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THE PROHIBITIONIST.

Published by the courtesy of the Editor of Wairarapa Dai'y under the'auspices of the New Zealand Alliance for the prohibition of the liquor traffic, Masterton Auxiliary.

When ratepayers demand the entire extinction of alt places for the sale of liquors '.heir prayer should be granted. —Charles Buxton, Brewer.

[Communications tor this column must be addressed to "The Prohibitionist" care of Editor of iVairarapa Daiia.]

The London Times has thrown open its columns for a discussion on this luring question, the drink evil. C. R. Drysdale, M.D., senior Physician to the Metropolitan Hospital, in discussing the question of drink and longevity wrote: —" It is agreed that persons who drink freely are not good lives. Dr Ogle's statistics, indeed, Bhow this, for, taking the average' mortality of all males in England and j Wales at 1,000, he showed that the mortality of publicans was 1,521, and for public-house servants 2,005. He added that " the mortality of persons directly concerned in the liquor traffic was appalling." The late Mr Walkley affirmed that intoxication was the cause of one-half of the in - quests on adults held in Loudon. In 1865 Dr Lancereaux calculated that one death in 20 occurring in the Parisian hospitals was due to alcoholism, and the Harveian Medical Society estimated that about 1,000 deathß a weak were due to alcohol in the United Kingdom. In France 40-34 percentofthe cases of insanity in a lunatic asylum in Finistere was attributed to spirit-drinking. Ho much for free drinkers.

But what about the moderate drinkers. Dr Drysdale adds:— Accidents appear to be commoner and more dangerous among nonabstainera than among abstainers. Thus the Lancashire and Yorkshire Accident Insurance Company gives an abatement of 10 per cent to all total abstainers on their premiums when they have been insured for a year, as does the Acoident Insurance Company, and the British Empire Mutual Insurance Company. The working classes have certain Friendly Societies which provide for them in > sickness and for their widows at death. The Rechabites, a total abstinent society, shows at all ages from 20 to 78 a lower annual death rate than that of the Ancient Order of Foresters. At the age of 20 tho death rate per 1,000 among the i Foresters being 7'29, it is 5-69 among I the Rechabites; at 30, B*o7 in the former to 5-12 ; at 40, 12.08 to 6 46 ; at 50, 18-65 to 1M97 ; at 60, 83'66 to 25*15 among the Foresters and Rechabites respectively. The Sons of Temperance also had a very low mortality, not exceeding 7.5 per 1,000 per annum of those insured. After the age of 44 the sickness rate of the Sons of Temperance seems not to exceed one week yearly up to the age of 54, whereas the non-abstaining Foresters and Oddfellows it rises gradually from one week at the age of 44 to six weeks at 54. At all ages the annual deathrate ef the Sons of Temperance is much below that of either the Foresters or Oddfellows. The mortality of the clergj of the English Church has fallen between 1861 and 1871 and 1880-82, for in the former period their mortality between 25 and 45 was 5*96, and this fell to 4'64, which figure, however, was higher than that of the Rechabites of similar ages (4*501 At all ages from 25 to 65 the annual deathrate of the Rechabites was considerably below that of the Foresters, the healthy males of England and Wales, and the " healthy males " of 20 life assurance companies. These figures seem to Drove to any innocent mmd that, in this country at least, total abstainers have a better expectation of life and less sickness than non-abstainers from alcohol. The statistics, of course, may be oriticised. It hits been said that total abstainers live longer beoause they possess other virtues, such as " superior prudence.'' Well, that seems to me far-fetched. All hospital physicians know bow often diseases of the liver, brain, and other organs attack drinkers.

The London Daily Telegraph has thrown open its columns for a discussion on the " Slavery of Drink." During the month of September letters poured into the paper. No less than 257 letters appeared, covering 43 columns. This shows the interest of the public in the question. Of course the space for this discussion was given free to contributors. There was no attempt to charge sixpence per inch each insertion for this matter. Any journal in the Old Country that would try to levy blackmail on social reformers woald be at once disgraced. There are sham liberal journals in colonies that are really the barrel organs of the publicans which are not ashamed to do so.

It may not be generally known that Dr Benjamin Fichardson was a drinker when the London physicians assigbed to him the task of investigating the action of alcohol on living tissues. He took a year for bis experiments and came out a total abstainer ; his science had controlled his conscience and controlled his life.

The St. James' Gazette says :—lt is easy to see how cold kills the weak ; but among the ' frozen to death ' is another and quite different class—the intemperate. Cases of this kind, no doubt, occur in every very severe winter, but they are seldom easily traced to their cause. Some good instances, however, are on record. In the very cold winter of 1811 a country gentleman named Lambe was found frrzen to death. He had been 'spending the evening convivially," to use the euphemism of the period, and the cold overcame him oil his way home. Of the numerous victims which every winter claims in Russia, many meet their fete through alcohol; but an astounding, almost incredible, proof is on record as having occurred in St. Petersberg under the ftlinistor Potenikin. A large distiller gave a public feto, at which brandy flowed like water. The night was exceedingly cold, and trora 15,000 to 18,000 persons were frozen to death on the spot or in the streets. The phenomenon has a double explanation. Alcohol increases susceptibility to cold, and cold increases the intoxicating effects of alcohol. The ' cool night air' has not the sobering effect invariably attributed to it by tho lady novelist (it is to her credit that she doesn't know better), but just the opposite. A man may still be able to leave tho tablo and go forth; but if the air be cold ho soon becomes more intoxicated, his limbs refuse to carry him, .ho -fallsdown, goes to sleep, and is found in the morning 'frozen to death,'"

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WDT18911223.2.10

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3996, 23 December 1891, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,091

THE PROHIBITIONIST. Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3996, 23 December 1891, Page 2

THE PROHIBITIONIST. Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3996, 23 December 1891, Page 2

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