People We Hear About

New Zealand Tablet, 28 November 1912, Page 41

People We Hear About

The Right Rev. Mgr. Bickerstaff e-Drew (‘John Ayscough ’) belongs to the- Irish (Cork) branch of the Drew family. The eminent Catholic writer was amongst the guests at Maynooth College on the occa* sion of the consecration' of Archbishop Mannix. In connection with the consecration of Archbishop Mannix, it is notable that the famed Maynooth College has given more than one hundred Bishops to the Church,,.of whom fully one-third were members of the staff. . Yet only two were consecrated in the college—* Dr. Grotty, so far back as 1833, and Dr. Fennelly, Apostolic of Madras, in 1841. Dr. Grotty was a Cloyne priest, as is ArchbisSiop Mannix, but the college, under his presidency, was a much smaller institution than it is at present. We think we are correct in stating (says the Universe) that although the two Bishops named were consecrated at Maynooth, Archbishop Mannix is the first Bishop to receive the plenitude of the priesthood in the chapel at present in use at the college, a great portion of the improvement of which is due to the energy and work of the recently promoted president. The death of Mr. Justice O’Connor (a member of the Federal High Court since 1903, and first president of the Commonwealth Arbitration Court) is announced. The cause of death was anaemia. He had been ailing for some months. The Federal House of Representatives placed its tribute to the deceased on the records, after eulogistic speeches had been made by Mr. Fisher and Mr. Deakin. The late Justice O’Connor was born in 1851, being son of Mr. Richard O’Connor, Clerk of Parliament (New South Wales), and grandson of Arthur O’Connor, one of the leaders of ’9B, who died a, general officer of the French service. After a distinguished career at the University, he was called to the Bar in 1876, and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1896. For thirteen years he was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, ail d for a time was Minister of Justice. He represented his State with distinction at the National Convention, which framed the Commonwealth Constitution, and was one of the three members of the committee which drafted the Bill. He was returned to the first Federal Parliament as a Senator for New South Wales, and was vice-president of the Executive _ Council and leader of the Senate in the first Cabinet until his elevation to the Bench.

Sir Bertram Wipdle, President of University College, Cork, in his preface to Twelve Catholic Men of Science, a volume which he has edited and which has just been published by the Catholic Truth Society, writes as follows*. The object of these biographies is to demonstrate the fact, unknown apparently to many critics of the Church, that there are numerous stars of science (and many more than this series includes) who were also devout Catholics, and found no difficulty in maintaining both positions simultaneously.’ lam afraid it must be acknowledged that even many of their co-religionists are unaware that all the dozen were Catholics. There can be no excuse for them if this can be said in future, for here in a reasonable compass and at a moderate price are faithful records, at once readable and instructive, of the careers of these eminent men of science, compiled by highly competent biographers— Linacre by Professor Pye, of University College, Galway; Andreas Vesalius by Professor James J. Walsh, of Fordham University School of Medicine; Nicolaus Stenson and Thomas Dwight by Sir Bertram Windle; Aloisio Galvani by Professor Bergin, of University College, Cork; Rene Theodore Laennec by Professor Collingwood, of University College, Dublin; Johannes Muller by Dr. Boulenger; Sir Dominic Corrigan by Sir Francis R. Cruise; Angelo Secchi by Father Cortie, S.J.; Johann Gregor Mendel, •by Father Elrington, 0.P.; Louis Pasteur by Professor McWeeney, of University College, Dublin; and Albert de Lapparent by Father John Gerard, S.J.