SUNDAY MEETING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 19156, 12 April 1932, Page 11

SUNDAY MEETING

COUNCIL REFUSES PERMIT. BAY NOT “A POLITICAL BEAR GARDEN.” An application was before the Timaru Borough Council last night from the Labour Representation Committee for permission to hold a meeting on Caroline Bay on Sunday afternoon next. The letter stated that the meeting would be addressed by two members of the Parliamentary Labour Party. In the event of the weather being unfavourable, the meeting would be held in a hall, probably the Theatre Royal. Councillor A. Kennedy moved and Councillor W. H. Hunt seconded that the necessary permission be given. Councillor 11. J. Mathers said that there were six days and six nights without Sunday on which to discuss political questions. He was opposed to the application. Councillor J. R. Hart ?>aid that he regarded the application as the thin gnd of the wedge. He was not going to see Caroline Bay turned into a political bear garden. He did not c&ye whether they were Reformers, Na--tionalists, Unionists or any political party, he was not in favour of the Bay being turned into a political meeting place. Councillor Hunt said that the present were abnormal times, and the best brains in New Zealand were in difficulties, and did not know which way to turn. He liked to vote intelligently; he had no desire to cast his vote at any time in the dark, and he, for one, would be there to hear what had to be said. As for the day, if some of the Councillors read history, they would find that it was a day when the pagans used to visit the sun, and it was not introduced into Christianity until Constantine’s time. He hoped the spirit and age would manifest itself so that the men tVbuld have an opportunity oi putting forward their views. “The clouds are heavy on us,” he said, “anc I don’t see why religious training should thwart the purpose of minds equally enlightening, or perhaps more so.” Councillor Kennedy said that he tow it that the people concerned had not an opportunity of holding a mass meeting on any other day but Sunday because everyone could not attend. He could not see any harm in a meeting and the Bay seemed to be the propet place to have it. In Hyde Park if London there were anarchists and all sorts of people addressing meetings every Sunday, and the authorities regarded it as a safety valve. Councillor G. Benstead said that s short time ago they passed a resolution allotting a very valuable space tc the Labour Party. The Mayor: “Not the Labour Party.' Councillor Richards: “It was ths unemployed.” Councillor Benstead: “I thought if was Labour interests. On that occasion you voted unanimously. Are you going to give that the go-by now?” The Mayor; “I hope not.” Councillor Hunt: “You hear politics in the churches sometimes.” The motion was then put, the voting being five for and five against. The Mayor gave his casting vote against the motion. The voting was:—For: Councillors Kennedy, Chittock, Richards, Hawkey and Hunt. Against: The Mayor and Councillors Benstead, Hart, Mason and Mathers. Before giving his casting vote, the Mayor said that he did not believe in political meetings being held in Timaru on the Sabbath Day. For the Council to grant permission for a political meeting to be held on Sunday he thought would be a step in the wrong direction, and not be conducive to the best interests of the town. The men might have a good message; he would not say anything about that. The question of the holding of the meeting in a hall was then debated, Councillor Hawkey seconding: “That a permit be granted the Labour Representation Committee to hold a mass meeting in the Theatre Royal on April 17,” Councillor Mathers objected on the same grounds as before. Councillor Kennedy maintained that politics were closely related to religion. The welfare of mankind was a religious subject in itself. He was sorry che Mayor had given his casting vote the way he did, for it would have saved the committee a good deal of expense. The Mayor: “That is finished. I gave my casting vote, and I am not sorry either.” As an amendment the Mayor moved: “That the Labour Representation Committee be offered the use of the Bay Hall, without charge, on April 16th.” He said that that would show the Council was not biased or narrowminded. The amendment was seconded by Councillor Benstead. Councillor Kennedy: “The hall is already taken for Saturday night.” The Mayor: “I think we can get over that difficulty.” The amendment was carried on the casting vote of the Mayor, the voting being the same as previously.