GOLF ON SUNDAY?

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2792, 9 June 1916, Page 6

GOLF ON SUNDAY?

ON THE MUNICIPAL LINKS

PRESBYTERIANS IN PROTEST

ii.: . ■ -Yesterday afternoon prominent members :■ of the Presbyterian Assembly in Welliug- : ■ ton waited on the .Reserves Committee of i the City Council to protest against golf " ; being allowed to be piayed on the -Muni.cipal links at Berhampore un Sundays. Tne first speaker to address the committee ; ; was • the Mev. Dr.-Gibb, of St. ' John's Church, and chairman of the Presbyterian r Orphanage Committee, who, in the course jx . of'a very vigorous ■ protest, said that it fc-' was quite well, known aud admitted that t'fc- _it: was against the spirit of. the law to t ' .' play ccrtain outdcor games upon the |y . 'Lord's Day, and why golf was not speci- : lied among those games Was, it might >5, , reasonably be supposed, because it was | not in particular evidence at the time. t> : - ; ,-I'rom the point of view of the preservation i . of tho sanctity of the Sunday, the piay- ■ ingof golf was as responsible for remiss- : . nt«s as any other game. Another argu- •.. ment was the religious argument, but |i, •: 'he did not wish to press that argument |j ; .on the committee's attention, but to the. I v speaker and his colleagues it'meant everyEV:' - . tiling. , But now that the whole coni'i: - (munity was asking to be saved from any- • thing, German, and 'for the authorities to ■ - place everything Gorman under a ban, jr'r he hoped they would help to put the Germanic Sunday under, a Dan, so that' |i ; -there would be less perseverance iii such German tendencies. Councillor Frost: I thought golf was a [ Scotch. game.: .... £ _Dr. Gibb: That's away from tUcpomt. f: ■ 'Did you think I said a Scotch Sunday— it~ was tho Gormanic Sunday I was speakt.; ing of. S, Councillor Frost: No/I'was saying that ! I thought golf wus a Scotch game. I l)r. Gibb: Aye, it's a Scotch game. t ■ Itev, Wm. Shirer': Butthey. didn't play it on Sunday! : Dr. Gibb, continuing, said that they ..held that there is one day in the week j: ; : on .which golf should not be played; Any , concession to tho spirit to so desecrate that .day wits a move towards, the Gerii. manic or Continental ,Sunday,-which had, ':" as rfar as. lie was aware,, not made for ' - righteousness or pure living., • i. ■ inimical to tho Orphanage. His third argument was regard for the L ■ Pres&yterian urplianage (which a<ij->ina the lints at ÜBi'namporei. tie migut J-.'; ; . asic. tne committee to new their ' attiiude towards t-nat institution from munv J;:, , joints., Tliey might truthfully say .Ihat ii v;: were saving-the State a considerable amount of money every year, as the orS<: : ~:j>hanage was being . nupporteH- by the i..v Presbyterian people in. Wellington. He . did , not wish to mate much of llmt b point, as 110 doubt if the orphanage did f ; not . exist their children would have been FjV. : . cared for in some other institution. Ha T- .would, however, like to call attention to . The lact that tney were striving to make j> 'he. inmates good -citizens in the fiist place, and to mate them good Christi-us, .which might weigh with tlio- committee or not. ■ ;'ihqy had ideals in that respect, !' ■ --aiiasubjecteu the ohildren to a course of i ; . training the result of which, when, tubsequeatiy .they reached manhood ar.d womanhood would,'they .hoped, leavo the I , State something-to bo-thanklul for, and I",. . . reflect credit on . an. institution which i. ; . should have, the warmest respect of the whole community. .-.They held that Suaday play on the (municipal) golf links, ; .was inimical to the well-being of the ; children of. tlie./orphahage, more so,'perf- 'haps to those children than to others, > JL'iiere were mauy people who believed I that.it was, an ill-thing to-ill-use. the ~ . Lord's .Day. The consideration that \ , bulked largest with . the deputation in ; its appeal was that they were, by allowing Sunday golf, imperilling the Work the ' ■ deputation's immunity had ifiidertaken. ; .They-.had 47, and would pretty soon l.ave eixty children in the orphanage, and he j, bad heard from, unbiased andMmpartiaJ ■ sources that .the . work . being done was . of the highest excellence, and the master V;. " of! the school which tho children attendi - -ed had informed him that there were no , -•-better behaved children in the school i -than, those from' the orphanage. Sue- ' , ing that they were doing special work for £:■ ; boys and' girls, they ought, at least, to 1. , ask- the assistance,/'indeed, V .he would go further, entreat, make an ad appeal to the commit- , " tec's pity and sympathy, not to stand - against them' in the'matter of allowion ; golf to be played on the links on SunV ■ day. . , .. • ■ ! A Day of Rest. I: - " The Rev. Dr.-Elliott said that he rt'd /• : not . attend prepared to speak, . but' he >. v thought, without egotism on his' part, ' • that the people of Wellington would not f . . .think him bigoted or prejudiced, nor a ;. kill-joy, l because ho was against Sunday :V ; : golf. He -would like to add to thfe argu- *:• menfcs .of Dr. Gibb that it. Was ordained '.. that there should bo a day of rest. Man was a sis-day,.clock/and by the end of I . the. week w-as.ruii down. Ajid,what with [, electric light, telephones, etc., night was r being turned into day. Only recently it J -was found that tho trees in Holborn T . .Viaduct (london) were stunted and could !■. ; .;;iiot make any growth, and it was Baid that oiving to the, constant light they f... \ -were being deprived of.their regular rest, j: and in the same .way as the trees man tTequired regular : rest/ If Sunday was chosen as a day of enjoyment, there was 5 .. no logical "reason, why,, it should not be- . com© a day . of: employment. There were !vi.. . people who had certain views on this sub. ; ject, and'it was insulting those people l v _~ to alloiy golf to be played on Sunday. If j- . .. tliey had sent out" papers and taken a, ,< ;\ote_ on the question it would not be 60 . • glaring. When they saw people playing all day long, they could say "Why should ; -wo go to. church?" and . the children could say: "Why should we.go to Sun- ; ~. day School" ' when they see tlio thing ? f. ■ i'.-He was deeply stirred over, the matter, , _. end, knowing the kindly and considerate nature of. many members of the commit- ! tee, whom lie knew, lfe hoped that tliey i ■: -would not be swayed by "this little ! ..-.vparty, this noisy little partj-," and that i'.-, l ..they would : listen to the views of men : .. of weight m the community, who were j.superior citizens, superior in every way, } ri and reflect on tho grievous wrong they ; , would be doing if they persisted in allow, t':';!l',- ing golf to be played 011 Sunday. >. ; ' Tho Rev. .T. Comrio spoke of tho rights i, ,of the Christian community, and said F 'that there.' were things k man may do j , when beyond the gazo of tho public that • .'lie bad no right to do in the face of the ' ; public. Encroachment' on Town Belt. : The Kev." William Shirer said that he . associated himself entirely with all that -: _ ,'had been said by others; Ho .saw 111 tho j introduction of Sunday golf a curtailment ! : , iof the'-public privileges. He had yet to ,; learn that a handful of golfers could de- ,' . prive citizens—the whole of Wellington, for that is what it meant—from taking ; . its quiet walks ou that part of the Town •lielt on Sundays. Speaking as one who : lad a knowledge of tho neighbourhood, ~ le could say that the introduction of golf iad not been of benefit to the children j':. : ..if the district, and he deprecated the /frivolity that existed, while thii Empire — vas in agony, being added to by infnng- ; - —'ng the Holy Day. The Committee's Position. i; ' Tho chairman (Mr. George said ' that the represenbitions of the deputation j ■': would-receive every consideration* At the ; same time, he stated that it was the first [ ' time the committee had been approached t on the matter, and therefore he could ; not. speak for the members, and never i had they been asked for permission to be [. : Allowed to xilay on Sunday. He fully nn- ) precinted the position of the speakers in regard to the orphanage, but there was a certain section of tlio community who ; ' played golf who had to be considered, but now-it had come before them tho . whole matter would be gone into. A lease j -of the Town Belt lands comprised within f. . the links was being vested in the comI ..mittee, and had to come under their conS 'eideratiou at the (yesterday's) meoting. M/ =====