THE REV. MR JORDAN AND HIS “FLOCK.”

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume I, Issue 102, 23 August 1873, Page 3

THE REV. MR JORDAN AND HIS “FLOCK.”

TO XIIE EDITOR. Sih. I beg that you will allow mo spam n> con* radict, the report at present current in town h° A*i cA lh:a Mr Sa 1,11101 Ci arke was requested bl ( lhe l),s rmt betu-ut Committee to write the mt.tr Mgned by hnn as ; hairumn of the Bdm 1 ommiMoe, which appeared sn your last, casting oJmtn ~n the clergyman of tins district. Mr Ch-rke having put, » Clu irman District School h "* «£««»•««, his natural that t.iL piei.to should suppose the letter to have emanatea nul.n et ly from the committee. Sul , however, is not the case. The commit teo knew nothing abmt the letter til! it appeared in vm lr columns Inm quite at a loss to conceive'why thl «'.b rk fn ,>OnU ]U!Ve Wri,ton aa of tuu, School Co.nmittee, inasmuch ns Use matter of the Key Mr Jordan’s S enoo„ 9 'ik nol the business of the chairman or any other member of the comrnttt.ee. Had .Mr Clarke written as .. pnya.e individual I should have made no remark's on the loiter. 1 was not in church on Sunday cverung, so personally can oiler no opinion on the sentiments expressed by Mr Jordan rc ocular edacauod and other matters. The severest measures have, however, been taken to “shew tne reverend gentleman up,” the which I regret extremely on social grounds. “ Jurudvee” kivs it was cowardly” of Mr Jordan to make what Jarndyce calls “an attack from his rostrum,” because one can’t hu, in return.” That such an assertion, is utterly false the column devoted to this subject in your last issue clearly proves w'fh a vengeance. . * 1

Tbe.-o are many expressions in ull the letters out oi which capital might be made. My object however in writing ibis is, not to make ' capirn]! but Simply to correct the conclusion the public have very naturally come lo—i.e., that because the letter was signed by the chairman of the Uistnct bejool Committee, it emanated in airy degree otiieiaiiy from the committee. —I arn, &e.,i K- M. JE.UOCT7MBK, A Member of uhe District School Committee.

TO THE EDXTOH. Sir, I cannot avoin making a few remarl s relative so the accusations which have been brought against the Be? Mr Jordan, viz., for aenf.'oninz his lo.eas about Scrip- oral education. I think las our , P as or ) that the reverend gentleman was perfectly correct in doing so. When I go io church I pay particular attention to tlc.se woo have taken out their degrees in iearr'n ” f ■> them to wear full canonicals and be.-otr,-”7- ! u> spiritual advisers. The Rev Mr Jordan is .>:;e”c: those, I believe, fresh from Trinity Dublin, and. the offensive remarks that trie rt-v. gentleman is caiiei on to “ apologise ” far a-*e, as well as well as I can remember, to try inculcate on his flock the advisable:.ess eft-iir--’ the children up to a knowledge of the Ho:v The rev. gentleman mentioned it as his exWr.m ce in li eland, where Popery is ram cant, 11 vtthe Scriptural education is superior to wLat it here ; that children here would be paying for it ; that it was no *• poll told' Ihc-c were the Rev. Mr Jordan’s only offensive expressions. As for the person who speaks aouuc treading on the tail of the rev, coal* and who has the presumption to try and ridicule our pastor, I am sure that Mr Jordan will only look on him (die would-be w*t) with, suoremc contempt.—l am, &o, }

MiBCCS P. WFLSit

TO THE EDITOR

►Sis, —What h i 5 poor Mr Jordan clone to call up all the stormy letters jn your last issue ? Simply nn ing, as 1 will endeavour to prove. I will take these spiteful—l might, cad them contemptible—eH'ush,ns in their order. Mr S. L. Clarke opens tiic bull by stating that ho wes “ grieved to see Mi* Jordan loiccr himself by making a severe att.uk on the district schools.” This expression is clearly intended to bo vouornous, but is point* .ess through its absurdity*, i\ 1 r Olarko then goes on to say tmit his object is s mply to express his sorrow at the I..taste, and iugratitude shown by the reverend gentleman in i Hacking the ih.-trict School in the !-chool,-houso itself, which h d been kindly lent for evening service tme of change.” Itaugu ! What bad taste on your pa* I, Mr 8. h. Clarke, because; you have, or fancy you have, conferred a small favour on our clergyman, to arrogate; to yourself the rigid, to dietaH to him what he shall say or what lie shall leave unsaid i i Lis own pulpit. And then the rare impudence which you osfe for an apology. ito not deceive yourself in this, Mr Clarke, and imagine that the congregation side wit h you in t.his mat' or. 'liiey see ami are indignant at your absurd assumption, and so far from expecting Mr Jordan to lower himself by apologising to his 11 >ek, rather expect an apology from yourself for daring to speak iiv tec disrespectful manner you have oi an universally respected minister of the Gospel. The letter of “A Pa,cut and Parishioner” is more temperate, and is evidently written by a man who .has considered l is subject before writing. The comments in this letter on Mr Jordan's allusions to the poll tax and also to Popery I consider just, aa the former are not calculated to content the people with the law of the laud, whilst the latter are likely to stir up il'.feeling between the two seels winch is happdy unknown in Tauranga at present. I consider, at the same time, that “ A Pc rent and Parishioner” was ill-advised in publishing his opinions, and that it would have been far wiser to have made them known privately to the object of ms censure. *• JarndyceV letter is so luil of levity and irreverence, and so utter'y idiotic withal, that 1 am surpriaed’at your wasting space upon it, “A Mistress” regrets that, Mr Jordan should, by special public rebuke, disourum* the at tendance of servant girls a V divine set v ice. Meli, it t ney «ro driven Imm church bv any remarks I heard on Miticay evening, 1 can s,*-y they* would be more happy* spending int“ frivolity.”—l am, &e., ° One Of lE£ Co*Cl 14EOATIOJT.

I" Mr S. L. which aopi'iii'ini - t o ;*u ir™ * u ‘f“ ri *»«»«• * «.* ■ Uls V *\ tr J ‘ ,r V t J,,, Hi himself mhm - ,| t‘rmo , ) ) Ac. X trus, , <n , K , : , iilu wjM , jul mUjlovvrr housed by k _ • of Mr Clark* or hw letter ~ *• , contains a must unwarrantable and tmoallr./ib- attack upon him al , »* Earned in the m..,t ,m-■ ,si vc, overbearing aid du-hnoriai spirit, I w an attentive listen.t to s!r .1 miiui’a sermon th.- ...no-iout, which rontamed no attack on the disinc schools or school eomnutteo, hut mere y mau.nl the system of ucuyniji rchjpoua instruction ; m-aher was there auy expression mil, caieulattd o. offend aur except one predetermined like Air Cm ke from a* foehns ot pique ami pc s-onai vanity to take olienee. U will be a consolation for Ouurch of Kurland members to know that Mr is no Church of iUig.aiKl member, but a Dissemor. and it would ue bet ter for our church that he should quit it tthocetner, and tead an independent eormremmou of Ins own. w.th such followers as he can draw atu-r him, for which he is w.-ij lifted bv his p.-ami smqmg proclivities -rather than continue m it, omy to cause delusions. Ail persons of independent mind ami ieehn« will ho clad to think that, our worthy minister <s t„ H , Idm mruled with them to knuckle under to or holed bv un interferm K , meddlesome, ovarwocningly eommited, person nke Mr Clarke, As to the letter by a’* M i stress,” Mr Jordan administered no public reproof, but encouragement to servants and others, from which it would appear that ” A Mistress” was not present herself, but took her cue from a report, very likely from the same person who appears to have inspired the whole senes of letters.—-I am, &0., A &ESIDKI4T,

to xiu? Xu mm. Sir, lam not only vexed, bub surprised, that the tow truth Ud words of our respected minister ahousd have offended a few of ins hearers. Now, being one of those to whom his remarks most closely applied, I distinctly and fearlessly say, instead of offence, it gave me the greatest pleasure to see a soldier boldly raise his colours in his General 3 name, and state the homo truth that a nation ignoring the Hible cannot over become great or prosperous. If this is offensive, offend one and all. As to the Jesuitical measure (workmg evil that good may come of It)— the Education Act—being termed the poll tax, the name is most appropriate, that measure being a just criterion of the mediocre abilities of two-thirds of our present icgislatore. Put still my surprise must cease when I see, in this vaunted age of progress, haith becoming dogma and Practice ritual—waea eaacy.ta ger.Uemea, supposed to be iatcSli-g--r.t ps titis an anomaly}, take off-ace where no cdeucejs meant or couki be ritionahj inferred.— a atXi. .ic-. "'i~vy