COMMONWEALTH NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 4 September 1919, Page 30

COMMONWEALTH NOTES

..;:=; ~: . ~NEW SOUTH WALES.-.. cuiii i ■V: Unprecedented scenes of enthusiasm and" rejoicing marked the visit of his Excellency the Most Rev. Bartholomew Cattaneo, Apostolic Delegate, to -Lismore, recently, to consecrate the new and stately Cathedral of St. Carthage. His Excellency is charmed with Lismore, its surroundings, its people, and, above all,-the splendid faith and religious zeal, of which he has witnessed -so many practical manifestations. For many months the Catholic people of Lismore and the surrounding districts have been eagerly awaiting the coming of the distinguished and illustrious prelate, who is loved and revered by all true Australians, because of the exalted office he holds, and his own personal qualities of character, which have never failed to inspire the deepest sentiments of affection and admiration among the people of whatever parts of Australia he has visited since his arrival two years ago. Convincing evidence of the remarkable interest aroused by the visit. of his Excellency to Lismore was supplied by the vast crowds which flocked to the town days .before the momentous event of his Excellency's arrival. The accommodation in all the hotels and lodging-houses was soon completely taken up, and there were large numbers who, after travelling from distant centres, found upon their arrival in Lismore that accommodation of any kind was unprocurable.

The will of the late Mr. James Dalton, K.C.S.G., merchant, of "Duntryleague," near Orange, has, for probate purposes, been sworn at £73,153. Mr. Dalton, who died on March 27 last, bequeathed to his son, Patrick Joseph Dalton, at present in Ireland, qualifying for the priesthood in the Jesuit Order, his house, land, and premises at Orange, known as "Duntryleague." Mr. Dalton bequeathed to the Orange Hospital £250, and £250 to be paid and devoted by his trustees towards the erection of a new presbytery in connection with St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Orange; to his trus-tees,-upon trust, £l5O to be expended by them for repairs to the older portion of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Orange; £6OO to the Patrician Brothers, Orange, towards the liquidation of the debt upon or the maintenance of the Croagh Patrick High School property, Orange; £6OO to the Right Rev. Dr. Dunne, Catholic Bishop of Bathurst, towards the mission fund for the providing and obtaining of priests for the diocese of Bathurst; £4OO to the Mother Superior of the Convent of Mercy, Bathurst, the sum of £2OO to be applied towards the maintenance of the Catholic Orphanage, Bathurst; £SO each to the Mothers Superior in charge of the Convents of the Order of St. Joseph at Germans Hill, Borenore, and at Forest Reefs, all in the Orange district; £IOO to the Mother Superior in charge of the Convent of Mercy, Orange; £IOO to the Westmead Home for Boys.

VICTORIA. Father McManus, C.SS.R., one of the party of six Redemptorist priests who arrived from Ireland, via America, recently, will be stationed at St. Mary's Monastery, Wendouree, Ballarat. Prior to proceeding there, Father McManus was assisting Father McDermott, C.SS.R., in giving a fortnight's mission at St. Paul's Church, Coburg. His Excellency the Apostolic Delegate will pay a visit to Adelaide in October. He will be in Melbourne for the annual conference of the Archbishops of Australia early in that month, and will accompany his Grace Archbishop Spence to Adelaide at its close, and is expected there on Saturday, October 11. QUEENSLAND. . .',/ A week's mission was recently preached in Railday Estate and Ross Island by Father Herbert, S.M. (says the Catholic Press). These missions were well attended, and were from every point of view highly satisfactory. The late Father Taylor .-, and ; Father \ Herring conducted the fortnight's mission in the Sacred Heart Church, just after the close of the children's mission at St. Joseph's, the Strand, where-Fathers Her-

bert and Taylor did the goodly work. p At West Townsville the two Marist Missioners, Fathers Herbert and Herring, held, in St. Mary's Church, a two weeks' missionone for women and the other for men.; Despite unfavorable "conditions, * consequent upon a visit of the much-dreaded 'flu, the work of the missionaries was attended with great success. :Further particulars. are to hand of the death of the Very Rev. Father Taylor, S.M., who succumbed to a violent attack of influenza whilst preaching a short mission at Ravenswood. This: zealous priest, leader of the band of three who were doing excellent mission work in the northern portion of Rockhampton, was. subsequently brought to Townsville, where all that medical science and skilful nursing could do was ungrudgingly done in his favor. But all to no avail. The patient grew daily worse, and after a trying illness, lasting over a month, died at St. Joseph's Presbytery on August 28. A Solemn Requiem was sung for the repose of the late Father Taylor's soul on the following day., at the Sacred Heart Church. The celebrant was Father Herbert, S.M., Father Bourke (Townsville) being deacon, and Father O'Keefe (Charters Towers) subdeacon, while Father Rowan, P.P. (West Townsville) was master of ceremonies. At the close of the Mass, and before the Absolution, Father Herbert feelingly addressed the congregation, which filled the church to overflowing. In the course of his brief sermon, which called forth many tears, he referred to the holy and zealous life of the deceased religious, to the pathetic circumstances of his early death, and to the splendid results of his short missionary career. He thanked the clergy and laity for much appreciated kindness and sympathy shown the departed priest during his term of suffering, and appealed for the pious suffrages of all the faithful. The funeral cortege was of imposing length, being one of the largest seen in Townsville. The boys from the Christian Brothers' College, Stanton Hill, and the girls from the convent schools, as well as the boarders from St. Patrick's College, numbering in all over 400, formed part of the funeral procession. About 100 members of the Hibernian Society also marched before the hearse. Father Herbert officiated at the graveside in the 'presence of an immense concourse. The following members of the clergy, in addition to those already mentioned, were in ' attendance: Fathers Hogan, Simington, and Grogan.

TASMANIA. His Grace the Archbishop of Hobart (the Most Rev. Dr. Delany) recently forwarded a monetary contribution towards the fund raised for the relief of the women and children who suffered in consequence of the seamen's strike. In doing so he referred in the following .terms to the strike, and made suggestions for the adoption of means which would prevent such occurrences :"I do not believe that the men are having recourse to this extreme method of redress unless they are convinced that their case is pressing, and that the forms of law are too dilatory and too uncertain. But, of course, I am prepared to accept a different view if it is upheld by some independent tribunal. The modern wage system is vitiated by its application to humaif service of the mechanical principle of supply and demand. You must not fix wages according to the conditions of competition, but according to the reasonable needs of the worker, and of his wife and children. In the case before us now, surely the seaman, as a man, has a right to such comfort while., he is at work and off work at sea, as any passenger is prepared to pay a decent figure for. He is not inferior as a man to any passenger. And he has a right to such a wage for his work as shall enable him, if he does not waste it, to rear his wife and children decently. Furthermore, the wage ought to be such as shall enable him to retire from seafaring before the years have broken him down. Let Parliament make laws to secure this, and let it make provision for the administration of. those laws in : such wise that the poor man ' and his fellows shall not be dismayed by the law's delay or the law's expense. What is Parliament for unless for work of this nature? Representative institutions, law, order —all these things are!precious"; but if they fail to function, we need not wonder at what must happen." >