DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 19, 14 May 1908, Page 13

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

(From our own correspondent.) May 11. Mr , ™ May devoti °ns at the Cathedral and St eveSn 8 ' ManChester street > are bei *g well attended each Although the Canterbury representatives were prevented owing to the flooded state of the Wataafc&riri from getting through to the Otira on the day of the tunnel ceremony, Mr. John O'Halloran, of Glentui essayed the journey on the night previous. Findkim himself the sole Canterbury man present, he at once undertook the duties of representing the province • and discharged the duties to the evident satisfaction of both press and public.

The St. Patrick's branch" of the H.A.C.B. Society is inaugurating a movement to secure increased membership, and circulars are being issued showing the many advantages offered to Catholic young iren to join the society. As the movement is of a competitive- nature, led by the president, Bro.- R. P. O'Shaughnessy and vice-president, Bro. J. McAleer, the result should prove bath beneficial and interesting. It is pleasing t 0 note also that several leading Cabholic citizens are joining the branch as honorary members.

At Easter an apen-air fete held in, the Athletic Grounds, Leeston, illuminated by the electric light, installed by Mr. A. E. Brown, of Christcliurch, was a great success. The Ellesmere Brass Band performed se-eral selections during the evening. A number of attractions and comoretitions were introduced, and proved very remunerative. A committee formed from ■~tihe congregations of Leeston and Southbridge churches, with the Rev. Father Hills, S.M., as chairman, "organised and carried out the gathering, which was in aid of the Leeston convent schools, a profit of £225 being made.

A very successful concert was given by St. Mary's Court Minstrels and Variety Company in St. Mary's Hall on Monday evening last. There was a crowded^

house, and as an excellent programme was provided enrcores were frequent during the evening. The / Very Rev. Father Marnane was present. During an interval Father Hoare, on behalf of Very Rev. Father Marnane, thanked the audience for attending in such large numbers and showing their appreciation of the programme and their interest in the Church work. The concert concluded with a comedietta, entitled ' The Agency Office,' the characters in which were excellently sustained. The accompaniments were played by an orchestra under Mr. C. A. Oakes, and Mr. P. C. J. Augarde. Those cantriibiuiting to vho programme were Misses Harris, Brick, D. Smith, and Riordan, Messrs. Poppelwell, R. McNamar a , C. S. Fqley, T. Keith, Chammon, E. McMahon, McKeown, J. Hick'mott, and C. Barnett.

In the report just received from Mr. Richard Ctimmiitngs, who conducted the examinations for the Associated Board of the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music last November, the following referenoe is made to the local convent schools :— ' Examination at the Institute of Notre Dame des Missions (in connection with Canterbury College).— For the pianosforte performers' examination, the only candidate examined was not successful in obtaining sufficient marks to entitle her to her diploma. In the other grade, the results were : — School examination : Higher examined, 1 ; Lower, examined 1 ; Elementary, examined 3, passed 3 , Primary, examined 8, passed 8. One candidate for the harp, in the local centre examination, was examined, and deservedly gained a pass. Sisters of Mercy Convent, Lyttelton. — In this 1 examination one entered for the elementary grade and three for the primary, and all successfully passed. Convent of Mercy, Christchurch.—Higher, 3 ; Lower, 7 ; Primary, 3. All these candidates had been excellently prepared, and easily gained pass marks.'

The ceremony at Ot'ira on last Tuesday in connection with the inauguration of the contract to tunnel the Southern Alps, was marked by heavy rain, and a consequent rise in the river at the Bealey, which prevented intending Canterbury visitors (including his Lordship Bishop Grimes) getting beyond "-the local hostelry. The programme afi the Westland side was duly carried out by the Premier, Sir J. G. Ward, among those present being the Very Rev. Dean Carew, of Greymouth. Not to be outdone, those who had to remain at the Bealey heartily set to work, and celebrated the event at the same time on the Canterbury side.

Bishop Grimes, who rose amid loud cheers, said that he had been asked to propose the toast of ' The West Coast Pioneers,' coupled with the names of Messrs. A. D. Dob'son, G. P. Williams, and H. Allen. The unpleasant atmospheric circumstances in which they - were placed that day would give them an idea of what the West Coast pioneers had had to encounter at times. Tihey were possessed of great pluck, grit, and energy, amid an<yotoe -who had b:een through uhe Coast as he had could imagine what they had endured. They had not ha<d at that time any vision of a railway, or evien good roads ; they had had to go through the bush bearing a swag, and not Knowing where they were to get a meal, and they had prepared the way for their worthy descendants. He wished that those present could have been at tlhe tunnel mouth that day to show the enthusiasts of tlie Coast, by their presence, that what had been said of the coldness and ' staaidoffishness ' of Canterbury people had no foundation in fact. The pioneers of both provinces had been always most genial. ' With you, gentlemen,' continued his Lordship, ' I sincerely regret that it was not our privilege to be present at ; the function over the hill, and with you I hope that God will bless and prosper that work."' His Lordship spoke in eulogistic terms of the warm-hearted treatment he had received at the hands of all classes and creeds on the Coast, and provoked hearty laughter by an account of his first visit to the diggings. One of those who had welcomed him was the late Mr. Seddon, who had said to him, ' You will find it very rough indeed!, but } r ou will find golden hearts. ' Even I at that time Mr. Seddon had prophesied that railway communication with Christchurch would eventually be established . He hoiped that some of the pioneers of the Coast would live to see the provinces united, as Sir George Grey had put it, in the bond of matrimony. 'The length of the tunnel will be five miles twentyfive chains twelve feet. It will be seventeen feet high and fifteen feet broad. It wiM be quite straight, with a dip- from the east to the west. The eastern portal ' will be 2435 feet above sea level, and the western portal 1585 feet, giving an incline in the five miles of 850 feet, or one foot fri 33. Messrs. John M'Lean and Sons j

have contracted to make the tun n el for £599,794. Extras will probably bring the total cost up to £6.0 ,000. It has been calculated by a person fond of figures that the tunnel will be 332,640 inches long, and it will cost nearly £2 an inch along its whole length. The workmen inside the tunnel will be, O n the average, 700 feet bieiow the mountains, but at one spot, beneath. Warnoclc's Knob, they will burrow at a depth of HO'O feet. Electrical appliances will be used to a great extent, and as a means to this end the water-power available will be brought into requisition. If s'teanv power was used, there would be no end to the trouble and expense of cartAng the fuel. Water-power, on the other hand, avill be cheaper, and, it is thought, more efficient. The contractors believe that all the power they will need at the Bealey end can be obtained from the Devil's Punch Bowl Falls, about half a mile from the mouth' of the tunnel. The water there has a direct fall of about 450 feet, and an available fall from, the top of 700 feet, and it may give 1000 horse-power. The tunnel, of course, will be bored from both ends, the gangs meetine somewhere near the middle. About two miles and a qiuarter will be done from the Bealey end and about three miles from the Otira end. The work of veniMlation alone will be an important undertaking, and in this respect the contractors are tied down to stated conditions. The working and living conditions of the workmen receive considerable attention in the specifications. Outside the tunnel the contractors will house their men 'in huts, the size of which are regulated in the specifications.