INTERCOLONIAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIV, Issue 27, 5 July 1906, Page 31

INTERCOLONIAL.

The. Jubilee held recently at Tamwortb in aid of the Dominican Convent yielded a net result* of £433' 8s 6d. . „ ' The- Rev. Father Walsh, of Ballina, received a cablegram on June 10 from- Ireland announcing the death of his mother, at the age of 71 years. The bazaar recently held in aid of the West Kempsey church funds realised the creditable amount of £200. In the past six years the sum of £24§0 has been paid on church buildings in the parish, which are noV entirely free from debt. It is announced in the latest issue of ' Les Missions Catholiq»ues ' (' The Catholic Missions ') that the Rev Father Francis Xavier Gsel, M.S.H., has been appointed by the Holy Father Apostolic Administrator of' Port Darwin and the Northern Territory. Rev. Father Brazil, for some years stationed at Bungaree, has |t*en transferred to Colac to take the place of Rev. Father Murphy, who, owing to ill-health, has been permitted to take a holiday. Father Murphy, who is .well known as a graceful writer, has sailed for the Old Country. The Provincial of the Society of Mary, Sydney, has recalled the Rev. Father Talon, S.M., who has been working far the past two or three years in the diocese of " Rockhampton, to take up the duties of Chaplain at St. Joseph's College, Hunter's Hill, in place of the Rev. Father Louis Menard, S.M. The Most Rev. Dr. Murphy, Archbishop of Hobart, on Monday, June 18, celebrated the 91st anniversary of his birthday amid much felicitation. His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, the Premier of Tasmania, and the Mayor of Hobart, with many leading citizens, personally visited him. Letters and telegrams wera \ received from all parts of the Commonwealth. Uniform success continues to characterise the country tour in Victoria of the Irish envoys, Messrs. Joseph Devlin, M.P., and J. T. Donovan, LL.B. They are everywhere greeted with overflowing meetings ; generous and voluntary financial aid is poured .in to the .Florae Rule exchequer, and all classes, nationalities, and creeds vie with each other in welcoming these' heralds of peace, prosperity, and progress for the Empire at large. Writing from Hamilton on June 11, Mr. Devlin said they had done exceptionally well in Victoria, and had raised 1 over £2000 up to date. The tour in South Australia realised about £3000. The envoys are expected to reach Sydney about the beginning of next month. Bishop Vidal, Vicar-A^ostolic of the Fiji Archipelago, blessed and opened a new church at Lowary on April 29. It is built of coral obtained from the reef opposite the station, designed by Rev. Deacon Bourdier, S.M. Length, 75ft ; breadth, 30ft ; height, 27ft. It is intended to cement the whole of .the outside later on. Two l years were occupied in construction by the natives, under the direction of the Rev. Deacon Bourdier in the beginning, and " continued under Brothers Casisimir and August Patarelli. The interior is plastered and picked out in colors. The following week Bishop Vidal blessed ihe new church at Rewa. There was great rejoicing among the natives. The Cathedral Hall, Melbourne, was crowded on the evening of J.une 15, when his Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne delivered a lecture on ' Religion and Family Life.' The lecture is one of a series to be given monthly under the auspices of the Australian Catholic Truth Society. Dr. M. U. O'Sullivan, K.C.S.G., presided, and there .were many of the clergy of the city and suburbs present). His Grace- dealt with the subject in a scholarly manner. The Archbishop prefaced his lecture by observing that dt was expected that the lecture w o uld have the effect of stimulating-.interest in the society, and of putting htefore the public" in popular form the teaching and practice of the Church regarding m.a»y, great questions on which the wqjrld is for ever speculating, and and never coming to a stable or satisfactory conclusion. The Most Rev. prelate spoke of the growing disregard of the sacfedness of the marriage law, which made its indissolubility become decadent. The examples o£ IGreece and Rome, which were overcome by the Germanic race, noted for their strict observance of the marriage, bond, were cited. .In reply to questions, his Grace sa.id the Church accepted judicial senafratdem when there were pood and sufficient grounds. The. Archlbishop formally established ythe Knighthood of Our Lady of. the Southern Cross, whose members bind themselves to safeguard female virtue by word and deed, and to promote by every mean's in their power the Christian observance of the end of marriage so much violated at the present day.