CORRESPONDENCE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2230, 26 February 1886, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

■To the EdiioK' ' Sir,—What does your correspondent, " Every, man to his Trade" means by his Wednesday's letter? The constitutions of the Churches forbid the work it it morally right for a clergyman to do; ; this' is the gist of ir, and can he himself wish anyone to believe it? Reading between the lines of your corespondent's letters this it what 1 see, that he himself is a minister who has " left undone those things which lie ought to have done, and there is no . hoalth in him," and who wishes to excus# hig conduct under the "constitutions, the Church." But let us enquire which church possesses a "constitution" at variance with the moral work it is right for its ministers to do ? Not the Romish Church, or it would not have permitted such men bb Father Matthew and others to engage in temperance work. Not the Church of England, for'her greatest and noblest men, casting aside other work, are devoting thomselves to temperance. Not the Wesleyan, for overy circuit has its Temperance Coinmittoe to point out the work for ministers and people to do, M the Presbyterian, for most of her ministers are foremost in the temperance work. Which Church is it then? A -l question " Every man" will find it rather I difficult to answer. But while to seo ! that elsowhere the Churches aro IJHtliag to the work, what are they j Nothing whatever! So little indeed for [■ the instruction of their own people thai) 1 we find professing christians, men who j profess to hate every form of evil, and to labor diligently for the extension i God's work, while they admit that j is the greatest evil and obstruction they ' haTe to encounter, yet laboring with all their might for an increase of the drink traffic an extension of, the very evil tJiey I are professedly. figfyiiig against. And I who_ is to blame for this so much as the ' minister whoi permits it? There is i another consequence of neglect of duty. i There are many .besides myself outside i the Church. Wo heat 1 the professions of j those.inside, and wo expect something, j but when we .find that it is all talk, that : there is no perceptible difference betweon i those inside and those out, that the salt ' of the earth has lost' its savor, that pro- j fessors of religion not only tolerate but j encourage evil, we naturally conclude that ' the whole thing is a fraud, and resolve to i have nothing to do with mere professors, j and this is why many of us aro and are j likely to remain. i OtIXfJIDE THE ChORUB. |