Obituary.—We regret to record the death of Mr. Hugh Mackay, Elder, Dornoch, who passed to his rest on the 6th day of January, at the age of 79 years. Mr. Mackay was a highly-esteemed member of our Church—a man of prayer, who will be much missed by those who knew him in the Lord. We hope to give a longer notice later on. “The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.”
The Pope and Ireland.—Dail Eireann, after an ignoble exhibition of themselves, have accepted the Treaty setting up Sinn Fein Ireland with its new status. This is, so far, good, but there is no use living in a fool’s paradise thinking that this is the end of trouble with Ireland. The speeches even by those who accepted the Treaty make that quite clear. Among those who have lost their heads over this business is Pope Benedict XV., who wires his congratulations to the King, and says:—”Overjoyed at the agreement happily reached.” The Pope’s joy, we may be permitted to predict, is not heavenly in its origin, and will probably be short-lived. There has been too much rejoicing in certain quarters over this affair, and we have little hesitation in saying that time will show this.
An Interesting Booklet.—Some of our readers will remember the sketch by the Rev. N. Cameron which appeared in the Magazine of Allan MacPherson (Ailean Laga) some time ago. This has been printed in booklet form, and may be had from Messrs. Farncombe, 30 Imperial Buildings, Ludgate Circus, London, E.C.4, for one penny per copy. Allan was one of the Lord’s redeemed, and the sketch of his beautiful Christian life is written with true sympathy and fine feeling. It does one good to be brought into contact with such men, and the reading of brief sketches of such men is reviving and strengthening.
Gospel Book Mission.—Mr. R. E. Brider, 6 Stirling Road, Bath Road, Bristol, has sent us the Annual Report of the Book Mission to the Army and Navy. Excellent work is being done by this Mission since it was started forty-eight years ago by Mr. Brider’s father. As our readers are probably aware, a monthly parcel of Free Presbyterian Magazines are sent to Mr. Brider. At the conclusion of the report Mr. Brider adds:—”As my friends know, I do not possess any private means whatever, neither do I take anything from the Mission fund, but am wholly dependent upon the Lord for our personal support. Hitherto He has graciously taken care of us. Very gratefully do I thank those kind friends who have helped me personally and enabled me to continue my Gospel work.” Work such as Mr. Brider is engaged in deserves every encouragement.
The Shorter Catechism in the School.—A motion was recently before the Glasgow Education Authority for the abolition of the Shorter Catechism in public schools. The mover of the motion, like so many of his kind, paid a left-handed compliment to religious instruction, but had no room in his religious system for the Shorter Catechism. We are glad to say the Authority were of quite a different opinion, and the Catechism is still to be used in the Glasgow schools. As a compendium of sound, experimental, scriptural doctrine it stands unrivalled, and Scotland owes more to the Shorter Catechism than to all the visionary theories of restless Socialists. The arguments used for the abolition of the Shorter Catechism in the schools would apply with equal force to the Bible, and notwithstanding the chilling indifference to true religion, still the Scottish people would not care to banish the Bible from the schools.