BAND OF HOPE ANNIVERSARY.

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 53, 7 June 1884, Page 7

BAND OF HOPE ANNIVERSARY.

The fourth anniversary gathering of the Auckland Band of Hope Union wn.s held last Monday nignt week in the Onoral Hall, under the presidency of His Excellency tie Governor. if is Excellency delivered an inaugural address. He expressed sincere pleasure at being privileged to take p.irc io the meeting ; there could be no question as to the desirability by all possible means of inculcating sobriety, ami thereby extending turougiiout tne land all the blessings that flowed from him. A great shipowner who had been staying wit . bun hud told him t.iat the aiitiost invariable cause of siiipwreem was driiu. JL\»e statistics of idiocy s -owe I t-iat no loss a proportion than 3 insane potions out o\ every 5 >venl ma j turoa^n ilrwjK. Dunng Ibj2 no less tuau £,l±v ) '4>ji.,oo'')

was spent in drink in England, or afct'ie rate of £3 11s 7ii per head of the entire population. That was an astounding figure, but we beat it here in New Zealand. In 1876 the consumption of drink in New Zealand cost no less than £4 9s per head of the population, men, women, and children, it was now estimated, as he saw from a sermon preached on Sunday night by a gentleman in one of tue enurouos in Auckland, at £4: 7s 2d per head. So that whilst we had a compnlsoiy taxation of £3 18s (>d per heal, there was also a voluntary taxation throughout the community of £4 7a 2d per head additional There were about 0,000,000 houses in England, and out of tiiose 1 in 30, about 180,000, were licensed to sell intoxicating liquois. Now, if each house, supposing it to be 130 feet broad, wore placed in line, they would form a street of two sides GOO miles long, or if we put the houses in one line, obviously it would be 1200 miles long. That would form a line of houses longer than a line stretching from the North Cape round New Zealand to Stewart Island. The directors of the Union were taking the young and bringing thorn up in habits of sobriety and temperance, and he did not doubt tuat they would reap their reward in having a temperate nation in the future. And he most heartily wished them success, bearing in mind all the blessings ttuth ut would How from their movement — (hat it would make better husbands, better wives, better fathers, better sons and daughters, better men and wo'uen in the community. The singing of the National Anthem brought the proceedings to a close. — Star.