Washington sentinel., 1898-12-17
SUNDAY CONCERTS.
~ M.os.-London, Nov. %.

SUNDAY CONCERTS.
DaSy Meas. S.-London, Nov. 90.
The County Council by large major
ltY decided yesterday to support the
recommendation Of its Licensing Com
mittee, and as the result Mr., Newman,
who has done so much to promote good
music in London, has announced the
abandonment of bis Sunday concerts.
The churches and chapels may do
their best to attract worshippers; and
yet in this vast city there will be room
on sundays, and especially on Sunday
afternoons, for all those other aids to the
higher lite which music and art and
nature may supply. In ITSELF therefore,
the stoppage the best Sunday concerts
| which have ever been provided in Lon
don seems to us to be an unfortunate
curtaIlment of its spiritual resources.
But there are other sides to the
question, and it is important to bear
these in mind, as the action of the
County Council is likely to be a good
deal misrepresented 1t will be said
It was said already last night in some of
the reports-that Sunday concerts have
been stopped by the County Council.
This Is not correct. They have not
been absolutely stopped, but conditions
have been imposed. We see no sign in
the debates IN the Council that the ma.
| jority were actuated by any extreme
| Sabbatarianism. There is no reason,
so far as we can see, why Sunday con-
| cert society should not be formed TOR
the purpose Of supplying its members
| and the public generally with classical
and sacred music neither for private
gain nor wa. Of trade. One OF The
Sunday Societies does this already. If
Mr.. Newman IS really anxious to pro.
mote the cause Of high class Sunday
music for its own sake, he could let his
ball and supply the services Of his
orchestra at cost price That, we
imagine, would satisfy the conditions of
the new license, and the law is satisfied
already, as we know from Lord Justice
Collins decision, by the provision of
free seats. The Council is opposed,
said Mr.. Yates the chairman Of the
Licensing Committee, not to Sunday
concerts, but to Sunday trade.
N0yHfng P0St-London, Nov. 76.
The London County Council has once
more shown its want of good sense by
adopting the report OF It's Licensing
Committee as to the Queens Hall, and
the decision makes it sufficiently certain
that We shall ba,a a., maze rF tL, ,,,,r~
nihcent concerts which have been given
there under the auspices Of Mr.. Robert
Newman. To such use does this body
put its powers There are all sorts of
excellent persons who continue to hold
ideas as to the proper observance Of
Sunday which would have been regarded
as severe in the most rigid days OF
Judaism. They have still some power,
as IS shown by the decision OF the London
County Council, but they are notably
unable to recognize the significance of
the facts that daily come before their
notice. There are in London hosts Of
people who have no home life at all.
On Sunday when almost every place Of
public resort is closed, they are painfully
at loss for occupation and companion
ship. They may or may not 90 to
church at ALL il is certain that they
cannot be there all day. The well
meaning Sabbatauaus who have in
fuenced the committee and the London
County Council can hardly expect that
they will stop at home and read. If
the Councillors had the capacity Of
confronting facts in the proper spirit
they would see that their action tends
to drive a host OF respectable people
from rational amusemeuts to amuse-
ments which are worse than irrational.
DaiLy Chr0Hsks-LOndOn, Nov. 90.
Proprietors of halls will be free to let
them Tor such purposes as those of the
Sunday League, but the individual who
starts Sunday concerts as a matter Of
business Will not receive a license for
Sunday performances, At all events,
we hope that tue Sunday concert IN this
form is safe; it would be a crying shame
If it were not. We cannot think that
this state of thingssis at'sll satisfactory,
nor does it seem 20 us 10 be capable Of
defense on the grounds of logic. The
council may or may not have been
bound by the Lord's Day act in their
decision; but it is pretty evident that
they were embarrassed by it. Public
bodies, from Parliamen, dOwnwards, do
not act on strictly logical principles, and
if the County Council had chosen TO
ignore the Sunday clause in the license
altogether their decision might not have
been upset. We should not have been
surprised if the bulk Of the electors
would have voted Tor such a course
themselves had the matter been referred
to them. AS to the obsolete enactment
which has been used TO cut down the
supply OF the best kind OF entertainment.
the sooner it is got out Of the way the
better. When jndges wink at eyasious,
and transparent artihces like the free
seats at the Queens Hall are debated
solemnly at licensing sessions, this
beated act has become hardly respect
able