THAT CLERICAL PETITION.

Evening Star, Issue 4148, 13 June 1876, Page 3

THAT CLERICAL PETITION.

To the. Editor.

Sir, — I desire to call the attention of your readers to. the main points in that muchRbused petition to the. Licensing Court, signed by the “ Twelve Apostles ” of Dunedin. I can discover nothing in it that any honest man, much less a Chnstian minister, could find fault with, or object to subscribe to. It s^ahes—

1- Ihat the “ liquor traffic is a great evil to all classes of society.” Who will dare to deny it ? 2» That “our Police Court records exhibit a large amount of indisputable evidence that prostitution, and crime are increasing in onr midst, caused mainly by the liquor traffic.” No one who reads the daily papers will deny this statement. Then if it is so something should certainly be done to lesson or remove altogether the chief cause of those evils.

8, That “ the.bottle license to grdeers we" regard as especially objectionable, inasmuch aa women and children are thus brought into contact With, the sale of intoxicating liquors, ami thereby demoralised.” This is generally acknowledged by all who are not confirmed “tipplers” or are not interested in the “ bottle trade,”

4. That “ tho necessaries of the household shquld not be sold in connection with such useless, expensive, and debasing ‘luxuries;’ ” 'Hub language used here ia no more foroible thah-ifcae. : , *j-

_ s. < TOat*HhedeyelopaTentof thp Christiaii cmlieation of pur times is not only requiring the compete abolition of African slavery everywhere, but also insists on the emancipation ol our fellow men from the dreadful

and equally objectionable slavery of alcoholic beverages.” The analogy between African slavery and that of alcohol is said not to be good, yet all fair-minded men will see the resemblance at onee. The appetite of the com firmed “tippler” or “drunkard,” drives him like a slave to seek, its gratification—it drags him to the bottle as obediently as a dog with a rope kiukl his neck. There are hundreds of such ‘un&rtunate wretches, both men and women, in tin* City. r 6. “ That it is desirable to not oZ*ly refuse

all new applications for hotel licenses iu this City, but also : to refuse to renew at least a quarter of the number of existing licenses granted to our so-called hotels, and to aid in absolutely suppressing the bottle license altogether.” This was the prayer of the petitioner. , There are certainly too many hotels here already. A dozen legitimate ones would be sufficient for the wants of Dunedin. Yet we have six or seven times that number of “grog-shops”, here, and many of them one-storey “ shanties,” Yet Mr Bathgate stated that he was averse to licensing “ gin palaces! *’ What else are the majority of the “ hot-hells ” here ? He shows his inconsistency by such remarks. The truth is no Government has a right to license such an objectionable traffic at all, and won’t do so when the people are enlightened, The Government, in seeking j cyenues from such a demoralising business, is as inconsistent as I’opery in selling “indulgences.” Bishop Novill need not be alarmed. No* body ii; Punedin would suppose for a moment that he originated a petition. If the name of the Bishop 0* York headed the list, there might be some grounds for suspicion of his having written it. • . His Lordship, Bishop Moran, and Messrs Stanford, Penny, and Davis having refused to sign it, merely because of its radical tendency and because they desired' to be consistent, the original intention was abandoned of presenting it to the laity. For if there were so. many Christian ministers here who desired to be consistent {?), and cared so little about making an efftfrt to save their fellow-men from the effects of

liquor, it was thought to be useless to present such a radical paper among the alcoholic doctors, lawyers, &c. Although’the writer of that petition has been abused and slandered a good deal by “tippling Christians,” “ hypocritical templars,” and “vindictive sceptics,” yet he intends to persevere in the good cause till the law permitting such a barbarous traffic is erased from'our statute books.—l am, &e., M. Di Dunedin, June 9.