The Catholic World.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5, 1 February 1900, Page 27

The Catholic World.

CANADA.— The Manitoba School Question. -Sir Charles Tupper has re-opened the Manitoba school question, and says he is going to press it forward till justice is done to tho Catholics.

ENGLAND- — Presentation to Canon White— The vacancy in the Metropolitan Chapter, through the resignation of Canon OtJallaghan, has been filled by the appointment of the Very Rev. Alfred Canoi Whit" Th» appointment gave great satisfacfaction to his parishioners, and congratulations were received by hioi fro.n a lirgj number of prie>«N with whom he had shared so long the work of the London mission. A subscription was set on foot in his piri.sh and in a few hours it had amounted to £1100. This sum include 1 the munifijent single gift of £1000. With an equal genr-ros-lty the Canon handed ovsr the amount to the building fund of the ne»v cxtheiral at Westminster. Canon White is one of the old guard, a veteran sill full of energy and activity, performing all the dutie? of his rejtjrship vigorously and without intermission, takinjr part on the vestry, the Bmrd of Guardians and at the hospital, in th^ public life of the loaality, and winning the public esteem. He commence I his priestly career at Moorfields in Cardinal Wiseman's time in 18">2. On the death of Father Butt at Hammersmith he became assistant priest to Canon O'Keefe, who became rector in IS">L From thenoe to 1858 he was placed in charge of Homer Row, where he continued to work until he succeeded 13 years ago to the rectorship of Brook Green. At Homer Row he spent on the church, independently of any sums received in the parish, some £f»')00, and Holy Trinity bears witness to his artistic taste and generous devotion to the beauty of God's house. The desire of his paople is that he mxy live long and prosper.

FRANCE— An Attack on Catholic Institutions— The Budget discussions (says the Paris correspondent of the London Tahiti) have been full of important points and have afforded a good deal of evidence of the intolerant spirit with which the anti-clerical party is carrying on the struggle against the Church A second attack was made against the religious congregations in the debate on the Budget of the Ministry of the Interior on the question of orphanages and homes for old people conducted at the charges of private charity. The attack was led by M. Fourniere, who raked up objections to the present system founded on unproved charges of mal-administration, and naturally made a special point of the affair of the Swter-i of the Bon-Pasteur and Mgr. Turinaz, Bishop of Xancy. Xot content with calling for a full inquiry, he revealed, in the heat of the moment, his real aim, which was nothing more or less thaa the complete laicization of all institutions in which old paople an 1 children are tended. The Abbe Lemire entered a dignifiel protest against the unproved charges brought forward by M. Fourniere. As far as the nuns of the Bon-Pasteur were concerned, they had under their care no le^s than 47,000 children. He had received letters from all parts of France denying the charge brought against the Sisters of exploiting the work of the chUdren under their care ani abandoning them on leaving the convents. He challenged the Government to have a full inquiry into the state of affairs, and he bade them compare the results with those of another inquiry conducted by the police, into the houses into which country girls who had corns to the great towns for work were decoyed and ruined.

GERMANY-— A New Church in Jerusalem-— For the Dormition Church in Jerusalem, which is to be built by the Catholics of Germany, a sum of nearly a million marks has been collected.

INDIA-Death of a Venerable Priest-— Father Sir George Talbot Bridges, eighth baronet, of Goodneston Park, Kent, has died at Bhusaval, Bombay, at the ago of SI. He was the son of an Anglican minister, the Lite Rev. Edward Brook Bridges, third son of the third baronet. He succeeded in IS .)."> his cousin, the Rev. Sir Thomas Pym Bridges, who had also succeeded a cousin, the Rev. Sir Brook George Bridges. The deceased was a member of the Society of Jesus. The title now becomes extinct, after having been in existence since 17 IS.

ITALY— Success of the Catholic Schools— lt is understood (.says a Rome correspondent) that the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the condition of the episcopal g innasi and In-ii of Italy and their educational results turns out to be thoroughly favourable. It shows that these Catholic schools can bear comparison successfully with the non-religious Government schools, and quite upsets the fashionable view that 'Catholicism is a hindrance to science and progress.' Even the private Catholic schools and those directed by religious are daily progressing, a circumstance recently emphasised in the Parliament by a Liberal deputy.

ROME— A Famous Picture-— lt is melancholy news (says the London Tablet) tor lovers of religious art that Leonardo da Vinci's 'Last Supper' is fast fading away. A thick layer of grey nroild growing over its surface is the agent of destruction, and its conditijn i.« critical that a committee of experts has been summoned lO consult over it. They are reduced to a choice of evils, since the original will vanish almost as completely under the hands ut the restorer aa under the spread of the mildew. A good contemporary copy of it, by Marco d'Oggione, hung in the Diploma Gallery at Burlington House will soon, perhaps, be the best record left of the original idea of the Master.

Proposed Address to the Pope by Nonagenarians— An original idea has been started by the parish priest of Than, in Switzerland, viz., to present an address to Pope Leo XIII., on the occasion of the Jubilee year, to be signed by all nonagenerians, as

the Pope himself will complete his itOth year on March 2. The address has already been drawn up, and is as follows . — ' Having arrived at an age when the soul feels itself free from influences which, at other stages of life, often mislead or smother its nobler impulses, the undersigned are able to understand better than ever before those great truths of which your Holiness has never wearied of reminding the world, and which the latter, to its own misfortune, obstinately ignores. The remembrance of the great past of your Holiness's life must fill your soul with gratitude to God for all that He has accomplished through you. And to this consciousness your Holiness must certainly be indebted for the flourishing health, the ever youthful strength, which are the wonder of the world and the joy of the Universal Church.'

SCOTLAND- — Marriage of a Nephew of Gerald Griffin. — Mr. Gerald Griffin, nephew to the famous Irish writer of the same name, was married in St. Patrick's. Glasgow, during the first week in December, to Miss Grieve, of Greenock, a granddaughter of the late Mr. J. J. Grieve, who at one time represented Glasgow in Parliament. The ceremony was performed by Rev. Dean Taylor, M.R., St. Mary's. Mr. Griilin is a Resident Magistrate at Belmullet, Coimty Mayo.

Clerical Appointment-— The Rev. Father Fit/gerdld. of the archdiocese of Ca«hel. Ireland, has been appointed <ur.. te of St. John's, Glasgow.

Presentation tO a Priest- — Thi; Re. Father M'Daniol. in charge till recently of the Catholic mission of D unbar, and now of Bathgate, has been presented with a handsome marble t'tnopiei c and bronze ornaments, subscribed to by a wide circle of friends, m recognition of his successful labours in the eastern district.

An Important Appointment— Mr. Franus Giimour. a member of the Holy Cross L'ongregat ; on. Glasgow, left that cty recently for Spain, where he goes to take up an impoit.int position as traffic manager of a railway near Gibraltar. Mr. Giimour, who was formerly actively connected with many parochial organisations in St. Francis's parish, spent a number of years m San nuningo. where he also held a responsible position in railway administration. In railway circles Mr. Giimour is well known and highly iMi-vmod. his counsel and co-operation being frequently a\ ailed of by local railway magnates, who have more than once given public manifestation of their regard for him. Needless to say. he leaves for his latest sphere of labour with the heartiest good wishes of hosts of the warmest friends.

UNITED STATES--A Generous Gift— Mrs. De Navarm. whom they affectionately call ' Our Mary' in America, and her brother, Mr. Joseph C. Anderson, some time ago gave to the Minor Conventuals 100 acres of land bequeathed to them by a priest-uncle, the Rev. A. Millar.

A Valuable Prize — A letter written by Leo XIII. in is;,l. whilst Bishop of Perugia, to Signor Beccari, of Rome, is being offered as a prize at a iazaar in aid of St. Joachim's Church, New York.

Fortunate escape of Cardinal Gibbons-— Cardinal Gibbons and Bishop Foley were passengers on a train which was damaged by a collision near Louisville recently, but happily they were uninjured.

A Great Painting- — A unique feat in church decoration was inaugurated recently in St. Bernard's Catholic Church, Chicago, when the Dantons, father and son — both artists of note and descendants in the direct line from the celebrated Jaques Danton of French revolutionary fame — began the work of hanging behind the high altar their great painting entitled ' Calvary.' Three weeks will be required to get the picture in place, and in addition to the two artists' work of superintendence the labour of a dozen men will be required to complete the task. The immense painting represents a spread of canvas iOft long by 30ft wide, and its value is said to be olose to £10,000. It is the product of the joint labours of the two artists during a period of three years, but in conception the picture has been wholly the elder Danton's — the son's part being confined to the aiding of his father in the details of the palette, and brush work.

Mr. P. LUNDON, Phoenix Chambers, Wdnganui, it, still busy putting people on the soil. He has also hotels in town and country For Sale aud To Lease. Write to him.— %*