Notes

New Zealand Tablet, 24 June 1915, Page 34

Notes

Offensive Letters For some time past most objectionable and insinuating letters, in 'which priests, nuns, and orphan inmates figured as the principal actors, have been received by various people in Wellington needless to say, to their intense annoyance and disgust. The police have had the matter in hand for some time, but it was not until recently that-a ciue was obtained and proceedings instituted. We give elsewhere a full report of the case as heard in the Magistrate’s Court, from which it will be seen that the Magistrate held the charge to be fully proved, and imposed a fine of £lO and costs. As notice of appeal has been given, the case must be regarded as still sub judice, and we are therefore precluded from commenting upon it, further than to express our keen -satisfaction, and that of all decentminded people, that steps are being taken definitely and finally to put a stop to such a morbid and disgusting practice.

A Military Man on Cardinal Mercier Colonel F. N. Maude, C. 8., the well-known writer on military matters, gives great praise to Cardinal Mercier’s famous Pastoral in an article which he contributed to a recent issue of the Sunday Times. A copy of the Pastoral was sent to the Colonel by a corre- . spondent, and he was so much struck by his first sight of it that he quoted a column of the text. Colonel Maude' says of the Pastoral ‘ It is not given to many,

no matter what their creed, “to rise to such a sublime height of unselfishness as is therein expressed. ; I should ' like to see the two excerpts: headed Patriotism and Endurance reproduced 1 and f circulated; to every fighting man in. the . Services and to .every home in the kingdom. - These utterances of what must be an exceptionally beau- ‘ tiful and intuitive character and mind, must be of help to all who are in need of comfort. Soldiers do not as a rule take kindly to ‘‘tracts” (generally the fault of the tract itself), but no man could demand a more reverent audience than he who knows how to speak bn . the real things of life will always find in a soldiercongregation. Our men do not like claptrap and they detest whining they have certain deep-seated subconscious instincts in ethical matters which lie altogether too deep for many words, or for public exhibition. Their religion is like their patriotism —a thing we never speak about; and it needs a man who knows men and trusts them to read their hearts. Such a man is Cardinal Mercier.’ It is stated that copies of the Pastoral have been distributed at several non-Catholic churches in England.