Commonwealth Notes

New Zealand Tablet, 27 October 1921, Page 30

Commonwealth Notes

NEW SOUTH WALES. Rev. Dr. Kaldewey, who was a professor at St. Patrick's College, Manly, for five years, and was afterwards secretary to the Apostolic Delegation in India, has been raised to the dignity of a Domestic Prelate, and appointed by Propaganda Secretary to the Inter-Nuncio in Holland. He has left .India for Rome to take up his new duties. The executive of the Irish Self-Determination League have selected the Very Rev. Dr. M. J. O'Reilly, CM., Rector of St. John's College, Sydney University, to represent New South Wales at the great Irish Race Convention to be held in Dublin on January 21 of next year. Dr. O'Reilly will leave Sydney for Ireland by the R.M.S. Orvieto on the 12th of next month. There will be representatives at the Convention from every State in America, every province of Canada, every State in South Africa, and, we hope, every State in Australia, and New Zealand. The friends of Ireland will gladly subscribe the necessary funds to pay the delegates' expenses. The triennial congress of the Society of St. 'Vincent de Paul, to be opened by his Grace the Archbishop of Sydney on Monday evening next (says the Catholic Press, for October 13), will probably be one of the most important events ever held in Sydney Delegates are coming from Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Auckland, Wellington, Bendigo, Rockhampton, and many of the towns of our own State. It is expected that the interstate delegates will number 120, for most' of whom accommodation is being provided by the Sydney brothers In their own homes. Papers will be read on subjects concerning a very wide range of charitable and social activities, and the discussions following the readings will be of very great interest. The various sessions will be held in the Chapter Hall, St. John's College, the Repertory Theatre, and the Southern Cross Hall. The social events will include visits to St. Patrick's College, Manly, on Tuesday, and to Westmead Home on Thursday. The congress will be brought to a grand and solemn close in St. Vincent's Church, Ashfield, on Sunday night, the 23rd inst., when his Excellency the Apostolic Delegate will preside, and officiate at Pontifical Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. His Grace the Archbishop of Adelaide will deliver the special address. When speaking in the Federal Parliament on the motion moved by the Prime Minister to the effect that the House should record its sincere regret at the death of the late member for West Sydney (the Hon. T. J. Ryan), Mr. Frank Brennan, the member for Batman, said: I . desire to have the sad honor of associating my name with the motion now before the House. Our words, said in sorrow, can add but little to the reputation of the man who has gone. If so, there is consolation in the thought that words spoken of him in anger and in the spirit ' of malevolence took little from his reputation and less from his real worth while he still lived. Born of the soil of Australia, and fostered in her spirit, he chose deliberately the way in which he could best serve her, and having chosen clearly, he must have foreseen as clearly the guerdon of his labors. He came to this Parliament was natural; it was in a certain sense inevitable that he should come herefrom a "position of leadership to a position of substantial leadership here. Yet he did not seek to lead men. Rather did men seek to follow him. He came, not to serve ambition, for he had already won greater eminence. He came not to serve self-interest, for he had put behind him ease, honors, and emoluments. Greathearted son of the unconquerable race which bred him, he came through shot and shell and fiery fusillade and poisoned air to serve in just measure all but himself. And now he is dead, and none may speak ill of him. He is gone, leaving those who were, and were worthy to be, within the inner circle of his high endeavor immeasurably poorer, and us the inheritors of his memory, and the sharers of his tradition, immeasurably rich. Perhaps, when fierce antagonisms have been resolved 1 by death, and personal interests as fully served as may be, the living seek to come to terms with an accusing conscience which verily makes cowards of us all. v .

VICTORIA. Speaking at Coburg recently, Archbishop Mannix said the representatives of the Irish people are going into the international conference on the 11th of this month perfectly free and untrammelled. They are going into the conference "with-,the respective positions of Ireland and of England stated and'understood." Mr. Lloyd George has abandoned his preposterous demand that President de Valera should surrender the whole basis of Ireland's demand before entering the conference. That is so much gained, and my hope is that Mr. Lloyd George will meet his match in this conference, as he has already met him in the field. Enemies had said hard things of the Irish Republican Army. But Ireland is proud of her men—the men who risked their lives to save her life and her honor. Probably no war had ever been fought in which there were not regrettable and indefensible incidents. But, he would say that he knew no people who had been forced to defend themselves against ruthless aggression and had come through the ordeal with cleaner hands than the Irish people. QUEENSLAND. St. Stephen's was crowded'on the occasion of the Solemn Pontifical High Mass in thanksgiving of the sacerdotal silver jubilee of Grace the' Archbishop, Most Rev. Dr. Duhig. In the sanctuary were visiting prelates and clergy from all over the archdiocese. So great was the attendance of the clergy that seats had to be placed outside the altar rails. Right Rev. Dr. O'Dwyer, Bishop of Wagga Wagga, was the celebrant. Among the distinguished visitors were the Most Rev. Archbishop Redwood (New Zealand), Right Rev. Dr. Carroll (Lismore), Right Rev. Dr. Shiel (Rockhampton), and the Right Rev. Dr. O'Connor (Armidale). In the congregation were Mrs. F. Cullen and Miss Duhig (sisters of the Archbishop). The jubilee discourse was delivered by the Very Rev. Dr. M. J. O'Reilly, CM., Rector of St. John's College, Sydney. The Exhibition Hall was crowded when the presentation of addresses from the clergy and laity to his Grace were made. The Lieutenant-Governor (Hon. William Lennori) presided. The following cable wa's received from his Holiness the Pope by Dr. Duhig: "On the happy occurrence of the 25th anniversary of your priesthood, the August Pontiff, with the most fervent wishes for a further long period of fruitful pastoral ministry, imparts to you the Apostolic Benediction as a token of paternal affection and a pledge of heavenly reward. (Signed) Cardinal Gasparri, Secretary of State. The clergy's presentation to his Grace was a handsome gold chalice, magnificently designed and executed by a Brisbane firm, and an address. The laity also presented an address. During his reply Dr. Duhig made an appeal on' behalf of the widows and orphans of the victims of the Mt. Mulligan disaster. A sum of £7O was raised. At the luncheon given to his Grace by the priests a sum of £IOO was readily subscribed. These two sums have been sent to relieve the distressed widows and orphans. Archbishop Duhig has administered for the past five years the archdiocese of Brisbane, which is six times as large as Ireland. Nine years ago, when he came to Brisbane as CoadjutorArchbishop, the archdiocese had 56 priests; to-day it has double that number. "Besides the students we have in the Ecclesiastical Colleges of the Old World (says the Archbishop), we are easily first of all the dioceses of Australia in the numbers we have at Manly and Springwood Colkges in New South Wales. The vocations to the priestßood here in the archdiocese have been so numerous as to give us an assurance that we shall never want for priests. That, I think, is the best proof that the faith has taken deep root in the soil of Queensland." Continuing his review of a decade's progress his Grace remarked "Ten years ago we had in the archdiocese of Brisbane 91 churches and 47 schools. To-day we found 143 churches and 70; schools. In the same period we have more than doubled the number of children attending our schools which, at present, is nearly 15,000. Working in these schools and in our >• Catholic institutions are 520 nuns and about 50 Christian Brother*. - - 'v" ' s \ : ';--;'' "