GREYMOUTH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 30, 26 November 1897, Page 20

GREYM OU TH .

(From an occasional correspondent.")

A I, vroe number of the fair sex assembled at St. Patrick's Church oa the 4th ins-t., to witness the marriago of Mi-s Eleanor Sbannuhan. daughter of Mr. John Shannahan of the Union Hotel, to Mr. King of the s.s. Rosimond. At the wedding bviakfast that followed at t le hoLiV, the Rjv. Father C irow s.iokf in felicitous terms of tlie bride. He regret tid lie vas losing a paiibhioncr whom he had known so long and who was bo dosor\ idly popular, and be was sure he voiced the feelings <->t all pre-ent in wishing Mr. and Mrs. King all possible happmc<->. Another gentleman present humorously bewaiL d the lanly of rraniag^s in Oreymouth, which he said was bad nhke tor the clciyy ai d t th< rs. Speaking more sc-riuusly, he often wondered why the coienialb were so backward in leaving the pat en tal nest and striking cut ior them -el\o. This was becoiumg a '•eii'ius problim. Ceitainly the ooluni-il Irish were last losing that love or desire ior a fire-ide or their own, which was such a marked characteristic of the Irish people — a tr.iit that even the dirf-t poverty, with all itb attendant haidship-. could not eliminate trom their character. A dance iullo« eel in the evening, at which young and old tnjojed tlumsehes. 11 r. and i.-. Kn.g, who weie the recipients of mai y uselul presents, lelt by tht following morning's coach ior tht ii home in Lytteltuii. { -, The old settlors are pacing aws.y. Mis. Mitchell, of Kelson Creek, died recently. The good nature of thede<as<.d was proverbial. Many a poor w ayfarer has received food and she lter trom Mrs. Mitchell. Mr. John Ku— ell, blaek-mith. Ahaura. also died recently, after a lingering illness-. D< cca-eti was a Veiling man and did as he had lived, a good Catholic. The funeral ceremonies, were conducted by Rev. Father St'r\a-,ean and both weie largely attended. The friends, of Mr. Dowlmg, ot I'aroa. w cie nl-o ircently notiiied to attend tlie funeral of Ins late son .lobeph. aged 22 jears, who had been ailing ior a considerable period.

Another ym.ig lady, Miss McDonnell, ha* left Crey mouth to join i.he convent at Singleton. N.R.W. It ib woithy of note that thk is the fifth daughter ot this widely esteemed iamily who has chosen " the better part." A brother of the young l.uly, Rev. Father McDonnell, is to be ordained at Me mcc, abo it the time this will be in print. One priest and live nuns trom one family ib a striking proof that the ol 1 missionary spirit of thu inhabitants of the Western Lleb bidtj fjiir to be rivalled by their ele-cendants in this western part of New Zealand. This family comes of a pood stock s-o that their religious lervour is not surprisin_r. The late lamented Mr. Mc-Donnc-li was a man of sterling worth, an ideal Catholic father, nnd as patriotic an Irishman as could be iound. liy his decease the church of Greymouih and the good nuns lost an old and trusted friend. Mrs. McDonnell ib actuated by the tame sentiment that animated her late respected husband, hence the vocations i'or a religious lii« that have in such an extraordinary dtgree bot atne manifest in her taunly. Burdened with the cares of a large family and the worn* s ot a complicated business Mrs. McDonnell has since the death of Ik r hu-band managed all with wonderful tact. She is now about to rt ap .1 portion ot her reward in witnessing the ordination ot her sou at Me.uu-u.

On the eve ot the Fiast of All Saints the Rev. Father Malone preached on " Devotion to the Holy Souls." la an admiiable dis-

course the rev. gentleman pointed out the charitable nature of this pious devotion and gave many striking instances of itß efficacy. On the following Sunday the Rev. Father Carew preached on the^ " Saints." Speaking of the Irish people the rev. preacher referred * ta their struggles and trk.ls for the faith. 'Indeed it was only their undying attachment to their religion and their unconquerable spirit that enabled them to emerge triumphantly from the persecutions of the double-dyed hyprocnte Cromwell, the heinouß tortures Ol the penal times, and the horrors of the famine. The rev.

gentleman detailed many extraordinary instances of the devotion of the poor peasantry — those '• hidden saints" as he truly called them — to their religion. The recital of these affecting anecdotes made one feel proud at being iui humhle member of a Church that could instil into the heaits of its adherents, in the face of the greatest temp'uii.tion, such devotion to its precepts. Yet, as the rev. preacher said, it was a manifest design of God that the Irish people should be driven from their homes in order that they might carry the light of faith to the uttermost ends of the earth. Surely they were tried and not " found wanting." This instructive discourse brought to mind the attitude of the London Times and many of the English statesmen during the famine days. Joyfully they fancied they saw in what appeared at that time to be the inevitable destruction of the Irish race by famine and fever, an end to what they termed " the Irish difficulty," which they had created by misgovernment, robbery and cruelty in their worst forms. But a mighty race has sprung from those poor outcasts — particularly in the West — who were driven like cattle to the fever-stricken ships, with derisive cries, by their bigoted and wealthy oppressors. In their unfeeling exultation these modern Neros had evidently forgotten what with truth can be applied to the Irish race — the eloquently- worded and memorable dispatch of Tertullian. who, writing to the Roman Emperor of further persecuting the early Christians, said : " The more they are mown down the faster they spring up, for the blood of martyrs is the seed' of the Church."