THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCES OF MR. CHARLES REID, M.P.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1761, 6 April 1874, Page 2

THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCES OF MR. CHARLES REID, M.P.

! At a meeting of the Permissive Bill? Association held lately, Mr Charles Reid, I said :— »• I have lately had the Id--jvanfcage of "visiting America, and I must [confess that one of the objects leading me ■there (one being, the cause of education) certainly was the cause of temperance. I jdesired very much to see wijti my own 'eyes the work carried on there ' bf .the 'friends of temperance, and to see How the :state of things has; been brought about in that marvellous country on,the oJtbejLsjde^ of the Atlantic, which has conduced so ■much to the prosperty of the people and to ;the security of those States, 1 made an expensive tone, and certainly never witnessed |in my life such results as may be seen m■almost every town iii that part of the globe. In three months, I can certainly ;say I never saw two persons who were the worse of liquor — that ia, drunk J in the 1 streets. I saw a marked difference in the; state of the population, arising, I think,,, from this great causo. I heard far. less-j— indeed no bad language in the streets^ r iheard very little rough and uhicoutlr language between man and man, such as; 'often pains us in the streets of LondoDj and I witnessed that which r was 'to ln| Imost satisfactory, that in , all the.hotelsf land as far as I could ascertain, with some in public places of resort, there^ ■were hot the temptations put in the way' Iwayof younsc people to driuk that there iare in this,; country. In ; a piitijic the 'beverages put before you are of 'the most jinviting description. You get the.purestwater, and in the summer time thejinpat beautiful ice;-- You get the pureat_miik,. with ice also, and ,y.ou c cau have ice even with your tea if you prefer it. The_ wineglass is not put before the guest, nor is itr considered necessary to drink for the gpiod of the house. The consequence is that throughout the length and : breadth of 'the' United States people as a rule/do nottaka intoxicating liquors. I admit there r is e great deal of spirit-drinking: I 'admit there are places known to men who wish it where they can obtain that which they, desire, but as a rule the influence ."of/ temperance has been so great through ttiel land that the young^especirlly ar^vfrep from the great temptations which present themselves in this country. The poor are far happier and more cohteited, : anfl-for the money they would spend in.drjink they get nutritious food. The "whole people are a stronger and more contented-people, . in consequence of the prevaifihing habi^d of temperance and virtue." . "'