CITY COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Issue 4056, 25 February 1876, Page 3

CITY COUNCIL.

MEETING RE BRIGHT’S SUNDAY LECTURES.

ASi ecial mcetin rof the (ity Council was In la at four o’cl- ck tbs at term, on to the qu stioa of permitting the Bri„h’ Lectu e Committee to use the Southern Market Reserve for lecture pu<p ) es on Sunday evenings. Thvije were piesent - the v ayor (in the chair). Cr?. Gibsoa, Woodland, Isaac, Reeves, Mollison, Brown, Campbell, Quick, and Robe its.

The JVJAYOK read a requisition signed b one Councillor for ewh of the four wards asking him to call a sped 1 meetin for to-day for the purpose above stated. He then went on to say that he was glad the memorial had hern d<awii up, as it had given him an opportunity, wbichhe would not otherwise have had, of ‘ defending himself in this matt r. He then explained that whatev r he had done, he bad done on behalf of the citizens and with the best possible intentions. The leseive was let for circus purpo-e>, without any right to sublet; and when he heard that the right had been infringed by being letto Mr Bright for Sunday night he r fused t» allow the lecture to take place, holding that a plication should have bem made to the City Counci. Referring to a statement by the ‘Daly Times’ on th" matter he said it was a confounde I falshood and said he would not be dictated to by anyone.

The fo’lowing letter was lead by the Town Clerk

m _ Dunedin, February 24, 1876. To * UB o j^ ra ~|-h^ 1 ‘ e Mayor and the City Councillors

Gentlemen,—As citizens of Dunedin, and as a committee who have been constituted to arrange tor the delivery of a series of lectures by Mr Charles Bright, we venture to address you on a question tndt seems to us of some public importune©. , are aware that you have granted permission to a Mr Wilson, an agent for the American Palace Circus Company, now on a visit to this Citv to occupy the City reserve known as the Southern Market Reserve. Mr Wilson has erected a large circus tent on the Rese ve and performances such as circuses usually afford are opened to the public. Wc, as a committee, had arranged with Mr Bright to cehver lectures here some of which he had on Sundays delivered in the Town Hall, Melbourne. We could not get a suitable hall, and we arranged with Mr Wilson to grant ns the use of his circus tent. To our great surprise, ms Worship the Mayor put a stop to such an arrangement by stating that if Mr Wilson granted the use of his tent for a lecture oa * ChristianityPrimitive and Political,” the permission granted to Mr Wilson to use tho Reserve would P® withdrawn. Having io wish to injure mr Wilson, or the company he represented, we are forced to make arrangements for another nail, we need not say and repeat that such action greatly surprises us, and we feel assured that the Mayor must have been acting under a misapprehension, when he made such a communication as wo have referred to. We feel sure, also, that it is not the desire of the Council to stir up r ligiom strife, or to assort that the Council ns such has a defined religious creed. Of- course, if tho Council consider that a lecture on Christianity is an immoral thing, and the Reserves can be better utfliicd by circuses, we must submit to your decision, but as citizens we shall not cease to protest , against it as

wholly unwarranted. We may add that we think the City Council of Melbourne are {perhaps ablfl to look after the rights of the people of that grosat City, and they had no objection to renting their Town Hall for such lectures as Mr Bright delivers. —We ore, &c., John P. Armstrong. John Marshall. Eobert Stout. John Tait. Allan S. M'Lcod. ; E, Hunt. John Barron. Eobert K. Murray, W. M. Bolt, M. Price. George Bateman. John Logan. Cr Chapman moved that tho request ba granted. He was sure that after the explanation just made, the Council would express its satisfaction with it. Cr. Isaac seconded the motion, but blamed tho Mayor for his action, who, he considered, had gone out of his place in this matter, and had acted wrongly in not consulting the whole Council.

Cr. Quick supported the Mayor, who, he considered, had keen misrepresented. Cr. Chapman’s motion—’‘That permission be granted to the Bright Committee to hold their lectures in the Circus tent on Sunday evenings”—was unanimously agreed to.