NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 111, 12 June 1875, Page 12

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Death has of late made sad havoc in the ranks of those devoted sons of Ireland, who in years gone by have proved their love for the old land in the dock and the prison. Scarcely was John Mitchel laid in his last resting place when the icy hand of death was placed upon his other self — the patriotic member for Meath ; and new the mail brings the sad intelligence that Sir John Gray has followed his former compatriots. There is a melancholy interest attaching to the death of Sir John Gray, occurring as it did so closely upon that of his brother, the late lamented Judge Gray. One by one the tongues whose eloquence stirred the hearts of millions have become still, and the hands and pens which raised a flame in the land not to be extinguished by imprisonment or exile, have become rigid in death, Dr. Gray, as he was called in the days of his struggles for Ireland, was one of the seven traversers who, with the illustrious liberator, suffered imprisonment in Harold's Cross Prison, being liberated on a writ of error. Of the band of bold spirits who made such a determined stand for a nation's rights in '48, but few are left to mourn the failure of their bright hopes and high aspirations. The brightest star in that constellation — the gifted and inspired Thomas Davis — was the first to disappear, closely followed by the great Tribune himself. Since then there have passed away O'Connell's most trusty henchman, " Ireland's Head Pacificator," Honeßt Tom Steele. Macmanus and Williams drew their last breath in the land of the stranger; Thomas D'Arcy McGee was dastardly stricken down by the hand of the assassin j Meagher, the patriot, orator and soldier, sleeps beneath the turbid tide of the winding Missouri ; Smibh O'Brien rests in the vault of his ancestors ; Mitchel and Martin have found a haven of rest, after the stormy voyage of life ; of the sons of the Liberator none remain whose voices were heard in the Conciliation Hall ; and now the voice and pen which were ever ready in defence of Ireland's rightß, and for the redress of Ireland's wrongs, are motionless for ever. It is strange that two of the survivors of that Spartan band — indeed, we might almost say the only remaining two — have occupied the positions of Ministers of the Crown in Colonial Legislatures — -we allude to Sir Charles Duffy and Dr. O'Doherty. With regard to tke former it is unnecessary to speak, his connection with Victorian politics during the past twenty years is too well known to need comment ; but it may not be generally known that the Dr. O'Doherty, whose eloquence and ability have made him a prominent member of the Queensland Legislature, is the Kevin Izod O'Doherty of '48. After undergoing a lengthened imprisonment in Tasmania for liis share in the transactions of that year, he settled in the youngest of the Australian colonies, where he was married to a lady whose pea contributed some of the most soul-stirring ballads which have graced the columns of the ' Nation.'

Some few weeks since we "briefly adverted to the preliminary sanitary report which was presented to the Committee by the Health Officer for the City, Dr. Cole, hut there are some matters connected therewith upon which we wish to make a few observations. It will scarcely be denied that, having regard to the health and cleanliness of a city, a health officer is indispensable ; and with equal truth it must be conceded that the efforts of that official, be he ever so energetic, will be rendered nugatory unless his recommendations are carried out, and the means placed at his disposal for efficiently carrying on his work. In Dunedin that official is under the control of the City Council, and its members, as guardians of the city, are bound to act upon his recommendation, with the view of the proper conservation of the health of the metropolis, and taking precautionary measures against those epidemics to which all large towns are subject. It is also necessary that certain data with regard to the vital statistics of the city and the causes of death should be placed within his reach, but we regret to hear such is not the case. Application was made to Mr. Street, the Registrar of Births, Deaths, &c, but that gentleman intimated that it was contrary to the rule of the department to comply "with the request. ' Upon a further application, however, that officer agreed to furnish the required_information .upon payment -of J625 per year. Now, as the salary of the ; Health. Offiper;. is., limited to £50 per annum, it ie scarcely, to be expected that he should be magnanimous enough to sacrifice one-half' for 'the privilege' of

efficiently discharging its duties. An effort was. then made to secure one of the servants of the Corporation to copy the information from the Registrar's statistics, but, through misunderstanding between the Town Clerk and Mr. Street, it fell to the ground. This is a state of affairs which should not be allowed to exist, and upon which the Sanitary Committee should take immediate action. As we have before said, it is the duty of the Sanitary Committee to aid and assist its officer in the efficient discharge of the duties which he has assumed, and to see that the interests of the citizens do not suffer by the red-tapeism of any official. With regard to the excuse made by Mr. Street, we fail to see why, if it be against the rules of the department to supply such information, the payment of the sum of .£25 could set the matter right j but even if it were so, and the necessary amount had to be paid, it were far better that the Council should sanction the outlay rather than the efforts of the Health Officer should be cramped. We are not aware if the outlay has been refused by the Corporation, but if so, it is somewhat inexplicable in the face of their liberality to the Princes street lessees.

Mb. Gladstone is undoubtedly a great man, a very great man, but even great men are liable to err, and Mr. Gladstone is only mortal. As a politician he was successful, but as a pamphleteer he was a failure. It is somewhat amusing to find that, although deaf to the claims of the Home Rulers when he was in office, he is at heart a professed Home Ruler, and we see him "hoist with his own petard" in his pamphlet on " Vaticanism." Speaking of the supposed interference of the Vatican in the affairs of foreign States, he says :— " As a rule, the real independence of States and nations depends upon the * exclusion of foreign influence proper from their civil affairs. Whereever the spirit of freedom, even if ever so faintly, breathes, it resents and reacts against any intrusion of another people or power into thecircle of its interior concerns as alike dangerous and disgraceful." In his subsequent pamphlet he sayß that " the immediate purpose of his appeal has been attained — (meaning the calling forth of the replies of Dr. Newman and other Catholics of weight and distinction) — in so far that the loyalty of our Roman Catholic fellow-subjects remains evidently untainted and secure." This no doubt may appear to Mr.' Gladstone to be quite sufficient apology to the Catholic body for his injudicious, intemperate, and unfounded accusations, but the ' Pall Mall Gazette ' is of a different opinion, and administers the following stinging rebuke :—": — " This is hardly satisfactory, unless at least we are to approve the conduct of a man who should raise the cry of ' Stop thief !' behind an inoffensive passer-by until he indignantly turns out his pockets, and should then inform him with a polite bow that the immediate purpose of the hue and cry had been attained, in so far that the honesty of a respected fellow-citizen remains evidently untainted and secure." Poor Gladstone ! it appears the quiet he sought by his retirement from political strife is not to be obtained in his new walk of life, the Opposition being too powerful, and the exchange proving " out of the frying-pan into the fire."

It would seem to be a prevailing opinion with the Canterbury journals that Dunedin is destined to be the future capital of the Middle Island upon the abolition of Provincialism, and that the days of Christchurch are thenceforward numbered. The gloomy prognostication is anything but a source of regret to the * Timaru Herald/ and in a recent issue, speaking of the fact, that journal considers it a consummation devoutly to be wished.

We would direct the attention of our readers to an advertisement which appears in another column with regard to a Grand Art Union which is to be held at St. Bathan's in August next. The object towards which the proceeds will be devoted is the clearing off the debt which at present is attached to the church and school in that locality. A most efficient and hard working Committee has been formed, consisting of the following gentlemen : — Messrs F. Bunny, Connor, P. Hanrahan, P. Kenney, E. Kenney, Mulvey, Mallon, McNamara, Murphy, O'Regan, G-. Purton, P. Toomey, and G. Talty ; and, with such an array of energetic assistance and. the praiseworthy object of the movement, there can be little doubt of the aim being successfully accomplished.

We wish to notify to our Christchurch readers that, Mr. Bonnington, having resigned the agency of the Tablet, they can have the paper forwarded post free, direct to their residence, by corresponding with the Secretary.

We would call the attention of the " powers that be " to ths highly dangerous state of the embankment at the corner of Hope and High streets. Immediately above a portion of the footpath in the former street there towers a mass of crumbling rock and loose earth, which only requires the softening influence of a gentle shower to ' scatter tons of stuff over the side walk, to the imminent danger of th© passers-by. Were any of the slips which have recently occurred at- - tended with loss of life, no doubt precautionary measures would be commenced, but if such be the reason of the delay, it is more than - probable, from its present dangerous state, we shall not have to wait long before such a calamity will take place. Eeom the local journal we notice that the Sacrament of Confirmation will shortly be administered at Wanganui by his Lordship the ' Most Rev. Dr. Redwood. A large number are being prepared for th* ' solemn occasion by the worthy and zealous pastor, the Rev. Father ' Kirk, and, in anticipation of the event, the congregation for some time past is, retained after the usual services of the church on Sundays for fitting instruction, We learn, from our Victorian files that Mr. B. P. Whitworth t ' who has been connected with the Press of this and the neighbouring' 1 colonies for the last twenty years, intends transferring ' the scene of his future labors to the old country. As Mr. Whitworth sails from' ' Melbourne on .the 20th inst., a number -of gentlemen connected with ,' the profession in that city have formed themselves into *.Committe« • for the purpose, of presenting him with a substantial memento of his \ connection with the literature of that Colony.

FbOM the 'Nelson Colonist ' we clip the following notice of the late Mr. Edward Bunny : — " We regret to have to record the death of Mr. Edward Bunny, the Registrar of the Supreme Court, which took place somewhat suddenly at an early houv on Tuesday morning. The late Mr. Edward Bunny was a native of Newbury, Berks, in the neighborhood of which bis family have been settled for two or three centuries. He was educated first at Dr. Valpy's, at Reading, afterwards at a private tutor's, and proceeding to Oriel College, Oxford, hegraduated 8,A., in 1842. Shortly after leaving College an old difljpse of the knee-joint rendered amputation of the leg necessary. Mr. Bunny was received into the Catholic Church in 1863. He passed all his examinations and was admitted as a solicitor but never practisedexcept to take for a time the conveyancing branch of a large business in London. The deceased gentleman came to New Zealand in 1863, and resided for some years iv the Wairarapa, in Wellington Province, on a farm. In 1870, he was offered and accepted the post of Examiner of Titles at Nelson, and subsequently the office of Registrar of the Supreme Court was added to his other duties. Mr. Bunny never married, and he leaves three brothers surviving him — Judge Buiriy, of Melbourne ; Mr. Henry Bunny, Provincial Secretary of Wellington ; and Colonel Bunny, C.8., Royal Artillery. The complaint which killed him was pleurisy ; he was ill on Friday aright, took to his bed on Saturday, and died, as above stated, early on Tuesday morning. A more kindly soul never lived, a more courteous gentleman never occupied a responsible public position, and he has gone to the grave with the respect and esteem of all with whom he ever come in contact.