GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 184, 6 October 1876, Page 15

GENERAL NEWS.

Among the many ways of honoring the Holy Father on the 30th anniversary of his coronation that adopted by the Unita Cattolica, was exceedingly fitting. It may indeed be said of Pius IX., that all men say good things of him j and the Unita collected a few of these sayings uttered by the most important men in Europe, and strung them, as it were into a wreath. Among them are the following : " Pope Pius IX. was humane and good," Lord Palmerston in the Commons, 1856. "He is rich in the most precious gifts of a prince: fortitude and loyalty," Massim D' Azegolio, " I see in Pius IX. only the most amiable and illuminated Sovereign," Lord John Russell. " The respectable old man who has spread over the Papacy the lustre of his virtues," M. Thiers. " Under his white hairs peace and liberty are brought to the universe," Father Lacordaire. "What ingratitude has not this generous and meek Pontiff encountered," M. Guizot. "In defending his ancient rights Pius IX. defends the public right of Europe," Villemain. The list might be greatly enlarged, but this will suffice to show the appreciation of great writers and thinkers for Pius IX. The Catholics of Rome have been warned against signing a programme that is being circulated amongst them, which is nothing more nor less than a scheme for making the election of the next Pope by popular suffrage. Those who have signed this impious document have been declared guilty of schism. The new constitution in Spain, including the article on religious toleration, is at last the law of the land. It passed the \ Senate towards the end of last week by a much larger majority I than even Canovas del Castillo seems to have expected ; and the I same may be said of the bill for the abolition of the Basque Fueros. j It is a good sign that the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs should have said on Saturday last, in reference to a ministerial statement in the British. House of Commons, that the country would resent as an impertinence any suggestion from outside as to the interpretation to be put upon the toleration clause. Because I by a concurrence of circumstances that may not occur again, the ! British were able to checkmate Russia in the East, they thought, I we suppose, they could dictate to Spain in a matter of purely , domestic concern. They have, probably, by this time, found out their mistake. — ' Nation.' i A correspondent of the ' China Mail' states that China is I about to make another step towards civilisation. This time it partakes cf an even more specific nature than arsenals, gunboats, J and revenue cruisers. The coal mines some 30 miles beyond | Kiukiang and two to three miles from the Yangtsze, are to be worked as soon as possible by the latest foreign appliances, and the authorities have secured the services of Mr. S. J. Morriss, C.E., i who has left for the scene of his labor in the steamship Fusiyama. I It was this gentleman who sunk the shaft and brought to the surface the first ton of coal out of the now well-known Takasima mine in Japan. We are told that a railway from the mines to the 1 wharves and godowns on the river side is contemplated. Mr. Morriss is a native of Dublin, and obtained his diploma from the University Engineering School. There is abundance of coal in ! China, but hitherto the mines have not been worked scientifically. I Pere Renard, Professor of Geology in the Jesuit College at Louvain, has recently been elected a fellow of the Miscroscopical • Society of London. He has since been on a geological tour in Wales at tho espouse of the Belgian Government.

The Sisters of the poor of St. Francis, New York, are provided with potatoes free by the great-hearted farmers of Steuben county, New York. Recently two of the sisters came to the city in charge of a quantity of potatoes that took 12 double teams to draw to the train. Not only were the potatoes free, but the Erie railway transported them free right to the institution door. Two celebrations will shortly take place in Rome. One of these will be Pius IX/s episcopal jubilee, it being nearly 50 years since he was consecrated bishop ; and the other will be the 500 th anniversary of Pope Gregory's XL's return from Avignon to Rome ,

Histobicax ! Vide « Jurors Reports and Awards, New Zealand Exhibition." Jurors : J. A. Ewen, J. Butterworth, T. C. Skinner. 11 So far as the Colony is concerned, the dyeing of materials is almost entirely confined to the re-dyeing of Articles of Dress and Upholstery, a most useful art, for there are many kinds of material that lose their colour before the texture is half worn. G. BORSCH, of Dunedin (Dunedin Dxc Wokks, George street, opposite Royal George Hotel) exhibits a case of specimens of Dyed Wools, Silks, and Feathers, and dyed Sheepskins. The colors on the whole are very fair, and reflect considerable credit on the Exhibitor, to whom the Jurors recommended an Honorary Certificate should be awarded." Honorary Certificate, 629: Gustav Hir6ch Dunedin, for specimens of Dyeiag io Silk Feathers, &c.