Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-07-15
SUNDAY IN SCOTLAND.
Lord BaIfour Advocates Less Rigid
Observance.


How rapidly opinion is advancing
even north Of the Tweed in favor of a
Sunday which shall be religious with
out being dismal and free withous
being profane is shown by the re-
markable speech of Lord Balfour of
Burleigh before the General Assembly
of the Church of Scotland.
Everyone knows the anecdote of
Bismarck, which may not be true. but
is amusingly well found. In his
younger days he landed at Hull upon
a fine Sabbath morning and expressed
a cheerful mode by whistling on the
pier. A policeman stopped him with
the information that his performance
was a breach of public decorum and
could not be allowed. Thereupon the
future Chancellor, partly in expecta-
ton of greater Sabbatarian latitude
elsewhere, took an early train for
Edinburgh. A similar story of the
present date would already be robbed
of much of it's point.
The Secretary for Scotland. in his
address before the grave but by no
means wholly unsympathetic body OF
divines and elders. made an excellent
defense of what most people will think
was both bold and laudable action.
In the course of last year the State
Department, of which Lord Balfour OF
Burleigh is the head, obtained control
of the National Industrial Museum at
Edinurgh He took the responsibility,
although one of the lay pillars of the
church, of opening the institution for
the benefit of the working classes
upon Sunday afternoons.
AS he probably expected, he had
immediate and forcible demonstration
Of the fact that the spirit of the
Covenant in these matters is not yet
retained to far greater extent than
South Britain a healthy appetite for
vigorous controversy. Knox deaving
them VII his clavers and Claver'se
deaving them wi his knocks were
recalled by the style of some of the
denunciations which reached the
Scottish Office through the post.
IF you proceed in your evil design,
the offending statesman was told, you
will not only have to deal with an
outraged God but with an indignant
people, But another communication
was still more Enthusiastically the argu-
mentative equivalent in words of the
historic cutty-stool flung by Jenny
Geddes at the head of the preacher
''The Lords hand" it ran. will be
upon you in your family or substance
before your death" 1t is significant
that this medieval quotation was
received with Kisses when brought tc
the General Assembly. When it Is
only fair to state that firm opposition
was expressed from other quarters in
more moderate terms, there has been
clear demonstration of the fact that
the vast weight of Scottish puolic
opinion has approved the opening o1
the Edinburgh Museum.
The position of Lord Balfour Of
Burleigh cannot but be strengthened
by his reply to his critics. Sunday
he agrees, is a day of religion and
day Of rest, and no one is farther
from desiring that it shall be injured
in the former character by a false in
depreciation of the latter. The
Scottish secretary declared that &c
observance of Sunday CA be goo(
! which is unaccompanied by worship
and some thought of the encompassins
mysteries of which every reverent
mind must be aware, apart from any
Question of specific dogma. To this
| fundamental proposition Lord Balfoul