Church of England Temperance Society. (Lvttelton Times May 5th)

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Issue 51, 13 May 1899, Page 4

Church of England Temperance Society. (Lyttelton Times May sth)

Last e\em i'j; a well attende t meeting was ln-ld in St John's schoohoom, t.u the pmpo^e oi ievivni'4 the St John's bianch of tne Cinuch ot lin<*Unl 'iVuippiaace Souieh. Tho Vi"i<,thp Rev II 0 M W.irso-i, who piesu'ei 1 , snu th.it tlie Sfc John's bi.iiß-li had be jn sf.i.teil aS^at t»senl'-one ve.ii^ ,mo, and dun )<x tl.o tune if h.il been open ne.nl> 500 pcopii- had signed tho lo^i^^'i, no.ulv all ot them h.iMn^tikfn iho total ,ib-. f iap i < "ep!"dc;e looking thiou<ch the lists,, he found that the inst name was that ot Su William Fo\, thiouijh wliosp milnenee the Society had been cHgani^ed. Tho second was that ot tii" Wn. Aichde.icon l)udle\, and tne tlind the spcakei's. The So"icl> h.i 1 not been (.micl on snue his letuin ttoin Eii<<laiid, but he hoped that it would now be 'noic flomishins^ than ovei. He owed a yen »ieat deal to tho assistance of Mi Foiv ood, who had stionqly uißed him to take up the wn.k a^am. [I w.ia pi«>posed to h)!d the iu^t niej'iiit,' ne\t Tue-,-('ay, and, afcei that, to meet alternate Tueadajs.

Bi-ho?) Ju3ifls, who was waiinlv anplaudel dmmq his addiess, siid the Chuioh (it Knv? 1 uul Tempoiance So' ie f y had oeen founded in 181/3, lefonned and le constituted in IST > a -id 'ie had joined it m 1874. Hu was i»Ud to !p,uii th it tn^ Society was, to he le-ron^titnted in the paush, ana' he would like to s-n' ,i huniih in e\eiv paush in th^ rlncose Tne basw ot (he S)eiety was oao which he hid ah\a*s been ,'ible 1o mist coidiaUy a^nept Theie weie people m eveiy p<imh- hith men and women —who weie <iddic f ed to dink, and fiese peiple had to be n. -.t lea^'iel b, te'p-i.moe v.'nk befoie they could be pieached t>). The gieat woik ot the Society was

Prewntioi lathei than cue, and it •> influence with Ihe >oan»wa-5 ptnhap-. i,'ie<itei than v\itli any nlhei class. Ho le'oned to the intenipe ance. which had e\i->tod m Enccland in the eaily put of tt l u> con^'ii .' and 1 rh.it ("lie C linen ot E.iqland J 1 • niK^ance S.MI'U h > i be»n ca'led into OM->t2iicp tj meet that sin He conkl m\e a tew as to the state of nfr.ms in England to da\ A coinp tent authon f \ h. 1( l -M,t"il that theie \se'(Mn Cn^laiid and Wa'cs 4.0,000 lecojtnisod dinnkanK, and this numhdi v,ab pion.ibly undei tliemaik, Mlnle what was '-pent m one \eai m Biv^land on dunk would bnn« co'moit and an old <i;;e pension to esen p.ioi pci^on in the eonntiv. Ud could cue the autinii'A ot iud«es a'nd magistiattis tn show that diunkenness b»un!>bt othei ciimes m it-, ttam. and \\<is lesponsible foi untold mi^oi » Tne wmst that cane ol

This Vice was its influence on othei lands, foi into almost e\ei\ land England h.vl mtiodneed diunkenness. Tliev we.c sendni" the G >spel to the heathen with one hand an 1 stion« dunk with the othci, and «oin» ill t y thousand tunes more h.iun lha.ii good. Wftn comm<* fiom Eucrlind, lie tound a m» tj pc of diunkaul. At Home t\v-"o was compi<]i*;ivo'y uuic dunking aaio'^st the mid Me clashes, but much am^npst (lie lo«ei cla->=e-. When he went to K.i U.nat he toand a Rieat do.xl of dimkiiT; anionq what the\ would rail the ipspecUble middle cl.is-.ps The ca->tom ot "fchoutnm " \^as laif-cly lc-ponsible toi thi=, and when foimin<; a laanch ot the Society in Ball mat he mile conditions dn.ili.ig with this. T./>,eethattlKi2 w.i. diunk'jnness in Now ZonU'id thf had onH to lo.;l it Vslibmton tiie d,n ot tlru a•< ident ; t) look at one o. two \ o>kin<; r en's clubs, and at then stieets, showing how a mode 1 ate

Law wan defied Theie weie two -uavs of dealing \v if li the evil, the legal, winch he would not touch upon, and the moial. The Bish >p then <*a\e some of his expeuences ot tempeianse woik in tne Old Conntiv. In his wok in conniiy pa Ijshes he had made use ot the dual basis, but i,i London be had iound nothing ioi it but, to woik on the total abstinence line. In the woik ot the Soeiet\ , the moi vl side of temperance letoim was emphasised, toi on that side they weie on ceitam crouivl, but on tho othoi, on debatable The Bishop spoke ot the necessity oi influencing the yiung and tivMalue ot an example ot total abstinence. When he came to Ballaiat fiom Inndon he found that he was called upon to make a gieat jump. He w as, laced with the question of local option, which had ne\ei ocrmied to him in England, but he had after a tune seen his wav to take the jump, and had assisted to close hotels theie, as he had done in Chiisohuich, and would do asain. But when he came to New Zealand, wheie. if one was not a piolubitionjbt, one was nothing, he found that he had to jamp a tenific chasm, and he \\as getting too o'd and " meumaticky" to do it. He was not a prohibitionist, but he was a total abstainer, and he believed he was as eainest^as any piohibitionist, but he could not woik' then way. He could however faaV, " God bless the prohibitionists," and it they would only occasionally say, (> God bless the Bishop," he thought it, would be better than giving him hard woids. He would urge them not to lose sight of the moral aspest of the question, because they wight drive out drunkenness and yet have worse sins left.