PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4024, 1 February 1892, Page 2

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Thoßt7& 'Wool an! Paflilrai.

The announcement that the Rev B. . Wood would deliver an address on the duty of Christians in relation to brutal sports, drew a crowded con» ' gregation. to the Maaterton Presbyterian Church last evening, amongst those present being quite a number of the boxing fraternity. The rev. gentleman took his text from Proverbs, 10-23, " It is sport to a fool to do mischief," and Romans, 12-19, "Abhor that whioh is evil." In his opening remarks he stated that the religion of Jesus Christ had nothing to say against rational, humanising and healthful spore. Christianity had a great niessage-the message of love to. man. Ho believed that Cbriat desired man to enjoy the fullest life. Everything which would strengthen, ennoble, and bless mankind was sanctioned by Him, Christj however, had a good deal to say against brutal snorts. He waged war against every sport whioh degraded and debased man, Christ had declared His mind on the matter, and it was the duty of Ministers of' the Gospel.to, expound it. The amusements and sports of the citizens of Maaterton had hitherto been passing pure, Perhaps there was a danger of the young men giying too much attention to athletics—a danger of their developing thoir muscles to the negleot of their minds, Within the past few weeks, however, there had been what appeared to him to be a strange outburst of brutality in connection with amusements. When in Nelson. recently he had learned from papers sent him that Masterton had developed a new class of people in the shape of prize-fighters. In their report to the Licensing Bench he noticed that the police bad raised as an objection against the renewal of a license to a certain house the fact that it was the abode of an undesirable class known as fighters, He had also seen a report in the paper of a brutal exhibition made in the Theatre Royal some weeks ago, which revealed a state of i things which was entirely disgraceful. 1 He had read with pleasure tl)e article ! in the Daily, which dealt firmly with I the growing evil, He had also seen ! the report pf fwo men faeing each 1 ' other on tbeßtago, ant) hammering at one another in a brutal manner for I two solid hours. It appeared that ! hundreds of people found amusement :' in seeing their fellow men bruised, : and battered, and bleeding before i their eyes, He was not prepared to i say that boxing, ptr se, was'an im- • proper thing. Tt was, he admitted, ! used often to physical advantage, and he would not, therefore, say one word of condemnation against it. . What he , wanted to call attention to was the ' brutal pfizfrfight—tworoon hammer- , ing at each other till one was half • dead. An appeal to history would . show what were the results of prizefighting. The record of professional - prize-fighting was: the moat horrible i tjjirjg jn' jjis'tqry.' It was with this , sreat gocial plague that tbp tyo'spej of Christ bad to contend, In apcient Borne prize-fighting was rampant, and , sometimea in the Amphitheatre there ; had been as many as 'ld,ooo combatants, and canals had to be formed to carry away the blood of human beings. Strangely enough in the ancient days these Emperors who favoured prize-fighting became popular. Nero, for' jpstance, y/bo was des* oribed as a tqasß., of (jirt steeped' in blood, ps one of the most popujar of Ijmperors'because foe gratified the desjreg of t|jo paqple in the provision of bloody sports. The people as a result degenerated and became savage. It was through the degrading influence of bloody prize-fights that Homo's military died ont. How was it, ho asked, to be put a stop to? An honour had besn done to the Kov, Mr Dukes by a scurrilous attack which had been made upon him through the columns of the paper, He supposed |t W<?u!d be said of him next dayMVhatliaVMr'Woodtodoyitj) it?". He would like to point'out that half bis time was spent altogether outside of his congregation, amongst the poor, and the; needy, and those Whd werfl dsg,raded : by brutal spoils, if lie' a't'tep'irejj'to' |js oo|grpgatjbp alone ho would haye a very easy" time of it, Butbe was determined that he would do all in his power to combat the evils which were prevailing. In the early days of tbe Church it had . been combatted by Mimaters, who had been scoffed and jeered at in He was, he maintained, mindjngbisown business and dopg'th'e will of'G'od when he raised his y'oice agaipst that which degraded and debased, and ruined humanity'. , Tbe history ofprofessjonii p'rige-fight-ing showed it to,bo an'utterly degrade ing Bport, Bnpported only by tho- low and the debauched.. It was never an old Etislisli sport/and if never was and never could be the art of self* (jofeqooj Tfjero had been a golden IV, when this mpiiafpli' "pronised the ■ ring, Dut, ; King though he was, be affirmed that George 17. vvaa.tbe poorest and most contemptiblaman ffbo had sat on the fchronoi -. Morally, mentally and phyliicaljy he was a 'taace to the position wlh'ctfho held;- T]iey did not find their'late Pririce Cbrisort amongst the prizie fighters, ; No', 'be 'was too noble sm|'goo'df He'Wuld not touch theajjfairwithapajroftbjjgs, Mo.d<rn ] pugjlism; was supgofted'onlyjby'the low, debapd arid tt'e Th'e i citizens of the plagq 'p]}ght to riseup ' and;demand.'that, the plague/which 1 had broken out should cease, ilfcwas I a sport in itself cruel and brutal, and i should; be put.dewn forthe sake of', engaged in H. Nobody better 1

, than tbose engaged in ii knew its de' motalteing iufiuence. He did not wish to Bay that every boxing,man was demoralised, but lie affirmed that they were engaged in a practice wbieb brought them under the special eye of the police. The citizens ought also to reprobate the sport for thesako of the rising generationf It pained him to seethe state of the young men of I Masterton, He had been grioved on entering the publio reading room to see there a notice " Boys excluded," The boys, lie believed, were driven on to the_ streets, they fell into the billiard rooms, were easily enticed to see brutal exhibitions, and the place in consequence became demoralised. He believed there was a spare room in the Institute, and he asked, why should not this be turned into a gymnasium, to save the boys from the streets ? They should, as citizens, raise up their' voices against that which was cruel and revolting, and demand that the prize-fighters should either reform or betake themselves to fresh fields and pastures uew. In conclusion he expressed the hope that the grace of Almighty God would enable Christians to do their duty in this matter.