Shanghai, Nov. 27.
STIRRING appeal to Scotsmen to prize their national heritage today in the face of ruthless aggression against the lives and liberties of many nations in the world, was delivered by the Rev. Alex Baxter, of the London Missionary Society, at the Union Church yesterday morning when the sixteenth annual Scottish Festival Service and the fifteenth annual Church Parade of the Shanghai Scottish, S.V.C., commanded by Lieut, J.A.C. Law, were held. Also attending the service was a detachment from the ist. Battalion, The Seaforth Highlanders for the second year in suc~ cession.
'A large and distinguished congregation attended the service, which was similar to that in use in Scotland and by various communities of Scotsmen in different parts of the world.
In addition to the President (tr. A. Pollock), committee and many members of St. Andrew's Society, there were present members of the com= mutees. of various British national societies, Sir Archibald Clark Kerry Hf. M, Ambassador to China, attended the service together with Sir Herbert Philips, HM. Consul-General; Sir Allan' Mossop, Chief Judge of HM. Supreme Court in China; Lieut.-Col. B.A, Wolfe Murray, commanding the Seaforth Highlanders; Major Corbin (Welch Regiment). Brigade Major, S.V.C., and many others, Parading at the headquarters of the Shanghat Volunteer Corps in_ the SM.C, Building, the Shanghai Scot ish, headed by the pipes and drums of the company and. the Seaforth Highlanders, u detachment from which Regiment followed in the "rear, marched to the Union Church by. Way of Kiangse Read, The Bund and Soochow Road. As they were halted facing the Church a large crowd watched the Volunteers and Regulars enter the edifice and all seats in the building were occupied as the service began.
The Service Opening with the National Anthem the service comprised the psalm to the Hills Will Lift Mine Byes:" Te Deum, "Lead Kindly Light" which was ung as a solo by Mr. David MeGavin, the. pealm ""O God, give ear into my ery," the hymn "Lord while for all mankind we pray," and the par phrase "Behold! The Mountain. of the Lord." The Old Testament read ing was performed by the President of St. Andrew's Society, and the New Testament reading by Lieut, J. A. C. Law. One half of the offertory was Allocated to the Charity Fund of St. Andrew's Society. At the organ was Mr. Donald MacDonald, the officiating Minister of the Church, the Rev. C. Wilfrid Allan, conducting the service, In his address the Rev. Alex Baxter took as his text. John, Chapter 3, verse 2, "Beloved now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet apear what we shall be." Tt was part At least of the significance of the ser-Vice, he said, that they should call to mind something of their national inheritance as" sons of Scotland.
Familiar with the story of the old Edinburgh weaver, who used, habit ually to pray "O God help me to hold 2 high opinion of myself," Scotsmen were commonly credited' with siderable devotion in attending. to such a petition and considerable faith in its. fulfilment.
Rightly interpreted, however, there was. no' conceit of himself inthe Weaver's prayer and if he had prayed it with "lively consciousness' of his Inheritance ava Scotsman it only mained to point out that his prayer would have lacked complete sincerity had he done otherwise. Every man ad what had been called a past fonize in his life—an inheritance given to him; roots in a racial past; a cultural Reritaye: a piece of the Kood orth he shared with his kind; hearth and ome and all the doings and reams, the loves and loyalties that made up for him the background of hig life. There would be no. sense of superiority or vain glory, therefor any man taking on his lips t prayer of the old weaver and asking God to help him to hold a high opi fon of himself
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.