THE TRACT TO MINISTERS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 11045, 14 October 1898, Page 4

THE TRACT TO MINISTERS.

MINISTERS. Sir,—l fear that Jhe olevgy and ministers of Hawke'a Bay will hardly thank their self'elected champion "AMan" (wlthont the " gentle ") for the Indlsoreot zeal with whioh ho has tiled to lit upon their heads the oap whloh I threw up. My contention aimply was and is that men who enter the theological profession should qualify themselves for it as other men qualify themselves for other professions. I did not Insist upon a knowledge of Greek and Latin (although I might have done no), but I did contend that a minister should be able to speak hla own language grammatically and v?lth proper artloulatlon, and that he should be cble to read and preach with proper expression. If hn cannot or will not do this, he haa no tight to IrJiloii hlimolf npon a congregation. Had yonr correspondent not beec In Buoh a hurry to rush Into print without reading my traot with ordinary cure he would have seen that there l» not a single word iv It whloh points to the clergy or ministers of Hawke's Bay, or of any other place. In every profession all over the world there are dniTdrs. I have both at Home and in this oolony met with able end pions olergymen and mlnlatem, (S2O my traot) But I have also met with olerioul duffers, some of whom have been guilty of the fanlti upon whloh I animadverted, besides many more, euoh aa talking ot the "Howly Gowst," and my objsot in writing was to point out certain eaßlly remedied defeota in pulpit oratory without Indicating any individuals, I therefore 00 worded my remarks as to make them perfectly Impersonal, in the hope that should yonr paper fall into the hando of 4dv who might reongntee that my hlntß (offdved In all goodwill) apply to them, they would accept these hints ia the spirit in which they were madej and pTofiß by them. Surely the disclaimer with whloh I conclude my tract muut render it obvious to anyone lasa obtuse than your excitable cortpspondent tbat my remarks are intended for the edification of the few, rathir thun as a oenanre of tho majority. Tho contradictory pleas put forth by " A Man " In exounß of preachers wLo fill f:o denonnoe tbe grent evils of the present day remind me of the Irishwoman who borrowed a sanoepan of a neighbor, nnd retnrned it with a hole in it. Oo being sued for the value she pleaded: Firstly, that she never borrowed the eßucepan ; secondly, tbab it had a hole in it " whin it wbb lint to her ;" and thirdly, tbat it had no bole in it wben she retnrned it. In like manner ir A Mao bbje—(l) 11A olergymßn is not restrained by fear of cflence or loss, bnt by wish (0 help people wben he la in tbe pulpit" (tbe way to help Blnners being of oonrae to carefully avoid rebuking tbelr bldp) ; and (8) " Tha underpaid olergyman oannob of course be anonymous, he must face In bis ,own psroon the consequences. 1' That 1b to say, the clergyman who does not speak out does not fear to do bo, aod be does fear. To the few poor creatures who go luto the Churoh as a means of making a genteel living, your correspondent's second (most Ignoble) argument may apply. But I am williog to believe that tbe bulk of ihe olergy are actuated by higher alms, and that when their attention la drawn to the neoenslty for denouncing respeotable sooundrellem, they will follow the example of those nnderpald clergymen the apostles, and de nounce it without tearing the consequences. All over the world (you ace bow careful I am to avoid speolfio looatlonl, " The wicked walk on every side, when tbe vilest men are exalted," and the very men who come within our Lord's denunciation of those "who devour widow's houseß," are fawned npon by respectable people who have a holy horror of an ordinary thief. The majority of these people are profeenlDg Christians 1 It Is in lbs power of prenobefg to utier some home truths (without) mentioning names) to both classes, The Preaa 1b mozzled by the Infamous law of libel. Will the olergy be muzzled too ?—I am, &c, A Layman. Ootober 13th, 189S,