WORKING MEN'S CLUBS.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 317, 1 August 1879, Page 2

WORKING MEN'S CLUBS.

f .... (Melbourne Argus.j Too Jmuch prominence can scarcely be given to the movement which.' is being made for the establishment of Coffee Taverns and.Working Men's .Clubs in Melbourne and the larger -suburbs. Although . the laboring classeshere.&re probably less intemperate than'in marry other'places, both in the, new and /the bid worlds, a great deal of drinking goss bnj to the moral, social, and physical • detriment of the community. Some 11,000 persons are annually apprehended in this colony fordrunkenness, while the number of. serious, crimes, the commission of Which is excited - by indulgence in strong liquors, or whioh . have their origin in habits of excess, cannot tbe estimated. Tlie statistics take no account, moreover, of those who consume more than is good for them, but whose condition does not come under the notice of the police.: That the working man, like Ms superiors in the social scale, drinks too much, is a fact patent' to all.. How to wean him from the pernicious habit is the problem, and it appears to have been solved to a great extent by the promoters of the coffee-house system-at home. In every city where these resorts have been established they have been eminently successful. In Liverpool, for example, there are jaow open no less than thirty, inaugurated during the 4 pas^| f ear. The | directors of the British Workman Publiehouse Company, in their third annual report, after stating.... that the " results financially have been quite satisfactory," go on to say that they have every reason to believe that these establishments' are "exerting a considerable influence on the habits of the people. It; is gratifying; to know that .the head constable in his last annualr : repprtj : gave expression ;of his opinion, to this effect." Tne ■ experiment, * t so-far as it has been tried here,'has had a like resujt. At the meeting in connection with the Williamstown Sailors' Rest and Working-men's Coffee-room, held on the 15th instant,;it was stated that " since the -~ institution'had been in working order the-'. convictions for drunkenness at the local police court had considerably decreased."' It is easy to understaud the beneficial operation of such institutions. The working man, like every ! one else, must have amusement and recreation, and if he cannot find it elsewhere he goes to the publichouse. But provide him with a good substitute, and he is quite' satisfied with it. The prbtiioters of the* Cdfee Tavern s Company, whose prospectus we published on Saturday,* recognise this facf. ; They -state that the houses they propose to establish " will not be mere refreshment rooms in the ordinary sense. of the term, but places of mental recreation and improvement. , Thcly will be supplied with chess, draughts, and similar games, with lavatories and baths, with reading and other private rooms, and tables furnished with "newspapers, magazines, and periodicals ; probably, also, with libraries." We trusfc that this portion of tho programme will be carried out as faithfully as possible. Merely to offer tea and coffee instead of beer and spirits will not draw the working man away from the, public-house. Inducements must be held' out to him, and none are likely to be so powerful as those >- f which will furnish employment fox his mind. Some remarks very pertanecrJt to> £ the subject were made recently by the„ ' Governor of New Zealand at the; .opening , r of an industrial exhibition in connectioß '' with the Wellington Working, Men's Clubi an institution which has objects'in common with the coffee-bouse.! The Marquis of Nor- . manby in the course of his address observed that it was the nature of man to require relaxtfttiou and amusement, and everyone knew that the working man— especially the young working maa, who - ; was not married, and bad not a home— ' 1 found that the lodgings he occupied were not, generally speaking, of a very tempting and comfortable character. -The reaoH— was, that he too frequently found his way to the public-house, " and 'a' tr.an who began that course, without any intention - or wish to exceed, Very of tens falls into temptation and becomes a drunkard. All this danger is removed- by one of these clubs." The remarks of the noble.Marquie carry their own meaning, but there is one point to which special, attention must be directed.- We allude to the position of the young working man. He is always in the w*y*f temptation; but bis habits being unformed, be can be influenced - for good by weans which might fail when brought to bear on the habitue of the public-boosel " The tree grows' as .the twig is ~'be_tt. ,, Let tlie young working man be trained to Wayb of temperance, and a great step will have been made in the moral advancement of ail important section of tjhe cojraraurjlty. But good influences have their effect on both old and young, and the movement which -we are advocating may be regarded altogether; in the most hopeful light. , In commending the working men's coffee-," houses to the countenance and - support of the public, there is one important feature which must not be overlooked. Institutions of thiß character in England have been not only self-supporting, but remunerative. They have all paid well, Some of them to the extent of returning a dividend of 10 per cent, on the. capital invested. With good management-there is no reason why they should not be as successful here &s in the old country, and those who take up shares need not think that they are contributing to a charitable fund. Gain will not, of course, be the first object in view, but still, with a reasonable prospect of obtaining a return upon money laid out,' many will see their way to t-ke part in the enterprise who would otherwise feel obliged to refrain. The matter seems to have been entered upon in a thoroughly practical way, the names of those who are

it are calpulafed to inspire cc_-_denie«, m& there seems no J "reason, therefore, why. the public,should, withhold its saj-atfanoe. . , ' !

;" "Ain't he got his mother's nose/?" said the fearSe. ".Pretty-ickle Sing.'* r'; Pa. _ bent . down to admire. " Ain't be got his papa's •fidiiskers.?" sang out Tommy; the eldest boy. So he had,such a handful!— Referee. A Fact.—At a recent operatic per-, formauce.in Cork, a singer was being loudly applauded, when a semi-inebriated occupant of the gallery sboiited 0ut,"..N0 more-of yer auchorin, but lit the roan sing again." -; ...,..,. ?.