DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

New Zealand Tablet, 23 July 1908, Page 14

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

(From Our Own Correspondent.) -■* - July 20. " The Rev. Father Nouyoux, M.S.H., arrived last week; to labor in the diocese. Two other priests of the same Order are shortly expected. His Lordship the Bishop returns to. the city from the Ashburton district this . week, and on Sunday next- will make an , episcopal visitation at Rangiora. The first to sign the visitors* book at the New Zealand Pavilion, Anglo-French Exhibition (writes the London "correspondent of the ' Lyttelton Times '), was the- Right Rev. Dr. Lenihan, Catholic Bishop of Auckland. The Very Rev. Dean Ginaty, S.M., V.G., succeeds the 'late Very Rev. Father Marnane, S.M., -as- Rector of St. Mary's, .Manchester street. At Mount MagdaJ^the Rev. Father Bell will assist in the capacity of chaplain. > A quarterly general meeting of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will be -held under the Particular . Council of Christ* church on next Monday evening at the Cathedral conference meeting room in honor of the feast of- St. Vincent de Paul. The Rev. Father Peoples, S.M., who for over three years has labored zealously in the Cathedral parish, is being transferred to another scene of activity. During the time he hasbeen in this city, his life has been a particularly stren ious ore, and included a round of duties well and faithfully carried out. Enduring evidence of his good work is manifest at- Addin^tan and Halswell, portions of the parish which have practically been under his missionary control. As chaplain of the hospital, and other public institutions he has been most attentive; and altogether he leaves a record of well-doing that any young priest might well b& proud of. The adjourned quarterly meeting of the H.A.C.B. Society (St. Patrick's branch) was held in the Hibernian Hall, Barbadoes street, on last Wednesday evening. There, was a large-attend-ance of members, including - delegates from the Kaiapoi .branch. Owing to the state of the weather, expected Tepresentatives of the Leeston and New Headford branches were prevented from attending. The officers for the ensuing six months were installed. Bro. W. Rodgers, past president, officiated as installing officer, assisted by Bro. James Nelson, P. P., 'as installing warden.. After this business was transacted, the meeting resolved itself into a social gathering, musical and vocal items being contributed by a good number of those present. '. ' . l Making an episcopal visit to- Ashburton, after an interval of three years, hia Lordship Bishop Grimes in his address ; stated that when recently in the Eternal City rendering an account tortho Holy See of the progress of Patholicism in the Dominion, r- he wished he could. have reported- that the Church in Ashburton had been Tenewed from its foundation- to its roof, or that the present structure ■■ had_ been disposed of and that another had been 'erected on- perhaps a better site. ;He had spoken -about / the;j>resbytery, but it would -have been a •great" consolation to both himself and the: Very Rev.- Dean O!DohneIl if .he had been able to inform the Sovereign Pontiff of the erection of a new church here. He hoped that on the "occasion* of his next visit to the town he would have the satisfaction of either laying the foundation-stone of or opening a^new and worthy sanctuary. A Bible-in-schools agitation is in progress at.- Kaiapoi. At the annual meeting of householders recently for, the election of a school committee a proposal was made to take a plebiscite to decide whether or not religious instruction should be permitted during school hours. Such a move was strongly resented by

the head-master (Mr. W. D. Bean), whose statement of the position should have satisfied even the most ardent supporter of the suggested plan. Mr. Bean subsequently issued a circular 10 the parents, asking them to vote against flic proposal and gave a number of reasons. - The circular stated. • that already there were at least sixteen subjects to be taught, and with that number the time at the teachers' disposal was far too short. The -time taken up (9 a.m. to 9.30 a.nu) would .have to be made up after* 3 -p.m. * The discipline would probably suffer ; those who did • not attend would be playing, and if all attended the classes would be so large (about 100 in each class) that it would tax < even . a trained teacher to keep order, and ministers were -not trained teachers. There was no need for moral teaching further than- what was already given. Morality was the keynote of their, teaching, and the school readers and journals were full of lessons bearing on morals. All the 'teachers in the school were in opposition to the proposal, and without the sympathy and co-operation of. the teachers the effort of the ministers would ' be of little value. Religious* instruction might give rise to com- ' parisons and feeling, as a line would be drawn between those who did and those who did not attend. The ministers already . had the chances of taking classes before or after-_school hours, or on Saturdays and Sundays ; and, finally, the present system of -. education had worked exceedingly well, and should be left alone.

The four ministers stationed at Kaiapoi — the Revs. J. , Holland, T. Trestrail, J. S. Reid, arid W. L. Heaven— then issued a circular to parents expressing their wish to give religious instruction on one morning of the week for one halfhour and asking for a reply as to whether they favored the proposal. In reply to Mr. Bean's contentions ny opposition, they asked whether all the sixteen subjects were compulsory. Time was found, they said, for preparation -for annual entertainments, sports, cadet drill, shooting, technical classes, _etc. : were these •of more "importance than religious instruction ? , Other teachers throughout the Dominion found time for re- ' ligious instruction. To say that the discipline would suffer was a rash statement, and mere assumption. , History and experience both proved that morality without a religious basis was a house without foundation. All the teachers in the school were not opposed to religious instruction. It was doubtful if any of them were ; they only wanted to save time. The ' comparisons ' named already existed in the churches, and the classes would tend to minimise such comparisons. The plan of giving lessons before or after school hours had been widely tried, and^ in all cases had proved a failure. Had the present system" of education ' worked exceedingly well '? Admittedly not.

In response to the ministers' circular, 174 parents voted for religioils instruction, 46 voted against it, and 24 did not return the voting papers.

On Monday evening a deputation of ministers reported to the School Committee the result of the voting, and asked for half an hour from 11.30 a.m. on Thursdays or Fridays. After a short discussion the committee decided to hold a special meeting on July 27 to give the head-master an opportunity to express his - views on the matter. • • . '

There is to be opened in the Art Gallery on August ix, for a season of twelve nights, a spectacular display ' entitled a * Floral Carnival.' Living characters costumed in correct accordance with the festival will be in evidence in large numbers, whilst a number of stalls representing various selected floral specimens will have a corps of assistants with costumes to. correspond. The * display *or entertainment portion is * designed to afford a moving picture exceedingly pretty and pleasing, in- ' troduced into which are to be dances, a card tournament ot animated subjects, and -other entertaining items of a decidedly novel nature. The rehearsals are being well attended, and much enthusiasm is being shown in preparation for the event. The veteran entertainer and organiser, Mr. W. Densem, is director, - under a strong working • committee. The children are being * carefully coached by Mr. .Wauchop, and give great promise of , perfection in their (not the leasts important), part of the -display. The proceeds of the carnival are- 'to go- towards reducing, the ; • liabilities on St.~ Mary's parish, and there is every ..indication ' of ■& successful-, season. ' :