With tearful eyes I look around;
Life seems a dark and stormy sea;
Yet midst the gloom I hear a sound,
A heavenly whisper—”Come to me.”
It tells me of a place of rest;
It tells me where my soul may flee;
Oh! to the weary, faint, oppressed,
How sweet the bidding—”Come to me.”
When the poor heart with anguish learns
That earthly props resigned must be,
And from each broken cistern turns,
It hears the accents—”Come to me.”
When against sin I strive in vain,
And cannot from its yoke get free,
Sinking beneath the heavy chain,
The words arrest me—”Come to me.”
When nature shudders, loath to part
From all I love, enjoy, and see,
When a faint chill steals o’er my heart,
A sweet voice utters—”Come to me.”
Come, for all else must fail, and die;
Earth is no resting place for thee;
Heaven-ward direct thy weeping eye;
I am thy Portion—”Come to me.”
O voice of mercy! voice of love!
In death’s last fearful agony,
Support me, cheer me, from above,
And gently whisper—”Come to me.”
Protest by Western Presbytery Against Use of Films in the School.
WE are indebted to the Northern Times (Golspie) for the following:— “A protest against the use of films in Scottish Schools (based on the specific case of Caithness) was considered at the monthly meeting of Sutherland Education Committee yesterday. It was as follows:—
“We, the Western Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, convened at Kyle of Lochalsh on May 4, 1948, strongly protest against the action of the Caithness Education Committee in introducing Films into some of the Schools within the County. This innovation is very disagreeable to the right-thinking people of the Highlands, both parents and others, and they speak of it with strong disapproval and indignation.
“While the Education Committee may have in view only the bringing of Educational Films into the Schools, yet the atmosphere of the Cinema is there, creating a liking for Films and will lead to evil results. The Birmingham Cinema Inquiry Committee, after twelve months thorough investigation, said in their Report, that the influence of the Films on ‘children of school age’ is of ‘incalculable and irreparable harm.’ In the Scotsman of March 8, 1948, Dr. A. Pillans, in a discussion on children’s films in Glasgow, referred to ‘cinema fare as mental and moral poison.’ If this cannot be said, as yet, of Films exhibited in Schools in the Highlands, they lead the children to this by accustoming them to ‘cinema fare.’
“From an educational point of view we hold that the Cinema is a useless medium. A noted educationalist in England, as reported in the Glasgow Herald, held that, ‘proceeding from the educational law that knowledge can only be acquired by effort,’ the idea that children could learn anything from the Cinema was wrong. ‘The effects of cinema pictures upon children,’ he said, ‘might be bad although the pictures were good.’
“This Court feels their responsibility to God and their duty to their fellow-men, and by this Protest seek to guard the morals of the youth of the Highlands, and do hereby claim that parents, who have a conscientious difficulty with regard to the School Films, can withhold their children from these. Our earnest hope, however, is that the Education Committee will reverse their decision and do away with Films in all their Schools.
“On behalf of the Western Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.—(Signed) D. M. Macdonald, Clerk, Free Presbyterian Manse, Portree, Isle of Skye.”