38. Blasting Prohibited

Blasting Prohibited "Ye strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."-Matthew 23:24 The " Times" June 22nd, reports a speech of Mr. Burt in the House of Commons, which contains the following:—" He thought that in certain parts of the country it might be desirable to abolish blasting in coal-mines altogether, and, as a general rule, blasting should be entirely prohibited wherever it was absolutely necessary that the safety-lamp should be used. It was absurd to hedge about a small flame of less than one inch and to deal recklessly with a flame which might be hundreds of times as great."

"We are entirely of Mr. Burt's opinion; there cannot be a second judgment upon it. We would carry the same thought into morals and religion, for there are persons who think a great deal of trifling offences against the rules of society, and are quite indifferent concerning the alienation of the heart from God: an unimportant violation of propriety in religious worship shocks them, but they can sin against the Most High at a sad rate, and yet their conscience is by no means affected. They are punctilious concerning the ritual of outward ceremonies, but indifferent to the evils of the heart. They tithe mint and anise and cummin, and neglect the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and truth. There is a story told of a Spanish bandit who had killed many persons without compunction, but was struck with alarm because a little of the blood of one of his victims had spurted upon his lips on a Friday, and thus he had been guilty of tasting animal food on a fast day. Not long ago our police made great efforts to put down the sin of gambling as it displayed itself in a few boys playing pitch and toss with halfpence, but it never occurred to the authorities to interfere with Tattersall's and the almost universal gambling connected with Epsom and Newmarket. Should a poacher steal a goose from a common, he would be prosecuted with the utmost rigour of the law, but lords of the manor have stolen the common from the goose, and no law has been able to reach them. We still strain at gnats and swallow camels.

Conscience, which some cry up as God's vicegerent in the heart of man seems to be a very imperfect monitor in the case of many persons; it lays on its strokes heavily concerning a minor offence, and flogs with a feather when the transgression is really great in the sight of God. The fact is that when conscience is unenlightened its judgment is misleading, and it will make more of a mote than of a beam. A little of Mr. Burt's common sense would be invaluable both to moralists and religionists. They look to outward actions, and neglect the heart. Yet acts are but as the flame of one inch in the miner's Davy, and the depravity of the heart is a flame a thousand times more dangerous. What is the filth upon the outside of the cup and platter compared with that which lies within? The interior to any one who uses the cup is vastly the more important. So, too, an ill word which grates upon a single ear is instantly condemned, but a false doctrine which may slay a thousand souls is allowed to spread, and to protest against it is accounted bigotry. We have heard of ministers whose speculations in theology are no better than so many firings of shots in dangerous mines; their blasts are ruinous to multitudes of young men, and yet they are tolerated and even esteemed. If these divines were heard to swear a profane oath, or known to pick a pocket, they would be scouted from society, but they are doing worse, and yet retain their position. Little do they consider what harm their vagaries cause among the younger and weaker part of their hearers. 0 that the grace of God would make them wise enough to desist from such perilous operations. At any rate their churches should look to it, and deal with them honestly if they will persist in their murderous romancings. If a man will play with powder and shot he must be kept out of the way. for we cannot afford to risk hundreds of lives for the amusement of a so-called "thoughtful man." Let him play off his gunpowder " thinkings" and his dynamite" culture" in some other sphere, but not among subjects which concern eternity, immortality, glory, and perdition.