Commonwealth Notes

New Zealand Tablet, 13 October 1921, Page 30

Commonwealth Notes

VICTORIA. Nearly one thousand men of the parish attended Holy Communion at the 8 o'clock Mass at St. Ignatius' Church. Richmond, on a recent Sunday morning. The whole of the aisle had been reserved for them, and it was edifying in the highest degree to see such' large number of men of all ages, who, by this act of public devotion, showed themselves true and practical Catholics. The Mass was celebrated by the Rev. Patrick McGrath, S.J. (local Superior of the Jesuits), and in giving Communion he was assisted by the Revs! A. Fleury, S.J.,- and John Martin, S.J. Referring to the Most Rev. Dr. Mannix at the opening of a garden fete at Elwood, recently, Rev. Father McCarthy, P.P., said that it would be absurd for him to introduce his Grace. Their Archbishop was already known throughout Australia, America, and England, and they in Melbourne needed no introduction. He would like to assure his Grace, on behalf of his parishioners and himself, that during his absence he was the constant subject of their prayers, and since his safe return they had offered prayers of gratitude to God. That day they expressed their gratitude to him for coming to help their small parish to reduce the debt that was weighing it down. His Grace was a very busy man because of his high office. To many people he was simply and solely a public man, but to his own people he was their father, under God. He (Father McCarthy) did not think that many of the people who congregated to hear Dr. Mannix speak always realised what his Grace was, not only as a public man, but as their Archbishop and chief priest. He would relate an incident that had occurred some years ago to make his meaning clear. It was when Melbourne was affected with the awful scourge called cerebro-spinal meningitis. Part of his (Father McCarthy's) duty was to attend an institution where one ward was set apart for meningitis patients. There everyone was isolated. One little girl of about 14 was prepared by him for death. She expressed one wishthat she should bo confirmed. He had tried to persuade her that it was unnecessary, but she had persisted. It becamo part of her delirium, and finally he had gone to his Grace and explained the case. Consequently' Archbishop Mannix had gone to the hospital, dressed as the others did—in the white robe and maskand gone into the ward and confirmed that child and consoled her, so that she had died content. Personally, he (Father McCarthy) thought they did not hear sufficient of these acts of his Grace. That afternoon he had come to bless their work, and he hoped that as a result of the garden fete the parish debt would be considerably reduced and the day for building the new church be brought nearer. They were all glad to see his Grace present, and he asked them to give him the best return they could by making the garden fete a success. (Applause.) His Grace Archbishop Mannix lately referred to the reply of Mr. Lloyd George to Mr. de Valera's letter of August 30, in which, he said, the Prime Minister stated that self-determination was the foundation of British constitutional development. He hoped that Mr. Lloyd George would see his way to apply that principle in the case of Ireland. Mr. Lloyd George had stated 'what was true; but he added that that principle, if generally applied, would drive the civilised world back to tribalism. Of course, self-determination could be reduced to an absurdity, and in that Mr. Lloyd George had said the correct thing. Of course, 10 or 20 men could not claim self-determination. There was one man who had done that, and who was the man? No. other than Mr. Lloyd George himself. , In the north-east of Ulster, on the principle of self-determination, he had set up a little tinpot Parliament, but not at the expressed wish of the people. He put the principle into practice for a time to suit his own purpose, and no one was more conscious of that than Mr. Lloyd George himself. Ireland's claim rested on a solid foundation. She was not connected, geographically, with any other country, and perhaps it would be better , if Ireland were farther out in the sea. He trusted that Mr. Lloyd George would recognise that Ireland's position

to-day was unassailable. His reply to Mr. de Valera was very plausible and captious. He (Dr. Mannix) held that there was no connection between the application of the principle of' self -determination used by Mr. Lloyd George and" the case for Ireland. It» remained for Mr. Lloyd George to prove his contention. (Applause.) QUEENSLAND. His Grace Archbishop Duhig arrived at Roma from Charleville on Tuesday evening, and yesterday morning administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 139 candidates (says the Catholic Advocate for September .15). A Communion breakfast was subsequently held in the Hibernian Hall, presided over by Mr. R. B. Collins, and the occasion was also taken to celebrate the golden jubilee of the H.A.0.8. Society. His Grace, in unveiling a merit board of past presidents of the Hibernian Society in Roma, r.eferred to the fact that the first branch of the society was formed in Roma on March 24, 1886, with a membership of 12, and at present the branch enjoyed a membership of 198, with assets amounting to £4216 7s 2d. The only foundation member remaining, Mr. Jonathan Linnett, was present. His Grace was the recipient of a wallet of notes, presented by Rev. Father J. J. Kelly, on behalf of the Hibernians in recognition of his silver jubilee, the month of October marking a period of 25 years since his Grace was first ordained a priest. In acknowledging the gift, his Grace said it was the first presentation of its kind that had been made to him, and it was very significant. He said he was never happier than when amongst the people of the country towns. He had had 24 years on the mission, and had always received the greatest kindness. He spent more than half the year travelling and covered 25,000- miles a year outside Brisbane. He was always glad to meet people of all creeds, and he had received as many public welcomes as any man in Queensland. He was deeply interested in the work of the Church, and, despite the. war, and all its drawbacks, he thought the Church had gone through a golden decade. He was also interested in the material progress of the country, because he recognised this as his country, and he would be a very ungrateful child if he did not love Australia and her broad acres. There was no country under heaven to-day where the people had brighter prospects, and Australians should wake up and realise the heritage they had for themselves and their children. Perhaps they were too near to recent events to realise what might be the outcome. The future of the world appeared to be in the balance to-day, and it depended not so much on what had been done in the past, but upon what the men and women of the next decade would do. The next 10 years would be years of reconstruction and at the end of the next decade we would have a much clearer vision of the future of Australia than what we had to-day. In order that necessary work might be done well, they wanted unity. The curse of Australia was that they had so many divisions. They had enemies outside watching them, and if they made any, mistake in steering the ship of nationhood there were people not very far from their door who would be very glad to take advantage of it. Unity, therefore, was necessary, and as a people they wanted an objective. What were they aiming at? Some were building up, and others were pulling down, in Australia at the present time. There was a lack of Australian patriotism. Every man who obtained the position to do something for his country should be unselfish, and do all he could from love of country. He was sorry to say there were not many such men in existence to-day; they looked first to what they could get out of it. They had heard a lot about the Sinn Feiners, but at any rate they were a united body, and had the freedom of their country at heart. The Irish Nationalist members of the House of Commons had never taken a penny of their Parliamentary salaries, and they should have that spirit here in Australia. This country would never thrive in the hands of jobbing politicians. They should see that the men they sent to Parliament were men of noble character.