RECEPTION TO FATHER POWER, HAWERA

New Zealand Tablet, 31 December 1908, Page 23

RECEPTION TO FATHER POWER, HAWERA

and ° n wZ id *$ eVeilin f the Very Rev, Father Power and , Miss Power returned, to Hawera after ah eleven months ; ,trn, to i*e Old .Land, : Father ; Power W^S at the railway station by reparatives of the parishioner! JiiH.ernianvaad Miss Power was received by son* lad les of the parish, and unoir alighting from' the W she was presented with a beautiful bouquet of wS rifeS by M!ss Ena Hooker. After) mutual congratulations the party drove, m cab* to the presbytery; VLere^SS vv^S accordeda welcome by thescboool chilSen L £ eve i nig a recpptiqn was held in. the .schooircom, and the chair was, occupied by Mr.W. t ßunting, who, Yin openinJ S \l proceedings, extended a hearty, welcome o Fathe? Po^* llie speake^also Nyclcomed, Miss Power, and paStS tribute., to the mmistrations- of Father O'Dwyer durini their pastor's absence (says the local Star). Muig Mr. B McCarthy spoke in similar terms, and excres- < sed Ins pride at tlie honors , showered upon Father JwJ

especially in his native town of, Dungarvan. Messrs. ißartletb . and Meldon (Manaia) also welcomed Father 'Power and his sister. „...' The chairman tb en read: the following address:-4- ----' We, your parishioners,- joyfully" accord:- you a hearty welcome on your safe return to Hawera, and bur joy is enhanced by the reflection that your " pilgrimage" to Europe and to Palestine, etc., lias been to you "a most profitable and enjoyable one." We rejoice tc learn th;-,t you had the great honor and felicity of being present at the Vatican to pay homage tp ..his Holiness Pius K. on tho memorable occasion of our Holy Father's Golden Jubilee. And it was with feelings of profound emotion that Aye heard of the gracious receptions previously accorded you by his Holiness the Pope, and that your Mearest wish was gratified in having the glorious privilege of a private "an dieime with Christ's Vicar on earth— the occupant of St. Peters chair — His signet is the Fisherman's, No sceptre does he bear, In meek arid loavlv majesty He rules from Peter's chair. And yet from every tribe and tongue, From ev'ry clime and zone Three hundred million voices sing The glory of his throne. It-,\vas also gratifying to us to learn that during your stay in/Ireland (your native land, and the country to which most of us belong by birth or descent) you were honored by an invitation to attend the annual meeting of the "National Directory" in Dublin. That you had the proud distinction of being one of the sneakers at that important assembly, and that your eloquent soeech on the Irish cause Avas eulogised by the leaders of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Nor were you unmindful of your adopted country while in the Motherland, as evidenced by the. -brilliant lecture on NeAv Zealand delivered by you in the Toavii Hall of your native town, Dungarvan, -winch Aye learn from Irish papers was a beautiful and highly literary address, and one that would not be soon forgotten. It was with feelings of infinite pleasure Aye learned that on the eve of your recent departure from Ireland for New Zealand you Avere the recipient of a beautifully illuminated address from the Catholic Young Men's Society of Dungarvan, m appreciation of your "great qualities of head and heart, and as an expression of their gratitude "for delivering for their benefit your able and interesting lecture on the land of your adoption," for which and other reasons the members of that distinguished society expressed their deep and lasting affection." We also thank you for your kindly forethought in providing for our spiritual wants during your absence by the appointment of the good and zealous Father O'Dwyer, who 1 as so ably officiated in your stead. Again, dear Rev. Father, bidding you a hearty welcome/ we will ever pray that Almighty God Avill spare you many years in our midst to continue your labors tor the promotion of His glory and the salvation of souls. We naye _ the honor to subscribe ourselves, on 4 behalf of your parishioners, W. Bunting (chairman), E. Cullinan. others' (secretai "y)> B - McCarthy, Jno. Fennell, and i ? Ir li C " S' M S or said lie deemed it a privilege to tender to the Rev. Father PoAver and to his" sister a hearty welcome borne on behalf not only of the Catholics, but of the whole people of Hawera, He had knoAvn every Catholic priest Avho had been in Hawera for 28- years past, from the days, of Dean -X3-rogan, •■ Avho was first lin charge of tlie parish, and they were every one of them broad-minded and capable men The high honors Avhich had been conferred on Father Power were, he felt sure, attributable not so much to the fact that he was parish priest of Hawera as to the reputation he had Avon abroad as an orator, and a hterary man of distniction,, YHe also' saidYtiiatY Miss lower was known and esteeemed by very many people other than Cathohcs, and he-offered her a hearty welcome . „ . was •» of oiie?o£ Father^ lowers parisjiione^riibre- glad to see' hini ! bacf than lie Wty aSco^ 1 ?° Wer an<l Patber >™r Fat | ie r PoAven i 1 ?' reply, saidVhe did not feel" that he deserved the flattering remarks lavished on him, but it was nice to find; people booking but for Rood qualities and magnifying them. He recalled the cordllityT{h c sendoff Avhich they had given -him eleven months ago, and it was only ecipsed ; by the, warmth of the welcome noAv"e£ •• tended to him,; which showed that same spirit intoned , It was p easanWifen the members?of the flock responSd^fe the appeal of the shepherd, and when they atftriSSted to him the sacrifices for God and religion Avhih tSey them-' selves had made. He had travelled through many cmin- : tries, he went to the cradles of the human raceme had '

seen -the civilisations of the East and of the WWest,' he had travelled sloAvly through the great countries of Europe, and, wherever, he went he made a mental . comparison between the people he met and his oavii people here in JrlaAvera, and ?he Avas able to console himself with tlie conviction that he had' no reason to envy the lot of any Hi 1 ,? r + Pr /r St i cie i ll w et - He had that conviction to tb e Holy Father, Avhose beaming face and glowing words, indicated the joy he felt in his heart at the virtues ■ *i3 a * were being practised in this distant island in the - K!!Sf 'n B^"'\Yi lßnh Z s ? o] ™ of tke young colonials, .and especially the children of the Irish people, the Holy Father said he AA^as gratified they were renewing the piety -and faith of their fathers. The Irish people werf?^ .■SS? I *-'^^';^ 1 * 11 ? -.fidelity to the Chair of letei. He (the speaker) had spoken well of NeAv' Zeaand everywhere, and he was especially gratified that ho ay as able to do so, because he had come across specimens of the human race for whom the term 5 carrion crow ' was too fine a word, men who left this country and who spoke not of its scenic beauties, its mountains and cliffs, its ciags !ts rivers and its lakes, but who thought of nothing but the money they could take from it. They were creat? ing a false impression of New Zealand by blackening the country wherever they travelled. They said it was a country that none but paupers could exist in, that Tone could safely invest money in, that there were no "ndTs! tees and nothing good in it; and they succeeded in a g eat measure in creating these false impressions. They dnfj f eate th ! m ln Irolaud ' but " tlie ? succeeded in r3+ +°W a gr ? at CXte "^ ln Par . ts ° f England, Avith the fmwi, Pe °?^ Sneered at tllis y°""S country which f Ol sooth engaged mso much mad legislation! It was a country of mad experimentalists! When he be-an to ook around he found that it would bo ivcll if ffi members of Parliament of Great Britain came and learned a lesson from the Parliament of Ncav Zealand? He a ctiM SS 0 " I ,*™ Pieces of Great. Britain^ recent Wis a - ton to shoiv how far Jt was behind the times. Oie ivas the Okl-age Pensions Bill. No person is entitled to a pension who has been in receipt of outdoor relief at any time for twelve months before he applies for the pension 7 So that an old man of eighty-five or ninety yeai of a"c who is unable to earn a living niust starved twelve montlis before he becomes entitled to a pension. Again, if Tman becomes entitled to a pension, he will only gl* 3s 9aTer if f. lf M he - S marned and lives vith hw wife, AAhereas if the old pair separate they w ill get 5s each. These and other regulations were cited by Father PmvS - +n 7fcT +i absurdity of the Act. He aL^fJ^^j^^ ISZ , BaIW been 0". clanng that the Irish Avere badly treated in resard to university education. The money of the people hid been taken to support a Protestant university, TriSty Coneeea Protestant university to. teach Protestant theology Avlth AoL^ 1C o m T7 ° f Ir l e3aiid - Some justice shouW. be done to the^Cathohc people- of Catholic Ireland. But the most that British Parliament could do wa Tto So + o Catholics of Ireland an atheistical university* and the Path ohes accepted it, relying on tlie faith of^he pt^to diive atheism from its walls. Such were the Slator^ who had the temerity to sneer at the so-calLcrexperimS legislation of W Zealand. At all the great Ses or' Europe lie had a hyays said Mass for the neonle of TrT™ and he now thanked them all for tfov*?^^*^ after S th" bS A enC l\- * c f thanked F^L^O'Dwyef after the Archbishop, for having enabled him to be abSt so long on such a profitable jouriiey. He liWise thSed the good Sisters -and who followed him wKb then- prayers that .kept him from danger durW ht voyage. On a suitable occasion he would deliver to S them 0» m Mr SS | al o^ IGr ' a^ a a^^as ■ lllfelidbred'a 1£ tj^i^fTdecorated ivith iloAvers. -^ stage was tastefully