The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-20 00:00:00

THE SUNDAY BANDS IN THE PARKS.

PUBLIC MEETING IN ST. PANCRA.S.

Last evening a public meeting of the inhabitants of
S. Pancras was held in the Vestry Hall, King's-road,
Camden-town, for the purpcse of eliciting the opinion of
the public upon the recent stoppage of the bands in
Kensington-gardens and the parks, by order of the Go-
vernment,

IV. D. CoorEß, Esq., baying been voted to the chair,
called upon Mr. KENNY, the honorary secretary, to real
the various correspondence from geetlereen who were
prevented attending the meeting. Jacob Bell, Mr. G.
Cruiksbank, and Mr. Charles Dickens were among the
correspondents. The folio ruing letter from the latter
gentleman was real amidst loud applause :
" Tavisteck House, Monday, May 19.
" Mr. T. Ross, Mir. J. Kenny.
"Gentlemen,—l have received a letter signed by you
(which .I aesume to be written mainly- on behalf of what
are called working men and their families) inviting me
to attend a meeting in our parish Vestry Hall this even-
ing, on the stoppage of the Sunday bands in the parks.
"1 thoroughty agree 'with you that those bands have
afforded an innocent arid:healthful enjoyment on the Sun-
day afternoon to which the people have a right. But I
think it essential that the worliieg people should of
themselves, and by themselves, assert that right. They
have been informed on the high authority of their first
Minister (lately rather in want of House of Commons
votes, I am told) that they are almost indifferent to it.
The correction of that mistake—if official omniscience
can be mistaken—lies with. themselves.
"In case it should be considered by the meeting
(which I prefer for this reason not to attend) expedient
to unite with other metropolitan parishes in forming a
fund for the payment of each expenses as may be ia-
curred in peaceably and numerously representing to the
governing powers the harmless recreation they have
taken away is very - much 'wanted, I beg you to put
down my name as a subscriber of ten pounds, and I am
your faithful servant,

" CHARLES DIOKENS."
The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, remarked
that the question which they had met to consider was
one of the most important to the well-being of the peo-
ple. An attempt was being :made to dictate to the two-
and-a-quarter millions of the. inhabitants of London by
the puritanical observers of the Sabbath on the other
side of the Tweed. It was, tilt ereforo, incumbent on-the
people to eteed up for their- Tights, and peaceably but
strenuously to asters them. [Sir B. Hall was here an-
nounced, and was received ertath loud and reiterated ap-
plause and waving of hats.] He (the chairman) sin-
cerelytrusted that the Sable tf h would never be observed
in London as it was in Gla. sg-ow. It was with regret
and surprise that he saw ray :Lord Palmerston was the
man to put the chain round the neck of their excellent
member Sir B. Hall, who in this matter had so truth-
fully represented the feelings: and wishes of the people.
But if the people were true Ito themselves they might
defy the Scotch Sabbatariante —indeed, Scotland itself,
if it came across the Tweed, to interfere with their rights.
WM. TAPPING, Esq., mover, I the first resolution :
" That the performance of music in the public parks
on the Sunday afternoon is erg tirently calculated to pro-
mote the health, happiness, of tr t morality of the people ;
and this meeting her eby expr. ei ses its regret and indig-
nation at he sudden withdratee el of so useful and inno-
cent a means of popular enjoys cent. (Applause.)
Mr. JOHN IVORY seconded el to resolution, which was
put and carried almost unanina ously, amidst reiterated
applause.
Sir B. HALL then addressed the meeting. He felt
anxious to address that vast air emblage on the import-
ant question before them. It 1 as with regret that he
had to state that his noble trice d Lord Ebrington had
been suddenly attacked with ol thalmia, and he trusted
that his constitutente would be as considerate towards
his noble colleague as they had. been to him (Sir B. Hall)
when similarly suffering from xc election. He had done all
he could, and not without succe: ,s be felt, to ascertain the
wants of the people of the metre .polls. He had formed
certain opinions, and to them le, held fast. (Hear.) It
was with regret that the inn ocent recreation which
he had obtained for the peopl a was no longer to be
within their reach. He was in formed that the decision
which had been come to was in consequence of me-
morials addressed to the House of Commons, and peti-
tions to the Crown. He did ne t wish to find fault with
the manner in which petitions I were got up, but he did
feel justified in stating what son se of these petitions and
memorials contained. (Hear.) ! The prayer of the memo-
rialists was not only that muscle us and other such places
should remain closed, but they el esired also that all steam
boats should cease to ply on the Sunday, (No, and hear.)
He would say and prove that such was the fact ; not
only this, but all trains were to cease to issue from the
stations —nay more, the gates e f the parks were to be
closed on the Sunday. (Shame. , and No.) Some per-
sons might say no, because they did not like to hear such
things, but iu a few days, by' an order of the house,
these petitions would be prints L (Hear, hear.) But
would the dissentients believe 41 hat some went so far as
to pray that instructions shoal d be sent to all foreign
ministers to use their exertion .1 to get the Sabbath, in
the countries where they mai( i ed, similarly observed.
The only conclusion that he (: 3 it B. Hall) could come
to wee, that the petitioners • were not aware of the
absurdities they were signing. Some time ago a de-
putation had waited upon hi (111 and stated that no
carriages should enter the par' r. s. More, one gentle-
man, a City Missionary, consid a red skating in the parks
was most improper. (Hear, and laughter.) Lately
we had a letter printed in the papers from Mr.
Baines, of Leeds. (Hisses.) In that letter ho paid a
very poor compliment to the h tl rabitants of the metro-
polis when he said that out of a crowd of 90,000 persons
there must be some wicked per ens who would seek to
seduce the innocent and unwar3 e. (Hear.) In the course
of last Sunday week there were .no fewer than 285,000
persons in the parks. and L• .I.;a any oae of
that vast number go away a we u:se man or a worse wo-
man ? (No, no.) The whole r 'umber of persons whose
labour was required for the an casement of the vast mul-
titude was only 25. Why d is! not Mr. Baines write
down the Sunday trains whi oh issued from Leeds ?
Simply because he dare not. (Cheers.) As we were
told what we should not do, h I would like some one to
issue a pamphlet headed by I ford R. Grosvenor, Lord
Blandford, and Arthur Kinnait r!.. and entitled "How to
keep the Sabbath." (Cheers.) Were the people better
in places where the Sabbath v. 'as strictly observed, or
where it was not so strictly u tisservod ? (Hear.) He
could say from experience that in neither Glasgow nor
Edinburgh, where you "may a a e whistle to your dog,"
were the people better, happier, o r more moral than they
were at Windsor, where the so en id of music was heard
on a Sunday. (Hear.) But w hi it would the people say
when he (Sir B. Hall) told them that a compromise was
proposed—(shame)—that he had ..been actually told that
had he beea contented with Kent ington-gardeus he would
not have been interfered with 1 B a .t what would his consti-
tuents have said had he been so •pocritical as to say that
that was right in Kensington-g: L rdens which was wrong
in Victoria and Regent's Parksb '? (Hear.) Those who
went to Keesingtonee'ardens h a ,d music in their own
homes. (Hear, hear.) It was :his duty, as a represen-
tative of the people and as a in i. [lister of the Crown, to
see that all classes were equall y dealt with. He had
personally visited the various pr ir ks, and could bear tes-
timony to the excellent conduct of those who were essen-
tially the people—so careful wet ti the people of the parks
that it required nothing more tb sin their own good sense
to protect them. In giving a band to the people on
Sunday, he was under the convi iction that he was doing
no wrong to God or man. Hi i would ask those who
were opposed to him not to co riderna because they did
not agree on all pciuts. It wa t with deep regret that
he had been compelled to discon i.inue the recreation he
had provided. One thing in conclusion. He would
urge upon the people to continu e , that conduct which up
to this time was so admirable— a continuance of such
conduct would at least convince the opponents to the
bands that they have been wro a ,g. (Hear, hear.) As
to Lord Palmerston, he had heaa d from his lordship that
evening that his opinion was that the music in the parka
was of an elevating character and useful to the working
classes. (Hear, hear.) Of the ',many meetings he had
attended in that hall during the last 20 years he had
never seen so crowded or so entleusiastic, and he would
say, notwithstanding some slight interruptions, so or-
derly a meeting. In conclusioie, he would say that as
he had been so he would continue to be—the unflinch-
ing representative of the people's interests. (Loud
cheers, amidst which the right hct.n. baronet retired.)
Mr. CLEMENTS proposed the, second resolution :
" That a deputation be hereby appointed to wait on
Lord Palmerston and represent to him the feeling of
dissatisfaction which prevails among
atlhoef
the
orsking
feelingslord s lordship p
o n that
the
matter classes of the metropolis at the withdrawal rw
dayitro nbganddessire felt; and also
t 0
00
manifest
te
t their hisa
matter by means of a peaceful and orderly demonstra-
tion in the metropolis by an opererair meeting."
Mr. HART seconded the resolution and denounced
Holy Alliance, headed by Baines, of Leeds,
tahned ntle; Archbishop of Canterbury. (fear.)
ler qiNDEN proposed au az:let:Rio:mut, to the effect
that an open-air meeting on the Lard's-day was ob-
jectionable.
Mr. CHARLES BURKE seconded the amendment amidst
great uproar.
A few hands having been held up for the amend-
ment, the re-solution was carried amidst loud applause.
J. WEDe-wOOD, E2q,, of Cumberland-terrace, Re-
gent's-park, a member of the present vestry of St.
Pancras, moved, and Mr. Ross seconded, the follow-
ing resolution :--" That the thanks of this meeting be
given to Sir B. Hall fur the enlightened and straight-
forward manner in which he has maintained the right
of the people to innocent recreation on the Sunday,
till forced to yield to the commands of superior au-
thority," which was carried seem. eon., and the meet-
ing separated at a late hour, a cordial vote of thanks
having been previously given to Mr. Cooper for his
conduct in the chair.

A BIRD'S NEST IN A LETTER BOX.—In a box fixed 00
a post near the gardens at Thorpe Hall, letters and new
papers are deposited for the convenience of the foot mes-
senger, as he passes each way daily between Bridling-
ton (the post town), and the receiving house at Thwing.
The lid of the box is secured by a lock and key, and al•
though the box is opened four times a day, except on
Sundays, yet, strange as it may appear, a pair of billy
biters (the blue titmouse) have built a nest in the box,
making their ingress and egress through the slit for the
reception of letters, and where the female has laid some
eggs. When the discovery was made of these novel
tenants, Mr. Mills, the gardener at Thorpe-hall, was in-
clined to destroy them, on account of their propensity to
peck and nibble, and probably to injure or destroy let-
ters, but, at the intercession of the messenger, who con•
f idt,r d such a prJeedure would be a breach of the con-
fidence placed in man by the iittie builders, they have
beau eulierecl to r9;1147 Vorkeiirotan.