CHURCH AND TEMPERANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 256, 2 November 1906, Page 4

CHURCH AND TEMPERANCE.

DISCUSSION AT THE SYNOD. GEOWTH 01 THE MOVEMENT. The temperance movement was further discussed at the Anglican Synod yesterday afternoon, when The debate on the motion of the Eev. C. A. Watson, "That this Synod places on record its thankfulness to Almighty God fox the o-rowth of the temperance movement in this colony, as evidenced at the recent local option poll, and earnestly urges all Churchmen prayerfully to consider their attitude towards it," was resumed. Air. J. H. Upton said that he saw no evidence among his friends and acquaintances of the great intemperance spoken of by the mover of the motion, but he saw a great number of people who were moderate drinkers, and -who led respectable lives. He thought the movers speech would have been more in place from a public platform. He contended that very few were tempted b.y drink itself, and while it was right to restrain that few, and induce them to see the error of their way 9, it was not right to deprive others because of them. He further contended that prohibition did not prohibit. There were two classes of reformers, those who desired by legislative enactment to prevent doing what they chose, and those who deemed it desirable to set up a high ideal and a high standard of moral conduct, and endeavour by example and precept to induce people to set up the highest ideal of life. He believed that that was the attitude of the Church of England, and he believed that policy was right.

The Rev. H. Mason said 'that two years ago he bad spoken in the Synod against prohibition. But he had made inquiries which had astonished him, and showed him that the prohibition districts were higher in every way—both morally and from a financial point of view were better than those districts in which prohibition did not exist. At the same time, he would not like to see the Church as a body adopting prohibition, for he ■was not an extremist in matters of the kind. To his mind prohibition brought about a better sta-te of things. He did not believe in painting the present state of things in lurid colours. Clergymen, who were acquainted with the undercurrent of life, could bring forward cases which would astonish many laymen, and would show that they could not paint the ease in too lurid colours. It was no use saying that it was not a very great evil, that we did not meet it among our friends and acquaintances, for a man could choose his friends and acquaintances, and they knew the evil existed. The youth of New Zealand were undoubtedly put in the way of temptation. He did not think that the young men of the colony liked drink for drink's sake, but they did go into the public house for one caus; , or another and did get drink until it got a hold on them. He had 6een it occur in connection with football clubs. Young men went in to have supper after matches, and had alcoholic liquor with it. A few months ago' he saw a brake load of young men driving away from an hotel and every one was the worse for liquor. He brought the case under the notice of the police, and the licensee was removed. The present state of things meant temptation to young men. Although but a recent convert to nolicense, he would heartily welcome the day when no-license was carried. He heartily agreed with the terms of the motion.

Mr. Chrisp said he had always been an advocate of temperance, but did not favour prohibition because he did not believe in coercion. He believed in moderation in all things, and believed that many who were strongest on prohibition were not strong the other way. (A member: "What other way?")

The Rev. Watson, replying to criticism, said that the big fault of the Church of England was that it was 30 moderate. It was this desire for moderation that kept them back, that made them want rousing, so that they might get more life about them. It was because they were so thoroughly respectable, so entirely moderate, that they heard nonsense of the kind that had been spoken in opposition. As long as they talked in vague generalities nothing would be done. On the previous evening he had seen five young fellows, all under the influence of liquor, come out of one hotel. They dismissed a motion on a serious subject in a hurried manner at the same time as fellow-men were drinking themselves downhill.

Bishop Iseligan pointed out that last year the Synod had committed itself to- the approval of the principal of local option as applied to the liquor traffic, so that the resolution proposed was no contradiction to what had been done in former years. He would like to say that he supported every word that Mr. Upton had said. He was very jealous of the honour of the clergy and laity who composed the house, and as the per son most responsible for the honour of the Church of England in that diocese he had felt grieved at many of the statements tin.: had been made. The Church of England in this diocese, at any rate since he came in 1903, bad not lieen careless on the drink question. One organisation was outside the purview of the Synod, and that organisation had been adversely commented upon for being outside its purview. It had been his endeavour to bring every new organisation which had been started and every old organisation that had been revived within the purview of the Synod. If the Church of England had been asleep on the temperance question the Synod of the diocese was to blame, and the Synod, he did not believe was rightly to blame. The whole matter had Taeen within the power of the Synod to act upon, and each year he had brought the matter before it. It was not true to say that the Church in Synod had been carelose on the matter. He only wanted to say that because he felt that a good many remarks were made in public cerning the attitude of the Bishop of the diocese, as president of the Synod, in a matte-r of this sort, and he wanted to make it perfectly clear that the policy he had pursued from the beginning to end, since he came here, had been the policy within the limits hf had described, of Synodical action. Synodical action had been taken so far as he had been able to secure it, and the action, so far as it had gone, evidenced that the Church of England was not careless in the matter. He had kept out of the controversial aspects of the matter altogether, and had spoken with a desire to preserve the honour, the fair name and reputation of the Synod for calm and deliberate ac tion and for careful and deliberate thought in any matter of morals, whether it be temperance, impurity, gambling, or dishonesty in any form whatever. (Applause.) The motion was carried on the voices.