The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-05 00:00:00

The Inspiration of Holy Writ,

A remarkable paper was recently read before the
Academia by the Right Rev. Monsignore Manning
—a paper in which the learned author descanted at
considerable length, and with singular perspicuity,
upon the views prevailing throughout Christendom
since the dawn of Christianity in respect to the
Bible as a Divine Revelation. During the course
of his lecture or treatise, Dr. Manning argued that,
while the Church has always taught and still teaches
that all the matter of Holy Scripture is inspired,
it has never formally adopted any one edition as
being completely free from every error of transla-
tion or transcription. According to his startling
way of putting it—one might almost be led to ima-
gine, he said, by the manner in which the authenti-
city of Scripture is discussed by many nowadays,
that Holy Writ, as it now appears before us in the
middle of this nineteenth Ohristian century, is
actuslly line by line, word by word, syllable by
syllable, point by point, the exact photographic fac-
simile of the biblical books as originally penned by
their respective writers under Divine inspiration! In-
tesd of being—as they are—filtered down to us on
the contrary through the hoods of countless
copyists and translators, calligraphers and printers
changed from one language into another, passing
down from century to century, through a long
succession of varied generations. In reference to
whatever appears in the Scriptures to bs, in di.
rect contradiction to correct science, or to chrc-
nologcal accuracy, Dr. Manning echoed frcm
the utterances of St. Augustine in the Fourth
Century, that wonderful comment articulated so far
back by that Great Doctor of Christianity (yet a
comment so strikingly applicable to to much of the
petitions reasoning nowadays in this later half of
the Nineteenth Century)—that the only thing to be
said in regard to such passages is this, that either
they were erroneously transcribed or erroneously
translated—or (yet another thing) that there
was some ignorance in the reader himself prevent&
ing him from perceiving the exact meaning
of the text, that is, of any such passage as might
appear to be enigmatical in Holy Scripture. The
thought of St. Augustine, as thus applied to the
discussions of nowadays in regard to the authority
and authenticity of Holy Writ, has about it, even
for the most bewildered, its consolatiOn and its
encouragement. It is of itself a clue through a
labyrinth of difficulties.

The Scottish Sabbath,

(From the 45.cotsman.)

The Free Church Presbytery met on Wednesday
in the vestry of the Free Church of Kirkcaldy, Mr.
Jameson, of Pathhead, moderator. Mr. Ballingall,
of Kinghorn, read the report of the Committee on
Sabbath Observance. The report called attention
specially to the running of luggage-trains by the
directors of the North British Railway on Sundays.
Mr. Ballingall stated that he had conversed with the
officials employed on the railway on Sundays, and
all of them, without exception, considered it a griev-
ous hardship. Mr. Cooper, of Burntisland, said he
could corroborate all that Mr. Ballingall had said.
Mr. Douglass, of Kirkcaldy, said the voices of Pres•
byterians throughout the country generally ought to
go forth in this matter ; he said he considered this a
question of far more importance than some people
might ba dreaming of; he thought the doings of
railway directors should be watched with great
jealousy. It the railway companies were Lund
converting their lines into machinery for catering
to the wants of the profane and dissolute, and irri'
gating the country with the scum of the community,
then it was proper to remonstrate with the dirac•
tors; and if remonstrance would not do they might
have to rouse the country, and he did not think it
would be difficult to rouse the country regarding
this most important question. He said there was
a section of the community opposed to the proper
observance of the Lord's-day, and they knew of
whom that section was composed ; if they could
gather them together, the mass would be found to
consist of infidels, of latitudinarians, and the black“
guardism of the country—that class of men who take
for their ru'e of life the opinions of Paris and other
Continental cities, instead of the doctrines of the
Bible. He was glad, however, to know that the
section composed of the parties he had mentioned
was only a small minority, and the great heart of
Scotland, he was happy to say, beat soundly on the
question of Sabbath observance, R :away compa-
nies are not exempted from the binding obligations
of the Fourth Commandment more than others,
and these puny mortals, who hold their existence
from that God who says, " Remember the Sabbath-
day to keep it holy," are not at liberty to turn
round and say, " We will do in this matter just as
we like; we will take our own way in this Sabbath
question." He said, moreover, that they must not
forget the case of those engaged in this Sunday work,
who were deliberately plundered of what was their
own, robbed of their inalienable rights. They should
urge these men to strike work. He was against
strikes generally, but he would hail with joy the
intelligence that all the officials of the North British
Railway had combined not to do a stroke during
the 24 hours of the Sabbath-day. Such men
would meet with the sympathy of the whole com-
munity—he did not think the directors would dare
to incur the public odium to which they would be
exposed were they to discharge offl&als against
whom they have no fault, only in the matter regard-
ing the service of their God. Mr Walker, of Dysart,
said railway companies were now becoming a great
power, and that power seemed to be put forth for
the purpose of leavening the community with the
belief that there was no harm in running trains on
the Sabbath day. Ile thought that if the directors
would pay no head to rerrionArance it would he
perfectly legitimate to rouse the men to action re-
garding doing no work cn the Sabbath-day. The
Presbytery agreed unan-monsly that the committee
draw up a representation to the directors of the
North British Railway Company against the run-
ning of luggage trains on the Lord's-day; and fur-
ther enjoin all the ministers within the bounds to
direct the attention of their congregations to this
subject on one or other of the Sabbath-days in
December.

Miss BRADDON will commence, in the January
number of Temple Bar, a new story, entitled " Sir Jasper's
Tenant,"

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