LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2711, 4 March 1916, Page 3

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

DECREASE OF CRIME. Sir, —One of the most gratifying results of the war has been the decrease ; ol crime in Great Britain and in His Majesty's oversea Dominions. Several gaols in England having now no occupants have been turned into hospitals. AVliile this has been accomplished, the attendance at churches has declined also, and by a cablegram I observed that the Baptists had declined, by 3176 members, partly owing, to the war. A movement is afoot to enable the clergy to do the duties of more than one parish. Then all forms of drunkenness have decreased, although the'consumption of alcoholic liquors has increased considerably—eight millions sterling ir the drink bill of Groat Britain in sis months. Thus we see a decrease in '■l ime, a decline in Church membership, less drunkenness and a greater consumption. It is remarkable that these matters should all occur at the same •time. It would be as difficult to corelato the decrease of crime being due to an increased drink bill as it would lie to co-relate a fall in Churcli membership to the emptying of gaols. Some people think the less crime the less need ol' churches, the moro liquor the more crime, the more crime the more need ol churches. Here it is drinkingincreases, crime decreases, gaols are depleted, and churches lose membership. What is the solution? In Australia and in New //ealand there has' been ,a remarkable decline in drunkenness during the past fourteen'months. Ever since the last election,. when the people of this Dominion repelled the insult that New Zealand and her people were a "boozing lot," ana overthrew the Prohibitionists -by ten thousand votes on the main issue, we havo. been particularly tiuber and law-abiding. From Auckland to Livercargill the Supreme Court Judges havo commented upon tli9 lightness of the calendarsand Mr. Justice Hosking, noting the 'paucity of criminality, in Auckland, observed: . "There appears to bo a similar diminution of supreme Court cases 'throughout the Dominion." This result had" not been brought about by any-revival of. religion; No lecturers 1 from foreign parts had paraded up and down New: Zealand (hiring the year magnifying the. crimeproducing qualities of the liquor business. That' business had pursued tlic even tenor of its way unmolested for twclvo months, and yet crime had decreased. The Prohibition Party had been particularly dull and inactive during the year, not having recovered the setback by the people's judgment, in December, 1914, and so crime decreased* Mr. Justice Hosking gives us the secret of the decrease in criminality in New Zealand. Ho says: "The practice oi economy has resulted in, a decline of crime." Saving tho bawbees is the first step to virtue. It is not Prohibition, but is is the practice of economy that results in the decline of crime. What we must all do now is to teach cur children economy, for it is spending money that induces to criminal' ways. —Lam, etc., J. ST. CLAIR, . PRAYER AND VICTORY. Sir, —In my endeavour to be brief I am afraid I did not make myself understood. ' It is certainly not too late for our nation to come to repentance, for God is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and what He did in the case of Nineveh He can do in our case, or as in tho case of Hezekiah "who did all that was right in the sight of the Lord," 2 Kings, xviii, 3-4, and when he asked God to deliver him from his enemies (verse 19) his prayer was immediately answered (verse 35). When we do all that is right in the sight of the Lord He will be able to answer our prayers; until then Tie is unable. God commenced in 1914 to bring tho nations to repentance in the only way open to Him, after calling to tliera for 2525 years. If the nations desire God to withdraw the pressure they must turn to righteousness. God's Word scathingly condemns idojatry, unbelief, and impurity, which are rampant to-day, mid the filial doom of those who practise these things is plain, ly foreshadowed. Seeing, then, that God has already commenced to bring the nations to repentanco it is surely "rather late" for us to petition Him to do so. What would a man away in the bnxdc-bl&cks, with seven years' work ahead of him, think of his wife, who, although ho had been felling the bush since August, 1914, entreated him every Saturday, after his work was finished ,to bring the place under cultivation? He would surely conclude that she was either blind or silly, and "rather'late", with her request. He ivould probably inform her that- Rome ivasn't built in a day. Patience and faith are the attributes Christians'stand in need of. At the samo time, faith without works (of righteousness or right-living) is dead, and cannot accomplish anything.—l am, 3tc., JOHN PLOWMAN. [This correspondence is now closed.!