THE MARQUIS OF DUFFERIN ON CATHOLIC CHARITIES.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 25, 21 June 1900, Page 6

THE MARQUIS OF DUFFERIN ON CATHOLIC CHARITIES.

Among the speakers at the formal opening of the Mater Infirmorum Hospital, Belfast, which took place on April 23, was the Marquis of Dufferin and Ava. In the course of his speech the Marquis of Dufferin said :—: —

It had been his good fortune, when holding various offices under the Crown as representative of her Majesty, to find himself in official communication with various members and dignitaries of the Catholic Church. That was the case in India, and more especially the case in Canada,, where the Catholic religion enioyed an efficient status, and where the representatives of the Catholic Church were recognised by the Crown as associated with it in the administration of the affairs of the country. And he might say that wherever upon these occasions he found himself so associated he was greatly impressed by the spirit of self-sacrifice and earnestness and sincerity generally by which these representatives of the Catholic Church were actuated. Another class that had his sympathies to a greater degree was the Sisters of the various religious communities which had spread abroad throughout Ireland and Canada and other parts of her Majesty's dominions. When in Canada he found himself not only the representative of the English Crown, but also the representative of the ancient Monarchy of France, and in that capacity it was his privilege to obtain entrance into all the convents, however situated they might have been, and never had he received a kinder or warmer welcome than that given him by the ladies of those establishments, and on each successive occasion he was more and more impressed with the admirable manner in which they were discharging their sacred functions, and the influence which they exercised over every one with whom they came in contact. Under these circumstances it would be readily understood that it was with the utmost sincerity and earnestness that his Lordship praised the ladies who were associated with that admirable institution. They would find a reward in the success of their efforts, in seeiner their patients from day to day progress towards a compete re-toration of health, and finding in the world at large jear alter year a still more generous support than they had hitherto been üble to secure. It was not necessary for him to intrude further upon their attention. He would simply conclude by trusting in (iod's nn rciful providence for every prosperity and good fortune, and the blessing o £ Almighty God might rest upon that institution, upon the Sisters who administer its affairs, and upon the patients who found relief within its walls.