The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1913. ST. MARY’S ORPHANAGE: AN APPEAL

New Zealand Tablet, 12 June 1913, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, JUNE 12, 1913. ST. MARY’S ORPHANAGE: AN APPEAL

AST week we gave a full and vivid descripSrj [ .3: ■ tion, from our Auckland correspondent, f 1 Ijill °f the serious misfortune, which has fallen upon St, Mary’s Orphanage for girls at Takapuna. At 5 o’clock in the morning, fire was .discovered; in the children’s playroom; and in a very short time one of the most complete, best appointed, and most up-to-date buildings of its kind in the Dominion was levelled with the ground. An outstanding feature of the sad occurrence— one which Catholics everywhere will read of with a feeling of pride—-was the - quiet heroism of the Sisters. Women are' generally creditedin the mind of the average male person, at leastwith being hysterical, emotional, and excitable, and quite unable to control themselves in an emergency. The good Sisters of St. Mary’s gave the lie to all that. Quietly, calmly, without bustle or disorder or the faintest approach to panic, the scores of little ones were marshalled, and safely taken out of the burning building, not a solitary child being injured in any way. Thanks be to God, and the good Sisters, that this great misfortune was saved, at leasts from becoming a dreadful tragedy. - * • But though we cannot be sufficiently thankful that there was no loss of life, the fact has still to ; be faced that the destruction of this splendid building is a heavy blow. Apart from the unsettlement and inconvenience to the Sisters, the direct monetary loss amounts to at the very least £3OOO, The fact that at the time of the disaster the building sheltered no less than one hundred otherwise homeless little ones tells its own tale as to the noble work which was being done within its walls. Further particulars cited by Bishop Cleary

at the meeting of citizens reported elsewhere in this issue- speak eloquently of the thoroughness and success of’ the methods employed and of the excellence of the material that is being developed at this institution. The Government. inspector, who was to have examined the institution on the very day of the fire, declares that it was the most efficient orphanage in New Zealand, and that its record was one of the best. The Bishop of Auckland has, with his usual indomitable courage and determination, decided that the building, must be at once replaced; and to enable this to be done a sum of from £BOOO to £IO,OOO must be promptly, found. To that end, we earnestly and confidently appeal to /our readers, throughout the length and breadth of the Dominion, to meet this pressing need. The spirit of Catholic charity is, thank God, unquenchable, and the cry of the orphan is one that makes a never-failing appeal to every human heart. There is another aspect of the matter which we take the liberty of putting before our readers. If there is one man in New Zealand who has made the whole Catholic body his debtor it is Bishop Cleary. Without a thought of self, or of his own personal ease and comfort, he has labored unweariedly arid given without stint of his time, energy, brain-power, and substance, not merely for the benefit of hi’sowm diocese, but to defend the rights and promote the ; well-being of the entire Catholic people of the Dominion. What he has done he has done, we know, from high sense of duty, and anything in the nature of personal recompense would, we may “be assured, be distasteful to him; but many of our readers will share with us the feeling that it would be a graceful act on our; part to mark our sense of the splendid service which he has rendered, and is rendering, to the cause of truth and justice, by relieving him without delay of any anxiety in connection with the erection of the most noble and necessary charity to which he has put his hand. , Donations will be acknowledged in the columns of the N.Z. Tablet; and we remind readers that the prompt assistance is, in this pressing case, the best. There is none so poor but he may put a brick or two in the new Orphanage, and thus have a share in the ; good work of instructing our neglected children unto justice and training them up to be creditable citizens of New Zealand. Already the project has been taken up in Auckland with the utmost enthusiasm by representatives of all creeds arid classes; and the meeting of citizens, presided over by the Deputy-Mayor and addressed by.representative public men, is a magnificent tribute to The charity and public spiritedness of the northern city. . That our people elsewhere will rise to the occasion we have not the slightest doubt. There is, we believe, no people on God’s earth more loyal and generous-hearted, or more keenly grateful for service rendered, than the Catholic people of New Zealand; and we are confident that this appeal for so deserving a cause will meet with a hearty and enthusiastic response, and that St. Mary’s Orphanage will speedily rise out of ’ its ashes and resume its beneficent work upon even a grander scale than before.