SUNDAY CONCERTS

Evening Star, Issue 17541, 22 December 1920, Page 9

SUNDAY CONCERTS

PERMISSION WITHDRAWN. CHRISTMAS DAY PICTURES ALLOWED. The City Council at its meeting last ■Wednesday week granted permission to the St. Kilda Band to hold Sunday sacred concerts in His Majesty’s Theatre. Since then the matter has given rise to some discussion in certain quarters, and a special meeting of the council was held last evening to consider a notice of motion by Cr Shaddock —“That the resolution passed at the meeting of the council held on the Bth inst. granting to the St. Kilda Band the right to hold Sunday concerts be rescinded.” There were present the Mayor (Mr W. Begg), Crs Walker, Sincock, Scott, Calder, M‘Donald, Hancock, Shaddock, Wilson, Hayward, Douglas, Ritchie, Taverner, Larnach, and Thompson. PROTEST FROM CHURCHES. The council first heard a large and representative deputation from the Council of Churches protesting against its action in granting permission to hold Sunday concerts. The Rev. Graham Balfour said that the deputation was more than a deputation from the Council of Churches—it was representative of all the churches, including the Roman Catholic Church. Father Coffey was not able to bo present that evening, but be had authorised, him to state that . his Church was opposed to Sunday band concerts, Mr Balfour said that lie regretted to have to appear before the council again in connection with Sunday entertainments, because he understood that the policy of the council had been settled six years ago, when they had come beforb'. the council They also regretted that their request that the resolution of the council should he rescinded referred to one of their bands, because they recognised the splendid work of their bands, and they desired to help rather than hinder their efforts. They felt, however that a serious principle was involved. The band had asked permission - to hold these concerts to enable it to raise funds. The i-equest the council had granted Involved more than it seemed to have realised. It opened the door to Sunday entertainments of all kinds. Already, he understood, one picture theatre had asked to be allowed to open on Sundays. The next thing it would bo vaudeville. He it would not be denied that the main object of such entertainments was a financial one. The idea was to get revenue from one more evening in the week. The people had six nights in the week for entertainments, and it, did not appear to him at all necessary that these entertaiments should be given on Sunday nights. What was the difference between this movement and opening shops for commercial purposes? The council was placed in a position of great trust—the welfare of the community was placed in its hands, not merely in a material sense, but also in a moral and spiritual sense. ‘The large deputation which was present that evening had, lie believed, the welfare of the City at heart, and it believed that these Sunday concerts would not be in the'best interests of the community. They took up their position on .-humanitarian as well as on religious grounds. The law had prohibited these entertainments unless the council permitted them. Those who had made these laws must have had some good reason for doing so, and no reason had been advanced, so far as they knew, why this complete reversal of public poliev had been made. Those who fouriit for the sanctity of the Sabbath were the friends of the workers. The entertainment ol some always meant work for others They did not dictate to others how they should spend their Snmlavs. but as public men they thought that 'they should aim at a minimum of public work and entertainment on that day. It had been said that the council had admitted the principle by having band performances on enmday afternoons, but the council hard .aken a long time to find out the logical conclusion. If the principle involved not only band performances, bnt entertainments by picture and vaudeville theatres and any kind of work, then the council bad better seriously consider whether it did the right thing in taking its first step. (Applause.) They .were not there to a»k the council to stop the afternoon band performances, but if it said that the rest was involved, then better for he citizens to deny themselves this pleasure than to have a Continental Sunday. (Applause.) Bishop Richards said that it was not necessary for him to speak at length on the matter, because Dir Balfour had put forward the reasons of protest very

deadly. and. concisely. Since the counou had passed it he had spoken to several clergymen and laymen, and the-* were all of the opinion that the resolution should be rescinded. They did not desk t° go contrary to the bands—they all love music. He did not think that'there wouh oeany, difficulty in getting the monev rc • Qlured by the band from the citizens. ” lie hoped with all his heart that the commi; nity would be saved, from what was in lolyed really the secularising of the Sal hath, and he would also say Christina Day and Good Friday, v - lr Peter Barr said he had been askehy a considerable number of laymen !■ support the rescinding of the council’s ck cision. _ They wished to make it clear thine _ ministers were not alone in the : anxiety that nothing should be done I SahbX 011 & “ t, i G saci 'edness of th Sabbath. They considered that it wool bo deplorable that they should have an s l^ er %V n t! ?. e , nature of » Continent: faunday. He did not think that tho ’agument that because the coimcil ha K-? d Pf mission > bands to play l o afternoons it was therefore boun toextenclfhc permission to Sunday over hel T' h ° ld 'Y ater - He held %" t a considerable difference be tveen the two positions. The Sunda’ Concerts would inevitably draw the people from the churches, notwithstfndim the hour at which they were set to com , However closely the programme, scrutinised, they would* find ‘ f arcl to draw the line between secular am re . c ni , usi H had‘been said that th people who did not go to church would L bettei occupied in attending a sacrod con cert than m loitering on the streets. Hi qmte agreed with that, and he ’though' the members of the deputation did so? too At the same time, the promoters of thi concerts did not suggest that they wen being promoted for that purpose Iv S; ar i ’„ h TS , ;- ) ":r ieis m the opinion that these concpr' wnriv caua ® the people to drift away from suggested' 1 W ay i e \ eningE - Ifc ha ' d beer ggesten, but not by members nf the council, so far as he knew, that the mink lh?^' Vei Anv\?f- tcd f by n° me unWorth v mo r,i I” , . n ' minister, however, should nn‘ Si h,S ,P°l ,|;n if he did not believ. ns H earfc that voang people and old people, too, Would be better tending divine service than in attendin Sunday entertainments. (Applause 1 The Sabbath Observance Committee entered a protest, which was supported 1 - Professor Gumming and the i? Adams, both of whom felt that the'd-o-had been opened for a Continent? Sun S lO Women’s Christian Temne-mn. Lmon, through. Mrs Hietfc and Mrs Driver also united with the previous speakers” nrotestmg against Sunday concerts beiiii

THE DISCUSSION. dwlT , the deputation had retired Cr Uiacklock moved his resolution. He no whet th T weTe sbc councillors absent when the motion was earned at the last meeting. He did not believe tint the majority of the council would like ‘to see Sunday evening concerts held by bands in _ le halls of this City for the purnose of securing funds. They had to draw the line somewhere, and they might as well draw it now. Mr Ban- had truly said that once opened the door would be very difficult to close. Cr Wilson seconded, and said he would STargShT •"-* t0 <*** Cr M’DonaW said that as public men they had a duty to the people which went lurther than the churches'. On Sunday evenings they found' young people walking about the. streets. Let them consider that there was a population of about 65,000 people in Dunedin, and out of that numn n made bold to sa y> if they counted all the people in the churches there would not be more than 10,000. Well, what about the other 50,000? Hundreds walked about the streets on Sunday evenings, and if they could do anything for those young people, then it _ was their duty to assist them hy granting the bands permission to give sacred concerts. He would never gi\e his vote in favor of picture shows opening on Sunday. On the West Coast picture shows were opened on Sundays because in some places it-was the only day in the-week on which people could attend them. He asked wfiat was the difference in the bands playing in the Gardens on Sunday afternoon and in playing in a hall on a Sunday evening? He believed that the bands being permitted to play in the Gardens had a worse influence than if they gave Sunday evening, sacred concerts. The reason why they allowed bands to play on Sunday afternoons was to get people to travel on the trams, and so have the revenue kept up. He contended that they were blowing hot and cold over this matter. Let them take a plebiscite of the people on it, and he would stimd or fall bv the result. •"

Cr Scott said that he had heard nothing to cause him to reverse the vote he gave when the question was before the council. Cr Shaddock had said that they would not like to see hands in every hall in Dune dip. 'Veil, he (the speaker) would if it was gomg to do any good. He took it that the object of the churches was to do good and to advance mankind, flinch had been made of the commercial aspect, but it appeared to him that this aspect was not so important as whether the concerts would do good or evil. Cr Walker held that Sunday night concerts hy the bands would not desecrate the Sabbath in any shape or form. These concerts had been held in Wellington for the last five or six years, and a also in Auckland. He believed that sacred concerts on Sunday evenings would be a great help to many people who at present walked the streets. They would have an opportunity of listening to sacred music. He did not see any difference between an open-air and a hall entertainment. The bill trams were run on Sundays mainly for the convenience of churchgoers. He thought that the ministers had missed a great opportunity, as it they had asked permission to attend these concerts to mve short addresses it would have been readily granted. People would be more profitably employed in attending these concerts than in walking the streets. No one in the room held the Sabbath more sacred than he did. but he was going to record his vote as on the previous occasion. Cr Sincock hoped that the council would rescind the resolution. ■ Their laws, lie said, were based on Christian principles. Cr Douglas was of the opinion that these sacred concerts would do a vast amount of goed to the churches. He was opposed to anything in the way of theatrical performances on Sundays. He believed that sacred music would educate non-churchgoers to attend church to hear the music there. He mentioned that he had agreed to pair with Cr Clark, who could not be present. Cr Taverner said he was not present at the council meeting when the St. Kilda Band’s request was considered. Had he been there.ho would have voted against it. To have been consistent the council should have turned down the requests to give picture entertainments on Christmas Day. Similar requests had been before them for the last six years and' had been lost on the voices. THE VOTING. Cr Shaddock's motion to rescind the resolution was carried by seven votes to six, the voting being: For—Crs Hayward, Taverner, Shacklock, Wilson, Hancock! Calder, and Sincock: against—Crs Larnach, Ritchie, M'Donald, Scott, Walker, and Thompson. ’ CHRISTMAS DAY PICTURES. Cr Sincock moved that the standing orders be suspended to enable him to move that the permission to hold picture entertainments on Christmas Day should be rescinded. Cr Shacklock seconded the motion, which, was earned. Several councillors then retired from the chamber, and the meeting was left with no quorum; so that Cr Siucock’s motion went by the board.