BEER OR BETTERMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 December 1919, Page 6

BEER OR BETTERMENT.

ADDRESS AT EVERYBODY'S THEATRE. The congregation of Wliiteley Memorial Church held their Sunday evening service last night, in Everybody's Theatre, when there was a large gathering, the building being practically full. An attractive feature of the service was the special music. A large ehoir and orchestra, and an orchestra of players, led hymns, and also gave the anthems I "Awake Up My Glory," and Handel's I "Hallelujah Chorus."

The Rev. J. Napier Milne gave a very impressive address on the liquor question, which he entitled "Beer or Betterment?— Who's for the Morning?" The speaker first dealt with the development of antagonism in the church to the liquor traffic, reminding his hearers that this was not always so, and there was a time when there appeared to be no consciousness of antagonism between the Bible and the beer barrel. Now, however, a new conscience had arisen in the church, which now laid it upon its members as a duty to abstain from alcohol. The speaker proceeded to show that the fires, of inquity would never be put out so long as they were fed by inflami mable spirits. It was a choice between j beer and betterment—they could not have the two together.- Prohibition meant a more healthy community, better business, happier social conditions, and, finally, a better chance, educationally, socially and morally, for the children. All these points were well illustrated, and special emphasis was laid upon the last.

"For a young country," he said, "New Zealand has some right to be proud of the education it is giving to the young life of this Dominion. Is it a credit to this country to be spending four millions and a half in strong drink, and only a little over a million and a half on education ?" "There is still another thing," the speaker declared. "If the alcohol business is to flourish in this country in the future, some of you will have to give your boys to be drinkers and drunkards." The famous Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, was standing one day on the touch line with a- master of the school, watching the boys play football. He saw a fine little fel-

low running to the "serum," and said, "'lf that boy goes wrong, it will break my heart." Fathers and mothers, that is how you feel about your boys. And that is how everyone feels about the boys to whom manhood or womanhood is more than a name. And that is why you are going to ' give the children a chance. Should it be otherwise, what are we to think of you? The speaker then dealt with the question of the responsibility of citizenship, and said people could not be Honest and evade responsibility in this great campaign. They could not be neutral in this gigantic fight. In his great poem, Dante denies to neutrals the moral dignity of a place even in hell itself. They surround the mouth of the pit and pursue evermore a flag which never stays for a moment in one place. Concluding, the speaker said: "The issue is between beer and betterment—which shall it be? The night has lingered long—the night of slums and shame, the night of loss and bondage and degradation, the night of crushed lives and broken hearts and fear-filled children. The night has lingered long, and everywhere eyes are strained to catch the first streaks of the dawn of a better day. We want New Zealand to be God's own country in deed and in truth. And it depends upon you. You cannot hurry the dawn in nature, but there is not one of you who cannot do something to hasten the dawn of a new and a nobler era for this country. By all that is healthy in morals and holy in God, I charge you to cast' your vote next Wednesday for the Morninjr"