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 NEWBATTLE

781

NEW CALEDONIA

the brief space of fifty years, there had been an in- crease of tenfold in the number of churches and nine- fold in population, with nearly 50,000 children at- tending 167 Catholic schools and institutions, and 396 priests attending the 416 churches and chapels throughout the State. Religious communities now represented in the diocese are, men: the Jesuits, Pas- sionists, Benedictines, Carmelites, Dominicans, Fran- ciscans, Salesians, Pious Society of the Missions, the Christian Brothers, Alexian Brothers, and Xaverian Brothers; women: Sisters of Charity (Newark), Sisters of St. Benedict, Sisters of Christian Charity, Sisters of St. Francis, Sisters of Charity (Gray Nuns), Domin- ican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary, Sisters of St. Dominic, Sisters of St. Francis, Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Sisters of St. Joseph, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, Little Sisters of the Poor, Felician Sisters, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, Pallotine Sisters of Charity, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, Daughters of Our Lady of Help, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Baptistine Sisters.

Statistics (1910): Priests, 368 (regulars, 88); churches with resident priests, 162; missions with churches, 36; stations, 10; chapels, 82; seminary, 1, students, 42; students in Europe, 7; seminaries of re- ligious, 3, students, 31 ; colleges and academies for boys, 6; academies for girls, 12; parish schools, 116, pupils, 52,600; orphan asylums, 12, inmates, 2400; industrial and reform schools, 4, inmates 450; protectory for boys, 1, inmates, 180; total young people under Cath- olic care, 56,000 ; hospitals, 10 ; houses for aged poor, 2 ; other charitable institutions, 8; Catholic population, 365,000,

Flynn, The Catholic Church in New Jersey (Morristown, 1904) ; Shea, History of the Cath. Ch. in the U. S. (New York, 1SS9-92); Reuss, Biog. Cycl. of the Cath. Hierarchy in the U. S. (Milwaukee, 1898) ; Bayley. .4 Brief Sketch of the Early Hist, of the Cath. Ch. on the Island of New York (New York, 1853) ; Griffin, Catholics in the Am. Revolution, I (Ridley Park, Pa., 1907); Tanguay, Docu- ments relating to the Colonial History of New Jersey (Newark, 1880): History Cath. Ch.in Paterson, N. J. (Paterson, 1883); Hist. City of Elizabeth (Elizabeth. 1899) ; Freeman's Journal and Truth Teller (New York) files; The Catholic Directory (1850-1910).

Thomas F. Meeh.\n.

Newbattle (Neubotle, i. e. new dwelling), in the ancient Diocese of St. Andrews, about seven miles from Edinburgh, was founded about 1140, being the second of the six Cistercian Monasteries estab- lished by St. David, King of Scotland. Newbattle Abbey was a filiation of Melrose (itself a daughter of Clairvaux) and was situated, according to Cistercian usages, in a beautiful valley along the South Esk. Rudolph, its first abbot, a strict and severe observer of the nile, devoted himself energetically to the erection of proper buildings. The church, cruciform in shape, was two hundred and forty feet in length, and the other buildings in proportion; for the com- munity numbered at one period as many as eighty monks and seventy lay-brothers. The abbey soon became prosperous, and famous for the regularity of its members, several of whom became well-known bishops. It was especially dear to the kings of Scotland, scarcely one of whom failed to visit it from time to time, and they were always its generous benefactors. One of the principal sources of income was the coal mines in its possession, for these monks were among the first, if not the first, coal miners in Scotland. The earliest mention of coal in Scotland is to be found in a charter of an Earl of Winchester, granting to them a coal mine. Newbattle suffered much from English incursions at various times, par- ticularly in 1385, when the monastery and church were burned, and the religious either carried away, or forced to flee to other monasteries; it required forty years to repair these losses. A part of the monastery was again destroyed by the Earl of Hertford, but the destruction seems to have been chiefly confined to

the church. At the time of the Protestant Reforma- tion but few of the monks remained, and these were pensioned by the commendator, Mark Kerr, ancestor of the Lothian family, its present owners. The stones of the church were used to convert the monastic build- ings into a secular house.

Manrique, Annates Cistercienses (Lyons, 1642); Dodsworth AND DuGDALE, Monasticon Anglicanum (1661); Regis, .S'. M. de Neubotle: New Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. I; Barrett, The Scottish Cistercians (Edinburgh).

Edmond M. Obrecht.

New Brunswick. See Chatham, Diocese of; Saint John, Diocese of.

New Caledonia, Vicariate Apostolic op. — New Calediinia, one of the largest islands of Oceania, lies about 900 miles east of Queensland, Australia, between 20° 10' and 22° 16' S. lat., and between 164° and 167°E. long. It is about 2.50 miles long by 30 broad, and has an area of 76.50 square miles. It is a French colony, its principal dependencies being the Isle of Pines and Loyalty Islands (including Lifou, Mare, and Uvea). Its population, together with that of these dependen- cies, is estimated at 53,000 inhabitants (13,000 free; 11,000 of convict origin; 29,000 black). The coasts of New Caledonia are deeply indented, and the island is almost entirely surrounded by an immense madre- pore reef, which now retires to some distance from and now approaches close to the shore, but regularly leaves a broad channel of water between itself and the island. This species of canal, in which the sea is always calm, greatly facilitates communication between the various settlements on the coast. The island is very moun- tainous, and about one half of its area is thus unculti- vatable. The so-called central chain, which divides the island into an ea.stern and a western section, at- tains the height of over 5500 feet. The hills which fringe the coast, and at times rise sheer from the water, do not in general exceed the height of 600 feet. Be- tween these lesser ranges stretch good-sized plains of great fertility, admirably watered by numerous streams which the natives skilfully utilize for purposes of irri- gation. The streams of the same basin usually unite to form one river which is navigable for vessels of light draught for about a dozen miles from the coast. Un- like most intertropical regions, the island has no well- defined wet season, some years being very rainy and others characterized by prolonged droughts. The scenery is wonderfully beautiful and for .salubrity of climate the island is almost unrivalled. The tempera- ture rarely reaches the extremes of 96° by day during the hot season (December to March) and .56° by night during the cold (May to August). The administration has divided the island into three sections: the convict settlement, that reserved exclusively for the natives, and the remainder which is leased to colonists by the French Government. The chief agricultural prod- ucts are coffee, maize, sugar, grapes, and iiiiicapples, while efforts are being made at present to foster the cultivation of wheat, rubber, and cotton. The island also possesses valuable deposits of nickel, cobalt, chrome, and copper ores, all of which are being ex- ploited chiefly by Australian miners. Discovered by Captain Cook in 1774, the island was occupied by the French in 1S53, and on 2 Sept. 1863, a decree was passed authorizing the establishment of a convict set- tlement there. In May, 1864, the first crinjiiials ar- rived, and between that date and ISOli, an aj^gregate of about 22,000 were transported tljilher. As no convicts have been sent since l.S9, the convict ele- ment of the population is rapidly diminishing. Nou- mea is the chief town and the seat of government. It has an excellent harbour for the improvement of which various works are in course of execution. The colony is administered by a governor, assisted by a council consisting of various officials and two notables nomi- nated by the governor. There is also an elective general council.