FEILDING

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVII, Issue 14, 8 April 1909, Page 531

FEILDING

RECOGNITION OF A GENEROUS GIFT

(From an occasional correspondent.)

Although the beautiful school, erected to the memory of the late Hon. W. W. Johnston, has been used since the beginning of the school year, owing to unavoidable circumstances it was only officially opened on Sunday, March 28, by his Grace Archbishop Redwood, when a beautiful address was presented to Mrs. Johnston as a public expression of gratitude by the Catholic body of Feilding. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was ftiven in the church by the Archbishop, assisted by the Very Rev. Father O'Shea, V.G., at 2.30, after which the members of the congregation and a number of prominent townspeople proceeded to the school, where the ceremony of presenting the address took place. The school, which is built of brick, and a description of which appeared in your columns some time ago, has been erected at a cost of nearly £4000. His Grace the Archbishop presided, and there were present Very Rev. Father O'Shea, Rev. Father O'Meara, Mrs. W.- ~VV. Johnston, Mrs. Baldwin, Mrs. Pharazyn ,and Mr. Goring Johnston.

The Rev. Father O'Meara said he first desired to thank Mrs. Johnston and family for the kindness and consideration he had received at their hands at all times. It had been a great source of encouragement and consolation to him to speak with the late Mr. Johnston on the education question. He had never met a man with a sounder grasp of the problem of education, with a fairer mind, or with a greater determination to do justice to all. He truly recognised the effect of a purely secular system on this Dominion, and thoroughly believed in the need f_6r religion in education ; and, as a consequence, was ahvays ready to encourage and support a system which daily inculcated the principles of Christianity. He well remembered him saying that he always looked upon a priest who established a school as one who had accomplished a great work for the community. And, therefore, thfc building they were in was a fitting tribute to him. He heartily congratulated Mrs. Johnston and family on tho choice they had made of a memorial to Mr. Johnston, and thanked them gratefully for what they had done to further the cause of education.

Mr. A. M. Ongley read the following address : — ' To Mrs. W. W. Johnston, Highden, Awahuri. — Dear Madam, — We, the Catholics of Feilding, desire to express to you and your family our cordial thanks for the beautiful school which you have donated to our parish in memory of your beloved husband, the Hon. Walter Woods Johnston. No more fitting tribute could be erected to commemorate tho deceased gentleman, who, on the public platform and in the House of Representatives, persistently advocated the

religious education of the children of this Dominion. His bright intellect clearly foresaw that any system of education, however skilfully devised, founded otherwise than on the solid foundation of Christian must inevitably undermine religion, morality, ' government, and civilisation. The Catholic Church, true to the mission imposed upon her by her Divine Founder, has ever kept "before her congregation the duty of imparting to their children a Christian education, and, with a generosity unparalleled in the history of the world, she lias been enabled to establish her own schools, so that to-day in Australasia alone out of her own resources she has built and equipped over 1500 schools where she imparts a thorough Christian education to nearly 130,000 children. We Catholics of Feilding presume to say that we 'are making an honest endeavor to fall in line with the teaching and tradition of the Holy Church. Less than ten years ago Feilding was without a ' presbytery, a convent, a school ; to-day we have a commodious presbytery with a resident priest, a beautiful convent with the zcaloxis and devoted Sisters of St. Joseph, and, owing to the goodness and generosity of you and your family, a school with all modern requirements built regardless of expense, an ornament to our progressive town. Again, dear madam, we thank you, and pray that you and your family may be long spared to enjoy the fruit of your beneficence.— Signed on behalf of the Catholics of Feilding — James Meehan, Owen McElroy, Geo. Hitchman, Patrick Henaghan, John Wilson, Thomas Shortall, John Murphy, Thomas Oliver, Patrick Desmond, M. O'Callaghan, David Herlihy.' Mr. Goring Johnston briefly returned thanks on behalf^ of his mother and family. He said that upon him that day> had fallen the honor of responding on behalf of his motherJc and her family to the kindly sentiments expressed in the-* address. He knew from the interest liis father.. had takert^in educational matters that he had in his mirTd- the carrying out of such an idea, and had he lived a little while longer he would have initiated the work of building the school. Therefore, as a tribute to him the family had built the school in the hope that in it would be trained those who would grow up to be men and women a credit to the town of Feilding, who would have their names enrolled on the scroll of fame as worthy citizens. As it had been built to long servo its useful purpose, he felt sure it would be useful for many years to come. He again returned thanks for the manner in which the gift had been acknowledged.

Archbishop Redwood expressed his gratitude for being able to attend there that day to assist in such a notable ceremony. It should be a matter of rejoicing that the congregation possessed such an excellent school, and he congratulated, the Catholics of Feilding upon possessing a building which had been erected regardless of expense and up-to-date in every particular. He congratulated Mrs. Johnston iipon the form in which she had decided to perpetuate the memory of her late husband, and he agreetlwith the f ranters of the address, L they had just heaid that no more fitting tribute could have been paid to Mr. Johnston's memory, because he had always made a prominent point of the necessity for maintaining a system of religious education. His Grace remembered well when Mr. Johnston was contesting a seat in v the House how he risked his election on that question, because he wanted justice done to the Catholic community. He had the boldness to speak his mind, and he won the election. All round them they saw the evils of a » deficient system of education. To be of benefit education should train the child for its conflict in the world — it should inculcate- the principles of honesty and uprightness, and it was not possible to do that without teaching the principles of trim religion. If any form of Government made it necessary for that to be done it was government by the democracy ; no people found it more so than a democratic community.

The Catholic Church" knew tliat, and the members made great sacrifices sooner than tlieir children should "be "brought up without religious teaching in their day schools. Mr. Johnston's convictions oh this question were yeiy deep-rooted, and it was Mrs.' Johnston's happiness to realise some of his ideals, and to do so in "the most graceful manner possible. It was her happiness to contribute in her time facilities for the perfect education of the Catholic children, ieaving behind lier a monument of enduring good, to which she would be able to look down upon from Heaven with grateful t recognition of . its usefulness. The architect and contractors had done their work faithfully and well, and had erected a building which, like the Catholic religion, would last' for .all time, and bring down on the donor's family from generation to -generation fche. greatest blessings of God.- He hoped that Mr. Johnston was looking down upon them from Heaven with additional joy at his desires being so splendidly carried to fruibion, and given such facilities for the Sisters to .impart to the children an all-round Catholic education. The Archbishop concluded by again expressing his thanks to the donors for the generosity exhibited towards the Church. After the ceremony afternoon tea was partaken of by all present on the lawn at the convent. The address was beautifully illuminated and engrossed by the Sisters of St. Joseph at the Sacred Heart Convent, Wanganui, and is quite a work of art.