The years 1930-1950 were difficult for all Australians. The world-wide depression of the thirties and the Second World War took their toll. For the churches, a creeping secularism added its threat. By the fifties people were chilled at the prospect of the cold war between Russia and the United States breaking out into a full-scale atomic conflagration.

      The source material included in this section will deal with the impact of the depression on the churches, with the reaction of Churches of Christ to the war and with the challenge to the viability of the Church posed by social forces threatening its existence. Attention will then concentrate on the reiteration and modification of the Movement's plea.

      Within Churches of Christ this period also witnessed a developing commitment to unity on the part of prominent leaders who were enthused with what they felt God was doing. Conservatives took fright. Their reaction expressed itself in criticism of the soundness of those encouraging ecumenical involvement. Documentation of aspects of this reaction is also included in this section.

      It was also during this period that Churches of Christ mission work in China ceased due to the activity of Communist troops and Japanese invaders.

      Also included among the source material is an article by A.R. Main on the problem of the Aborigine in Australia and several biographical items.

      The material on this period is less extensive than was the case with earlier eras. The reasons for this are several. First, knowledge of earlier periods is largely dependent on periodical literature, which this project seeks to make available. There were more books published during this period, doctrinal, historical and biographical. These are both more readily available and also less easy to quote from where an overall perspective is desired. Second, many of the developments during this period were organizational, often involving not more than one or two lines in a handbook. These are hardly worth quoting, particularly where the information they convey has been synthesized in histories.

      Attention will concentrate in this section on unemployment and on the effect of the depression on the work of churches and conference committees.

      All committees were affected by the Great Depression. The way established State and Federal Conference Committees met this challenge can be traced in Conference Handbooks. Attention here will focus on its effect upon the College of the Bible and upon the relationship between churches and preachers.

      The most significant consequence of the Depression was the development of the work of Social Service Committees. The genesis of these committees is outlined in Stephenson's That They all May be One. The work of Will Clay and C.R. Burden was outstanding. Both men have been the subject of excellent biographies. Clay was featured in W. R Hibburt's The Man Who Dared (Melbourne, Austral, 1959). Burdeu's grandson, Ken Wiltshire, Associate-Professor of Politics at Queensland University, has written a stimulating biography of his grandfather, C. R. Burdeu--A Living Legend (Queensland, Baskerville, 1971).

1. Unemployment
2. The College
3. Preachers

      1. UNEMPLOYMENT

A.C., 1931, p. 485.

      So many appeals have been made lately, just one more might be allowed. The Victorian Social Service Department is finding itself almost unable to carry on. Local churches are, in many cases, recognising only the needs of their own members; some are extending relief to their own districts; apart from this, little or no support is being given to the larger work. Few churches indeed extend to us anything like regular support, and some of our larger churches fail us miserably. Some churches are in desperate straits. One near Melbourne has not one male member working. Others have just a few. A moment's reflection will suffice to show that, unless some cooperative action is taken, members of these churches must suffer without hope. Every church in Melbourne and suburbs, and almost all in the country, have, in one way or another, received some substantial help from the Social Service Department. Every day a constant stream of applicants for help, not always material, calls at the office. No one knowing anything of the work done could doubt its value. Money is the principal factor in determining its extent. In one day recently the total value of small loans required by brethren to save a difficult situation totalled more than 20 pounds. Naturally, little better than advice could be tendered. We believe in some cases this proved valuable. Every week positions are found for members, mostly women, boys and girls. Thus a wonderful relief is being brought to many homes. Food is being distributed every day. Clothing to the value of many pounds reaches the homes of our people. Over 1,300 pairs of rabbits have

been distributed. These have been paid for out of our funds, and incidentally have provided employment for one of our brethren and support for his family. '

      The sick have been succoured and helped, the invalid chair provided, blankets distributed, boots bought and old one mended, glasses for one, teeth for another. We have provided the solicitor in some cases, the rail fare in many, the monetary assistance in others, the meal, the bed, the inquiry by wire or by "phone, often at the request of country churches. In a thousand ways our help is sought.

A.C., 1935, p. 500.

      It is not the business of the preacher to pose as an authority on economics and give his congregation lectures on the errors and iniquities of modern finance, or the follies of governments in their dealings with questions of trade and industry. Verily, the economists and politicians have not succeeded in lightening our darkness very much on these matters; but for the preacher, who in this field is a layman, to add his voice to the confusion of tongues would only make that confusion worse confounded. The preacher's mission is to call upon his hearers to do their duty to God and their fellowmen. He must minister to the strength and enlightenment of the soul, and this high and holy task will surely suffer if he seeks to be an apostle of some theory of economic adjustment.

      But that does not mean that the preacher must have nothing to say about unemployment, or that the church can give no guidance to the nation on such a matter as this. The question of our attitude as a community to the unemployed among us very decidedly is a matter of man's duty to his fellows. It is therefore a matter on which the preacher must speak and on which the church must take a stand. But what is the preacher to say? What is the stand that the church must takes Have we any clear leading in this matter from our Lord and Master? I think we have.

      One might point, of course, to general principles, such as the "Golden Rule." Which of us, if a member of the unemployed, would not wish that the income-earning community would divest itself of sufficient of its surplus luxuries and comforts (if that really be necessary) to provide us with a livelihood equal at least to the recognised minimum of those included in the income-earning group? How, then, can the income-earning community deny that to others which, if their positions were reversed, they would inevitably desire for themselves? The "Golden Rule," thus, certainly implies the duty of the community to provide the minimum scale of living for all its members, whether it can find useful employment for them or not. In brief, the principle of "work or full maintenance" is a logical implication of the distinctive moral teaching of Jesus. Is it not then the duty of the church to preach this principle? Must we not, if we would be true to Christ, plainly tell the community that it is its Christian duty to provide the full minimum scale of living for all its members, whether it can find a useful way of employing their labor or not? We do not need to be able to solve riddles of modern finance and economics to do that. There is no shortage of material goods in the country. Rather, we complain of surpluses. If the community can not find a way to enable its members top earn a reasonable share of these goods, then it is its Christian duty to give them that share. The moral obligation is plain enough. When the church begins vigorously and definitely to proclaim this duty of the community it will begin to regain that moral respect of large sections of the people which it is losing to-day.

      Perhaps some will argue that the "Golden Rule" is a principle too lofty to set before the community as a whole as its duty. It is certainly a principle too lofty to seek to enforce upon the individual by the power of the law. But that is a different matter. Here we are dealing with the question of what the church should set before the country as its duty.It would be descending to casuistry to suggest that the church should preach anything less as the duty of the community as a whole than it recognises as the duty of the individual within that community.

      But it is not necessary to go to the "Golden Rule" as a general principle for guidance in this matter. We have from the lips of Jesus teaching on the question which is much more specific. In discussing the principle of rewards in the kingdom of heaven Jesus told the story of the laborers in the vineyard. There we find that those who had laboured but one hour, and the rest of the day had waited unemployed in the market-place, were paid as much as those who had borne the heat and burden of the day. The need of the one was as great as the other, and the lord, out of his abundance, gave to those who had shown their willingness to do whatever work was required of them, a reward in accordance with their need, treating all equally, whether he had asked of them a whole day's service or only one hoot. That principle, Jesus declares, is "good." Some of the laborers objected that the reward should have been distributed on the basis of the work done by each man. But the whole theme of the story is that that principle is wrong when it would distribute unequal rewards to those who are equally ready to do their share but simply have not been given the opportunity to do so. If it was "good" for the modern community, out of its super-abundance, so to treat its servants? Whether the community calls upon these

servants for one hour's work or eight, for one day's work or six, they should receive no less than the minimum wage recognised as needed by all. This is the principle of rewards that Jesus endorses as obtaining in "the kingdom of God." Can we expect to extend the kingdom of God on earth unless we preach that this is the duty of the community to all its members?

      There is no suggestion here of pauperisation, or the encouragement of idleness. There is another New Testament principle, which in no way conflicts with the above, that says, "If any man will not work, neither shall he eat." It is perfectly practicable land right to apply both. The laborers of the parable who received a full day's pay for one hour's work were men who had waited all day for a job and willingly took the one that was offered them. Few, indeed, of our unemployed are unwilling to do a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. Where 'go slow' tactics have prevailed it has usually been because the men were afraid they would not get another job when the one they had was finished or because they thought that by doing a minimum of work they would leave a maximum of employment for other men. With the principle of "work or full maintenance' established, the loafer could soon be dealt with by reductions, or complete refusal, of pay. Under conditions when work is plentiful, and therefore a regular wage is assured, the workers themselves are the first to resent the tactics of the man who does not do his fair share.

      Further, the number of people who were paid their wages without being required to work would rapidly diminish if governments had to pay a man as much when idle as when they gave him a job. Under the present system of rations and doles it is cheaper to keep men idle than to find work for them. But, if the community once determined that they should be paid just as much whether working or not, it would speedily realise that it would be better also to find the little extra money needed for materials in order to obtain some return for the outlay. Thus there would soon be brought to the unemployed, not merely the blessing of a full pay envelope, but also the moral blessing of the discipline and satisfaction and self-respect that comes from doing useful work.

      Let on one say that the community can not afford to be so generous. It is not a matter of generosity but of simple rights. Our banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions are stuffed full of savings, set aside from our abundance, for which no useful investment can be found. Luxurious indulgence in expensive cars and ocean voyages and innumerable other comforts and extravagances, are observable on every hand. Our economy is suffering from over-production of goods, and factories stand idle, ready to produce more goods as soon as there is a demand for them. The community should blush to tell the lie that it cannot afford to do its Christian duty by its less fortunate members. The church should hang its head in shame that it has not already proclaimed in no uncertain voice what that duty is.

      Is it that too many of us, members of the church, are unwilling to bear our share of the small sacrifice that would be involved in giving our unemployed brother his rights? Is it that leaders of the church fear to antagonise the rich and powerful by declaring the plain duty of the nation? Or is it that the church as a whole, its attention long concentrated on teaching his duty to the individual, has hardly awakened to the obligation that rests upon it to point the path of duty to the community as a whole and has scarcely given the matter enough thought to realise that that duty is so plain? I think that the explanation is chiefly this last. But while the church has been too dull and slow to perceive her duty and vigorously perform it, that section of the community which suffers while she hesitates is losing its faith in her as a true teacher of the Christ whose name she wears. If they turn for help to Marx and other gods their blood is on our heads. Christians awake!

Theo. Edwards, A.C., 1935, p. 629.

      That this conference expresses the conviction that, so long as our society upholds an economic and legal system which shuts off many thousands of those who should be bread-winners from access to the means of production, it should be prepared to do justice to those thus deprived by granting to them out of the abundance of goods which that system produces the means of a full life. We therefore urge upon the government of the Commonwealth that, as a matter of elementary justice, it should provide the full basic wage for all men unemployed, and make provision to distribute the available employment as evenly as possible, so as to secure also a fair distribution of the resulting leisure on full pay.

2. THE COLLEGE

A. R. Main, A.C., 1931, pp. 243-244.

      The situation is critical. For almost every business, every charitable or religious institution, is suffering to a considerable extent; and nearly every individual is being called upon to adjust his manner of life to a diminishing income. Our missionary and educational enterprises may naturally be expected to share in the difficulties of the times.

      For every kind word and helpful action, for every gift--small or great--which has been generously given by sympathetic brethren, those in charge of the College are grateful. The College has many friends, the number increasing with the passing years. But many of these have suffered so severely in recent months as to be quite unable to keep up their gifts.

The present position

      The College Board of Management has announced both orally and in published statements that the reduced income has led not only to general economies but to considerable reduction in salaries of the College staff. We should like our readers to realise that such reductions are not to be thought of in terms of a 10 per cent basis such as we frequently read about in the newspapers in connection with business concerns. In two successive years, the Board has felt compelled to make drastic cuts in allowances, and through its representative recently announced that the reduction in the aggregate allowance to its workers was a 40 per cent one. A passing generalisation like that, however, may not sufficiently enlighten some readers regarding the critical nature of the position. A few comparative statements may help.

      As we write, a strike is on, some workers resisting a reduction of wages. The proposed reduced rate is far ahead of what some teachers of the College are receiving. There could be no other comparison made with reference to the skilled nature of the work or the extensive preparation made for it.

      The lowest grade of secondary teachers in the Education Department of this State receives very much more than some of our teachers with their secondary standing are receiving after many years of service and an educational standing which by this time would have put them into the first grade.

      A youth of the age of twenty-one years who has completed his apprenticeship to the printing trade must by law (after the recent 10 per cent and all other reductions) receive as his minimum wage more than the allowances granted to these teachers.

      A young student of the College of the Bible for his first church appointment immediately after graduation received more than do some of our teachers. Nobody thinks the preacher obtains too much, and nobody who knows the situation thinks these teachers are rewarded according to the value of their services. But the money is not available, and so good men suffer.

      The Board of Management, it must be understood, has not desired reductions and has made them with reluctance. But, as everybody must agree, it simply has to endeavor to live within its income, and it is impossible to keep on piling up an overdraft, which according to the last published statement amounts to over 2,500 pounds.

What of the future?

      A representative of the College Board recently publicly stated that the members of the Faculty were all more than willing to share the burden. They gladly consented to reductions in order to help the College and permit its work to be continued without impairment of efficiency; and, it was announced, they so loved their work and so put the helping of the Brotherhood first that, if need be, they would be willing to do their work without salary. The magnificent compliment implied and intended is acknowledged. For ourselves, with good opportunity for the formation of a judgment, we are persuaded that each member of the Faculty would cheerfully do all that he could for the welfare of the College. He would put College interests first, and seek, even at great personal sacrifice, to help on the cause he loves. We fear that some who heard of the suggestion that love of the work might even prompt members of the Faculty to work for nothing would misconceive the actual, situation. Some might even be reassured, thinking that if the Faculty is able and willing to continue work without remuneration, then there can be no possible cause for anxiety, continuity of service of all classes being certain. Now, no member of the Faculty, so far as we know, however willing he might be, has resources which would enable him to give his services gratis. The Chairman and Treasurer of the College Board of Management, in their announcement in the "Christian" of April 16, indicated the impossibility of this when they wrote: "Of course a continued shortage of income would inevitably lead to a reduction of present staff of teachers and a consequent loss of present efficiency, which would be greatly to be regretted and should be avoided." These are no idle words. If further retrenchments have to be made, then almost inevitably there must be a reduction in the number of teachers with a corresponding reduction in the efficiency of the College.

A.C., 1933, p. 252.

      That for the sake of the young men themselves and for the best interests of the churches we recommend to the Board of Management of the College of the Bible that strong measures be taken to ensure that only the most suitable young men shall be selected to enter the College to train for the fulltime ministry of the Word.

      That we affirm the advisability of united action in our acceptance of men into the full-time ministry of the churches, and that as a consequence we should recognise our moral responsibility to provide employment as far as possible, for those so accepted. That this resolution be referred to the Advisory Board and H.M. Department, with power to call others into counsel, and with further power to prepare a recommendation to be submitted to the churches in Victoria.

3. PREACHERS

A. R. Main, A.C., 1932, p. 337.

      The problem of securing and maintaining an adequate preaching force is a perennial one, but its urgency and difficulty were never felt more than to-day. Church finances have suffered, and allowances to preachers have had to be greatly reduced. There is no preacher worthy of the name who will not willingly and cheerfully share the burden of evil days with the members of the church for which he labors. But in many cases reduction has reached a point which must impair the efficiency of the preacher's work. In some cases the faithful brethren have received notice, and are finding it almost impossible to secure a fresh appointment. Men in business have been called in as part-time preachers, or as those who will be able to supply without remuneration.

A. R. Main, A.C., 1934, pp. 433-434.

      That was a very sad and arresting sentence in our Victorian News-letter of last week:

      "I was rather startled to hear one preacher of a good many years' experience say, 'I am getting tired of competing for a place,' and that he 'felt like dropping out of the work.'"

      Now the writer of that news-letter is the President of our Federal Conference and also one of our honored preachers who has given very many years' service to the churches. The whole question of preaching appointments, the reception of candidates, the placing and care of preachers, is under review in Australia, having been brought before several of our conferences in recent years.

Preachers share difficulties with others

      The last few years have been difficult ones for men of all classes and in all kinds of employment. Professional and business men, employers and employees alike, have suffered financially; nearly all have reduced incomes, and many have been out of work. It is no wonder, then, that church finances have been affected to a considerable extent, and that our missionary committees have had to curtail their expenditure. Nor is it to be wondered at, or objected to, that the work of individual congregations has been affected, that expenditure has had to be adjusted to suit reduced incomes and that many economies have had to be practiced.

      We think we know our preachers well enough to declare that all have been quite willing to share the burden of the days, and to continue cheerfully to serve the churches on considerably reduced allowances. They could not well be Christian and do otherwise. No true preacher regards his work as a means of earning a livelihood. When he devoted himself to the work of the Gospel, he turned his back, once and for all, on the hope of material gain. He never repines because the riches which others may acquire can never be his. Hence it is not surprising that our preachers have willingly shared with other members of the church reductions to the point of privation.

Returning prosperity

      May we remind our people that many preachers have suffered so much loss that the strain has been very great? A man cannot do his best work if harassed by financial cares; and many of our preachers have been called upon to bear a load unnecessarily severe. A preacher to be successful must be a student; he should be able to buy the books without which he is as a workman deprived of tools. Yet many of our

preachers lack the means to purchase the books which they ought to be reading. May we be allowed to make a strong and affectionate appeal to the churches, in the returning days of prosperity, to make sure that the preacher and his needs are remembered? Let none be able to say that the church of God was the first to reduce allowances when difficult days came and the last to increase when brighter days appeared. It may not unreasonably be suspected that many professed Christians too lightly considered that their economics in a time of stress should be made in connection with church contributions. Personally, we more than doubt if there were the need for all the drastic reductions made in the maintenance of our evangelistic work at home and abroad.

Competitive customs

      But Mr. A. W. Connor's letter suggests another and a graver matter. He refers to a preacher's objection to continuing the competition for fields. Have the officers of churches considered where a practice, developing into an evil habit, is likely to lead us? This competitive business in church life is most objectionable and fraught with danger.

      There are churches which advertise for preachers, who are supposed to send in applications with credentials and statements of terms. Surely there is a better way than this. The best preachers feel that they ought not to be treated thus. We cannot get the best results if we derogate from the dignity of the preacher's position and work in this way.

      Even worse things are found than the advertisements. We think that as soon as church officers begin to appreciate the feelings of the great company of our preachers they will shun such things as the following. Here is a church which sends out many letters to preachers in different States asking if they would be willing to accept a call for service, if the church extended one. The letters are so worded that a number of the preachers are led to believe that but one man is being approached and that but one will be considered. To their surprise and horror they later find that they were being dealt with as are answerers of advertisements and entering the competition which honorable preachers as a rule abhor. There are occasionally even worse things than this. Letters have been so worded as to imply that engagement is certain, merely awaiting the fulfilment of some formalities; and yet the preachers have found the competitive system operating and rejecting them. We cannot conceive how any church with knowledge can countenance such proceedings. We respectfully suggest that all churches should eschew the evil practice.

      The case becomes worse still when men are written to by church secretaries and are asked to state the smallest remuneration which they can take. There ought not to be the slightest occasion given for the suspicion that the lists of men and their minimum requirements are so dealt with by churches or officers that the cheapest man is the one most likely to be honored with a call. Yet there is at present somewhat more than a suspicion that this is so.

Use our advisory boards

      We may say that churches would do well to make use of the advisory boards appointed by conferences for the helping both of churches and of preachers. They may certainly be advised to refrain from advertising for preachers. Again, a church should know just what it can afford to offer a man. It may be that in times such as these only a small sum can be offered. Even so, let the brother, to whom an invitation goes in the belief that he could render good service, be told of the church's cordial invitation and of the sum which it is able to offer. That is a thousand times better than asking a man what is the least he can possibly take. Let us eliminate the evils of a competitive system such as the preacher alluded to by our Federal President had in mind. The brighter days will soon be here. Better and brighter times for the churches will come all the sooner if we can give a proper Christian solution to our preacher problems.

A.C., 1935, p. 181.

      The following resolution was agreed upon by our Victorian preachers' fraternal at a meeting held during the annual retreat, when 35 preachers were present:--

      "Whereas there is a growing practice among the churches when a vacancy occurs in the preaching appointment to invite preachers, either by advertisement or by letter of by personal overture, to allow their names to be considered as applicants for the position, this fraternal believes that such a practice engenders a spirit of competition that is not in keeping with the sacredness of the preacher's calling, and believes that it is in the best interest of both churches and preachers that one man should be considered at a time for the appointment, and therefore urges the churches to refrain from such a practice, and urges preachers not to

negotiate for an appointment unless a call is received from a church. It further suggests that as far as possible both churches and preachers seek the advice of the advisory committee When a change of ministry is desired."

      It is thought that, because no way has been defined of calling a preacher when a vacancy occurs in the preaching appointment, some of the churches have unintentionally fallen into the present practice of inviting more than one man, either by advertisement, or by letter, or by personal overture, to allow his name to be considered as an applicant for the position, with the result that a church might have many preachers before it at the one time for consideration as applicants for the vacancy.

      Such a practice tends to engender a spirit of competition that is not in keeping with the sacredness of the preacher's calling, and is thought not to be in the best interests of either church or preacher, and in many cases leads to embarrassment, especially for the preacher, as this makes it difficult for him to act fairly with his present congregation.

      In order to change the present practice to one that will be of benefit to all concerned, the churches are urged, when a vacancy occurs, to negotiate with only one man at a time. With the view to calling him, enquiries may be made, preferably through the advisory committee, concerning his suitability for the field in question; he might even be asked his willingness to consider a call; but when a church has decided it would like a certain preacher, whether knowing of his willingness to consider a call or not, it is urged that a definite invitation be extended to him to accept the position, instead of asking him, as is often done at present, to allow his name to be considered as an applicant either singly or along with others. This will rule out the competitive element, and enable the preacher to give his decision without any embarrassment in relation to his present position.

      To help in this desired change preachers are urged not to be applicants, and apart from indicating a willingness to consider a call, not to give a decision until after a definite invitation to accept the position has been received from a church. On receipt of such invitation any enquiry, preferably through the advisory committee, may be made concerning the field in question, and a decision made in the light of God's guidance and opportunity for service.

      It is recognised that a church might have difficulty in making contact with a suitable preacher, and the preacher with a church, so it is suggested that as far as possible both church and preacher seek the advice of the advisory committee when a change of ministry is desired, as this committee has information which is of value to a church or a preacher in making a decision.

      This resolution is not intended in any way as a criticism of either church or preacher, but is an earnest request that both will forsake the present practice. The church to adopt the method of calling a preacher by way of a definite invitation to accept the position, and the preacher to refrain from negotiating unless a call is received, thus to ensure that a church will be in negotiation with only one man at a time. This, it is thought, will be in the best interest of the churches, and will be in keeping with the sacredness of the preacher's calling.

--Contributed by H.A.G. Clark and W.T. Atkin,      
on behalf of the preachers' fraternal in Victoria.      

A.C., 1936, p. 363.

      To the Editor,

Dear Bro.

      Some time ago, in a country town, one of our preachers resigned. When the date of the termination of his engagement drew near he was obliged to seek other employment because no suitable opening presented itself for work with any of our churches. A minister in another church in the same town, who was not very well disposed towards our people, and who knew some things that had transpired among some of our churches in

other towns, was ungracious enough to refer to the matter in a sermon, commenting on the instability of our congregations and the insecurity under which our preachers live. We could afford to ignore such a jibe but for one thing--his criticism was unpleasantly true.

      Other religious bodies, for the most part, give their ministers a secure tenure of office, and provide for their appointment, when necessary, in new fields. When their preachers become too old for active service they are provided with a sustentation allowance, which provides for their needs till death. Nothing of that sort obtains among our people. At conference we appoint an Advisory Board, which is designed to mediate between churches and preachers in the matter of church appointments, but many churches ignore it, with the result that unfortunate preachers are often obliged to bargain with churches for a place. The correspondence received by officers of our churches which are known to be requiring a preacher is of a nature that is humiliating to officers who have a sense of brotherhood self-respect, and is degrading to the men who are forced to apply, often in pleading terms, for a chance to carry on their vocation and earn a livelihood With regard to the matter of provision for old age, we have our Preacher Provident Fund--an excellent system in some respects, but not available to many men whose salary will not permit them to contribute to the fund and at the same time carry on an insurance policy which provides the necessary cover in the earlier years.

      In the matter of salaries, many of our churches which are well able to do better, keep their preachers on the poverty line. Salaries were reduced with hearty goodwill on the part both of the preacher and the churches, during the depression, and the return of brighter days has rarely seen those salaries restored.

      There came to my desk to-day a letter from a preacher who is nearing the end of his present engagement. He writes: "I haven't been 'called' anywhere else, and the fact of so many younger men being on the market makes if unlikely that I will be called. It looks to me that if our College continues to turn out so many men we older men will have to keep in good condition, since the Zoo is the only likely place to call us." A number of men will feel a depth of pathos under that humor. After referring to some of our older men who are "on the shelf." the letter continues, "One or two fellows, . . . and . . . are working for 2 pounds five shillings and 2 pounds 10 shillings respectively. I can see the day (close) when I, too, will either have to quit preaching or be classified with the sub-basic-wage men . . . I should not mind being displaced by superior men, which fact would be for the good of the cause, but our people so often prefer men of the uneducated type who are cheap, and this makes it hard to suffer, since ignorance and meanness rule the day."

      Every now and then an agitation arises concerning the sweating conditions in industry. It will be just as well if the eyes of the community are not directed to the conditions under which many of our men are forced to offer themselves for service. I have before me an offer made by one of our churches to a preacher the other day. He is a man with a small family, and the salary offered was 4 pounds 5/-, plus one pound for the running expenses of a car. But among the conditions under which the invitation was made was the following: "You must have your own car, preferably a good car and a well-known make. This is essential. Here we can assist you in purchasing up to a limited amount. If you have not already a car of your own." He had no car of his own, and the assistance that would have been given was a loan of 35 pounds, to be returned at the rate of 10% per week Will the reader please rub his eyes and read again? And will brethren in churches which employ preachers at starvation rates meditate a little on their own comfortable homes, their fine cars, and all the amenities of life which they enjoy, and ask themselves if the prevailing conditions are fair, honorable and Christian!

      That there are churches which cannot afford to pay a full salary, we know. That under those limiting conditions, we have men prepared to work, making the necessary sacrifice we also know, and rejoice in it. But our soul recoils from the parsimonious attitude which some churches manifest towards their preachers--an attitude which is not due to lack of means but lack of grace.

      There are some things which seem to be crying to be done, and among them the following:

      1. The adoption of some definite method, which could be recognised by all our churches, of admitting men to the work of the ministry. This probably should involve some restriction of the number admitted. The Methodists of Victoria, for a number of years, have admitted only five men per year to enter upon a training for the ministry.

      2. The placing of larger control in the hands of the Advisory Boards, or other committees, in the matter of appointments between churches and preachers.

      Of course I know all the arguments against these suggestions that can be and will be advanced by our gloriously and ridiculously democratic churches. But it is time we burned our little fetish of congregational independence in these matters, and adopted a more humane, and therefore a more scriptural way of doing things.

[NOF 515-523]