The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-03-18 00:00:00

THE DOVER YOUNG MEN'S CHRIS-
TIAN ASSOCIATION AND "PUNCH."

The Dover Young Men's Christian Association were
engaged the other evening in discussing whether
Punch should lie upon the table of the reading room.
About 40 members were present, of whom 28 voted—
the numbers being, for the retention of Punch 13,
against its, the motion for the presence of Punch in
the reading room was therefore declared to be
negatived. On this the Dom. Express thus corn.
rcents

-
11ad we been apprised of the discmslan we should have
bern glad to report it ; but in the absence of this we can
only state in a very general manner some information which
has retched us Among the principal supporters of the
=Atm to admit our ilever contemporary were the Rev. 11.
P. Hughes, the Rev. G. J li. Llewellyn, Mr. J. N. Tun-
bridge, Mr. Cannelllor Brown, and Mr. Councillor Jones.
Among the opponents the motion were the Mayor (Mr.
E Knocker) and the President (Mr. W. R Mowli.) The
Mayor wits the most earnest, and at the same the
most eloquent opponent of the introduction of Punch,
believing it to be a publication contemptuous of re-
ligious Influences, if not absolutely hostile to them.
Under these circumstances he regarded as anomalous its In-
troduction to the reading room of the Christian Young Mena
Association, believing that whatever did not tend to pro-
mote the growth of Christ in the minds and hearts of the
merMiere was, ins certain degree, inimical to their real pros-
perity and benefit. To this argument it wan replied that a
great number of the acts and pursuitu of every-day social
lifo were of a neutral kind, and that conelstency in the
Christian lite did not neceasartly entail abstinence from
harmless amusement, or from such diversions as were riot
irreligious. An opposite illustration was MI ended by a
youthful and daring member of the association, who desired
to knew whether, when the Mayor walked to church behind
She mace, human vanity or the growth of the kingdom of
Christ was the uppermost feeling. We believe it was not
thought necessary to reply to this impertinent remark.
The president took up pretty much the same ground as
the mayor had occupied, and triumphantly produced
a hack number of Punch, containing a humorous silos-
tratfon if an old lady imparting to a sympsthising
oil the fact that, although she permitted Jemlma
the cook to go to chapel three times a day, she discharged
her duties In the kit hen no better, arguing that this Was a
sneer at religion. The Rev H. P. Ila,hes, in replying to
. this observatiou, said he had no doubt that the old lady
I was a staunch supporter of the State Establishment, and in-
tended to show the demoralising iLhicaeece of chapel.. lie
differed from the Chairman in Ms impression of the cartoon,
and believed that this reductio ad absurdum was another
blew added to the many which Punch had already given to
the fetters of religious freedom Several other speakers
took part In the debate, and, from what we can understand,
the best of the argument lay with the advocates of Ponca,
although their opponents managed to command the greater
number of votes.

Referring to the discussion, the Pall Mall Gazelle
also remarks :
Happily for it: Own peace, the world is frequently Ignorant
of much of the evils going en until the removal of such
evil dirclosee the fact that it has existed. For instance,
until the Dover EXpresut informed us that on Monday
evening in last week the Dover Yettug Men's Christian
As.ciation " decided, after a long discussion, that Punch
should to longer be permitted to lie on the table of the
reading room of that body, low people had any idea el the
cle.; cerous temptation to which these young men were ex-
Notwithstanding the apparent profanity of the
Illn 'teeth n alluded to by the president of the aseoulation, of
an 14 leer informing her friend that although she permitted
Jet. 111111, .he cook, to go to chapel three times a day, she dis-
ci,' ued her duties in the kitchen no better, we think it just
presible that Punch may not have intended' a sneer at re-
J mints, the conk, under proton to of going to chapel
was probably In the habit of walking abroad with one of those
Chrtstian young men who often so sadly interfere with the
proper tßscharge of the duties of domestic servants. The
old lady, tuspectirg this to be the cam, makes the offensive
remark referred to by the president—Lot epeakine irreverently
of the chapel, though perhaps " sneering "at certain members
' Slits coneregatlon We almost wish the good young men of
Do ter could, consistently with thee duty, have taken this
, lenient stew of the matter, for exclusion from their reading-
room will he a terrible blow to a sensitive nature like that of
Pooh By their stern Justice they will probably drive him
to despair, whereas I y a little tolerance, a few kind words,
they might perhaps have made him as truly Christian as the
Reewd.