A CHANGE OF FRONT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1815, 14 April 1888, Page 2

A CHANGE OF FRONT.

The Rev. Chas. Garrett, la a reoenfc epeech on the advance of temperance sentiments daring the last fifty years, expressed himself as follows : — There have been many things m the past year to make as grateful, bat nothing has gladdened my own heart so much as the agreement of all the voluntary churches In the land to advise their ministers to select Sunday, November 27th, for a denunciation of our national sin and curse, hitemperanoe, This agreement forma one of those landmarks which shovr the rapid progress of the Temperanoa Movement m this oountry. It 1b said that the missionaries who have been the longest m India are the moat saDgaine as to the final and oompleto triumph of Christianity m that vast region, and oertainly the oldest abstainers are the moßt Baugaine bb to the speedy triumph of Temperance. The reason la clear. Thoee who have been long working for a oaus?, mast of necessity be beat ac« quainted with the difficulties which have been overcome, and are therefore the belt qualified to estimate its progress. It is bo peculiarly with regard to the Temperance Movement. At the outset everything was against thoTemperanoe workers. They had all our difficulties, and none of our enconragmenta. Yet amid storms and tempests they dug the soil and planted the seed which is now bearinc* such a promising orop. They labored t and we ectsr into thtir labors* It may assist *to promote our gratitude, aud strengthen our faiih, tf we " remember the wjy m which the Lord hath led as." As we took back we ehall see that at the outset eve.ything was hostile to the Temperance movement. Public opinion was dead against It. Intoxicating drink was regarded a necessary of life, and thoae who refused to drink it were told that they mnst take It or die. The hablto and customs of aoolety were against it. Drink was associated with every act of men's lives, and was regarded as the symbol of friendship, loyalty, and religion. Science waß a most determined onemy. Doctors declared that it was Indispensable both m health and slokneaa, and that to abstain waa madness* The Church denounced total abstainers as the foaa of God and meu, and from many a pulpit they w«ro declared to be Ohartiata, or I >fidelß, or both. Indeed ao thoroughly waa this believed that the impreeslon remains m some minds to this day that at the cutset Teetotallsm was a Godless movement, and hence we hear some of our youDger adherents talking about their having originated "Gospel Temperance" 1 i The fact is, it was a religious movement from the very first I knew most of the early abstainers Intimately, and I gladly testify that there was not an infidel among them ; nearly all of them were hearty Methodist*, and Methodism has been the backbone of the movement all the way through. True, many of the early abstainers were not members of the Church, but they were driven out and kept out by those who did not understand them. The State did all m its power to frustrate the movement. The Government seem to have regarded the drink traffic a? a Divine Institution for raising the revenue, and It psotected and favored it accordingly. These were some of the difficulties which met the workers at the outset, bnt they had faith m God, and faith In the truth which God had revealed to them, and through evil report and good report they tolled on, find God made them to triumph m every place. Now all Is changed, and &3 some of us look baok we are as thoae that dream. We joyously say, "God haa done great things for as whereof we are glad." We have corrected publio opinion, and now all classes admit that we are right. We have greatly changed the habits and customs of eooiety. Mea now meet for friendship, business, politics, or religion, and no drink is seen, If a man dines at an hetel, and Bays he takes water, it causeß no surprise. Vast gatherings respond to the toast of "The Queen," and "The clergy and ministers of all denominations," without any of them disappearing uader the table as la days of yore. We have educated Solence, and every doctor whoßo opinion is worth paying for, has relegated alcohol to its right place amung the poisons. We have converted the Church, Every Church m the land ha* now its own Temperance organisation, and there is a holy rivalry among the Churches as to whioh nhall do most to extend oar principles. We have shaken the drink traffic to the centre. Fifty years ago it was supremo. Founded upon appetite, buttressed by interest, dofended by science blessed by the Church, and patronised by everybody, it said, "My mountain standelh sure, £ shall never be moved, 1 ' To-day all 1b changed. Solence brands It as an impostor, the Churoh denounces it as a Binner, the State treats it as a ticket-of-leave man, and is hesitating whether it shall renew its license, so that its existenoe is evidently only a question of time. If, thon m the last fifty years, Tern? perance has made such progress witty everything against it, what may we not oxpaot m the next fifty years with everything m its favor 1 The decision Is In our own hands. Let us realise the tremendous interests Involved, and give ourselves heartily to our work ; and the blessing of heaven and earth will be oar reward.