THE LOARD'S DAY.

NZ Truth, Issue 132, 28 December 1907, Page 4

THE LOARD'S DAY.

Not a single soul m this sin-sod-den community can layit to Magistrate Dr. McArthur that he- is a Puritan. The popular "Beak" is far too worldly and too" consummate a judge of human nature to be swayed by the hypocritical and hysterical howlings of the helot. Of course, he has'* to administer -the Law as he finds it, and he must often find it hard- to •punish men for their sins of omission and commission that our blue Puritanic laws transmogrify into a crime. Be that as it may, "Truth" cannot v quite understand how Dr.; McArthur came to fine a man named Halford at Petone for lifting a roof on the Sabbath. Halford-s singular story of his said Sabbath sinfulness is that he received permission from the owner of a house to. raise the roof, otherwise the Wind might have saved him the .trouble. It- was a case of urgency, as part of the roof, bad been lifted by a gale, anji Halford utilised' the roof fpr firewood. The Sabbath-desecrator was mulcted m a fine of 5s and 9s costs, which, • of cpurse,4s npt a large amount; Nevertheless, -it is a fine^ and a cohTiction is : entered againsjb Halford. Thieves and fornicators get , . off scott ■-. fre» occasionally, but the-' Law is harsh on' 'Sabbath desecrators.^;, Navr, to . raise a^rcfof m the circunistances Was a work of' necessity, ani- the Bible says- something . somewhere Of an ox falling. --fato a well on -the Sabbath, and the ■ parsons and the howlers and the ranting cah#ns mob . stenerally oheerfullf forget -it. No man ;nnrst work; -at his trade on the Loard'e |Dayy- excepting if he belon.es to a y respecjbable daily paper, under severe - pains '.and penalties'. "Truth" ca-n't quite" ; understand -Halfpid's '* coiiTicparticularly ; as hoi declares that his prosecution -was 'prompted by a nasty neighbor, evideh.tl.y. wanted the roof- fox the •same purpose, i.e., firewood. Somehow, this paper is; afraid' all the facts ' were snot5 not properly placed before the Magistrate, because surely no conviction should result where a man lifted a. roof which stood m danger of being blown off,' and inflicting incalculable damage to property, and perhaps involving loss 6t life.