TEMPERANCE ESSAYS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 200, 13 January 1913, Page 6

TEMPERANCE ESSAYS.

THE WINXEHR. Prizes were fecently given for thebest essays on the Temperance Wall Sheets at the West End School. We are asked to publish the winning essays,. which are as follows: — Alcohol is a poisonous liquor, which is of no .benefit-to the body, -but rather decreases its usual amount of health and power. It is obtained by allowing vegetables to ferment and afterwards using the juice. Liquors thus produced cannot build up or repair the different parts of the body which are being tonstantly worn away*, therefore they are harmful to the different organs. Alcohol is one of the many classes of drugs known sis narcotics.' ' Because it. takes, a considerably longer time to poison the ..body than strychnine or chloroform, people are apt to believe that it is not a poison. I.'erhaps it has a much more serious effect, for it has great affinity to water. If substances containing water, such as meat and vegetables, are soaked in alcohol, the latter will absorb the water, thus rendering them tough and leathery, Every organ of the 'body is somewhat damaged, owing to the poisonous effect of this dangerous liquor. , The stomach, liver, kidneys, lungs and the brain are all hindered to such an extent that they are wholly unable to perform their proper functions. The power to receive impressions on the train and to control the many movements by the brain, are impaired'. The waste materials are not removed, therefore various incurable djiseascfi are caused. The water which is required to moisten the body is drawn out, and thus the person's thirst becomes greater instead of being quenched. The moisture is-also absorbed from the water sutetances eaten, and in this way the digestion is hindered. In the stomach, an excessive 'flow of digestive juice is caused, which is utterly wasted 'in the absence of food to digest. The. white corpuscles, which are the guardians of the, oody and fight for us in time of disease," become more or less inert, and thus the germs of disease, find an almost undisturbed entrance into the body. Thus alcohol, even Kit is taken in small quantities, does not stimulate, as is believed by some people, but revives only for a short time, and weakens for a much longer time..- The money which is spent, or, rather, squandered', on alcoholic beverages, would -l|e sufficient to pay for the imported clothing from the United -Kingdom. The persons who take it are reduced to mere poverty and degradation, but they still continue to take it, saying that thev cannot help doing so. This shows what an influence it has over their mental power, which gradually becomes so weak that insanity follows. Their crimes affect not only themselves, nor their families, but the whole State in which they reside; for the people have to pay taxes to sustain the gaols, asylums and hospitals, in which the people are confined. We see, then, that temperance not only means temperate in what we drink, but in what we eat, do and say. and in every action. If this is done, the world will be devoid of sin such as crime, poverty, wretchedness, illhealth and cruelties which now continue, and how much happier, brighter and better it will be.—.Hilda Bishop. Drinks such as wine, beer and spirits are not foods as milk is. They do not help to make the body grow, they do not help to keep the body from wearing away, and they cannot increase the total itmoimt of'bodily strength and warmth. They contain a dangerous substance, alcohol, which is harmful to the body. : Alcohol belongs to a class of drugs known as narcotics, which are stimulating for a short time, and depressing for a much longer time, and depresspoison in the same sense as chloroform, strychnine and opium are poisons. Alcohol has great affinity for water. If substances containing water are soaked in aleolun they lose this water, and become tough and hard. Thus the presence of alcohol in the stomach makes more difficult the work of digestion. Alcohol is also able to absorb water from the tissues of the body, and this explains why alcoholic liquors tend to make a person more thirsty rather than less thirsty. Money spent on alcoholic drinks i s money wasted. Alcohol 'affects many organs of the body, namely, the stomach, liver, ! .ungs, heart, kidney and brain. It also hinders digestion, and so tends to imperfect nourishment of the body. In the stomach an excessive flow of digestive juice is caused, which is of no benefit to healthy individuals, and is wasted in the absence of food to digest. Further, acute inflammation may result, accompanied by the secretion of mucus, which hinders both the digestion and the absorption of food. The liver becomes congested, slow and torpid, and does not carry out its proper functions. It may become fatty and enlarged, and, at a later stage, may shrivel and harden, offering great resistance to the flow of blood through it. The lungs become less able to resist, attacks of disease germs, and so an affection of the lungs may become a very serious matter. Experiment shows that alcohol does not permanently strengthen, but rather weakens the pumping powers of the heart. The white which arc the guardians of the body' and fight for us in time of disease become more or less inert. The germs of disease find, therefore, a much easier entry into the body. Both the muscles and the nerves of the heart may become paralysed. The tendency to heart failure, especially from shock, is thus increased. The filtering action of the kidneys becomes seriously impaired, waste products being retained in the body while valuable substances are silowed to escape. The power to receive impressions of the brain and the power to control the movements are Impaired. This is seen in the case of a drunken man. and prolonged indulgence leads to paralysis and insanity. The constant drinking of alcoholic beverages 'not only may have bad effects on the body of an individual, but also may be followed by still more serious consequences, namely, mental, and moral injury to himself and great harm to others, It is on this account that civilised States have found it necessary to subject the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages to stringent regulations. If we could but take

away from the world aFi the ill-health, all the poverty, all the wretchedness, all the cruelty, all the crime that have been brought about by drinking .too much wine, beer, spirits, or the like, think how much happier, wealthier and brighter the world would lie! Lord Wolseliy. the great general, said: "Drink ki'ils more than all our newest: weapons nf warfare."—MaTJorie M.ouatt.