THE GISBORNE LITERARY AND DEBATING SOCIETY.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1158, 25 September 1882, Page 2

THE GISBORNE LITERARY AND DEBATING SOCIETY.

ALCOHOL. (Continued from our Last.) Still I have one most heartrend’ng fact to add to this list of woes ; its hereditary effects ; the blood of the inebriate pnent is so vitiated and his energies are so wasted that even when there is a sober mother the innocent children are often brought into existence puny, stunted, and debilitated : body and brain having been insufficiently nourished, the vital powers of si’ch infants are so dedefective in their earliest years they are literally mowed down—this being a fruitful cause of the terrible infantile mortality of the English people. Dr Howe, a distinguished American physician, in his well-known report on idiocy in one of the States of America, states that the habits of one or both parents of 300 idiots having been learned, 145 of these children, or nearly onehalf, were found to be the progeny of habitual drundards. In confirmation of these various statements as to alcohol being the cause of disease, I would submit the following statistics : — A comparison was instituted some time ago between several clubs in Preston as to their state of health, and in eight general clubs 23’3 per cent, of the members were annually sick, whilst in three total abstaining clubs only 13’9 per cent, of their members were sick. The average days per sick members were 53 days in the general clubs, and 23 in the abstaining clubs. The following shows the difference between the abstaining Reohabites in Bradford, and the Oddfellows as the number of deaths in each case The Oddfellows, report lin 44, and Rechabites 1 per cent, in 141. Dr Lees gives us the following comparison for 10 years between the Rechabites and the Wesleyan Friendly Society, the members of which we may presume to be sober men : — Wesleyans, mortality per 1000, 13'9; the Rechabites, per 1000, 9'9. The conclusion arrived at by our investigation of this subject may be briefly summed up as followslst. That alcoholic liquors are in no sense necessary to healthy life; 2nd. That they are of no importance as food to healthy people ; 3rd. That they are injurious in their habitual use to the vital organs of the human body ; 4th. That they are especially injurious to children and young persons ; sth. That they increase the liability to disease, and shorten life ; 6th. It is impossible to say what quantity can be taken with impunity, therefore the less taken the better, and if any be taken, ale, stout, and light wines are less injurious than ardent spirits; 7th. That the medical profession should have a greater control than at present in its use, and without the advice of a qualified practitioner its habitual use is to be deprecated. Apologising for the length of this paper, I would only add that I trust you will all give the subject the careful consideration it de serves, and may ignorance be dispelled by reliable information ; habit overcome by fixed determination, and for the sake of our fellow-men and women we may each try to do all in our power to stay the terrible ruin seen in every direction by the woe of the Nineteenth Century Alocohol. At the conclusion of the lecture the rev. gentleman explained the process by which he extracted alcohol from the liquors mostly partaken of, and concluded by stating that Australian wines were the best, and that little or no injury would arise from partaking in moderation of beer or stout. A discussion then ensued, in which Dr Pollen, Messrs Greenwood, Jenner, Somervell, Harratt, Kenny, and the Rev. Mr Hudson took part. On the motion of the Chairman a vote of thanks was passed to the rev. lecturer, and a similar compliment was paid to the Chairman.