Fifth Of November Celebrations. TO TEB EDITOR OF THE TIMES. .Sir.-I have long wished to gee outside attention drawn to be state of affairs in this town with reference to its cele- bratiorx of the 5th of Iiovember, and was glad to read the ijtter of " Decency " in The Times of 6th inst.; but he labours under two difficulties-deicjency and imperfection of information. I also regret that h1 has ehosen to wri to anonymously. In such matters the name ought to sub stantiate the complaint. If you will grant me the favour, I should like briefy to state my own experiences, which are to the point, and wiU at once refute Mr. Willoughby's assertions and support " Decency's " contention. Iii the spring of 1879 I came to Lewes as the minister of the Baptist Chapel, and on Novenmber 6 of that year spent several hours in the streets observing the various aspects of the annual riot. As my house is two doors from the County-hall, in front of which the central bonfire is made, I had excellent opportunities but I went.into all parts of the town. What I saw so sad- dened and impressed, me7 that on the Sundey following (Nov. 9) I made it the subject of an address to my congre- gation. I earnestly urged parents to withhold their children from the scene, and particularly impressed upon the young people the necessitylof avoiding the immoral practices I had witnessed. I deprecated the celebration on account of its influence in fostering^rancorous feelings, and the strongest point made against the leaders of the revel was to chargo them with a purpose to sow hatred and strife between the different classes of society and members of the nation. Here my interference with the bohbre societies began and ended,but there was a reporter in the audience who inserted a report of the address in the, next issue.of a local paper without my knowledge. Ot thrt I do not complain, although he took only that which suited his purpose, but he gave it fairly. The report led to several letters in tho same aper. of which I tookno notice. X2_ remark were treated with great vigour in the style of the men of Sodom -" This fellow came in to sojourn, and.he wvill necds be a judge "-tbat is the way they have in Lewes. Blut the closing scenes of the revel are at meetings of the societies, when the surplus funds are spent in a grand carouse ; and at these meetings my boldness was denounced in un- measured terms, and, as I have been informed, threats of personal violence were in some places freely used. During the months that followed I was several times insulted in the streets by members of the bonfire societies, and on the mnorning of November 5, 1880, I received a threatening letter, warning me that if I ventured to appear I should be assaulted. That night several panes of glass in the win- dows of my house vi ere brolken. 'exit year, 181, a more serious incident crcurred through the want of caution of a younglady then residing with me, who, on lifting up a window to watch a passing group, was struck upon the face with a heavy firework, inflicting a terrible burn upon her cheek and neck. So much for the gentleness and cour- tesy of 3lr. Willoughby's friends. Blore glass was broken, whch I had to renew as before. In 1882 no damage was done, but in 1883 more windows were brolken. Before the 5th a contribution was domanded of me, which I refused, and received a plain enougb intimation of what I might ex- pect. This timo I made an application for repair of damages, but was bluntly told that because I bad refused to pay the black;mail I must take the consequences. So much for another of iNlr. Willoughby's assertions. Bly application was made with a view to further uso of the grievance ; and having now made this use of it I am still prepared to take the consequences, whether it be a broken head or broken windows. Let me tell you what r have seen and heard in the streets of Lewes. On the night of November 5, 1879, between half-past S and 9, in a walk from the top of School-bill to Oliffe-corner, about a quarter of a mile, I saw five young women dressed in male attire, and two others of whom I did not see enough to be quite sure. The males in female attire were much more numerous. There was no crowd, but many passing to and fro. The s,peech and gestures of some of these disguised females are not fit to be described. in the High-street, and among the troops of revellers, were many such persons. As the night wore on drunlkenness and rofane language increazed. The fire brigade was en duty, but I saw no police, nor any attempt at preserving order. The town was literally given up to tbe mob. Many of the young persons in the streets were from the villages round about, and these lingered till far into the night. I have been told that the scenes upon the roads are often very bad, but I write only of what I saw. The grand procession which conveyed the images to the fire had, besides the guy and the Pope, an effigy intended to represent a distin- guisbed Irish member of Parliament. The chief among the performers was a man in vwhite robes, got up to personate a bishop. This person, in a violent harangue, pronounced the doom of each image,and it was consigned to the fEames, and the language he used towards the Irish people was most atrocious. Some say a moek litany was used, but I cannot say I heard that. On another occasion I witnessed from my own window what is called the consecration of the bonfire. Shortly after 11 p.m. on November 4 a group of well-dressed men formed a ring in front of the County-hall. tome knelt, others crouched, while they gabbled some incantation, and then, all rising and dancing frantically round, they made the night hideous with their discordant yells. T'hese are facts of which I was myself a witness, and they prove the existence of a state of things disgrace- ful to the country. The November revel at Lewes repro- duces the worst features of a heathen mummery down to the licentiousness and drunkenness. It is supported by terrorism and blackmail, and it is a fearful cause of de- moralisation among the children and young people of the town. I have no hesitation in affirming, because I have shown good grounds for the affirmation, that the unruliness and indifference to intellectual development so common among the young men of this town, and the neglect of propriety so sadly frequent among the girls of the lower Orders, areduem a great measore to the continuance of this annual saturnalia, with al its degrading accompani- ments. There is no lack of earnest Christian workers, but thoir efforts are paralyzed aDd 1 frustrated by this carnival of sin. I am. Sir. k .. W. K. A ISTnON@ n Ib4 klighfstreet, Lewes, Oct. 11. JFIFTH OF NOVJMBER CEBLBRBRATION2.
