AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3190, 14 September 1917, Page 6

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER AND MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

(By Courtesy the Editor, The Dominion.) Honourable Sirs,— Your action in appointing an miversal day of intercession is very much appreciated, and wo have no donbt will be made tho occasion of much earnest prayer. It is right that we should acknowledge God, tho God of our fathers, and seek Him in the time of our nation's cxt-cmity, and we expect great inspiration as a, result. But, 6irs, it is necessary U) pause here and ask, Are we in a fit state to approach our God? We are allowing ourselves to be the slaves of vices which are proving the downfall of 60 many, and when asked to give up these vices we shrink from the sacrifice and wo say "No, we cannot part with our drink and other things; they are a source of revenue," and if somo of our best manhood- fall victims we say that is their iook-out. And so things go on in the same old death-dealing way. Sirs, wo would respectfully draw your atten. tion to some passages from the pages of the Book wo all prize so much, as wo believo ita teaching is as true to-day as it was in the days of our fathers. Heading of their doings in the times of their gTeat need, we find tho first thing they did was to give up their sins, and put away all evil, and so to-day if 1 we expect any good as a result ot the day of prayer it is necessary to put away all evil from our midst! Notice Psalm CS, verse 18: "If I regard iniquity in my. heart, the Lord will not _ hear me. Again, we have a message in Isaiah, Ist chapter, where the people are accused of forsaking their Goa, and after a very severo admonition He says iverses 15 and 16): "When ye spread forth your hands I will hide Mine eyes; yen, when ye make many prayers I will not hear; yonr hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil ot your doings from before mine eyes. Cense to do evil, learn to do good." Sirs, this applies to us t'o-day. We have in our midst some very degrading ev.'ls— unfortunately some sanctioned by our Government—and now the Government asks us as a Dominion to assemble as one great gathering on October 7 and unite in prayer to the samo God Who declared to tho people of old that He would not hear them until they "put away the evil of their doings.'" Do you think God has changed since then? No, most assuredly not. Then far the soke of God and victory, put away the evils of drink and gambling that at j resent are sanctioned by Government, and let lis approach thnt day in a spirit r-f deep humiliation, without having a spirit of mockery in having a supposed. day of prayer while we are net prepared to make any sacrifice to obtain an answer. It i 9 necessary for the Government to lead in this matter, and the people, will gladly and sincerely follow if the lead is in the right direction. Signed on behalf of the Carterton.' Temperance League, D. T. KING, President. ALBERT J. PARTiON, Vice-Pres. P. D. FEIST, Secretary. -