THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 65, 17 March 1900, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.

■The Queen has expressed her intention of presenting a font to a new Anglican church about to be opened at Assouan, in Upper Egypt.

Primitive Methodism ((says the London ''Christian World") enters the New Year with 1102 ministers, 198,931 church members, 407,884 Sunday School scholars, and trust property worth £.3,664,253.

At a few hours' notice Commissioner Railton, one of the founders of the Salvation Army, and a great traveller, embarked early in January for Capetown "for the purpose of strengthening the hands of the authorities, and to help them to keep at their own work —the salvation ot sinners."

Dv. P. E. Clark, the founder of the Christian Endeavour movement, has gone on a visit to Japan and China. He is going in the interest of the Societies, and expects to return by way of the Siberian railway through Russia, in time for the World's Convention of Endeavourers, to be held ill London in July.

Salvationists were hard at work in the camps of Lord Methuen and General French, and with the various columns in Natal, holding services, acting as secretaries to soldiers, collecting and receiving- information for their friends, visiting the tents, and assistingl .the sick and wounded.

Dr. Talmage is quite convinced that the coming sermon will be 11 reported sermon. His brethren in the ministry, he says, seem nervous of the reporter, but the reporter increases the congregation a hundredfold. The time will come when the newspapers •will reproduce the Gospel of Christ, and sermons preached on the Sabbath will reverberate round the, world."

The special committee of the United States House of Representatives has given its decision against Mr Koberts, the Mormon, who was returned by Utah. This is held to be a great triumph for American womanhood, -which, under the leadership of .Miss Helen, Gould and others, has fought for tlie purity and sanctity of the home.

"It was announced about the middle of January that General Booth had recovered from his attack of influenza. He was then about to visit Southampton, and afterwards to preside at a farewell meeting which was given to commander and Consul Booth-Tucker in Exeter Hall, London. Although by no means strong yet his recuperative powers are said to be a marvel to those who know him best.

Commander and Mrs (Consul) BoothTucker arrived in London, early in January, where they were to remain for the month. In the three years which have elapsed since they superseeded Mr and Mrs Ballington Booth in the command of the American, forces, the army's operations throughout the United States have largely extended. The social institutions of nil sorts now number 154, to which 432 officers and employees devote their whole time.

No white man has, up to the present time,, been able to settle amongst the ferocious men of Malayta, in the South.Seas. But there is prospect now of a missionary being able to land and work with. them., Several Malayta "boys" have been converted through the missionaries labouring amongst the Kanakas of Queensland, and on expiration of their term of service returned, to their native isle. These •boys" have sent messages to Queensland asking for a white teacher, and Jn answer to the call Mr Pillings, of Sydney, has taken ship for Malayta. His career will be followed by the deepest interest of all concerned in missions.

The Bishop of Pretoria (Dr. Eousfield) is said to have lost all his earthly possessions by his expulsion from the cax^ital of the Transvaal. lie says, however, that he regards the outlook as brig-lit and hopeful with regard to the work in which he is most of all interested. One result or; the war-will be the opening up of new fields of missionary labour, especially among, the natives employed-in the goldfields of the Transvaal. The Rev, C. Johnson has been enabled to mako arrangements for the spiritual welfare bi' 500 of his native Christian;* who have gone to Johannesburg to •work in the mines. Before the war the Chui'ch Missionary Society had work going on amongst the natives in twenty-four stations in Natal alone. The" native congregations in Ladysmith have so outgrown church accommodation that at the great festivals they have to resort to the rivereide or a tent to worship.

The American Baptist institutions haTe come in, for some handsomo ■windfalls under the will of Mi* Daniel Sharp Ford, publisher of "The Youth's 'Companion," and a million* aire. To the Baptist Social Union Mr Yard, bequeaths £70,000, to be used for the erection of a building for tho "use of theu<riio.n,-\v(hilethe entire plant of "The Youth's Companion," together with some real estate, is to bu administered for the benefit of. the union. One-sixth of the residue of tho testator's estate goes to the American Baptist Home Mission Society, onesixth to the American Baptist Missionary Union, one-ninth each to the: Massachusetts Baptist Convention fox*1 Feeble Baptist Cluirches, Massachusetts Charitable Baptist Society, Conference of Baptist Minsters in Massachusetts, the Maine Baptist Missionary Convention, New Hampshire Baptist Convention and Vermont Baptist Convention.

The late John Jluskin, was very early a preacher. At the age of three he mounted into a chair and preached this sermon:—"People be dood. II you. are dood Dod will love you. If you are not dood Dod will not love you. People be dood." He was intended for the Church, . but as an undergraduate he cared very little for religious or theological questions, His early training1 was in accordance with the doctrines of the Calvinistic faith, and he clung to this faith in hia early manhood, trying1 to persuade himself that the religion of Bunyan, Khox', and 'Dr. Watts was in complete harmony with music, painting1 and sculpture, which were so much a part of his nature. Then came rumours that he had abandoned Protestantism, and joined the Church of Rome, but lie denied them. To a 1 Glasgow cor•re'spondent he wrote in 1877: "I was. am. and can be only a Christian Catholic.in the wide and eternal sense. I have been that these five-and-twenty years- at least. Heaven keep me from being- less as I grow older. But lam no more likely to become a Eoman Catholic than.a. Quaker, Evangelical, or Turk." '

A tablet has been placed in Llanrhaiadr Parish Church to the memory of Bishop William Morgan, the translator of the Bible into Welsh, and the vicar of the parish from 1578 to 158S, during which period he accomplished his great work of translation..

The Bey. Charles Garrett advised the British Wesleyan quarterly meeting, held in December, to see, in the appointment of officers in the Church, that no person, from the chapel keeper upwards, who is directly engaged in the drink traffic, be appointed to any office in Methodism.

.In its issue for December 30th, "Le Chretien Francais," the organ of the new Evangelical movement in France, computes that during the past two years as many as 125 French priests have definitely given up their positions in the Roman Church from conscientious conviction.

Dr. M'Giffert, the Presbyterian Professor of New York, is not, after all, to be prosecuted fur heresy. He was politely requested to withdraw from the church, which he declined to do, and the Americans are. so> sick of heresy prosecutions, that they are apparently ]me lined lo> leave him alone.

The "Methodist"' (New South Wales) speaking of the successes of Lord Roberts at lvimberley, Magei'sfonlein, and in the Free State, says, "How soon the tide of battle turned, after the day of national intercession. The connection between these two events is striking-, and ought to be well laid to heart. Shall we not adoringly say, "His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten us the victory.' "

On Monday of last week, at Kt. Patrick's Cathedral vestry, Melbourne, a meeting" of "Roman Catholic prelates, clergy, and loading laity took place, to make preliminary arrangements respecting the Australasian Catholic Congress to be hold in Sydney in October next. Archbishop Carr presided, his Eminence the Cardinal was also present, and took part, and several Bishops of Victoria.

An appeal was recently addressed by the Durban Church Council to the Free Churches in England. The. council represents the ministers and laymen of thirty churches and congregations in the district. The ex-

ecutive in drafting the appeal solemnly declares that the Transvaal Republic has for years past treated the Uitlanders with great injustice, and that British subjects have suffered oppression, indignity, and wrong io many forms.

Since Hawaii was annexed to the United States (says a London contemporary) it has seemed to most people a matter of course that the Anglican cure of souls therein should be annexed to the Episcopal Church in the Stales. But Dr. Willis, the Anglican Bishop of Honolulu, does not so think. In consequence of American Episcopalians are just a little vexed at him, especially since it is believed that the Archbishop of Canterbury.f ram whom he holds liis commission, is in sympathy with ihe wishes of the American House of Bishops, and has given him an intimation to that effect. Bishop Potter, of New York, has recently visited Honolulu, and it is supposed that the matter has been discussed by the Bishops. '

The Rev. M. Mullineux, who went as honorary chaplain with the New South Wales troops on the Aberdeen, wrote on arrival at Capetown: —"My efforts to get daily prayers for the men ■were unavailing. It is time tJiat thetime of the men was taken up with drills, stables, etc., but I think a. few mimites each morning could not have interfered very much with them. However, I ■was told my duty was to read prayers when required, :md as I had no commission 1 could not argue the point. The Queens Regulations appoint a church parade for Sundays at 10.45 a.m. Perhaps, on the whole, Sunday services wej-e the best for such, men. I think I did more good by goingl amongst them day by day. There were very nice men amongst them, and by the time we reached Capetown, the men, as a body, were most anxious for me to accompany them to the front."

The biography of the late Archbishop Benson, which his son, Mr A. ('. Benson, has just published, contains many curious things, especially relevant to the controversy on Apostolical Succession which has been occupying the theological mind in England lately. In one place it is related that the Archbishop, speaking ol: a conceited and arrogant young clergyman, said: "The fact is these young gentlemen think that the office magnifies the man. Depend upon it, the doctrine of Apostolical Succession is everything- for a man's own encouragement and help in dispirited hoars; but it, is not a doctrine to preach to the world." A suggestive incident follows: "Count 5.," says the Primate, "told me that he saw in a police court in Russia a priest brought in, in undress of purple, and the court, magistrates and all, knelt, and a police sergeant kissed his hand. Then rising, the magistrate said, 'You nasty, drunken beast, so you were drunk again yesterday. I'll make you remember it this time.' The priest was Jed out to an adjoining yard, his clothes torn off, and fifty lashes given him; when he was brought back, half fainting-, all knelt and received his blessing."

It is somewhat astonishing to leara that there are living' to-day not one, •or two, or three eminent clergymen of the various churches in England, but many, who have actually before they became pastors served their Sovereign "with the colours." The. most important of such at the present day is doubtless the Archbishop of York, who has done duty with hia ■old regiment as a lieutenant in India, and knows well what "roughing" it" is. And it is to his credit that, even when his tastes lay in the military direction, it was prophesied of him by those who knew that, in that line, [his career would not be undistinguished. But. the Indian army and his old. regiment did not keep him. His leanings turned fo more peaceful Work, and he resigned his coinmissiori to become a clergyman. The Bishop of Liverpool, the Venerable Dr. Kyle, was also once a "soldier of the Queen." Before he had made up his mind tf* become a parson he took a fancy to military things and joined the Cheshire Yeomanry, with a commission as captain. Dr. Harry P. Johnson, the Suffragan Bishop of Colchester, is another old army man, now risen to high honours and preferment In the Church. Father Brindle, the Eoman Catholic assistant prelate to Cardinal Vaughan, has helped tlia British army on more fields than one, and as to medals for all sorts of service, both actual fighting and aiding the wounded and dying amidst the worst possible dangers, Bishop Brindle could, it is said, lend anyon<» a few and not miss them.