THE TRAPPISTS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 49, 8 December 1904, Page 29

THE TRAPPISTS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

The following interesting account of the work, which is being done for the spiritual and temporal welfare of tine natives at the mother-,kouse of the Trajppists in South Africa, appeared in a recent issue of the ' South African news :—

Mariannhill,

the monastery of the Trappists, lies about three miles west of Pinetown, an the northern railway from D/urban to the interior, lit the native question is the greatest problem in South Africa, then assuredly Manannhill is one ,ot the most interesting spots for a S*oaith African visitor ; tor here is an attempt to solve the difiiculty on lines as old as Christianity, but very different from our modern ideas ot religious training a.s followed l,y the numerous missionaries who have devoted their lives to t(he tasii ot converting those whom Sir Bartle Fre;e once called ' Materialistic Sadducees,' to the doctrines of Christianity. It was on a blight day in .winter, c.nd there is no lovelier climate in the world th k an a winter's day on the coast of Natal, that we paid our visit to Mariannjiill The train climbs the steep l'ncliine to Pinetown very slowly, and there is plenty of time to admire the scenery, which is pretty encaugih in its brown winter} <x>at, wi*|h the scattered fr.iut farms and the übiquitofus cottages of the Indian population, who seem to be taking possession of the coast lands. The principal crops on the hills seem to he niajiigoes, bananas, j.nd pineapples, which give a .semi-tropical air to the scenery. Pinetiown, which is on the iirst plateau, about 1200 feet in altitude, begins to l v ook more South African, with dry hills and clumps of bush.

At tyic station we were met by an American spider from the mimiaslcrj , and driven over a surprisingly good country road by oiur host, a lay Brother in the dress 1 of the Ondci— a blown se-ge cowl and sa^ii'dals— to the monastery. Seldom would it be possible to meet a more entertaifimg personality than that of our guide, who was a clvil engnneer and architect, an admirable K'ngliPh scholar, and with the rare gift of conveying to his Ikjarers a living interest m tJie'work that he nad so much at heart The monastery itself lies in an ordinary barren South African valley of no special fertility, brat it 'has been concerted by constant, unremitting labor info

A Hive of Contented Industry

The buildings of red brick cluster round a chutfeh with an open tower, fioin which a peial of bells give a souti'l very unfamiliar to a South African landscape by, on a neighboring rise, stands a convent for the Sisters of the Order, with a separate chapel, and all roumd lie the plantations and the gardens, where the food ot the commidinity is mainly produced. The property is abiout 12,0i00 acres, in extent. On our arrival we were emtertai/ned at a most excellent luncti, and then dxiven tio an outstation, where an ingenious diversion of a smiall river was utilized to drive a turbine generating some 10 horse-power This power was used to work a printing press. While we were there the proof sheets were bertig drawn of a Zulu dictionary, the result of Id years' work of one of the fatheis This dictionary will contawi 15,000 words, being more than three times the number ot any now in existence. The whole arrangement, and the English definitions, appeared excellent, as far as one could judge without being a Zulut scholar. The book, when linisthed, will be bound in the binding department, which adjoins the printing press, both worked under the supervision of the monks by native workmen, who seemed extremely efficient. Adjoining t'hxsi b|til(ling there is an j automatic silo, constructed to hold 2,000 bags of mealiefs,in four bins of 500 bag,'? each. By a simple mechanism eacji bin is made to discharge ititio an open trough, and is conveyed by a;n endless screw to an elevator, at the top of the buiHtiing, where it is Optiveyefei to another bin, linto which it discharges. below these buildings in flhe river bottom there is an arrowrtoiot factory, where, at ttie time of our visit,

several, tons of the finished article were reatfy for packing. r llii'S is done in this made on the premises by native workmen, and the product is sold in DUrban. Driving back to the monastery we were tiakem over the wheelwrights' and wagonmakers', the tannery, the shoeniaking and harness-making branches, in all of which natne workmen, under the guidance ol the momjlis, were doing

Good and Effective Work. Then anower dii\e to the brick anid tile factory, where most excellent dram pipes were Uirned out, nuite equal to any imported. It slwuck us as mot a l'iiUe singular that this institution, ift tihe wilds of a native location should be tihe only place in S;aut!h Africa wnerc this article, which is a primary necessity for any. effective agricultural improvement, should be produced. It was an object-lesson and a commentary. Another interest ing production was a hollow brick -usdd for vaulting the cloister now in course ot construction,, .and a,dmitable lrooring tiles. Our guide was an enthusiast, as became his secular profession, and gave u& an exposition on the art ot tempering and mixing clay which let us into the secret of ins success in producing such admirable results.

Another &hort drive took us to tihe water-siupply, which is led dut of the xiver for some two miles, crossing ravines by ingenious iron viaducts apid flumes constructed on the place. By means of a fall and a tur. bine 15 ho.rse-p'ower is developed, which works a force pump for the supply of the whole monastery, as well as a mill for the grinding of the bar/k used in the tannery. On Our return we were taken over the buildings in course of construction to replace those now in use. Solidly built ot reld brick, they will, whem finished, form a quadrangle with a cloister surraurtdwig an open court, and comprise, in addition to am,ple accommodative, a \ery complete gue.st-house, where tihe tr.ue monastic h>osipit)ality will be afforded to the stranger.

As wo left, the evening was closing in, tihe bell sounded lor Vespers, the monks in cowl and sandals tnooped into the church and we heard them chanting their service to Gregorian nmisic Tihe wiiole s"ceme was a bit of mediaevalusm. It carried us back to a time w'hem institutions like these kept alive tiho dim /light of civil i;/p.tion in oiir fatherlands— when tihe monias'tery was the centre of improvement, and when tihe monks subdued the ro.ugti places of tihe earth, and broaig/ht to the still rougher people the lesson that praying and working go well tJogctlher. Here, under the alien sky, and aloaigside a civ ih/ati'o.n perhaps the mmst material that nas ever existed si!»kc Christianity ta,up;ht the lesson of the Sermon en tihe Mount, these good men are trying to teai'h doing a r ld praying must go together

The Ortlcr has a Chain ;of Stations l

from East (Jnqlialand to the borders of ZuluLtund. It is t(,o ssoon to sfiy what client they will ha.ye cm t/he mass ot barharisjn tiiat darker as it get& further east, Oi'C thSng is certain, however — that they oiler to their v.ihite neighbors an example of the power of imdustry daectod by l'litelh^en' e which is of the utmtost v^aTlue in the struggling agriculture of South Africa. As to the natives we a.\o jvot s-o certain it is a noble attempt, perhaps the n'oWest fihat has been made, to lift tjheim, on to a hiajior sr'hcre. It deserves to siuoceed, i)/ut there aie many i,nfl'ii«:iccis a^Vunst it, a^d When we reach Durban an/i see the poor barbarians fantastically bedizened, diagjgi'n^ hulking wn.ue men through tihe s-treets 1 iin little c,o-caitK, like beasts oF burden, while cargoes of Chinese ,hp beine; cntr'ainod under police supervision for honest labior^ and the Indian coolie, is slowly flooding the white man off the land, while white men are fotund breaking stones for starvation wages, we well-nigh deslpair of the future, and think that our good Trappist friends have perchance come a century too late.