Dancing And Morality

NZ Truth, Issue 997, 3 January 1925, Page 7

Dancing And Morality

Southland's Turn. (From "Truth's" Invercargill Rep.) It is Southland's tuth. At , the last meeting Of the Southland Presbytery, the Rev. G. .F. Fox-, of Woodlands, brought up the question of dancing and morality. He made no direct charge again.st anything or anyone. His information was apparently of a second-hand nature because he quoted from the Anglican Church [journals. He remarked that when the Anglican Church thought it time to take up the matter, . surely the Presbyterian Church should join m the movement. He sought to , get ministers to bring before their congregations the motion that was passed at the General Assembly at Palmerston North. He moved accordingly. " • . • ' > The Rev. J. Lawson Robinson adopted a conciliatory attitude and expressed, the opinion -that there was no evil m dancing but it was m the evil associations'clustering rqurid. , He took the vi6w that mdthers should not allow their daughters to attend dances without chaperones being m attendance. After very little discussion the motion was put and carried and the discussion, then closed. A Presbyterian minister told "Truth's" rep. that he was pleased the discussion had closed so amicably as he would have had something to say had members attacked dancing m general. Members of his congregations had held dances m connection with the Church with his connivance and he would not be the one to stop his people from partaking of wholesome enjoyment.. It was better "for them to. be present at a respectable dance, under- the patronage of the Church., than at some dance where liquor abounded. A prominent social worker expressed the opinion that many clergymen were taking up a wrong attitude m the matter. Dancing was here to: stay, And, under the circumstaiices, the Church should do its best to popularise, the decent sort of dancPi There were few of the other type m Invercargill. From what she had seen, there was small cause for complaint m the manner m which dances were conducted m this part of the world. "Truth's" rep. had his attention drawn to the case of one Invercargill clergyman who popularised dances m connection with his Church and was said to have acted as M.C. on one occasion. He was evidently a believer m the saying that* for many young folk it was necessary to make the Church attractive for a start. His congregation ! i # s one of the biggest m the town.