A BISHOP ON WAR.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 208, 13 September 1879, Page 6

A BISHOP ON WAR.

The Ri^ht Rev Dr Magee, Biahop of Peterborough, in proposing the tout of "The Army, Navy, and Reserve Forces " at a dianer in London reMMMBboke as follows :— I ana not BH^HH will be said of me — a man of n^^H^kgiog to a peaceful profession, a a^^^H ve °* a country whinh is u^^^QHblM strife ami contention — o<«H^^Aßr) —if I venture to propose thi^^H^Wt ia in my oapacity as a roa^^^^B* tuo, (hat I offar the toast, bacSHHwg uaturaily aiverse to a a K raat respect and adm '^H|j^H thoae who do the fighting 'IBHIIHI I'laaghter^— and while llle W lßffirTHr l Uina ' 1 Qature are what

to be done. lam of opinion that it is quite as lawful for a nation to defend itaelf, its rights, and Us property, as it is for an individual to do so — (cheers) — aod I venture to think that those peaceful gentlemen who are so anxious for the disbanding of our army and the dismantling of our navy, and who on Monday will be denouncing me as a bishop who had been advocating bloodshed, might well try a little disbanding and dismantling on their own account. They might carry out their own principles to the extent of taking the lock off their area gate, and requesting the policemen on their beat to ignore their houses. (Renewed laughter.) I think the result would be that, having cot rid of the armed protector of property and life, which, after all, is what our army and our navy are, the next thing you would bear would bo that there would ba an invasion of their particular bous9 in the shape of a burglar, and next that the owner of the house, ecting upon the instinct of self defenoe, had bought a revolver, and next that, being unskilled in the use of deadly weapon*, he hod previously injured himself or some of the members of his family in oonsequenoe of the revolver going off by accident. (Laughter). If we did disband our army and dismantle our navy we should have a burglarious invasion of our country, and then we should all have to turn soldiers, bishops and clergy included, and oot being skilled soldiers, we might hurt ourselves or somebody else. (Laughter. I believe that war has virtues as well as peace, and within the last few weeks, in places where our forces are engaged in defending the honour and possessions of Great Britain, we have seen instances of the virtues of war. of its heroism, its discipline, and its sacrifice of life for the sake of others, that are very noble, and that demand tin admiration of all of us. (Cheers.) When I read of the heroism of those two youths, Bromhead and Chard— (loud applause) — and of such instances as that of a gallant officer compelled to flee for his life at the last moment from an overwhelming horde of savages, stopping, at the risk of his own life, to help a poor bandsman of his regiment wuo was wounded to death, or that of the military surgeon stopping to bind up the wounds of the dying, and sacrificing himself io doing so, I felt inclined to take off my hat to my fellow-creatures who taught a lesson of heroism, of courage, and of self-deuii 1 which I should not be asbamad to preach from my pulpit. (Cheers.)