People We Hear About

New Zealand Tablet, 14 October 1909, Page 1628

People We Hear About

His Lordship Bishop Yidal, S.M., Vicar-Apostolic of Fiji, is at present in Sydney (says the Catholic Press). Ho is on his" way to Rome to pay his visit ad limina. Colonel Edouard O'Brien, who was reputed to he the head of the ancient Irish Royal family of that name, >has died at his country seat at Montreau-Lamarfcine,' in the , Seine-et-Oise Department, Francej in his 94th year. The honorary dignities and arms have been transmitted" to his nephew, M. J accrues O'Brien, the head of the' younger line. . ■ ..*'-.». Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, whose .' Mass in G ' .was sung for the first time ill Australia at the Pontifical High Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, in connection with' the opening of the Catholic CongressJ is one of the .most eminent musicians of the present day, and as "a composer and conductor has gained the admiration of the" great , musical world. Born at Dublin in September, 1852, where ' his -father, "an enthusiastic amateur, was examiner in the -Court of Chancery, he studied composition with Mr. A. O'Leary and Sir Robert Ste\vart. - He afterwards becameorganist of Trinity College, and graduated there in classical honors in 1874. Sir Charles has occupied many important positions in England and Ireland, and has .composed, symphonies, overtures, operas, and many orchestral,- choral, and instrumental works. Mr.S.H. Butcher, M.P.; recently quoted from a letter of Cardinal Newman, which he said had not been published ..before. _ Writing in 1869, Newman • said : ' 1 have- been obliged to take great pains with everything I have written, and I often write chapters' over and over again, besides innumerable corrections "and interlined additions.' . .'"I ' think I liave never written for writing's sake, but my' one and, single desire and aim has been to do what is difficult, . namely ,--to express clearly and exactly my meaning. This has been the v motive and, principle of all my corrections and re-writings. When I have, read over a_ passage which I" had written a few days before, I have found it so obscure to myself that I have either put it altogether aside or .fiercely corrected ib.' That was from- a master of lucidity and simplicity, and showed- how hard, of attainment 'those qualities are. There are probably few better ■ raconteurs , than the Duke of Argyll, who tells some inimitable stories. One ■ of the . best concerns a showman's ape which paid a visit with its master to Inverary. .'During its stay there it escaped from its cage, but came to griefthrough want of food, and died by the roadside. - Two Scotch farmers came across it, and were much puzzled - what to make of it. 'Dear me, what na beast's yon?' .asked one. ' It's no a beast, it's'a man,' said "the other. After carefully examining it one" of 'them said, . ' It's a man, but did ye, ever- sec such a hairy man 1 ~ It canna be a Highlander — no, no, it canna be t a Highlander; do ye think it's a Lowlander, Donald?' 'I think not; I donit think a Lowlander is quite ever so hairy as" yon .' ' Dear me,' said the first speaker, _' I think it canna be a Highlander; I tliink it canna be a Lowlander. I tell you^ what we'll do, we'll just gang _pwer .tae the .Castle and" see if ony o' th© English visitors' are, missin'.' . , . When the Secretary to the Treasury made the. statement in the House of Commons -recently that for. the current year it. was estimated the revenue contributed by • Ireland would be insufficient to meetthe purely- Irish service, Mr. Will Thorne said: ' Would" it 'note-be very much better to give them Home Rule,- and let them -pay their own way?' The suggestion, -if actedupon, would be an easy way of settling a difficult matter. Mr. Thorne, who i- takes a deep interest in the Irish "question, secured. one of the biggest majorities at the General -Election. Twenty years ago Mr. Thorne was a laborer in the West Ham Gas TVorks. His organising ability has secured for thousands of his /fellows shorter hours and .better wages, and hehas behind him an idolizing army of^ unskilled toilers. . At seven years of age, by the way, he~ was at work in the - brickfields. In 1890 he became - a Councillor for . Wesfc•Ham, and eight years later was appointed Mayor of the" borough, later becoming its member~by a record majority. The Right Rev. Dr. Gallagher, Bishop of Goulburn, who preached the inaugural sermon of the Catholic Congress at St. -Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, is famed for his deep learning, and also as an eloquent , preacher. Dr. Gallagher is a native of the North of _ Ireland. He received his ecclesiastical training; in Mayhooth College.. At. the request of the late Bishop * Lanigan he_ came out to labor in the diocese -of Goulburn. In 1879 he was appointed president of St. Patrick's College, Goulburn, which position he held for, some ■ years— -until he was made 'parish priest of Wagga. He was subsequently appointed Coadjutor to the late Bishop Lanigan. After his consecration lie received tributes of affection from ' the people in . every parish, and also one from the ex-students of~ St.' /Patrick's College. He devoted the whole of the money 'to works of religion and charity.- On' the death of Bishop Lanigan in June, 1900, he succeeded- to the See. He is a keen educationalist, and reputed to be one of the best Greek scholars in the Southern Hemisphere.