EMINENT PRESBYTERIAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 12, 15 January 1929, Page 8

EMINENT PRESBYTERIAN.

DR. CLOW, OF GLASGOW.

SPENT BOYHOOD IN AUCKLAND

CHURCH LIFE HEALTHY."

An eminent preacher and scholar of the Presbyterian Church, who spent his boyhood in Auckland, and whose father built St. James , Church, Wellington Street, arrived at Auckland to-day by the Maraina in the person of the Rev. YV. M. Clow, D.D., lately principal of the United Free Church Theological College, Glasgow.

Dr. Clow came to Auckland with his parents when he was five years of age, and received his early education at the old Wesley College in Upper Queen Street. Later he went to the Auckland Grammar School, in the days when the late Mr. Farquhar Mcßai: was headmaster. In his youth, Dr. Clow returned to Scotland, where he was ordained and appointed a professor at the Theological College, after taking the degrees of M.A., and B.D. Seventeen years ago he was appointed principal, a position which he filled with credit to the institution till his retirement last year. With Mrs. Clow he is now enjoying a world tour, and this morning expressed much delight at the prospect of renewing acquaintance with the city of his boyhood.

Memories of Boyhood. Memories of old Auckland stirred when Dr. Clow saw the city from the vessel's side this morning. His father, Mr. Andrew Clow, one of the elders of the Church, was a contractor by occupation, and into the construction of St. James' Church he put much enthusiasm. Mr. Andrew Clow was ordained to the eldership in 1861. The church was completed early in 1863, and opened on Sunday, April 2, 1865, the Rev. John Gorrie, son of the donor of the site, preaching the sermon. Dr. Clow, who attended St. James' Sunday school, after leaving the first small church in Hobson Street, remembers the Rev. Peter Mason, first minister of the infant congregation of St. James', which had been formed into a distinct new charge in 18«52. The Rev. James Hill, minister in charge of St. James' from 1864 to 1868, during whose ministry the present church was opened, is also remembered by the visitor. Acceptance of Fundamentals.

"Xever was there less doubt, nor less denial of fundamental truths, than there is to-day," said Dr. Clow, when asked to speak of the life of the Presbyterian Church in the Homeland. "There may be less church-going—for a variety of reasons, which are world-wide—but few Scottish people lack a connection with the Church.

"Efforts are being made to . meet changing conditions, and the fact that fundamental truths are accepted to-day without question makes it easier for the Church to attack problems connected with the social, commercial and moral life of the country. Sermons are preached to-day such ae never would be heard when I was a young man. The Saturday 'Herald' is invariably crammed with a page of religious notices. There is much interest in religion, despite the fact that many people no longer attend church twice on a Sunday as they did in past years. Holidays, and the motor car, interfere very largely.

Fewer Ministry Candidate!. Commenting on the fact that there were fewer candidates for the Presbyterian ministry than in years gone by, Dr. Clow said that several factors contributed. Greater prizes were offered to-day in the spheres of law and medicine, and many of the brightest and best young men found the attraction of those professions overmastering. However, the Presbyterian Church paid its ministers a minimum stipend of £300 a year, with a manse, and some ministers drew up to £800 or £900, and in exceptional cases, £1100 a year. There was always a demand for good men, since a minister in Scotland was quickly estimated at his true worth. The fact that there were many small charges, with congregations of from 60 to 70. prevented many young men from entering the ministry, as they disliked the thought of spending years in such churches.

Never Far From John Knox. "At the same time, the standard of men entering the Presbyterian Church is higher to-day than ever it was," said Dr. Clow. "In the diminution of numbers we have gained in quality. The flow of publications from the ecclesiastical printing-houses and the high literary and theological standard of the work an , the best indication of this fact. "Although the Church is adopting modern methods to meet modern conditions, the modernity does not go to the lengths of throwing overboard treasured truths. If you probe a Scotchman, you will find that he doesn't get far away from the teachings of John Knox. It may be true, of course, that he might not accept some of the oid-time dogmatic statements in their original precise form. Standards of devotion are higher to-day. The majority of churchgoers approach the .Sacrament with regularity. The Church is still the place for marriages in Scotland. Baptisms are well maintained in proportion to the births, although numbers are. smaller as the size, of families decreases." ' Welcomed to Auckland.

Three weeks will be spent in Auckland by Dr. Clow, who will go to Dunedin later. Mrs. Clow will leave for the South a little earlier, as she has relatives to visit. The congregation of St. James , have been looking forward to the visit of Dr. Clow, and, in point of fact, had sent him an invitation to visit the scenes of his boyhood, but it arrived after he had made up his mind to tour the world. On behalf of the city and the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, Mr. A. J. Entrican, Deputy-Mayor, and Mr. James Robertson, met Dr. Clow on the wharf this morning, and extended to him a hearty welcome. The congregation of St. James' Church hope that the distinguished son of the builder of the edifice in which tney worship will supply the pulpit during the Sundays he spends in the city.