EARLY TEETOTALISM.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 299, 26 December 1878, Page 2

EARLY TEETOTALISM.

To the Editor op the 'Evening Mail.' Sir,— Much bas been said latelvon the rise and progress of temperance, teetotalism, and brood Templary, and with your kind permission I should like to add a little by way of assisting the memories of the elder and giving information to your younger readers, as to the founders and pioneers of tbis great movement. The following is a copy of the first pledge signed by tbe fathers of the movement iv Birmingham, and is curious in Us way from the fact that it gave permission to its members to drink ale and malt liquors in moderation. It dates from a conference held in the office of the Mendicity Society of the said town in August, 1831, and reads as follows :— Constitution:—" We whose names l are subscribed, believing that intemperance an-d its attendant evils are promoted by existing habits and opinions in regard to the use of intoxicating liquors; and that decisive measures for effecting a reformation are indispensable, do voluntarily agree to abstain entirely from the use of ardent spirits, except for medicinal purposes; and although the moderate use of other liquors is not excluded, yet aa the promotion of temperance in every form is the specific design of the Society, it is understood that excess in them necessarily excludes from membership." Then follow the signatures of twenty-four gentlemen, some of whose names have been for years "household words," not only in Birmingham but the world over, such as W Chance, Joseph Sturge, R. L. Cadbury, Thos! Soutball, &c, &c. The Jac-simite of this I bave much pleasure in submitting to you for inspection. Next to this, and indeed operating at the very same time, was tbe movement at Preston by the famous seven whose pledge and names I append. The pledge of the men of Preston, when compared with the foregoing will very clearly show tbat the northern men struck the true key note, and which may be said to be the pledge or vow of all abstainers since. It is as follows:— " We agree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality, whether ale, porter, wine, or ardent spirits, except as medicines.— John Gratin Edward Dickenson, John Broadbelt, John Smith, Joseph Livesey, David Anderson, John King." To us at this day there seems nothing striking in such a pledge as the above, but at that time there were many who thought it unsafe to advance so fast. These then were the "Seven men of Preston" so of ten referred to. Two of them I know are (still living, namely, John King, whom I had the honor of knowing as a Good Templar, having met with him in the Grand Lodge session in Preston, aud Joseph Livesey, who was also present at all our public meetings there, but who would not ,and still has not, become one of our Order, preferring to work in the good cause in his own original manner. Very early in the history of tbe Society a new pledge was proposed, the greater part of the Committee adopting it and working under the title of "entire abstainers," the word " entire" denoting the difference, and thereby making two classes of members, and it was not tnl the annual meeting of 1835 that the moderation pledge, as it was called, was abandoned. amidst great enthusiasm. The parish church bells rang a merry peal; meetings were held iv the Theatre for six nights at one of which the Chaplain of the House of Correction, Bro. J. Clay, presided, and at the conclusion of bis speech said "he had I the pleasure of stating that this was the sixth assizes at Lancaster at which there had not I been a single case of felony from Preston Richard Turner alias Dicky Turner was one of the earliest and most fervent advocates of the cause. In one of hia fervid speeches | Sept., 1833, he coined a new word, affirming that nothing but the te-te-total would do Hence teetotalism. Dicky, in using this word simply intended to affirm that moderation in beer and wine was delusive, and tbat nothing but the teetotal, that is entire abstinence from all kinds of liquors, would do. One of his sentences is worth remembering Urging his hearers to their work, he said:-" We will go with our axes ou our shoulders and plough up the great deep, and then the ship of temperance shall sail gallantly over the land! He did in 1846, and there is written on his tombstone tbe following inscription 'Beneath this stone are deposited theremains of Richard Turner, author of the word .teetotal, as applied to abstinence from all intoxicaiing liquors, who departed this life on the 27th day of October, 184 C, aged 56 years," The above, though as brief as 1 could give it, is still I fear over long for your valuable space, yet by giving it room you will confer a favor.—- 1 am, &c , T S Nelson, 20, 1878.