NEW ZEALAND : GENERAL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 51, 21 December 1899, Page 19

NEW ZEALAND : GENERAL.

Is consequence of pressure on our space several reports of chool entertainments and distribution of prizes are held over.

The Lyttelton election, which took place on Friday last, resulted in the return of Mr. Laurenson, a Government supporter, by a very large majority.

The Charleston Herald apologised for its non-appearance on a recent Saturday, oa the score that the ' staff had the misfortune to get struck with the influenza on Friday.'

The Wellington Education Board has decided to extend tuition in cooking to all schools of whatever denomination applying for it, so far as the resources at its command will allow.

The Westport Star understands a telegram has been received from the Premier i ntimating that the Government is not disposed to accept Mr. O'Regan's ie&ignation of his seat on the Weetport Harbour Board.

Trial runs of the new dining-car for the Chiistchnrch-Dunedin express are being made on the n orth line. The car is, according to the Lyttelton 'Ames, most conveniently fitted, there being table accommodation for 24 persons at a sitting.

Rev. Mother Mary Joseph Aubert, of Wellington, desires to gratefully acknowledge receipt of £5 from ' Well-wieher,' for the Foundling Home at Jerusalem, and 5s from ' A Friend,' Grey mouth, for the same object ; also £5 and a quantity of olothing from the St. Elizabeth Society for the poor of Wellington.

From a private source we learn that the Right Rev. Monngnor Hoyne, V.G., Ballarat, and the Rev. Father Kelsh, of Tasmania, who 1 , Dunedin on Monday week, have arrived safely in Hobart. They were accompanied on the journey by the Very Rev. Father Ginaty, of Mount Magdala, who was on his way to Melbourne and Sydney.

A great many readers of the Dunedin Evening Star of Friday last must have wondered what was the meaning of the term ' Scottish habits,' which appeared in a news item from Wellington. The paragraph ran thus : — Our Wellington correspondent wires :— ' Replying to the Rev. L. M. Isitt's recent assertion that ten members of the present Parliament had contracted "Scottish habits," the New Zealand Times says, &c.' The words used by Mr. Isitt, accord* ing to the JYew Zealand Times, were ' sottish habits.' Our Scottish friends should receive an ample apology from somebody.

The Government experimental station at Momohaki, which was started for the purpose of investigating diseases in stock, testing seeds and plants, raising economic plants for distribution to settlerc and ascertaining the feeding value of grasses, etc., com* prises 3SO acres, and the expenditure on buildings, fenoing, cultivation, stock, and other purposes since its inception amounts to £1842, The wages paid amounts approximately to £750 per annum. The returns, in addition to a number of vines and seeds distributed gratia, were £771. The expenditure in connection with the poultry farm recently established has been £496 and the receipts £108.

There was a large attendance at Mr. O'Regan's committee meeting last evening (says the Ivangahua Times, December 12), and it was unanimously resolved to present the late member for Buller with a suitable testimonial in recognition of his services to the district and as a token of personal respect. Correspondence was read and received from all parts of the electorate promising assistance, and it was finally decided that, as the Westport electors had already taken the initiative, the Inangahua electors should make a presentation on their own account. It was decided to communicate with the secretaries of the different committees in the Inangahua portion of the electorate. The date for the presentation will be decided later on, and it ia safe to predict that Mr. O Regan will not be allowed to sever his connection with those whom he has served so well without substantial evidence of appreciation.

The Rev. Father Kelsh, of Tasmania, contributes another letter to the Monitor on bis holiday tour in New Zealand. Regarding the Magdalen Asylum near Christchurch he says : Mount Magdala is the title by which the Good Shepherd Convent and Magdalen Asylum here is generally known. Situated about four miles from the city, on a plain of 200 acres, one wonders at first blush whence came the name of Mount Magdala. There is, however, a slight rise on one side of the institution which offers at least an excuse for the title. Fonnded about 13 yearn ago as a branch from the well-known Abbotsford Convent, near Melbourne, through the zeal and energy of the Very Rev. Father Ginaty, S.M., the New Zealand Convent and Asylum has advanced not slowly but surely, and is now one of the chief attractions of the Christchurch dioceee. The Sisters are 22 in number, and the penitents, or ' children,' as they are termed, under their care are 130, gathered from all parts of New Zealand. The buildiDgs are of brick with Oamaru stone dressings and are quite imposing A new distinct structure for the better classification of the ' children,' and costing £2,300, is nearing completion. It is needless to dilate on the care bestowed on the inmates ol this fine institution by the Good Shepherd Nuns, nor on the nature of the laundry work turned out by them. A visit to our Tasmanian branch at St. Canice's, Sandy Bay, will give inquirers across the Tasman Sea the best idea of the jyorth of the homes or refuges under the management of the Good Shepherd Sisters. The farm work at Mount Magdala, however, is on a much larger scale than at St. Canice's, as the whole 200 acres are now attended to by the farm hands and inmates with marked success. In one respect the New Zealand Government deserves to be copied by that of Tasmania, in the generous support extended to Mount Magdala, an annual vote of £500 being passed by Parliament as a grant* in-aid.

Speaking at Woolston,Mr.Laurenson, the successful candidate for Lyttelton, said that while interested iv a certain boys' club at Lyttelton he had asked the boys to choose by ballot which of a number of prominent men they would like to be. The result of the polling showed that J. L. Sullivan, pugilist, received about five times as many votes as any of the others, although such men as Gladstone were included.

A meeting of upwards of 200 shareholders of the J. G. Ward Farmers' Association wa* held at Invercargill on Saturday, when Mr. Ward made proposals for the , repayment to old shareholders of the amount they had beeu called upon to pay on their shares in consequence of liquidation. He stated that on the date the liquidator took charge— namely, June 23, 1896— the total net indebtedness of the association to their bankers under all heads, including debentures, amounted to £78,563, and the total receipts up to June 30 last, as filed by the liquidator with the registrar, were £71,657 ; so it was clnarly demonstrated upon these results that the statement originally made by him, and which he always maintained, that the business never should have been liquidated, was more than borne out, and they had still further collections to make. He read letters from English firms confirming payments made by him to them. At the conclusion of the meeting the shareholders unanimously resolved to support Mr. Ward iv re-forming the Ward Farmers' Company, and the following resolution was carried unanimously :— ' That Mr. Ward be accorded cordial thanks for the lucid and able explanation of the affairs of the association,' the mover remarking that they were all deeply- indebted to him for the information given and for the offer. It was unanimously resolved — ' That it is with pleasure we learn that the business of the Ward Farmers' Association is to be revived, and that we will do all we can to promote their interests.'

A writer in the HaioWs Bay Herald accounts as follows for the defeat of Mr M'Lean and the election of Mr. Fraser for the 10 -al electorate : ' The real cause [of the defeat of the Opposition candidate, Mr. M-Lean], frequently mentioned in conversation, though I have not yet seen it in print, was the strange conduct of the Chairman of the Education Board a few months ago in reference to the Catholic school question. It will be remembered that Dr. Sidey then objected to have Mr. Hill examine the Catholic schools of this district ; that he objected to the Education Board giving the Catholic children their 'class passes,' to which, in Mr. Hill's good j adgment and scholarly abilities, they had a strict right, and ' to add insult to injury,' as we say, Dr. Sidey drawing on his fossilised and ill-advised ideas of 100 years ago thought fit to call the Catholic religion ' a hybrid religion.' Such conduct in this enlightened age with current facts before our eyes, was a gross insult to every Catholic in this province, and one considering how Catholics have been treated since the passing of the present Education Act, which required retributive punishment, the Catholics of the district, aware that the views of Mr. R. D. D. M'Lean ia religious matters, amongst which I class the education question, were usually those of Dr. Sidey and Mr. P. S. M'Lean, took the first opportunity. Who can blame them? It is a question of self-defence, and one of paramount importance for them. Perhaps the fact was overlooked that the Catholic vote in this constituency is over 1000 strong, not an easy matter for rather a weak candidate to ignore This question might be developed a little further, but the above may be read between the lines, and suffices to account for the result of the late election.'