| The Parish Church of St James |  |
| St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003) | |
| PAST EVENTS AT St. JAMES'S IN THE 1880s | |
| Section Contents: Go to the PAST EVENTS AT St. JAMES'S Home Page to see all the events |
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Sunday Trading - 1886 February
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"We fear there is some reason for the alarm which has been raised, that Sunday trading is becoming an established fact in this village. It is very sad to think that it should be so. Let alone the religious aspect of the question, it is an invasion of that rest which every industrious man or woman rightly considers to be well-earned when the six days labour has been accomplished. |
There is nothing more needful to our health and well-being than rest, and why should the trader be deprived, or deprive himself, of the rest which is his due. But we know there is a reason far beyond this. Sunday trading is a direct disobedience to the law of God. One day in seven God has commanded us to rest; one day in seven He has commanded us to dedicate to His service; and how shall we dare to break his law? True that we are plainly taught that unavoidable labour is not wrong on Sundays, but how much of the trading is there which could not be equally well transacted on Saturday or Monday? Is there no remedy - no means of arresting this evil which is growing amongst us? Of course, the simplest is that each shop now open should be closed. There is a difficulty, however. Many really would be glad to close their shops if others would do the same. They fear that they may lose their customers if their doors are closed on Sundays whilst others are open. There is a difficulty here, but one which might be got over, if all could be induced to close. But there is another remedy, for we must remember that trading is of necessity a two-fold transaction - there must be two persons concerned in every act of trade. There must, in plain language, be buyers as well as sellers. If all the shops in our village were open, there would be no trade unless there were buyers. Let us not then seek to shift the burden from those who ought to bear it. It is really the buyers who are at fault; it is the buyers who are mainly responsible for Sunday trading. We would then appeal to those who, perhaps through thoughtlessness, perhaps to suit their convenience, make purchases on Sunday. We would ask you for your own sake - for your neighbour’s sake - and yet for a higher reason to discontinue the practice; make your purchases on the Saturday night, and then the Sabbath need not be broken. And yet further would we appeal to all to express boldly their condemnation of this practice, and to use their utmost endeavour to persuade all whom they can, in any way influence, to cease from Sunday trading." Source: The Hampton Hill Parish Magazine - 1886 February |
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