IN these days when the current of public opinion, especially in the press, is flowing strongly against the time-honoured and scriptural observance of the Lord’s Day, it is something to know that in the most prosperous of the British possessions an effort has been made by the legislature of the country to follow the breach of the fourth commandment with pains and penalties. That this has been done in due time must be apparent to anyone who has visited Canada. Every year thousands are crowding in, and in a few years these will have a vote in the government of the country. It is therefore to the credit of the Canadian Lord’s Day Alliance that they put forth a mighty effort to get this Act passed ere this alien population, with their low ideal of Sabbath observance, should have a right to exercise the franchise. Apart altogether from the terms of the Act, its passing into law is all the more remarkable when one remembers the mixed population of the Dominion. People of every nationality and diversity of religious creed find a home within its spacious borders and its vast prairies of virgin land. The main credit of getting this Act passed into law is due to the Lord’s Day Alliance of Canada, and especially to the untiring efforts of its Secretary, the Rev. J. G. Shearer. The Alliance is splendidly organised; it has branches all over the land, which are in touch with the central office at Toronto. One feature of the Alliance that appears somewhat strange to us is that Protestants and Roman Catholics work along side by side, carrying out the aim of the Alliance, which is the preservation of the Lord’s Day in Canada. While we are deeply impressed with this remarkable piece of legislation, we do not wish our readers to be carried away with the idea that it is perfect. Far from it, for we feel it is vitiated by most serious defects. First and foremost, the Canadian Lord’s Day Act ignores the divine authority that gives all the weight to the observance of the Sabbath. It has been urged in defence that otherwise it could not have passed through Parliament at all. That may be so, but this does not minimise the seriousness of the defect. Again, the Act’s interpretation of works of necessity and mercy is too wide, and under this heading are included works which cannot strictly be called works of necessity. In this way the Legislature of Canada has given its sanction to certain works that may be performed on the Lord’s Day that ought not to be done, and in this way bringing itself into opposition with the divine law.
To give an illustration of what we mean, here are some of the works that come under the above heading, according to this Act. The following works are permitted on the Lord’s Day:—
“Work before six o’clock in the forenoon and after eight o’clock in the afternoon of yard crews in handling cars in railway yards.
“Loading, unloading, and operating any ocean-going vessel which otherwise would be unduly delayed after her scheduled time of sailing, or any vessel which otherwise would be in imminent danger of being stopped by the closing of navigation; or loading or unloading before seven o’clock in the morning or after eight o’clock in the afternoon, any grain, coal, or ore carrying vessel after the fifteenth of September.
“Any unavoidable work after six o’clock in the afternoon of the Lord’s Day in the preparation of the regular Monday morning edition of a daily newspaper.
“The operation by any Canadian electric street railway company, whose line is interprovincial or international, of its cars, for passenger traffic, on the Lord’s Day, on any line or branch now regularly so operated.
“Any unavoidable work by fishermen after six o’clock in the afternoon of the Lord’s Day in the taking of fish.”
This will give a fair idea of what we have termed a serious defect of the Act. The works mentioned are only a few of those included under the heading of works of necessity and mercy.
Another serious defect of the Act, which may militate against its administration, is the fact that—
“No action or prosecution for a violation of this Act shall be commenced without the leave of the Attorney-General for the province in which the offence is alleged to have been committed, nor after the expiration of sixty days from the time of the commission of the alleged offence.”
This simply means that if the Attorney-General for the province be opposed to the Act he can refuse to give permission to try a case of alleged breach of this Act. This has already happened in British Columbia. Fortunately the Attorney-Generals of the other provinces are quite willing to administer the Act. With these criticisms we now proceed to give certain sections of the Act, which show how far Canada has gone in the right direction beyond Britain.
“It shall not be lawful for any person on the Lord’s Day, except as provided herein, or in any Provincial Act or law now or hereafter in force, to sell or offer for sale or purchase any goods, chattels, or other personal property, or any real estate, or to carry on or transact any business of his ordinary calling, or in connection with such calling, or for gain, to do, or employ any other person to do, on that day any work, business, or labour.
“It shall not be lawful for any person on the Lord’s Day, except as provided in any Provincial Act or law now or hereafter in force, to engage in any public game or contest for gain, or for any prize or reward, or to be present thereat, or to provide, engage in, or be present at any performance or public meeting elsewhere than in a church, at which any fee is charged, directly or indirectly, either for admission to such performance or meeting or to any place within which the same is provided, or for any service or privilege thereat.
“It shall not be lawful for any person on the Lord’s day, except as provided in any Provincial Act or law now or hereafter in force, to run, conduct, or convey by any mode of conveyance any excursion on which passengers are conveyed for hire, and having for its principal or only object the carriage on that day of such passengers for amusement or pleasure, and passengers so conveyed shall not be deemed to be travellers within the meaning of this Act.
“It shall not be lawful for any person to advertise in any manner whatsoever any performance or other thing prohibited by this Act.
“It shall not be lawful for any person to advertise in Canada in any manner whatsoever any performance or other thing which, if given or done in Canada, would be a violation of this Act.
[This covers the advertising of excursions, theatricals, sports, etc., which are to be held across the frontier on the Lord’s Day.]
“It shall not be lawful for any person to bring into Canada for sale or distribution, or to sell or distribute within Canada, on the Lord’s Day, any foreign newspaper or publication classified as a newspaper.
[Note that this prohibits the importation, sale, or distribution on the Lord’s Day of foreign newspapers, no matter on what day they are published.
Incidentally it will include even religious papers, published outside Canada, if classified as newspapers. This will apply to distribution by any method, in the mails, or otherwise.]”
This last section, since the Act came into force in March, has stopped the circulation, it is said, of 50,000 of “Sunday Papers” from the States which, in itself, is no small boon when one remembers the degrading influences of these papers.
The breach of the Act is followed with a penalty of a hundred dollars for individuals, and a much heavier penalty for corporations. Unfortunately, the railway corporations, which are so powerful in Canada, are openly defying the Act. First of all they evaded it by starting their trains on Saturday night, so that being in transit on the Lord’s Day their trains came under the section that allows all work done in connection with goods in transit to be considered a work of necessity. But the railway companies have gone further, for it is said that, while the railway yards, after the passing of the Act, showed some signs of Sabbath quiet, that they appear to be again as busy as ever. It is the intention of the Lord’s Day Alliance to prosecute these powerful corporations. We wish them all success, for if matters go as they are going, the railway corporations of Canada will bid fair to follow in the footsteps of some of the American railways.
D. B.
The day of grace is not past with any who rejoice to meet with any of the Lord’s people; nor would I give over hope regarding any who would say, “I wish I were like them.”—Joseph Mackay.