DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Tablet, Issue 41, 11 February 1898, Page 28

DIOCESE OF AUCKLAND.

February Sri, ISDS. At St Patrick's Cathedral on Wednesday. 27th ulfc . a commemorative solemn Jlrqitinn Mass waa celebrated by his Lordship Dr. Lenihan for the repose of the soul of his late predecessor, the lamented RMit Rev. Dr. Luck. There were present m the sanetuarv the Very Rev. Monsignors Paul and McDonald, deacons at the throne; Very Rev. Father O'Reilly. I\L\. Thames, as-istant priest • Fathers Croke and Brodie, deacon and sub-deacon ot the Mass;' and Fathers Gillan. Buckley, O'Galliigher and McMillan. The Very Rev Dr. Egan and Father Kehoe ably assisted m the choir During' the Bishop's singing of the Mass Dr. Egan accompanied him on the organ. It is seldom that such a combination of musical talent is heard in the sanctuary and choir as that of his Lordship Dr. Lenihan and Dr. Egan. A large congregation was present to do honour to the memory and to pray for the soul ot our late dear Bishop. He indeed was a worthy prelate. May God grant him eternal light and happiness. The Rev. Father Purton, 0.5.8., has returned fro n Gisborne. over which parish he has had temporary chargo for .some months, and is now stationed at the cathedral in conjunction with Fathers Croke and Buckley. The late Captain Amodos has bequeathed the sum oi. Cloo to be divided equally between the four city churches, but owing to our benign Government claiming Clo as death duties, each dividend is reduced by iifty shillings.

The question of education holds a prominent place now with the Bishop, priests, and people of the city. To assist the fund for the erection of the large school now in progress in Newtown, the Bishop preached at St. Benedict's at eleven o'clock last Sunday morning:, and eloquently and forcibly urged upon the large congregation assembled to contribute liberally to so noble and necessary a work. Father Brodie, at Vespers in the same church, devoted an able discourse on education. At the cathedral, Father Gillan, on the same evening, also discoursed upon education, and impressed upon his hearers the great importance attached to the proper training of our children. The parochial schoolo of the Sisters of Mercy and St. Joseph and of the Marist Brothers opened last Monday morning, and in this connection his Loidship g.iAe order^ to have read the timely, and let us hope most effective, mandate from the Bishops of this Colony : " That, in view of the deplorable fact that a large proportion of the Catholic children attending the non-Catholic schools in this Colony practically lose their faith, the Bishops of New Zealand again inculcate the grave duty incumbent upon Catholic parents of sending their children to the Catholic schools, and warn them, that the sending of their children to the non-Catholic schools generally constitutes a grave act, which debars them from the reception of the Sacraments as long as they persist in such a dereliction of parental duty." Such a solemn warning emanating from our worthy prelates, who have certainly no mundane principles or desires in promulgating it, but on the contrary the spiritual welfare of their nocks at heart, should sink deep into the hearts of the wayward, and they, with the initiation of the New Year should turn over a new leaf and determine upon the conservation of the faith of their children by bending them to the Catholic schools. The triennial election has resulted in conferring upon Mother Mary the dignified honour of Mother Superior over the Sisters of Mercy in this diocese. This is the second time the title has been held by the Reverend Mother. There are scores of Aucklanders of both sexes who are under deep debts of gratitude to the present Rev. Mother for the religious instruction and examples inculcated by hexto them in their youths. Rev. Brother Henry and his confreres have returned from the annual retreat held this year in Nelson. The good Brothers seem much benefited by their short southern trip, and are ready again for the noble task of instructing our boys to which they have devoted their lives. His Lordship the Bishop left last Monday evening upon a business visit to Paeroa, and returns at the end of the week. The Auckland correspondent of the Tablet has aroused the ire of " Mercutio." of the New Zealand Herald. '• Your own " took the editor to task for an attack upon the Irishmen of New York. •• Mercutio" quotes my paragraph, and adds " this is most amusing." From the serious and angry mode in which he afterwards treats ifc, it seemed to him the reverse of amusing. He bids me take a trip to New York, and see for myself, or in lieu thereof to read the garrulous Mr. Stead upon Tammany rule. With reference to the latter pedant's ij>/se di.rit I shall answer it by asking " Mercutio " another question. Does the constant iteration, morning after morning in the Herald condemning the Seddon Government as corrupt, and unworthy of the support of right thinking colonists, ijjuo facto, prove to the hilt that allegation .' The whole sting is, however, contained in tl Mcreutio's" concluding sentence, thus : "The balance of the writer's mind is easily discornable by his sympathy with the brave Afridif." A friendly people and territory, to secure what Beacons field called a " scientific frontier,'' have been wantonly outraged, and display ooniniendablo patriotism, which the average Britisher arrogantly dubs incivism, and sneers at those whose sympathies are extended to the disinherited. Last week news by cable announced the death in England of a former Mayor of Auckland, Mr. James M'Coah Clark, who rendered good service in his time to all local advancement, lie it was who contested the famous election for Parliamentary honours in Auckland East with Sir George Grey. Upon the side of the deceased were ranged the power and the wealth of the classes, on the other the votes of the masses. A memorable and tough contest it proved to be and resulted in the return, by under .">() votes, of the proconsul. On the eve of the election Sir George, feeling the power opposed to him, appealed to the people and said, •■ Are you going to reject me, as Macaulay was at Edinburgh .'" A salutary and substantial tine has been imposed upon the publisher of a foul production in which a Catholic citizen wns libelled, and his reli» ion made sport of. The S.M. recorded £5 for each copy, totaling £120, Bigotry cheeked and made to atone. An important question at the City Council last week was brought to a standstill by several members abruptly clearing out to catch conveyances to wheel them to their homos. The local Press complain of this conduct, but so long as the ratepayers do not remunerate their civic representatives they must not demand too much of them. To do other people's business is to neglect your own. and it is but common honesty to pay the labourer for his hire, in whatsoever sphere he works. Tenders close to-morrow for the erection of the convent school at Devouport, which will be conducted by the Sisters of Mercy. It is pleasing to chronicle the advance of Catholic education. Very Rev. Father O'Reilly, P.P., Thames, will, on the 2ltft inst., have completed the 152 nd year of his priesthood, being ordained in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, on February 21, 18C>(>. It may interest West Coasters to learn that the Rev. Father Walshe, P.P., of Wcstport, was ordained at the same time and place. No two worthier prices arc to be found in the Colony. The annual meeting of those interested in the Auckland Technical School was held last Monday evening. Sir George Maurice O'Uourkc, Speaker of the House of Representatives, presided. Thi' income for the last year was L' 178 17s Id : cash balance in hand £I."> 2s 2d. It is obvious, therefore, that the public must p;iy down, otherwise the shutters will go up. In a community pampered by a moot luxurious State-provided educational system such an appeal falls ujion deaf ears. Coaxingly the committee

exclaim : " Contribute but once more, because Parliamentary relief is near at hand." To this King Demos will agree, and to anything for which he is not personally called upon to pay. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is again in hot water. For two and a half years it has been without a parson, owing to dissensions. At a meeting this week a reverend gentleman accused the other side of stuffing the roll of voters.