FROM THE PULPIT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 230, 27 September 1915, Page 7

FROM THE PULPIT.

MINISTERS DEHOUHCE RAFFLES. AND CARNIVAL METHODS GENERALLY. Following upon the protest* made by the minuter* and clergy against the Carnival promoter* , decUion t.i hold art unions and prize drawing* in connection with the Auckland yuevn Carnival, se.rrnonH were preached ywterday "' many of the churches apiinet the evil of paml-liriK in general and the carnival proposals i" purtirular. In accordance with a prearI ranged plan »>V thfi Auckland Ministers' , Association yesterday was reparded as I an antipambling Sunday by most of the ministers. ■• SHAMEKTLLY INHEI K.S.T." Pn-acliinp at St. Stephen's I'resbyI lenan Church last evcninjl. f> Ul,v - '•; Jolly contended that the proponed ' rallies were essentially ;rarnbl.-s. And could j I not bo regarded otherwise. The very ' licence of (famblinir »»» the attempt to jjain money or prizes without Riviii)! any- J tInQR like the equivalent, and. an larjje j prizes were bcintf oflered. and people i hoped to pain them by mean* of small j 1 subscriptions, the carnival rallies could not Ik- deemed to be other than }_niml>- | i linß. "iarnhlinc «■»» esecntiallj immoral I in that it sought to acquire property i «ithout jriviiiK anything like an equivu- ] ■ lent. The lnw» ~'f the English speak in ? I Horld treated it as immoral and antiswial. The speaker further contended! ! that apart from the raffles, beinjj im- j ; moral, there wu indecent in m<-n purporting to support ' a fund for the wounded and the de- j pendents of the killed Reeking to make a , profit out of it instead of acting in the | same npirit of sacrifice which actuated our men. (iambling was unpatriotic! for it <ru demoralising to the commu ; nitv. Our business as ritin-ns ami Chris- | tians wan to support the patriotic ap- ' peal heartily and to the point of nacri- j : flee. A RF.SOLI7IOX PASSED. 1 Follow iiir upon an anti piinliling sermon preached by the Rev. A. Miller, the large congregation at the Edendalc : Presbyterian Church la*t evening passed j the following; resolution: — "That thin congregation earnestly I proteHtA ajiaiust any relaxation of the i law against lotteries which would per- ! Mit of lottcrieii bclng held in connection, I with the projected carnival in Auckland. believing that they would bo detrimental , I to the beet interests of the community. That copies of this resolution be wnt ! to tho Prune Minister, the Minister for j ■ Internal AlTair*. and the member for the district." In the course of his sermon the preacher spoke-of the traced of gain a* I iwMiiK injurious to people themaeWc*— not merely those Rained from, but to those who gained—for it was dcterioratj ing to manhood. Rambling, one of tho most objectionable forms in which jrrcnl i ' of piin *a* manifested, occurred in many forme. a:id tin- methods I hv tlie Carnival Committee for funds tnini»ter.->! to tins clement. Tho object of the ( arnival wae one which j eommende.l itsflf entirely and claimed ' our mont hearty support, but the,-meth-ods propowd were objectionable. lh» Carnival itneU was an unworthy metluwl ' • and the iramblinf! element connected j ' «itli it was Btill more objectionable. ' . The method of direct pivinj; up to the < limit of our ability, up to the point ol . sacrifice, was the Christian principle. The | proposed lotteries were ilineal, and. I moreover, tlicy iiivolvetl heavy pxprnan : for pri7.« and organisation, all of which ( wore chargeable to the fund raised. On the other hand, a ( nnvnssinp Committee' was pettinjj In work to secure money by ■ direct contribution*, and he ndvisnl j )>eople to give either through ttiui com-j mittee or in any other direct way. and i Her to it that the money raised by direct i canvass was not in any way mixed up j with that raised by the Carnival or wa* subjrrt to levy f,, r Carnival erponses- ! J CNWOHTHV AND INADEQUATE. Preaching at Mount F.dcn Conpreßational Church, tho Rev. H. Steele (raik urged people to (rjvc directly an<r keep! clear of tlw Carnival, not lieeause « was j or sinful, but Ih-i-uiiv it v§» un j worthy of and inadequate for the'oeca-i j elon. He did not think that there wa< i anything very much wronj; with the car- • i nival itself, and something mipht even , i Ite said for the innoccnev of raffles, but i the evil was that which grew out of \ I them, as illustrated by what happened ( i' in connection with the Wellington diei trict. i Reference to the Carnival was also I made by the Rev. Howenl Klliot. of I the Mount Kden Haptist Church, who i' spoke of the effort of the united minis I ters to secure the elimination of the; 1 (ramblinp element, and observed that the | 1 attitude of the Patriotic Committee anil 1 its subsequent reply to the deputation ' ' evidenced that from a Christian point of j ' view the wronjr men were in charge of 1 ' the effort. While urpinjr tho people to ' (rive as a Christian duty towards provi- ' i »ion. Fie did not think that, there was ' i be, in need, he lielcved that there was 1 , the strongest reason on Christian and ' moral prounds why Christian people 1 ' shruld dissociate themselves from the 1 Carnival as far as possible. This should 1 not lessen the nmcMint they contributed. [I but their attitude should be one of pro test apainat the decision of the com mittee. A CLERGYMAN'S LETTER. "The letter which has appeared in the ' newspaper written by a clergyman, ' making distinctions in regard to gambI ling, and both the legality and I the harmlcssnese of raffli*. reveals the I fart not thnt the ministers &ro divided, \ ■ but that they are united." continued i the preacher. " Rut it further reveals [ an ethical perversion in regard to gamhI imp that is very difficult to understand 1 in n clergyman. The principle of pamb- . ling is the same, whether sixpence 's . invested or a thovisand pounds. Six- . pence may be as much to one person as a thousand pounds is to another. Refer r-nce is nlso made in the letter to tho . fact thnt the clergy do not represent . the Church. Thnt is true, olid we have no misapprehension on that point; but we have the solid satisfaction of know- . in? that the Churches are with us almost . lo a man. The exceptions are very few, if any, and personally. 1 have not yet discovered anyone." HOrSE-TO HOISE CANY \ss. During the course of hie address at Pitt Street Methodist Church last evening the Rev. ('. H. Laws expressed his 1 ; disapproval of the method proposed for p j the raising of money for tile Patriotic Vj Fund. Mr I.nws Rtnted that though li<r i would not sny he wus not ill favour of "■carnivals, he thought this Kcnrcelv the rifrht time for such a proposal. The v intended holding of lotteries was 'no ~ doubt promoted by men whose whole ' I heart was in the work of doing good,

but' ho thoupht that people not in favour of such art unions could stand out. and hand their contributions indirectly to the funds. He wa» willing to work in a house-to-house campaign, and. il necessary, to form a platform, as « medium for contributing to the fund for persons not in favour of the holding of the carnival.