CHURCH AMD LABOR.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 39, 1 December 1911, Page 4

CHURCH AMD LABOR.

A Dr. Gibb was much in. evidenceat the Presbyterian Assembly. Ho is one of the men who try to litde their ignorance by pompous assertion. In a discussion on the attitude of the church to the Labor party, ho said: '' We note what lias been stated' about the failure of the church to meet th© needs of the people. . . I want to say that we are in danger of forgetting that in this country —whatever may be true of other lands —the lot of the'great number of employers is just as little happy as the Jot of the great number of employees. The employer may be labelled, the 'fat man' by people of a certain sort, but there is not much adipose tissue on iiim. Our church oc.ro nob stand Fγr

one class . . . for we stand fo.r fOl classes. Moreover, you won't get hold of Labor and work them into the fibre ■of tliis church by consenting to their prograiume. You will get as little gratitude as the man who, when rescued from Sydney harbour, turned;to Ills rescuer and said: 'Did you rescue mc ? Well, what have you done with my hat-? . You will get no gratitude from Labor by assenting to their aims and becoming an instrument for their purpose, unless you make them feel that you stand for something more than bread and butter —for the high things of God. . . . There are phases of the Labor movement which seem 1 to mc to call for condemnation. I think, it. is right that men should get the highest wage an industry can. give them. But I have no sympathy with the tendency equally manifest to-day—that a man should da less work than, before, and for more money. ... I am reminded of the unemployed man who was put on relief works and when found lying on the ground the second day of his employment and;-asked what he was doing, he replied: 'Back to the land! . There is a good deal of the 'back to the land' policy in the present state of affairs. . . . You will only bring Labor into the church by showing fidelity to the church's ho],v, mission, and the Gospel of Christ." There is only one thing to be said of the statement that the employers are no better off than work people. Bt is not true. When Que-en Victoria became a widow a number of fussy people started a subscription. Amongst those asked to contribute was a poor churchwoman, who was also a widow. She said she 'had nothing to spare. "But the good Queen's a widow," said the collector. "Yes ; and so am I. But a fat sorrow is easier than a lean sorrow." And the poor widow turned to her waslitub. If the employers are as unhappy as the workers, theirs is still '"'a fat sorrow," and they never have to pinch themselves for the- necessaries of life. No! Br. GibW statement is not true. *' Our church, not stand for one class." How clearly Dr. Gibb understands that there are two classes. How clearly he understands there are different interests, and these in opposition. How little he understands the Master he professes to follow took His stand

with the poor, and that the rich men. of Christ's day were those who coilspired to bring about his death. How contemptuous of the working-classes is this man who waxes fat out of their earnings. His comparison of the workers and his libel about their gratitude, with his further insult about the unemployed, proves his bias. For such a man to be a leading member of the church and to finish with the cant about "the church's holy mission and the Gospel of Christ" should be sufficient to show any working man or woman that no help is to be expected from the churches, which to-day are. bossed by the rich man. Dr. Gibb is fuddled —that is all that is the matter. If he would sit and think for an hour, he 'would remember that the churches have always stood for one class, the class which subscribes out of the money taken, from the workers to give big salaries to useless parsons. One man growing corn or potatoes, or digging a drain, is of more real use to the world than all the parsons in a big city.