Current Topics

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 11, 15 March 1923, Page 18

Current Topics

A Shock for Mr. Parr Mr. Parr may or may not be a singer himself, bub we know that he did his best to make people who love music stand up and pretend they had either reverence or respect for the “National Anthem” of England (ho does not seem to care two pins about New Zealand’s) when sung by wretched singers or played by blaring bands, out of tune and out of time. Like other foolish persons in New Zealand, this Mr. Parr is more loyal than the King or if you like it better, more nonsensical in bis loyaltyand he has to his credit the achievement of having disgusted many decent people with the tune which he and his master tried to convert into an electioneering dodge. Indeed, Mr. Parr’s services to the Empire consist in making the flag and the Anthem ridiculous in the extreme. But what will he say when he finds out that the Prince of Wales, whom, in common with many brainless persons, Mr, Parr almost fell down to adore recently, has scant respect for the Anthem of Jingoism: which is what the egregious Minister of Education has made of the ancient chant in New Zealand. To him, as a tonic shock, we commend the following: “A story of the Prince of Wales relates that on his American trip his medical adviser became anxious about his jaded appearance. Knowing that the Prince was unlikely to accede to a request that he should retire early from a dance, the doctor spoke to the orchestra, ‘ : I want to get the Prince to bed early tonight. At midnight will you please play the National Anthem.’ The orchestra did as requested, and when the last strains of ‘ God Save the King ’ died away, the Prince jumped on a chair and said. * Now we’ve put father to bed, we’ll — Congregational Quarterly Father Mendel and his Work On July 22 last, the first centenary of the birth of Father Johann Gregorius Mendel was celebrated all over the world by the Augustinian Fathers, of which Order he was a member. In the Ciudad de Dios Padre Francisco Marcos del Rio writes of the simple and modest life led by the discoverer of the Mendelian laws, the most revolutionary contribution to biology since the studies of Darwin. Mendel’s love for botany was hereditary, as his father was devoted to gardening, and his first scientific communication was Experiments in Hybrids , followed shortly by his Study on Some Bastards of Ilieracium Obtained by Artificial Fecundation. Mendel also experimented on animals and on bees. By a strange coincidence, Father Marcos del Rio recalls to us, three botanists (Correns, De Vries, and Tschermak) published an 1900 simultaneously and independently of each other, experiments confirming the work done forty years before by the great Augustinian friar. The Pi sum safivium (common garden pea) was the favorite plant of the experiments, because it is immune from ciossed fecundation on account of its stamen and pistils being enclosed in its petals, and because its varieties are very constant and'distinct in their characteristics. he laws which are held as constituting a high percentage of probability in heredity by scientists are roughly speaking three: (1) The law of the predominance or. prevalence of the Mendelian characteristics : the fertile hybrids produced by two parents belonging to different races or varieties of the same species or of two nearly related species will inherit the dominant characteristics and preserve in a latent state the retrogressive characteristics : (2) The law of the disunion of the Mendelian characteristics : Supposing that the dominant and subjective characteristics were joined in the hybrids of the first generation ; they will be separate* m tWhybrids of the second generation in such a •way that the predominant characteristics will reappear

in the majority of the individuals and the secondary characteristics will be seen only in one-fourth of the other individuals of the same descent; (3) The law of the independence of the same characteristics: Counting from the second generation the hybrids born with the secondary or subjective characteristics will not lose them even though they propagate and reproduce themselves indefinitely but they are different from their type only by reason of their origin, having merged for all practical purposes into the normal typo again. The far-reaching significance of these laws when applied to the breeding of higher animals and man, especially in the study of hereditary mental and physical taints is obvious.

Louis Pasteur At the end of last year was celebrated the centenary of the birth of Louis Pasteur, the most eminent scientist of his age, and a devout Catholic, What he achieved for humanity may be seen in a nutshell from a glance at the honor don© him on his seventieth birthday, December 27, 1892, when an international committee assembled in Paris to do him homage in the name of the whole civilised world. He entered the amphitheatre of the Sorbonne, leaning on the arm of the President of France, and the distinguished gathering rose and greeted him with cheers. M. I’Abbadie, President of the Academy, presented him with a' large gold medal struck, in commemoration of the day, with the inscription: To Pasteur on his 70th birthday from grate ltd science and humanity. Then Sir Joseph Lister, one of the delegates of the English Royal Society read an address which rehearsed all the benefits to medicine and surgery which were the fruits of Pasteur’s researches. The address, from which we quote a few passages, is an eloquent compendium of Pasteur’s work: “There is certainly not in the entire world a single person to whom science is more indebted than to you. Your researches on fermentation have thrown a flood of light which has illumined the gloomy shadows of surgery, and changed the treatment of wounds from a matter of doubtful and too often disastrous empiricism into a scientific art, certain and beneficent. . . But medicine owes as much to your profound and philosophic studies as does surgery. You have raised the veil which for centuries had covered infectious diseases. You' have discovered and proved their microbic nature, and thanks to your initiative, in many cases to your own special labor, there are already a host of these destructive disorders of which we now completely know the cause. . . Your fine discovery of the attenuation and reinforcement of virus and of preventive inoculations serve, and will serve, as a lodestar. As a brilliant illustration I may note your study of rabies, the originality of which was so striking that everybody recognises the greatness of what you have accomplished against this terrible malady. . .If this were your only claim on humanity you would deserve its eternal gratitude. You can therefore understand that medicine and surgery are eager on this great occasion to offer' you the profound homage of their admiration and of their gratitude.” b One who was present remarked: ‘lt was a unique spectacle, in which a great man was, in Shakespere’s phrase, ‘carried in triumph on the hearts of all.’” Pasteur was a sincere Catholic all his life, and was never .afraid to stand. up for his religion. It was a few years before his death that he made, at the college of Dole, the famous confession: “When one has studied much, he comes back to the faith of a Breton peasant: as for me, had I studied moxe I would have the faith of a Breton peasant’s wife.” ■ On the day of his death (September 28, 1895) he received the Last Sacraments. One hand lay clasped in his wife’s, the other held the crucifix, as he peacefully expired among his family and his disciples. France gave him a national funeral. Cardinal Richard presided at the ceremonies in Notre Dame, while the great nave was thronged with professors, , delegates from

universities, judges, statesmen; and soldiers. Through, lines of soldiers his bier passed amid a silence that manifested the grief of a great nation for the passing of a benefactor of the human race.

St. Joseph

On March 19 the whole Church, celebrates the feast of St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary and the fosterfather of her Divine Child,. Jesus Christ. There* are numerous traditions and legends about his life, but we have no serious warrant for accepting anything beyond the bare facts handed down to us by the Gospels. Bethlehem appears to have been the birthplace of the Saint. But before the time at which the Gospel narrative opens, he was living at Nazareth. Later he went to live in Galilee, probably in pursuit of his calling which was that of a tradesman, probably a carpenter. The Greek word tekton means a mechanic in general and also a carpenter, and St. Justin says that in regard to St. Joseph it is to be taken in the "latter sense. It was probably at Nazareth he bethrothed and married Mary, who was to become the Mother of God. In due time the miracle of the Incarnation was accomplished. It happened that just as Mary was near her confinement, an edict issued by Caesar Augustus summoned to Bethlehem for enrolment the descendants of the tribe of David. Finding no room in the inns there, Mary and Joseph took shelter m a cave, and there the Son of God was born of the Virgin Mary. The coming of the shepherds, the adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, and all the marvellous events of the Childhood of Christ left Joseph "wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him." An angel had already revealed to him what:a high dignity was his, and now came another warning him to take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt and remain there until further notice. Thus they escaped from the fury of Herod, whose fears for his kingdom made him massacre the male children under two years of age. A few years later, came the summons to return to Palestine and the Holy Family again settled at Nazareth The only notable incident for the rest of the Hidden Life was the seeking and finding of Jesus After that wonderful spectacle of the Boy of twelve teaching the doctors in the Temple, followed years concerning which all we are told is that He went down to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph and was subject to them. Tradition tells us that St. Joseph died before the Public Life began, and as there is no mention of him in the Gospels during that period we are warranted in accepting it as true. St, Epiphanius says he was ninety years old at the time of his death, and St. Bede tel s us that he was buried in the Valley of Josaphat Others think it more probable that he did not live to a great age and that he was buried at Nazareth. Joseph was a "just man, and he alone was chosen to be the foster-father of Christ and the spouse of Mary Hence it is not strange that from the earliest ages we find rew"fke°ot P b U v th re r C( T» of 1 his "««tßy. His feast was kept by the Copts as early as the fourth century and m is said that " the great basilica erected at Beth! lenem by f\ Helena there was a magnificent oratory dedicated to him. In the West he had his £ °g mart y rologies of the ninth and tenth centudesf and in 1129 a church was dedicated to his honor at Boloena The devotion to St. Joseph was zealously pronmtefbv SS. Bernard, Thomas, Gertrude, Bridget of Sweden and several other saints of the Middle Ages Later' S<? Vincent Ferrer and Bernardino of Siena were e tciall v remarkable for devotion to him. The cefobrSTr son used all his learning and eloquence tadvlw public recognition of the cult of St. Joseph, partTcufaSf at the Council of Constance, i n P 1414 The Dominicans, Franciscans, and especially the Car mehtes, were zealous in urging the devotion to the Saint; and their exertions were successful in malm* it widespread throughout Europe before the Reforma fon Amongst the Popes, Benedict XIV., Pius IX Leo XIII, and Pius X may be mentioned as having the devotion much at heart. It is no wonder that with such powerful, promoters it has become Ziversalin our

age and never in any age was it more wanted by mankmd. For the proud, St. Joseph is a model of humility; for the workers, he is the natural patron, and for heads of families, in this age of the decay of Christlian family hfe, his example is salutary and inspiring. Tradition also says that he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary, and thus he has come to be regarded as the world 1 ° f a haPPJ death by Christians all over the Ireland’s Financial Outlook It is rather a surprise to read that, financially, there has been some progress in Ireland during the past ™?hr l€ K -M ar ‘ °l mg - to the insane destruction of public buildings, of railroads and bridges, and of priInce *lT rty ’i 01 cannot expect to find a credit balance at the end of the year; but nevertheless, it is good news that trade has done well and that exports have increased , en^ oU / ly m value. It is hopeful! as a prokilW What future mll hrin S when Irishmen stop filing one another. We note that Mr. C'osgrave and ?^ Hraoe Pl . u ? ketfc believe that the end of the civil strife is m sight, and we are assured from various sources in Ireland that fear of murder alone keeps TlmF. 3 ! 0 ' f Stl 111 the ranks of the de Valeraites. le Fiee State 1 Government made a criminal mistake its executing rebels by - Way of reprisal, but otherwise its forbearance and patience were as much as could be expected when dealing with midnight assassins and with wretches who burned to death cripples. The London Economist thinks the crux of the financial trouble has passed and that Ireland will win through and ad UonZf Th 3 I n “ well -S and the realist tiou of all her hopes. Ireland will have to enter the money market as a borrower on her own credit, and the hconomsH says;

Yet although the agony of Ireland has reached the climax where "the blood of the bearers of honored names is like to flow-not in the heat of armed conflict, but by the deliberate act of executive severity " this weekly believes that the crisis will be safely passed and Ireland will win through to the paths of ordered progress which, lead toward "full national well-being and the possible realisation of all her hopes." Meanwhile we are advised that Ireland must now enter the money market as a borrower on her own credit," and it is pointed out that—

_ "Although in a period of transition and emergency estimates both of revenue and expenditure are inevitably provisional, yet it is clear that the expenditure of the Irish Free State for the year 1922-23 can not fall far short of .£40,000,000, and the revenue can not much exceed £27,000,000. In so far as the ultimate amounts differ from these figures, it will probably be because the gap between them is greater rather than smaller The estimated revenue is apparently based upon the British Treasury figures furnished for the purposes of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and it will be by similar estimates that the revenue ultimately available for the year will be finally determined because until the new fiscal and financial systems are in actual operation, estimated and conjecturally apportioned figures for Great Britain, Ireland, and Northeast Ulster respectively form the only possible method of transacting the financial business of all three If the taxes be fully paid, and business and the consumption of dutiable articles maintain their normal level the Irish Free State should, on the present basis of high taxation, have an abundant revenue. The expenditure figures are swollen by such items as £7,000,000 for the Army and £10,000,000 for compensation for destruction of property and £1,800,000 for superannuations. The figure for compensation is merely a provision for what will probably be payable before March 31, 1923, and is known to represent only about a fourth of the ultimate amount. In addition the completion of Irish Land Purchase has to be financed, and financial provision made for a further scheme of land settlement, an extension of peasant proprietorship, to which the new regime is pledged. However these matters may be handled as between revenue and capital accounts, it is quite clear that the Finance Minister will need

some £13,000,000 in the near future and a much, larger sum at a not far 'distant date."

The position of Ireland as a borrower, according to this financial authority, suffers from political considerations "arising out of the recent Anglo-Irish conflict, and even more from the still unsubdued tumult of her native insurrectionaries. But—

"It is additionally handicapped by the large and indefinite claims of Great Britain under Article 5 of the Treaty of December, 1921, whereby Ireland assumed ' liability for the service of the public debt of the United Kingdom . . . and toward the payment of war pensions ... in such proportions as may be fair and equitable, having regard to any just claims on the part of Ireland by way of set-off or counterclaim, the amount of such sums being determined, in default of agreement, by the arbitration of one or more independent persons being citizens of the British Empire.' Until the determination of the quantum of this liability the position of Ireland as a borrower must necessarily be a somewhat ambiguous and unhappy one. It is to be hoped on all grounds that the matter may be disposed of promptly and on broad lines, since a contentious segregation of the accounts of the United Kingdom from the year 1800 up to December, 1921, as between Great Britain, Ireland, and North-east Ulster would land the disputants in a morass of indefinable controversies.

"Once order is restored capital will probably be ready to flow into Ireland, both from America and from Great Britain. A prudent Government will desire that that capital shall be cheaply lent on good security, and shall not be dissipated in speculative efforts to skim the cream of newly developed Irish resources. It will need advice and expert co-operation for both purposes, just as it may need them now to frame a policy for satisfying its capital requirements for the purposes of the new Irish Exchequer. "While it incubates its policy the Irish banks might well be stimulated to think out a collective policy of joint action in these matters. The Irish banks and the Irish community stand or fall together, and for the former, if their fortunes be in issue, there is certainly a great opening for enterprise and for exercising a beneficial and stabilising influence on the latter."