INTERCOLONIAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXX, Issue 20, 15 May 1902, Page 7

INTERCOLONIAL.

The recent bazaar in »id of the Catholic church at Albury yielded over £600. The Very Rev. Dean Hegarty, P P., V.F., Kyneton, is about to take a well-earned twelve months' leave of absence after 30 years' labor on the Victorian mission. A very old resident of the GraUben Gullen distriot passed away reoently, in the person of Mr John Kelleher, at the age of 90 years. Deceased was a native of County Clare, Ireland, and had been a resident of New South Wales for over 60 years. Speaking the other day at a picnic organised by the Hibernian Society in honor of his Lordship the Bishop of Maitland, Mr R. McCormaok, district president of New South Wales, said that the total membership of the H.A.C.B. Society in New South Wales was Bomething over 4000, and the funds aggregated £25,000. In the whole of the States the Booiety had a membership of 21,000, with funds amounting to £125,000. Out of this number there were 8000 members in Victoria, and he was glad to say that the 2500 members in New South Wales twelve months ago had been increased by 1500 during that period. He regarded this as a good augury that they would equal, if not surpass, the number of members in Victoria within » space of a few years. The narrow jealousies of a small coterie of busybodies in Melbourne have landed a Bociety journal called Table Talk in trouble. That journal reoently made a Bta£ement which, though amusing to Catholics, needed a prompt contradiction. That contradiction appeared in Table Talk's last issue as folows : — ' Sir, — The following paragraph appears in your issue of the 10th instant : " Gratitude is a distinguishing trait in Miss Amy Castles's character. She gives 30 per cent, of her Australian earnings to the Catholic Church, As she is paid £750 for the three Melbourne concerts, the share of Catholic Church is £250. Thiß statement is made by people who are privy to the agreement with Miss Castles, but it may, nevertheless, not be true." The first line we believe to be entirely true. The rest of the paragraph we know to be absolutely without foundation. On behalf of Miss Castles, we request that you will be good enough either to publish our letter or make the necessary correction in suitable manner in your next issue. — Yours truly, Gavan Duffy and King, 69 Chancery lane, Melbourne. April 15, 1902.' — [We stated 'it may. nevertheless, not be true.' The statement, however, was generally made by respectable people, and we are glad to find that it is now authoritatively contradicted. — Editor, Table Talk.] Smarting under the criticism evoked by the garbled ' points ' cabled during the week respecting an article he has contributed to an English newspaper, Mr. Wood, History Professor at the bydney University (says the Freeman's Journal), applies a useful sidelight to the methods of the cableman in general, and particularly on the subject of Ireland. Writing to the Mor?iitig Herald, Mr. Wood Bays : — ' In an article, which not having seen, you abuse, one point which I ventured to emphasize was the disadvantage we in Australia suffer in that, being five weeks away from England, we are for that period entirely at the mercy of the cabler . We learn what he chooses to tell us, and we learn no more. Now, with the best will in the world, no cabler can do justice to the news of the day in a few phrases. He has to select one sentence out of a hundred, an'i he naturally selects that sentence which, in his opinion, will be of most service to his employers and give most pleasure to his readers. So, e.g., it was cabled, if my memory serves me, a few weeks ago that John Morley had expressed disapproval of the reception given by some Irish members to the news of the capture of Lord Metauen. When the English newspapers arrived we found that this was one sentence from a great oration dealing with the general political situation from the Liberal standpoint. All Australians have read the sentence. How many have read the great plea for justice to Ireland from which it was wrenched ? Your cable as to what you call " the gist" of my article is a good example of the disadvantage I speak of.' A few Sundays ago a very large gathering of the parishioners of St. Mary's, St. Kilda East, Melbourne, assembled to witness the interesting ceremony of laying the memorial stone of the new Catholic Hall and Club rooms, now in course of erection at the intersect ; on of Dandenong road, and Westbury street. His Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne, who was accompanied by the Very Rev. Dean Phelan, was received by the Very Rev T. Lynch, P.P., Revs. J. Norris and J. Barry, and the building committee. After the ceremony had been performed the Very Rev. T. Lynch, pastor of St. Mary's, said that they were all aware of the object of that day's meeting, viz., to help to liquidate the debt on the hall and ground, which amounted to about £7500. The hall itself would coßt about £5000, and the land £2500. He felt confident that the whole of the debt would be paid in a short time, for he knew the intelligence, zeal and generosity of his own people, and the generous sentiments of non-Catholic fellow-citizens, many of whom had, unsolicited, handed in generous contributions towards the coat of the hall. He hoped that the spirit of goodwill would long continue amongst the citizens of St. Kilda. Certainly, on his part, nothing would be wanting to foster and encourage the bond of union amonst all classes of citizens. Later on Father Lynch read a partial list of Bubscriptions received before the ceremony, the principal being :— Mr. Fitzsrerald £100, Mr. A. Tobin £100, Mrs. Tobin £100, Father Lynch £100, Catholic Young Men'B Society £100, Mr. W. Rigg £50, Mr. D. Day £50, Mr. Retallick £50, Dr. R. Power £30, Mr. J. G. Duffy £25, Mr. J. W. O'Halloran £25, Mr. P. Acton £25, Ladies' Branch Hibernian Society £20, Women's Branch Sacred Heart Sodality £30, Men's do. £20, Children of Mary 20 guineas. The total subscriptions, exceeded £2000.