EVER FORWARD.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXII, Issue 42992, 7 August 1906, Page 1

EVER FORWARD.

It may at times appear strange t ) the general public, that such a comparatively small movement is being made by the churches in the direction of advocating temperance. Whatever system of drinking is mentioned in the Bible, and which some of the clergy may think fit to defend, they should not lose sight of the fact that conditions at the present day are very different to those obtaining in biblical days. Then there was not the rush and bustle and high strung activity that is so general nowadays. The people led mostly a healthy outdoor life, free from the petty worries of more modern days, and the drink in which they did sometimes indulge, was the pure product of the vine, stimulating and even nourishing. Would that such comparatively wholesome bverages might be dealt out at the present day in place of the chemically-manufactured or highly adulterated liquors that are now foisted upon a feebly acquiescent section of the public. Daily we see enacted around us the terrible tragedies of life in which the abuse of strong drink is the prime factor. The thing has gone on too long, and the examples of fallen, dissipated human wreckage are too numerous for there to be any longer a doubt as to whether drink is a desirable commodity or otherwise. Drink can never bring true happiness to anyone:

it may bring a species of temporary comfort, but not the lasting, loving happiness which should be in the atmosphere of every home. The difficulty which is sometimes experienced by temperance advocates in getting persons to recognise the force of the teachings which they expound, is' somewhat akin to the want of interest often shown in religious beliefs, be they put forth with ever so much en thusiasm. But it does not say that because the promptings of their exponents fall upon deaf ears, that neither temperance nor religion are required, for there is a great tendency for people to be afraid of the truth —to shrink instinctively from that which might cause them the necessity of exercising a stricter supervision over their own lives after being long unused to the tight rein. Science has come to the aid of the temperance re former so that instead of apolo* gising for the fad of total abstinence he is able to clearly show that intoxicating drink is a hindrance to the best manual and mental work, a bar to that physical fitness which makes for the true enjoyment of life, and is a drag on the wheels of those

who aim at social, moral, mental, and spiritual improvement. It is, therefore, the duty of every right-minded person, be he cleric or layman, to assist in breaking down the rooted prejudices in favour of alcohol, and to help in every way to protect those around them' from tha, alluring and ensnaring power of strong drink. When we see city and borough councils in the Mother Couniry spreading broadcast within their boun daries, placards warning their people of the dangers of alcoholism out of consideration for the physical health or the people, it appears to be time that all religious bodies awakened from their apathy to join in a crusade which cannot be conscientiously staved off much longer, and which, if whole-heartedly carried out with the one desire to im* prove New Zealand’s people for their own welfare, cannot have any but the desired result. Above all, let Christian fathers and mothers, in solicitude for their childrens’ future, and especially of their sons, see that they associate only with healthy* minded companions unlikely to lead them down the easy incline of debauchery from which the return is so very very difficult. May the good example of the parents set up in their offspring that peace and health of mind which lends force and health of body, which in turn produces ambition and thoroughness likely to lead to a successful career.