TEMPERANCE RE-UNION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2217, 20 June 1891, Page 2

TEMPERANCE RE-UNION.

The Temperance re-anion in the Volunteer Hall, Temuka, last Thursday evening was a great success, the only drawback being that the hall wva too small for the large attendance. The chair was occupied by Mr Grainger, of Bangitata, and the proceedings were opened in the usual manner, A long and varied programme was gone through, and in the course of the evening refreshments ware banded rooud. This was not the least interesting part of proceedings. The hall was so crowded that great difficulty was experienced in distributing the "eatables” but & number of young ladies wearing their Good Templer regalia went to work with a will and for balf-an-hour they continued bringing tray after tray of sandwiches, cakes, tea, etc,, from the back of the stage till the wonder was where did it come from and where was it all going. And still (ray after tray after tray came full and retnrnod empty, while the Rev. Mr Dsllow, accompanied by Mrs Dellow on the piano, played a musical sellection ou the violin; and still the consumption of cake and tea went on till the chairman rose and said he “ did ” like tea meetings, and apparently a great many more did too, and the programs was resumed. The programme was as follows :—Opening hymn ; Song, Bev. Mr Dellow; recitation, Mr E. Tennyson Smith ; reading, Mr T, Barr; instrumental duet, Bev, Mr and Mrs Dellow; recitation, Rev. W, 0. Wood ; song, Mr E. Whitehead; recitations, Mieses Lynch aad Oruickahank, M>sa Goodey and Miss Cooper, all of whom were highly appreciated. They almost all depicted the evil* of intemperance and then came the speech making. Not anticipating, such a thing, our reporter went unprepared, and consequently be bad to a great extent to depend on his memory as he was unprovided jrith the necessary reporting appliances. This has cost him anguish of heart aa (be speeches were rather spicy. The Bev. W. C. Wood said he was not going to make a long speech at a quarter to 10 o'clock, but he would advise them all to stick to their colors. They ware not to mind whab people thought, and if persons attempted to do them injury by taking away their custom, lej them not be frightened at that. He heard a great deal about liberty, but he knew of an instance in which a man was threatened with the screw being put on by the Bank if be supported prohibition, where was the liberty there 1 Ye t it was the people who prated most about liberty resorted to such means as this to curb people’s right to vote as they liked. Nothing of this thing would frighten him. He was not a man who supported prohibition whan it was popular and then turn round in favor of moral suasion. Ha mentioned no name but if the cap fitted anyone he could wear it. It was said that he (the speaker) said he did not believe in moral auasioo. He never said such a thing. He did believe in moral suasion, but he believed in prohibition also, and they must have it to complete the work. (Applause. >

Mr E. Tennyson Smith wished to say good bye to them for the present. Such meetings did a lot of good and he hoped they would* continue them, and allow no one to laugh them out of their pledges. Two men were going home drunk one night and found themselves wearing the blue ribbon. Next day they determined to stick to it, but when when passing the public house the publican called them but they refused to drink. They said they hid taken the blue ribbon. The publican laughed at them and said be put the blue ribbon on them whan they were drunk to make fun of them. Well, replied the men “ we shall keep it on now to make fun of you.” They had the best of the joke, and so would any one who stuck to his pledge; Mr Smith then proceeded to speak of a recent sermon, and in reply to some remark said, “ Oh, I’m going for him, I’m going for him,” and he did. Mr Hamilton, he said, talked of the Bible giving liberty, and so it did, but it was not liberty for occasions of the flash. What did St. Paul say, “ If meat make my brother to offend I will eat no flesh while the world standeth lest I make my brother to offend.” He could not understand clergymen opposing Prohibition, unless it was that there were men in their congregations they would not dare to offend. Me would not he such a man, and he could not find words scathing enough to denounce men who saw the light and allowed something to stand in their way of doing what they thought right. Such men ought not to be allowed to remain on any temperance committee. Why, boys and girls ought to see the whole thing plainly. No more drink—no more drunkenness. As for the argument about sly grog shops, it was a pity he did not bring it forward in time, so that he (Mr Smith) could reply to it. If the liquor traffic were prohibited grog shops could not exist, because there would be two sets of spies on them. The friends of the old system would be pointing them out, and eaying: “ Here they are, just as wo told yon and the prohibitionists would also be watching them. They oould not liye. As regard* cock-fighting, bull-baiting, etc., these were put down by law, —by prohibition.. (Applause.) There was a law to punish stealing, but yet there was stealing, and was the.law to be abolished because of that ? If prohibition were adopted, there would be >. breaches of it, the same as there were breaches of other laws, but the evils of drink would be reduced to a minimum. He pitied clergymen who stood up for publicans because some rich publicans contributed to church funds. They had no rignt to take money obtained from such a source, and he was glad bis friend, Mr Bellow, said be would refuse it. What they must do is to go to the root of the evil. Sir Wilfred Lawson bad a test of idiotcy. He told a man to bale out a tank into which water was running through a cock. If the man turned off the cook and then baled out the water be regarded him «a sane; if he continued baling and letting the water flow in, them he concluded he was an idiot, Could they apply that ? (Cries of ” Yes,”) He told them to keep on banging away, and they would succeed. He now heartily wished them goodbye for the present, but he intended to revisit Temuka on some future oocaeiom. (Applause) .

The Rev. Mr Bellow moved a rote of thanks to Messrs Smith and Wood, the chairman, and all who organised the meet* ing. He was as sure as he was of daylight that they would jet hare prohibition in New Zealand. Ha believed in moral suasion, but it had done all it could do. Moral suasion caused a man to take the pledge a few evenings before in that hall, but next morning a publican of Temuka talked the man into breaking it, and he maae him drank. Moral suasion did the work, but the publican undid it again, and ao there was nothing for it but to shut the houses up. A certain man, in a good position, said he would give every penny he possessed if he could shut them all up, end A although the man is not a total abstainer he * gave £1 towards defraying expenses. The modern's drinkers were fighting for the money (hey had invested in the traffic; the prohibitionists were fighting, for the love.of tiod and the good of man, to put ont of the A way an evil which was ruining so many, body and soul. He felt certaid they would be able to do it three years hence. He then moved the vote of thanks, which was carried by acclamation, after which some nine or ten persons took the pledge. It was announced at the meeting that between Temuka and Geraldine 360 persons had signed the pledge, together with 59 at Pleasant Point, making in all about 400 as the result of the mission.