The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-18 00:00:00

7HE LATE HYDE PARK MtziETING.

TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—The initiative taken by the committee of
which I have the honour to be secretary, in calling
the working men of London to meet in Hyde Park
to express their sympathy with General Garibaldi,

And to protest against the French occupation of
Rome, and not to insult, as Cardinal Wiseman has
it, the religion of others, has led to consequences of
the most serious character, not only upon the ques-
tion directly at issue, but also upon the most sacred
one of the rights of Englishmen to meet and speak
freely.
I have explained, in the name of this committee,
how the first public meeting was entirely taken
out of our hands, and why we thought prudent to
decline calling another meeting. Several news-
papers have complained that sufficient publicity
was not given to our decision.

Now, I beg to protest against this strange mode
of proceeding of a certain portion of the Press.
At least 50 copies of the letter announcing the de-

cision of the committee were sent to the London
press—but very few did insert it—they all had re-
produced the erroneous statement that I had an-
nounced a second meeting; they were bound in

duty to the public to insert the contradictory letter;
by not doing so they led their readers to believe
that our committee would be in Hyde Park, and
they led to further confusion and disorder.
As Englishmen we thought we had a right to

meet quietly in the people's park to further an ob-
ject dear to our hearts : that right being interfered

with by a lawless mob, we thought it was our duty
to abstain from giving them another opportunity of
creating disorder, because of the name we bad in-
scribed on our flag; but after the proceedings of the
second Sunday--after the unaccountable inaction of

the police—We feel that the Garibaldi question must
be left aside for the present, that we must call upon
our countrymen to examine whether, under the
pretence that there has been or might be disorder,
Englishmen are to be debarred from the right of
meeting.

A Hyde Park meeting is the ultinza ratio populi
—it is the right to hold them we cannot surrender.
We must test the question whether the parks are
ours, whether we have a right to peaceably meet
there as well as anywhere else, and to discuss every

topic which we think deserves our attention, with-
out being interfered with by the police or mob

"orce.

The reasoning applied by Sir R. Mayne to this
particular case may apply to any other meeting—
why does he not close every hall in London because
of the riotous proceedings in Ireland and at Birken-
head ? why not close every concert-room because of
the riotous conduct of a few Irish sailors at Wool-
wich ? why not close every publichouse because of
the Westminster row ?

The haste with which Sir R. Mayne tries to make
the most of this, and the conduct of the mayors of
the'city of London and of Bradford, in refusing to
convene public meetings when called upon to do so
by their fellow-citizens, raises up a suspicion that
our liberties are in jeopardy, and if we are warm
sympathisers of the defenders of liberty in other
parts of the world, we shall show that we also can
defend our right. If, as the Working Men's Gari-
baldian Committee, we feel bound to abstain from
compromising a sacred name in a row with the
" dear Irish children" of Cardinal Wiseman, or the
satellites of Sir R. Mayne, we reserve our rights as
Englishmen to take such counsels as our conscience
shall dictate.

L SPARKHALL,
Secretary of the Working Men's Garibaldian
Committee.
335, Strand, Oct. 15.