Events at Rome.—At the middle of March the Pope at the appointment of new Cardinals deplored the activities of Protestant missionaries in Italy, and even Rome itself, and called upon the Cardinals to “fight this new menace to the full.” A week after this the British Prime Minister made it part of
his programme to visit the Pope and break the Sabbath by transacting affairs of State with Mussolini. At the time of writing we do not know what success Mr. Ramsay Macdonald in his hurried visits to Geneva, Rome and Paris had but we have no hesitation in saying that he is taking the wrong method if he desires to have God’s blessing on his labours as a statesman. This is not the time for statesmen who are engulfed in the maelstrom of world wide depression to ignore the abiding laws of Heaven.
Bible League Quarterly.—This interesting and helpful quarterly which is issued by the Bible League, 45 Doughty Street, Bedford Row, London, has quite a number of interesting articles in the April-June issue such as The Revised Version of the New Testament; History of Christian Belief as to the Holy Scriptures; My Experience with Buchmanism, and The Great Pyramid. It has also reviews of A. J. Russell’s “For Sinners Only” one of the Oxford Group books which has now reached a sale of over 107,000. The editor points out some of the serious defects of the book. For those who wish to keep in touch with the latest defences of the Bible they will find this Quarterly most useful.
“The Master Word of To-day.”—These are the words of the Rev. James Lockhart, in his presidential address at Sheffield, in speaking on “The Free Churches (Non-Conformist Churches of England) and Some Immediate Tasks” used when speaking of Union. He rejoiced that the Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists of England had appointed Committees to confer with each other. It is rather remarkable that in an age when vital godliness is at a low ebb though a kind of effervescent religiosity has taken its place that there should be such a demand for union among Christian denominations. This is a phenomenon that demands study as it seems to indicate a drift in religion in which that which gave it backbone is absent.
Fifty Glasgow Clubs Facing Close-Down.—The above cross-heading caught our eye in reading one of the Scottish
dailies the other week. On reading the paragraph we learned to our astonishment certain things we were not aware of. The writer said Glasgow’s amateur clubs are facing a crisis as more than fifty of them may be forced to close down next season. Half the number of these clubs are connected with churches and the city assessor has made it plain that church halls used for other than a strictly religious purpose must be fully assessed. Most of the churches draw the line at paying the increased assessment hence the anxiety of the dramatic clubs. We wish the assessor all success and hope he will go the full length the law allows him in assessing these church halls where dramatic entertainments are held. It is almost incredible that there are so many dramatic clubs connected with churches in Glasgow but we take for granted that the newspaper writer knows what he is speaking about.
Blasphemy Bill.—The second reading of the Seditious and Blasphemous Teaching of Children Bill was taken in Parliament on 9th April. The measure makes it an offence for any person other than the parent to teach seditious or blasphemous matter to children under the age of sixteen, or to read to or sell to or distribute among such children any document containing such matter, or to make, publish, sell, distribute, or have in his possession for sale or distribution any document containing seditious or blasphemous matter for the purpose or with the intention of its being used for teaching such children, or being read to, sold to, or distributed among such children.
Mr. Maxton said he had serious views about the Bill. The only views which were to be prevented from being taught to children were the views which he held very genuinely and very sincerely, views which he thought offered the only chance of getting a really decent world for people to live in. The peoples of the world would have to be freed from their belief in supernatural religions. What was the trouble in getting a peaceful Ireland and a peaceful India? What was the trouble in every corner of the globe in getting settled civil conditions? There
were two things—the problem of the poverty-stricken mass and the few wealthy people, and the problem of the superstitious religions which divided nations into warring sects, Mohammedan and Hindu, Protestant and Catholic. The only teaching which he knew which got anywhere near to providing intelligent explanations and solutions of the world’s troubles was the Marxist teaching. We presume Mr. Maxton classed Christianity among the supernatural religions which it was necessary to get rid of before his Marxist theories could have scope. If so Mr. Maxton and his confederates have undertaken a task over which Disaster is written in large letters before the conflict begins. The Second reading of the Bill was carried by 124 votes to 30.
Anglo-Scottish Conference at Lambeth.—The conferences between the Church of England and the Church of Scotland are being carried on in secret. During the first week in April one of these conferences was held at Lambeth. The conference decided to refer the matter once more to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland when an interim statement will be made to the Assembly. The movement towards Canterbury is an ominous one by a Church claiming to be in historic continuity with the Church of Scotland. Meantime we reserve further criticism until the report is presented to the General Assembly.
Shops Open on the Sabbath in the North.—At a meeting of the Inverness and North of Scotland Branch of the Lord’s Day Observance Association it was reported by the hon. secretary (Mr. F. Beaton) that 94 shops were open on the Lord’s Day in the six northern counties. The number was made up as follows:—Caithness, 5; Ross-shire, 7; Inverness-shire, 37; Nairnshire, 5; Morayshire, 40. Sutherland had the honourable distinction of having no shops open on the sacred day. The nationality of the Sabbath traders was given as follows:—Wick, 3 Italians. Thurso, 1 Italian; 1 Englishwoman. Tain, 1 Italian. Invergordon, 1 Italian. Alness, 2 Scots. Dingwall, 2 Italians; 1 Irishman. Beauly, 1 Italian. Inverness, 13
Italians; 15 Scots. Kingussie, 1 Italian. Fort William, 3 Italians; 3 Scots. Inverlochy, 1 Scot. Nairn, 1 Italian; 4 Scots. Forres, 2 Italians; 5 Scots. Findhorn, 1 Scot. Grantown-on-Spey, 1 Italian. Lossiemouth, 2 Italians; 8 Scots. Burghead, 2 Scots. Hopeman, 2 Scots. Elgin, 6 Italians; 1 British born of Italian parents, and 10 British subjects—a total of 38 Italians; 1 British born of Italian parents, and 55 British subjects, mostly natives of the Highlands.
Culloden Wishing Well.—At a meeting of the Traffic Commissioners for the Northern Area, held in the first week of April, a deputation from the Inverness Lord’s Day Observance Association appeared before the Commissioners protesting against giving a licence to run buses to Culloden Well on the first Sabbath of May. The Commissioners granted the licence. Things have come to a pretty pass in the Highlands when buses must be run to encourage superstition on the Lord’s Day. It is now many years since we first called attention to this frivolous practice and we were surprised to receive a strong criticism from an office-bearer in our Church asserting that no such practices were indulged in now-a-days. We trust that by this time our friend is convinced that we were writing with a fuller knowledge than he was willing to give us credit.