Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-11-07
OUR LONDON LETTER.
CONTEST ABOUT TIE MUSIC HALLS
OF THE METROPOLIS.
Moody and sankey Meetings-The Saliva
tion Army-1ts Leaders and the
Peculiaritiss of Its Work.
LONDON, October Is, 1888.

the metropolitan MUSIC dalls, ana accord
ipely the whole lot were licensed last week
TO minister to the tastes and mold the
morals of the rising generation for another
year. Not, however, without several con.
tests. The Royal, in High HolborD, one
of the most "swell places of its kind in
England, was charged with having had a
singer on its boards who interjected into
one of his ditties some lines that fell be.
low the Music Hall standard of decency,
and the Trocadero, which has risen up out
of the ashes of the old Argyll Rooms, had
offended in having engaged this objection.
able performer, after, in a spssm of virtu.
ous contrition, the proprietor of the other
hall had dismissed him. But both parties,
with the aid of the great criminal lawyers,
Mr.. Poland and Montagu Williams, estab.
lished their
INNOCENCE IN MAGIsTERIAL EYES,
And with the fairest promises for the fu-
ture, went on their way rejoicing. The
proprietor of Lusby's Music Hall, in the
East End, had harder time of it, but
even he pulled through all right, and will
still do business at the old stand. The re-
newal of the license for this place was OBJ
jected to by city missionary, who forti-
fed himself with a petition containing
l,500 names, and with the testimony of
several interesting witnesses. a pot boy,
who had been employed in the hall, de-
posed to having seen acts of an indecent
character committed within the building
and one of the demi-monde came forward
to say that her ruin was effected one night
when she was standing at the bar of the
concert room, and that she had
SINCE GONE THERE REGULARLY
In pursuit of her calling. But the mis-
sionary was shown to be prejudiced On &C.
count of rough treatment he had received
while trying to distribute tracts to those
going in and out of the place, and the
other testimony was offset by the opinion
of q couple Of police inspectors who did
not regard Lusby's as ga resort for bad
characters" After such a showing as this,
what more natural than that the Court
should allow the accused to 90 in peace, as
they did, "by large majority" and that
this decision should be received, as the re.
ports assure US it was, with loud cheers,
not only in the room, but by large crowd
outside" Yes, all honorable men, and the
places they keep all places of the highest
respectability So say the magistrates :;
30 cay the police; so say admiring patrons;
but it cannot be added that " SO say every
one, for outside of magistrates,I Courts
and the
CHARMED CIRCLE OF REGULAR HABITUEs,
There is pretty general and we'll grounded
conviction to the contrary. The Chairman
of the Bench of Justices in one of the dis.
tricts declared a certain hall over which he
had jurisdiction to be " extremely we'll
conducted" but the gentleman would
scarcely take his wife, daughters, cousins,
aunts or his mother-in- law in there, or for
that matter, with perhaps one or tive ex-
ceptions, to any of the other places he as
sisted last week in licensing. Probably.
however, his sons and nephews go, and
under the legal sanction of the old gov.
ernor" have a jolly time there. Plenty of
female society and no necessity to wait for
an introduction In fact, it is well known
to all who want to know, that as a class
the London music halls are the plague
spots of the social life of this metropolis
places of rendezvous for
GILDED VICE AND PITFALLS
Into which the young and vi1tuous are
yearly falling by the thousands. In front
of the stage, not on it, is where baneful in.
Auences have their freest scope. The
music and singingis not the cause, but the
cover of the evil that is wrought. From
the contemplation of this subject how
pleasant to turn to the newspaper items
which inform US of the forthcoming inva-
sion of this metropolis by Moody and
Sankey. use the word items advis-
edly, for that is all we get or shall get on
the subject in the great London dailies.
The American papers ind it profitable to
devote whole pages to the doings of these
remarkable men, but the press here is run
on different principles. Columns for sport
ing matter, but lines only for religion
Plenty of space for long g-winded editorials
and verbatim reports of My Lord Empty
noddles political harangues, but for
GREAT MORAL MOVEMENTS
That stir the popular heart, as the temp.
erance reform has done, and as the great
American evaogelists are bound to do,
only the barest mention. l may note by
the way, that on this very subject storm
of righteous wrath has Just broken out
against the Daily Nelcs. This is the leading
Liberal paper of the country, and, like the
party it represents, draws the bulk Of its
patronage from the religious sects who are
known as dissenters. Moreover, leading
Nom conformist is the chief proprietor Of
this journal. Take from the Ne1cs and
from the party led by Mr.. Gladstone, the
support of this class of her Majesty's sub.
jects, and both would at once collapse.
And in the case of the former there is
serious talk of doing this, the
CAUSE OF THE THREATENED REVOLT
Being that the paper in question does not
give fair or sufficiently ample reports OF
the great meetings held from time to time
in furtherance OF Non-conformist interests
1t sails under false celors, they say, pro-
Tossing to be their organ, vet treating them
with contempt. As the Christian WOrld
puts it, 4" 1t gave the most meager. outline
@hA fhak MANktASul1 Ol EUt
Exeter Hall meeting, which welcomed the
return Of Mr.. Shaw, who had been wrong.
fully imprisoned by the French, as well as
of the recent meeting of the Congregational
Union, though the same issues had three
columns each OF carefully prepared sport
ing intelligence" But | was speaking of
Moody and Sankey. They are in Ireland
at present, gathering courage and ammuni-
tion, let us hope, for their great winter
campaign against the powers of darkness
in this wicked city. VIII their contem.
plated six months work here make any
perceptible change in the moral character
of the place? Doubtful, if not impossible.
We may hear OF churches quickened, and
of dead Christians brought to life, of out
casts rescued, and of drunkards reformed,
but few drops do not affect the mighty
swell of the ocean, nor will few thousand
conversions deplete to any considerable
extent
THE RANKS or LONDON SINNERS,