always been a good, pract.cal Catholic when alive, and had received the ritei of her Church before deatb. At St Mary's on Sunday evening, Father Kerrigan preached a ■ermon on St Patrick He g*ve a short history of that saint's life from the age of 16 to 60 ye&rs, whea be was consecrated a bishop by Bt Celestine. Fiiher K-rrigangave a graphic description of the trials and dangers St Patrick had to encounter in the great work he was engaged in. Hd found Ireland a heathen land, the majority of the people being idolaters ; but under his guidance Ireland waa made a Catholic country. The rev gentle*

man also explained bow St Patrick taogbt the mystery of the Trinity by the aid of the little shamrock. There was one thing, however, that the Rev Father did not seem certain about, and that was as to where 8t Patrick was birn. He said he was the son of a Roman officer, hie mother being a French lady, and was born, some accounts said, \n Brittany, France, while others said Scotland. This reminds me of a letter in one of the local papers the other day signed " CUverhoiise," •aying that St Patrick was a Scotchman, and asking ho-* v was the people of that country did not commemorate St Pa'rick'a D iy. Can yoo, Mr Editor, throw any light on the subject as to the great saint's nationality ? A very successful concert, in aid of the annual prize and picnic fund, was held in the Marist Brothers' school last week, and proved a gieat success in every way. Mr S eatb. who had the management, deserves credit for the way in which it was carried out. Misd Brickell, a new arrival, gave great satisfaction in Beveral vocal items A strong orchestra, under the condactorship of Mr South, added to the success of the concert. The other performers' efforts were appreciated by the large audience present. After paying expenses the Brothers had a good sum in hand. Yesterday the election of a CDmmittee and the local option poll under the Alcoholic Liquors Sale Control Act was held. Very much interest was not manifested in the election. It wis thought that under the extended franchise the temperance party would be able to place their own nominees on the committee. Such, however, was not the case, six moderates being elected to two of the anti-liquor candidates. Mr darnel!, M.H.8., and Mr Lascelles were the suecessfal gentlemen on the temperance ticket. With regard to local option, the iattcr party were also unsuccessful, for although 298 votes were cast for reduction, 341 for no licensee, and only li>B for hotels to remain as at present, the poll was void under -lie Act and therefore there can be no reduction. This, I think, is to be regretted, as there are fir too many hotels in the town, the licensees of some of which do not conduct them aa they should be conducted. In the

election of the committee there were r>SO Informal vote?, and 1082 at the h eal option poll.

Afeeprs Brown, Ewing and Co., Princes street, Dnnedin, are now showing tbeir wmter goods. The stick baa been specially selected, and botb taste and discrimination have been exercised in the matter! Ladies will find all their wants provided for in a manner to ensure their complete satisfaction. The firm's tailoring department is also moat deserving of patronage. Samples and prices may be had- on application. The teas sent ont by the 'Empire Tea Company, Wellington, combine all the excellent qualities insured by unremitting care and a thorough understanding of the business. The company's blended teas cannot be furpasser). On Sunday. (Jan 28) at the late Mas?, in the Church of St Andrew, Westlaod Bow, Dublin, the Bey Peter Finlay, S J , preached b sermon in aid of the House of Mercy and Kick acd Dying Poot, under the care of the Sitters of Mercy, Baggot Street. The rev preacher in the course of pn able and forcible sermon dwelt on the character of the work performed by the Sisters of Mercy, who approached more nparly than any earthly syste-n to the i leal of Christian charity. Thtir labours .vere manifold, bat might be grouped under two heads— the education and the relief and protection of the poor. The suicide of M. and Madame Caubet and their unhappy daughter was one rf those episodes of domestic life in France *bicb etartlrs the world now acd again by their tragic charac'er. la all probability the Caubat family calculated on the effects of this sensational etit from life upon the volatile Parisians, a!. Caubet and his wife and daughter were undoubtedly in impecunious circumstances ; but they were hardly driven desperation. There are thousands of families in Eos land to-day oo whom to-morrow's sun will shine without the prospect of a meal, and who yet live oa in resignation to their fa'e. The horror of descending a step lower in the social ladder is said to be abhorrent to the French bourgeois This is a very universal trait of human nature indeed ; it is nut characteristic of the French alonp. The real explanation of the tragady lies in the fact that disbelief in God was openly professed by the Oaubet household. The absence of faith is one of the most prolific sources of self-destruc-tion ; >t deprives the world of all beauty, leaves the heart without real enjoyment, and plunges the soul in unendurable despair.