RELIGION AND AMUSEMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 9024, 1 November 1892, Page 3

RELIGION AND AMUSEMENT.

A meeting of ministers and elders of the Presbyterian Church" was held last;night under the auspices of the Auckland Presbytery. The place of assembly wa3 St. James's Church, and the Rev. A. Carrick, as Moderator of the Presbytery, occupied the chair, the meeting l having been called to consider The Relation of the Church to Present-Day Amusements." - The Rev. R, Sommerville began by reading a paper upon the subject announced. He prefaced his remarks by pointing out that happiness was the great aim of life, and the means used to attain it wore necessarily widely divergent owing to the different mental and physical constitutions of mankind. In every sphere of life, he said, there must be relaxation and recreation, and therefore these were found in a great measure in the daily life of society. He did nob thinq that the necessity for amusement would be denied by any reasonable being, and a change of the channel through which the pleasure flowed was refreshing: and stimulating. Man's nature required variety and whab the laws of the body demanded as indispensable to health could nob be wrong. Bub as men's features differ, so did their idea' of happiness ; and so it was that an examination of the varied sources of pleasure disclosed much that was nob ennobling, nor edifying, nor calculated to advance man's social, physical, or moral well-being. In the present day amusements there was much to >which no exception could be taken—the games of cricket and lawn tennis, for instance, taking the players into the fresh air, and giving that exercise that was conducive to mental and physical health. In football he saw little that was desirable, and much that was condemnable, as it induced roughness, engendered * rudeness, endangered limbs, and sorely tried the most robust health. Played iin winter, amid mud and slush, the frame could not be conducive to health ;»the strongest frame must be severely taxed by it, and even if there were no broken bones, there were sure to be colds, lung troubles, and rheumatisms. The out-door sport which occupied most attention in Auckland was undoubtedly that of horse-racing. In a horse race pure and simple there could be no objection, and with the original object of the pastime no fault could be found, but so far as usefulness to man was concerned the racehorse was a useless animal, an animal kept so that the turf might be a source of profit to its owner, and often, unfortunately, the greatest misfortune to which the sportloving public were exposed. The love of gambling which horseracing created and encouraged was its great evil, and through the legalising of the totalisator many were drawn into the practice, arguing that what the State said was right could not be wrong. This he considered the greatest evil in connection with the people's present-day pastimes, and an evil so enormous in extent that unless controlled by some power not yet exercised would gradually sap the moral life of the nation. He gave details to show the extent to which racing was carried and totalisator investments, bets, and sweepstake subscriptions made, and said that such wasteful expenditure in the midst of hundreds of hungry men and women made him feel that there was a degree of righteousness in the demands of those who strove to break down such inequalities. The racehorse was not a useful animal to man, generally speaking, bub was kept for profit to its speculative owner, and its use tended to the moral degradation of tho people, and to the retarding of the common prosperity. It would not suffice to preach from the pulpit that gambling was sinful; ib must be shown that ib was injurious to the moral and commercial health of the people. He did not blame the press for the large amount of space ib devoted to sporting matters, because whon a large proportion of the public revelled in such reading, the newspapers as public caterers must supply it. Ib rested with the church to change the current of public opinion. As to indoor amusements he did not think anyone would deny that the theatre had an educating power, bub the lessons so learnb were nob always of such a character as to command respect by their high moral tone. There were many noble characters to pan the stage, men and women or as pure lives and lofty aims as could be found anywhere, bub ib was those of another, nature, and the demoralising tendencies of the plays they produced that had led to a divorce between the theatre and the Church. If the stage were purified, and ib were shown that ft was not in antagonism to the Church, the relations between the two would change. He then spoke in condemnation of such amusements as those afforded by the prize-ring, pigeon-shooting, coursing, and the killing of tamed animals generally, asserting that the latter class of sport was ignoblo, and "outside the pale of Christian tolerance. He strongly opposed the idea that Christianity and the enjoyment of earthly pleasure were incompatible, and argued thab the duty of the Church was to regulate the amusements of the young, and keep them within bounds in regard .to direction and number. There was too great an inclination on tho part of- the public to • seize any excuse for a holiday, and it was the duty of the Church to prevent excess in that direction. Finally he urged that the relation of the Church to all amusements should be that of an elevating medium. Ib being a necessity of nature to have seasons of recreation ib was the duty of the Church to enter sympathetically into the feelings of the people in regard to their amusements—it was nob by standing and mourning that present-day amusements were deadening the spiritual life of the people that the causo of decay would be removed. Ib was by stooping that the Church would conquer, not sacrificing principle but banishing pharisaic pride and exclusiveness, and in the spirit of her great Master going down to raise up. This, he believed, was the relation the Church should bear to pre-vent-day amusements which tended to good, and by thus acting she would earn the gratitude of the people and God, even her own God, would bless her. A long and interesting discussion followed, in which the Rev. Mr.' Warboys, the Rev. James Hill, the Rev. A. Carrick, the Rev. R. Scott West, Mr. Macky, Mr. Brovvnlee, Mr. A. Bell, Mr. Farrell, and others took part, and after a short reply by the Rev. Mr. Sommerville the meeting closed with the Benediction.