Conference on Public Morals.
—A conference was held on the above subject at Edinburgh during last month. Representatives from all parts of Britain were present—men and women whose work bring them into contact with the fallen. A crowded meeting was held in the Synod Hall, and speeches were made, revealing a condition of things simply appalling. Sodom itself, we believe, could scarcely put in a claim that would not be overreached by what is taking place in some of the great cities in this highly civilised and so-called Christian nation. We were pleased to hear some of the speakers lay stress on the Gospel as the only remedy for the awful condition of things that existed. On the other hand, some of the speakers seemed to us in dealing with this great problem as children building sand-castles, altogether oblivious of the might of the advancing tide. It is a regrettable thing, as reported in the press, that some of the ministers who preached special sermons in connection with the Conference, advocated dancing, etc., as a counter-active to the temptations to which they are exposed. This is surely cruel advice coming from the pulpit.
A Bunyan Relic.
—The announcement, says the “Glasgow Herald,” that in order to clear off a mortgage the Council of the Bedfordshire General Library is considering the sale of the most valuable book in the collection, Bunyan’s historic copy of “The Book of Martyrs,” will recall to many the fact that, in 1902, a particularly fine Caxton from the same source came under the hammer at Sotheby’s. This Caxton was a copy of “The Ryal Book,” circa 1488, presented early in the seventeenth century by the Vicar of Houghton Conquest to the Church Library of St. John’s, Bedford. Being in good condition, protected by the original oaken boards with stamped leather, the folio fetched £2,225, the record at auction for a single work by our first printer. Now it belongs to Mr. Pierpont Morgan. Within the binding, too, there were discovered two exceedingly rare indulgences from Caxton’s press. As to Bunyan’s copy of the “Book of Martyrs,” that work and the Bible were his chief companions in the Bedford Jail. Messrs. Sotheby are said to have valued the relic, because of its association, at £8,000 or more. The warrant for Bunyan’s arrest realised £305 in 1904, after having made £2 10s. only at the disposal of Dr. Chanucy’s years before. Subsequent to the sale at Sotheby’s it was catalogued at 1,000 guineas. There exists one copy of the “Pilgrim’s Progress,” containing as frontispiece the print of Bunyan dreaming, which, in 1901, brought the huge sum of £1,475. The American collector who bought it, later refused a profit of £400, offered by a British enthusiast.
Religious Instruction in Schools.
—The annual general meeting of the Association for the Inspection of Religious Instruction was held in Dowell’s Rooms, George Street, Edinburgh, last month—Sir Charles Dalrymple, Bart., presiding. The annual report stated that during 1909 the number of schools examined was 292, as against 348 in 1910. Of these 138 schools were marked “excellent,” and only 27 fell below the standard of “good” or upwards. Eight School Boards had withdrawn their schools, but in almost every case the inspection of religious instruction will be carried on by the local ministers of the district. At present 162 School Boards were on the Association’s list. Sir Charles Dalrymple claimed for the Association that it had helped to keep alive not only recognition of religious instruction in our schools but the necessity of having them inspected so that their character and quality might be ascertained. The Association never dreamt of discouraging religious instruction carried on by other means than the Association’s officers.
Aytoun’s “Scottish Cavaliers.”
—Aytoun’s “Cavalier Lays” (says Alexander M’Millan, of the famous publishing house), always annoy me. I never could go through one of them. That any Scotchan should in this nineteenth century not feel that all that Scotland is she owes to her Covenants and their noble predecessors, from Hamilton, Wishart and Knox till the final achievement of freedom of worship—I say nothing of their career since—I cannot understand. The theological and ecclesiastical standpoint they occupy is not mine, but what does that matter?—Life and Letters of Alexander M’ Millan.
Further Declension.
—Not only in Anglican circles, but amidst the great English Free Church organisations, still further alarming declension is reported. Notwithstanding all the schemes to attract the people, such as music, festivals, bazaars, lectures, P.S.A.’s, etc., etc., during the last three years the Baptists report a loss of over 12,000 members; the Congregationalists, 4,000 in one year; while for the past three years the Methodists report a loss of nearly 10,000. We do not hesitate to say, that as surely as human inventions are allowed to continue, and take the place of the true ministry of the great and eternal verities of God’s inspired Word, there will be a sure declension. Unions and amalgamations, such as Mr. Shakespeare suggests, will not arrest the down-grade. The Brotherhood movement may attract men to a sort of pleasant hour, but are all the modern inventions bringing men into touch with Christ? Where are the virile godly young men and women, after all the great predictions concerning the Young People’s Societies? The British Weekly, treating upon this question, urged that enough is not made of Church membership, but we demand that Christ must have the supreme place. Souls must be added to Christ if they are to be saved; and God the Holy Spirit alone can do this, and He does it, by calling out of the world His elect through the preaching of His truth. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”—Vanguard.
A Discovery in Palestine.
—The following very interesting report of a discovery made on the site of Samaria recently appeared in the press. The report came from the Berlin correspondent of the Daily Telegraph:—”A discovery of vast importance for Biblical history is announced by the Orientalist, Dr. Yahuda. It appears that Professor Reisner, who has been carrying out excavations for an American society on the site of the Israelitish capital, Samaria, has unearthed 100 clay tablets covered with inscriptions, which are believed to form a part of the archives of King Ahab, a contemporary of the prophet, Elijah. These inscriptions, which merely in their quantity constitute the most remarkable archaeological find that has been made in Palestine, are not cut into the tablets, but are written in old Hebraic characters with the intensely black ink found on the Egyptian papyri of between one and two thousand years before Christ. One of them is a letter to Ahab from the King of Assyria, who, Dr. Yahuda believes, was either Assurbanipol, or his son, Solmaneser II. Another of the tablets contains a detailed inventory of the furniture of the Royal Palace, but further particulars of the find have not yet become known here. Nevertheless, it is evidently destined to provide convincing confirmation of certain phases of Old Testament history, which some modern cities have been in the habit of teaching as altogether mythical.”
John Knox Tracts, No. 2.
—This is the second of a new series of the John Knox Tracts by the late Rev. J. R. Anderson, Glasgow. The title is “The Watchman’s Alarm,” and the text, “Let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thess. v. 6). These tracts are very neatly got up, with a portrait of John Knox as a frontispiece, and are handy for general distribution. Copies may be had from Mr. D. Catt, 74 Strand, London, W.C.; and Mr. J. Anderson, 196 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow. Price, 1d. each; postage, ½ d. extra; 20, 1/- post free.
New Religious Methods in the Highlands.
—A correspondent in one of the Western Isles calls our attention to some of the methods which are adopted nowadays by certain lady missionaries and others in the Highlands to win over the young to the newer ideas and forms of religion. Children are induced to attend meetings on the Lord’s Day other than those to which they belong—meetings where uninspired hymns are sung and literature is distributed of decidedly Arminian and new light flavour. A sample is sent us of the books that are given. There is an article on the way in which the Sabbath is to be spent, in which the name “Sunday” occurs with nauseous frequency, and the young are led to think that a walk-out or two for recreation are the proper variations of a well-spent Sabbath. Other articles are of an almost equally trashy nature. It is well that our public speakers should warn their hearers against the subtle and plausible methods that are employed to lead the minds of young and old away from the purity of the truth as it is in Christ, in respect of doctrine and worship.
Belfast Marriage Case.
—Protest meetings against the treatment given to Mrs. M’Cann, the persecuted Protestant woman, were held in the Synod Hall, Edinburgh, and the St. Andrew’s Hall, Glasgow, on the 21st and 24th February respectively. The Glasgow meeting, which was presided over by the Rev. Dr. Macmillan (Established Church), was very large and enthusiastic, over 3,500 people being present. The chief speakers were the Rev. Dr. Murphy, Moderator of the Irish Presbyterian Church; and the Rev. William Corkey, Belfast, Mrs. M’Cann’s minister. Dr. Murphy gave an able and well-reasoned address, but he spoiled it very much by his excessive charitableness to the Church of Rome, which he described in the same breath with the Protestant Church, as a section of the Church of Christ. Mr. Corkey made a very favourable impression, and in a very effective way cleared Mrs. McCann from those aspersions cast upon her character by Irish members in the House of Commons. He described her as a woman of most respectable character, who deserved the greatest credit for the stand she had made. The Edinburgh meeting, from report, was also large and enthusiastic. There is much need that those overt acts of Rome’s intolerance and cruelty should be the means of awakening sleepy Protestants to the dangers that are looming ahead.
Byron’s Confession.
—“Indisputably,” says Lord Byron, “the firm believers in the Gospel have a great advantage over all others, for this simple reason, that if true, they will have their reward hereafter; and if there be no hereafter, they can be but with the infidel in his eternal sleep, having had the assistance of an exalted hope through life, without subsequent disappointment, since, at the worst for them, ‘out of nothing, nothing can arise,’ not even sorrow.”