'DETESTABLE SPIRIT.'

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 July 1909, Page 8

'DETESTABLE SPIRIT.'

CHURCHES AND A RECENT MEETING. SOME PLAIN SPEAKING BY CLERGY. THE UNEMPLOYED AND FULL WAGES. This morning at the meeting of Wellington Presbytery, the Moderator (Dr. Gibb) left the chair to move, amongst others, the following motion: — "While disclaiming all sympathy -with the spirit displayed by a certain section of the unemployed, and deploring the folly of the claims made by some of their leaders — claims whi'-h, if agreed to, would probably result in at least a proportion of unemployed and their families being left to starve, this Presbytery, recog nising the existence of widespread, distress, and realising that it is the duty of all Christian men to minister to the utmost of their ability to all human needs, recommends that a collection in aid of the unemployed fund be taken up in the congregations within the bounds at the earliest possible date." "In introducing his motion, Dr. Gibb referred to the late meeting at the Town Hall. It seemed debirable, and was inevitable, he said, that decided exception should be taken to the wild and whirling statements of some of the unemployed thers. He blamed not the men themselves, so much as their so-called leaders, who pretended to guide and lead the men. Dr. Gibb expressed his amazement at the conduct of a member of Parliament, who posed as an authority on these social matters. He was simply astounded at this gentleman's "truckling with base things." SYMPATHY CANCELLED. Further referring to what he described as the hooliganism that obtained at the meeting, the speaker said that all the actions and remarks of the crowd were ! calculated and devised with a view of > drying up the springs of charity, and I cancelling a lot of sympathy. Be considered that the slowness of subscrip- j tions to the fund shoved how accurate j his diagnosis was. Still there was no j denying the nepd. Yet he felt it his duty as a citizc.i, and a member of the Presbytery to give expression to the sentiments "he now uttered. At the same time, he said, they were not justified in disclaiming all sympathy with the movement. They must rise superior to any personal feeling they posseted, to meet a condition of things in which so much distress existed. CASES OF "DISTRESS." The speaker proceeded to narrate how many instances of want and disti*ess had come to his own door. He believed many of these cases to be worthless : few of the really deserving ones paraded their poverty, and they were consequently unheard of. Anyway, it was the duty of I the Presbytery to meet the situation of ! dire necessity. As a church, they had never been, backward in assisting ■wherever assistance was necessary, and the sneers at the church and its anxiety for its own collections at the Town Hall that evening were not justified. As a matter of fact, in one or two places, collections had already been taken up in aid of the fund. Kent-terrace Church had resolved to take up such a collection, and next Sunday morning and evening St. John's would do similarly. He looked for and expected a hearty and generous response to the appeal. Dr. Gibb intimated that he would not mind deleting the first part of his motion down to the words "to starve." " PARSON-BEATING." The Rev. J. K. Elliott seconded the motion, though he thought the first part might well be left out. They all resented very much the , treatment Dr. Gibb received at the Town Hall; he being a representative of the Church, and their moderator. Personally, he thought ,the spirit shown vas detestable. As churchmen they were the last to look for civility, but they did not expect incivility. "Parson-beating," however, was a favourite form of amusement with certain sections of the community. One part of the management of the Unemployed Fund he did not agree with, and that was paying the men full wages. He believed that many men would flock to the city attracted by that bait. Full wages should not be given : say 5s a day ■would be a fair 1 thing under present conditions, and it would be an incentive them to obtain better employment. They did not want people rushing down crowding the town, in search' of that 8s per day relief scheme. Dr. -Gibb agreed that to insist on full rates of pay in such times was absurd. OBJECTION TO THE PREAMBLE. Rev. A. Thomson stated he would support the motion if the first part (specified) were deleted. He would not like it to go before the public as an expression of opinion from the Presbytery. Rev. A. T. Thomson (Wairarapa) expressed a similar opinion. The sting of the motion was in the head, not the tail. -Regarding the aspersion cast on the Church (mentioned before), the speaker asserted that church people were always putting their hands in their pockets. Revs. M'Caw and Inglis also asked for the deletion of the first part of the motion. "VERY REGRETTABLE." In reply, Dr. Gibb said it was a very regrettable thing (referring onco more to the Town Hall incident), but it was the leaders, not the men themselves, who had turned the place into a bear-garden. Ha mentioned that almost half of the "money sent Home from Wellington for the Bread Fund came from the Presbyterian Church. No doubt, with the "present need awaiting, they would equal their past performances in the matter of aid. He instanced, in corroboration of a previous assertion of his. that, as one of the committee, he had approached ,a well-to-do charitable man for ft subscription to the Unemployed Relief Fund, and he Had to make it clear that he (Dr. Gibb) was jn full sympathy with the movement before any money was forthcoming. IN FAVOUR OF FULL PAY. Rev. W. j. Comrie considered that if the recommendation embodied in the motion applied to all the country churches too, that their collections should first be appropriated for local needs. He defended the 8s per day system, as dur- | ing the winter weather the men had no chance of making full time, and they only worked a week at a time. Trie men could make no good thing out of j the relief works here. Originally the word "recommends" in the motion was "enjoin." On the suggestion of the Rev. Gibson Smith, the j yrord was substituted as above. The motion, as amended, was carried unanimously.