ANTI-EVOLUTION JEHAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 16, 20 January 1926, Page 10

ANTI-EVOLUTION JEHAD.

THE AGGRESSIVE AMERICAN. NO CHANCE IN NEW ZEALAND. i"By Telesraph.-Speeial to "Star.'l CHRISTCHURCH, this day. A New York message. published yesterday. stating that, bureaux will be established in England. Canada, and Australia, by an international organisa- j tion to combat the teaching of the theory of evolution in schools does not seem "to affect New Zealand. No effort apparently has been made to raise the anti-evolutionary banner in Christchurch at least. It the views of a prominent Christchurch clergyman are held generally the movement, if started here,"will not be warmly supported. He said that it would be better if the Americans restricted their agitation to America. "We have sufficient controversy in New Zealand at present, without being led into more. The Rev. S. Lawry. a veteran of the New Zealand Methodist Church, said, discussimi the same subject. "My opinion, is that we must hold ourselves free, accepting whatever light may come along. It is" not the Darwinian theory that is the trouble. The Darwinian theory has been modified by later investigators than Darwin. The official bodies of the Methodist Church, as tar as I know, have taken fairly advanced views on the question. It was discussed at the Ecumenical Conference in 1911, and the .-.inclusion was let us have liberty.' We do not wish to compel people to think as we think. Our Church advises us to consult the Hastings Bible dictionary, which certainly takes a liberal view. [ have recently read a modern view of the Bible by Dr. Harry Emerson Eosdick, an eminent American B.iptist ,1 professor of practical theology, and the author of "The Assurance of [mmortalitv,* "The Meaning of Prayer.' 'The Meaning of Faith.' and "Tilt? Challenge of the Present Crisis." iTe also deals with the question liberally. I suppose there is not an English college or any standing that takes up the old theory, but there are some easy-going people who like to take everything as it stand*, and dislike any effort to un-i-i.ei tiie mysteries. There are no my-teries for them, in fact.'' A scientific man in Christehujch said in? felt that those who were behind the American agitation were ill-advised. The aggressive tone and attitude they were taking up would force scientific men to enter the controversy with Hess restraint than they had shown up to the present, and some of them wouid take no the discussion wholeheartedly. The present attitude of scientific men was to allow anti-evolutionists to gut-tpress their views in the church or in other places, while investigators said nothing in reply but simply went on with their studies" and inquiries. They felt that at present evolution was the only feasible explanation of scientific facts. There was evidence ot evolution in every branch of science. MOTOR CARS IN NEW ZEALAND. . » TOTAL Or EIGHTY THOUSAND. fßy Telegraph.—special to ""Star."'! WELLINGTON, this day. Completed returns of the number of motor vehicles registered fn New Zealand. up to December 31 last have been supplied to the Minister of Internal. Affairs (Mr. Bollard) by the Acting-Registrar of Motor Vehicles I Mr. G. McNamara). i lie returns show that registered on the I oks of the Department, there are a total of 123.396 vehicles, made up as follows: NORTH ISLAND. Cars 40.515 Trucks, etc 11..">.">6 i Cycles 14.125 Total i 75.206 SOUTH ISLAND. j Tars 31.847 Trucks, ere .1.0.50 i Cycles 11.214 Total 48.100 Commenting on the returns. Mr. Bollard expressed the opinion that they exceeded expectations. "For a new undertaking." he said, "the system devised for the making of a complete register of the ever-growing motor traffic of the Dominion has worked smoothly, and this has been due to the keenness and efficiency of the officers handling the work. They have not got properly into their stride, and a complaint i.* of occasional occurrence. Soon it will be possible to trace a motor vehicle wherever it goes; that is as it should be."'