INTERCOLONIAL

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 7, 15 February 1906, Page 31

INTERCOLONIAL

The Very Rev. Dean Phelan is expected to reach Melbourne about February 23. Preparations are on foot to give the Dean a hearty welcome home. At an Irish concert in Sydney Town Hall recently one of the features of the programme was the singing of an ancient Irish melody in the original Gaelic by Miss Mabel Ward. The station that now enjoys the distinction of beingthe largest in area in Australia— it is probably the largest cattle; run in the world — is Victoria Downs in Western Queensland. It is 11,200 square miles in extent and is carrying 53,000 head of cattle. The Rev. Father James Meany lias been transferred from Concord to St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, to fill the vacancy caused by the' removal of the Rev. Father J. M. Kelly to the charge- of Rydalmere. The Rev. Father W. Stevens, who was recently ordained, goes to Concord as assistant to the Rev. Father' Peter Byrne, P.P. By the death of Sister Mary Agnes Doyle, which took place on January 28 at -the Mother House, Monte Sant' Angelo, North Sydney, the Sisters of Mercy have lost a devoted member, who speni 27 of the 45 years of her life^as a religious. The late Sinter Mary Agnes was the daughter of Mr. John Doyle, of Campbelltown, and most of her icligious life was passed at St. Patrick's Convent, Church Hill, of which she was in charge for a time some years ago. The annual Communion of the members of the Catholic Young Men's Societies' Union was held at St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, on Sunday morning, January 28, when about 400 young men approached the altarrails at the 8 o'clock Mass. In preparation for the Communion, a three-days' retioat, conducted by his Grace the Coarijiutor-Archbishop, the Most Rev. Dr. Kelly, was given in the Cathedral, which was largely a^ tended, and the eloqment and instructive lectures of his Grace were interestingly followed. His Lordship the Bishop o f Goulburn has announced the following clerical changes in his diocese : Rev. Father Cahill takes charge of Tumut parish, with Rev. Father McDwyer (Grenfcll) as assistant ; Rev. Fathers Cleary and O'Reiily (formerly (if Gundagai) go from Burrowa to Yass ; "and Rev Father J. J. Fogarty, of Tasmania, but foiineily of Tumbarumba and other neighboring towns, takes charge of Burrowa, with the Rev. Father J. Sharkey, of Gundagai, as assistant. TheRev. Father J. O'Dowd, of Wyalong, succeeds Father Sharkey at Gundagai. / ITi.s Lordship Dr. Dunne, Bishop of Bathurst, who left 3ast weef-; for Rome, was not allowed to depart) without signal demonstrations of the love and veneration of his priests and people. The first of a series of presentations took placo in St. Stanislaus' College, Bathurst, immediately after the Diocesan Synod, when an .address and a substantial monetary gift were handed to Dr. Dunne from the clergy of his diocese. In the course of a ispeech on the occasion the Right Rev. Mgr. O'Donovan said that no priest or Bishop in this hemisphere desencd a holiday better — and not for a year, but for two years if necessary— than his Lordship the Bishop of Bathurst. Looking at the diocese, they iound it dolled o\er with churches and schools. There was no diocese better eqii'npcd for .religious and educational purposes, and much of this was due to the energy of Dr. Dunne during the last five jears. Senator Dawson, whose Home Rule motion was passed by the Senate last session, has written to the Prime Minister in the following terms':—' I notice with some surprise your hurried rush to rescue Messrs. Langley, Snowball, and ( to from the constitutional difficulty in which they find themselves. From first to last the organisers ol the anti-Home Rule pc-tition have derided Parliament, insulted you as Prime Minister, and flouted the constitution. I have no objection to the precious petition being forwarded to his Majesty the King by you or any other responsible person, but I do enter an emphatic protest agjainst its being sent* as a free ex.prcsprC'Ssion of opinion by the signatories, or that 'it is in any way representative of the people of Australia. In no sense have the anti-Home Rulers met the public openly. The alleged public meetings are shameless frauds, intimidation of a disgraceful character has been resorted to, and the daily press is gagged. You know this as well as I do, and accompanying the petition there should be a statement of these facts. It is as well to know that a certain noisy section, which occasionally disturbs the serene atmosphere of the Commonwealth, has neither a monopoly of loyalty nor the sole proprietary right to the Governor-General.