A GLANCE AT THE 'TIMES.'

Freethought Review, Volume II, Issue 13, 1 October 1884, Page 13

A GLANCE AT THE 'TIMES.'

Amongst the products of nineteenth century civilisation there ait; lew things which present so broad a field for thought as the columns of a daily paper. Our colonial press may well be considered one of the wonders of the age. With a population not exceeding one-half of that of the City of Glasgow, cut up into provincial districts, and subdivided into numerous small townships—some of which are honoured with the title of " city " —the largest of which has fewer inhabitants than many an English parish, this colony supports a vast army of newspapers, men of all grades and conditions, from editors down to printers' devils ; and every town, as soon as it can boast of two hotels, a church, and a " lock-up," endeavours to establish its local journal. This is a healthy sign of the mental activity of the age, but the quality of such journals must necessarily be greatly influenced by their surroundings —even the largest of them—dwarfs considerably when compared with that leviathan of daily papers, the London ' Times.' A copy of the issue of June 16th came to hand by a late European mail, and though to me English news has long since lost the charm it once had, there is still something about the ' Times ' which strongly attracts an Englishman. In the sheet before me there is much to interest the earnest Freethinker. Under the heading " Hospital Sunday " I find reports ol the sums collected and the sermons preached at various places of worship in the metropolis. Dr. Vaughan, of the Temple Church, treated his hearers to an eloquent defence of pain and suffering, showing, amongst the various good things arising from such an unpleasant source, " such a noble spectacle as was seen when English women of birth and station left their luxurious homes in England to minister to English soldiers in the crowded hospitals of the East." The establishment of hospitals and dispensaries was also dwelt upon as evidence of the good resulting from pain and suffering. At the same time, the donations that day were said to be "for Christ's peculiar work, namely, counteracting the destructive agencies of evil." Space will not permit me to analyse this Rev. Dr.'s arguments, but I think the contradictions will be apparent to most of your readers. The matter is too serious to jest upon, but the ludicrous aspect of the sophistry of Christian charity mongers will present itself, and calls to mind the kindness of the proverbial Irishman who pushed his friend overboard for the sake of shewing his devotion by jumping in after him, and both were drowned. The next paragraph was equally interesting:—"At Christ Church, Westminster-bridge-road, the Rev. Newman Hall, in making an appeal on behalf of the fund, said it was a curious fact and a matter for regret that not more than halt a million out of the more than 4,000,000 inhabitants of London heard this appeal made from the pulpits within the metropolitan area, the rest not being church or chapel goers." What a startling admission from a pillar of the church. In another paragraph I was informed that out of the four millions who dwell in London, upwards of a million seek and obtain relief in the hospitals and dispensaries of that wonderful city. Reading the above statements of facts set me thinking—and from my old home in London to my present home in Christchurch was a very natural transition. We have a hospital here. Even here, in this infant city, the seeds of misery have been sown, and that ugly and pernicious monster, Poverty, has found—not a homefor poverty destroys the substance, and leaves pinched Penury to weep and dream in sorrow of ideal shadows of that holy sanctuary ! What a sin it was that the miserable results of feudal barbarism should have been brought to these fair isles; that lordly rights over the soil should have been granted, and sold for a few pieces of glittering coin. When I reflect upon the history of the English people, and consider how demoralising are the influences of a landed aristocracy, a state-endowed church, and the not yet exploded theory of the " rights divine of kings," I am not the least surprised at the existence of pauperism, and that feeling of dependency which so largely obtains among the working classes and retail

dealers in the old county. When I began my colonial life I fondly hoped that pauperising influences would never exist in this colony. That they do exist is a fact deeply to be deplored. For a people to become truly iu uu !■ ui cl pcupxc cu uecume truly great they must possess the spirit of independence and self-reliance. Let every man have his fair share in the national estate, and win by his own industry the rights which now grim poverty compels hundreds to accept as charity. There would be plenty of channels for the healthy flow of benevolence and philanthropy without the degrading influences of eleemosynary aid. Revenous a nos moutons. We have wandered. On another page of the ‘ Times,’ in contrast to the poverty that cries for help, we have a glowing account of a royal marriage in Russia, where all is pomp, and splendour, and glittering military parade. I turn with loathing from these records of barbaric pageantry, and again my eye rests upon a different theme. Boldly defending himself and his country’s cause, I see a stalwart figure“ In mymind’seye, Horatio”—standing before three Judges of the land ; against whom are pitted five of the ablest lawyers in England. Bravely, coolly, and resolutely the champion disputes the issue, inch by inch. The Law Courts of Great Britain, and the Bar of the House of Commons have witnessed some stirring struggles between right and might, but I question if history can produce a parallel to the protrailed persecution of Charles Bradlaugh and his continued and unflinching defence. My paper contains a report of the first day’s “ trial at the bar.” The telegraph cable has long since conveyed to us the result of that trial, but to me there is something peculiarly interesting in every detail of this noble fight for justice. I feel sure that the Freethinkers throughout the world must feel a glow of pride when they think of the brave man who has so long sustained the heat and burden of the fray. Apropos of Bradlaugh, I was greatly pleased the last time I had a chat with Charles Bright. He told me that on one of his lecture nights at Auckland, the whole of the audience sang with great enthusiasm my song, “ Hail to Bradlaugh,” as published in the Review. I wish our people here would go in properly for congregational singing. I am convinced that it is one of the strong arms of the orthodoxy, and if Freethinkers generally adopted it who knows but it might awaken a much abler muse than mine ? But I must finish, or you will need a sheet as large as the ‘ Times.’ Charles J. Rae. Christchurch, Aug. 25, 1884.