PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16239, 24 November 1914, Page 2

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

GENERAL ASSEMBLY. He Assembly met at 10 ajn. yesterday, the proceedings opening with devotional exercises. The Rev. VV. M'Ara presided, owing to the Moderator desiritig to bring forward soms matters of interest to Hawko's Bay. SABBATH OBSERVANCE. Tho report of tho oonimitteo on Sabbath observance stated that on the one hand there vvero many indications, some obtrusive, others more subtle, of a growing laxity throughout the wiiolo dominion witli regard to tho observance of the Sabbath. From all parts c;ui.o reports of the steady crcrouolun unt of bolh labour aJid pleasure on tho da.y tliat by Divine sanction and long established custom should be a day of rest and worship. There was a growing tendency to plead necessity as an exouso for Sunday labour in many industries. It would be difficult to arrive at even an approximate ostiinate of the number employed on Sundays, but investigations showed that this number was far greater than it was generally thought to bo. Police, railway, tram, and steamer officials, workers in tho dairy, eawmilling, rabbiting, and other industries, hotel employees, those who were employed in catoring for the amusements of the people, and many who were engaged in labour that was absolutelv Lcceseary, const.tuted a considerable ptopor-v tioll Ol UK- WOllvillg pui LIUU Ui UIC munity. Amusements, both indoor and in tlie form of picture entertainments and concerts, and outdoors in the indulgence in picnicking, "week ending," fishing, and different kinds of sport, wore in many pam transforming the day into an ordinary holiday. On tho other hand there were evidences of an aroused consciousness of the seriousness of this question. Increased interest was being taken in the question by the various churches and the newspapers, and public bodies had given an indication of a conviction that the time had arrived when the tendency to commercialise the day would have to be checked.

The Rev. A. C. W. Standage (Wellington) in moving the adoption of the report, said this was a most vital matter for the Church. From a religious point of view they were more and more ooming to realise that the increasing strenuousness of life and the increasing demands upon the time and energy of the workers were producing a state of affairs hitherto unprecedented in the history of the Church. The people in this part of the dominion had no idea how the Sabbath was in this way used for holiday purposes in some other places, particularly on the West Coast. The only remedy seemed to be to put into councils and on other bodies men who would not oountenance that sort of thing. Another subject before the committee was the growing use of Sunday for military purpose.}. The Defence authorities would have to watch these encroachments. He Canadian legislation was considerably in advance of ours. The committee did not, however, think that any good purpose would be served by approaching Parliament on the subject at the present time, for to make sucn legislation effective it would be necessary to have.behind the movement a much stronger body of public opinion than existed just now. Tho reoommendations of tie committee were to appoint the first Sunday of August, 1915, && Sabbath Observance Day, and that a special endeavour be made by presbyteries and congregations to secure tho formation of branches of the Lord's Day Alliance in every district The Rev. R. Inglis (Auckland) seconded the motion. He said this wae not a question of Sabbatarianism, but it was a question of Sunday or no Sunday. He would not stress the evils in connection with the non-ob6ervance of , Sundays. They were patent to everyone. In order to remedy these evils, it was not alone sufficient that they should preach in season and out of season against those evils, but they should organise in tile same way as the Sabbath Day Alliance in Auckland had dona It was only by organisation that this question oould be effectively dealt with. The Rev. A. Grant (Moderator), in supporting the motion, saia they had all heard from the report that organisation was absolutely necessary. He thought a start should be made in the direction of ascertaining what oould be done on this question, as it was a far more serious matter than anyone of them had so far considered it to bo. To do this thoroughly they would have to be sure that conviction was deep down in tho hearts of the people. The Rev. W. Shirer (Wellington) said that this desecration was specially prominent in the north. As to Defence Department encroachments, the fault lay not only with the authorities, but with tho i-en themselves, for on Sundays the iren often travelled to and from camps in order to save expense. He desired to add that there waß a certain amount of urgency in connection with the concentration camps, but this was not likely to occur again, tor he had it on good authority that after the arisis was over the large concentration camps would not bo organised. Ihe motion was carried unanimously. DUNEDIN TRAMWAYS UNION.

The Rev. R. Inglis moved: That the General Assembly having had its attention called to a case in which the Dunedin Tramways Union had inflicted a fine upon one of its members for absenting hin.'telf without apology from business meet.ngs of the union held on Sundays, such action having been subsequently declared legal in a court of law, expresses its strong protest against such action as a violation of the rights of consciencc. fhe A.-s"nibly also expresses its regret chat the Dunedin Tramways Union not only ho\ls its business meeting's on that day, but seeks to coerce those of its members who conscientiously object into attending tho same under pains and penalties." The mover referred to the judgment given by Mr 11. Y. Widdowson, S.M., when this caso came before him. The Sabbath Observance Committee had approached several persons and bodies, and the only reply leorned wus from the Dunedin Ministers' Association, which expressed sympathy with the man who had been penalised. He maintained that the question called for an emphatic protest.—(Applause.) Bishop C'leary, with whom he had discussed tho natter, also held strong opinions on this niestion of the desecration of the Sabbath. He maintained that no union or organisation had the right to so frame its rules to compel the attendance of any r an at a meeting on Sunday.—(Applause.)

The Rev R. L. Walker (Auckland) seconded the motion. He said tliey could not shut their eyes to tho fact that there was a section of organised labour that was anti-Uhristian They should throw their whole weight against the penalising of any men who for conscientious reasons rofi.sed to attend meetings of unions on a Sunday.

The Rev. B. Hutson (Wellington! asked if they would be right in taking this stand in view of tho fact that there wus a Presbyterian Church which had held business meetings on a Sunday. Surely thc-y should set their own house m ciVer beiore they took up the attitude the motion suggested.

The Rev. W. Scorgie asked for the name of the church whioh had held business meetings on Sundays. Tho Rev. Mr Hutson said it was tho Petone Church.

The motion was carried, Mr Hufson voting against it. He, however, expiated that he agreed with the principle.

THEOLOGICAL HALL. The report of the committee on the course of study for home missionaries in tho Theological Ha!J was presented by the Rev. G. H. Balfour. Tho committee, after consulting with presbyteries, put forward an amended course.

This was diweuseed clause by olauso. The Assembly decided as follows:—A home missionary may apply for admission to the Theological Hali ias a student on condition that his application is accompanied by certificates that he has passed the course of study for home missionaries with credit, that he has for two years held an appointment as home missionary, or has served for five years as an ordained home missionary. It was further provided that a home missionary whose application for admission to the Theological Hall has been g-ranted shall take a preliminary year of study at Knox College, this to include classes in matriculation English, elementary Greek, and history. This preliminary year may be dispensed with in the case of students of sufficient literary Attainments. The Rev. G. Budd (Feilding) moved that the clause relating to the preliminary year bo sent back to tho presbyteries, but this w«s lost bv a good majority on a division. DEPUTATION FROM COUNCIL OF CHUIICHES. A doputation from (he Council of Christian Churches, consisting of about eight gentlemen, waited upon tho Assembly. The Rev. K. Drake addressed the Assembly on the unity existing on the subject- of ail such great -problems as Labour in its relation to the Church, the temperance question, Bible in schools, etc. He extended greetings.

The Rev. Dr Gibb said he had pleasure in moving that the Assembly assured the representatives of the Council of tho Churches of its sincere pleasure at their presence, on that occasion, reciprocated tho kindly sentiments they had expressed, and assured them of its sympathy with all the church which held the head Christ Jesus, nn<l prayed that God's richest hUssing might reft upon them and ihcir labours. The motion was carried, and the deputation retired.

TIIEOLOQIPM, COMMITTEE. The Rev. G. il. Jialfour moved tho adop tion of tho report of the Tbiological Committee. It stated that the hall was opened on April 1, and that a sn.tisf;ictory session had lieen held. The number attending the hall was 33 The mover said in the course of his remarks tliat the committee a.ske<i for the sympathy and the prayers of tho Oliaireh for the Theological Hall. It was also neer«aary to provide the means. More money was absolutely necessary. Unless the committee got more donations and more bnrsark* it would be impossible to give due encouragement to young men to hl.udy for tho ministry. Mr Balfour moved the following deliverance : —"Adopt the report; expre.<w gratitudo for tho Divine blessing on the work of the ball during the [mat year; congratulate Dr Wntt, the Professor of Hebrew, on attaining t.lio 50th anniversary of his ordination; thank the donors to the scholarship fund and donors of prizes; sanction tho scholarship proposals for 1915, and empower the committee to grant such additional scholarships an the state of the funds and the regulations connected therewith may warrant; approve the action of the committee in admitting Mr G. P. Campbell to the special arte course for nonmatriculated students, and in admitting Mr A. _C. Hampton into the hull on the conditions indicated in the report; approve the appointment of the Revs. J. W. Shaw, M.A., and C. A. Gray, M.A., as relieving examiners in church history and New Testament Greek respectively; thank the examiners in connection with tho entrance, exit, and other examinations for their services."

The Rev. FL H. Barton seconded the motion, and the debate was adjourned till 10 o'clock this morning. The evening meeting of tho Assembly was held in First Church, the Moderator (the Rev. A. Grant) presiding. SABBATH SCHOOLS. The report of the Sabbath Schools Examination Conimitteo stated that during the year the work of examinations in Scripture and Catechism had been carried out. The number of candidates varied from year to year in accordance with the portions of Scripture set for examination. The numbers in each division were;— Middle, 659 entered and of that number 604 were placed in tho following orderr—27s got 70 per cent, of marks and over, 339 ranged from 40 per cent, to 69 per cent. The essay subject, "David Livingstone," proved attractive to the scholars, although not so popular as a Scripture character. Tho total number who sent in esays was 581. The Christchurch Presbytery led with 95, followed 1 y Auckland 89, Dunedin 72, Hawke s Bay 54, Southland 53, Wellington 50, Timaru 59, Oamaru 34, Waikato 24, Wanganui 23, Taranaki 13, Clutha 13, Dunstan 7, Westland 6, Nelson 4, Mat-aura 3, and Wairarapa 1. The committee again called attention to the omission of manyschools to send lists of candidates to the examiners, and also to the carelessness of supervisors in sending away papers without having the name of the Presbytery to which they belonged marked on them. This meant delay in declaring the results, and also entailed a great deal of extra work on the examiners. The committee also made certain recommendations regarding the syllabus. The result of the various competitions was as follows: —Gold medal. Nan Robb (St. David's, Auckland): silver

medals--Primary, Mory M'Kenzie (Nekou); junior, .lesaie Hosts (Forest Hill); senior 1, Alison Burns (St Paul's, Christcliuroh); senior Jl, John Connal Robb (St. David's, Auckland). Banner conii>etitk)r>6 (lor schools with over 60 pupils on the roll): —St. l>avui's (Auckland), 1; Port Chalmers, 2; Ilavolock North, 3.; Lyttelton, 4. For schools with under 50 pupils on the rollfi:— Lauriston, 1; pacroii,, 2; South Wynilhimi, 3; Lower iiutt, 4. The Rev. J. J. Cairney moved the adoption of tho report, tic said that very good work had boen done by the candidates for examination during tho year. Referring tho prosent scheme, ho said that those employed in teaching had given great attention to Sunday school work lor a considerable time. Again the Sunday .School Examination Comnnttoe liad endorsed the teachers' work, and had «cnt it on to tho Assembly for acceptance.. The Rev. J. Clarke (Wyndham) seconded tho motion. The Rev. Alex. Miller (Auckland) moved an amendment as follows:—"That the agegrading for the Sunday schools examinations be the same as last year, and that tie work prescribed from the Catechism be on the principle laid down by the Assembly of 1912, and followed by the Assembly of 1913, this work to be taken from the second part of the Catechism." la speaking to his amendment, the mover said that th*.? Assembly in 1912 provided for an alteration in the grading in dealing with tho Catechism. This was adopted in the examinations in 1913, when for some reasons not yet explained the examiners abandoned tho scheme laid down and reverted to tho old scheme. Mr W. A. Patterson (Wellington) seconded tile amendment. . M l ' Ryburn llnveroargil]) said Mr Miller s plan had no advantage over the other scheme. It had gape in it. ihe other scneme had made a number of clauses for email schools. fo3, h r Rl 'Tl I*' Barton said he was famihar with the history of this movement. u -Sunday School Association decided, when tho scheme which Mr Miller had mcnloned had been passed, to adopt another ecneme. rhe committee practically brought up the scheme, which had been thrown out Wee a dead cat by tho Assembly. When adopted the report tho convener was not present, and they had practically been misled as to the purport of the report. A|S a matter of fact, the committee had been in the dark to a large extent. The committee had carefully considered the scheme put forward two years ago, and had again affirmed it this year, and it would be an ungracious act of the Assembly Jt WaS DOt goinsr to g ' ve a

JjSrity mendlnent WaS lOSt b r a We a f °rther amendt'nn P u isUnda y School Examinaion Committee be not continued, and that v ex iL minat . lons be conducted by the Yout h Committee; that, with the exception the essays, the examinations be conducted 0E the linea of .ast year." The amendment was seconded but was uefeated by an overwhelming majority ihe motion was carried on the voices.

A VISITIN<; CLEBGYMAJf. At this stage the Rev. J. R. Fleming, ot ' 4 (England) Presbyterian t£ 3 u S "° r ," e dominion, addressed the Assembly, chiefly confining himself to a S7° n the Presbyterian Church m the dominion and the English Presbyterian Church. He believed thatthey were on the way towards the consummation land U TwK Church of Scotierverl they would have conserved the great living principles of the great Disruption Fathers along with a largw cnarity .and a mere genial tolerance. VVhen he returned Home he would tell his people of the importance, urgency, and K f the - fi ?i d h&d here. He Felt that being in Dunedin he was treading He ISk ° f a " e^ E dinburgh.-(Applause.) He had been struck with the alertness and t oSß v,° £ New Presby.n. v f congratulated them * V6 [ y of Christian ■L j had attained. He Mr w? i! e 00 i t tfca , in , ifc in Old Land. Mr Fleming he had visited many places tW%K e i, - Hon .' e . and he had no idea that they had such a grand institution as Knox CoHege. It compared favourably with almost any similar buildings in the Presbyi?ria", wor ' d ' I* yas a magnificent work ot dl tw'. 1 add , ed t0 1,18 interest to know that it was largely due to tho efforts ot his old friend and fellow student, Mr Andrew Cameron, that this institution had been erected.-(Applause.) Mr Fleming dealt with the social questions in New Zealand, and said that in some of them the dominion easily gave a lead to those in England. He particularly referred to the question of no-license and that of Biblereading m schools.

A vote of thanks was accorded Mr Fleming on the motion of the Rev. A. Cameron, seconded by the Rev. A. Miller.

THE YOUTH OF THE CHURCH. Tlio report of the Youth of the Church Committee stated that wide field had been covered and much "work done, progress having been made in many directions, -while in others there had been a falling' away. 'lhe outstanding feature of Sunday School work had been the breaking of new ground in the far North by Mr R. Blair, tho Sunday School agent. Hjis work, largely developmental, while not showing big returns at present, should bear abundant fruit in years to come. The Church was indeed fortunate in having for her travelling representatives two such men as Mr Blair and Mr Frazer Barton. In extending and building up the work of Sunday Schools and Bible (lasses they were doing valuable Church extension work. During the year the work, so far as could be judged, had made a distinct advance spiritually, and at the present time, notwithstanding the detractions of the war, there was a growing desire on the part of workers to lead their charges safely into God's Kingdom. lie Church has good reason to be proud of its body of voluntary workers amongst its youth. In many cases they were doing their work under disadvantageous circumstances and discouragement. To this body of workeis, who look for neither fee nor reward, the Church owes a debt of gratitude, and should ever hold them in affectionate remembrance. During the year the total receipts were £810, as against £005 for the previous year. Fortunately the expenses were also reduced, leaving the balance to be carried forward £7 in excess of last year. Th© Young Men's Bible Classes had again more than met their promised quota of £50. Tho Young Women were still short of their £100, and the Sunday Schools had not yet reached their guarantee of £150. Ail of these bodies contributed as much as they did last year, so that the falling off in the receipts for the year was owing to a reduction in the contributions from churches. Mt Barton, who was appointed Bible Class Travelling Secretary three years ago, had intimated to the committee his intention to resign in order to enter the Theological Hall early next year to complete his studies for the ministry. Mr Barton had given himself ungrudgingly to his work, and had proven himself a workman of unusual capacity. Rev. J. Mackenzie, owing to his transfer to Toorak, Melbourne, had perforce to tender his resignation. For tho past 10 years Mr Mackenzie had guided the policy of the Sunday Schools, and during that timo had not only seen but had been the principal factor in, a wonderful development. A glanoe at this development was an eloquent testimony to the efficiency of Mr Mackenzie's convenership. The number of schools in 1905 was 461; in 1914, 698. Scholars in 1905, 25,565; in 1914, 37,100. Teachers in 1905, 2701; in 1914, 3701. Contributions for missions in 1905 were £1295; in 1914, £1425. In all branches of the work Mr Mackenzie had shown remarkable foresight, rare tact, and gTeat persistence, and had brought the work of the Sunday Sichoois on to a higher level than ever it had been. He could ill be spared at the present juncture, and his place would be hard to fill.

Mr G. Troup, in moving the adoption of tho report, said they had never made euch distinct progress as they had during tho past year. They had added to the membership to the extent of 797 during tho year, and they had added 23 new classes, and it would bo evident to those present that the progress made had been very real. When he told them that they had allied with their various unions 49 new affiliations they would see that the classes were gradually passing into the unions. Tho Rev. W. T. Todd (Rakaia) seconded the motion. He said that during tho past 10 years there had been an annual increase in membership of 1154. Tho increase this year had, however, only been 80, but this could be satisfactorily explained.

Tho Rev. J. Aitken intimated that the children's magazine, Break of Day, had incroaeed its circulation from 3000 during the first year of publication up to 7600 this year. It*! popularity was bcooming more marked each year. He said that the Break of Day Committee was greatly indebted to Mr W. H. Adams and to Mr Blair for the great interest they had taken in the cause of the magazine.

The motion wa.s carried. An addreee wjis given by Mr R. Blair, after which a number of recommendations wen; adopted, including that of the appointment of two students to continue the work at present being done by Mr Barton, tho salary of each agent, t<i be £175 per annum. with travelling allowance up to £50. The Assomblv then adjourned until 10 a.m. to-da j.