A NEW ZEALAND CATHOLIC BENEFIT SOCIETY.

New Zealand Tablet, 19 June 1913, Page 26

A NEW ZEALAND CATHOLIC BENEFIT SOCIETY.

To THE EDITOR. Sir, —Last week's Tablet contained a. letter from a New Zealand man of English Catholic parentage. He says the Hibernian Society would be all right in Ireland. In my opinion it is much more highly proper among the Irish race outside Ireland. It perpetuates the memory of Ireland. It, and it alone, keeps up St. Patrick’s Day. It makes some reparation for the insulting Jokes and remarks that Irish Catholics have to put up with from the Protestants of England and their descendants. May God bless and prosper the Hibernians; and may the day never come when they would think of giving up the good old name.—l am, etc., One Who Reads the Tablet. June 2. To the Editor. Sir,As an Irishman who has lived in New Zealand over thirty years, I fail to understand why any person claiming to be of Irish parentage should object to the word ‘ Hibernian.’ There might be some excuse for Frenchmen, Germans, or Englishmen; but in my opinion there is none for those claiming Irish descent. * I think it is rather unfortunate for Very Rev. Dean Darby that his parents hailed from the Emerald Isle. I should strongly advise Him to take a twelve months’ holiday through the United . States and Canada, finish up with a run through London, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Edinburgh (never mind visiting Dublin or Belfast), and he will come back to New Zealand convinced, I have no doubt, that New Zealand Catholics

have no need of being ashamed of the word ‘Hibernian,’ whether they are of Irish or English descent. I thank you in anticipation of inserting my opinion, and I believe the opinion of 99 per cent, of the Irish and those of Irish descent in New Zealand, Yours faithfully, s . - T. McGloin. Hamilton, June 9. To the Editor. . , Sir,—According to the views expressed by Very Rev. Dean Darby, New Zealand has grown, and the only Catholic Benefit Society we have has' not grown with it, so he suggests a N.Z.C.B. Society. It is true there is not enough of our people in the society, and it has not grown fast in some parts of the country. On the other hand, the Wellington branches can point to an increase of 325 members in six years. In tracing the origin of the society in New Zealand and following its progress, we find that its promoters were Irishmen, who had been members of similar societies in Ireland, and in spite of penal laws were thoughtful and enlightened men, and in establishing the society one of its objects must be with fond recollections ever to cherish the memory of Ireland, condoling with her in her suffering, rejoicing with her in her prosperity and happiness, and impressing on the minds of the rising generation a love for the noble and devoted race from which they have sprung. When in the near future Ireland, having- fought for and won Home Rule, enjoys it, and receives the same rights and privileges as New Zealand, this object must be doomed. Ireland’s gifted manhood will, I think, very ably take care of Erin’s future in the Empire,' Then the time will be ripe for the genius of New Zealand to assert itself. The Irishmen, New Zealanders, and all other Catholics, with the broadest ideals and the highest principles in their devotion to this land, will be bound yet closer in the social chains of fraternity and friendship, still keeping the old name of Hibernian. I see no objection to that word. Would a non-Catholic object to the word Druid, because it was associated* with the name of a pagan religion ? The name Oddfellow is strange enough, but these words seem to be a hall mark of societies efficient and prosperous. The gentle tappings which we now hear at the door will not become loud knockings for a new society. The H.A.C.B. Society will itself show in its future evolution that New Zealand will develop its own genius, and it will advance as may be necessary for the best interests of the society.—l am, etc., Thomas B. Gill. Jackson street, Island Bay, June 8.