after the time of prayer, profound humility, aptitude and disposition for spiritual duties, a heavenly light in the intellect, and stability of the will in goodness." It is, we are told, by such fruits as these that true mystics may be distinguished from false ones.

A description of this kind of prayer was given the other day to the writer by a friend who is deeply versed in the subject. "It is," he said in effect, "what a little child feels when lying in his mother's arms -utter safety in being wrapped round, learning, feeding, he knows not how."

It cannot be presumptuous to believe that some share at least in such a spiritual experience may be within the reach of any of us, if only we keep in mind the fact of its "given-ness," and proceed in a spirit of humility and caution. Probably few of us are without some experiences, however few, faint, or far between, of what is described in the passages given above. At the end of a Retreat, for instance, or after a good Communion, or a specially penitent and devout confession, some glimpse at least of these things has been ours. But, as in all else that has to do with the mystical life, should such experiences lead to the abandonment of our ordinary devotions, to neglect of daily prayer, public worship, meditation, and the like, it would be, as Père Grou says, insufferable pride." Such extravagances are always possible, and at the present time the increased interest taken in psychology too often leads ill-balanced minds into paths dangerous in the highest degree both to themselves and to others.

II. Two warnings may here be briefly given:

(1) Those who are called, or believe themselves to be called, to mystical prayer should take advice from some wise priest before they give up any of their ordinary practices, or adopt new ones. Further, in view of the twofold fact that an increasing number of people are needing this kind of guidance, while there are comparatively few priests who can be considered specialists in such subjects, we should surely pray that God will raise up amongst us more confessors who possess the special experience that is needed.

(2) It should be remembered that for those who are called to mystical prayer there is need of constant watchfulness, great humility, and selfmistrust. Two hundred years ago the religious world in France was torn asunder by the grievous troubles which arose from "Quietism." Even the most devout and learned were, in many cases, almost incredibly misled by it. When it is believed, as it then was by many, that those who have learnt to use supernatural prayer, and to live habitually in the conscious presence of God, are thereby released from all such obligations as daily prayers, meditation, public worship, self-examination, acts of contrition, or the like; when prayer in the sense of petition is looked upon as needless-it is impossible to doubt that this is nothing else than sheer disobedience to the teaching of our Lord and of His Saints in all ages. While the effort to attain a deep sense of God's Presence should be the aim of every Christian, none of us can be justified in "leaving the other undone.”

Those who wish for more light on the subject of Quietism and some of its strange developments will find it admirably dealt with in Miss E. K. Sanders' Study of Bossuet, recently published.

B.-IN THE STUDY

ADVICE ON BOOKS

It

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D.—CIVIC RELATIONS OF THE MINISTRY

BY MISS A. DEANE, O.B.E.

VII.-THE QUESTION OF MINIMUM RATES OF WAGES AND THE OPERATION OF TRADE BOARDS

Less than twenty years ago, many of us knew that the words of the "Song of the Shirt were no fiction of a poet's fevered brain, but sad and literal truth.

"Oh man with sisters dear! Oh men with mothers and wives, It is not linen you're wearing out, but human creatures' lives." Sweating was a grim and awful fact, an evil in our midst that had to be fought.

The fight is not over, though the principle of a minimum wage has been conceded. Those of us who worked in the early days for the Antisweating League and helped with investigations to bring forward evidence that would arouse the public conscience know how fierce and long has been the fight, and we care so much that we feel it imperative that those who are living and working amongst the people who are affected by the operation of Trade Boards should understand how they are established and what are their powers and duties. In the first place a Trade Board is established to regulate wages in industries which have no existing machinery for doing this. It fixes minimum rates of wages which, when they have been confirmed by the Minister of Labour, must be paid by all employers in the trade and are enforced by the law. The first Act was passed in 1909 and the second in 1918.

Before the Minister of Labour makes an order for establishing a Trade Board in any industry, he has to give notice that he intends to do so. This notice is published widely, and a period of forty days is allowed in which objections may be sent to him. These objections must be stated in writing and must state clearly the specific grounds for objection, and must also state any modifications asked for, any additions wanted or any omissions suggested. The Minister must order a public enquiry to consider these before it is decided to establish the Trade Board or not. actual constitution of the Trade Board is as follows: an equal number of representatives of employers and workpeople in the trade, and in addition two or four persons not connected with trade and an independent chair

man.

The

It will be seen that to have the right people on it in the interests of the trade there should be effective trade organization. The workers as a rule have their Trade Union and can very easily get the right nominations and those that will be acceptable to the whole body of workers in the trade; in some cases Employers' Federations are in the same position and can do likewise; but the extension of the Act to such trades as dressmaking and millinery, the distributive trades and so on, has proved that a large number of employers have not joined any trade organization and that a very large number of workers are still unorganized, especially women workers. In cases of this kind nominations have been made by the Minister from districts where the trade is chiefly carried on. The numbers on these Trade Boards vary. Some are big and have as many as forty-six members, whilst others may have only ten. Women may sit on the Boards, and home workers may be represented as well as other workers. The work that they are bound to do is laid down in the Act. They have to fix a minimum rate or rates of wages for time work; and if no other rate has been fixed, piece workers must be paid at rates sufficient to yield to an ordinary worker at least as much money as the minimum time rate. It should be remembered that a Board can fix different rates for different classes of workers or for different districts, and it can fix rates for learners, and can lay down conditions which will safeguard their being taught the trade, also the rates can be arranged for a certain period only and can be subject to revision at certain specified dates. It gives ample scope for the consideration of every point which may affect the trade.

There is so much misunderstanding in the minds of people with regard to Trade Boards that it will be well to note how the rate is arrived at.

When it is decided to fix or to alter a rate a notice of this is sent to every employer in the trade; here we come across defective trade organization, for it is obvious that these notices have not always reached the employers concerned, but these notices should be sent to all employers in the trade and have to be exhibited in their works, and two months are allowed in which objections may be raised, which are duly considered before the rate is fixed.

When the rate is actually fixed, then the trade is responsible for exhibiting the Trade Board Rates in the factory or workshop, where all can see it, and an employer who does not comply with the law is then liable to prosecution.

It is within the scope of the Act to set up District Trade Committees; it can also deal with such questions as "Waiting Time," Learners' Premiums, Deductions, and Infirm and Injured Workers.

These Boards are meant to deal with general questions affecting the industry.

The rapid establishment of a large number of Trade Boards has met with a certain amount of opposition. It has been claimed that the minimum rate tends to become the maximum: this can be answered by the experience gained in the last few years of the existing Boards, where it has been found that they have raised substantially the wages of the lowest paid workers in the industries concerned and there have been evident signs that they have benefited in the long run-better paid work has increased production.

It is claimed that they operate adversely upon employment and that their inception has led to a large amount of unemployment. This

certainly is not the case with the Boards that were established before the abnormal state of things that we are faced with at the present time; trade depression and the state of exchanges and other causes have all caused unemployment, and at the moment it would be very difficult accurately to estimate the amount of unemployment directly attributable to the operation of the new Trade Boards. There have been difficulties of administration, and there is no doubt defective trade organization; but the principle of a minimum rate below which a worker shall not be asked to work has been established, and nobody will deny that the days have passed when "sweating" can be tolerated.

In all measures of reform we have to legislate against the worst conditions and safeguard the worker against them. That there is no need for the establishment of Trade Boards in any of the industries that have already established effective machinery for the regulation of wages speaks for itself. It is important that those who are daily in contact with the workers in industry should really understand the working of the Trade Boards, their scope, and their possibilities under the Act. The Church should not fall below the State in setting a standard, and all is not yet right. There is still much to be done.

"Oh man with sisters dear! Oh men with mothers and wives,
It is not linen you're wearing out, but human creatures' lives."

REVIEWS

NEW LIGHT ON THE SON OF MAN PROBLEM SEVERAL readers have written to say that my review of von Harnack's Marcion in the November number of THEOLOGY Was just what they wanted. Emboldened by their encouragement, I now propose to give an account of a recent book which may or may not be important-I have no means of testing its arguments. But it is certainly desirable that English students should know that such books are being written. The book in question is Reitzenstein's work dealing with the Persian doctrine of salvation (Das Iranische Erlösungsmysterium, Bonn, 1921). The author is one of the most brilliant living investigators in the field of ancient comparative religion. Like many German specialists he is exceedingly bold, and his conclusions are probably wrong in many directions. But the wonderful ingenuity of his speculations makes him a most stimulating writer. His earlier book on Hellenistic Mystery Religions has had a considerable influence, and recent studies of the early documents of Egyptian monasticism, which he considers to be made up largely of Pythagorean and similar material, will have to be taken seriously.

The new book is exceedingly bad from a technical standpoint. The author apparently collects material and writes a book from it concurrently. It is a task of great difficulty to follow the argument, and I cannot be sure that I do him justice. He assumes that the reader is conversant with the problems of Mandæan religion, to say nothing of Manichæanism. For our purpose it will be best to prefix a brief description of these two religions, before going on to the book itself and the important conclusions which may possibly be drawn from it.*

Recent discoveries in Central Asia have added a number of Persian, middle-Turkish, and Chinese manuscripts to the authorities already existing for Mani and his teachings. They are, however, exceptionally difficult and apparently only confirm what was known already. Mani was born about A.D. 216, and the origin of his doctrines may be assigned to 250 or thereabouts, in Babylonia. The country was then part of the Parthian empire, and Zoroastrianism was the established religion; in Mani's eyes it was corrupt. He taught that there was a series of revelations promulgated by Buddha, Zoroaster, Jesus, and lastly himself. His system was essentially Gnostic,

The two following paragraphs are based upon the articles on the Manichæan and Mandæan religions in the Enc. Rel. and Ethics, by Professor A. A. Bevan and W. Brandt respectively.