Notes

New Zealand Tablet, 16 November 1916, Page 35

Notes

The Christchurch Congress A very important factor in the success of a gathering such as that held in the Christchurch Colosseum last week is "the selection of . suitable speakers, and in this respect the committee who had charge of the arrangements are to bo warmly congratulated on their choice. All the speakers, without exception, acquitted themselves really well. Mr. M. Doyle, who had no difficulty in carrying his hearers with him, and whose speech was freely punctuated with applause, dealt very capably with the subject of Catholic education, making some excellent points and incorporating much valuable matter in his address. Mr. 11. P. Doogan (Greymouth), when once fairly into his stride, made a very effective speech. lie was clear, forcible, and easy to listen to; and he had the supreme merit of keeping strictly to his point a quality which those who are in the habit of attending public meetings have learned, tnrough much tribulation, to be deeply grateful for. Certainly no one could have left the meeting, after hearing Mr. Doogan's exposure, with any doubt in his mind as to the reality and petty meanness of the present Catholic disabilities. The Rev. Father Ainsworth, who lias a fine platform presence, a magnificent voice, and the true Irish gift for telling oratory, and who had come all the way from Napier to be present, was in splendid form. His speech, which was emphatically one of the fighting order, aroused a perfect furore of enthusiasm, and the ovation accorded to him at its conclusion was loud ami long. The committee were fortunate in securing the presence of Mr. D. L. Poppelwell, who is second to none in New Zealand in his knowledge of the aim, purpose, history, constitution, and organisation of the Catholic Federation. He knows from much experience, precisely what are the points on which the public stand most in need of enlightenment, and he expounded these to his interested auditors with great skill and address. Mr. Poppelwell is a trained and practised speaker, and he handled his subject in a manner that left nothing to be desired. The sneech of his Lordship Bishop Brodie was the weightiest of the evening, both by reason of its intrinsic merit and importance, and also, of course, by reason of the position and office of the speaker. It was a thoughtful, timely, and tactful address, happy in tone, conciliatory in. spirit, and eminently calculated to win the favorable attention of the non-Catholic public to which it was really addressed. A feature of the gathering was the enthusiastic demonstrations which the appearance of Bishop Brodie, and every mention of

his name by other speakers, elicited from the vast gathering. The ill-natured attempt of the Press to sow mischief in the Catholic body has had the opposite effect from that which was intended, and has only served to knit Bishop and people together more closely than ever in the bonds of mutual loyalty and affection.