THE CATHOLIC JUBILEE. INTERESTING REMINISCENCES OF THE OLDEN TIME. BISHOP POMPALLIER'S DESCRIPTION OF EARLY NEW ZEALAND.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 267, 26 May 1888, Page 4

THE CATHOLIC JUBILEE. INTE RESTING REMINISCENCES OF THE OLDEN TIME. BISHOP POMPALLIER'S DESCRIPTION OF EARLY NEW ZEALAND.

Om, oi the most interesting books thai has ever emanated trom the New Zealand press ha.s ju-t been published in connection with the eelobi tition of the Catholic Jubilee. Uy all Auckland i evident-* of longstanding, I'loteslantas well ao Catholic, the \enerablo lii;uio and highly intellectual features of l»i->lio|) i'ompalhor will be well lemenabcied. b'lttv years ji^o, this distinguished prelate having been ontui^ted by JJh Holiness the I'ope with the impoitanl olhce ot Vioai Apo-lobc: oi Western Oceania, aimed in New Zealand alter an advenbuious ctuisc unions (,1k- islands ot the South J'.'ioihe, His <id\eut n,h \ibvved with no 1 iinall di*f<i\ oiu bs tlie Ptote-taut iiu-mou aiics who wok; ahcady in the iield, and the laiduousI aiduous woik ot toiin>vin<; a Catholic mis-,-ion \\ii> enteied upon undei cneumstanees ot a pcculiaily tiyin^ natuie. How he o\eicame the-io diJliuullies i.s (old by himsuit in the little book which i-, now published a> <i Jubilee inemonal. Tlie niihsionaiy nai iati\c, w Inch tin braces many incident^ ot <i \ ci y intoie.-.tinu chauictei, ).- not the only, not u\< n the chief jiait ot tin-, autobioi^iaphir.d ln-toiy. The bo>)k conti»in-i inutli in->ti uct n c niioi in vt ion w ill) ic^.iid to the tcndihon oi the Maoris, their lnannei^ and cu-loin^, niode^ ot thoiiLfht, ,uul leli^iou-^ IjLflieU ; .iliu an .iccount ol tliee.uly -(.ttlcnii nt- btioie and .ikcr the pi oclaination ot the (Queens -o\eiei^nty. !ii-)liop I'oinp.dliei'^ laboiii.-^ wcie nob conlined to the Aoith Inland of New Zealand. He planted mi^M.ni-. in both i->laiul'-, and hi-, notes aie among the cat hot authentic iccoids we h.ive u\ the condition ot the natives of the South Island, at Ota^o and ALuo.i. lit aNo Mailed 'I'onna and Ki|i, and o^tabli-hcd nu^--jons at W <dli- Inland and Futuna, in the .South I'acilic ; at the lattci place. fcJie pnest \un ninulocd b\ the kin^ ot the inland, and the lin^-ioiis at both i->lan U wcic menaced with disistei, when lhe Ui-^hop coui.ujfeouslv h i tt New Zealand, euleied the held hunsdi. and by hi- wwloin «i'id leisoui sueces-tully ic-e-tabli-tied the waning cau-e. This little book pKtute- .ijienod in the history ot the coloni-ation and (^hi )-tiani-d-lion ot thc-e i->iund-< which we, who aic eu|o\iu^ the eonili'its oi a (i\ih-ation scanel % > le— lusuii<tii-> than obtains in oldi r (uunhic-, wo.dd do well to ponder t is tending to make v-- inoic contented with out lot The h.atUhips ot coloni-ation to day dwait into in-i<4iiiticance when con-tia-ted with tho-e which weie biasely eucounteied b\ the pioneci -citleis hi iv yeai- a<_ r o The l)i-hop.s own e\pei lenci- wei o e\< t'j'tion<dl> (seuttul It i- diHieult, indeul, to make -cln_tion- tiom a woik which letanis the leadei - inteic-t tiom the tust line to the hni-h, but one oi two t \tiact > » ill indie.de bcttei than any uiLitj wold df-cuption the stopi of the book.

j IN I'EKJL OF MAS.sACIU: U iii if on. In- \\a\ aoio-s Lhe I'aciiie Ituin \ alpaiai-o, in 1367, the Bi-hop called at Walh- l^Liiid. with the inUMituiti of establishing a mis-ion thcic. Tht ncs-o! li.ul been King peace lid In at am hoi tai -unio daNs, when a miniboi vi canoe- filled with aimed natne-. came oil. The sawiues wuic eNidenth bent upon plundci , and iathu BaLaillon, who was on deck, seeing how matteis weie tending, summoned the Iji-hop fiom below. The lii-hop, atlei de-cubing the alarming condilion ot .illau-, pioceeds to narrate in j -nnple Net poweitul language his own pei llous situation, lhe pa-sage blings out Neiy toiubh t hu ehaiactei ot the man :—: — I continued to -tand lalmh. hiding th° appi«,hen<-ion with which this assembly niled me, ami !>c o '.in iii\uudh Lo oilei m\ - -clt ;h .1 •Mjciiliee to Coil, and toadoie Hi-de-ign-.nl anN thing inauspicious that was to happen thai da). Mn soul \va- lilled with ihe-e sentiment^, when one ot the thu'c chit I- who ueie lilting on the -k^ hi: lit on niN llo t hand, took hi? a\e, )i\cd to ui\ enounoii- handle, pa-- oil behind the tillei. and came and ttood on mj light hand. Weweie thu- in a line, with our f lie-- tow aid- the noud Our looks did not meet. 1 followed, out ot thecoi nerofmy r\c, all the mo\ement& he had made, and 1 u-maiiied -landing ealml> as though I had -eon nothing. Seaieeh had he })laeed him--L'lt beside me when he >ti etched out hiaim, with the axe m his hand, as though measuiuiLi; the distance togne me a blowon the liiad. and wlu n he made this ge-ture I could t-till .-cc, out of the comei ot m\ eye, hi-,c)cs sparkling with angerand his hp.s tiembhng- with passion. Ahis ' ul that moment I thought my da>-.m thi-, world weie end(>d, that 1 .'md all my companion.-, ami allonlioardw ould bemassaered and then te whole no- -el pluudeicd, and that thusthe In-t expedition ot thib mission wa& going to fail undei the axe of the heathen at \Valhs 1 thought ul-o that 1 saw the heaven^ open on this, duy ot threatened calamities NeNuitholosb, Ciod tilled my -oul with stiength ; adoiation ot Hir, designs, icsignation and pe'iee were in in) hcatX. J showed no emotion ; my attitude was that ot a tiaNellei who looked with pleasiue atthoeiowd ot native.s thai, had come to M.-it him and not imputing to them the slightest e\ d intention. \\ hile I was awaiting the death -stroke in this triune ot mind, L cannot tell what invisible pow ci held back the arm of the fmiou.s natne at my side. Fiom time to tune 1 examined him without his pciceiving that 1 saw him : he stood in a threatening posture; he seemed by turns to be under the lcsolvo to strike and then to hesitate as if lacking the diabolical coinage to kill one who had never hai mcd him — who wa-. defenceless, and ofieied noopposition, buttuinquillity and peace. An air of tranquillity and peace is often the best means ot disarming' a savage : but it one shows sign.s of fear, or attempts to tly or oiler a vain icsistance, it is all o\er with him. Finally, after some momenta had passed, being unable to make up his mind to strike me, my furiou.s native left me. and passing by the tiller, went and .sat on the iorni by the skylight, wheic ho biid been previously. IJis ang-er seemed appeased, he appeared discontented and ashamed of his want of courage, but he remained peaceful. By a cleNcr imuueuvrc the Bishop, after the retirement of this bloodthirsty savage, managed to summon to their aid the good ofliees of a friendly chict named Tungahala, by whom they weie saved.

THE MORALS OF THE HAKA. The following passage illustrates some of the curious questions in ethics which Avere brought before the Bishop for solution in the course of his missionary labouis :—: — At Moerald they often asked me what I thought ot their dances, of which they Avere Acryiond. But 1 pub ofi'my decision on that point to a. future time, for the reasons I have just given. One day an oppoitunity pic&cnted itself for a dance of the whole people to be held. I profited by this (o retire apart and recite my breviary. But L hud not been long engaged in this exorcise A\hcu two you no; chiefs, about

twenty years of age, came to beg of mc to come and sec their dance and thoroughly examine it, so that I might be able to Loll them whether it was good or bad. J could not escape their .solicitation. They led me lo the sea-shore to a little bay, on the beach ot which they danced. It was a .short mile distant from where J had been reciting my ollice. There i witnessed a dance of about eighty persons, who leaped gaily, making many ge^tuicb. The young tellows, the girls, the , men and the women, were mixed together in soveial lines in regular order, and showed gieat uniformity in their movements. They were halt naked, but nothing actually thoionghly immodest came under my notice. A group of young men and young gills, a little apart, .sang to diiect and animate those who danced. All or considering attentively for some moments all thib joyous crowd, the young men who had .sought me out, and who stood on cither side- ot me, frequently cndui\ou)cd to lead in my face what I thought of then uumu- and their febti\al. They -aid to me .several times : "Thou see^b now, Bishop, of what our dance eonsi-ts ; is it good or is it bad ' Tell us thy thought-." Bub I did not | "-abisty them. At one tiincT told them that J d ; d not undeistand the meaning of their gestures or ot their song, which was almost {unintelligible to thcnisol cs fiom the way in which they diudcd the syllables of the woids to lit the music. At, another time I told them that I would wiite out the .songs they iHcd it om then dictation, and would then gi\c the mm v decision. They listened to my ev;isi\e ;uiswei- ,md left me in peace, | but kept me all the time a .spectator of their j d.mi o. Altu a tew .seconds had elapsed, they icturncd to the charge and begged loi my deot.-ion, repeating (licit question ■' " l>i-hoj), i? it good or is it bad? Thou seust now i'll (here is in it/ Then I replied as befoie, th.it J could undcrbtand neither then song nor their gesbmes. "As to the song,"' they answered, "we asbine thee, l'.i-hoj), that theic aie no bad (ob c ccne) words in it." " Well," i replied, " explain to me now the meaning ot the numerous gostiuc- t he (lancets make. They at once told me with the gtcato^-tg t cat o^-t .simplicity, (ho meaning of the-e gestures, which ie presented in leahb) the obscene festivals ot ancient (iieok and Roman paganism. The) had scatcely explained to me their meaning, when they peiceived in my countenance an e\pie-sion of di.splea&iue and giief: and gi ace mo\ ing their hearts, they felt at once that the dance wa» bad, and then I did not hesitate to allnm po.-i-tnely that it was so This was all they wished to be ;i-suied ot So soon as 1 had "s. lid the word-, '" Th.it i- bid,'' so soon the two young men lefc me, and running toward.- the ciowd of dancers ciied aloud, '"The Bishop h is jiibt said that our dance is bad,"' and immediately the whole ciowd stopped c'ancing. The dancers, men and women, broke their ranks, they sin rounded mo to oflei cxcu&es lot the ignorance of their forefathers, who had bequeathed to them the customs of these fe^ti\al-, of which the\ now felt the impiopnety tlnough the visit which 1 had paid them j and the instiuction- 1 had jiven. Someex ' pies-cd tlieir gratitude and afleetion for tiic patience and the tiouble i mu-t have had in my laboiu-, among them, and all showed ithemsehes contented with the act ot docility they had ju-t shown and the p lins 1 was taking to lead them during then infancy in the path? of s.ihation.

PROTESTANT BOOKS HAWKED ABOUT AS CHAPvMS. i They (the Maoii teachei^) had told Lhc.bC j people from Uibe to tiibe, fiom Cook's Stunt- to the end of the South Island, that t he book* of the I'rototantts earned with them a <-pecial piotoction fiom (Jod foi those who piocuied them. When they had these book-, about them in time of war I 01 combat, the balN of the eneiry would j (kitten U\emsel\Pf> auaiu->t their bodies withI out wounding them, while their o\\ n would always hit then maik. and would strike ten people with the one shot, glancing from one XjO the othei of the \itbinn that ■\\ei - e to be &huek bj it. Ala- ! how eas<y it i& to decei\e people who aie in the darkness of iynoiance and the --fate of childishness as they ate in the botom of infidelity. We should like to quote more fully from this book, or ratliei to lepiint whole chapteis ot it, but it would hardly be fair to the publishei, and a& the work complete i^ ofleied at the low price of 2s 6d in otout papei, and 3? 6d in cloth, it is well within the reach of all. The work i- abl\ introduced by an e^ay trom the scholarly pen of Bishop Luck, who eontiastt. the cailj' beginnings of the Church in New Zealand with the full huition ot to-day. The Bishop also makes some instructs c remarks upon the work which yet lies betoie the Church, more j especially with regard to the Maori mi?fcion. We Iccl tuic that- this volume will be heartily welcomed, nob merely as a valuable contribution to the early history of New Zealand and a suitable memento of the .Jubilee or the Catholic Church, but al»o a-> a memoiial of a lu^h-minded eccle1 sia-^tic ami pioneer woiker in thi^ colony, ■whose impre-si\e piesence and largeheaitcd Christian aie -^ t lll well lemoin bored by thousands of colonists in nil | Kilts of New Zealand. I From "Auckland Star."

A nch patch ot gold is reported trom the Kapanga mine, Coionmndel. It ib reported buys the " Marlboiough Timed '") that one of the largest runholders in tho Marlboiough district is> s-criously i contemplating the com emon ot his sheep run into a rahbit warren, in the belief that they will pay much better than sheep in the present rabbit-infested state of the country. Artful Jimmy, conscious of unprepared lessons, and desiiout ot (staying from school : " Mamma, dear, what sort of illness is there 3 f ou don't have to take medicine for?" A negro pieacher in a South Georgia country Risked his congregation the Jother day lor a bhort vacation. An old sister objected, giving as a leason " dat dc debil nebber takes no hullerday, but he gib in hio w 'ak ev'y minute.'' liners of statistics have been leminding the world that the late Kaiser Wilhelm's life, from the riay of hit> birth to that of his death, witnessed the descent to the tomb of bix Popes, eight Emperors, rive Sultanb, 49 Kings, and the rise and fall of 22 Presidentb of Republics, in all 89 rulers. In the United States a general oider of the Salvation Army prohibits tho " use of those ■\ am and wicked appliances known as dress improvers." There is great excitement among the la^es in consequence and a schism is threatened. The new Admiralty dock at Hong Kong was opened in January to receive a Chinese ironclad of 8,000 tons displacement. The world without woman would be as a blank piece ot paper — unruled. A skilful cook is the most popular of all interior decorators. Jonets (who catches his pastor out fishing): ''Good morning, doctor. Are you studying theology?" Doctor: "Yes; ichthyology." Sociates, seeing a scolding wife who had hanged herself on an oli\e tree, exclaimed, "Oh, Unit all tiech would bear such fruit !"