A Plea for Freedom.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1457, 17 September 1885, Page 4

A Plea for Freedom.

(Napier Evening News.) On Sunday last Mr J. Saundera preached a sermon to a large congregation m the United Methodists' Chapel, Carlyle-street, on Acts V., 38, during which he dealt with the street procession of the Salvation Army, and the action of the Municipal Council m attempting to stop such. From a communicated account of the sermon we learn that the preacher first dealt with the love of freedom of the British people, and proceeded to characterise the action of certain Councillors m Napier as an attempt to curtail the liberty of a portion of the community. This was regarded as^ a disposition to persecute the inoffensive and harmless, and an evidence of intolerance. A protest against tins as an in-r f ringemont of the subject's civil and religious liberty was emphatically entered. The preacher then urged that freedom should be allowed to all, no matter what their belief ; and it was claimed that j liberty was m accordance with New Testament teaching, as where the apostle says, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Now was not the time when the people could be ruled by a rod of iron, or by narrowminded persons. The powers of the day were " right, justice, and truth." Christ's words were : .«« If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." This, meant not only freedom from sin, but from the Itotnan yoke. Freedom had rolled on since for nearly ninetef n hundred years. Reference was then made to the persecution of the Jews m Russia, and how Christians sympathised and assisted them, and the preacher thought it very remarkable for one of the representatives of God's ancient pen. pie m the Council to want to strangle liberty m Napier. It was argued that all should be allowed to express their opinions freely ; and then it was further contended that if. any public movement' were causing immorality to spread, and was therefore highly objectionable, such movement should be submitted to the. test of an appeal to the people, and not settled by four men. Next the question whether Salvation Army , marching was an obstruction was dealt with, and it was sHggesfed that according to the common law of England it was not. In support of this the ruling of the Chief Justice of England was quoted. L°rl Coleridge was stated' to have said m an appeal by the Salvation Army against tbe decision of certain magistrates : — "As well might it be said that Wesley created a disturbance when he went to preach m Oxford, at Lincoln' College, and the undergraduates mobbed him and pelted him with mul. In one sense no doubt he had caused it, tor he went there, and they did not like him, and it mischt he said m a sense, that he had headed the crowd that followed him, hut he could hot. help that, and it was not his fault- So the Salvation Army had only caused a disturbance m the same sense as Wesley, and m no other, and they. ..oiwht not to have been convicted hv the magistrate. Singing hymns ami shouting hallelnjah, was not brawling and creating a disturbance within the meaning of the law. Nor toas pldyingjan instrument out of tune an offence against the peace. 'The proceedings of the Salvation Army mijrht not always be such as he (Lord Coleridge) might ap..prove, but they had their legal rights the same as the other people had,- and these ■'right were not to he interfered ibith unwarrantably. It was not because the . magistrate or some of the inhabitants did not like these proceedings of the Salvation ArinyV-that therefore, they had a right to interfere with therm, if not against the law, and this was an attempt to strain the law, so as to : make it operate against practices which were not liked or approved of, but which were not offences against the law. The conviction was. therefore : wxong, and must he set asirte?' : ' ! - Upon the strength of this it was contended that if the proposed by-law were passed it would be worth the paper it ■was wriMenon The principle ofseUsacrifice; .which promoted members ot the .Sal vation Army, was also referred io and examples quoted. The various brigades working with the Salvation- Army m. special directions for special purposes wert highly eulogised. The address was brought to a conclusion by an exhortation to love one another. . ■