THE CHURCH AND THE WORKER.

Evening Star, Volume 12869, Issue 12869, 19 July 1906, Page 7

THE CHURCH AND THE WORKER.

LECTURE BY MR W. H. WARREN. Last night, in tie Trades Hall, Mr W. H. Warren delivered a lecture arranged for by the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners. The tkle of the lecture was *An Open Letter to the Workers and the Church.' Mr E. Kclleit, president of the local branch of the 6ociety, occupied the chair, and said that it was hoped to arrange for other lectures and thus provide subjects for discussion.

Mr Warren said in the course of his lecture that his address was to tho worker for the fact thut his movements are illustrative oi practical Christianity, and to the Church as the professed propounder of nioralicy and danning through her Holy Book to biing salvation to humanity. As there was a vast diversity of opinion amongst workers as to the divinity of the Man of Sorrows and the inspiration of the Scriptures, it was not necessary to dwell upon those matters. For hdmself, he accepted what was generally acknowledged—a common Fatherhood, which carried with it a common Brotherhood who claimed a common home, mother earth, bo which all had common rights It was tie disposal of the products of this common home brought forth by men that the trouble was all about. Christ was most emphatic on the observance of the laws of Moses, and a few of those laws would suffice for the purposes of the lecture: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread"; " Thou sbalt not steal" ; " Thou shalt not kill"; " The land shall not be sold for ever." This was the most scientific economic Socialistic platform ever enunciated In defiance of that law wo fommd men in possesswn of land, and to that all tie misery that the human family suffers can be attributed There should* be no rent for the use of tand, any more than there is for the use of air or light or rain. They are the indisputable right of aJ3 men, and every man should have his share in the benefit accruing from the application of labor to lard according to his deeds. Scripture supported the principle that all must work, and as the land is God's gift to His children there should be no such thin? as one man having to pay tribute to another for the richt to the use of the land Land values should be use values only. The fund for the nse of land called rent should be for the purpose of improving; land by reading, bridcing, and defraying the cost of management. Land monopoly is the enemy of humanity, and restitution should be demnnded through taxation. World the Church, stand thSs? He once heard a preacher statfce that the reason why workers did not attend church was that the church ideal was too high. "He (Mr thouebt that through their land nationalisation, single tax, Socialist, and unionist organisations they were fully up to the standard. They bflieved that the land is the common heritage, that eveiy man should work, that robbery of that which God srave to His elitfldren is a crime, that _to kill through that robbery is also a crime—therefore he failed to "see that the workers' ideals fell short in any way of that laid down by the lawgiver" St. Paul said "He tbat doth not work, neither shill he eat " Were the workers for ever to stand alone to fight for the establishing of God's kinsrdom on earth? Let a depression take place, and the worker is pitted against bis Mlow. The poverty of the one is underbid by the greater need of the other. What could tie Church do to assist? He reoocrnised that her power at the ballot-box was a power worth having. Tt was a question of right or wrong. Steward Hendfam. the only real economic Socialist he (Mr Warren) knew amongst the flerTV, gave the resolution passed by the Land Restoration l>ague: "That tie'main camse of poverty both in the agricultural districts and srrea.t centres of population is the' 1 fact that the land which ought to be the common property of all is now mono pol ; sed by the few, and that therefore those who want to cut awav at the root of poverty must work to restore to the people the whole of the value which they gave to the land, to set for the people * complete control over tie land, and bo -that end see to it that those who use the land pny for the use of it to its rightful owners] the people." That resolution was one that any church is morally bound to support if it is sincere in its welfare for the worker. A discussion followed, and Mr Warren was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.