CLERGYMEN ON PROHIBITION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1240, 23 September 1911, Page 6

CLERGYMEN ON PROHIBITION.

At a recent meeting of the Auchterarder Presbytery, held* in West Church Session House, Crieff (the Rev. Mr. Kemp, Trinity Gask, moderator).

The Rev. Mr. MacNaughton (the clerk) read the report of the Presbytery's Committee on Temperance. In submitting the report, he said the Temperance Committee of the church so-called was for the most part composed of such extreme people that one naturally felt inclined to five them a wide berth—in fact, it required a long spoon to sup with a rabid teetotaler.—{Laughter.) The question had been dealt with by the Presbytery of Edinburgh and Glasgow in a very snivelling fashion. It was necessary that Auchterarder should give utterance to the words of truth and soberness on this question. In connection with the resolution come to by Edinburgh and Glasgow one could not but feel there was a great amount of sham. SPEECH BY DR. RANKIN. The Rev. Dr. Rankin moved the adoption of the report, and that tho clerk send a copy of it to tho convenor of tho General Assembly's, Temperaucc Committee. It seemed to him they required to draw a very emphatic distinction and clear distinction between temperance and teetotalism. Attention had been drawn to the dual basis existing in the church—one accepting a temperance programme antl the other a teetotal programme. This dual basis was quite unworkable, and instead of being a "dual" it was really a "duel."—(Laughter, and a member: "Devil.") It meant simply war among themselves. When speaking about vowels in that way, there was no harm in calling tho memorandum which had been sent them by tho Tempertmce Committee, and which the clerk had'called a syllabus, a "isillybus"—(laughter)—i'or anything MORE MISERABLE AND SILLY, they could hardly get (Laughter.) Ho criticised tho teetotal position as an endeavour to raiso up a thing into a virtue which was no virtue. It was based on a sham. It was absolutely without foundation in Scripture, and this sham virtue people were trying to promoto by violent and tyrannical means. Tho chargo he brought against them in the way of criticism was they neglected all method of reason, all method of Scripture, that they ought to adopt in dealing with this very serious evil. The method of reason and Scripturo was, that of regulation and gradual improvement. Tho points of regulation had been fairly well indicated in tho report. Tho first of these was as to tho sound quality of tho drink—that it'be unadulterated. Those, again, who were guilty of supplying drink in excess to persons who had already had too much were not doing right. Ono great • means to mitigate tho evils of drunkenness would bo to discountenance the more dangerous kinds of drink and to encourage the drinking of, say, beer and wine. Quoting from a temperance pamphlet that "strong drink was a hindrance to the progress of tho Gospel"; that those who are reclaimed from drunkenness were disposed to relapse after partaking of the wine at tho Lord's Supper, Dr. Rankin said he could hardly read that without horror. He seldom read without a holy horror a statement containing such ABSOLUTE PROFANITY. These fanatics were running a-tilt of human reason, of human nature, and of the providence of God in tho order of tho world. They were injuring a most sacred cause. They indulged in tho wildest and most condemnatory language, reviling, for instance, that portion of the community associated with the trade in public-houses. . . After referring to the wild system which theso fanatics adopted of reviling ministers of the Gospel who confined themselves to the Scriptural view of temperance, Dr. Rankin said ono of their methods of workipg was to get associated with divinity halls and catch students when they wero green and raw—especially students in dissenting places—and make tho boast they had three-fourths' or nine-tenths pledged to teetotalism at an age before they wero capable of properly judging. To pcoplo who needed methods of that sort for spreading their principle it might bo said their principles have hardly feet of their own to stand on. The rev. doctor proceeded to refer to the impertinence of saying a man engaged in the traffic ought not to be accepted to any branch of tho Christian Church as an officebearer. In Tegard to parliamentary candidates, he said

POLITICS WERE DEGRADED and. endangered by tbo red-hot class of people who as-ocintcrt with men who wcro "sound" on this particular point, regardless of the' 20 other revolutionary tilings in his programme. Tho teetotal programme was unworkable. The result of it, if mado law, would be tho commencement of a system of evasion that would corrupt: the whole country.—(Applause.) Rev. Mr. M'Gibbon f-eeonded. After discussion tho report was adopted unanimously, one member declaring he would not think a man worth twopence if ho could not hav o a drink if he wished.—•