SIR GEORGE GREY AS A TOTAL ABSTAINER.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 188, 6 August 1878, Page 4

SIR GEORGE GREY AS A TOTAL ABSTAINER.

Tbe TimarH Herald says Sir George Grey's peripatetic poliny appears to be teUiog on him at het. It would, trjffeecf, be a wonder, if, »t bis tfnae of life, be could undergo such constant and ezbaastinc labor ns ha has ioftieted on himself sinoa lest session, without sufferin? from if both mentally and phpsicblly, Sir Georwe was born in ISH, the posthumous child of nn officer who was killed at (he siege of Bad B jojs, ?o that he is now sixty-seven years old. He met: with a severe wound. In his youih, during hie South Australian explorations, which has given him much uneasiness in his laUer dnyp; and for a great part of his life ho bBB been exposnd *o mil Jhe hardships incidental to a<f=venture in new countries. That at Huch on age and after euch a career, he still baa strength and energy left fo fake an Bfitivo part in public affiire, and to go through no immense amount of physical fatigue, is extraordinary, and is mainly owing, we believe, to habits of tbe utmost abstemiousness and rare. Tbe origin of Sir George's feetotalisra IB Raid to be as follows : — During bis celebrated wnlk through the North Island iu 1866, be fouDd drunkenness very prevalent among the native tribes in the interior. He expostulated with tbe chiefs, and endeavored very earnestly to make them si^n tbe pledge. Theftfaoris, however, with characteristic quickness, observed that Te Kawana (the Governor) always took bis sherry, or whatever it was, with his msale, and they therefore adopted tbe argumentum ad personam with respect to the question of total nbstinence. Sir George Grey then agreed that, if they would adjure all intoxicatiue liquor for good and all, be would do so also. To this they consented, and on that understanding they parted. Most of these Maoris, we balieve, have loog since druuk themselves to death, but their friend Kswana EWi adhered to his part of the haryiiin, and has been b teetotaller ever aioce. He has not matie a hobby of it, us Mr Fox does nor ore we awnre that be haa ever attempted to mike any proselytes except amongst amongst the natives. Bis own ceitur m tbe Khwhu, indeed, is famous, tbe quality of his wine being only surpassed by the hospitality with which it U dispenced. His own confidence, however, in total abstinence, as a rula of health, is confirmed by long experience, nnd to it he nttributes the mainteuonce of his vigcr long after tbe period when most men are either fiolicitions of ease, or else fail altogether. We understand that the only active form of illness from which the Premier Buffers at present is a weakness of the leg, accompanied by a cutflDeous irritation, somewhat resembl'iog eczema. This is a complaint wideh Bometimes attacks very active people who have overstrained their energies, and tbe ouly remedy for it is relaxation, and change of scene. How Sir George Grey is to obtain these we do not know ; and we fear that should the attack which detained him in Wellington recently, and Irom wbif h he is still suffering, prove at all obstinate he will be quits unable to undertake the burden of public work which awaits him. Should Sir Geoge Grey be incapacit tad by sickness from taking the lead in Parliament next Bessiou, the whole aspect oi politics may very probably be changed. This, of course, is looking rather far ahead ; but still, under tbe circumstances, even a few days' severe sickness may essily prove sufficient to compel the Premier to soek safety iu retirement, and muy thus be tbe means of bringing about the contingency referred to. We bope though to hear eoon that Sir George Grey is ooce morß strong aud hearty.