THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2553, 13 March 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 1877.

"What are you going to do oh Sunday ?'' is a question often asked at the close of the seventh day of the week by a man, youth, or boy who has worked tolerably hard .for six days out of; seven of another man youth or boy who has been for an «qual number of days similarly employed. The answer very of ten is " Don't know,'' or " Nothing in particular," an answer given not always because the respondent does not really know, or has nothing particular in view that he has set his mmd on, but because he does not wish or does not choose to tell what he really intends doing. Yet probably he has — especially if he Jbe of that age which the English describe .as " hobbledehoy " and the French la premiere jeunesse—thought it of through thelivelongweek,anditisonly some innate feeling which, is almost akin to shame which prevents* him from owi}ing,that his mind, even if not a.frugal one, is at all events on pleasure bent as far as the first day of the week is concerned. Why he should feel shame at the avowal that he intends to amuse himself, perhaps he himself hardly knows. He has that about him which tells him, or he thinks; tells him, tlaat amusement on the day of rest ii wrong; he does not know why, but convention has made it so, and to its rules he bows for the sake of decency of appearance. In the summary of news given in our columns yesterday was this paragraph: " The question of Sunday amusements is attracting -attention. Several clergymen have spoken or written in their favor." We are glad of this. To us there seems no eartlly reason why on a Sunday a man— :

Whose blood is warm within

Shor'd sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster, i or that it should be deemed a positive sin if he attempted recruit his body or divert his mind from weekly cares by amusing himself in a lawful manner. It is a want

which has long been felt that there is very little for young men to do on a Sunday. The consequence is they often do nothing, sometimes worse than nothing. Even those who are regular church-goers find the remainder of their time hang heavily 1 upon their hands. The morning,-1 or a great part of it, is often passed in bed, not so much from want of rest as because -there ii literally nothing else for them to do, and" a novel or some light' reading serves to while away the time which might be far more profitably' spent. Morning service, if attended, followed by dinner and a pipe, is in its turn succeeded by another lie down, or at the best an aimless walk in one of the two directions to which walks at the Thames;are confined. Then tea, then church again or not, aud then bed once more when there is no one to talk to. We do'not say, that this is a necessary state »f things, but it is the normal state of thing* with a good many—we allude, of course, especially to those who are bachelors, or living as suob, and so though Sunday is in one respect a day of rest, yet it is rest of tihat ■ kind which comes of remaining idle, and which in no way strengthens either body, or brain for the duties of the coming week. Some years ago there was a great outcry in England against what some people chose to call desecrating the Sabbath, and the particular form of desecration which was singled out for attack was the heinous sin committed by those who once or twice a season took their wives and families to Brighton and back, and had ten hours at the seaside, which did them good and their children too, all for the cost of. ■ three shillings ahead. Against these Sabbath breakers and the worldly-ininded railway directors who put .temptation into the way others, the anger of those who had six 'days a week at their own disposal knew no. bounds. Even bishops took up the cry ; and it seemed to some better for the working man to be spending his Sunday either in smokingj drinking or doing nothing than iii enjoying himself in a harmless way. They objected to his amusement; they wished totakeitaway, but they offered

nothing in return. Every place where he could enjoy, eyen a few hours' relaxation was carefully closed up by the legislature, the chiet argument being that they didn't want any means of-amuseraent themselves and didn't see why others should. Besides this, it was argued by those who drove to church distant a few hundred yards, and required two horses and three servants to help them perform the feat, that it gave the railway officials no day of .rest. In this ..there was reason, but they shut their eyes to the fact that out of . the many employes who work for the London Brighton and South Coast Railway, it was quite possible to arrange matters so that the turn of each man for Sunday duty would come but seldom. Thusthings : went on, and those who wouldn't let a working man go from home on a Sunday wondered at the viciousness of the times, which produced so many charges ofi drunkenness on the Monday. It seems now that the efforts which have for a. length of time been made by a few to make Sunday a day of rest, not only in name but in deed, are being strengthened,: and that too from a "quarter whence aid is most likely io be effectual, we mean from, the pulpit. It seems a good sign when the clergy themselves acknowledge that to make a man pious it is not necessary to make him miserable. We are far from advocating any .notion of Sabbath, break-' ing in the real meaning of the word, but we cannot help thinking that men would be better church-goera than they are at present if people generally regarded Sunday with its duties and pleasures from a more liberal point of view than they do.at present. Without wishing to see our Sunday turned into a continental Sunday, we-object to its being kept as Sunday has. often .been .kept in England, and still is in sonte parts; The report of the railway commissioners in Auckland lately recommended cheap trainsf on Sunday, and yer^ likely the idea will be taken up. We do not wish a leading article to partake of the nature of a sermonj but as we write these words we cannot, help recalling to mind that "the Sabbath was made for man, and not "roan s for the Sabbath.f Some men say why should an amusement which is looked on r as harmless on a week, day, be hurtful on Sunday ? There is no answer to it but this, that it prevents men from doing more important thingsT Of; course if it does this it is wrong, but the same objection migh^apply,tpit on.aweek day, that if it (the amusement) kept men from their duties it was hurtful to them. Why should it^keep'iftheraifroiSL-itheir, duties on a week day, and again if it doesV not why should it dps() ona Sunday!?; There is no reason' at all except in the; abuse of the amusement indulged in, and; the abuse; -QfiitioWja,; week day might, lead to just .as ill consequences as the abuse of it on a Sunday. The^e are those who would feel horror at the sjgkt .of a family iaking a row\ oft a Sundayafterribbrivvwhioli horror would be greatly increased if it was discovered that twcrl'or ithree oE the children were fishing ; and yet these horror-struck ones would think there was nothing wrong to see the same familyin various stages of somnolence wasting the afternoon under =the shade of a tr ; e,e only to arise tea time in that yawning state which speaks of a temper somewhat irritable for the time being. We said at the commencement that men were ashamed of acknowledging that they were, in pursuit of what we may call legitimate pleasures because they were not licensed by custom. One result of this is that men do not stop at harmless amusements, on the principle that if you are to £ be hanged you may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, and if they are to be looked upon as reprobates for doing what is harmless they might just as #ell do wHat'is'hurtful as^the penlilty ;is? no greater. r There are dozens of ways in which nieri'may spendnb^ only a pleasant but a profitable Sunday :Jet society license those, and for once in; ft way" fashion]" will have done some good." ; ■■"■ \