SICKENIN' SALVERS.

NZ Truth, Issue 79, 22 December 1906, Page 6

SICKENIN' SALVERS.

Street Howlers Create Disturbance.

There has been a quaint comedy— a coniedy of the street— performed m Christchurch for a number of weeks past, and the public have been well entertained. The city is cursed on Saturday nigfits by bands of, well, we will call them evangelists, but it would puzzle God Himself to say what they really are: at anyrate they bring out .their .cronk organ and their torches, and their psalms and bray like, billyo. One crowd appear to have a particular down on a certain cycle dealer who expects to make a bob or two on Saturday nights, but these brazen, blatant bummers after thrum; mers range up, raise their dismal voices m song and pray as hard as road metal and frighten people away from the vicinity. So naturally the cyclist. is pretty well put outover.it, and has been using language calculated to fell the Zibishun at one fell swoop. He complained violently, but these religious ranters, who suirely ought to have a little common sense" or sense of some sort or ' other, refused to budge from their stand, and

KICK UP HELL'S DELIGHT out of pure viciousness, opposite this cyclist's shop. .Well, one night he got a motor car on the job and scattered the crowd of lunatics right and left. But there was a considerable amount of danger about this ; so other tactics had to be adopted. On Saturday night the proprietor engaged! a band to stand m front of his windows, and when the looney crowd happened £lonrr and started gapping religion there, was pandemonium.' It is a pity that such an awful; intolerable row should be made m a mam street, but tbe bike man was auite justified under the circuro -•'_;?• n--«'s. There are •dentv of places m Christchurch where itinerant preachers, or -gospellers, or whatever, they like to call themselves, can kick' up an unearthly ■ row, but this crowd of beauties set themselves out'" tb. deliberated aimov a respectable tradesman. The funny part of the business was that the police took, a hand, and wanted to Know about j- thiol'*" .- The result was that both shows stopped simultfineouslv or thereabouts, but when the sergeant said that he didn't regard them as public nuisances the crowd played on and prayed on, 'and sang on, and there was more pandemonium, and bleatino-s and ' bravw.s and of peace there was not. three pennorth. Persians the fire brigade and a hose will be called but this week. , Then, cold water mishers will get all the cold water thev 'wart.