Intercolonial

New Zealand Tablet, 9 October 1913, Page 47

Intercolonial

Mr. John McCormack, the famous Irish tenor, was welcomed in Brisbane by the Queensland Irish Association, Mother Gabriel Hayes, Superioress of the Ursuline Nuns at Armidale, died at the convent there on September 22. Though she had been ailing for some time, the illness which caused her death attacked her only on September 15. She was the first Australian to enter the Usurlin© Order, of which she has been Superioress at Armidale —the only community in New South Wales —for the past two years. She was in the 38th year of her age, and the 20th of her religious life. ; The Coadjutor-Archbishop of Melbourne was accorded a civic reception at the City Hall, Ballarat, by the Mayor of the city (Cr. Brokenshire), on the occasion of his first visit to Ballarat. He was accompanied by the Archbishop of Melbourne, their Lordships Dv„Reville (Bishop of Bendigo), Dr. Higgins (Bishop of Ballarat), and a number of clergymen. In the party also was a representative assemblage of the Catholic laity of Ballarat and adjoining parishes, together with the ex-May (Cr. Croker), and others representing Protestant denominations. The late Mr. T. G. Macarthy, of Wellington,' New Zealand, was a former resident of Geelong, Victoria (says an Australian exchange). In his will he stipulated that £IOOO was to be divided among Geelong charities A cheque for that amount has reached the Mayor of Geelong, who has distributed it as follows;— Geelong Hospital, £300; St. Agustine’s Orphanage, Geelong, Protestant Orphanage, St. Catherine’s Orphanage,

Ladies’ Benevolent Association, St. Vincent de Paul Society, District Nursing Society, and Geelong City Mission, £IOO each. ; T ! On September 24 a large and representative deputation, representing the Catholic Federation, waited on the Premier of Victoria to place before him the resolutions which were carried at the monster public meeting held in the Town Hall, Melbourne, on August 10. Mr. F. E. O’Connell, president of the Federation, in addressing the Premier, said that the deputation represented 350,000 Catholics, and they looked to the Government for some relief from the present unjust educational burden. Dr. A. L. Kenny, C.S., K.S.G., pointed out that for forty years Catholics had borne a double educational tax, and in 1905 and 1910 additional burdens were placed - upon their shoulders by* the Registration of Teachers Act and by the Amending Education Act. Catholics, who were 1 22 per cent, of the population, were not amongst the richest classes. Moreover, they were called upon to give their Catholic teachers a higher standard of efficiency than was required by the State school teachers. Catholic schools were thus made a part of the State system. The Director of Education had admitted that. teachers who would not be permitted to teach in Catholic schools, on the ground of their want of full qualifications, were employed in the State schools. In the archdiocese of Melbourne alone, in 1912, there were 24,463 children on the the rolls of the Catholic schools, the sum of £31,631 had been expended on new schools for the same period, and on repairs, £3920 ; on maintenance, £30,220. From 1890 to 1912 new schools cost £165,000; the sum of £27,500 was spent on repairs, and on maintenance £457,000 was expended.

, Wakefield __;; .T ,V - ;; ■ (From an occasional correspondent.) The week ended, September 21, will long be remembered by tlie Catholics of Wakefield and district, for on that date there concluded the most successful mission that has ever been conducted here. At the request of the congregation our worthy parish priest undertook to preach a mission here. Every morning and evening our people gathered from far and near to hear the able and eloquent pastor, and be instructed by him in the beautiful mysteries of our holy religion. The opportunities offered by the mission were . gladly taken advantage of, and out of an adult population of about 130 persons and 60 children, only a very few indeed neglected the opportunity offered. On last Sunday, 120 persons received Holy Communion; this being a most edifying and touching sight, and a fitting tribute to the earnestness of the missioner. The ladies of the congregation had provided breakfast, and invited every member of the congregation to partake of their hospitality in a large marquee very kindly lent for the occasion by Mr. H. J. Harris. ; After full justice had been done to the many good things provided. Father Ainsworth returned most heartfelt thanks to his people for the very, loyal and practical way in which they had attended the mission. He specially thanked all those who had assisted him to make the house to house visitation right through this district. Mr. E. S. Hoult, on behalf of the congregation, thanked the ladies who had been instrumental in providing the breakfast. Mr. Mcßride, on behalf of the committee and congregation, thanked the Rev. Father for his very great kindness in coming to preach a mission amongst them. Thus passed the most eventful day ever spent by the local Catholics as a body. The mission was brought to a close by the renewal of Baptismal vows, Rosary, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.■ . 4..' ' ' V

i Rem tie (From our own correspondent.) Last Sunday being the fourth Sunday of the month was observed as the general Communion day for the children of the parish. Some fifty children were present at the first Mass, and received Holy Communion in a body. A number of Latin and English hymns were rendered in a most devotional manner by the children. The celebrant of the 11 o’clock Mass delivered an important discourse upon religion in the home, during the course of .which parents were reminded of the three influences that unite to make a good child, and develop him into a good —viz., the Church, the school, and the home. The preacher pointed out that of these three the home is the most important, and further, that in nine cases out of ten all the work of the Church and the school, the priests and the nuns, is all so much beating the air unless there is the good influence of good example and practical religion in the home-life of the child. The work done in the Catholic schools must be backed up by the support and confirmation, which only the lives and" examples of parents can give. But the Church, the school, and the home taken together form a kind of trinity that makes the unity of a Christian life. In conclusion, the speaker reminded parents that they were placed, over their children by God, and that God neverplaced children over their parents, consequently parents should instil into the minds of their, children a wholesome regard for, and appreciation of, the Fourth Commandment of God. In most cases this can be done by moral suasion, but where that fails parents should not scruple to resort to physical methods. Onehunga (From our own correspondent.) The quarterly Communion of the Onehunga branch of the H.A.C.B. Society , took place on Sunday last,

when there was a large muster of . Hibernians. 5 The Very Rev. Dean. Mahoney paid a high tribute of praise to the society, and complimented it on the splendid work it is doing for the Church in New Zealand. He urged all parents to see that their sons joined the juvenile branch as soon as they became of age, thus early securing for them the great spiritual and temporal benefits offered by the society. It is the intention of the local branch to hold a big Hibernian Sunday in Onehunga at the end of the next quarter, when they hope to arrange for a combined muster of the Auckland, Otahuhu, and Onehunga branches at Holy Communion, to be followed by a breakfast, and a sermon on Hibernianism at the 10 o’clock Mass, at which the members will be present in regalia. : A grand Michaelmas fair was opened in St. Mary’s Hall on last Monday evening by his Worship the Mayor (Mr, John Rowe). The proceeds, which are for the parish funds, are steadily . flowing in, in response" to the appeals of daintily attired maidens who seem to possess a charm for extracting coins from the pockets of mere men. The -fair will continue for a week. ; The pupils and ex-pupils ofthe- Convent Schools are busy preparing for the annual entertainment; when the charming operetta ! Cinderella ’ will be staged.

■ Lyttelton (From an occasional correspondent.) A impressive ceremony took place in the convent chapel of the Sisters of Mercy, Lyttelton, on September 24 (Feast of our Lady of Mercy), when two young ladies received the holy habit, Miss Nellie O’Connor (in religion Sister Mary Bernard), youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward O’Connor, of Hokitika, and" Miss Winnie Hannan (Sister Stanislaus), of Dunedin. The Very Rev. Dean Hills, S.M., V.G., officiated, and was assisted by Rev. Father Cooney. The occasional sermon was preached by Very Rev. Dean Hills, The music was tastefully rendered by the Sisters’ choir. After the ceremony, the friends of the newly received Sisters were entertained at luncheon by the community. Otaki Much interest (says the Otaki Mail) has been taken in the district in connection with the essay competitions held in connection with the Paraparaumu Horticultural Society’s Show. The subject was ‘The visit'of H.M.S. New Zealand to Wellington,’ and special prizes were kindly offered by Mr. F. P. Walkley. There were fourteen competitors. The result was announced at the show on Wednesday evening, September 10, as under: First prize, Rewa Fisher; second, Essie Tompsitt; third, Audrey Mack; h.c., Thomas Hagan (Te Horo) and Dorothy Booth (Otaki). The three first-named are all pupils of the Otaki Convent. . The - essays were judged by Mr. C. Earle, editor of the Dominion, who, in a covering letter to the society, stated that, on the whole, the essays were very creditable. The first prize essay, was altogether plainly superior to the others. The expressions of the writer had been clearly expressed, there was evidence of keen- osbervation of the matters that had come under her notice, while the writer had also displayed some originality. It was not easy to pick the others, as five or six were very even. The judge specially mentioned Dorothy Booth's essay, as a most ambitious effort, but the writer had attempted a rather higher flight than she had been capable of sustaining. Mr. Earle complimented the writers; of practically all the essays on- their legible and neat handwriting.