The Globe. SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1879.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1647, 31 May 1879, Page 2

The Globe. SATURDAY, MAY 31, 1879.

There was one point, particularly, in the address of Mr. Hastings at the last open-air meeting of tlio unemployed which wo think the working men would do well to think over. We refer to his remarks regarding the establishment of a working men’s club. Mr. Hastings pointed out that in Dunedin and Wellington there wore working men’s clubs which were in a flourishing condition, and of the advantages of which the working men of those cities wore sensible. He might also have added Auckland to list, for wo believe that there, too, an institution of this kind exists. It will thus be seen that, so far as provisions for the comfort of the working man are concerned, Christchurch is a long way behind cities of equal size. In Dunedin the leading citizens took a warm and zealous interest in the formation of the club. They not only did this, and assisted by their influence in fairly placing the institution on a good basis, but they also contributed towards it funds. The consequence was that the movement was a success. Members wore rapidly enrolled, and, in a very short time, the institution became an established fact. With its library, its newspapers, draughts, chess, &c., it affords a resort where working men can pass a rational evening free from the temptations of the public-house. Here they can meet their fellow workmen, and interchange opinions on current topics, in a well-lighted, well-warmed, and generally comfortable room, with books, &c„ to amuse themselves with. Now compare that with the state of things in Christchurch. The Mayor of Sydenham, at the recent meeting in the Oddfellows’ Hall, spoke somewhat severely, but no doubt with some degree of truth, as to the amount of money spent in drink by the working classes. It may very possibly be true that a large per-centago of the working men spend their leisure hours in the public-houses. But, wo would ask, what counteracting influences exist ? What means are there of offering them recreation elsewhere of a kind which would enable them to pass a pleasant evening without exposure to the temptation of drink ? For the tradesman and the wealthy man there are their clubs, with their reading-rooms, billiard-rooms, and the society of congenial spirits. But the working man, in Christchurch, has none of those. The public-house is the only available resort. It is here ho meets his companions; it is here only that ho is enabled, if ho so wishes it, to talk over the topics of the day. It is all very well for our Good Templar friends to talk of the evils arising from the drinking customs of the present day—and no one can more deplore them than wo do—but it appears to us that they should come forward and aid in providing an attraction which would prove stronger than that of the public-house. Such attraction might, \yo feel confident, be, in part at least, procured by the establishment of working men’s clubs on the same principles as those in Dunedin and elsewhere. If you offer men a library, the papers of the day, and innocent recreation, the influence of the public-houses for evil must and will bo considerably weakened. In colonial cities, owing to the comparatively short hours of labour, the mechanic or artisan has a good deal of leisure time on his hands which ho must get rid of somehow. Now Christchurch of an evening does not afford many facilities for passing the time. It is true wo have a Public Library and Read-ing-room, admirable institutions in their way. But hei’o men are to a certain extent under restraint. There is not that freedom which would be obtained in an institution such as a club. It has always been a matter of wonder to us that those who advocate the cause of temperance should have neglected what cannot but bo considered as one of the most potent weapons in their warfare, viz., the providing of a place where men could spend their leisure hours in comfort and with profit. In working men’s clubs they have just the very one thing which would lead many a man to abandon his old habits, and to take the first step in an upward course. It is all very well to come forward on a platform and bemoan the waste .of money, the sacrifice of health, and the impoverishment of families, re suiting from the habit of frequenting public-houses, but men are, after all, very human, and, as wo have pointed out, there is really jio where else for them to go. What we desire to gee is our loading

citizens, and more particularly those who have espoused tho temperance cause, coming forward, as those in Dunedin have done, and sotting on foot a movement for providing a place where tho working men may spend their leisure hours in a rational manner. Such a practical step would bo worth any amount of platform declamation, and would more effectually servo the end wo must all have view, namely, the improvement of tho condition of a large class of our follow-citizens.