GOOD TEMPLARISM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 34, 9 February 1875, Page 2

GOOD TEMPLARISM.

A lecture was delivered by the Hon. S. D. Hastings lest night, at (he Provincial Hall, to a crowded audience. The chair was taken by the Rev. D. Dolamore, who said that his was » simple but an agreeable dul.y. He hud to introduce to the meeting the Hon. Mr Hastings, an American genjfemnu who came to them well recommended upon v benevolent mission. Englishmen were invariably well received in America, and, if for this reason aloue, he was sure that Mr Hastings woul I meet with a cordial welcome. To him he would say that lie hoped his visit to Nelson would alwoya be remembered with fauafuction and pleasure. They , oil rejoiced in the kindly and cordiu/ feeling that, existed between the British Government and col6tiie3 " nnd tho United State?, mid hoped that it would long continue. Mr Hastings had not come to inspect New Zealaud'a volunteers and to see what face they oould

present against a foe. but his object was the suppression of intemperance, and to spread sobriety throughout the land. Nothing* he Was 1 stire, would afford him greater plensure than the initiation en masse of oil who were present into the Order of Good Templarisna, and could this, or anything like if, be effected, he would leave for Wellington with a light heart. Mr Hastings, who was received with loud applause, tbankM the Nelson people for their kind reception" of him. The chairman was mistaken in saying that he had not come to see their volunteers, for that was the object of his visit, to inspect and to encourage those who formed part of the {zreat army who were engaged in the contest against a common foe. He was pleased to observe the cordial response to the. chairman's allusion to his country, and would assure them that he looked upon all as his countrymen who were eugaged*in the same great work with himself. Probably all who heard him that night might not agree with everything he said, but what he had to tell them were the words of truth. The influence of GooJ Templarism was felt, and he hoped would be more Btrongly felt, not ouly upon the wealth and prosperity of the couufry, but upon its morals, its religion, and its politics. They were impelled to action by the results and consequences of the liquor traffic. One drop of rain on the mountain was as nothing, but it was the many drops that caused the numerous rills, which in meeting created ehe rushing river. So with intern penance. The solitary drunkard was as nothing, but the evil was spreading widely and carrying ruin and destruction with it. If any body of men could lelieve the world of the liquor traffic they would briDg about a redemption second only (b that of Calvary, for in doing so they would restore man to something like his pristine purity ere sin drove him from the garden of the Lord. There were none who did not suffer in some way or another from this evil, were they rich or poor, learned or UDlearned, wis*; and good or thoroughly depraved, all alike were sufferers, and the object of lho3e who desired to check it should be to bring about the entire prohibition of the/ importation, manufacture, or sale ov liquor. If the traffic iv it were the evil thiDg it wao represented to be, there could be no compromise whatever between th,e supporters aud the opponentsyjf it. Those who were engaged in f -jt were banded together ngainsfc the of temperance doctrines, but these latter declared that those who were of a different opiniorTbtKthis fl^bjecl were working the greatest possible evil, sociall}', morally, and politically, and that showed that compromise was impossible. Weie the effects of the liquor traffic, as ehown by the results, good or bid ? It was generally admitted that it was on evil, and if allowed to go on unchecked it, would eventually deprive them and their posterity of the liberty which wub their birthright aud their glory. [The lecturer then cited as an instance of the benefits of temperance a secernent thut had been laid out, iv the S^ate of New Jersey on the principle that the sale of drink was to be prohibited by the express vote of the people, and showed the wonderful prosperity tha/ had attended it in the ten years of i/s existence. He also quoted other instances in America, Ireland, Wales, . and England.]] It was impossible (he went ou to cay) to pourtray all £ne evils arising from intemperance. /The man did not live who could tell the gloomy story. Shades darker than ihfc actual truth could not be put. into the picture, which would reveal affections crushed, prayer silenced, all good feelings gone. It would include crimes of every description frocj murder down to the meanest deception. It would represent the Valley of the Shadow of ffljeath peopled with living slaves. And 'then upon this terrible picture, let not the rays of the heavenly sun shine, but light it up with the glare of the infernal fires, and still it would fall far short of the reality. Language would utterly fail to show the magnitude of the evil which was too vast for comprehension. Those engaged iv the nefarious traffic cay ■■that the advocates ot temperance are interfering with their rights, but where did they get their rights ? Not from the Creator, not from the common law. The only right conferred was by the license to deal in liquors to the advautage of the seller, but to the ruin of the customer. Ou the receipt of so much gold we granted them permission to open the gates of hell. But the responsibility did not rest solely upon the sellers. They said, "We are acting under your authority. Wo hold a license according' to the law, which is the expression ofnUte will of the people embodied iino flnw by their representatives." Therefore the people were responsible. Tljie publicans merely acted under a privilege granted to them (For continuation see fourth page ) /

by the public. Jo depriving them of that privilege they would not be taking away an actual right, but merely placing them on a level with their neighbors. The law, at present, simply shielded the liquor traffic from the wrath of an outraged community. It authorised and protected that which injured the community in the most vital manner, whereas it waß the duty of a Government and a legislature to protect the people, not that which injured them. That the traffic was productive of evil and not of good -was unquestionable. It destroyed the peace and happiness of tens of thousands of women and children, and drove thousands into a dishonored grave. The only way to check it was by the will of the people. The fact of the liquor laws being in existence was an evidence of the people's approval of them, and they must be convinced of the necessity of repealing them. The cause of total abstinence muse be aided by the removal of temptation. The great Washington movement had oiiginated with six drunkards, whose example was speedily followed by thousands of others, and this lasted for a few yearß, but the evil influences which first led them into intemperance still existed, and so it soon fell through. So would it always be unti' the grog shops were rooted out of the land. And why should they not be ? If disease were to develop itself through the existence of poole of stagnant water in the yards of any of the citizens, would not the authorities tßke upon themselves to remove the source of the evil, or, if they did not voludtarily, would not the people compel them to, or would they rather stand quietly by while they saw their friends sicken and die? It was not sufficient that the advocates of temperance should be total abstainers themselves, but they must remove the cause of intemperance in others, and do all in their power to annihilate everything connected with it. There must be no half measures. They did not license sheep-stealing, nor did they allow men to rob others on the payment of a certain sum into the treasury, and yet they permitted the existence of the liquor laws. In advdtjatinf* the entire prohibition of the liquor traffic, he felt that he was standing on solid ground. He would say to them have nothing to do with compromise; accept all you can get, but let the end you have in view be the entire prohibition of lha traffic. It might be suid that this was too much to expect, and certainly the obstacles in the way were great Against them was the fact that thousands obtained their living by the traffic, and the- influence of the wealthy, and of political parties, who depended upon it for their success. But on their side they bad right, truth, and justice, nay, God himself, who had not asingle*attribute that could take sides against them in the struggle. If intemperance were the evil he represented it to be, why nor drive it out of the \\a<\ ? To those who were not total abstainers he would Bay, ** Give up the habit of drinking. It can do yo.u no good, it may do you harm, and one day gain a power over you which you caucot resist, and which will ultimately ruiu you. Don't set an evil example to others, but use your influence on our side lest you lead others to destruction." But it was not only negative action that was required , They must be aggressive as well, and display direct antagonism to the traffic. They must stop it by legislation, and this could only be effected by the election of men to the legislature pledged to support their views. When this was done they would begin to see the end, and until they did it their work was not half done. So long as the law did not interfere with the traffic, the publicans would console themselves with the idea that they could still seduce the youths of the place into their gilded saloons, and get back all their old customers. The work the Good Templars had taken in hand would be done when the source of the evil was removed, but not until then. Mr Hastings, who was frequently applauded throughout his lecture, sat down ad mid loud aod continued cheering. During the evening the proceedings were pleasantly varied by music, Mr Corrick playing on the harmonium, and Messrs Jacobs and Webley on tbe volin.