TEMPERANCE MEETING

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 64, 9 August 1879, Page 3

TEMPERANCE MEETING

A temperance meeting under the auspices of <<The Mower of Feilding Lodge" of Good Templars, was held -in the schoolroom, on Thursday evening. There was a large attendance, the spacious room being comfortably full, and it was pleasing to note the nice appearance of the audience, all being tidy and neatly dressed, testifying, m an untnistakeable manner to the good work the temperance movement is achieving- ' ' . Mr. J. 0. Thompsoh was voted to the Chair, and, after a temperance ode had been sung, observed that the first item on the programme was' the Chairman's Address. He was not, however, going to weary them with a long speech, as -there were so many interesting items on the programme. When first asked to join the Good Templars, he asked himself " What's the use ? There is neither honor nor profit m it." He was at that moment contradicting his former sentiments, for he felt that there was honor attached to the position he held that evening as chairman of a meeting to advance the cause of Temperance. Had.he the eloquence of Gladstone, or the profound thought of Sbakespere, he could not do justice to the subject. Some thought that because they could take a glass, Jand then leave it alone without degrading themselves by becoming intoxicated, they had no need to join m the movement, but what selfish indifference to the welfare of their enslaved brothers and sisters did such an argument evince ! As he had promised, he would not detain them longer, as the programme was a very long one. - .\. . : ■'■;.■: v. ■ ■■-■■.•;. " The Social Glass," a trio by the Messrs. Nichols and Tarrant, was remarkably well rendered,, and elicited great applause. Mr. Benjamin Baid that he had been a great drunkard m times past, m his own country, when drink was very cheap—only a penny a'glass— and this cheapneßs'induced a habit of drinking amongst his countrymen. If he hadistayed at home he *ould have been a ruined man. He would tell them a true story about " Fools' money!" He once knew a carpenter, who .was a very good tradesman, and had a wife and large family, but he was a great drunkard. One day was going as usual into the publichouse with a friend, who seeing the land lady m a fin« silk dress with good' watch and chain displayed to advantage, asked her i where she had got those fine things from. *' Oh" she replied. " Than are bought with, fools' money." Those words sank into the carpenter's heart and he determined for the future that he would not give 'occasion to any flattering landlady to call him a "fool," ha renounced drink, and became a respectable member of the community. Selection by the Band. . The Chairman remarked that strangers often said that Feilding was a dull, mono* tpnous, uninteresting place, but those who had witnessed its progress, and advance; i ment during the last- three or four years trouldnotsay so. They had what fine towns around them had not— a Temperance ■Band, the members of which were all total abstainers. Mr. IrtTCAS delivered an interesting address, which afforded much amusement, owing to the homely metaphors and similies with : which it abounded. He was not, ha said, gifted with much learning, nor had he read much, but he spoke from experience— of matters which he had seen. It was the habit of many to say. the working man required his beer ; experience showed that this was false. The, world had lost many gifted men through drink, men who might have been of great service; but who had passed away, leaving nothing but a blackened character behind. How many homes were 'rendered akin to thebottomless pit through this curse which had. fallen on the world? He had seen it himself. He had seen the tbrrified wife and children shrinking away from their father, who was uttering oaths and curses, insUad of dancing hiß little ones on his knees. The time would come when the evil would be swept away; the Good Templars were doing well, and he hoped ■oon.to count their numbers, net by scores, but by hundreds, (Applause.) Trio— "The Barmaid at the Golden Bear " was admirably sung by Messrs. Nichols and Tarrant. ; Mr. Tabbant spoke at great length on the evils of intemperance, and we regret that our limited ipace precludes the repro- . duction of his telling, remarks. He warned his hearers against the habit of tippling; for glasses soon grew into pints* That was; the reason there, was so much poverty on the earth. Young mem Bhould never begin it, and old men should leave it off. The speaker then contrasted the effect of bobriety m a manner which could not fail to leave an. impression on hie hearers, whom he exhorted to avoid that which robbed tHem of money, character, and everything else. When m Palmerston some time ago, ha took a walk with a friend through thp graveyard there, and was horrified to find that there were m it only two cases of natural death. The others being aacribable to the effects of drink. There was, he said, something very " more-ish "about drink, and he hoped the young men present would no(; begin it. (Applause.) Selection by the Band. The ; Rev. Hugh Jones, after vigorously disclaiming against the curse of drunkenness, gave some startling statistics with regard to one county m England— Lancashire. He \ quoted from a Temperance paper entitled j "Lancashire Drink Facts."" From this it appeared that m 1869 Lancashire a].one spent £13,299,750 m the drink traffic. What about: the Government Loan of a paltry £5,000,000, which was so anxiously looked forward to, and from which such great things were expected* If 5,000,000 can relieve the Colony so much, what would this amount spent by a single county m drink have done? Lancashire, m return, paid £1,113,244) m poop and police rates, supparted 202,694 pauper*, 30,000 . vagrants, and £#,706 lunatics, There were 90,257 persons convicted of crime, besides 5913 who were charged with crime, but not convicted. There were 2749. houses of bad character and receivers of stolen goods, and 17,733 public-housea and beer-shops, dealing j out; this pojion Sundays and Mondays alike. The^e were 3316 poltcpmen'— an army enpngh to faoe the Maoris and drive old Te Whiti out of the bush altogether. There were 70,392 drunkardi, flooding numberless homes with misery through their love of drink. No wonder that it had been termed "nothing lest than distilled damnation." No less than 7,000,000 bushels of grain had been spoiled m making the drink, which, it had been estimated, was equivalent to 105,000,000 4-lb. loaves, and there were between 5000 and 6000 persons employed m making the drink. The statistics represented only what met the publio eye, and there was no doubt numerous case?, of drunkenness that no one knew of outside then? own homes, and he did earnestly hope th,ey wquld all setjtheir faces against the ciuued traffic, (Applause.) . The Chaibman hoped that at the next meeting those present would bring $•» friends with them. The meeting then separated,