FREAK FANATICISM.

WHISKERED WOWSER'S WAIL.

"Christian Israelite" Foolishness

Ends m Arrest for' Traffic Obstructio:

Why not Bring Booth's Brigade befoi

the Bench?

Cathedral-square, Christchurch, is a place of assorted noises which terrify strangers, torment surrounding inhabitants, and depreciate the value of property therein. It is the stand of the Socialist, of Booth's deafening brigade, of passing religious lunatics, of stump politicians, and of various religious bands whose gloomy message falls on unheeding ears. Above the unholy din the roar of a spasmodic gramophone strives with the discordant cathedral chimes and other blatant rivals for supremacy, till the casual pedestrian becomes filled with the idea that he has dropped across a stray remnant ',of perdition.. The quaint religious organisations have a settled stand] m the square and m other parts of the city, and are tolerated principally because nobody feels sufficiently interested m them to congregate and interfere with the traffic, but strange brands of religion are resented, and a new apostle is treated with as much disrespect as an adventurous dog from the adjoining village. About eighteen months ago. a person with 1 unorthodox: -views upon .the next world was mobbed one Sunday night and ran. frantically before a disorganised army of several hundred people, who had v vague idea of ducking him m the Avon. He was saved by the police. The pioneer of a new creed has to meet the scorn and contumely of existing theologies, the cootempt, of the atheist, and the joyful though unpleasantly .forceful abuse of the hoodlum aid the person who is frankly indifferent about his future state ; so ■ that when a long-haired Christian Israelite, whose religion was patented m America-, came to the square and elbowed for room with his fellow peace-disturbers, the spectacle attracted considerable attention^ and the message had a pretty rough time of it, likewise the messenger, who was frequently questioned . by ribald persons concerning his relationship with. Amy. Bock. . . The Christian Israelites believe that the Anglo-Saxon race are the descendants ol the ten lost tribes of Israel,, an opinion which finds strong verification m the fact that J. Bull is now practically the world's' pawnbroker. The tenets of the religion enjoin that the hair shall not be shorn, nor shall the whisker be rounded off, and the razor is a thing accursed. No barber has been known to join the sect, and the preacher's lady-like head vegetation excited more comment than has been expended on such a subject since the days of Sequah, the 'Murrkaft patent medicine fiend.

The hairy, person, whose name is Arthur Anderson, and is known m religion* aY "Brother David, I .' fell foul of the law when his street audience ran into 300 odd, slopped over on to the footpath, iand blocked the stairway of the "Carlynn Cafe," to. the inconvenience of the. proprietors (one of whom is designated by the humorous moniH'er o! John Lampost) and prospective customers. Sergeant Miller- took the name of the devout Yankee, and the Municipal Council afterwards employed Lawyer Alpers to prosecute him for obstructing the'traMc. / ' There was .no denial of the obstruction, ibut the. unshaven one stated that he had 'obtained permission from the Mayor, Of course the Mayor has no power to set a by-law aside, and bis connection with the matter, m any case, was an intimation, that delivery of the message was permissible so long as' traffic was not impeded. The voluble stranger mentioned that other organisations were alloweh m the square, including the blood and fire disturbance; besides, he had no sooner vacated the place m front of the hashery than it ; was . jumped by a contingent armed with jan organ, some torches,, painful voices, and a sorrowful demeanor, fie said he was accredited by an organisation known as the House of David, Sydney. ' ' Magistrate Bishop foraged ip. the court recep tacle for the storage of aged axioms . and produced a much-worn one to the effect that two rights didn ? t make a wrong, and ,the man must know that he could not deliver the message to the inconvenience of , the public. The whole city would be tied up if crowds were allowed to congregate. His Worship said that an abominable nuisances' was caused by preachers m the square, and expressed agreement with the unbar bered defenr dant that there was not sufficient regulation of these irruptions m the city. Defendant was convicted and ordere-d to pay tho costs of the prosecution. Sub-Inspector McGrath asked, for an instruction from the bench as to the future attitude of the police towards -the square preachers, many of whom are round. - ■> \ His' Worship remarked that convictions would be recorded m all cases where preaching caused au obstruction of traffic or interferred with the public. A few months ago, it will be recollected, Magistrate Haselden dismissed a test information m respect to another preacher, a member of an organisation, m the square. Anderson had retired from tbe court, but returned m much agitation later and complained that the costs of the proceedings amounted to £2 2s. It was against his faith to pay the money, he said. His Worship was also disturbed, and requested the man not to talk rubbish. While he was m this country he would I have to respect the laws and obey them. He had dealt very leniently with him. "You can give him the full artemative provided by the Justices of the Teace Act," he told the police.. "Remove him." Brother David looked stunned. The alternative penalty is one month with strenuous labor, and with that prospect before him the preacher relaxed his religious principles, which are elastic. The alternative for him had exceptional terrors, because he would lose his slcull herbage m quod, likewise his glorious whiskers, arid his "draw" upon the unthinking crowds would be absent until he retired into the desert, or the manuka, and grew another crop. The city wowsers have expressed annoyance with Ihe S.M. over this conviction! instead of assisting him, as they should do, .m maintaining law and order. It is to be hoped he will next start on the car-splitting brigaile of Booth's.