§ MR. HANBURYsaid, he would beg to ask the right hon. Baronet the Home Secretary whether he has received a memorial on the subject of the Sunday bands in the Parks being encouraged by the Government, while preaching is prohibited; and, if so, what answer Her Majesty's Government are prepared to give to the prayer of that memorial.
§ SIR GEORGE GREY, in reply, said, that about ten days previously he received a memorial, signed by the rev. secretaries of three Associations in the metropolis for the better observance of the Lord's day and the encouragement of open-air preaching, complaining that while bands were permitted to play on Sundays in the Regent's and Victoria Parks, preaching had been forbidden. The Parks in question were not under the direct control of the Secretary of State, but under that of the Chief Commissioner of Works. At the same time he had no objection to answer the question which had been addressed to him. He had been assured that no direct sanction had been given by the Government to the playing of the bands on Sunday. They were purely voluntary bands, and the Government had done nothing more than abstain from interfering with them. With the exception of the memorial to which he had referred, he was bound to say he had received no complaint in regard to the playing of the bands from the neighbourhood of either of the Parks. The grounds upon which his right hon. Friend the Chief Commissioner of Works had prohibited preaching in the Parks were, he thought, quite sufficient. It appeared that persons of different religious denominations were in the habit of advocating their views in the Parks on Sunday, thus diverting those places from their legitimate purposes—the amusement and relaxation of the people. The evil at last was carried to such an extreme that parties were found avowedly proclaiming atheistical and infidel principles. Under these circumstances the Chief Commissioner of 1289 Works considered that the permission to preach had been abused, and deeming it impossible to allow policemen to exercise a discretion in the matter, therefore withdrew altogether the permission which had been given to preach in the Parks.
§ SIR BENJAMIN HALLsaid, he thought it was only fair that he should state to the House what the allegations in the memorial were, and then give his answer to them. The memorialists declared that they regretted that the playing of private bands on Sunday afternoon had been resumed in Regent's and Victoria Parks; that the platforms erected there at the public expense were used by those bands, while seats were let for hire, and programmes sold for the benefit of the performers; that while all this was done with the sanction of the Chief Commissioner of Works the permission to preach had been withdrawn. He was much surprised at these statements, which had but hide foundation of truth. After the discussion which took place last year the bands which had obtained the sanction of the Government to their playing on Sunday were discontinued, in deference to certain opinions which had been expressed upon the subject, and he had taken no part whatever in their renewal. The platforms upon which the bands played on week days were used, he understood, on Sunday, and he thought he should not be justified in entering upon a collision with the people upon such a subject. Another allegation of the memorialists was that persons were prevented going to the Parks in consequence of the disorderly conduct of the people during the playing of the bands. He had frequent reports from the park-keepers and from the superintendent of the Parks, but he had not heard one single complaint of the conduct of the people; on the contrary, he believed that the cases before the magistrates on Monday had by no means increased. Last year, during the playing of the bands sanctioned by the Government, upwards of 200,000 people visited the Parks on Sunday, and yet not one single case arising out of the bands came before the magistrates. The grounds upon which he stopped preaching in the Parks on Sunday might be shortly stated. In a report which he received from the superintendent of the Parks he was informed that upon a Sunday in August last year, there were one Protestant minister, five Emanuelites (four males, and one female), five total abstainers, and eleven infidels 1290 preaching at the same time one against the other. The park-keepers took down some of the sentences which they heard uttered, such as, "If there is a God, he is the author of all evil;" "There is no evidence of a future life;" "The Deity is unknown to men;" and a great number of other most blasphemous doctrines with which he would not disgust the House. Upon the receipt of that report he felt it his duty to prohibit preaching altogether, believing that a, discretion could not properly be left to the superintendent or the park-keepers, as to what was orthodox and what was infidelity.
§ LORD LOVAINEsaid, he wished for an explanation of the statement in the memorial that money was paid for admission to hear the music.
§ SIR BENJAMIN HALLsaid, there was no such statement in the memorial. What the memorialists said was, that seats were let for hire, and programmes were sold for the benefit of the performers. He knew nothing about the programmes; but with regard to the seats he might slate that in all the Parks there were certain persons allowed to let out chairs to those who wished to have them.