The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, JUNE 8.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 401, 8 June 1880, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, JUNE 8.

Ir is astonishing'to what.au extent men of one idea will persist in riding their hobbies to death, and how perse veri.igly thry '".ll drag thoir pet theories to tbe front whether the occasion is suitable or not. A striking instance of this presented itself in the debate on the Charitable institutions Bill which took place in the House of Representatives on Fri-

day last. Sir William Fox could see no good in the measure because, as he said, it did-not go to the root of the evil. His argument might be summarized as follows :—Drink is the parent of pauperism. Therefore it is of no use to attempt to relieve the latter while you tolerate the former. The French peasant is not a pauper, because he does not spend .hjs money on drinking and horse racing,' but contents himself for recreation with a quiet game of dominoes on a Sunday afternoon. (Oh, shocking i)

Whereupon Sir George Grey takes up his parable, and thanks Providence for the speech of the previous speaker. He quite agrees that drink is the fruitful cause of pauperism and crime. He admits the superiority of the French peasant to the English laborer in sobriety. But why was the one sober and the. other drunken ? Because the. Frenchman had a piece of land to call his own, and the Englishman neither possessed nor could hope to possess such'a luxury. From this, by an easy transition,.the speaker went on to denounce the aggregation of land in large estates, and the grasping of Native lands by capitalists to the detriment of genuine settlement.

Now, both of the worthy Knights are to a great extent right in their argument. It is a self-evident fact that overindulgence in intoxicating liquors causes an immense amount of destitution, misery, and crime. It is at least fairly open to argument whether .we might riot attempt to lessen these evils by legislative interference with the liquor traffic. So again with Sir George. Grey's, arguments. It is perfectly true that _you cannot take any surer means to make a man self-reliant, to guard against the chance of his falling into the' abyss of pauperism, than by showing him that by means of industry and economy he may become absolute master : of a house for himself and his children. It is true that the aggregation of landed estates in the hands of a few owners does leadto the existence of a class born in pauperism, and- content to live and : die in such a condition, or, as Sir George puts it, '"to make sure drunkards'and outcasts." "; ' "

But, while admitting to a great extent' the force of the reasoning adduced "by both gentlemen as to the roots of pauperism, we must certainly say that we consider the introduction of these arguments at such a time was decidedly inopportune. The proper time for.Sir W. Fox's oration, would have been during the discussion on the Licensing Bill, and for that of .Sir •s.:.Grey, the introduction of some Land Bill, Native or otherwise. There was a great de_lof calm common sense in the rejoinder of the Hon. W. Rolleston to the effect that we must face the evils that do exist. Even if men are drunkards and profligates we cannot allow the innocent women and children dependent On them to starve. And distress arose from other sources than vice. There were accidents and disease. There was.in,discreet immigration.

We do not for a moment suppose,that" either Sir G. Grey or Sir W. Fox would offer any practical objection to the relief of distress however brought' about. We have no doubt that the pockets of both of them have frequently been laid under contribution for the alleviation of the sufferings of even bibulous and improvident humanity. But they cannot miss a chance of airing their pet theories, whether in season or out of season. "V. c are aware that, all great reforms have been accomplished by men of one idea, by men whom: the world call fanatics. We are not disposed to sneer at earnestness i;i the furtherance of any cause which its advocates consider a good one, and we admit that this dogged persistency has an immense effect on the dense mass of human selfishness which forms the chief obstacle to any great reform. Howard and prison reform, Wilberforce and the abolition of slavery, Plimsall and the rescue of seamen's lives from mercantile greed, are all examples of the success of enthusiasm—fanaticism, if you will. But there is a danger attendant on this constant dragging in of one subject on all occasions. People, otherwise open to conviction, are inclined to vote the whole thing a bore, and its advocate an intolerable nuisance This feeling is apt to injure a good cause and prevent those who would urge its claims from obtaining a fair heating when the time is opportune. It is because we believe in the necessity of legislation both in the regulation of the liquor traffic, and to promote settlement on the land, that we regret to sec two such excellent causes imperilled by indiscreet, advocacy.