THE SCHEME OF THINGS

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 141, 18 June 1927, Page 12

THE SCHEME OF THINGS

(By M.H.C.)

; .; An interesting discussion took place i.at a recent conference of the Presby'■terian Church, held in Dunediu. Tho "Should Women be Admitted ','as Office-bearers of the Church?" was • brought forward by a member of the t'conf erence, who declared that the !i.ehureh was a straggler, and was wait- ;■ ing till it was compelled to take tho ■ step. An overture had been sent to !th« Presbytery to report for the next "Assembly. This overture was a mat■;ter of some importance, asking that thS |;word ''male" should be deleted from tthe Book of Order, which would then "read, "Elders may bs communicants." "The committee has considered the mat-

-'■■ ter, and while there had Dot beep any 'enthusiasm on. the part of members, the committee had decided to recommend lithe Presbytery to approve of the overji tore, provided that the matter was set jdown for General Assembly before it the law of the church. _. The [speaker remarked that though there '.'.had not been any very outspoken dci sire for the change, he thought that /they, could riot, for equity and good ■ order, •withhold from women the right sto exercise office if they -were, or could 'ifce, elected by the congregation. A speaker declared that the Presbytery 'should take the first and right step to ilead the church into fuller activity. If ■;gei.Trere tho only bar against women, it . was high time the church revised its ;ideas. On all local bodies women had .equal rights with men, and the church !was the only place where they were denied such rights. An amendment made ■an. effort to "side-track" tho matter by declaring'that the Presbytery disapproved of the recommendation because the meaning was not clear; How!.ever, no one was able to support this ;;n»tion, and the original motion was ;;carried by a large majority. Many women in other churches will read of this movement by the Presbyterian Church -with inueh interest, as the church has .-been looked upon:, as somewhat conservative, and it is only of late years that women have asked the question, "Why, exactly, are we debarred from any office in churches?" If it is purely on ;account of sex the idea is not a nice one; specially when it is remembered that the large majority of men have a love and reverence for thejr mothers, and would deeply resent any .uripleasiant suggestions .regarding them, such ;as obtained in tie early days of the i-Christian Church, when the true teaching of Christ had been overlaid with many customs and ideas which' would "have been most repugnant to Him. • r

Quite naturally Sir Abe Bailey's declaration that, ia his opinion, x women should not be permitted to take any kind of work that men could, or wanted to perform, has raised some discussion. ' The best one could wish Sir Abe Bailey, for the good of his soul, would be that, when he departs this life, he should be made to return in the form of ,«],girl member of a poor family, developing into the mother of another large poor family. "That would learn him," •as -the boys say. In Christchurch the Tmatter was spoken about at a: ; meeting, ;.and one asked if Sir Abe wanted boys to take on type-writing, which was the occupation of so many shingled misses, !.who. conducted the world's correspondence, but whose jobs led, as a rule, to nothing better, and would never make a Jiving, for a family, though they were * great help, and provided for many a girl, who otherwise might have ;"to come on slender family resources. "Mention was also made of tailoresses, Jwho could not easily be supplanted. What suggestions could the rash speaker make about them? Taking the millions "of women whom there are no men to match, on the other side of the world, said one, "What was proposed for Another pertinent question /was whether single women who worked 'tax aged or infirm dependants did not "deserve as much sympathy and opportunity' as the young man whoso family •is in such fortunate circumstances that Ac is able to spend the greater part of Jlis salary on 'cigarettes and cabarets? Finally, what about the young married =Woman who helps to pay off the home, which she and her husband have ventured upon, only the efforts of both could be available? There are jnsny snch cases, and many of]the marTiages vaunted by Sir Abe Bailey, as so neewiary to the world of men, are made possible, at the outset, by the exertions of the young women as well ai those of the men of the world. It jSi"'a pity that Sir Abe cannot be in- - dated to pnt forth a complete scheme 'which.will provide for all fairly, and not on a iex basis—if he. can. .

X Th« antediluvian jokes about' women And .hats, their fondness for them, .their «rtrav»ganee, and their, extraordinary tut* in the same, are well known, but a B«w-really a new-development in comment ha§ taken place. It has been found by a recent writer that "the •nbiqnitons felt hat has killed more feminine millinery to a very large extent, a»d now at least 90 out of every 100 women are 'one-hat women.' " The writer, more in sorrow than in anger, finds "that they are not. even interested in hats," and when their head 'coverings get too shabby to wear, they ring up a hatter and get him to renovate and reblock the old hat. Eemarkablet And one wonders what . the' ?one-hat' women do in the meantime? Then there « a wail- over the de. tred •feminine touch in beautiful (and'extra-, tagant) hats, and it is feared that the millinery trade is to suffer, nay, it has suffered badly in comparison with the palmy times of twenty year 3 ago. Then cornea the little grandmotherly touch, which women are so well accuaientfd to, "The question arises whether it i*'good' for women to go in for uniformity." Man may wear his Horn or "buns," or tweed caps, by the million, bnt women need the tonic i6r ' their nerves (medical authority .quoted) which is obtained by the ex.citement. of trying on scores of hats and buying one after an exciting afternoon. The only suitable- comment on ill this is, "Well, well!"

- There aie likely to be fewer ."golden'^ brides at London fashionable churches when the season begins, says to...writer in an) exchange. Nor will white satin be nsed to the extent that it ,wa« last year, although "picture" wedding gowns are by no means 'out of favour. White moire and very soft taffetas have already been chosen by brides, but the most popular combination of all at the moment is white chiffon and silver lace. Bridal processions ablaze with colour were the feature of the fashionable weddings of last year. This year there is likely to be a reversion .to white-robed -bridesmaids. If colour is worn such shades as pastel blues and pinks, mauve and peryanche will be chosen, for there was a.suggestion last year.that brides were rather inclined to be overshadowed by a procession of girls in lovely picture frocks of brilliant colourings. Bridal wreaths and veils are not the simple affairs they were a, season or two ago. Instead of little knots of flowers over each ear, quite elaborate ..head-dresses arc, correct brMaJ wear this' year. "Veils; also, are very long. '