day, though it often &sl!umes subtle &nd deceptive forma. Many thinge contribute to an unfair treatment of the poor. 1. Their ignora,n~. They do not always know their rights, nor perceive where cunning men he.ve an adV&nt&ge over them. Thus they are not able to protect themselves fe.irly. 2. Thei,r obscurity. It is difficult for a p,ior person who hBS been wronged to e.ttract attention. Nobody knows him. He has no influential friends. 8. Thei,r ifUUJility to obtam legal redr68s. Theoretloally the law 111 eque.l in its treatment of rich and poor. Practically it is nothing of the kind. For the law is proverbially costly, and a poor me.n cannot afford to put ita machinery iu motion. 4. Their prejudiced position. People look askance at shabby clothes. If a man i~ low in th~ social sca_le, a oerta.in stigma attaches to him in the eyes of money- worsh1ppcrs. His poverty 1s a reproach. Our own day has seen the emancipation of labour. 'l'he organized working classes can exact their rights. But the very poor are beneath the help of the new trades union machinery. The tendency of the sweating tiystem and of other forms of selfishness is to grind down and oppress the most helpless and needy. II. A GBEA'l' BIN. The commonness of the practice does not lessen its guilt. Because many of the well-to-do people who manage affairs combine to get as much as they can for themselves out of the less fortunate people beneath them, they are not individually innocent. The law regards combination to do a wrong as conspiracy, and therefore as an aggravated offence; and conspiracy to oppress the poor is an aggravated offence in the sight of God. 1. .Against jwtire. Poor men have their rights, even if the law cannot help them to exact them. A right is not the less morally inviolable because means cannot be found to put it in force. This may not be recognized now. But the righteous government of God cannot ignore the sin of trampling on the just claims of the helpless. 2. .Against CJhristiam. brotherhood. Christ has taught us to rise above the plea of Cain, " Am I my brother's keeper?" He has shown that we are not to regard our- selves as self-contained, or as having no interest in our neighbours. The parable of "the good Samaritan" has set before us for all time the pattern of the conduct that he approves of. All who need have claims upon us--claims springing directly oui of their need and our neighbourhood in regard to them. Christ's own life and work teach us that the helpless are our brothers. To oppress them is to commit an outrage against members of our own family. It is the mission of Christianity to spread the spirit of brotherhood among men, and so to substitute brotherly kindness for heartless oppreali<m.-W. F . .A.
Ver. 12.-The bitter cry of the city. An ominous characteristio of the BOOial con- dition of modem England is the continuous draining of the population out of the rural district.I! into the cities. No greater scandal exists than the coiodition of the crowded multitudes in these great centres. From time to time we are roused by some prophet- voice that draws our attention to the misery and degradation of the city poor, and warns us of the danger that lurks therein. Bnt it is not enough to be periodically startled, and to make occasional spasmodic efforts to remedy the evil. Continuous study and patient, unremitting toil are called for to cope with the dark problem. The bitter cry is shrill and penetrating, and of many voices. I. PoVERTY. 'l'his is the first visible cause of the misery. The poor regard London as an Eldorado. It seems as though they must get some employment in the vast, busy city. So they pour into it in shoals. There individually they are lost sight of. The very multitude of them drowns their separate claims and appeals. A huge mass of poverty does not touch personal sympathies. It is a horror of misery, but.it does not call for the aid that the distress of one person whose exact circumstances and history are known elicits. II. 0VEBOBOWDING. This evil means more than wretchedness. It is a distinct cause of moral deterioration, a direct source of dark vicee. Herded like beasts, is it wonderful that men live like beasts? The decencies of life are impossible. All the finer feelings are crushed by coarse surroundings. The gracious influences of silence and priva.cy are unknown. People are forced to live and move and have their being in the midst of a noisy mob. The certain result is a break-down of civilization, and a corrupt civilization is worse than barbarism. The savagery of city slums is of a more degraded type than that of African forest&. OH, XXIV, 1-26.) THE BOOK OF JOB. 421