A Plea for Puritanism Among the varied proceedings of the
Congregational Union at its meetings in London this week publicity has been given in particular to the demand by the Secretary of the Union, Dr. Leslie Cooke, for what he called a "positive Puritanism" in per- sonal life. The demand was based on the conviction that "the Britain that our guests were being invited to see this year was a Britain where social morality was deteriorating." That is an obviously contentious statement, but it is by no means the worse for that. "There is a widespread corruption of the moral attitude to work." Possibly ; but is there a deterioration ? Are things getting worse? "There is deterioration in respect of government." That may well be, but whether the chief respon- sibility lies on an Administration which multiplies.legal offences rather than on citizens guilty of what are technical rather than moral delinquencies is at least arguable. Short-term surveys are not very instructive. It may be doubted whether most men of middle age would take the view that social morality has deteriorated in their life-time. There is at any rate less crime generally, less drunkenness, less heavy gambling, less prostitution than there were thirty years ago. On the other hand there is almost certainly more sexual promiscuity (which is why there is less prostitution) and a greater tendency to take marriage Puritanism or too little let it not be too little, armament, not to mention the Atlantic Pact. H. B.
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