DRINK IN NEW ZEALAND.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 836, 8 October 1870, Page 3

DRINK IN NEW ZEALAND.

Abstinence Societies are established east ami west of Cromwell, and appear to be in excellent working order. Something promising in this way has been done at Alexandra, and at Queenstown. Nothing has been done in Ciomwell down to the present. And yet our spirit proclivities are as strong as amongst most of our neighbours, turn to whatever point of the compass we will. The mighty mischief is as manifest here, as hurtful to all useful enterprise, and as impeding to all moral, social, and personal achievement of every kind, as in either of the abovenamed places. Mothers, fathers, whole households are in spbjectiou to its potent sway. Fines, imprisonments, and losses of various kinds have no power to check its progress. We cannot build against it, or bridge over it, or bluff it off by the various means which are sufficient to control the commoner ills that afflict mankind. " This kind," it seems, " goeth not out but by abstinence." If we have done nothing in this direction, it i 3 not because there is nothing to do, but rather because there is so much that no one knows where to begin. The bold spirit has not yet ventured to the fropt, prepared to welcome the martyrdom which is the'penalty pf the social reformer. As was meet, in Queenstown the two clergymen consented to merge their theological and ecclesiastical differences on the outer rim of the absorbing question, that they might draw to the centre of the conflict shoulder to shoulder, aiid tight the battle of sobriety against tippling, abstinence against moderation ; and in this way pr< sent to the common enemy a broader front and a bolder purpose. Stong and various enough pro the arguments advanced against even the use of beverages drugged with the fatal spirit of intoxication ; but against their abuse the difficulty is to chase from the sickening mass instances mild enough to gain a foothold upon the common belief of mankind. The blightjng of beauty, &he wasting of fortune, the decay of

strength, the loss of character, the destruction of home, eight-tenths of the felony and the foulness of society, together with premature old age and an early grave, are but parts of its ways. On the shore of this sea of liquid ruin is found the wreck of "all living and lifeless" tbiags. Out, of the debris there drifted, is found the fitting material for prisons, paupers, broken hearts, lunatic asylums, bankruptcies, halters, gibbets, Jack Ketches, " blue devils," and all sorts of abortions, deformities, and monstrous things. The indictment here drawn up against the spirit that is roaming at large in our midst may have the look of an over-charged account, and may by some be set down to a vagrant fancy or a vulgar mistake. But a sensible observer will not be thus deceived ; the' simple law of cause and effect, or the natural process of sowing and reaping, will account to him for the whole catalogue of mischief. Indeed, the inventory might contain other nameless articles of impeachment, and even then leave a large margin for the play of a lively imagination to complete the hideous picture. We confess that our sympathies are largely with those who are heading the raid in Queenstown against Old Tom and the whisky trade. The Celt, the Saxon, and the Scot are alike rapidly succumbing to the " stealthy oppressor." It is no respecter of persons or parties. The colonial Juggernaut sends its ponderous wheel over victims of all classes, but the broken ranks are soon filled up with fresh candidates for immolation, and the wasting ruin goes on. Law and authority have interposed, but in vain; affection and self-interest have pleaded, but in vain; the minister, the physician, and the lock-up have warned, but in vain: the pledge—the pledge, pure and simple, is the tried remedy that can alone be trusted.—Cromwell Argus.