ANTI-TOBACCO MOVEMENT.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 356, 22 March 1861, Page 3

ANTI-TOBACCO MOVEMENT.

A meeting for the promotion of the objects of the Anti-Tobacco Society in Edinburgh was held at George-street-hall. The Lord Provost presided. There was a pretty numerous attendance. Professor Miller moved the first resolution :—

That as the constituent principles which tobacco contains are highly poisonous, the practices of smoking and snuffing tend in a variety of. ways to injure the physical and mental constitution. He said no man who was a hard smoker had a steady hand. But not only had it a debilitating and paralyzing, effect, but he could tell of patients who were completely paralyzed in their limbs by inveterate smoking. He might tell of a patient of his who, cured indeed by simple means enough;' accompanied with the complete discontinuance of the practice; but who afterwards took to it again, and got a new attack of paralysis; and who could now play with himself, as it were, because when he wanted a day's paralysis or an approach of it, he had nothing to do but to indulge more or less freely with the weed. Only the other day, the French—among whom the practice was carried to a greater extent than with us—made an estimate of its effects in their schools, and academies, and colleges. They took the young men attending these institutions; classified them into those who smoked habitually and those who did not, and estimated their physical and intellectual standing; perhaps their moral standing too, but he could not say. The result was that they found that those who did not smoke were the stronger lads and better scholars, were altogether more reputable people and more useful members of society, than those who-habitually used the drug. What was the consequence ? Louis Napoleon—one of the good things which he had done—instantly issued an edict that no smoking should be permitted in any school, college, or academy. In one day he put out about 30,000 pipes in Paris alone. Let our young smokers put that in their pipes and smoke it. Mr. Reynolds, Secretary to the British Anti-Tobacco Society, seconded the resolution, which was agreed to.

Mr. Thomas Knox stated that the present was only the initiatory meeting of a series which it was intended to hold in this city to promote the movement. • He moved:—

That as smoking has a tendency to encourage the drinking usages of society, not only by creating morbid thirst, but also by its. exhausting power, thereby inducing recourse to a falsely supposed substitute, it is greatly calculated to foster crime and dissipation in the oiasses.

This and other* similar resolutions were unanimously passed.

A Volunteer Shooting a Man.-—An inquest was held at Geelong upon view of the body of Charles Bennett, who died from the effects of gunshot wounds. From the evidence it appeared that deceased and others were on a pleasure excursion, and a volunteer named Harty, who was one of the party, had taken his rifle. Harty placed a parasol on the stump of.a] tree, but abandoned his aim, and as he was turning round the rifle went off, and shot the deceased, who fell flat on his face. A doctor arrived on the ground some time afterwards, and extracted several shots from deceased, who was conveyed into town the next day, where he died. There were about 60 shot maiks on his body. Mrs. Emily Lawrie, who was standing near the deceased at the time, received a shot in the cheek. Mr. Harty, in answer to a question, said that he had not fired a gun more than six or eight times. The jury returned as their verdict that deceased had come to his death through gun shot wounds iniflcted by John Harty, accidentally, casually, and, by . misfortune, through caielessness.

New Caledonia. — Information was brought on February 14th, by the French Government schooner Fine, that the three natives sent by the French Government to carry despatches to the officer in command of the port ot Kanaka were arrested on their way; that one of them was murdered; and that the despatches were destroyed -by fire. Immediately on receipt of this intelligence, the Governor started with 200 soldiers to inflict a severe punishment on the natives. —Sydney Morning Herald,