1.—ESTABLISHED CHURCH.
THE General Assembly met at Edinburgh on Tuesday, 23rd May, under the Moderatorsip of Rev. John Smith, D.D., Partick. The Duke of Sutherland was Lord High Commissioner.
A matter of great interest to us as Protestants came up by way of overture from the Glasgow Presbytery, asking that a Committee be appointed to take into consideration the grave situation which had arisen in recent years as a result of the growth of the Irish Roman Catholic population in Scotland, to watch future developments, and to take such other steps as might appear necessary in the defence of the reformed faith in Scotland. The overture also directed attention to the position of the Roman Catholic Church under the Education Act of 1918, by which, it was maintained, that Church is provided with vast funds which could be used for the advancement of the Roman Church in Scotland and for the subversion of the principles of the reformed faith. The increasing tendency to mixed marriages between Roman Catholics and Protestants, which, it was stated, was being used by the Roman Church for conversion to Romanism, was also noted, and the view was expressed that the division of Scotland between two races of different faiths and ideals would lead, as in other countries, to discord and social disorder, and be fatal to the peaceful development of the civilisation of the country along Scottish lines.
The Rev. Duncan Cameron, Kilsyth, spoke in support of the overture, and as his speech contains statistics that will make many feel the menace with which we are confronted, we give the main part of his speech, as reported, while disagreeing with him in speaking of Roman Catholicism as the faith of millions of devout Christian people. It was difficult, he said, for members of the Assembly who were not resident in an industrial area to realise the great changes that were taking place in these areas. In the eighteenth century there was a very small Roman Catholic population in the industrial areas of Scotland. The Irish immigration into Scotland took place about the middle of the nineteenth century, and that great immigration was still going on at an accelerated pace. In Glasgow at the present time between one-fourth and one-fifth of the entire population was Irish, and if the suburban population in places like Pollokshields and Kelvinside were eliminated it was a reasonable and just computation that one-third of the working class population in Glasgow was Irish. He had official figures of the children attending schools under various authorities in industrial areas in Scotland. The increase in the Roman Catholic children in two years over the previous year was 1,037, and the decrease in the number of Scottish children in the two corresponding years over the previous year was 1,812. That was to say that the Irish children had increased in comparison with the Scottish children by nearly 3,000. In Dundee the increase of the Roman Catholic children in the two years was 176 and the Protestant decrease 873—a Roman Catholic increase over the Protestant children of 1,048. In Edinburgh the Roman Catholic increase in the two years was 175 and the Protestant decrease 1,389.
The Roman Catholic Church, believing in her vision, was using the Irish race, and she was justified in using the Irish race, for the conversion of Scotland to the Roman Catholic faith. Through the agency of what Professor Phillimore called the greatest missionary race in the world, the great Roman communion was seeking to recover Scotland for herself. There might be different explanations of these startling facts. His own idea was that Scottish men were jostled and elbowd out of their jobs in factories and shipyards and coal mines, and they would find that while there was a constant stream of the very cream of their working class to the Dominions and the United States, there was no emigration of the Irish race. They were kept in Scotland for that definite purpose. They managed to get jobs which Scottish hands should do. Scotland was being deprived of her splendid sons and her virtuous daughters, and their places were being taken by people alien to them in faith and, he thought, alien also in blood. If the increase went on as it was doing, in thirty years the Irish race would have control of the great industrial centres of Scotland. What would it matter to Scotsmen and Scotswomen if they retained hold of Dumfries and Inverness when the great centres of industry, the great sources of their wealth and power, had passed into Irish hands. (Applause.)
In its propaganda the Roman Catholic Church had been provided with vast funds by the Education Act. (Hear, hear, and applause.) That Act provided that the Roman Catholic Church was to get large and generous compensation for every school she handed over. In consequence large capital sums were passing into the hands of that Church, and the Act also provided that when the Roman Catholic Church did not want to sell her schools she would get rent for them. In Glasgow alone the Roman Catholic Church had by provisional arrangement got £20,000 a year by way of rent for her schools. The Roman Catholic Church was asking £35,000, but the Education Authority would not agree, and the matter had gone to arbitration. They might take it that the Roman Catholic Church would get for her schools in Glasgow a rental of something approaching £27,000 per annum. All that money was coming from the taxation of the Scottish people, and going to subsidise the efforts of the Roman Catholic Church in her propaganda in Scotland.
SCOTTISH GIRLS AND MIXED MARRIAGES.
Mixed marriages of Protestants and Roman Catholics were taking place constantly and in increasing numbers. That was a woeful symptom of Scottish life, and the explanation, he thought, was that the young men and young women—especially the young women—had no grip on the fundamentals of the reformed faith, and they did not know what these fundamental truths of the reformed faith meant to them. If they did, he could not conceive that those girls would betray the faith of their fathers, and also betray their country, as they were undoubtedly doing by those mixed marriages. Surely the Church could take in hand the rousing and awakening of the people of Scotland to the priceless heritage they had received from their fathers in the reformed faith of Scotland. A Scotland divided between the Irish race and the Scottish race would be an impotent Scotland. The genius of the Scottish people, instead of being directed to the uplift of the people and to the progress of civilisation, would be turned into the arena of sectarian strife and racial hatred. A Scotland without the Scottish people would be an irretrievable loss to civilisation and progress. (Applause.)
A Committee was appointed to consider the facts and tendencies referred to in the overture, and to report to next Assembly.
2.—THE UNITED FREE CHURCH.
The United Free Church Assembly met in Edinburgh on 23rd May under the Moderatorship of Rev. Donald Fraser, D.D. In his moderatorial address he dealt mainly with problems facing the missionary.
On Friday, Mr. Robert Maclaren, M.P., Airdrie, said he was glad the Church had awakened to the fact that they had the menace of Roman Catholicism in their country, and the sooner Protestant people came to recognise that fact the better it would be. Not only had they the menace of Roman Catholicism, but they had also the Socialist “Sunday schools.” He was glad Mr. Gideon Murray had brought in a bill which would go a long way to help them in the matter, because the Roman Catholics and the Socialists were at one in trying to destroy their Protestant country. It was up to their Church to teach the rising generation the errors of Romanism. There had been far too much apathy all along. Something had been said about modifying the Education Act. He should like that a strong resolution should come from the Assembly that they must have the Act amended in such a way that the Roman Catholics in this country who were in the minority would no longer be a privileged class—that in education we must have the same privileges.
As indicated in the opening article this month, the Reports of the Union Committee were presented to the Assembly, with the result that the motion of Rev. James Barr opposing the Committee’s report was supported by over one hundred.
3.—THE FREE CHURCH.
The General Assembly of the Free Church met at Inverness on 23rd May under the Moderatorship of Rev. Norman Campbell, Dingwall. Mr. Campbell, in his moderatorial address, dealt with such subjects as attacks upon the true Deity of the Lord Jesus and the Word of God by professed ministers of Christ. The menace of Romanism and the question of the Union of the leading Presbyterian Churches were also dealt with.
On Thursday some discussion took place over the reception of a Baptist minister. Principal MacCulloch spoke in support of the application of Mr. Lindsay, the minister in question. Rev. Andrew Sutherland moved that the application be not received. Prof. J. R. Mackay said that in course of considerable correspondence with Mr. Lindsay he concluded he was a humble, teachable man, who would not readily say what was against the Scripture. Another application was made by Rev. K. C. MacLennan, Canada. Rev. William Mackinnon strongly dissented against these admissions.
The Rev. Kenneth Macrae brought forward a petition signed by 49 members of the Free Church congregation of Kilmuir, in Skye, praying—”That your petitioners are deeply grieved at the prevalence of congregational social meetings and sales of work within the Church, and believe that such functions are unscriptural and detrimental to true piety and Gospel increase. They consider the presence of such within the Church as a factor directly making for disquietude and disunity, and a hindrance to that spirit of brotherly love which ought to prevail. Your petitioners therefore pray the General Assembly to take such steps as will in their wisdom make an end of the practices complained of.”
The Rev. Kenneth A. Macrae, Kilmuir, said the petition originated in his congregation. He drafted the petition, but further than that he had nothing to do with its origin. He was not there to plead for legislation, because he was afraid, in view of the spirit he had found, the remedy would be worse than the evil. They in Kilmuir contended that those functions were unscriptural. There was the matter of congregational socials; some thought there was warrant for such in the existence of the Love Feast of the Apostolic Church. He believed there was never an apostolic warrant for the Love Feast. Although it might have existed in apostolic times, it was not instituted by direction of the Holy Ghost. His reason for saying so was that he could not see that the Holy Spirit would have instituted a function that would become a danger in the Church. It did not matter what was consumed at those social gatherings. It was idle to make so much of the cup of tea; that was trifling with the question. They believed the congregational social was unscriptural because of its effect. Those functions did not help the soul. They believed those social meetings were unscriptural because they were of the world. The congregational social as held in their day was simply the annual function of the society or association of the world. They said the other Churches were following the world in introducing the whist drive and the dance. As regards sales of work, they contended that they were unscriptural. In the sale of work the spirit of merchandise was introduced. It was a spirit of novelty and of amusement. Free Church young people if they were not warned might be affected, and if such things continued they would be face to face with a difficult situation.
A HARDY ANNUAL.
Principal L. McCulloch said the Church had already adjudicated upon this matter, and it was therefore not competent to bring it up year after year.
The Moderator said they had no standing order to prevent the matter being taken up at present.
The Clerk said he begged to move that the Assembly pass from the subject. He agreed with Principal McCulloch that this question had come up in one form or another time after time, and very specially this Church gave her mind on the matter in a very definite and decided manner so far as she considered it wise then to put on a definite form when certain brethren came to them from the Free Presbyterian Church. That finding of the Assembly stood, and he took it that finding would rule in any cases that would ever come before their Courts. He regretted exceedingly the matter should be raised that day. He held they had legislation in the Church sufficient to enable the Church to deal with any cases definitely brought before them in the ordinary channels, and if there was any case of abuse the Presbytery was the first court to bring it to, and if the Presbytery did not give satisfaction it could come before the General Assembly by appeal. He held the Church would find it impossible to legislate, because they could not draw the line. Let them take the matter of sales of work. The Moderator’s congregation at Dingwall had sales of work that were begun back in the days of the late Rev. Dr. Kennedy, who was revered by Highlanders everywhere. That sale of work was originated in the latter years of Dr. Kennedy’s ministry, and had been continued to the present hour. He held that what was involved in the question before them was the difference between paying in money and paying in kind. He (the Clerk) was not dealing with the abuse of socials, but he held that if they did away with everything social in the cause of Christ they would reflect on the Creator, because the Creator had created man a social animal. Were they to banish the sweetest thing that entered into their Christian homes and Christian society? One of the pleasing features of their present visit to Inverness was the pleasant social element that had been shown to members of the Assembly in many of the houses in the town. (Applause.) He considered the wisdom of the Assembly would be to pass from the matter entirely.
The Rev. Mr. Cameron, Stornoway, seconded.
The Rev. William Mackinnon, Gairloch, submitted a motion to the effect that the Assembly express their sympathy with the petition, and that the Assembly recommend the discontinuance of the term social as applicable to any meetings held in connection with congregational work in the Free Church.
The Moderator said Mr. Mackinnon’s motion would be in order later. The question was whether the petition was to be considered or not.
The Rev. Dr. Henry Mackay moved that the Assembly consider the matter.
The Rev. Dr. Macrae seconded the motion. On a division, the Clerk’s motion to pass from the subject was carried. Several members expressed their dissent. The Rev. Mr. Mackinnon said he dissented because of the speech of Professor Cameron, the Clerk, which he held was a most unfriendly speech, and would do injury to the Free Church of Scotland. (Cries of “Order, order.”)
The Clerk said the speech could not form a ground for dissent. The members could dissent from the finding, but they could not dissent on the ground of any speech.
Some discussion followed as to Mr. Mackinnon’s motion, when the Clerk said if his (the Clerk’s) motion was lost Mr. Mackinnon’s motion would come in its place. The business had been conducted in the ordinary way.
On Monday (29th May) the Church’s mission work in Peru came under review, when it was stated that Rev. Dr. John A. Mackay was to devote part of his time to the International Y.M.C.A. Rev. Prof. Mackay hoped that Dr. Mackay would be an instrument in helping the Y.M.C.A to dissociate itself from the infidel attacks on the cause of Scripture.
The Free Church concluded its business on Tuesday (30th May), and among other subjects discussed at last meeting was the Union of the Established and United Free Churches. Mr. Archibald Naeneilage said it was perfectly plain that the Union contemplated to-day was not a union into which those with definite Scriptural principles to witness could possibly enter. As far as the speaking in the two big Assemblies was concerned, for any word spoken, there might not have been any risen Christ.