THE TEMPERANCE MEETING IN DR. BURN'S CHURCH.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 294, 28 November 1862, Page 5

THE TEMPERANCE MEETING IN DR. BURN'S CHURCH.

{To the Editor of the Daily Times.) Sir—ln the notice of the above meeting in your Issue of Wednesday, your reporter falls into several inaccuracies which I trust you will allow me space to correct. I should have asked this favour yesterday, but was on my way out of town before I saw the

moviiiwu: parsers. The iir-it inaccuracy I would notice is in the report of my own address. I am there stated to have said thai drunkenness existed here in a more aggrava'ed form thfin it. dens at home. I said the very'opposite ofthi<s. That I did not think the same aggravated forms of intemperance were to be found in this countiy, hut that, from what I could observe, I was led to conclude that tl>e drinking customs were more general, more prevalent, and to be seen in an aggravated form here, and that if allowed to produce their legitimate results the miserable and degraded drunkenness would soon follow; and from thence.l urged the importance of watching carefully and itssMuously the growth and spread of these social drinking customs amongst us. Again, sir, lam represented as stating dogmatically that we were on the Lord's side, and that all who were not. with us were against us, and, therefore, as a matter of course, acninst the Lord. Now, sir, I admit havin-r said something like this, but not in thia offensive form. I said those who were not with us were against us, as between us and those who opposed our movement there was no neutral ground. I said also I believed we were engaged in that great contest which is every where going on between vice and virtue; that on the one side was God leading the good and true forth to the contest, while on the other side was the enemy of our race marshalling his hosts to fight, that J believed we were engaged on the siJe of the former, and therefore craved an impartial hearing for the arguments we advanced in support of our position. Mr Halliwell is said by your reporter to be the second speaker. Mr Galloway was the name of the gentleman. Mr Galloway said that a small dose of alcohol produced the same kind of effect as a large one. • This you will at once perceive is a very different statement to that put into his mouth by your reporter. But there is a further inaccuracy in the report of the few remarks made by Mr Galloway. In reference to Dr Hollyoako, Mr Galloway said that Dr Howe had stated, in his evidence before the • Legislature of Massachusetts that on a 'post morlcin examination of the body of Dr Hollyoako there wa3 nothing in the appearance of any of the organs of the body to indicate that the deceased doctor might not have lived another 110 years, wilh the exception of an abnormal (I forget the technical term used by Mr Galloway) coating of the stomach, which he (Dr Howe) believed w\i3 the cause of death, and which coating of the stomach could he produced by no agent known to the faculty, alcohol exempted, so that though Dr H. was always what i.-) termed a moderate drinker of alcohol, he yet <!iol the death of a drunkard, his death having been caused by the use of alcoholic beverages. Then, Sir, Mr HMop is said to have stated his experience as a teetotaller. Mr Hislop stated the -result of his observations as to the effect of our drinking customs, as seen in the working of the Scottish poor-law ; and said Ihe?e led him to become a teetotaller. This was the burd?n of his speech, and lie said little, if anything at all, as to his experiences eince he became an abstainer. But lastly, Mir, we are told by your reporter that, notwithstanding " the example of Mr Stuart," very few responded to the invitation given them to enrol as members of our socifty. Tlih Rev. MrStunrt, to whom I presume your reporter refers, stated he would he glad to take the names of any who wished to enrol, but being himself already connected with thf; society, did not show the example of enrolling. 1 am sorry for encroaching so far on your valuable space, but think it is in the interest of truth, and necessary to a f;iir representation of our society to the public, that: its proceedings should be truly reported. I am/Sir, yours, &0., JOHN W. JAGO, Secretary D. T. A. S.