THE ATHENÆUM QUESTION.

Evening Star, Issue 3424, 11 February 1874, Page 2

THE ATHENÆUM QUESTION.

To the Editor. Sir,—l have generally found the Star to be a fair and impartial journal, and therefore I feel eonhdeut that, though differing from you very materially on the Athenaeum question, you will allow me a short space in your columns to make a few remarks on the subject. In the first place then, sir, I may state that lam not one of the Praise-God-Barebones stamp who would crib the soul of man in a puritanical cage of hypocritical cant on the day of rest; nor do I, like Or Roseby, point to France as a melancholy illustration of the evil consequences which generally follow the non-observance of the Lord’s day. lam fully alive to the fact, which Dr Roseby seemed to ignore, that Germany, the most enlightened, the most powerful, and the m~st educated empire upon earth, the home of philosophy, the cradle of free thought, and the nursery of naturalism, is not remarkable for its strict observance of the Sabbath. But, sir, notwithstanding all this, I shall oppose to the utmost of my ability the attempts of those gentlemen who would destroy the sanctity of this grand old day by useless innovations. The agitators, who pretend to have the interest of the working classes so much at heart, know full well that the artizans and laborers of Dunedin require this day of relaxation from toil to reemit their energies, and to worship the God of nature in his glorious works. They know full well that the tired smith, the caged counterman, and the confined clerk are more desirous to breathe the pure air of heaven on this day than to pore over magazines and newspapers in the Orientally perfumed and stagnant-pool flavored atmosphere of the Octagon. The Sunday is indeed the magnet which draws the soul of man nearer to its Maker; the day on which the spiritual portion of our nature is privileged to rise above the grovelling materialism of the weekdays, and obtain a glimpse, as it were, of our higher destiny. The Sabbath is essentially the working-man’s day. Hail Sabbath, thee I hail the poor man’s day • The pale mechanic now has leave to breathe * The morning air, pure from the City smoke. The cry raised by those who are interested in the opening of the Athenaeum on the Sunday, aa to the necessity of cultivating the mind on that day, I have no hesitation in stigmatizing as a tham one. Surely those who are desirous of obtaining knowledge can find time enough during the week to store their minds with usetul information. People on the whole, are not overworked in this flourishing City, ' and the hours of business are not so very long as to prohibit the possibility of getting a reasonable respite now and then for mental culture. Trusting 1 have am &^ PaßSed toq mu S h your Bpacp.-{ UKRtTJP,