SOCIAL PURITY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1915, 26 October 1906, Page 3

SOCIAL PURITY.

(To the Editor Gisborne Times.) JSir, —Tlio Rev. Mr Chatterton in his letter practically recommends Mr Bligh’s work. Mr (Jliatterton says tho addresses .he gave here in Gia borne havo been given in many other parts of the colony, and have been earnestly commended by many of our leading people, including such men as the Governor, the Bishop of Wellington, tho Rev. Doctor Gibb, and many members of tho medical profession. Well, that might be quite possible, for there aro many surieptitious ways of obtaining testimonials of approval from loading, people to try and gain the confidence of the public, and if testimonials of approval are to be taken into consideration, who can boast of more than the quacks ? Did the Governor, the Bishop of Wellington, or Dr Gibb ever hear Mr Bligh use the same words as he used on the night of the 17th inst. in Gisborne ? If thoy did I believe he would never have their approval. There is very ofceu a difference in some men’s professions from their practices ; if Mr Bligh’s lectures were not ht to be published in any of the newspapers they w ere not ht to be spoken on a public platform, and it must be remembered that the parent who told Mr Chatterton that she was grateful to Mr Bligh, was not the parent of the little girl who came out of the schoolroom after tho lecture and, crying, said she did not like the way that man talked, and she would have left only she could not do so, neither was sno the parent of the boy (a little over ten years old) who came dome and asked iiis mother questions which made iier shudder, iu • fact tho lady told me she would be ashamed to ask her own husband such questions, and she is the mother of a large family. Mr Chatterton says : “ plain speaking on sued an important subject as social purity is a distinct help to many a young man,” bur, de must remember there is a difference between plain speaking and vulgar speaking. However, the Rev. Mr (Jdatcerton, in limsd’ng his epistle, says: “at the same tune I believe that it is a subject which should only bo dealt with publicly very occasionally.” It is to be doped if no more cdoico language is used than tdat used at the lecture tho sooner those lectures are done away wita the better for tho community,— I am, ote., E. P. Joyce.