HIBERNIAN AUSTRALASIAN CATHOLIC BENEFIT SOCIETY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 175, 4 August 1876, Page 11

HIBERNIAN AUSTRALASIAN CATHOLIC BENEFIT SOCIETY.

To the Editor of the New Zealand Tablet.

Sib, — I beg leave to be permitted to claim your kind indulgence to place before your numerous readers, and more especially the members of our Society, situated at such a distance from the seat of government in Victoria, a few suggestions on their present position, the daily increasing and absolute necessity of some means of unity, of consolidating that power and influence for their future welfare, which the vicissitudes and ever-recurring changes at each succeeding annual meeting held in Melbourne since the amalgamation and the subsequent extension of the Society imperatively demand at our hands ; for since the inauguration of the Society here, each branch had little to complain as to their representation at each annual meeting. Not indeed until the last, when through some (to us here at such a distance) unaccountable means or reasons, our chosen and trusted deputies were not, allowed to take part in the deliberations of that august body. At the annual meeting of this year, when P.C.P. O'Connell acted to the detriment of our Society here, did he reflect on the consequences ? Was it because of our ever ready and willing response to every demand made on us, be it either a natural or a charitable object? Has he forgotten, or is he of only mushroom growth in the Society, and, therefore, cannot know that of £8C subscribed willingly, for simply the asking by the then officers of the E.D., Bros. Howard, Templeton, &c. (uames so well-known and cherished here), for a poor aud lonely widow left destitute in a mountain solitude on the bleak and snowy region of Woodspoint, that of the above sum, £56 was sent from New Zealand ? I quote this as only one instance, to prove that the membeia here, the ever kind, the enthusiastic, the generous and patriotic motives by which, ab all times, they have been actuated, should at least get justicej ustice done them, their deputies respected, and their wishes acceded to. If the founders, those energetic spirits who boldly conceived, inaugurated, and nurtured in its infancy, and stood by its rapid strides into the full development and well-fledged fruition, in guiding its destinies, and extending its influence, were still at the helm, we had no fear for its safety, our own protection, and its stability. What, I ask, has become of thsm ? Their names are not now on the roll of officers. Have some left and entirely severed their connection with even more than regret for assisting to raise an institution to become a prey to such self-seeking, unsympathising, cold, aud calculating a destiny, while others look on with a confiding hope for a spaedy and.

successful regeneration ? What, I ask, is our position now? What an anomaly. We send our funeral fund, our quarterage, levies, &c., but •we have no voice. Precluded by distance and the expense attending an annual meeting from here, our only other means of anything like representation is to appoint a worthy member in whom we have confidence, and be is subjected to the grossest insults no better than a dummy, and through our deputies all New Zealand is ignored and outraged. I cannot, therefore, be surprised that an uneasy feeling of doubt and an apprehension of gloomy forebodings, have occupied the attention of the members, which have led to the recent correspondence and well digested suggestions of so earnest, so energetic an officer as Bro. Cantwell, in presenting his quarterly report recently of St. Joseph's Branch. Dunedin, the formation of "Boards of Management," possessing the same rights and privileges, less the unnecessary expense attending District Boards, as at present constituted. Having carefully rend all reports of the E.D. and annual meetings for the last few years, I find, on reference, on his retiring from the office of Chief President three years ago, Bro. J. W. Howard strongly recommended in his valedictory address the formation of such Boards as Bro. Cantwell now advocates. From other reports, I find that District Boards are urged, but of the six or seven CTP/s we have had only one (and that one was the last) who denied us our right of representation, he is the only one who recommended Districts, whilst six others condemn them. We must, therefore, accept the testimony, unbiased by any selfish motives of. ours, that such a simplified and much prized form of government, so applicable to our wants, so feasible, so almost certain of success when fairly and honestly administered, that I cannot refrain from giving in my adhesion for its immediate adoption. The geographical position of branches should be the first consideration to suit their convenience, prior to the formation of each Board, so, as that delegates could the more easily and regularly attend, each branch could then be represented, and from themselves elect a President of the " Board of Directory or Management," a Secretary and Treasurer ; Trustees also, in whose names the Funeral Fund that is now and some time sent to Melbourne. Consolidate this, get your bye-laws registered, your meetings started, and I confidently predict a new and vigorous impetus in the history of the Society in New Zealand. That instead of being as hitherto isolated, referring everything to Melbourne, and waiting a reply when to suit themselves, everything can be done satisfactorily and expeditiously by unity of action, disinterestedness of purpose, and zeal for the cause, and we will have the full satisfaction of knowing that we are laying the permanent foundation of an organisation, which will reflect credit, not only on its founders, the name it bears, and all those who take an active part in its welfare, hut on our children. Apologising for trespassing thus far on your valuable space, but this being the turning point in the history of our Society here, will, I trust, be my excuse. It is quite possible you may hear from me again. — I am, &c, Dunedin, August 2, 1876. Treaty Stone.