The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1888. OBSTRUCTING THE THOROUGHFARE.
The result of the case brought before two of the local Justices yesterday by the Ashburton Police against the Salva tion Army, will we think be satisfactory to the public generally, and cannot fairly be complained of by the Army itself, Neither m the attitude of the prosecution, nor iv that of the Bench was there the slightest color of persecution, indeed tho Magistrates avowed their own belief that " the Army as an organisation is doing a large amount of good," and the penalty imposed was studiously moderate, and merely sufficient to vindicate tho law and the rights of the public. Under these circumstances we should have liked to see Captain Harvey pay the fine as an admission of having broken the law instead of electing to take the alternative of 24 hours' imprisonment. This latter course looks very muoh like seeking to pose as a martyr when martyrdom was wholly unnecessary. The Public generally endorse tho view taken by tho Bench that the Army is doing good — albeit m a somewhat peculiar way — and for that reason not a little inconvenience and even danger has been submitted to with very little murmuring by persons using the public streets and footpaths, but at the same time tho public generally will concu>witk the Bench that there must be a "limit to this sort of thing, and that tho public convenience is rot to be wholly set aside, nor life and limb endangered by the unchecked vagaries of any organisation engaged m howsoever good a work. The fact is that tho Army m some instances has presumed upon the public forbear&npe, and wo know of in- ! stances m which their actions have j involved very much more than inconvenience to travellers upon tho roads. On Sunday week to our own personal knowledge some ladies driving to church m a town not a hundred miles from!
Christchurch were unable to cross a bridge upon which tho band of a detach ment of the Army was playing, and had to turn round and drive m auother direction, aud it did not need tho sworn evidenco given iv tho Court m Ashburton .yesterday to allow that young and high-mettled horsey often rpfuso to face the flaming torches of Salvationists marching through the streets at. night. There is, as wo have said, every disposition both on the part of the general public and of tbose whose duty it is to administer the law to givo to the Army every reasonable latitude and indulgence, but there is a limit to ererytbJDg, *nd the Salvationists cannot
bo granted any special immunity for breaking tho law. Tho charge of yesterday was for a breach of Bubsection 12 of section 4 of " The Police Offences Act, 1884," which renders it penal for any person to " wilfully or negligently incumbor or obstruct" a public thorough-: faro, and it is worth noting that while this subsection protects the public generally m tho right of user of public roads, subsection 30 of the previous section (section 3) of the same Act was specially introduced — curiously enough oq tho motion of the Chairman of the Bench, Major Steward — for tho special purpose of protecting tho meetings of the Salvation Array against disturbance. ISo that while the latter are protected to the full m their right of worshipping m their meeting-houses without hindrance, interruption, or annoyance, they are by the same Statute required to respect the rights of the public to freo and unimpeded uso of the public streets and roads. The liberty of the subject may not be pleaded as an excuse for interfering with a Salvation Army meeting, and on the other hand the Salvation Array cannot be excused for obstructing tho public thoroughfares. They have the right to pass along any thoroughfare with a band playing if they so think fit (though here we think tho law is defective a=» any band, Salvation or other, ought to bo compellable to stop if there bo any apparent danger of frightening approaching horses), but they have no right to stand upon a public road, gathering a crowd about them, to tho impeding of traffic or tho inconvenience of passengers. This is common sense as well as common law and wo hope that our friends of the Army will be careful not to offend m this way m future. As a matter of fact this largely depends upon whether the local captain is discreet or otherwise, and we have it on good authority that only onco during the term of command at Ashburton of Captain Harvey's predecessor was there any cause of complaint on this score, and that on its being pointed out to bim by the police, ho at onco promised that it should never occur again, and it never did. The Salvationists will gain m public estimation by respecting tho law, and can scarcely gainsay tho reminder of the Bench, that there is the highest of all warrant for tho dictum that it is their duty to do so.
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Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1953, 25 September 1888, Page 2
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851The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1888. OBSTRUCTING THE THOROUGHFARE. Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1953, 25 September 1888, Page 2
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