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evolution and ethics and other essays-第54部分
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attending the meeting of the British Association in Belfast nearly
forty years ago; I had promised to breakfast with the eminent scholar
Dr。 Hincks。 Having been up very late the previous night; I was behind
time; so; hailing an outside car; I said to the driver as I jumped on;
〃Now drive fast; I am in a hurry。〃 Whereupon he whipped up his horse
and set off at a hand…gallop。 Nearly jerked off my seat; I shouted;
〃My good friend; do you know where I want to go?〃 〃No; yer honner;〃
said the driver; 〃but; any way; I am driving fast。〃 I have never
forgotten this object…lesson in the dangers of ill…regulated
enthusiasm。 We are all invited to jump on to the Salvation Army car;
which Mr。 Booth is undoubtedly driving very fast。 Some of us have a
firm conviction; not only that he is taking a very different direction
from that in which we wish to go; but that; before long; car and
driver will come to grief。 Are we to accept '294' the invitation; even
at the bidding of the eminent person who appears to think himself
entitled to pledge the credit of 〃Our Lord and His Apostles〃 in favour
of Boothism?
I am; Sir; your obedient servant;
T。 H。 Huxley。
XI。
The 〃Times;〃 January 13th; 1891
SIR;A letter from Mr。 Booth…Clibborn; dated January 3rd; appeared in
the 〃Times〃 of yesterday。 This elaborate document occupies three
columns of small printspace enough; assuredly; for an effectual
reply to the seven letters of mine to which the writer refers; if any
such were forthcoming。 Mr。 Booth…Clibborn signs himself 〃Commissioner
of the Salvation Army for France and Switzerland;〃 but he says that he
accepts my 〃challenge〃 without the knowledge of his chiefs。
Considering the self…damaging character of his letter; it was;
perhaps; hardly necessary to make that statement。
Mr。 〃Commissioner〃 Booth…Clibborn speaks of my 〃challenge。〃 I presume
that he refers to my request for information about the authorship and
fate of 〃The New Papacy;〃 in the letter '295' published in the 〃Times〃
on December 27th; 1890。 The 〃Commissioner〃 deals with this matter in
paragraph No。 4 of his letter; and I observe; with no little
satisfaction; that he does not venture to controvert any one of the
statements of my witnesses。 He tacitly admits that the author of 〃The
New Papacy〃 was a person 〃greatly esteemed in Toronto;〃 and that he
held 〃a high position in the army〃; further; that the Canadian
〃Commissioner〃 thought it worth while to pay the printer's bill; in
order that the copies already printed off might be destroyed and the
pamphlet effectually suppressed。 Thus the essential facts of the case
are admitted and established beyond question。
How does Mr。 Booth…Clibborn try to explain them away?
〃Mr。 Sumner; who wrote the little book in a hot fit; soon regretted it
(as any man would do whose conscience showed him in a calmer moment
when his 'respectability' returned with his repentance; that he had
grossly misrepresented); and just before it appeared offered to order
its suppression if the army would pay the costs already incurred; and
which he was unable to bear。〃
〃The New Papacy〃 fills sixty closely printed duodecimo pages。 It is
carefully written; and for the most part in studiously moderate
language; moreover; it contains many precise details and '296'
figures; the ascertainment of which must have taken much time and
trouble。 Yet; forsooth; it was written in 〃a hot fit。〃
I sincerely hope; for the sake of his own credit; that Mr。
〃Commissioner〃 Booth…Clibborn does not know as much about this
melancholy business as I do。 My hands are unfortunately tied; and I
am not at liberty to use all the information in my possession。 I must
content myself with quoting the following passage from the preface to
〃The New Papacy〃:
〃It has not been without considerable thought and a good deal of urging
that the following pages have been given to the public。 But though we
would have shrunk from a labour so distasteful; and have gladly
avoided a notoriety anything but pleasant to the feelings; or
conducive to our material welfare; we have felt that in the interests
of the benevolent public; in the interests of religion; in the
interests of a band of devoted men and women whose personal ends are
being defeated; and the fruit of whose labour is being destroyed; and;
above all; in the interests of that future which lies before the
Salvation Army itself; if purged and purified in its executive and
returned to its original position in the ranks of Canadian Christian
effort; it is no more than our duty to throw such light as we are able
upon its true inwardness; and with that object and for the '297'
furtherance of those ends we offer our pages to the public view。〃
The preface is dated April 1889。 According to the statement in the
〃Toronto Telegram〃 which Mr。 〃Commissioner〃 Booth…Clibborn does not
dare to dispute; his Canadian fellow…〃Commissioner〃 bought and
destroyed the whole edition of 〃The New Papacy〃 about the end of the
third week in April。 It is clear that the writer of the paragraph
quoted from the preface was well out of a 〃hot fit;〃 if he had ever
been in one; while he had not entered on the stage of repentance
within three weeks of that time。 Mr。 〃Commissioner〃 Booth…Clibborn's
scandalous insinuations that Mr。 Sumner was bribed by 〃a few
sovereigns;〃 and that he was 〃bought off;〃 in the face of his own
admission that Mr。 Sumner 〃offered to order its suppression if the
army would pay the costs already incurred; and which he was unable to
bear〃 is a crucial example of that Jesuitry with which the officials
of the army have been so frequently charged。
Mr。 〃Commissioner〃 Booth…Clibborn says that when 〃London headquarters
heard of the affair; it disapproved of the action of the
Commissioner。〃 That circumstance indicates that headquarters is not
wholly devoid of intelligence; but it has nothing to do with the value
of Mr。 Sumner's evidence; which is all I am concerned about。 Very
likely London headquarters will disapprove of its French '298'
〃Commissioner's〃 present action。 But what then? The upshot of all this
is that Mr。 Booth…Clibborn has made as great a blunder as simple Mr。
Trotter did。 The pair of Balaams greatly desired to curse; but have
been compelled to bless。 They have; between them; completely justified
my reliance on Mr。 Sumner as a perfectly trustworthy witness; and
neither of them has dared to challenge the accuracy of one solitary
statement made by that worthy gentleman; whose full story I hope some
day or other to see set before the public。 Then the true causes of his
action will be made known。
Paragraph 2 of the 〃Commissioner's〃 letter says many things; but not
much about Mr。 Hodges。 The columns of the 〃Times〃 recently showed that
Mr。 Hodges was able to compel an apology from Mr。 Trotter。 I leave it
to him to deal with the 〃Commissioner。〃
As to the 〃Eagle〃 case; treated of in paragraph No。 3; a gentleman
well versed in the law; who was in court during the hearing of the
appeal; has assured me that the argument was purely technical; that
the facts were very slightly gone into; and that; so far as he knows;
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