ARCHHISHOP REDWOOD ON PROHIBITION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 165, 7 April 1919, Page 8

ARCHHISHOP REDWOOD ON PROHIBITION

THE LIBERTY OF THE SUBJECT

REGULATION THE MORAL COURSE

[Extended Report, Published by Arrangement with the Catholic Presbytery.! The following Pastoral Letter from Archbishop liedwood to Hie clergy of the Archdiocese was read from the altar in all the Catholic churches last eveniiig:Archbishop'a House, Wellington, March 25, 1910. Kev. Dear Fiither,— The clergy and people of this-Arch-diocese and of the other Dioceses in Xew Zealand naturally look to their Metropolitan for right guidance on the matter of Prohibition—National Prohibition— with which this Dominion is threatened. I hope such a calamity will never befall it. Por what is the altogether untenable position of the Prohibition advocates? It is this: if they argue that wine (alcoholic drinks) is an evil in itself, then absolute Prohibition, even for Sacramental purposes, should emphatic.illy follow; but this argument transfers responsibility from the 4ifieht to the. inritniment, and so destroys morality; moreover, it is contrary to Scripture and the emphatic teaching and example of Christ, who used wine .Himself, and in instituting the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, made it part of the essential matter.

If they argue that vine, or alcoholic [rink, is not an evil in itself, then reflation of its traffic is surely tho moral ourse to adopt. But if Prohibition is urged on account if the misuse which some make of it, hen. to be -morally consistent, the same leople should demand that, because the lexunl instinct is abused by some to the ixtremo of impurity, therefore all union if the sexes should bo forbidden. On :he farce principle printing, the then Ire, lancing, should be prohibited. All this ■vould, of course, be absurd, and is,nlnost blasphemy against marriage, which 6 a holy ordinance of God and is lionnired by all men. The position of fho Prohibitionist is accordingly against logic ind common sense. Reform is needed— :iot Prohibition—reform wise and moderate and patient in the light of experience, education, and true morality; in the interests of the ;rent; body of tho public, and especially jf moderate men who constitute the majority of the people. To brand New flpalamlers, who are peiicriilly a sober community, as a drink-sodden people, demanding drastic legislation, is'.", vile and monstrous calumny. The whole scheme of National Prohibition is a great elep backward: it would be an odious and inquisitorial tyranny, foreign to the basic principle and spirit of British law. As the Archbishops, last October, aptly stated m their important pronouncement, "Wo view with misgiving and alarm the crude proposals of those Prohibitionists vnn demand drastic Indslation which would bo an unwarrantable infringement en the reasomblo liberty of Jhe mass of the people; which would most probably ho inefficacious for the purpose in view, and which, in tlm end, would produce more evil than it would remove." Prohibition is indeed fatal to liberty, because it involves n sirious outrage against the fintural T-ghtu and liberties of individuals and contemptuously disregards the claims of dissenting minorities. It is also fata! to temperance, though not a few >ophistienlly confound temperance with Prohibition. -Temperance is a growth, like ;']l moral laws, in the individual nud the community. Prohibition proposes to f.stablish temperance according to Hie criminal code. Temperance is positive and appeals to man's ,*pnsp .if sf:!f-"onh-nl. to his reason and conscience. Prohibition is negative, and appeals to the sense of ft-ar to pains and penalties, mid utterly ignores man's habits and education. Temperance is Ihe development of r.inn's righteousness and self-control. Arohibilion is the reduction nf Niin to a oo'itinn of co'iipulsorv national total abstinence by tho criminal law; temperance i? the heritage and blessing of a free people. Prohibition is. thp yoke which n. country construct* for itself when it confesses its inability to self-control, unci from which it will take lons years to frep itself; temperance is the bn/lw of self-respect and orderliness. Prohibition is the symbol for hypocrisy and decent ion. All the secret encouragement lo fly drinking, the. utter nf control, the absence of all authority, the vile decoctions served, are sure to generate a low moral atmosphere of great mischief. And such places of t'lv d.n'nkin? greatly appall tp Ihnynum'. Once lot a voting man become eonfr'ninated by the moral tone of the "slv srrngs," li» will bp damaged moral]v, if not utferlv ruined. Prohibition will undoubtedly generate lawlessness. Its extreme character, its f>ir-rpaoliinß measures, its' enormous penalties stnm'p it as a rrindinu despotism—|ii P fruitful parent of. disorder. Prohibition is as r'ospotic as jinv la«- of thn worst despot, ft utterly disregards ami tramples litulor foot tlm. undoubted .rfabfs of minorities [ whom if pi-osslv insults bv the wnv it j fln>n>U their "-ishes nud destroys their J privileges.. The minority under it ; would obey, or suffer outrn'reous penalties. I Wherever it prevails it is monstrous in j evprv way and grossly insultiii" to the intplliffnTH of Hip ]«rm minority. Tf it is parried in New Zealand we may expect that shortly the luml will be 'filled with dons, nil of which- will be schools of hypocrisy, evasion, lawlessness, and de- ' '■entin". One evircme bowls another. ; Prohibition would plun.Ti us" into n [.nurse. ; of folly bringing tnrmoilHo the politics ■ of the country, perjury, and evasion into : Hip courts, and deception into the pponle. 1 Lpt it not bo argued that "sly ;»roe" ! would Iwcnnio an impossibility when ■ thron-rhout the whole Dominion there j would be no liquor to lie procured. And * what could prevent the manufacture of I sly grog in the country and its introduci tinn bv n widespread system of smug■<rli'isr? But in nrv ruse (his plea is no excuse for its inherent and rampant tyranny. In a recent publication retarded as p'lHiovitaHvp bv the No-T,ic<>i>sp Parry these words occur: " T recollect ou w ('pension, i ,l conversation, onp of Hie j,brewei\s sn.id to a Prohibit ionist. 'T )---i- ---! the drunkard as much as you.' T'>e jPrnhil-ilioniV replifd: 'That'remark dp("ips (he 'lifl'nren"e hetween us. You hai* the drmikunl, I hale the dnnkanl"laker.," Tl is this very exteruntion in loiiphinsr whieh is purp (o add to the 1 1'-fc of Hie <lni!>l;pii. Nay. i|- destroys all mora.litv. This frnehinr would" rerder morality impo"ible. Anarcliv and lawlessness woul'i b< 1 ra»i];ii)it. "T hiito ; I Hie. dninl;iird-iniil;er." In (onus nf Insic, ' lip hales the holellceeper who sells winp. ' the barman who serves if, the rammer \ cial traveller who represents wholesale ' '-oneps wliic' , sled; n-jne. A sti'i) further: lie would hate thp wine-grnww , , the I'oliniir'T ; » tl'-' vii'.'vard. nud the carter who carries the winp, and so on. In . large drapery establishments certain ner- \ practise shop-lifting. Prohibition- \ ist teaching would exonerate (hem and ! bliiine the drapers. "I hate not the thief, but thp thief-maker." .Such a jl doctrine would abolish the Ton Coni- |. mandments. To shift Hie responsibility . from the man who drinks to excess to , other persons is (o encourage sympathy \ with the drunken, and still more is this wrought by absolutely Stopping the supply, not only to the ftw lawless, but to I the whole community. This remedy is f fatal to morals. Jt is fatal lo set up a ,] compulsory and ascetic U.tal abstinence n society for the people and lo cnforci) its 0 .rules by a drastic criminal code. A line educational development undoubtedly means that tlie whole of man's nttributiis nre to be brought into true lmrmouy. ITcu'H lies the worth nf the individual and 3 tho true greatness of the Slate. .\ mi-re negation such us Prohibition would never I'cconipli'-li this; in fact, a greater violation of its principles can hardly be ron-

ccivcd. TliN National Prohibition craze isnisiinly the work of a handful of fannlics ; while some honest people, even sonic Catholics, owing to what they have suffered from drunken fathers or mothers, husbands or wives, relatives or friends, put sentiment before reason mid yield to the temptation of resorting to a remedy worse than the disease. But let Catholic*

and all good Christians bo timely warned. Wo know that thero arc in tho ranks of the Prohibitionists, though not, perhaps, among tho present leaders in this country, bitter enemies of tho Catholic Church and d the Alass. There is a real danger that these people would later on try Jicre, as they have done in at least one important State of America, to render the Holy Sacriiico of "the -Mass impossible. Listen to what one of their leaders in the United States has said. ■Sidney Catts, Governor of tho State of Florida, at the annual convention of the Anti-Saloon League licld in Washington as recently as December, 11)17, made the following declaration: "Liquor may not bo imported .into the State of Florida (after I get through willi the Prohibition measure and after , the liill ha-s been passed by the people) for any purpose whatsoever, and the man • who .needs liquor for his religion had better prepare to take his religion out of Florida." But I shall bo toid that we run no such danger in New Zealand, as wo have tho

assurance of the leaders of the NoLicenso League, together with tho Government, that satisfactory regulations .will bo made to allow wine to bo procured for Sacramental purposes. I aui not at all convinced that these regulations will bo satisfactory. First of all, what are they? Nobody has seen them, find they ore not to be made, I understand, until after the poll is taken. Is it reasonable to ask Catholics to vote for National Prohibition on the strength of regulations not yet made, and about which' we know nothing—whether they wiil bo satisfactory or otherwise? ■But even though the present Prohibition leaders and the present Government may be perfectly sincere in their avowed purpose to make regulations that will be entirely satisfactory, what guarantee have we that in a few years, once National Prohibition is the law of the land, other Prohibition leaders and another Government—on the ground, say, that the exemptions are being abused—may not insert an amendment in the Act doing away with all exemptions, even for the .Mass, or recasting the regulations in such fashion as to practically prevent the celebration oj the Holy Sacrifice ? Wo have had too much experience of recent "nieh" legislation on the part of our Parliament not to fear similar "rush" legislation in regard to Sacramental wine, especially, I repeat, ts the No-License movement numbers amongst, its niosj. prominent advocates men who publicly denounce the llass as 'an unchristian superstition," and make no secret of their determination, if they had the power, to prevent its celebration in New Zealand. I consider, therefore, that I would be failing in my duty did 1 not warn our people of the dangerous possibilities that are before them, is the great Catholic C'lmrch, in this pretended tree land, to depend for tho exercise of a natural and divine fight on any fallible and fallacious Government or set of politicians? Such a thing is an insult, an outrage, and an indignity. It implies a prying and inquisitorial interference with every altar and every priest in tho Dominion. 1 call, therefore, on nil Catholics in the Dominion to vote dead against 'National Prohibition, as they value common sense, liberty, and the sacred claims of their Holy Jj'aith. Let them band with the best men in tho Dominion,' the majority of good and moderate men, to stamp out this noxious thing, National' Prohibition, for ever. Lot such inquisitorial and grinding tyranny nover curse this free laud. The Catholic who votes for National Prohibition in the present condition of this Dominion—whatever other exceptional case might bo conceived in other countries to make Prohibition tol-. crable—is true neither to his common sense nor his love of freedom, nor' his loyalty to his Holy religion. Let him cast his vote patriotically and religiously against it, in this and every other election. Let him not become tho slave of a false system inspired by narrowmindedness and fanaticism. I remain, Rev. Dear rather, Yours sincerely in Christ, FRANCIS REDWOOD, S.M., Archbishop of Wellington and Metropolitan.