The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, November 2,1909.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 502, 2 November 1909, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Tuesday, November 2,1909.

THK CHURCH AND SOCIAL problkms.

Dr. Gibb, speaking at the Presbyterian Assembly at Christchurch, said: “The Church must stand clear of all political factions. Its members might be individualists or out-and-out Socialists, but the Church had no politics, and must have none. It was unwise for the Church to meddle with questions of Labour and hours of labour, with the exception of “sweated labour.” The Church had no other option but to take up a stand on the side of the oppressed and defenceless. During his recent visit Home he found the Churches discussing their attitude towards social problems, and the idea was advanced that if better wages and hours of labour were secured, the working men would flock into the Church. He was able to disabuse their. minds on that point. The only means, of advancement was by so moralising industry as to bring about a higher conception of the common good. The Church ought to speak with the greatest plainness to the rich man. He would brand as utterly contemptible the idea that a man was a good man who paid his debts and loved his wife and children, and than, without considering Church or State, left them thousands and thousands of pounds. That should be branded as downright selfishness, and he was afraid those guilty of it would find themselves some day in a region where they would not be exactly comfortable. (Laughter.) The Church should wake up the rich man to the duties he could render the Church and community. He would also have the Church speak with fidelity to the working-man. They should brand the maxim of the maximum of pay for the minimum of work as one that came from the devil himself, and the very lowest devil at that. There was no greatness for a community which adopted a maxim like that. He advocated profit-sharing, and indicated that at a later stage he would like to ask the assembly to form a department of church and labour, such as they had in the United States. 8 ’