Sin,—Mr. Troup in last week's issue declares to be "
utterly unfounded" Dr. Hunter's statement that there is a "wide- spread belief " that the Union of 1900 was "engineered with a political aim." Mr. Troup further says that this aim " has been denied again and again by the leaders of the United Free Church." He will not, I hope, refuse to Dr. Hutton, of Paisley, the position of a leader of the Church. If so, he will be interested in reading the following quotation from a speech delivered by Dr. Hutton when the Union was about to be a fait accompli. Dr. Hutton said :—" The two Churches
were now about to unite for the purpose of Disestablishment. He hoped that Disestablishment would be accelerated by what is taking place now." These words define the aim explicitly enough, and not only justify Dr. Hunter's words, "engineered with a political aim," but account for the very widely spread belief in that aim among the members of the Church of Scotland. Mr. Troup evidently does not yet know his leaders, and one's sympathy goes out to him and many others, members of both the old Free Church and the United Presbyterians, who in this respect, as well as in others, have been misled. If Mr. Troup had been less confident in his statements, your readers would not have been troubled with this letter. It is well, however, that all should know that the Church of Scotland has had ample grounds for narrowly watching the course of the Union begun in 1900.—I am, Sir, &c., D. S.
[We have received several other letters on the Scottish Church case, but regret that we cannot find room for them, or for any further correspondence on the subject.—ED. Spectator.]
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