CATHEDRALS AND CITIES.

Otaki Mail, 22 January 1919, Page 3

CATHEDRALS AND CITIES.

THE DISTINCTION CONFEEKED. It is a fact appreciated by all traj vellors that a cathedral cenfers a disI tinetisn upon the town or city which 1 possesses it. Many towns, otherwise quite unimportant, are honoured and famous because of their cathedrals. The j distinction referred to 'is not enjoyed I by the city of Wellington, but it is I hoped that in a few years' time it will be. The steps in that direction which are being taken by prominent ehurehi»ien have as their goal the erection of a eathedral which an any larger cities weuld'be i>roud to posses*. Now that hostilities have ceased and the prospect •f an early, neaeo being realised is good, it is believed that the campaign for raining fund* for a sathedral in Wellington wi'H presper. This belief is based partly on. the fast Aat up to tho time when the campaign was suspended I owing to other patriotic appeals, a sum .' of over £30,0.08 had been premised; and ' chiefly because the whole building is to be a free-will offering from Anglicans and sympathisers. Gifts to .the cathedral fund will be considered as memorials and thaiikofferings. In this way each individual giver will be able to dedicate his or her gift from the per- \ semal point of view. But in a broader sense the eathedral will be a memorial to all the soldiers who died, and a thankoffering from rife" people of NewZealand for the return of the survivors of. our gallant arniy, and for the coming of peace. Embodying, as it will, these expressions of holy gratitude, we hope, the proposed cathedral will be a place j whither many will daily go to seek brief respite from the press of material ' things. It will be a place of calm repose, rich with memories and treasures : of thoughts, where the weary may take fresh heart. It is by this sense of holy quiet and eternal stedfastness that the cathedrals of the world make tho cities wherein they stand different from other cities, giving thcis dignity and distinction. Those wishing to help in the building of the proposed now Anglican Cathedral should communkatc with the hon. organising secretary, Rev. C. F. Askew, St. Mark's vicarage, Wellingj ton.