CONCERTS ON SUNDAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1977, 6 February 1914, Page 8

CONCERTS ON SUNDAY.

, PROPOSAL TO CHARGE. ' , PROTEST BY CLERGYMEN _ Tho recent decision of tho City Council to allow tho " Royal' Artillery Baiid to chargo for admission.'to. a Sunday concert was the subject of a strong protest made by. a . deputation from the Wellington Ministers' Association, which was introduced to tho council last evening by Councillor E. ..A. Wright. . Tho members of the,'deputation were:'Tlio. •Revs. J. J. Lewis (prcsidcnt'ibf.tlio,Wellington Ministers' Association), Methodist ; J. Ward (president of, tho South Wellington Ministers'< Association), Methodist; W. J. Comrie, Presbyterian; W. H. Hipton (secretary, of tho Wellington Ministers' Association, Bap■.tisfc'; A. E. 'Illinte,' Congre^ationalist; M. 0. Johnstone; Church of Christ.

Mr. Lewis' presented the . following resolution, unanimously passed .by. tho' association:— ' • - ■

; "This meeting of the Wellington Min-. isters' Association • deeply regrets the : retrograde, action' of the'- City .Council in' permitting tho' Royal Artillery Band ■to charge -for .admission 'to its perform•anco in Athletic Park -on Sunday afternoon and emphatically'protests against this effort to break' dow'nVprin'Ciplq,previously recognised; 1 and . appeals to , the council to rescind the motion which violates the best 1 feelings' of tho community It 'desires also to place' on: record its .appreciation of tlio Mayor's; action i'l.the matter." .. , ; Mr. Lewis .said .that lie felt that . he ought to tako.,a'.broad and enlightened •view of tho:situation. IV.There was a considerable body-of tho people who. felt that, on ; humanitarian' grounds,; this day ought to b.o guarded and that it had been-sufficiently encroached upon already. Even : those who would break down every barrier, and- would allow the utmost latitude, desired- as far as possible to eliminate' tho element of selfishness arid to provide ,the maximum of pleasure with the minimum of labour. They might bo told that whether or not a charge was mado at the band concert the labour would be the same. But the matter could not' stop there! If they granted permission to the band to charge for admission/to a Sunday con-' cert how could the-same permission be refused to ,a visiting musical . company, or, to local talent? . It •,.was".easier to make. a. hole. in- a hedge .than to .prevent .the crowd passing through afterwards. - Dealing'- with the historical aspect of the question, Mr. Lewis mentioned that in. the Toign of ..George 111, a law was passed in England pro-, viding .that any ; place of amusement kept open for profit on a Sunday should be regarded as a disorderly housed In 1875 tho Brighten Aquarium was prosecuted under this Statute. Latterly, tho law in England had been / relaxed to permit a charge at Sunday entertainments* organised for charitable purposes, but in practice it had been found that most of the proceeds at such entertainments .went to cover expenses, and that vory_ little was made availablo for 'charity. . •

_ Mr. Lewis mentioned also that it was proposed devote the proceeds of the band'concert to the improvement Of, a public park, but pointed out that tho park was in Auckland. .Ho emphasised the statement in the resolution in. reference to -the action taken by the Mayor.. At the same time they gavo the whole of the council credit for acting from the best and purest motives, .and they were confident that ciiiirtbillors iirpuld : act in . the ' best' in. iefestis of.'illS/HltjH. ; • .-' Councillor ,Hislop' said :that he was by no means in favour of desecration of tliO Sabbath or of'the coritiiiiiance on Sundays of work that was, copimencedoii other day's Ho wished to know, wliotner the "deputation." had any objection to a concert on Sunday, .provided only a collection "was taken. '--

Mr. Lewis : ; lhat. question was -not considered 1 at. our meeting:"' Thoy considered that tile council .had already declared its policy 1 fn regard to collection concerts, and that question was not rc-opened. Ho felt that the matter had gone far., enough;-and .that the council would be wise ■to safeguard the very reasonable limitation already imposed. . . . ■ .The Mayor (Mr.'Luke) said that the matter would be finally dealt with, and timo given to,, consider /it thoroughly. The letter before'the council last week arrived on tho same day as tho council deliberated '.upon.it. I ; It ' was not for him to suggest what the council would do, but proper 'regard would'''be''had Mthe whole question.. "■

AUCKLAND MINISTER. APPROVES MAYOR'S ACTION. (By' Telegraph.—Specli.l '• '. Auckland,' 'February 5. . 'Speaking as tho ,convener .--of the Public Morals Committee of the Ministers' Association, I do not wish it to be thought that tho Church people of 'Auckland are quietly standing. by, and taking do interest in this controversy between the Mayor of Wellington and the president •of thd-Exhibitjon,',', "said' the Rev. Howard rKlliott, to ,a reporter in Auckland this morning;'--,'The''action' of tlio Mayor of Wellington in moving .to rescind tho. resolution giving p»rmis° sion to make a charge for Sunday' concerts must meet .with-the*emphatic -approval of, all who vicu'.'Tritli. coucnrii, ail attempt to 'Archdeacon Harper fias voiced, in effective . fashion, -the .views — of-many Christian people .'Zealand::-' Itis evident that Mr. G. Elliott (whose splendid work for the Auckland Exhibition has excited tho admiration of all citizens) has allowed' himself, in his anxiety, to make a financial, success, of the'-Exhibition, to take a step,which, under other circumstances,'.' lie would probably not have, advocated.; 1 , -Mr. Elliott has raised the question'of what constitutes tho greater evil—to repudiate a contract honourably entered' into, or to make a charge on Sunday. AVhatevor answer Mr. Elliott may himself bo disposed to give, there can be no question as to the Jack of regard for the sanctity of Sunday'in the proposal to mako an ordinary commercial charge for a Sunday concert. Again, permission may have been given without the stipulation as to making a chargo having been clearly presented, and, in any case, the City Council in Wellington dearly has tlio right to review its previous decision.

"It may now bo argued that, when it was proposed to similarly mako a charge in Auckland, no protest was raised bere. That is unfortunately true. The matter escaped my attention at the time, and no one seems to have noticed it, but to say that, under similar circumstances to those now prevailing in "Wellington, no protest would be made by the Auckland people, is to misrepresent the Christian public of this city. It is most lamentabla.that, the Exhibition people, in their zeal,to secure success, have not ben 1 more' regardful of {he highest moral interests of the community. It is not nlono the question of a charge for.a Sunday entertainment, but of the consequences which are likely to arise from this precedcnt—consequences which will have to ho watched nnchfonght in the, future.