The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1877-08-05
Our Colleges. Converts and Schools.
COMMENCEMENT ExERc1sEs


The morning of July 30th dawned upon man,
an anxious, yet joyous heart within the wall,
of Spring Hill College. 1t WAS the day of IN.
annual exhibition at the close of the acadsm;,
year, and the hearts Of the students. ooupa.s
with gladness at the thoughtof once more a..
ing the home of their childhood, and tbe da.,
loved ones, who undergo such noble saer;s,.
in order to give to their children q solid ana
Christian education. Tho closing exercises bor.
ample witpess to the good sense of the paran.,
in the choice of the guardiars to whom th.,
have entrusted their most sacred treasurs NM,
earth, the mind and soul of their cbil5r.,
This year, in fact, Spring Hill College. rot
only sustained its ancient Ienown for II. .c.ag
emic closings, but even surpassed its former
self, as we'll in the bEilliaRey Of its a,usses, :.
iectiops, as in the trainisg and proficiency q
the pupils. At 1890 o'clock A. H. the spaeios,
hall of the College was deluged by the strssr,
of people pouring in from early mornip,
Tnsnks to the kindness and to the intellisest
activity of Capt Ings.e, the Spring Hill can
afforded ample accommodation. The Right Rsy
j. Q1inlso, Bishop of Mobile, presided, and
wac surrounded by great noubes of the Rsy
clergy, and by the professors of the Collees
shall not weary the readers of the SrAs
with detailed account of the various scenes
that the well-flled programme of the day pre-
sented to the delighted audience, but shall
only briefly mention what GEMS best calcula
ted to please an enlightened public.
To begin by the debate we cannot help re.
GREETING that many of the modern politicians,
who flood our towns and country, do not show
that depth of sound reason and common sense
displayed by the intelligent speaker. The
subject of the debate was, the Electoral sys-
ren," and, the defects of the present mode d
election having been pointed ont, several ans
, liorations were proposed and discussed viii
solid augmentation, siren gthened By the irrs
sistible force of strong and flowing Language
Tho several speakers distinguished themselva
by their graceful defamation and she high
toned simplicity of their bearing and dspo,t1
ment. Mr.. W. Robinson, the chairman, whcssi
natural oratory and dignifed appearances We
remarked with great pleasure, compared the
| arguments pro snd con, and decided with TIE
maturity of veteran debater, "thst the prsa.
ext Electoral System established by our fore
fathers should be held and clung to with in7i-
| olable attachment and veneratioD, till scns
system should be devised by politicians, bettz
than those which have been hitherto promul-
gated" Mr.. Robinson disting guished hiussk
moreover by his original ode on the death Of
the Archbishop of Q uito pregnant with sent
ments of deeply-rooted religious feeling, and
delivered with that Pathos which is to b
found in those only who are strongly penetra'
| ted with the ideas which their words convey.
| The flute solo of Master R. Cswthon was res
| ceived by all with enthusiastic applause, and
| does the highest honor to the musical talents
| of both professor and pupil. 1t were beyond
thu limits necessarily prescribed to this sketcf
were l to mention the various young gentis
men who won the admiration of their hearers;
! cannot, however, pass npnoticed our friend
DR.. Pspgloss, in the play of the "Heir at Law
go perfectly rendered by Mr.. J. Thibaut Hi
whole audience, by their reiterated plaudii'
manifested their high appreciation of the msr
its of the gifted young actor. Conspieuos'
amongst the other actors was Mr.. Henry GOc'
berry, whose unsophisticated action was so uat'
ursl and pleasing, in the character OF "zekiel
Komespun." The other young gentlmen, Whon
| space unfortunately does not allow me to msn.
tion, elected the we'll merited applause OF then
audience, and were 3 credit to their teachsia
M. Charles Aitkens read the ValedictoTy Il
which he paid unequivocal homage to the can
and disinterestedness. of his teachers, and
when bidding them and the students la
farewell, in his own name ard in the name
his fellow graduates, Mr.. P. Leche and MI
E. Poincy, he clearly showed how strong an
the bonds that bind them to their CoLeg
home.
But what aroused in all hearts the grestss
expectations was the appearance of the WI
young Attorneys-at-Law, come back after Id
lapse of q few years to take out their degree
A. N and surely their Alma Mater has ever
reason to be proud of the true and solid orator
of the distinguished graduates. First cSn
Mr.. H. Rives, who had chosen for his addfes
Plus IN, a subject SO teemipg with aotuahE
and religious sentiment, that, at the very nam
of the Father of the faithful, every Chrls'i'
heart thrills with emotion. Let rs congrasa
late the young lawyer on the felicity OF d
choice and nobly too did he fulfill the task
30 generously undertook. He depicted y
Grand Pontiff, in the midst of an irrsIGloD'
| and corFunted world fnWeTiuR alOft over "