England.

Auckland Examiner, Volume 1, Issue 12, 5 March 1857, Page 3

England.

At a meeting of the Members of the National Sunday League, Sir Joshua Walmsly, Chairman of Abe League/said that —“ Numerous misre-, presentations haa h ooil made from time to time with regard to the objects and intentions o f the society. To sustain tho right of private judgment and perfect religious equality was, however, the only end and aim of the Sunday League. So far from wishing to weaken the cause of religion and morality, they were most anxious to strengthen and preserve it, and they were also desirous that all their actions should be tested by that word to which all denominations of Christians referred. They maintained that innocent recreation on the Sunday was not only compatible, but was in accordance with Scripture, and they courted any discussion which was calculated to elicit the truth. At the sane time they eschewed all interference with the religious opinions of others. For his own part, he believed that innocent reireaticn on the Sunday afternoon was not only calculated to strengthen and sustain, but also to foster and advance those social efforts without which there would be very little true piety. Of all men the working man was most interested in maintaining the integrity of the Sabbath, foi' it was to him a day of joy, consolation, and comfort. He regarded it as the great bulwark against incessant toil, and all that he claimed was that it should be as free to the poor as to the rich. He simply sought justice and charity, and while desiring to do his own work in his owu way, he refused to be coerced into the opinions of others. In his (Sir J. Walmsley’s) opinion, the only effectual mode of improving and advancing the interests of the working classes was by sympathy, by kindness, and by the force of good example; but coercion had, and ever would fail in attaining those objects. They might close the Parks and shut up the public institutions, but by so doing they would open the public-house and keep the people in ignorance. They might surround the working men with pains and penalties, but such a course instead of making him wiser, better, and happier would only introduce and sanction an organised hypocrisy. The Sunday League held that it was the duty of the wealthier classes, in the plenitude of their enjoyments and comforts, not to forget that innocent recreation on the Sunday was absolutely essential to the man who for six days out of the seven was confined, in a factory or workshop. They also believed, that the best method of providing this recreation was to obtain the opening of the various

museums, gardens, and public institutions throughout the kingdom on the Sunday.