THE HON. MR. DICK AND INFANT BAPTISM.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1332, 13 January 1881, Page 3

THE HON. MR. DICK AND INFANT BAPTISM.

A correspondent writes:— "l see by to-day (Monday's) Herald that there was a special baptismal service in the Wel-lesley-street Church, Auckland, the previous day, at which a touching re-union took place between the Hon. Mr Dick and members of that congregation. This reminds me of a touching incident of a similar kind which occurred in Dunedin many yeais ago, in which Mr Dick and infant baptism formed rather prominent figures. Mr Dick, I should explain, was in these days, as he is still, an authority on infant baptism. Tt was considered to be his speciality, and at church soii'ees and tea meetings he was always good for a half-hour's speech on the subject. He dealt with it on a strictly geometrical scale, sectionising the babies, and then woikmg out the problem, until he succeeded in indicating to the dullest comprehension the exact section on which the sacred fluid ought, by rights, to be sprinkled. Speaking from a certain amount of enforced experience, I am in a position to say the discourse combined a good deal of nice computation, coupled with a large amount of fervent unction. The result was, Mr Dick was looked upon as being by far the best authoiity on the subject, and by parents and guardians his precepts were followed out to the strict letter. Well, it came to pass that Mr Dick was called upon to preside at a congregational gatheung, held in a then outlandish place called Caversham, and as was his wont on buch occasions, he gave tho audience the benefit of his half-hour's speech on the infant question. Mr Dick's utterance then, as now, wcie considered of great importance by the public p v ess. a reporter was dispatched to the meeting, with instructions to give Mr Dick's remarks prominence. Thiough inefficiency, or perhaps some other, even less, pardonable cause, the unfortunate scribe got his ' 'note muddled", and tho result was that when the infant sections appeared in print, they were all mixeded, upside down. The mishiip was not discovered for some months. In the meantime, the well disposed, of Caversham, followed out the strict letter of the printed piogramme, and caused to be administered the solemn rites of baptism, in accordance with what was assumed to be, Mr Dick s testimony. Now, just fancy the hoiror of horrors, depicted on his (Mr D's) countenance, and the dismay of Christain parents in Csveraliam, when the mistake was detected, and the discovery made, that a whole generation of youthful Cavershamite«, had. been sprinkled at the wrong end. I will, adds our correspondent, allow the curtain to fall on this painful scene, only adding by way of postscript that, although, a period of, wellnigh twenty years has elapsed, no reunion has yet taken place between that uniortunate newspaper reporter, and, either Mr Dick or the old identies of Caversham.