The Express.
London, England, 1863-07-22 00:00:00

y RI N C S.

TAD Zrornoe, COU4l!.ilVii7AZd R0111:0 AND JULIET.
Messrs. Walter Montanewry, George Vining. Delmore, and
IL Marston ; Stella Colas and Mrs. 11. Manton.

LYCEUM.
Tam Engin, A SUDDEN ATTACK. Marra Shore and
Widd M 1 Sande and Era Lae.—Ant THE DUKES
MOTTO. Mama. Yachter, Shore. Jordan, Brougham, and
Bapsond ; Mows C. Lelamb E. Terry, and Eswortiy.

Tim tnornsa, THE iri6,4BAUGHTEL—NeI. Wood-
man and Randall - GREAT GHOST SCENE from IHZ WISHING
GLEN, Professor Pepper's sdantatlon of Mr. Makes Spectral
lllndon.—And CRIME AND REMORSE.

MOH WATER AT LONDON RIIDDI.
TIM DAY Worn's& S 1 42m . Altman. WA
To-Roaaow—lionite& 61,. 21m.. .Atiersoaa. 435.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22.

THE charge preferred at Bow-street by Inspec-
tor WILSON against the Rev. RICHARD HIBBS, a
clergyman of the Established Church, of creating
a disturbance in Waterloo-place by preaching there,
has been dismissed by Mr. Coral& after a very
parent hearing of the case. From the manner in
which the prosecution was conducted, a stranger
might infer that street preaching on a Sunday was
something intolerable and unheard of, or that at
least it was not permitted within the circuit
of the Metropolitan Police. In fact, how-
ever, nothing is more common, as everybody who
moves about London well knows. Anyone
who will take the trouble to walk on a Sunday
afternoon, say from King's-cross to the canal
bridge in the Caledonian-road, may see from
six to a dozen considerable groups of people
gathered round a person who is addressing
them in a declamatory style. The topics
discussed are various. Most of the preachers
take care to have a Bible with them, some
to preach its doctrines, and some, we are sorry to
say, only to ridicule and misrepresent them. The
discourses are not, however, confined to religion'
subjects. Here you may see a negro, with vehe-
ment gesture, dwelling on the wrongs of his
enslaved brethren in America; near him is a tem-
perance lecturer ; a little further on, a humble fol-
lower of King Jsmrs is blowing a terrific " coun-
" terblast to tobacco," and he in turn is suc-
ceeded by an amateur vegetarian, who is de-
nouncing the vanity and nothingness of mutton-
chops. The same thing is going on all over
London. Some of the most respected of the
conforming and non-conforming clergy in London
have preached in the open streets ; and, if we
remember rightly, Bishop TAIT has at least once
sanctioned the practice by his personal example.
There is a good deal to be said for and against
this allowance of street preaching. Those who
favour it on considerations drawn from the Gospel
should remember that the apostle of unbelief fol-
lows with his scoffs and doubts the missionary of
the faith, and it is very doubtful whether in the
end the resulting evil is not greater than the good.
And there seems to be no way of preventing this,
for public opinion would not tolerate the attribu-
tion to the police of a power to discriminate
between the merits of the orators, and to suffer
one and silence another.

The allegation that Mr. Hrsss was causing
an obstruction in Waterloo-place was so unreal
that we must suppose that it was made in a merely
formal and technical manner, in order to bring the
case before tho magistrate. Everybody knows that
there is enough room on &Sunday in Waterloo-place
for Mr. SPIIZOZONand his entire congregation. The
complaint of Sir MATTHEW RIDLEY, by whom the
police were set in motion, was that he was " an-
" noyed" by the noise of the preaching, and by the
crowds that were collected. This is more likely.
Inspector WiLsoit further said that complaints had
been made on the part of the Clubs, and by some
of the inhabitants of Carlton-terrace, who objected
to bear the preaching, especially in time of warm
weather, when they have their windows open. This
brought on a discussion, and led to the calling of
witnesses for the defence. The particular club
which had complained was the Athenteont, "the
" club," as Mr. CORRIZ observed, " where all the
" learned people are." Mr. Bacot; of Skinner.
street, was called, and swore that " there was no
" annoyance ;" which simply means that the
preaching did not annoy him. He seems rather
to have liked the notion of a preacher carrying his
denunciations right into the midst of " all the
" learned people," and volunteered the opinion
that they stood very much in treed of a little reli-
gious instruction. "As for the abutting of win-
" dows, which occurred at the Athenaeum Club-
" house, he was not surprised, for the members
" were sitting at the windows reading the paper all
" day, which was setting a very had example. He
" wondered that they did not draw down the
" blinds as well. He had never known a more
" irreligious body of men, and he hoped Mr.
" Hiaaa's preaching had done them good."
Another of Mr. HIBBS'S witnesses, however, was
able to speak more favourably of the learned men,
for he stated that "one gentleman who was
" smoking put out his cigar to listen, and some
" took their hats off."

This great contest ended, like the invasion
of the North, in the retreat of the assailants.
Only, unlike that, it is renewable at any moment.
The proceedings at Bow-street have settled nothing.
As Mr. Conan has declared, there can be no legal
claim set up to preach in the streets, which are
made for the convenience of public transit, and
not to wool
an -.as for orators of any •
orders
or persuasion. We obj,;:t, however, to the
learned gentleman's intimation that permission to
divert the public thoroughfares to the purposes of
the preacher is to be given or withheld at what
he calls "the discretion of the p01i0.,"

ism.