Daily Circulation, 1500. The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1889.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 4541, 3 December 1889, Page 2

Daily Circulation, 1500. The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1889.

"W.H.K." is not pleased with onr paragraph on the Solvation Army prosecutions, We regret that we have not succeeded in this mutter in pleasing everybody ; we regret still more that we are brought into collision with a ch»rapion of the s- alvatlon Army, whose humanitarian efforts and (elfdenial era worthy of all admiration. Bat we must not, we are now more than ever convinced, expeot perfection in this world, even amongst professors of religion. " W.H.K." contends that the more the Army's methods are disliked by a certain seotion, the more persistently they should "assert their rights," and he judges their rights to bo following "oat the instruotiona given them throagh the gospel." Jf we mistake not the command was : " Go ye Into ail the world and preach the Gospel," etc. There was no instruction to accompany tha operation by playing on brass instruments. It would, of course, be absurd to view the . absenoa of instruction on thiß point as a proof that brass instruments were not to be played; but It shows that the adjunct is not compulsory. We may go further, and say that nothing is compulsory that produces annoyance and interferes with the liberty of the subject. The whole tendency of the Gospel is in quite the opposite direc- ' tion. It admonishes us that those who profess to follow its teachings must be lawabiding—must render nnto Csesar the things that are Cje ar's. The gravamen of the Army's offence was that they played outside one of the hotels to the annoyance of the landlord. Tha playing of a falvation army band would not annoy us under ordinary circumstances. We thoroughly appreoiate the Army's heroio and vigorous musical style. But we would not relish the orash of brazen instruments outside our office during bueiness hours. What t would be pleasant and joyful music lu ■ intervals of leisure might at Buch a time be an obstacle to the prosecution of our editorial and commercial , duties, In like manner Mr Johnston's bar tenders, in moments of distraction pro--1 duced by the clangour, might mistake an order for a bed for an order for an intoxloati Ing beverage ; or a draper might not be able to hear the request of a customer to have a 1 purchase "ohalkedup." In Bober earnest, though, so long as the State aocepts payI ment for the privilege of vending strong ■ drinks, so long must those who pay for tha privilege be protected. No section of the i community can be permitted, on the plea that . those who are engaged in such a traffia are , not worthy of consideration, to indulge in acts that annoy them and interrupt their baßiness operations. By the laws of the oountry citizens mußt ba protected from such > Interference whether they be pnblicans or ' the Salvation Army. The law will not permit any citizen to interfere with the Army in its legitimate proceedings, nor any body of religionists to resort to any means that [ m»y seam to them best in the carrying out of their work of evangelisation. If Buch libarly were permitted, would be no end of anarchy and strife, for those who felt the result to be a nuisance would take the law into their own hands and seek to panish the aggressors. If the Army are to be allowed to do what they chooße, then they oould not complain if those who disagree fiom their methods should indulge In antagonistic and oonnteraotive demonstrations. Ab we know from experience, there are many ways in which the Army could be harassed, and though they might welcome opposition as a jseanß of attracting attention to them and their work > still they would soaroely view with complacency the blowing of brass instruments, the beating of

drama, and the olanging of cymbals in order to drown the sound of their appjals and their VGcalisation. Snoh a thing would no*", of course, be permitted, any more than their playing of each Instruments to the annoyance tf oitize:s will be allowed. The question of what constitutes a nuisance to other people and what constitutes a nnisano9 to themselves cannot, of coarse, be left to the Army to decide. If this were done, the Aimy would be at liberty to be as noisy and aggressive as they chose, whilst otherß woald have to suffer in Bilence. Our correspondent mistakenly charge* U3 with favoring the suppression oE street preaching. We did nothing of the kind. Bat street preaching, or anything else, if it prove a nuisance to the public, must, of course, be suppressed so long a? the present hw continues. Fortunately, in Uamaru, at any rate, no objeotion hai ever been raised to the doings of the Army so long as they have not been unnecessarily obnoxious. The playing of their band in ths streets has been opposed, but pubiic opinion intervened in their behalf, as it always will, where there is danger of oppression. Nevertheless, the Army mast not turn into license the liberty that hss been granted to thsm, or they will be the greatest sufferers in the end.