"SQUABBLING PRESBYTERIANS."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11540, 27 November 1900, Page 7

"SQUABBLING PRESBYTERIANS."

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,l cannot refrain from expressing my surprise that you should have permitted yourself to place the heading " Squabbling Presbyterians" over your reference in this morning's issue to the dispute between two leading members of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria. All disputes are, of course, unfortunate, and this one may havo in it a fair share of the perferfidum ingenium Scotorum, but after all it is entirely intelligible, and as the point at issue is imperial and not personal, never to speak of the distinguished ability of the disputants. and the venerable nature of the ecclesiastical court of upwards of 400 representatives of the best character and intellect of the colony of Victoria, to which they belong, any note of Jcontempt in alluding to it is singularly out of place. The brilliant _ but somewhat erratic convener of the committee which deals with tho relation of the Church to State questions, has recently expressed unpopular views concerning the Boer war, and the vigorous and patriotic minister of the leading congregation of tho Church is of opinion that ho has in consequence ceased to represent the mind of the Church in his position as convener, and ought not to be trusted to express the mind of the Church on public questions. Surely equally good churchmen may thus differ on a matter of Imperial politics, and even put some warmth into the utterance of their views, without being represented to your readers as squabbling sectaries.—l am, etc., W. Gray Dixon. St. David's Manse, November 24.