MR COAD'S MISSION.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2254, 16 October 1889, Page 2

MR COAD'S MISSION.

The annoupcemeui of « lecture by Mr Ooad, who Id under engagement tn the lB New Zealand AlliaDoa for the Bupproesioa • t of tho liquor traffii h d the effact or | attrnotlng an audleooe to the Oddfellows' , r Hall last evening that completely filled the t . building In all Its parts. The chair was ir ooaupled by iha Mayor who brhfly stitid c tbo objeots of the meeting. f Mr W. T. Glover addressed the meeting t> at considerable length, settiug forth the c alms and obj cts of the New Zealand . Alliance for the sappresalon of tho liquor (| trßffio. He argued m favor of prohibition . without oompoueai lon, as entire prohibition waa the only remedy for tbe evlle a caused ly he trnffio In drink, H« flatly ;> deuied tbat prohbitioa had ever failed m any looallty ia wh oh it had been given a trial, but on the oontrary, U gained new strength In propooion to tha length of r . Its experlotoa. There was no fear of pro- ,. hibitlon loading ta »ly-gr.)g selling ; lv t fact there w*s mnre sly-grog selling lv is Ashbnnon at the preeent time th»n woold h b.j pcsslble under a sya^em of prohibition If ihd law were euforoed sly-gtog selllug could not exist. Mr Oo*d, who was reoolved with mooh ap^Unso, spoke with eloquence and earnestness m the advantages of temperanoe, Starting with the axiom that, the people wpre better without than with strong drink, ho procovdsd to eoow the evils that followed an Indulgence In the habU. and tho benefits which immediately followed total nbstlneooe. There were hundreds of persons who thought that liquor w«s right en. ugh m Itsalf— that 1». was ag-^.od ore»t Q re of God— and tbat It was only tho Ignorant who abos d the gift. There might appear to ba something ia thh argument If It were only the bad and worthless who were slaves to drink but hlatory showed them that some of th? greatest man tho world ever prodao ■ d, had f«llon vlntlms to the pernicious habit, their prospers being blighted a-id themselves m'ned phyeioally and morally, How then could it be said that liquor was a good oreaturo of God ? I- wai not a go<d preaturo of God but a bad artlolo made by man. Roferrlng to the license whloh h«d b?eo granted lo tho Dunodln BxhibltioD, he said that every pulpit In tho country ought to sound an earnest protest agilnst the official permit whloh had bean granted to poison the people who were drawn to Dunechn by this gro«t exhibition. It was called a lioonso to sell refreshment*, but It was m truth a license to sell the devil's best agent for tho ruin o< soul«. If things wero known by thotr roal n»mea, a " reffcehtnent shop " would ba known as a " poison shop," and an " hotel " ai a "drankard faotory." \yhtlo they oontiaueo) to anil tU.) devil's agent by good name thoy would never get It out of the oountry,' It was not drink whloh was tho good oreaiure of God, but man, and he appealed to all right-minded people to stamp oat that wbjoh was a curse to civilisation. He waa dell R hted to hear that the young people of New Zealand were not takin? to drink ; It wan a most hopeful sign for the futore, and wa» tbe S^ 80 " w fay a few year* the drink bill had decreased f ora £11 per head to £3, If any trade or tr»ffjj oursed tho peoplo to a greater extent than it benefited them, then it was only right thst it should be sop^reißed, They had found by experlouoe that the drink traffic was a oarao and therefore they deslrod to shut It up I- was no use blaming loglslators. The law eauotloned thetrofs , tho loglslaters m»de the law, and tha peupie appointed tho legislators, so that after all tho onus oameback to the people. It was for them therefore to demand that thoy should have a dlreot vote whether th.«y wore to have llqaor shops or not, It wae not a fair poalnon to put a few tradoooaon In to leave It to them to decide thli question. He had known *n Instance In which oome tradesmen, members of a licensing ommltleo, had voted for the closing of certain hotels, Tbe hotels belonged to ti;e bank and the bank m retalla tlcn *' smashed " tbe tradesmen. In conclusion Me Ooad instanced looalltlos he knew, In which llqaur was not permitted to he sold, aad ha polntod to the prosperity the Inhabitants now enjoyed m oontraet to mlaory whfoh had formerly largwly obtained, as a praotloal llluatration of the blenslngs wbloh might be apprehended from prohibition. Law and ordor were now observed, destitution had disappeared and happy homes had taken the plage of squalor and wretohedness. He wished all people to investigate this matter for themselvea, ond he was ooufideut that their decision would be that the trade waa an evil one and thfttlhey would unite In patting It down ; and In proportion as they put It down so wonld the people rise. During tho evening a choir, under the leadership of Mr Gamble, aaug several selection?, and Mr King gavo a solo, "The TemporanoeFlag" whloh was rodemandod. In roßponso to ou eppanl a number of poraouß became members of tha Alliance, and the usual votes of thanks oonolu led 1 the meeting^