Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-10-09 00:00:00

STttEEr PREACHING IN BELFAST.

Mr. Hugh Hanna, of Belfast. writes to the Times:—" I atn
sorry to trouble yon on the subject of a locai brawl, when every
hart is ana'ously beatinz about the interests of our Indian empire,
an t the safety of our gallant countrymen imperilled in the midst of
auth hordes of berbar•ana. Da`, as street I reaching in Reifast has
occupied, notwithstanding, al large a share of pi:folic attention, and
as the cireumstanc .s connected it ar3 not at all wale stood.
will you kindly Olow me to put b. fore the public a few f Jets on the
subject ? Everybody ;reads the rimes, and I:answer al! mint ler-
standiors by a statement in your chin nub. Th population o
Belfast is about 120,000. The flourish part doss' not exceed 40;000.
The largest numorlcal element hers f 3 Presbytelan. The Roman
Ca:tholes elm° •t belong to the working clawes. They are an
imnligrAtion ; they are Ignorant and intolerant ; depeodaut on their
Protestant ne'gWrours, and ungrateful In the ex`rame. ‘There
• are thirty thon,and Protestants who have no church accom-
modation Open-air preaching is designed to r,ach and
save them from sra-ro•unding domoral Sad m. We choose
for it the m tat retired places near the public promenades,
or on the borders of dense popiat.onv. The former was the kind of
pace I e ected for my open-air service on the 6th of September.

s ood on private ground, !Thy 27 yards in extent. ItVas ail occupied.
My congregation stretched for o'feet across the street, leaving about
other 50, affording an easy passage to all who chose' to pass. The
thoroughfare was open in all directions,—Roman Catholics who did
not Meet) listen could hags easily passed. Bat they deliberately
planned an attar's on us and marched a good Irish m to from their
own quarters to eff-et it. Oa:la's-connected with.the Ulsttrman, the
o-gan of the Popish mab, direct -d its manmavres. The Nertherrs
Whig, ima series of artic'es, hat et'orel them every enconrrgement
and suggested the modes of attack. A more unprovoked, wanton
intolerant, and savage thug could hardly be conceived. did not
Ireach a controversial sermon. We do-not preach ott:h sermons in
str ets. We want to reach the ca.e`ess and the ignorant' an d
they want the very first principles of Christian truth and daty. It
were unwise terenga re such peop`e with controversy, and we accord-
in tly abstain from it. No sentence I uttered Worded any i-retext
to assal us. Roman Ctt'nol c congregations he-e f eqnenly proi,erct
upon the tho-oughcares. I hare of:an had to step across the street
that I might not disturb them. I never considers i myself aggrieved
by that. and in the exercise of a civi' right, and the disc/urge of a
Christian duty, I claim, when I put them to no greator inconvenlencei,
epral toleradon. They realy must be taught 014 this Is a free-
country, ant rt. at they must contanapht`e Protesta ot liberty without-
such disgrace:ad ebullitions of te toper .•nd violence as they have:
recently exhibited. There is an ultra-Radical, Romish, and revolu-
tionary faction here which has marshalled the mob
.against Protest-
ant, liberty, law. ant order. The Nort".ern Whig alai Ulst,rman, and
a rel;c of tho Balliagtrry r. bellion—one John Rea—ploVed and
planned for U 3 all our mia'o-tueles A let e- which I have a idresse
to Lord Carlisle, and pn'olishe lin the B sneer of Weer, I have sen t
to you, that you may have a glimpse of the doings of the three-
worthies I have named. They want to assume a dictatorship in
13,1 fast. But B lust knows them, and does It it want it. They
did all the mischief ihey could,. and esiggerated the reality
to something like what they intends I. Yoa mty b sarpri.ed to
hear that the damage dons to pmperty in all the riots doer not
eared £l5l, and no 'or of life has ben authentic tted throughout
them all. The worst effrt of the Romi ih mob was made on the
tith of September on my open-a'r congregation, but the cool courage
of the people defea ed it. I understand that no In London there
you thought we were in a dreadful condition. We were no doubt
ill en ugh, bat we wee not so bat bat that your apprehensions
of our state cordderab'y amused us. Nine-teriths of Belfast would
not have knoWn anything of the riot but for their nswspapers, an&
the wo-id would never 'have heard,of it but ;hit the revolutionary
faction Ili ye named' hod an interest in the affair. They want to
have certan change Made in 'Car loci authorities, and they deti-
berately Panne] and perpetrated a breach of the peace to pr we that
other gu irdiaus of it were nee led, that they Might secure from
the' Government cancesdon" to t:aair d trim If ye-a cond dud
anything to do for the editors cf the Northern IV ig, Ulkterman, and
Sohn Rea up in London there we could well afford to spare them. I
the people here embrace roFg:on their influencs Is gone. They deride-
r., and hence their opposit.en to street preaching. , But wa are in no
way intimidated by hem, an.l will disc'xarga our duty to the poor ia.
defi nice of their fierce it wrath. Their policy is to conver every:treat
preaching into a' riot," that the Government may. be obliged' to put-
us down. they meditate aggression on our 1-berties and mean to
deprive us of our rights. Just take ali tic c)mpassion on us, if yew
please, Sir, and filer a few-strokes from your powerfal pea our tor--
mentors will perish feoruthe stage of their m schievo,is existence. You
will thus serve the sacred cause of freedom; and the Gospel having
free course, thousands will realiso an I rejoico in the pre.lont blessiag
it bestows. •-sak