The times., 1898-07-04
LONDON GOSSIP.

F,nglishmen are pre-eminentiy coHtro-
versial, This is true of the educated. he
nartf6IIv educated. the rliterate and even
the ignorant. Nowhere in the United
states have / witnessed anything ap-
proa ching the general and persistent dis
putaton that prevails among the people
of this country.
An American visiting St Georges
square in Liverpool, particularly Oh
Sunday. will be struck by what he tnds
there in the way of speech-maliing and
debate. Every Sunday afternoon Vel
!inEtou's monument tall shaft OF stone.
suImounted by hgure made from
cannon taken at WaterlOO-is the scene
OF kind of carnival of 0ratOry- -Four
speakers are generally addressing the as
sembled multitude at once. one occupying
a position on eacn side of the monuments
base. The topics discussed. 50 far as l
have heard. are usually economic or poll
teal. some OF the speakers becoming rad
ically socialistic. not 10 say anaTchistic.
BUT England 5 great arena OF popular
controversy is Victoria Park, East Lon
don This immense holiday gathering
ground is adjacent 70 ro3uious region
of labor and poverty IL catches the stu-
ern Be5hnaI Green and Mile End Road
The park is composed Of several hundred
acres Of weII-wo1ded and well-watered
territory. and the breezes that blow here
are almost as pure as are those Of the
orsa country. There are several beauu-
fu lakes in this resort. and near the
head of these where Lady Burdett-COutts
has erected a grand drinking fountain, is
the goal of the multitude The same
quarter of the park. very naturally. is
also the place where the regular lecturers
and debaterS of East London take up
| their positions.
When a stranger 10 the life of Eng. and 5
imperial city enters Victoria Park on
Sunday afternoon ne IS filled with the
lively interest of fresh and most novel
| experience. On eevry hand there is a ba-
bel OF voices Vast crowds Of people eSb
and flow among the trees Scattered
about are men speaking. some to large,
others to small audiences, according TO
| the character of their subjects and the
! measure of their abilities. One immedi
a a.ely observes the fact that in only one of
| the groups Of listeners are there any wo-
men, and this is the group gathered about
the missionary band from the Tower
Hamlets in the Mile End Road. The ser
| vice here is one of praise, testimony and
| eXhOrtation, and the women assemble in
| large numbers to enjoy the hymns and
| the preaching. But elsewhere in the park
| the audiences are made up entirely Of
| men-chiefy of the workingmen of in
| dustrfal East London
| The subjects discussed in this extra
| ordinary outdoor forum are both sacred
| and secular One is just well inside the
| park when he discovers that the old
| church controversy of the reformation is
still being waged in England The mod
! ern adherentS of Luther-the modern dis
| senters from the decree of Emperor
| Charles V and the Diet of Spires-appear
every Sunday in Victoria Park and assail
| the church of Rome. They are known
| as the Protestant alliance and their
| speakers are often from among the best
educatcd and brightest men of evangel-
| ical England On the other hand. The Ro-
man Catholics are ably often brilliantly,
! represented Their cause is champion
| ed bv their most active and indefatigable
| open-air nropagandists, the well-known
| "Ransomers." members of the guild of
| Our Lady of Ransom.
| If there be new idea in politics or re-
ligion it is pretty certain to find voice
| under the trees of this superb breathing
| place for the deniZens of a wilderness OF
| storied tenements. The fact that the
| men of East London have place where
they can get hearing proves marvellous
ly stimulating to their creative and con-
| troversial wits. The many speakers are
| either advancing some theories that are
| more or less original or they are striv-
ing to undermine and destroy the argu.
ment of an opponent The atheist Is
here under the auspices of the natiOna
secuiarist society. He has his banner an6
his portable tribune. He attacks Chris
tianity all along the line and. as a rule
his utterances are heard with keen inter
est by large audiences.
Chief among the opponents of tn,
atheists is the Chistian Evidence Society
| ~ I;s,bt l. tI,a