The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-28 00:00:00

threw his opponent by a " cro3s-heave," and Hayman, in
return, " back-stepped" his antagonist, but Bowden got
much the best of it by throwing his man on his shoulder,
thereby throwing his competitor two fair backs.
William Snell (Devon), and Hodge, of Devon, were
the next worthy of notice, both men standing above six
feet, and noted wrestlers. They played together for a
length of time, both on the look out, but neither would
show a chance ; at length Snell caught his opponent by
the " back lock," and threw him a fair back. They
again had a long trial, but Hodges gave his back to his
antagonist, having hurt himself in falling.
The next bout was between John Goodman, of Corn-
wall, and W. Snell, of Devon, and in this match a dis..
play of the science took place on each side, both men
doing their best, but they played till " time " was called.
John Maunder, another Devonian, and Goodman of
Cornwall, tried their skill for a long time, during which
several falls took place, Maunder all the time having the
advantage, but " time" was up and no back.
The next worthy of notice was a bout between George
Snell, of Devon, and John Maunder. Snell is a very
heavy man, but does not display science. Maunder
again played well, having again the best of the bout,
Snell leaving the ring, contrary to the wishes of the
umpires, and being much excited, not being able to
throw his opponent, who gave every chance of play, but
was far the superior player, and was heartily cheered
throughout this bout.
It may be here mentioned that in consequence of the
unfavourable weather on Tuesday, the men could not
play out the double and treble play yesterday, and they
agreed to divide the money according to the respective
merits of their play, which was as follows :

HEAVY WEIGHTS.
1. John Maunder, Devon.
2. John Goodman, Cornwall.
3. William Snell, Devon.
4. J. Dyer, Cornwall.
LIGHT WEIGHTS.
1. John Gill, Cornwall.
2. W. Bowden, Cornwall.
3. Hayman, Devon.

DISTURBANCE IN JOHN KNOX

CHURCH, GLASGOW.

Sunday afternoon, in John Knox Church, (the
Rev. Jonathan R. Anderson's), a scene of confusion
and disorder occurred, such as we never before wit-
nessed in any place of worship on Sabbath, and which
we trust will not again be permitted to take place in
this city. In the course of last week placards were
posted over the town, announcing that Mrs. Martin,
the Socialist lecturer, would attend Mr. Anderson's
church on Sunday afternoon, to hear the statements
of Christian doctrine put forth by him, and that on
a certain evening in the ensuing week she would
reply to him by argument in in the Socialist Hall,
Great Hamilton-street. This placard had the natural
effect of attracting to the church, yesterday afternoon,
an immense crowd of people, some belonging to the
socialist body, others drawn by curiosity either to see
Mrs. Martin or from an expectation of hearing the
preacher direct his discourse to the absurd and out-
rageous opinions which she is understood to pro-
mulgate.
Long before two o'clock the church was crowded
to suffocation—the lobby, stairs, and passages, being
completely choked up; while at least 1,000 people
were collected round the door pressing for ad-
mittance—the greater proportion of whom were
the usual sitters in the church, who were thus
excluded from their accustomed place of worship.
The church within was at this time a scene of great
excitement, caused partly by the extraordinary pres-
sure, and also in a great degree by the unusual
circumstance which had brought such a dense
mass of people together. Finding matters in this po-
sition, Mr. Anderson, who is in a poor state of health,
incapable of enduring the fatigue of forcing his way
through a crowd, and unable to sustain the excite-
ment which he could not fail to labour under, re-
solved not to proceed with the service. This was
announced to the audience within the church by Cap-
tain Richardson, and repeated by him to the people
outside, with a request in both cases that they should
retire. No disposition being shown on the part of the
audience to obey, Captain Richardson, with the
assistance of several of his men, cleared to a consider-
able extent the lobby and passages—a duty which
was discharged in a very quiet and gentle manner.
In the meantime Mrs. Martin, who was accom-
panied by Mr. Jeffrey, a socialist lecturer, and
his wife, was recognised standing behind the
pulpit, and requested by one of the managers
to withdraw. It is understood that previous to
this she and her friends had occupied seats, but had
left them, whether with the intention of leaving the
church or not, does not appear ; but at all events they
returned, and took up their places in a pew imme-
diately to the left of the pulpit. By this time they
had become known to a large portion of the audience,
and the circumstance had the effect of inducing them
to retain their places, many appearing to be under
the false impression that an address of some kind or
other would be delivered. In these circumstances
Mr. James Stewart, preses of the managers, and
other gentlemen, desired that she and her friends
should retire. They, however, refused, and main-
tained their right to be present. They were informed
by Mr. Stewart that there was to be no service, that
the church must instantly be cleared, and that as their
presence prevented this from being done effectually they
ought to comply. They still refused, however, on which
Capt. Richardson appeared, and insisted on their leaving
the church. Mr. Jeffrey said that they could not walk
out among the crowd, seemingly afraid of personal
violence, and asked that a minibus should be procured
for their use. This was promised them, and they at
length consented to go out under the protection of
the police. The party then rose to retire by a back
door, usually closed, but which had been broken open
to enable the audience to get out with greater faci-
lity, when a scene of noise and confusion ensued
which it is altogether impossible to describe. Crowds
of people rushed over the pews from all parts of the
church to the point by which Mrs. Martin and her
friends were retiring ; hisses, groans, and ruffing, in-
termingled with screaming, were heard from all parts
of the building, accompanied with cries of " Turn her
out "—" Burn her "—" Fair play "—" A fine spe-
cimen of the Free Church," &c. Respectable people,
afraid of a general riot, made every effort to escape,
and for several minutes the church more resembled a
theatre in a state of extreme disorder, than a place of
quiet Christian worship. The crushing in the narrow
passages was dreadful, and if no serious bodily in-
juries have been sustained, it may be set down as
next to miraculous. On getting out of the church,
Mrs. Martin ani her two friends were put into a
minibus, having previously been subjected to such in-
dignities as the more zealous but less wise portion of
the crowd could inflict, by voiding of rheum, and the
like, upon their persons : and accompanied by Cap-
tain Richardson, they were driven off to the police-
office. Here, after some deliberation on the part of
the magistrates, the three individuals were held to
bail in the sum of 51. each, to appear this morning
in court to answer to a charge of breach of the peace,
the charge being founded upon all the circumstances
connected with the transaction, from the publication
of the bills down to the occurrence of the unseemly
scene which we have attempted to describe. The bail
was instantly paid, and the parties left the police-
office in a carriage. The effect of the whole of this
singular affair was to throw the entire barony of Gor-
bals into the utmost confusion. The circumstance
was bruited abroad with unusual celerity, and for
several hours crowds of people were seen collected in
all quarters discussing the subject, and settling its
bearings, of course, each according to his own views,
and the amount of information he had received rela-
tive to the occurrence.—Glasgow Argus.