JOTTINGS.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12478, 14 April 1906, Page 13

JOTTINGS.

Out of the bitterness of his heart tho Bishop of London has been suggesting, as an explanation of the poverty of tho clergy, thai, Anglicans are more or less hypnotised by the endowments of the Church, and allow themselves to depend too much on the generosity of former days. He bad no doubt that an ordinary Nonconformist baker gave mqro for the support of his church than many of the rich laymen of the Church of England gave for theirs. Holding such views, it is strange that DrT Win-mngtan-Ingram should still bo in favour of the State establishment and endowment of his Church. It would do the well-to-do fciity a world of good if they dipped their hands as deep in their KKQts as not only that Nonconformist ;er, but as the Nonconformist labourer and sorvnnit-girl often do. But then the Free Church baker, labourer. servant-girl have all a voice ana an influence in their church, and feel that they are somebody. At *ti_e close of the recent memorable three years' revival campaign in the ; United Kingdom conducted by Dr. Tor- ,. T«y and Mr Alexander, the Doctor aaid I to an interviewer, after giving a resume i of the work: "A revival can be had in ; ainr dmrch thatwill pay the price. If ; *Jew devoted Christians will get together, and put themselves entirely at God's disposal for Him to use them as i He will, and then will begin to pray } unitedly for a revival in their church, and be willing to pray on and on until they have prayed it through, and then will go out and do pereonal work among their friends and others, a revival will soon break out. This is a prescription that never fails." The statement has been going the ronnd of the papers that the cost of converting a man in recent revivals was about 30s. That might bo oalled the immediate oost. Tracing back, it cost ' vastly more than can be computed. But tbe above statement (remarks the "Christian Guardian") suggests the question : What docs it cost to execute a manP Dr. Schr#ffler states that tho first man in New York Stale who was executed by electricity was one Kcmmler. He had murdered his wife. Ho was traced, tried, and sentenced. The case went to the higher courts. In time Keiumler was executed. Investigations Bero made to find out tho legal cost. Carefully figured, it was about £20,000. At the beginning a dead woman, at tho *nd a dead man, and £20,000 of tho taxpayers' money— that was the awful cost. It costs, on that reckoning, nearly £20,000 more to execute than to save ft a man. f The Right Rev. Dr. Whiteside, Bidiop of Liverpool, has issued a Vaa- * toral Letter on the reform of ecclesi- * ostioal music in his diocese, in ac- ?] oordanco with the Pope's " Motn Proprio." Ho he says, gradually f to he Me. according to his power, to realise th« id<-a!s put forth by the Holy Father. Th© Diowean Commis- , Ron has drawn up a list of approved church miiaic, which is to be obligatory B t all tho church fervicwi. Whilst woinpti are to bo excluded from tho special or official choir, his Lordship **vs that he docs not see that objection can be taken to some of the better trained and mora willing singers of tlie congregation, men or women, wing orgjani«?d to load and sustain the voices of the general body of the . PMple. Nearly 200 volumes of the Vatican Jjibrary in Rome received at I<J«1 <J« St. Louis University as a special uwrk of favour from Pope Pius X. Tlie Rev. V T incont McXab. 0.P., in In* conrsp. of an article in the "Catholic . fimos," points out what tho Catholics w the United States have done for the ,*eligious training of their children.

There are at the present time in the Republic some 4300 Catholic elementary schools, and it is estimated that by thu& educating their own children the' Catholics save tho taxpayers between £4.000,000 and £5,000,000 a year-, , Preaching in Westminster Cathedral on the education question, rather O. Vauphan said Nonconformists and others should have all the school space necessary, and be permitted to have taught there whatever they considered their interpretation of the Christian religion, but they had no right to say to Catholics '-what is good enough for us ought to bo good enough for you." Tho Board School religion was absolutely wanting in every constituent to build up Christian character, and was absolutely no good to Catholics, to whom tho whole religion was life itself. They justly demanded Catholic schools in winch the Catholic religion would be taught by Catholic teachers. It was recently suggested thai much oould be done by the Christian Church to rid tho world of anti-Semitism. A practical stop which has just been taken in Switzerland suggests another direction in which tihe same task might be punned. Dr. Imdwig Stein, of Berne University, instituted recently a course of lectures on Tolerance. A number of Professors offered to give addresses on various aspects of the subject and the tickets of admission were readily absorbed, tlie prooceds being devoted to tho Russian Relief Fund. The action of Br. Stein, states the "Jewish Chronicle," constitutes a precedent which decorves to be copied throughout Europe. Preaching in St. Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, recently, the Yen. Archdeacon Gfunther referred to the work done for the spiritual well-being of the aborigines in early days. There was good evidence, he said, or the capacity of tho blacks, and of their acceptance of Christianity. At "Wellington valley," nearly seventy years ago, they were enabled, through tho translation of St. Luke's Gospel, to read in their own tongue the wonderful works of God. How different things would have been if the blacks had been settled on reserves, and if the early colonists had acted on the advioe given to discoverers in the reijpi of Edward VI. : "The sowing of Christianity must be the chief intent of such as shall make any attempt at foreign discovery."

Westminster Abbey (says an exchange) is without any memorial of John Bunyan, a fact whioh struck the Amerioan members of tho World's Baptise Congress with amazement last summer. It is immediately probable that this omission of the immortal dreamer from tho glorious dead commemorated in Poets' Corner will be rectified. Dr. Clifford, as President of the World's Baptist Alliance, has received communications from the American Baptists, expressing their readiness to cooperate in erecting a memorial. Dr. Clifford is quite ready to take the initiative, but he feels that a memorial to Bunyan should oome, not from one religions denomination, but from the nation, and he will probably seek the support of emineoit English litorateurs before approaching the Dean of Westminster.

Tho committee entrusted hy the British Weeleyan Conference with the task of drawing up a scheme to provide for the representation of church members in local church management have resolved to recommend to Conference a scheme of represantation on tEe following linos: Every church with fifty or lass members shall be entitled to eend one representative to the leadens' meeting, and churches numbering over fifty members shall send an additional representative for every fifty members up to 400, no church sending more than eight representatives in all. These representatives must be over one .years of age, and members of society of at least ono year's standing. The elections shall take place as early as possible in the year, and the representatives thus elected shall also be entitled to sit in tho circuit quarterly meeting. ! To some people Christianity is like a beautiful dissolving view, which only comes into sight on Sunday and disappears for the rest of the week. The real test of religion is its application to week-day life and business.—"The Quiver."

A remarkable prayer-meeting, which bore testimony to the influence wielded by £he trusted labour leader of to-day, even in matters not directly connected with labour, was held recently at Plumstead. Some 600 men and women gathered together at the Wesleyan Central Hall with the one specific object of praying "for tho conversion of Mr Robert Blatchford, the editor of the 'Clarion/ and a leading opponent of Christianity." Intense earnestness was the keynote of the proceedings. The Rev. Stanley Parker, in a short opening address, referred to the enormous power which Mr Blatchford ("Nunquam") exorcised over the workers of the country, and said it was a great pity that so brilliant a writer, who canned thouramds with him, should have lately conducted a campaign against Christianity in the columns of his journal. In a recent number Mr Blatchford wrote: "I will oppose Christianity as long as I have tho use of my hands." That a host of working men, by means of these attacks, had been led from the light of the Gcwpel to the darkness of infidelity was only too certain. " Let us pray that 'Divine illumination may come to this man," added Mr Parker "and that ho may become a glorious worker for Christ."

Speaking recently of the present conIdition of China, Mr D. E. Hoste, general director of the China Inland Mission, said that with "the opening of China to Western influence, 'advanced' political and philosophical literature is beginning to be widely read, and, as a result, there is springing up a revolutionary party aiming at the overthrow by violence of the existing order of Government. These people are seeking to inflame tho populace against tie powers that be, out nob necessarily, however, against the missionary, as he represents, in their eyes, part of the Western civilisation which they profess to advocate, but which, in reality, most of them know very little about. The corruption and extortion practised by many of tho officials furnish one reason why this movement is likely to grow considerably as time goes on. What threatened to be a serious rising of the above kind, in the province of Shansi was put down last autumn by the Governor. Borne of its leaders publicly stated that no attack ivould bo made upon Protestant missionaries, giving as one reason for this the action of some of thd Protestant societies in refusing to receive any indemnity for loss of life and property at the time of the Boxer movement. At the same time, any widespread rebellion with a consequent upset of, at all events, local authority, would clearly be prejudicial to the interest* of missionary work, and might even be m some districts a menace to the 6afety of missionaries."

Mr John H. Converse, a wealthy American elder, has for some years past spent £10,000 annually in evangelistic work. He w convener of the Presbyterian General Assembly's Evangelistic Committee.

Speaking on the education question, at present before tho House of Commons, the Rev. J. H. Jowett, of Birmingliam, who succeeded the well-known Dr. Dale, said:—"Unless we are veiy careful, we shall bo driven back to secular education. I havo been reading two or three of the Labour papers this week. There seems to be one solid body of determined thought in the Labour party.

md that is to use every chance during the passage of the Bill through Parliament to secure the absolute exclusion of religion from the State schools. I do no think that' fact suggests that the Labour party is alienated from religion, hut I do think it means that the only settlement the Labour loaders moan to support is one in which religious bitterness is removed from the educational life of the country. lam sure the Labour party will carry the day unless the extreme men on both sides can be brought to agree to some reasonable compromise."