Notes

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 52, 29 December 1904, Page 18

Notes

Toleration in Japan. Emperor Mutstuhito began to reign over Japan in the seiconri month of 186-8. He also broke ulp tihe old feruWlal system, bdeame the country's effective ruler, an ( d witnessed and Encouraged the invasion of westexn ideas which liftgd Japan in less th a n a generation to the position iof a Great Power. In one respect, however, Muts|uhito's rei?n had a bad beginning. His Government's first act was to revive t\he olid-standing proscription against the exercise of the Christian religfon willhin the long and straggling bo\i|idarics of Japan. Nor was tihe law allowed to be a dead letter. The represtehtatives of the Westor-n Powers rcn^omstfated. Mutsfjihito artd his counsellors experienced in time a change of 'heart, and all restrictions on tihe practice of Ghris'tianity were abolrshe'd in 1872. When J»p and Rtuss begajn to hack arid hew each otiher early in the presont year, there were many who feareJd that the

feelmg against the Czar amd his Orthodox counsellors and fighting men would overflow upon Christians of other faiths resident in Japan and revive the days of religious persecution. But, says the ' Catholic Times ' experience has proved that the tolerance of tfce Jataanesc has not abated, and it is not likely tb abate In the four dioceses into which t(he country is divided there Has of late been a steady increase in the numiber of Gatihtohcs, which is now about 56,0G0. It is tUue the Mhurrti is not nearly as string in Japan at present as it was in days prior to the great persecutions, when the number of Catholics amouinted to over 2,000,000 but the pqosipects of rapid progress after the war are briftht On March 17, 1865, when Father Petitjean was endeavoring to revive the Faith in Japan, a very noteworthy &icident occurred to him. Three women approached him in his httle church and put three questions to him •' *' Ist. Waive you a Pope ? 2nd. Do yoju pray to the Blessed Virgin ? 3rd. Are yiou m&raied ? " Haying answered the questions and made further inquiries the priest found that there were groups of Catholics scattordd though the qountry, who had hajnried down the *aNh from fatflier to son "during almpst three centuries mutilating the doctrine to some extent, b».t preserving aubb-ta,nLw.Jly what had been the treasure ol tjieir martyred amcestors. Pope Pius IX was so much moved by this w;onderfiul event that he made toe 17th of March in Japan a s/olemn Feast, to be celebrated under the title of " The Finding of the Christians." ' An Inebriates' Home. The stars ft* their courses seem to have fought against the Inebriates' Home at Waitati. As an experimqnt, it was, perhaps, worth trying. Being tried it certa.nly was well worth giving up. And this the Crwernmeat have resolved upon. < What do you consider the besit Lme m my poem ? ' asted a budding twtoirer of reluctant rhymes. • The last,' was the critic's cruel reply Tlhe iast act is also the best in the history of the WaLtati inebriates' retreat.