TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Waipa Post, Volume I, Issue 30, 28 July 1911, Page 4

TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

(This column is the property of the . Waikato No-License League, and - we are in no way responsible for li the opinions expressed. — Ed. W.P.)

CATHOLIC TEMPERANCE REFORMS IN CANADA.

The Roman Catholic Church in Canada is fully alive to the ' evils of the Drink Traffic, and is doing a mighty work in trying to stop it. His Grace, Archbishop Bruchesi, declared at the Temperance Convention in Quebec, that within the last three years he had given the temperance pledge to 200,000 of his people. Every bishop of the Roman Catholic Church in the province of Quebec is organising temperance societies among his people and there is a most marvellous resolution proceeding. Just a few weeks ago Archbishop [Bruchesi spoke at a meeting of the Roman Catholic Total Abstainence Society and said, "You may enter the home of any of my Priests and my own as well, and you will not find a drop of alcoholic liquor there."

HE BELIEVES IN PROHIBI-

TION.

He went on to say: "During the Eucharistic Congress in Montreal over 2,600 had dinners in my palace and not one of them drank any alcoholic liquor. One of my parishes in this city has not a single barroom in it, but has a splendid church and School. But the condition of Ville St. Pierre, is even better than that, and only a week ago .they voted for Pro-hibition—-better, mark you, than merely keeping out the bar-rooms."

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORTS PROHIBITION.

Last year, as one result of a great church conference, 38 Roman Catholic archbishops, bishops, and administrators signed a pastoral letter to their clergy urging, them to attack the root of the trouble by absolutely abolishing the trade in strong drink. They did this with ample evidence of the actual results of No-license before them and the results of the fine lead given by the clergy is a remarkable increase in the voting. WONDERFUL RESULTS.

In Quebec to-day 648 municipalities out of 1,012 are under prohibition bylaws, or, in other words, two-thirds of the province of Quebec has gone "dry."

NO THREE-FIFTHS MAJORITY.

They don't handicap the cause of righteousness in Quebec. One man's vote is as good as anothers there. They have an enlightened and progressive democracy and , believe in majority rule, not in the rule of minorities, and in spite of having this important question settled by the bare majority, it is an unheard of thing to repeal Local Option in Quebec. They have never had a repeal yet. It is evident that New Zealand has a lot to learn yet in dealing with this question, but even if we do not get the bare

majority issue, we are certain, that when the Roman Catholic Church follows the example of its sister church in Canada, the carrying of Dominion Nolicense will be accomplished.