LECTURE BY REV. H BULL.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 40, 8 March 1884, Page 7

LECTURE BY REV. H BULL.

On* Monday evening la<t, the Rev. IT. J>ull, from Thames, delivered a lecture in the Weideyan Ch spel, Te Aroh.i ; .subject, ''The Problem of J'rogiv t s." Mr Henry Bui tic occupied the chair, and introduced the lectuier in a few appioprate remarks, in course of whicli lie refened to the j ingress of tui^ field with reuarl to the <le\ elopeni6nt of its mines ana general settlement, and also with reyard to the good pi ogress made liy the congregation who weie accustomed to meet for worship in the building they now occupied with respect to its number*, its Sunday School, ttc. Although only crei-ied some two year? a.y-o, alrea iy they felt that the j^^e^pnt building w.i^ too small, and weie talking of building a larger one. The Rev. lecturer coimiienced l>y saving the Avorld mi.tht be divided into two chii-se.s : Those who look forward hopefully, and believe we are as a people vastly improving in eveiy ijood quality year by yea 1 , and those Wi.o, on Lie contiary, believe wo are getting woi«e and worse. He at once took his stand with the optimists, mid believed we were steadily advancing towards the light, lie believed no ai^e Avas in anyway comparable with the pres .it. Never was. tliere so much Christianity in the world, so much safety for human life, nor suc'i .1 free market for the human brain. Now-a-days it is not *' who was your fal.u-i 1 or mother ? or what ttyeir po-ition in life?" as '-who or what are you ?" The sp»'aker next went en to refer to the wonderful stride taken of late in the arts and science*, means of inter-communication, an i so fouh ; referring to th » fact that an order by cthlesfi'um on banks iv San Francisco sent iv t.ie ul'Leinuon are paid on ttie

morning of same tiny, ullowin ; for Hi'Yorenco of t hue in the two phi -ps. Novoi so few deaths in proportion to births as now ; bcoptieism of the past ages, lie .i<?<vM'to(l wns fa i 1 worse than that of the present, and sp'^hlly referred to Charles I. ti no. Speaking of Germany as a great source of rationalism, the loelui or said 80 years :igo ? in that country fin 1 rationalistic locturo rooms wore ciowde.l, ,iu<l the evangelic ones neglected ; now it was just i.lio opposite. Inferring to the l> larrikinism " of the present, da), he stated that had as it is, it was nothing to what if was in the past, and quoted mmy wntors hr support of this st'ite'uent. The lecturer then referred to t';e fearful amount of bribery and corrup'ion tint formerly existed in the political world. From about the middle of the Eighteenth Century t sing's began to improve. The slave traffic and all its attendant evils was referred to. On the subject of crime, he stated that about th * time of Edward Y. reign sixteen murdeis were committed to the one that was committed in the present day, in proportion to population. With royar I to pauperism too, the present time bore most favourable comparison with the pa^t, the per centago of paupers being far less tlum of old. The Rev. lecturer went on to speak of the wonderful strides the temperance cause was making- all over the world, and the vast improvement that Ind taken pi. ice in the drinkiiig- habits of people. Then again, duelling had been almost entirely done away wiMi ; whereas in years gone by it was tiie common mode of settling p M'sonal quarrels. Also referred to the abolishment of the use of the lash in cases of insui ordination in tho Army and Navy, tVrc. li was dreadful to think of whai little account hum in life was held atone time, an I for w.iat a trilling offence a man's life was forfeited. Men ha I been hung for stealing sixpence — in fact, were liable to be executed tor any one of nearly 100 separate offences in yenrs gone by. Next subject referred to was t.he great activity in Christian work in the present age, specially mentioning the great work accomplished by th< j Bible Society, anil said t iat from 1700 to 1.570 the increase of population under Protestant Government was fom-fold ; and at the present time no one could doubt but that eh. istianity was a rising and not a setting sun. At the conclusion of the lecture, votes of thanks were passed to the lecturer, and Mr Buttle for presiding. While we cannot say we view tiie present state of affairs in comparison to the past in the same complacent light as t.je lecturer does, neither do we draw the same conclusions from ceituin established facts that he appears to, still we gladly acknowledge that his lecture was a most instructive one, and must have taken much study and re*earch to put together. We regret to say the attendance was small.