TEMPERANCE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2437, 13 December 1892, Page 3

TEMPERANCE.

On last Sunday evening a Gospel Temperance Meeting was held in the Volunteer Hall, Temuka. The room was crowded. The Rev. J. K. Elliot, of Wellington, occupied the chair, and said it was a coincidence that exactly that time twelve months he took the chair in the same hall for the Rev. Mr Isitt before. After some amusing remarks he introduced the Rev. J. Dickson, who spoke at some length on the evils of intemperance. The Rev. Isitt Mr addressed the meetiDg. Reference was made to the way ho was persecuted. He thrived under persecution. He never weighed 13 stone until within the last twelve months. There were some of them who believed that there was no harm in respectable hotels, but he held that many were brought to ruin in respectable hotels who would never have been seen in the low grogshop. He was glad to have the Presbyterian clergy with him ; he would like to have had the English and the Roman Catholic clergy also, but they believed in moral suasion. He hoped they would all come round some day. There wa* no one this century did more for temperance than Cardinal Manning. There was no greater obstacle to. the coming of God's Kingdom on ' ear t n tnan drink, and he hoped all churches would combine to put it down. But what temperance wanted most was pluck ; they were afraid to speak their in|nds, ox- stand to their colors. Jf they worked hard they wqidd soon caury everything before them. jse would like to see wine banished from |he Communion table, because soiJ'D people could not resist tho temptation ance they tasted. \'t. Ho. instanced the §ase qf a yp,ung m?.n who went to the j<|arne school \vjth him, and was a confirmed druukard at tho ago of sixteen y )ars. He was reformed, and for several years did not taste it. Ho would not partake of the Communion, because he felt that once he tasted wine he could not resist it. Friends forced him to tho Communion table, and immediately after having tasted the wine he walked away and got drunk. Next morning he awoke in a prison cell, charged with having murdered his wife, Mr Jsity f|a,vo n.ames of persons W}<\ fttagos, to. authenticate this story. jfi a meeting of Christian temperance •Women a judge's daughter asserted that

her own father fell a victim to intemperance through having partaken <>f wine at the communion table, and for these reasons he would like to see it banished. There were some people so much under the power of alcohol that even the smell of it had an irresistible influence over them, and for their sake he would like to put it out of the way. The rev. gentleman then wound up by urging them, that while working as Prohibitionists, not to forget the moralsuasion aspect of the question, but always try to make as many teetotallers as they could.

During the evening several hymns were sung by a strong choir, and the proceedings came to a close by the Rev. Mr Elliott pronouncing the benediction. The Rev. Mr Isitt delivered a lecture in the Volunteer Hall last evening on " Prohibition," the hall being crowded. The chair was occupied by the Rev. J. Dickson. A full report will appear in our next issue.