NEW ZEALAND ALLIANCE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1958, 19 October 1889, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND ALLIANCE.

iMr Coad, lecturer under the auspices of the Netf Zealand Temperance Alliance, addressed a meeting in the Tolunteer Hall, Temuka, last Thursday evening. There was a very large attendance, and the chair was occupied by Mr Glover, who lectured in Temuka on previous' occasions. After the singing, of, a: hymn, , the meeting was opened with prayer by the Eev. Mr Dickson: i : The chairman read a letter [from the Eev. M f Hamilton apologising for- His absence. He also said they had all, sects represented except the Eomah Catholic ! clergyman. In England ; Cardinal Manning was one of the vice-presidents of the Alliance. He went on to speak of the liquor traffic* saying that what was waited was to sweep it away. They would be required to vote for sweeping it away. They must vote' on this point only until it was swept away. All they Wanted was to give the people power to say whether they desired to have ■ publichouses or not, instead of giving that power, as at present, to five Licensing Committeemen. That was all they asked, and for this they would work until they got it. ; Mr who accompanied himself on the banjo, sang a solo, “Eather, promise you will never drink again.” Mr Coad then addressed the meeting. He said they got more applause, but. fewer pledges and subscriptions : to the Alliance in-this colony than in England. They must make this question an election one, and any one who would vote for an ungodly man offended God. They were suffering because of bad laws, and they would suffer so long as they sent bad men toParliament. Ho proceeded to speak, from a text from St. Paul, “ Whatsoever things that are true, etc.” It was true they were all better without liquor than with it, and it had been proved. Medical men proved it. Pour teetotallers who went to find the North Pole proved it. Amongst them was » very small man, and when going away it: was said he would not live, but he was the only man who stood out when the rest failed, and he buried the Good Templar motto nearer the North Pole than ever man went before or since, 'He referred to newspapers, and regretted they reported so much for the devil as they did. He ridiculed medical science, and instanced the case o£ a man who 40 years ago was warned Iby doctors that he would not live without drink. Thirty years afterwards the same doctor said, “Oh, I see you can live without drink.” Thus it took 30 years to enable the doctor to see it. There was no use arguing against a fact, and whether people believed them or not no amount of unbelief would upset a fact. Out of 1000 temperance men 10 died, out of 1000 moderate drinkers 16 died, out of 1000 drinkers 40 died, and out of every 1000 publicans 60 died in the year. He went on to the text of St. Paul’s, “ Whatsoever things that are honest,” &c. Whenever teetotalism was tried it was found to be honest. Wherever a man spent the money in drink, and: allowed his wife and family to go hungry, he spent it dishonestly. They had no right to spend money on drink or tobacco until they had provided for their families, He had met men in. this colony who had spent more than would keep their families in luxury for life, and now were on the verge“of starvation. The animals provided for their offspring, ! while these men spend their money in. drink. It was mean and dishonest. Gambling was a desire to get another man’s money without giving anything for it. Was there anything honest in that ? Let them withdraw the liquortraffic and gambling would soon be» destroyed. He next expatiated on smoking and its evils. At Home the colliers were turning to Blue Eibbon- i ism, and now they had fiddles and frying pans in their homes. Drinkers had no such things in, their houses..

Drunkenness was the mother of gambling, and moderate drinking was the mother of drunkenness. He wished the reporter to put that down, what ever else he put down. The moderate drinker kept drunkenness alive. There were'] more bad debts made by drunkenness, and more dishonesty caused' by. drunkenness than anything else. He then went to another text—•“ Whatsoever things that are pure,”- &6. Temperance was pure. A brewer in his place built a house, and very shortly another brewer built a public house next door. The first brewer objected to granting a license to the second brewer because, he said, it was a huge nuisance, and he did not’want it next door to his house. Th© body of a young man was picked out of a river, and in his pocket was found a paper on which was written, “Don’t ask my name. Let me rot. Drink did it. I have caused enough trouble ts my parents already.” Next week the coroner received 250 letters from brokenhearted parents making inquiries. ~ His next text was “ Whatsoever things that are lovely,” &c. It war lovely to see people taking the pledge. > He gave a great many instances of the loveliness of Temperance. Angels in Heaven felt delighted at the tear of the penitent. The Salvation, Army had won 50,000 souls to Christ, for the last few years. In England ’-2500 villages are without a public house. In Ireland, in Beabrook 6000 people lived. without drink, and near Dungannanj in Ireland, 60 square miles, with 10,000 people was without a public house,, and all were happy. They had to pay less poor tax, and were happy and prosperous, and if it had such success in Ireland it would do the same in New Zealand. He urged them to join the Alliance. Eighteen years ago the drink bill was £ll per head in New Zealand, and last year it was only £3 per head, so they were getting better, and he was glad the young, people were very eeher. He urged them to join the Alliance, and give ©very assistance they could. After the singing of a hymn the Bev. Mr Bunn pronounced the Benediction, after which 8 members were enrolled and six took the pledge.

The meeting then terminated, Mr Coad is a very humorous and effective speaker. We understand ihat arrangements have been made under which he will revisit Temuka and give a whole week's mission.