SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1904. UNION VERSUS UNIFORMITY.

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 132, 4 June 1904, Page 4

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1904. UNION VERSUS UNIFORMITY.

Two months hiivc passed since the discussion in our columns on the subject of th« movement in favour of organic union of tho principal ovtuigdiciil churches in this colony. During that period tho subject has, received much consideration, and resolutions have been passed in this city by another church session, by the Ministers' Association, and, lastly, by tho Wellington Presbytery. All these pronouncement.* wore favourable — two Mere unanimous, «nd in the case of the Px'eebytery, though tho opposition view was ably advocated, it was supported by oidy three votes ;i gainst thirteen. It will be remombeml ll>-u. i*. the Auckland Presby-

tery nlso the minority numbered only thit'C, ng..iii6t twenty favourable votes. The Rev. J)r. Gibb some time ago pointed out that the larger Prcfcbyk-ncs were favourable, outnumbering tho opposing bodies by about two to one; and later figures have increased the disproportion From a statistical point of view,' therefore, the moven-eiit might seem to be making rapid progress; but the advocates of the bditMiie are by no means U6.*ur<_d on thia point, and only thofe who have followed the discussions isnd have noted the form of the ivfoluUonu piifr&ed by the sovt-ral deliberative bodke, cun realise tho difficulties that Mill lie in the path toward*? tho gos\l of oig.uiic union. The Wellington Preslvjtuy iuUntionrtlly delayed its decision on tha .• .ibjtct in oidor to afford the' llev. J. K. Elliott, the recognited leader of the opposition in this city, opportunity of placing his, vieww on record, which he did with ch.iraclcriiilic eloquence in moving his resolution ; and his address may be taken us a fair .ynnmary of all that can ba advanced uguhuit the movement by an able miui.stor of tho Presbyterian Church and a champion of ilfl Ciilviuibtic traditions. In his resolution he condemned the proposal ua untimely and inexpedient, and oflvred the ;il rna'tivo suggestion that the Union Committee, if retained, bhonld be restricted in its operations to the object of (securing hearty co-operation with other denominations. His address was, naturally, not in tho carefully-guarded terms of his resolution. Tha movement, he said, wns misguided and inopportune, its advocacy was mucked by much that was sophistical and sentimental, and emotion wns mistaken for logic. Jt wva a fataassumption, he added, that the churches woro in any true or Sciiptuial so.n&c disunited. Hb reviewed some of the practical difficulties, and here, at any rate, he had a strong cas.e. The question i>ri*?& — If the difficulties arc admittedly so great, what is the meaning of the large vote in favour of proceeding with tho movemant? Two nnswois may bo &uggest«d. In the first place, all churchmen of tolerant thought feel that the ideal if> a worthy and de.iiralik one, that though bat an ideal at presjnt, it is gradually but slowly descending into the region of tho practical, undHhat the dillicultiys, great as they are, are not of necessity insuperable. The other reason is, that the (iue.stion to be affirmed deals with generals and avoids particulars. The mutter was before the A&sembly of 1903, but it is significant that Dr. Gibb.'s i^Wution takes no account of la«t year's proceeding*., but reverts to tho decision arrived at in 1902. This may imply that some of tho steps taken in the meantime were, to say the least, somewhat premature. Tho resolution passed by the- Presbytery contains a minimum of debatable nutter, and. except »s regards tho broad principle of ultimate union, is nun-committal. Even opponents of organic union might hesitate to advocate so extreme a step as the discharge of the committee and the complete breaking-nff of negotiations. It is not quite certain, too, that the opponents of Iho movement clenrly realise the object in view. That any intelligent member of either of the bodies concerned pines for the bygone dream of "uniformity," mistaking it for unity, is scarcely credible; and at Tuesday's meeting the advocates of union showed theniMilves as jealous of "fundamentals" as their opponents. Nothing in the past has proved more divisive than tho striving for uniformity. The objection that Anglicans and Baptists luid not been approached c^n suuecly be intended as a serious argument. Each of these bodies holds as essentinl doctrines which they would have to .surrender be-fore they could xmite organically with the other chinches, and it would have shown 'a misunderstanding of tho whole position to ask them to muke such n sacrifice. It may bo said that the Minister*' which contains representatives qf one of these bodies, has signified its approval ; but the resolution^ to which it assented was designedly drafted in tho most general terms. It is plain that much difficulty and diacoua<g«>ni?nt awaits the advocates of union ; but they need not despair. The discussion certainly may bring to light unsuspected divisions within the churches themselves, but it will not create such divisions. So far as it promotes a bettor understanding between religious men and widens their outlook, it can be productive only of good. But the enormous amount of detail that must be finally settled — the insistence in various quarters on tho retention of minute definitions of doctrine mid petty points of polity, that will hnve to be faced and overcome; and then — this alone is no small matter — the knotty legal points relating to deeds of trust that will have to be settled, in not a few cases probably by special Act. of Parliament — might- discourage even tho most optimistic reformer. In the important union lately effected in Scotland wo havo seen a handful of ineconcilables asserting a claim to tho entire property of the Five Church, ( «nd their legal position is so strong that tho point, though before the Courts for months, remains still undecided." Tho question is not to bo settled by a mere majority vote, or oven by an enormous majority. Practical unanimity is esseiitiul if the united body is not to fall asunder almost as soon as constituted, and hard work and patient waiting must precede this essential condition. But the ■lawn has begun to appear on the moun-tain-peaks, and still "tho earth rolls onward into light."