THE PROHIBITIONIST.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4052, 2 March 1892, Page 2

THE PROHIBITIONIST.

hiblhhei ly tk courtesy vf f/ie Ediior of \ WairarapaDai'-y unitor the auspices of tins New Zealand Alliance for the prohibition of the liquor trdffle,Mas. • ferfem Amlury, . i When ratepayers demand tht entire «• Unction of all places for tk sale of Mqwr3,lheirpmyershouldbegrat\ied. • -Charfaßiaton,Bremr. <: ; . ■[ [Communications tor this column must , be addressed to "The Prohibitionist," care of Editor of ffairakafa Daik.] The well-known English 'temperance orator, Mr Tennyson Smith, has recently conducted a' most successful mission in Invercargill. ,„He was welcomed and entertained at a 'Reception and Social given by the local Temperance': Societies' on>. the. sth February, and on the 7th commenced a week's mission 'in the 'fhettro Royal, which was crowded nightly iii spite of numerous counter attractions in the town., The Lecturer's recitals, supplemented by eloquent" humour? ous addresses of his own; were much appreciated, the evening of Poetic Recitals proving specially attractive. In the course of the.w'eek nearly; four hundred pledges were taken. Many are hoping that this popular English Leoturer will be able to pay a return visit to liiyercargill,. . ■.■;.■:"•:; ' The British Medical Journal says: —" We are very glad to : bo able to ; state,fr6m inquiries which*we' have recently : made in well-informed quarters, that the baneful praotice'of ether-drinking in Ireland has considerably fallen off, iri'Fact,' lias b'eon almost, if not quite,.,suppressed, chiefly as the result/of v the" public attention dra,wn,\to the facts in the - address delivered before the, Society for the Study of Inebriety, at the close of last year, by Mr Ernest. Hart, to i which extensive, -publicity was ■ given by the . press.' The attention of- the,'. Government was i drawn to the facts, and' steps were i taken, by direction of Mr Goscben, to > impose such severe restrictions on the ■ sale of methylated ether as made it i almost impossible''to retail it for ! drinking purposes.. We hear m fact, that tho ether trade in Ireland has fallen into insignificance; the sales of I one firm alone, who were tho chief '. mourners, have, we believe, fallen off to the extant of 60 per cent, ' ■

lif October last Mr, W. S. Caine, in. the Town Hall, Ayr, addressed the largest audience ever drawn to a lecture under the auspices of the Ayr Abstainers' Union, Mr Oaine was frequently heartily cheered during thn delivery of his speech, particularly, when he graphically related the progress the Association bad made in India during the brief period of three years. He described the liquor traffio as the source of priaie ( immorality and disease, working incalculable tpischief among the communities wherein it was allowed. Discussing the question-Who is responsible far tMß'great evil that exists among us ?—it is not, he said, the Beren millions of total abstainers, nor the immense numbers of poor but. the large nijnjbor known, as tl)o moderate drinkers, No publican supplies [lrink to a drunk man, it is to the sober ones, who are made drunk,thereby.. tyo one, iu defending the liquor traflio, alludes to the drunkurd being depriyed of liquor, but the plea is put forth,, why should the moderate drinker pe deprived, of intpjtioints ? Hj? policy was total abstinence from the individual -B'rqhibjtion fron) the |3tate. The statht|oan acpount whjch he read of the progress of i the, liquor traffic in India was listened, to wit]) marked silencg. Great jjritajn had governed India for nearly a hundred years, Fifty years ago'not one per oeot of (he population of India had tasted drink, Now, however, when Govern" ment derives a larqe revenuo from the traffic, and all liquor shops are under its control, the progress of demoralisation has been rapid, Indeed, he said the Government provided reasonable facilities for getting drunk. Mr Oaine was very impres-ive when he brought borne to the audience the fact that the people of this country were responsible for the unredressed grievances of our fellow subjects in our Indian Empire. He commented in a hopeful'lone on the fact that he had addressed' larger' meetings in India 6n'Temperhncerejorm't|an in this country. Lootpras on po' other questipu'could bring !)ut"'suoh' large gatherings there" ''Tho earnestness <ii thenative office-bearers pft'he As.ijo> cjajion were eglogisei} by! |fr Cauio, whip!} .eujogiutns were repeatedly endorsed, by cheers. At th,o close of the lecture pamphlets giving an account of the' work were distributed.

The publioanw have taken the result in the case of Sharpe'v, Wakefield so seriously to heart that tbejr propose to at once found a system for the iosuvahce. of licenses, It will work in this way. A house, the nprpl value pffdiphja liJOOf), lei us say, but whtph, wjtb, its license, is valued at LBOGO,, is- on the point of being sold. The pu'rabaser desired to insure, it to the amount of .what may be called the license value, or £2OOO, A' surveyor is despatched to examine the premises for the insurance oompany, arid if he pronounces' the sound, pp company, for a modeWfi f tonljuro, agrees to pake good the ;isjiiaj?e sjjpulil the'license subsefluefitly be wjthheli), This looks li|?e a sensible proceeding,..: Jt is,: at any fate,- a thorough giving up of thp cojnppnsation idea, wbjoli was insurance at the cost of the nation. ■;