ARCHDIOCESE OF WELLINGTON

New Zealand Tablet, 26 November 1908, Page 22

ARCHDIOCESE OF WELLINGTON

(From an occasional correspondent.)

November 23. Yesterday (Sunday) Catholic sailors to the number of eighty from' the squadron, which is anchored in the harbor, marched from the wharf to St. Mary's Church. Mass was ' celebrated by the Rev. Father Schaefer, S.M., and the Very Rev. Dean Regnault, S.M., preached on ' Prayer.'

The members of the Wellington Catholic Club cricket team journeyed to Porirua on Saturday afternoon to try conclusions with the local Asylum team. They were defeated by 150 runs to 35- After' the game the visitors were entertained by the officials. Mr. T. McGovern, on behalf of the club, thanked the captain and officials for the splendid reception given his team.

The local secretary of the Trinity College of Music, London, has been advised that the following Convent pupils have been

successful in the higher examinations for Australasia : — Associate (singing) — Violet * Lamacroft. Art of teaching : Passes — Mary Clachan, Doris Haywood, Violet May Moore, Mrs. J. M., Emerson. These candidates, besides securing certificates in the art of teaching, as published, passed with honors at the practical examinations conducted here last month by Mr. Henry SaintGeorge, and this ranks theni as licentiates, though the official notification from London will not arrive for some time. The first of the series of monthly socials in connection with St. Joseph's Christian Doctrine Society, Te Aro," was held on Thursday evening, 19th inst., at the Catholic Club rooms. Mr. E. Reichel opened the entertainment by exhibiting a good selection of lantern views, after which a musical programme was gone through, to which Misses Boyce, Cashman, Hyde, and Perry and Mr. B. Leydon contributed. Recitations were given by Messrs. McKenzie and McCusker. The society intends holding similar social evenings on the first Thursday of each month, and the Catholic Club has kindly consented to allow them the use of the club rooms for the occasion. In the various Catholic churches on Sunday (says the Post) brief notices were read urging the electors to record their votes on Tuesday. The suggestion has been made that the notice was intended as a means of influencing Catholic electors to vote in a certain direction. The authorities of the Church distinctly deny that there was any such intention. 'In fact,' said the Very Rev. Dean Regnault, Provincial of the Marist Order, ' 1 believe that our people are the freest of all in that respect. I do not recollect any case in which the priests directed the people to vote for a certain man.' Dean Regnault went on to say that he read out the notice in the usual way at St. Mary of the Angels, Boulcott street, and spoke on it to this effect. He was given to understand, he said, that close on ten thousand electors in Wellington had not exercised their vote on Tuesday last, and therefore had not fulfilled their duties as citizens. He would not be at all surprised if an undue proportion of Catholics were among that number. They all owed a duty to the State on this occasion, and that was to record their votes when they had the privilege of doing so. In recording their votes they should sink any personal motives or personal considerations and vote always on broad principles. They ought to ask themselves, who is the most likely to promote the welfare, happiness, and prosperity of the country, and give their vote to that man, no matter what their personal feelings might be. In France some forty or fifty years ago a great many of the electors showed so much apathy at election time that in constituencies of 60,000 and 70,000 electors, not more than 20,000 recorded their votes. The result was that that apathy went on increasing, with the result that in the end only those representing a very small minority of the population held the reins of government.