SUNDAY.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 8, 27 August 1874, Page 3

SUNDAY.

♦ : (London * Guardian/ May 27, 1874.) Whilst we write many thousands of hard working men are enjoying their Wmtsim-Monday, which is now happily a bank holiday. The thought and the partial sight of a respite from work, which has been, generally speaking, well earned in the country and will be no less generally enjoyed' with hearty good will on all sides. Turn the thoughts upon Mr. P. A. Taylor's motion, made in the House of Commons yesterday week, for permitting the opening of libraries, museums, and similar institutions on Sundays. The motion was indeed rejected by the crushing majority of 203 in a House of 339 members. Its reappearance however, in the Legislature, after lying dormant since 1858, can scarcely be permitted to pass without a few words of comment. It is true that Mr. Taylor had -nothing new to argue in favor of ■tlra innovation upon 'our national and usages. Indeed we think that his side of the argument used some years ago to be better supported than it was in the House of Commons last week. But as the advocates of this dangerous change deem it worth while to recall the old and well worn platitudes on the subject, it is no less our business to remind ourselves and others of the ' overwhelming preponderance of reasons which exist for letting things alone. We do not desire to dwell upon the strictly religious element of the argument. Mr. Taylor made light of it,, and all we need say in rejoinder is, that whilst he alleged authorities of various kinds for disregarding the Jewish Sabbath, he did not touch the real gist of the question which is not whether we are bound to keep the Sabbath Day of the Jews, but whether it be not a moral obligation to dedicate one day in seven to the service of the Almighty God ; whether that be not an obligation as old as creation itself ; whether all experience does not prove that here, as elsewhere, our interests and our duty coincide ? Mr. Allen, who moved by way of amendment the negative of Mr. Taylor's proposals, brought out some of the points very well, and established, particularly, and as it seems to us, unanswerably, the fact that the working men of the country are for the most part against any tampering with their weekly; day of rest. It is on many grounds satisfactory that it should be so. No doubt a very large proportion of our fellow citizens in these classes are still exiles from the precincts of churches or chapels, and this melancholy fact was noted and regretted by more than one speaker on Tuesday. The winning of these men for church or sect will prove no doubt an arduous work any way, we have no hesitation in saying that would be, humanly speaking, hopeJess if once the religious obligations of keeping the Sunday should be publicly disowned. The secularists and infidels who were admitted to be amongst the warmest supporters of Mr. Taylor, are wise in their generation. If they once get rid of the observance of Sunday they will have wonnded religion itself in the vitals. The working men, however, are opposed to the opening of museums and gallaries on Sunday, not so much for the sake of religion, though we believe that therß are more of them who think of that than there used to be, but because they have the shrewdness to see that this would only be the first step in a series. If these places of recreation and instruction are to invite their multitudes, their attendants, custodians, cicerones, policemen, ticket-takers, and numberless other officials must work, that the sight-seers may have their enjoyment. Then there must be larger accommodation of trains, omnibuses, cabs, &c, involving another army of workers. Then refreshments must be supplied, and there is nothing which fags a man out sooner than gazing at pictures, and a third and very numerous set of persons must be made to labor to provide them.. It is very significant that the proprietors of gin palaces and public houses should be so zealous in exhibiting conspicuously the placards of the " Sunday League," whose spokesman Mr. Taylor is. Our Bonifaces know their own interests remarkably well, and would expect new throngs of Sunday customers if Mr. Taylor's wishes should' prevail. Tbe clear-sighted of our laboring classes discern well enough that the breach once made in our traditional observance of the day would soon be widened, and that all the sanctions that now set it apart from other days would soon be obsolete. We hope too, that there are many who are just enough to reflect that it is not fair to make one man labor that another may the more enjoy the Sabbath relaxation. The general well-being demands as general a cessation from week-day employments all round as is <sompataole with the exigencies of life. The revival of the proposal seems to us, moreover, particulary ill-timed. Hours of labor are much fewer than they used to be. More money is earned in that shortened time, more holidays are kept by our work people, and easily paid for out of earnings. Some public holidays have been instituted, and if moro be wanted (as we daresay is the case) it would be well for Parliament to promote the instruction and information of our " sons of toil" by. ordaining more holidays and giving in them the freest access to mu-

seums, libraries, and picture galleries. This would probably be done with general approval an all sides, certainly without any consciences being hurt or social dangers risked, , There ? s on< s other point which has become important since the question was stirred some years ago in Parliament. The conditions under which the religious education of children in our elementary schools has now to be earned on are such as to make the maintenance and efficiency of the Sunday schools more important than ever before, and yet, if once Sunday loses its sacred character and associations amongst us, our Sunday schools will be one of the very first of our religious institutions that will suffer. We ought in these days to be more watchful than ever against attempts to secularise our Sundays.