TEMPERANCE LECTURE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1972, 21 November 1889, Page 3

TEMPERANCE LECTURE.

The Rev. P. W. Jones, of Waddington, delivered a highly interesting, and at the same time humorous) lecture on " Temperance Scraps " in tbe Primitive Methodist Church, Gersldine, on Monday evening last. There was a very good attendance, and the members of the Welcome Betreat Lodge of Good Templars were represented in regalia. Mr W, S. Maslin, the lodge deputy, occupied the chair. The meeting was opened with the singing of a hymn and prayer, and the chairman then introduced the lecturer. In doing so he spoke of the great spread of temperance principles, as evinced by the fact that temperance organisations were to be found

now m almost every part of the known world. The lecturer,in commencing his address, said he had always taken an interest in the temperance question, and bad been a

total abstainer for more than 25 years. Temperance .had been an advantage to him in everyway. HaviDg been an abstainer for 25 years, he knew a little about it, and, therefore, was qualified to speak a little on the subiect. Every year, as'. the anniversary of his aigniDg the pledge (September 23rd) had come round, he had made a point of making some little celebration of that day. He had first taken the idea of delivering a lecture on "Temperance Scraps" from having noticed in the papers the manner in which the Ist of May was celebrated in Birmingham. The brewers and all those, interested in the liquor trade in that city ' resolved that on May-day they would have a huge procession, The temperance people, seeing what the liquor-dealers wbre doingj also decided to have a procession, and to follow closely behind that of the brewers. Accordingly they issued an invitation to all the little wajfs and strays of the.city, boys and girls—all the little'ragamiiffinsof .the city—to come and have a ride,through the town, and to enjoy a penny b.U|j enxowte; The result was that the brewers' procession, which was over at mile, long, and in which all the wealthy ' liquor*dealers,' portly landlords, arid those in the trade took part, went first, and on their heels came the temperance people's procession. An exactly similar thing waa done in Liverpool on the same day. In the leading procession in each town pictures and mottoes were displayed, and in the following ones were also mottoes, such as "Look on this picture and on that," " Our fathers feed the publicans' pigs but we get none of the bacon," and similar mottoes. Ab the English statesman John Bright was going home one evening with a fine salmon he had caoght he fellio with a man who was making a great to do because his wife and family were starving. , Mr Bright, who had no money in his pocket, gave him the salmon, but afterwards found the man pawned it for drink at the hotel where be (Bright) waß lodging. Mr Joneß went on to relate a number of incidents that bad eoine under his own observation, and others that he had called from newspapers, etc., shewing tbe evils of the drink fcrriic. He elso quoted a number of figures and stalisticp, all of which went to prove the magnitude of the evil, the crime it caused, and the injury it was doing to mankind. He gave an earnest ioviiation to those present who were not already abstainers to take the temperance pledge that evening, and to give up the drink for good. The lecturer throughout kept the audience thoroughly interested and amused. At the conclusion of the address a very hearty vote of thanks was, upon the motion of Mrß. Hardy, W.C.T., seconded by Mr J. Colbert, V.T., accorded to Mr

Jones ; also to the choir, who, under the leadership of Mr A. Sherratt, had rendered several selections daring the evenirjg.