TRANSPLANTED IRISH INSTITUTIONS - University of Canterbury

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refutation of the slanders made use of by Priest Hennebery when in the city."56 He arrived
in January 1880. The Orange Lodge also took steps to protect Chiniquy with ten men
nightly guarding the place where he was to stay, which was in Archdeacon Maunsell's
house. 57 These precautions although deemed necessary in light of the riots proved to be
unnecessary for his tour. Chiniquy toured for about three months and during this time he
preached a variety of sermons but some topics proved to be more popular than others. The
obvious lecture many wanted to hear was 'Why I with 25,000 of my Countrymen left the
Church of Rome,' which was a synopsis of Chinrquy's life with special focus on his
conversion from Catholicism to the Protestant faith. In essence this was his testimony. Two
other lectures figured prominently on his New Zealand tour which were 'Rome and Liberty
of Conscience' and 'Rome and Education'. The lectures generally had a sizeable audience
and did not meet with much opposition.
The most notable opponent of Chiniquy on his tour throughout New Zealand was
M. Mosley, an Irish Protestant and member of the Irish Distress Fund Committee (which
included Father Ginaty).58 What Mosley took issue with was Chiniquy's comments about
the priests wanting Famine money for their own seditious plots. Chiniquy stated that he
"had £50 ready to send to the North of Ireland so soon as ever he heard a cry of famine
from there, but he feared he would have to keep his money in his pocket for a long time. "59
Such comments drew the ire of Mosley who was part of a committee that was
trying to raise money for Famine victims, and Chiniquy's comments discouraged donations.
Mosley's first refutation of Chiniquy was in a letter to the Lyttleton Times. He showed the
absurdity of the claim that priests were wanting money when it was indeed prominent
Protestant Members of Parliament and even Protestant Archbishops and bishops who
appealed for money and also "- mark this well- the Moderator of the General Assembly of
56J. Carnahan, A Brief History of the Orange Institution in the North Island of New Zealand from 1842
to the Present Time, Auckland Star Office, 1886, pp. 31-32.
57Ibid., p. 32. Maunsell was a well -known preacher at Orange celebrations.
58Lylte1ton Times, 18 February 1880.
59jbid., 5 February 1880.