TEETOTALLERS AND THE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5316, 9 April 1878, Page 3

TEETOTALLERS AND THE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY.

[Advert t sement. ]

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND TIMES. Sib, —The following appears in the Evening Post leader of Friday last “Itis in dealing with such a class of cases that the Benevolent Society, for a number of years past, has performed a praiseworthy and useful work in an unobtrusive way. Until lately the society has been cordially supported by the public, who have given it their subscriptions with no niggard hand. From some cause or other those contributions are not now given quite so readily as before. One reason for this is, we believe, that the members of the Temperance bodies and Friendly Societies decline, on principle, to subscribe to the Benevolent Society so long as Mr. Crawford is its chairman. They put the case tersely by saying : —Mr. Crawford, as Chairman of the Licensing Bench, uses all his influence to create drunkenness and destitution by granting licenses to unnecessary public-houses; while as Chairman of the Benevolent Society he administers funds for the relief of that very institution. We regard this condition of affairs as being imp roper and inconsistent, and we therefore decline to support the Benevolent Society. We prefer, indeed, to distribute our charity through other channels and in our own way.”

It may be considered a pity that such really well-intentioned people as the teetotallers should generally contrive to make themselves so immensely disagreeable ; to call themselves Christian men, and to impart elements of discord into a society such as the Benevolent Society. Only lately they were parties to Mr. Crawford’s election to his position of chairman. Mr. Crawford having failed to do their bidding, when sitting in the judgment seat on the Licensing Bench, instead of reporting his conduct, if he had done wrong, to the proper authorities, they try to have him turned out of the Benevolent Society. Failing in this, they would now, it appears, try to avenge their griefs by withdrawing their subscriptions, and so accomplish the destruction of the Benevolent Society itself. Teetotalism is excellent, most excellent, coming next only to religion itself, and in many cases sho.ild even almost take precedence of religion. Anyone who may induce, say, a father of a family who may have given way to intemperance to become a total abstainer, does a good work, and for that alone should merit a crown. But alas that the greatest enemies to teetotalism should be the teetotallers themselves. How much better for all, most especially for the wretched and fallen, if teetotallers, instead of despising and trying to coerce their fellow men, trying to establish themselves as a system of terror to the community and its rulers, would make it their endeavor more to walk in the footsteps of, and follow the example of him who when on earth went abroad doing good, and was meek and lowly, of whom onr little ones sing—

“ Dentla Jesus, meek and mild, Look upon a little child.” Templars, Teetotallers, listen to me, as the Maori says, whaharonya mai. Go boil down all your most intemperate leaders, and begin all over again de novo. Turn over a new leaf, and in all your future endeavors to benefit your fellows, and to induce them to join your worthy ranks, try, as an amendment upon your misdirected ill-judged past, modicums of common sense, happily and judiciously comingled with diops of sweetness and the oil of human kindnesss. Exeunt templars and teetotallers in a body singing—- “ Alas for the rarity Of Christian charity, U nder the sun. —I am, &c., Thomas C. Williams, J.P. Wellington, Bth April.