GREYMOUTH

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 31, 30 July 1903, Page 20

GREYMOUTH

(From an occasional correspondent.) Very Rev. Dean Lightheart, of the Maori mission recently visited this district on a collecting tour Few could resist the Very Rev. Dean's appeals for help for his poor mission. He declares that the inhabitants of Brunnerton are the kindest people he ever met. The collection of funds for the completion of the tower of our church was on a recent Sunday morning enthusiastically taken up. £800 being collected \ pleasing feature was the ieady response of" our young men. Our worthy pasloi, Very Rev. Dean Carcw, is highly pleased at the result of the collection. His strong desire for the completion of our splendid church will now be soon accomplished. This, indeed, is, as it were, the finishing stroke of the great works carried out by him in Greymouth. One has but to stand on the verandah of the presbytery and look round to see what has been accomplished by our zealous pastor, the cost of the works carried out totalling £20,000. This is without taking into account the large amounts sent to the Cathedral City. It should be mentioned that the worthy Dean has himself been a generous donor to the parish. His Lordship Bishop Grimes is now here on his pastoral visit. On last Sunday he entered minutely into details of the erection of the Cathedral at Christchurch. The collection for the work realised £200 Truly the generosity of the Greymouth people is marvellous, and altogether beyond the ken of our non-Catholic friends. But what know they of the spirit that animates the Irish Catholics, schooled for generations in the spirit of selfsacrifice, whose generosity in the cause of their religion has made them the wonder of the world

The Rev. Father Herbert has lately been delivering a course of sermons on the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. The sermons of the Rev Father, who has justly earned a reputation as a ripe scholar and an eloquent preacher, are eagerly looked forward to and listened to with rapt attention by large congregations. Last Sunday's sermon on the Catholicity of the Church was a splendid discourse Few indeed could listen to the rev. preacher's eloquent peroration, which included Macaulay's famous passage taken from his review of Ranke's ' History of the Popes,' without a feeling of pride and thankfulness in being a member of the Catholic Church. Father Herbert is also as practical as he is eloquent, he haung effected several improvements in and around the sanctuary The old pulpit has been removeid, and a stationary one, with handsome brass railings, has been erected in its stead outside the altar rails

A few days ago his Lordship the Bishop administered Confirmation at Brunnerton, Dean Foley having preceded him on the previous evening. His Lordship is experiencing a real West Coast winter, the weather of late having been extremely bad

Widespread regret was felt here at the sad news of the death of Captain Darragh, who was washed off the deck of his vessel and drowned v, hen crossing the Ilokitika bar The gallant sailor made desperate efforts to reach the shore, but no help being available, he sank after swimming fully half a mile The case is a peculiarly sad one, the captain having been mamed but a few months ago to a Chustchurch lady, Miss Law lor. The then happy couple spent their honeymoon on the West Coast, where Mrs Darragh made many friends Captain Darragh was a fine specimen of the Irish seaman, and a practical Catholic — R IP.