CHAPTER XXIV.
A CHURCH IN CONFERENCE.
The second rest-day at Craighelbyl was even more peaceful and happy than the first, for there was less excitement and a greater feeling of at-homeness in the hearts of the people. Arthur Knight and his friends wondered very much whether the response to the invitation of the church bells would be as universal as before; but it was. At the appointed time groups of neighbours, with their families, were seen wending their way to the Father’s House with one accord. The people did not go, perhaps, from the highest motives. Can it be said that all the members of any congregation do? But so much were they impressed with the great kindness and good feeling of the master, that they, one and all, were trying to keep as right as they could, and many of them, knowing their own weaknesses, were thankful for the strength and help which they received from joining in the hymns and listening to the sermon.
This notable Sunday was commenced with a communion service. The invitation was given to “all members of churches who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and consider His laws of life and conduct binding upon them.” And a large proportion of those who filled the building went forward. This service was short and solemn; it was a time of reconsecration to many, and it prepared them for what was to follow at the close of the day.
After the evening service those who had joined in the communion service in the morning were requested to remain behind in order to attend the first church meeting, and, indeed, to form the church itself. The church was formed accordingly, and on a very simple basis. The following was the creed:—
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
“I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ the Redeemer of the world, as my Saviour and Law-Giver.
“I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Revealer, the Enlightener, and the Comforter.
“I take as my rule of life the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that His laws are binding upon His disciples, and assured that He who lived for thirty-three years among men has raised no impossible standard of excellence and brotherly love in the Sermon on the Mount, and the other words of His placed on record in the gospels.”
This confession was inscribed in a book, and those who were prepared to subscribe to it wrote their names beneath.
At the close of this ceremony the minister, the Rev. James Davies, offered a dedicatory prayer, and the people sang, on their knees, the solemn and significant hymn,—fit to voice the faith and feelings of those who are resolved to consecrate themselves entirely to God, and to do His will, “the Lord being their Helper”—the hymn composed by Gregory the Great, somewhere between the years 540 and 604, and translated in 1627—and as good for the new time as the old—
After the hymn, Mr. Davies gave a short address on the creed to which they had given their adhesion, and the resolution contained in the last clause of it.
But the people would not leave until Mr. Knight had spoken, and he was ready with a few words.
“Dear Friends, you know, and I am sure many of you share, my belief, that Christianity is a life, and that all real discipleship is eminently practical. You have declared, by adding your signatures to this book, that you mean to live up to your faith. I think you understand that my heart’s desire and prayer to God is that our little community shall be strictly governed on New Testament Principles, and, according to the laws of the New Kingdom which Christ came to set up in the world. I believe that those who have entered this kingdom, and who live in communion with its Head, do receive daily enlightenment from Him who is the Light of the World, and therefore I believe that the true rulers of men must be those who are ruled by Jesus. Now, I ask you, the members of Christ’s Church, to take upon yourselves the responsibility of the management of this community, and to govern it according to the will of your Master, as revealed in the New Testament, and in the events and progress of these times. You surely know the right; do it, and, as far as you can, see that others do it also. I invite you to become during the next week a church in council; to consider certain things which relate to the well-being of the community; to decide what, if any, by-laws shall be made and enforced; to appoint an executive committee; to settle certain sanitary, educational, and other matters; and generally to undertake the responsibilities of our little State. You can govern in your own right, which I hereby commit to you; or you can, if you prefer to do so, submit your suggestions to the whole society. In a little while, perhaps, we shall discover that the best way to rule will be to have a number of men and women chosen and elected by the people; but at present I ask you to appoint a committee of, say, twenty men and women, who shall prepare and propose, not to the community, but to the Church, certain resolutions touching the interests of us all. This will be your first work to-morrow. I do not propose to be on this committee, nor to interfere with it unless it should become absolutely necessary, but to leave the management of affairs in your own hands. You know better than I who are the wisest among you. I hope you will choose these, and ask them to serve you, and that they will gladly do so to the best of their ability. But, dear friends, do not forget that you can legislate for our little world as well as our own small church; and that it will depend very much upon your treatment of those outside the church whether or not they are attracted to Christianity. May you, therefore, be guided in all things by the spirit of love, fairness, and righteousness; and may God give you the wisdom which you require! It is for you to show yourselves disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to win others to Him by your unselfishness, your consideration of others, and your goodness of heart and life. If you are true to your Master we shall have reason to rejoice in our Craighelbyl life. This is a great trial place; it is a test of the real worth of Christian principles; everything depends upon your faithfulness to Him. I hope you will hold your deliberations here, in this sacred place, and that no spirit will be exhibited contrary to His Spirit, and no laws enacted but those which He would sanction.”
The next evening the church again assembled.
The first thing was to appoint an executive committee, numbering about twenty. Mr. Knight and the minister asked to be allowed to stand aside excepting as they were needed. Dr. Armitt, a Christian man of great ability and kindliness, was first elected; then Mr. and Mrs. Wythburn and their daughter; next Mr. and Mrs. Hancourt, but the latter excused herself on account of her domestic duties. Fanny Burton was asked to become a member, and she consented; and then a dozen of the working men of the community, who were known to be wise and honourable men, in equal proportions of young men and old, were asked to serve; and the business before them was at once commenced.
The first question which was settled affected the age at which the children of the town should leave school. Two evenings were occupied in discussing this; but it was eventually decided that the children were to remain in the ordinary school until they were twelve, and that two supplementary years were to be added, during which half the school day—which was to be extended to seven hours—should be spent in the ordinary and half in the technical school.
This involved considerable self-denial on behalf of the parents; but one man enthusiastically declared that at Craighelbyl the heroes and heroines of the future were to be born and trained, and then sent forth into the world to take the highest places everywhere, and teach other men to copy the example of Knight’s own town. It was worth while, he argued, for fathers to manage without the earnings of their children when such issues as the reformation of the world depended upon it. And although some of his neighbours laughed at his “tall talk,” they decided that fourteen school years were none too many for the children of Craighelbyl.
The next matter settled was a law that all young people should pay into a fund to provide them with an income in old age, and that a savings bank belonging to Knight’s business should be at once established, in order that some provision should be made for sickness.
And yet another law was passed, that if any man or woman should tempt a child to take intoxicating drink, he or she should be asked to at once quit Craighelbyl.
Another excellent resolution was passed affecting the women who were employed in the factories. A young Crusader introduced the subject in words that went directly to the point. “Most men,” he said, “are jealous of the positions that women are making for themselves, and this feeling renders us unjust. They work as many hours as men, and always for less wages. If they do the same work why do they not have the same money? Many masters would probably give them the same, but for the knowledge that in so doing they would displease their men, who have always been content that women should labour under this disadvantage. They do work often that men might do, we say, and they are not to be encouraged in it. But how many factory lads are there who are chivalrous enough to prefer to keep their sisters? How many fathers who object to the money which their daughters earn and bring home to pay for their board and lodging? Yet we are full of complaints that factory girls do not make good wives. How in the world are they to make good wives when they are at work all day? They ought not to be expected to work as many hours as we do; and I beg to propose that all who are willing shall sign a petition to Mr. Knight, asking him to make a woman’s working day in Craighelbyl two hours less than a man’s. (Murmurs of dissent were heard.) Nay, with such helpers of womanhood as Miss Wythburn and her assistants we may be quite sure that the women and girls would turn those two hours to good account, and that in the end, we, the men of the place, will be better off for the change. Of course it is all very well for us to pass this resolution; you say Mr. Knight will be the only loser by it. But the women would not be willing for him to lose, neither would a man among us. What I mean is that we should offer to work one hour a day longer for the same wages, and also that heads of households should be willing to take a little less money for the ‘keep’ of daughters or sisters; or, if that does not answer, that every man, who is a man and deserves the name, should pay into a fund in order to make this matter straight. Why, you know it is only of late years that women have been expected to earn their own living, and it is only because the men have grown more feeble and less gallant, less chivalrous, less manly. Here at Craighelbyl we have a chance to show that we at least are made of different stuff from many of our fellows. Let us set the example of putting this women’s question upon another basis.”
In consequence of this resolution the meeting had to be adjourned, and two evenings were given to the discussion of the subject. Eventually, however, it was agreed to ask Mr. Knight to make the women’s day an hour less than the men’s, and to keep their wages at the same rate as before, and to assure him that in Craighelbyl there would be enough volunteers among the men to prevent his having any loss from the change.
And it may be safely said that no action of the Craighelbyl Church in conference created such a sensation throughout England and Wales as this.