THE CHRISTIAN MINISTERS OF OTAGO .

Otago Witness, Issue 1162, 7 March 1874, Page 7

THE CHRI ST IAN MINI STERS OF OTAGO .

TO THK KDll'Ofl.

Sm — Judging from tho leaders and letters which have beeu appearing in tho Times, ufc intervals for months, it is not for want of trying if, by tliirf time, tho merchants, lawyers, mechanics, and people of Ot.igo generally, aie not of your opinion that their ministers are muffs ; and of course not only incapable of giving instruction in their own department, but also utterly undeserving of bread and butler This is your opinion, and if you hnve sufficient force to prevail on the people to :ilundon tlu'ir mini-.tei-s. I suppose they will just do what many good men and true have dono— turn to something else, 113 stone-breaking, storeko^j ing, cockatooing, or newspaper editing—for, th.mk God, none need starve in Ofcago, with it-, genial skies and broad acres of wnste land ! Mv object, however, is not to turn the edge of your t'oro cious attack — for who knows but we may come out of its pillory with our life whole in us— but to point <>nt that yon aro making a uso of I)r Begg's phrase '" clerical infirmary," which he never inteuded. Accompanying him on an excursion to the country, I, tiatuially enough, pointed out to him the extensive bounds of the original parishes, and mentioned that Mr Johnston, of Port Chalmers" J used to travel on foot between the Port and the Waitaki, calling on nil tho settlew and holding service in every plnoa where he could muster two or throe families— and that even now somo of ifae miuistets ride from 10 to 30 mile 3 every Sabbath in connection with their work. I hlho frequently remarked on the compnrativo youth aud I energy of nur settlers, adding "these things j should teach 3011 people at Home that it w of 110 ÜBe to send us miuifetors who urn not capable of ] enduring hardness." Hit> r«ply was, " When I get Home I will tell Dr Adam and the Colonial Committee that you require vigorous mon, and jttyt OH) \\9 ftWURt mWStI they rpprd Qtflgo. ug |t

' clerical infirmary.' " During his stay Dr Begp; met with many of our ministers, and so favourably was he impressed with their ability and attainments that, in speaking of our Theological College, he pressed upon myself and others to re-elect the Professor and tutors from our own ministry. Thirteen years ago our instruction? to the Home friends who take tho trouble of selecting ministers for us, was to look out for men of good parts, good sense, aud physical vigour, 011 the ground that their ministry would be addressed to congregations with a much larger proportion of the young and the strong, and collected from extensive dis- , tricts. Having some knowledge of the Christian j ministry in our Province, I do not hesitate to j say, if instruction in religion, the visitation of the hick and dying, the comforting of the sorrowful, the guidance of the inexperienced, and the conducting of public worship, are of social importance and value, that they attend to them efficiently and cheerfully, even when the duty entails a long and weary journey. They do not eat the bread of idleness. But why does the leading journal single them out for periodic attack? They do you no harm, but, on the contrary, they support the Press, and to a man recommend the families of their people to provide themselves with ,1 newspaper. From house to house they carry on the work ®f education, as well as of Sabbath Schools. Besides, T venture to say that they are the fast friends of our schools of all sorts ; and, let me alao toll you, that in the great majority of our settlers they have friends and s'uppoiters who will not fail them. If, however, lam mistaken as legards their character and the esteem in which they are held, and you right— why, it is not asking too much to let such dolts and idiots quietly clear out or starve. For one, J will not again trouble you with a defence of my order, nor, should the worst you see in store for us be realised, I pi oiniso I will not s>top at your (taor, hat in baud, for cithei cash or compassion, — I am, &c, D. IT. Stuart. February 2Gth. TO THE EDITOR. Stß— Dr Stuart had evidently allowed bis temper to overpower his judgment when ho penned the letter on the above subject which you published this morning. ]S r o one, so far as I have observed, has called in question the industry of the Otago ministers, or their genuine desueas ■ a body to do good to the utmost of their power ; hence Dr Stuart's heated sentences arc quite wide of the mark. The real charge brought against the Otago ministers is that in too many instances they do not pos.sess the ability to set their mission befoie their audiences in such a manner rs to product* the effect they de-ire. Ko.v many times have 1 gone to church in Otago and listened to a rambling, pointless liarangua, abounding in childish platitudes and senile repetitious. How many times have I conic aw.iy after listening to such discourses v ith my body weaned, my mind disgusted, and my soul on fire with indignation that the Gospel .should be so mangled by an incompetent deliverer of its message to mankind. Sir, I tell you pl.iinly that the rr&ult of reiterated e.xpeiiencc of this r.ort has been to cause me to scuy away from church altogether ; for I felt that if I continued to sit under such pi caching. 1 should become a sceptic, active or passive; and this experience of mine, I lciun from .speaking to others on the subject, is by no means an isolated one. When will people learn that it is not enough for a minister to bcarn blameless chaiacter, to pass certain examinations, and to be ordained V Any commonplace person whoso patents are eager that ha .should " w.ig his pow in tho pnopit" may fulfil the»e requirements, but something c 11101 c than that is wanted. Would Dr Stuart Q . care to read the productions of a poet simply c hecauso he did Ins best, however poor that best a might be '! t

The first si ep towards lcform is, as you have truly set forth, to nitike it worth the while of meu of ability to enter tho ministry, instead of leaving that gl n'ious profession to be in too ninny casss a lefuge for the dull and incompetent. Wo w.mfc men with several talents in the ministry — not those with only one talent, however well they may use it. [f this reform be eifected, we skill no lougei find our mimsteis in tho humiliating position they have lately occupied of being opposed by many simply because they are ministeis. Then, also, we hhall not have tho Bread of Life presented to us half-baked, and theieforo nauseous and indigestible.

Not seeking notoru'tj , Ido not sign my name, but Or Stu.irt may learn it from you if ho caics to do so.— l am, &c., Aljujuis. Dunedin, Fcbruaiy 2(ifch.