page 88

Religious and Secular papers.

Our article (p. 66) on the tendencies of the colonial press, embodying Mr Colenso's remarks on the subject, has been widely copied and freely commented upon. With the exception of some of the local papers (which seemed to suspect that the President of the Institute specially referred to them), the press has been quite unanimous as to the real existence of the evils referred to; but at a loss to suggest a remedy. The Gisborne Standard expressed the opinion that the chief measure of responsibility, after all, lay with the public. This we doubt—the unhappy readers at present have no choice. The demand for a demoralizing class of literature is chiefly caused by the supply. If the daily papers were to dismiss their sporting editors, and leave « tips » and the state of the betting market to the recognized sporting sheets—if they were to abandon the weekly column of personal gossip and leave it to the « society » organs—they would lose nothing, and the public would be the gainers.

There is, however, a class of papers in the colony, which the public have a right to expect to maintain a high standard. If the religious press does not represent what is highest and best in the social and moral interests of the community, it cannot fulfil its purpose, or be true to its mission. A comparison of the professedly religious papers with those that are purely secular, is not so much to the advantage of the former as might be expected; the support accorded to them by the religious public is insufficient and often grudging; and their influence, when matters of social or political reform are in debate, though generally exercised on the side of right, is far less than it should be.

Religious papers may be roughly divided into two classes—those that represent a particular sect or denomination, and those that appeal to the general Christian public. In the first class, it is not surprising to find a certain amount of exclusiveness. The paper is the recognized exponent of a special doctrine or creed, which it defends against all opponents. If it is sometimes narrow or intolerant, allowance may fairly be made for the fact that it is essentially a class organ, and appeals to a constituency whose sympathies and prejudices are all in favor of certain traditional views of religious truth.

The second class, appealing for support to the religious public in general, makes a serious mistake if it espouses the narrow views of any particular section. There is room in the Christian fold for extensive divergence of creed; and no religious paper has ever been published whose platform is as wide as the gospel it endeavors to extend. Consequently, a paper, which assumes the title of a « Christian, » « Protestant, » or « Evangelical » organ, if it turns out to be a mere denominational periodical, is liable to the charge of sailing under false colors.

In the Australian colonies, the professedly undenominational papers are, generally speaking, narrower and more bigoted than the special organs of the great Protestant denominations. Such being the case, they cannot expect to attain any influential position, or even to secure the respect of the general public. And when any social movement is in progress, or a great question of moral reform is being debated, their weak voices are unheard, and the matter is practically fought out in the arena of the secular press.

A Wellington religious paper, the Watchman, commenting on our article, complained that the general tone of the secular press was practically infidel—that as a rule it studiously ignored any reference to matters outside of the purely material sphere, and especially avoided all recognition of the providential supervision of human affairs. In support of this contention, the article in The Times on the Armada was cited, in which, after pointing out the series of disasters which must have followed a Spanish occupation of Britain, the editor calmly gave the glory of averting the mischief to England's Admirals! A lame enough conclusion, truly. The medal struck three hundred years ago in commemoration of the deliverance attributed it to a higher power. Our contemporary certainly scored a point against The Times, but as a general rule continual reference to providential dealings would be quite out of place in the secular press. It would savor of cant. There is a well-founded suspicion of people who are always discovering « special » providences and Divine judgments, and making every event the text of a sermon. A New York commercial journal has lately made itself talked about by placing daily a text of Scripture at the head of its leading article. Unless the whole paper is conducted up to a very high standard, the experiment will certainly do more harm than good. If the editorial approval can be bought and sold, and puffs are found to be inserted in the guise of news, the daily text' will merely be brought into contempt. Some well-meaning person some time ago paid for the insertion of a text daily in a South Island paper among the advertisements; and the effect of the sacred words in juxtaposition with the medley of advertising announcements was often painful. One thing the outside world knows well—that religion is a matter of life, and not of words. The prediction that « Holiness to the Lord » shall be upon the bells of the horses will receive its fulfilment when religion regulates the whole affairs of daily life. So far as we know, its literal acceptation is confined to Salt Lake City, where the moral tone is not high.

If the religious newspapers discriminated better between religion and profession, they would exert a wider influence. There are many outside the sects who « hunger and thirst after righteousness, » and far too many within who are perfectly content without it. Some of our religious papers look out on the world through a very narrow peep-hole.

The Church of Borne has no representative organ in the colony; but is misrepresented by political sheets which are lower in tone than the lowest of the secular press. A North Island daily lately published some severe but well-deserved comments on the conduct of certain Irish agitators, and the tirade of abuse evoked from the two « League » organs was such as no respectable paper could quote without defile-ment; and which brought upon the writers the indignant condemnation of the « Home Rule » section of the secular press. It could only be fittingly described in the words of stanza xx, canto 1, of Spenser's Fairy Queen.

An Auckland religious paper has very lately been republishing from the Australian Christian World what professes to be the « life and real character » of a notorious American infidel. Whatever admixture of truth the article may contain, it is a gross and inexcusable libel.. Many a man has been deservedly sent to prison for a less offensive and mischievous production. It is full of bitterness and malice, a collection of idle tattle, attacking the man in his private, professional, and domestic concerns, as well as in his public actions. It bristles with profane and blasphemous quotations, such as have an ugly habit of sticking in the memory, even of those who abhor them most. Christian people, as a rule, keep infidel literature out of their houses; but here is the very scum of the witches' cauldron of Yankee atheism, wrapped up in a « Christian » paper, and administered to subscribers in weekly doses 1 Wherever these articles are published, they can only disgust respectable people, and harden the infidel party. Of religious papers, the undenominational alone appeal to the public as a whole; but conducted as they are, they are not in a position to cast a stone at the secular press; which, with all its failings, is conducted with a certain regard to the best interests of the community, and the dictates of common sense.