REV. WM. THOMSON UN-BEAUTIFULLY BIASSED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13394, 21 September 1905, Page 10

REV. WM. THOMSON UN-BEAUTI-FULLY BIASSED.

... TO TKS-EDITOR',. .•' , ' , '.. Sin,—Kindly pbrmit. ino"through your columns io thank; tho Roy. ■ Win. Thomson for the complimontr ho : paid me the other, day; also for tho', acknowledgment that my position is on thesido of.truth, i Mr Thornson will know that the'best philosophy of ell tho.ages lms identified Rood, t or truth, or both, with what is beautiful.. Plato, Epictetus, and other Greckphiidsophors taught this in. tho dim...end ~ distant"-ages of the past. With H«gcl tlio. beautiful, is the' absoluto ideal realising ;; tlie beautiful first passes into sell recognition in the , dawn of human intelligence; 1 and its conscious realisation of itself inerocees in proportion to tho culture oi- the raco or. tho individual. Kuskiu presents ~lho ..various forms of beauty as typical, of: Divine attributes, arid these. , views ate certainly in harmony with the truest Christian.'philosophy. One is reminded of Bonar's cpigrammafieal lines: ;'.'.-•

"Us first the true, and then Ihebsauliiul, Not first the beautiful, 'and.then the line: First tiro wild wcoil , , with rock and fen ami pool, . -,'..' Then the gny garden, rich in scent and hue. Tis first the good, end then the beautiful, Mot first the beautiful, and then the good: First tho raish seed, sown in tho rougher soil, Thou tho ilowcf blossom , or 1 the branching wood. .■•■'■ : ' ■ I thank Mr Thomson for the acknowledgment that t-hosc who stand for no-liccnso and are trying to save the manhood and tho womanhood and the- childhood, of this kr.d from that degradation tho human -temple that should bo the-shrine of, tho Divine, which the drink'traffic is so largely responsible'for, aro indeed "beautifully" biassed, because they'stand for truth and for good. On tho whole Mr Thomson's letter is quito courteous, and for this I also thank him. I shall endeavour to maintain courtesy in my own, for anything eleo only degrades controversy, and an argument is always proportionately weakened by tho amount of discourtesy and personal animus shown in it. Ido not.'however, by this letter plunge into,_ a lengthy, newspaper controversy upon this subject, even though the editor were to permit it, for one should probably bo traversing the ground of previous controversies, and-this would scarcely bo useful. I simply write now to controvert one or two of Mr Thomson's statements. Ho refers to iny "fragmentary reading" upon' the subject. Such a presumption is often used as a weapon of debate, but it is a weapon that is usually resorted to when others have- lost their point, and the keenness of their edge. As Mr Thomson closes his litter with the presumption to which I have reforred, he is evidently conscious that up to that point his weapons were somewhat blunt. It Is* true that my desk is not laden with literature upon the no-liccnso question. To peruse such literature is not nvy first work; my first work is to provide spiritual food for those to -whom I minister in tho Word and sacred things of God. and to preach tho miscarchablo riches of Christ to.all whom I can reach. But the great, question of ternIterance, and even of no-Kconse, lios well within the sphero of tho Church's interest and activity." I have refrained until lately from making any pronouncement upon the

It is not eaay to toko up the roots of one's life nut! plant them in new soil, and foe! at onco as though they had been growing thero all one's days; and it is most unwise to assumo hastily an a'.titudo towards such a matter as no-license, which is far nioro social than political, and to iny mind as practically religious as it is social. But I have felt myself compelled to give this matter a good deal of earnest thought and a fair amountof reading; and the conclusion I have come to with regard to nolioenso is that which I stated at the, Garrison Hall last Sunday week, and which I do not hesitate to repeat. I claim to Uβ as conscientious in my interpretation of the . Scriptures as anyone, and 1 indignantly repudiate tho utterly false charge made against my fellow ministers and workers in this cause by Mr Thomson whan ho says: "It ' is more than evident that, when it suits them" (certain ministers, and among them Mr Hay) "tho Bible is accepted; but wljcii it comes in conflict with their a priori notions, the Biblo and tho example of Christ have to give placo to what ihey conceive to bo a better method, and a loftier'morality. , ' Mr Thomson knows as well as I do that his quotations from both the Old and tho New Testament have no reference to the open bar system, with iis barmaids "constantly allured on to Hie steep and slippery path of pleasant but most, destructive ■.•ices," with its ofttimes sottish habitues who have a wife and family at home in want, ami youug follows, and sometimes young women, learning to become drunkards; or any reforenco to the drink traffic and drunkenness as wo know, these to-day with their progeny of sickly and incapable"; or to a drink nil! of millions, a commerce that is honeycombed with its degrading effect, and a drunkards' grave for tons of thousands of the victims of tho liquor. Will Mr Thomson give nio a single passage from the Scriptures ihal upholds this system ? ■ Mr Thomson poses as being in favour of moral suasion. Moral suasion for what? For total abstinence, I presume. Then he is opposed to some of tho teachings of tho Bible which_ enjoin moderation. Even moral suasion is an acknowledgment of the evil of tho liquor traffic ' But when

a man will not abstain, and cannot bo the master o! himself because ho is too weak, nnd it is possible for thn evil into which the man is liable to fall to bo removed, Mr Thomson says, "No! don't remove it; let the fellow fall into it and damn himself and others too!" Is that a principle of Christianity? _ TJie Christian position is well sot forth inHhc recent pronouncement upon tho question by the, Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. "The drinking bars of this colony not only cause many sad hearts and guilt-stairicd consciences; (hoy effect the ruin of many weak men and women in body and soul. The Scriptural principle says to the strong man (who cun take or leave his glass, whose vote shuts or opens tho bar), 'Deny yourself in the interests of the weak; rcinovo the open snara in which they have been caught and maimed; do everything in your power to ston the manufacture of moral wrecks.'" Mr Thomson was reckoning without his host when ho mentioned the Hov. Mr Howitson as being opposed to no-license. How the "giant both in intellect and in reasoning power" will shrink into a dwarf in Mr Thomson's eyes, and becomo ono of those who mako "tlio Biblo .and the example of Christ giro place to what they wmceivo to bo a better method and a loftier morality." when I toll him that Mr Hcwitson, with ii great" , many others, signed the appeal in favour of no-license issued h\ the Council of tho Churches

immediately before the last poll, and also wrote to tho New Chivalry as follows: — "I do most sincorcly hope that a good rote will blast tor no-licenso this time. It reoins to me to be the only scheme before the public that it is possible to consider." 1 could also quoto from another letter written by Mr Hs\vit°on in which ho raises the question as to whether it ,is not the men who have been ' called cranks l.orame they have '-advocated no-licenso that are sane, arid whether it ■is not thoso in _ Sir Thomson's position who pose as l:i-ing sweetly reasonable that aro cranky. Tho position of tho other gentlempn mentioned I do not know; but as Mr Thomson is mistaken in one case, it is quito r>ossible ho is mistaken in all the' others. I learn from Christchuroh that Dr. Elmslic has not publicly, declared his position, and if that is so. then it i 3 presumption on the part of" Mr Thomson to do so for him.—l nm, etc., William Hay.

" Gannna" writes in similar terms as to Mr Hcwitson's opinions'-on the no-liconso question, andjembodies.a.copy of tho mani-fe-to issued by the Council of the Christian Churches, but it is unnecessary to J quote this at length. " Gumma " then proceeds to discuss Mr Thomson's methods ' of controversy, and says hc.is fscilo.'princens ui misrepresentation, and in support of bis accusation writes as follows;—"It is not long ago that in the column 'published by arrangement''-with you that he quoted Abraham Lincoln as opposed to prohibition, whereas the fact w that it never.'had' a more strenuous advocate, '.Certain it ie that tho great Slavery question overshadowed, everything else, and his hands were so full of that- groat work that other things lip.d to remain in abeyance, whilst ns President he could not take active part. But Lincoln's sentiments on tho liquor question are weir known.., In the various biographies of Lincoln thbre, is 6ufficient quotable matter to "fill ;a." whole issue of your paper, but, one or two extracts will suffice. In" an address delivered 'at , Springfield, Illinois, be, , said:" 'Whether or not tho world would be vastly benefited by.a total and final banishment from' it of all intoxicating drinks seems' to' The not now an open question;. Three-fourths of mankind confess the- affirmative ..with, their tongues, and I believe all tliowt acknowledge it in their hearts.;: Ought,.any,, then, to refuse their aid 'in doing what 'the good of the whole demands?'. :The:.address is given in full in Hrafdon's 'Life of Lincoln' (vol. 1, pp. 61-2) and Luwson's ' Life of Lincoltf' (pp. 68-9), .and ,'itreadsj like ono of Gough's orations. 'Lincoln wasa member of the Sons of Tomporancft and "the way in, which he publicly declared' himself aft<*r nomination as President', je: a'matter of iJJs Ljfljgala 1 joj-e/ and;, grav^Jj

addressing the company, said: " Gentlemen, we must pledge our mutual-healths in the most healthy beverage 'which God has given to nian. It-is the only beverage I havo over used or'allowed in my family, ami I cannot conscientiously depart from it on the present occasion. It k- pure Adam's ale from the spring." Taking a tumbler be touched it to his lips, o.iid pledged them his highest respects' in a cup of cold water. Of course-all his guests were constrained to admire his consistency and to' join in his example.'—Carpenter's ' She. Months at the ''White-House , with Abraham "Lincoln, , p. 125. -The words ascribed" to Lincoln by the L:V. advocate wore invented' by the LiquoV patty m a local optiofi contest in Atlanta, Georgia, in 188?. The State had a largo 'negro vote, and with tho object of influencing thi3' vote 'rummies' issued s>. poster. piWnrinß .Lincoln in the act of striking tho chains from a slave, whilst JNunderncath were the words ' Prohibition will ,ivork great injury to (he cause of.temperance. ... A prohibitory law strikes a blow at tho very principles on which our Government is founded. . The Temperance party submitted these words to Mr J. G. Nicolay, Lincoln's private secretary and biographer, and he at once pronounced them spurious. I must not trespass further on your space; but Mr Thomson must have known the source from which ho took his extracts, and his action is but another illustration of (he utter unreliability of liquor advocates."