ARCHDIOCESE OF WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIV, Issue 20, 22 September 1898, Page 4

ARCHDIOCESE OF WELLINGTON.

(From our own correspondent.) September 17. HIS Excellency the Governor and Lady Ranf urly have graciously accorded their patronage to the entertainment to be given by the pupils of St. Mary's Convent in the Opera House on Monday night As the seating accommodation has been nearly all engaged the financial success of the entertainment is already assured As regards the artistic aspect of it, I have no doubt but that the pupils will give a good account of themselves, as the programme has been in active rehearsal for some time. « t v Se £ g ? ant M<Ardle ' wno has °een connected with the police force of the Golony for over a quarter of a century, has signified his intention of resigning in consequence of advancing age. Mr M'Ardle was for a long- time on the West Coast, where he saw a good deal of active service, as the population was not then as amenable to the law as now. Of later years he had been stationed for a considerable time in Masterton, where his attention to his duties and impartiality earned for him the re B pect of all classes. About a year ago he was transferred to Blenheim, where he is now stationed. I understand that he is very much dissatisfied with the amount of retiring allowance allocated to him, as be thinks it is less than that given to men with much shorter service, and he has therefore asked for a magisterial investigation into his claims. His Grace the Archbishop went South on Friday evening for the purpose of laying the foundation-stone of a new church at Hornby, near Riccarton, for the Rev. Father Marnane of St. Mary's parish, Christchurch, on Sunday. From thence he will proceed South, where he is to preach at the opening of the new orphanage at south Dunedin. On Sunday last the Very Rev. Father Devoy, V.G.. read a statement at High Mass at St. Mary of the Angels, showing tbe financial position of the parish, the amount of money subscribed during the year, and the manner of its disbursement. The amount received from various sources was a striking testimony to the liberality and generosity of the people of Te Aro. Among the sums received were £800 from the bazaar, £245 from subscriptions by envelope every Sunday, a system that was initiated by the VicarGeneral about a year ago, and which was generously responded to by the parishioners ; and £145 by a penny collection at the church doors on behalf of the parish sohools. It is not necessary for me to recapitulate the various works done in the parish during the past year , as I have done that from time to time. The statement showed that the money was mainly spent in building schools reducing the overdraft, enlarging St. Mary of the Angels' Church B nd ü m * he Purchase of a section and a caretaker's house adjacent to the Newtown schools, etc. In concluding- his statement, Father Devoy sketched out some of the work that would be necessary in the future, and hoped the parishioners would be as generous as in the past, so as to keep pace wich the growing wants of a large and increasing population, and more especially with the demands for extended school accommodation. A good many years ago the late Mr. Crawford, of Miramar cut up a part of his estate near Worser Bay for the purpose of sale. At that time he laid off some sections for church purposes As the township did not sell at the time, the matter was allowed to drop. Latterly, however, a large number of sections have been taken up and houses built thereon, so that it now promises to be a very favourite seaside resort for the people of this city in the future. Some time ago the Very Rev. Father Devcy approached the present owners of the estate with reference to getting the CtloU . h , lcl LwaBL wa8 allocated in the original plan for the Catholic Church. The Messrs. Crawford, although having no knowledge of the intentions of their late father in this matter, generously decided to carry out his ideas, and gave a section which had been allotted on the old plan of tte township. Father Devoy then purchased two more lots ad]ommg, so that there is a very compact block of about one and a half acres secured for church purposes in the township Through the kindness of Mr. M. T. M'Grath, who gave the greater part of the material, the section is now fenced and tastefully planted, so that the Catholics of Te Aro can congratulate theuiBelves on having secured a very valuable plot of land at small cost mainly through the foresight of the Vicar-General and the handsome manner m which he was met by the Messrs. Crawford m Regarding the debate over the report of tbe Police Commission, and the alleged favouritism towards Catholics in the force • c il a %*? weU / nown t0 an yo n e conversant with the early history 9. t ne k° lon y after the abolition of the provinces that considerable difficulty was experienced in getting suitable men for the force and the authorities were only too glad to get men who had served in the Irish Constabulary, numbers of whom had been actracted to the Colony by the gold diggings. Candidates were not then as numerous or as anxious to get into the force as now, for the pay was much less than could be earned at other work ; had it been otherwise I have no doubt that ' honest ' John's compatriots would have figured more prominently as members than they do The majority of Catholics in the police force joined years before' many of the present Ministry were heard of in the political world perhaps in the days when the Conservative party was in power' In those days Mr. Duthie's co-religionists and compatriots took very good care to go in for more lucrative positions in the Civil Service than that of policemen. If some Member were only to get a return of the religious belief and nationality of the officers in Government departments here, it would be found that Scotchaen and Presbyterians are there in numbers out of all proportion to their strength and population. If Mr. Duthie is so exceedingly anxious that each religious denomination shall be only represented

in the Government service according to its.proportionate numbers in the population, let him get a return of the religious belief and nationality of the officers under the Minister of Lands, when he will find that it is practically a close borough for Scotchmen and Presbyterians. I was pleased to note that Mr. Duthie's sectarianism met with general condemnation from Members on both sides of the House, but more especially from Messrs. Duncan and O'Regan, the latter of whom reminded the offending Member that fully onethird of the House were Irish, or of Irish descent, including the Speaker and the Deputy -Speaker. • v, Th if members of the 'Old Boys" Association, in connection with the Marist Brothers' Suhool, gave a very enjoyable entertainment in St. Patrick's Hall on Thursday night. The entertainment was free, and it is intended to have similar ones at intervals during the year, so that the public can judge of the good work which is being done by the Association. The rooms are now open every night in the week in order that members can attend and enjoy themselves according to their respective tastes. Games have been provided so that those who do not care about more solid matter can pass an hour or two in harmless amusement.