8. One important point remains to be considered. What ought to be the subject-matter of the railway debate? On this point it is proper to bear in mind, that while, at the opening of the controversy, the discussion most properly assumed a polemical form, embracing questions of Christian faith at large as opposed to dissolute infidelity, latterly the field has been considerably narrowed. Whether the enemy were driven from the infidel position by the power of argument or the force of shame, we know not; but latterly the line of defence has fallen back very much on the “necessity and mercy” plea, which of course assumes the divine authority of the day of rest. And most certainly it is advisable to follow their lead, and address the argument as to Christians frankly and avowedly, leaving all others to vindicate and vote for their Sabbath traffic at pleasure. This saves the necessity of a great deal of preaching; for if, according to the standards of all evangelical churches, the Lord’s day is to be kept as a sacred day of rest—the institution of God himself—then it must be vain to argue with men professing to be members of these churches who advocate its breach otherwise than as a question of mere necessity and mercy; because, when they go farther, they in the very act violate their own principles. This pre-eminently applies to all members of the Church of England, all of whom, after having read the fourth commandment in its solemn particulars, are accustomed to exclaim on their knees, “Lord have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law!”
9. The question of necessity and mercy then, which alone remains, is capable of much and varied illustration, and deserves and will repay careful study. In a few words, it may be stated as a question, Whether, in order to provide for the few and far between real cases of this description, it is necessary or expedient to entail on the railway staff of the whole island, the tyrannical burden of a toil which knows neither interval nor remission, from week to week and from year’s end to year’s end, save the middle of the night—if that—and as completely deprives unhappy railway officials of the moral and religious blessings of God’s appointed Sabbath as if they were so many beasts. London proclaims that the land needs no Sabbath post. Old Scotland proclaims that it needs no Sabbath coach. Where then is the necessity? where the mercy? Echo answers, Where?
10. On the subject of motions for statistics bearing on the number of Sabbath travellers, and the expense, and consequent profit (or loss) of Sabbath traffic, let the Sabbath leader free himself as much as possible of either. The profit or the loss forms no portion of his principle, just because it forms no part of the commandment; and he is apt, entering into this walk of inquiry, to be ensnared into secularity, whereof the enemy always takes strong and sometimes unfair advantage. Besides, through the process of “cooking” (using this technical term in the gentlest and honestest sense of which it is susceptible), he can always be defeated in his attempt to establish a loss. He knows, that “in keeping of the commandment there is great reward;” and that is his strength even on the profit and loss account.
11. It may be very right, however, for some skirmisher in his band to call for Sabbath statistics; and it is believed that these, when perfectly fair, will support the good cause. But the less the leader has to do with them the better. The more indeed he can, in a missionary way, penetrate into the dwellings of the stokers and switchmen, and there learn, for the public good, the Sabbath statistics of the man, with his declension from the washed face and decent garb, family worship and patriarchal walk to neighbouring church with wife and children, downwards to the greasy hand and clouded face, and cast clothing, and hasty meal, and testy temper, and troubled wife and larking children, of the now Sabbath-breaker—the more of this the better. O, surely, as the Sabbath was made for man, so pre-eminently was it made for the working man, for the poor man! To him, however, the railway director says: “Thou shalt not remember the Sabbath-day; thou shalt not keep it holy; in it thou shalt not only not do no work, but thou shalt do much work. To the poor the gospel shall not be preached.”
Lastly. One point of policy, resting on a solid truth, is, while addressing shareholders and proprietors at large, to lay the responsibility of all the Sabbath delinquencies of railways leadingly on the directors. There is not a doubt of the general fact, that where directors take a righteous view of the matter, they easily carry the proprietors, who relieve themselves by devolving responsibility on their boards, and thinking by proxy. Then it is to be remembered that the mass of monied men, who invest for gain, covet Sabbath gains; and so whenever a body of directors quietly have the same wish, but do not relish the shame, they tell the shareholders that the matter is left to their decision, and down comes the desired proxy power, to which they, “nothing loth,” blushingly consent. Now, were such a course as this adopted by the Sabbatarians, they would be, in no measured terms, charged with hypocrisy. Good men, however, must use good words; and therefore all we say is, that directors would be safer in their position, and more respected, if they frankly avowed their opinions, whatever these might be, and claimed the support of the constituency to them. It is right, therefore, that all talk about directorship impartiality, when the Sabbath is left by them to the tender mercies of the Stock Exchange, should be courteously rejected, and the charge of the evil fastened on the right shoulders, and pressed on their consciences in the face of all, even the most pathetic, disclaimers.
The office of the directorship is equally delicate and important; and it is a singular fact that the chairmen, now or lately, of the whole line from London to Aberdeen (Mr Carr Glyn, Mr Hasell, Mr Hope Johnstone, Lord Breadalbane, and Lord Wharncliffe), are men of decided religious profession. Now, where the Breadalbanes and Forrests, the Hendersons and the Grahams, the Greigs and the Campbells, take office with the purpose of protecting the Sabbath, they merit the homage of the whole Christian world for placing themselves on their vantage ground in the fore-front of the battle; and we entreat them to allow no adverse circumstance whatever to withdraw them from their post of influence and power. To all others who, like these, make a religious profession, but support the Lord’s-day traffic, we say, “You have no call of duty compelling you to be railway directors. Your churches condemn the traffic which you maintain; you paralyse their discipline, and greatly weaken them by your public counteraction of their principles. Put your practice in accordance with your profession; protect the Sabbath in your place of power, or come out from among them and be separate.”
IV. Miscellaneous.
1. Careful regard should be had to the due reporting of the Sabbath debates in the newspapers. It is impossible to overrate the importance of this department of the agitation. Its difficulty almost equals its importance; for generally the newspaper press is hostile. However, if the speeches be short, pithy, and pungent, seasoned with facts, at once good-humoured and high-principled, the reporters will insert them; and, as the question grows in intensity and in public interest, the debate will command attention.
Expense ought to be liberally devoted to this branch of the work; and the best way is, to order large numbers of such of the papers for circulation as give tolerable reports.
2. On this subject of newspapers, it ought not to be at meeting times alone that they should be cultivated, but at all times. Whenever any matter of fact bearing on the question occurs, let it be communicated to the newspapers; and in a quiet, impartial way, not in that inflated partisan tone so natural to an ardent zeal. Let the fact tell, and not the way of telling it. In this way the fact, if interesting at all, will re-appear, through the excellent process of scissaring, in other public journals, and possibly in some which would be scared by any high seasoning, or what they would call cant. Letter-writing is an excellent and necessary thing in an agitation. Sir Andrew Agnew used to say that, when he lost his seat in Parliament and his franking power, his wings were clipt. Mr Rowland Hill has given wings to all men (and women) by his penny postage; and there is not a moral or religious cause in the land which has not benefited by his scheme. But, if letter-writing be good, paragraphing is much better. In the Sabbath cause, when any thing new occurs, people oppress themselves by writing numberless letters to impart the intelligence. They do well, for in this way they reach a little circle. But were they, for their many letters, to substitute one considered “paragraph,” they would do better, for they would at once inform a thousand correspondents; and not only so, but secure the publication of their tale in newspapers by dozens, each of which might have its thousand readers. A letter slays its thousands, but a paragraph slays its tens of thousands. “Paragraph! paragraph! paragraph!” then, say we to all the friends. And not only paragraph the information you yourselves possess; but when any misjudging friend sends you a letter with his tale, paragraph it too, and without delay, ordering of course a few copies of the paper to friends—themselves, in their turn, to become new sources of light. Should they get also from the paper a few slips of the article (costing the mere paper and pressmen’s wages), they might, with good effect, fly them off with their ordinary letters, and still wider disseminate the truth.