TEMPERANCE ITEMS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4173, 23 July 1892, Page 3

TEMPERANCE ITEMS.

Overlooking an important part of the port of Havre stands a till building on the top whioh the woid ," Sailors' Coffee Bar" are inscribed, in letters so large that they can be easily read from vessels coming into port. The building is chiefly interesting as an important witness to temperance and y* godliness in a district where drinkine * shops abound. Sailors find in tlio bar, not only a great variety refreshments, hut illustrated English paper 3, draughts, and other games for an evening of innocent enjoyment, In some rooms above the bar Lady Beauchamp has taken up li'T residence; and here, during our brief stay in Havre, we were entertained. At night lior Ladyship may be found among the sailor? in tlio bur. talking familiarly with them, show g the deepest interest in them, and ever aiming at their conversion to (Jed. We could not but rejoice iii such an exhibition of God's grace. Tim spirit in which siio devotos herself to the work may be judged from her reply to ono who urged her to" keep her position." " If our Lord had kept his position, what would have become ofus?" In Hisßpiriteke seeks to do his work ot seeking and saving the lost.

Police officers, liko dooiors,dilJei in 4 opinions inspector Broham at ckland recently spoke to the oflect that if the sale of.Jiqnor was lessened drinking would thereby not be dcoreased. As opposed to this Inepecior Weldon, said to the South Dunedin Bench last year:—"l am convinced that by restricting the disposal of liquors within reasonable bounds, so also in proportion will orime, lunacy, and misery be roduced.'

Mr Alderman Clegg presided aUhe New Year's festival of the Sheffield Temperance Association, and said he was afraid the prosperity of tbo last few years had led to more drinking' and to more wretchedness. It was aj great misfortune that prospeiity should be a curse in any way; but they all knew that there were thou-, Bands of people who imagined that (hoy had nothing to do but to work one part of the week and to spend their earnings during the remainder, They never thought of laying up for a rainy day, and when bad trade came i)aey were in the drepest poverty. Iu jjet, some people were worse off in good times than in bad, because they would not take care ol their money. If they would only think how much trouble they were at to.eam the money they would not, he believed, spend it go foolishly. They might teveme the forcible remark of ihe Duke of Albany, and Bay, " If we had notßtrong drink •we should be rid of our greatest enemy."

A "T, A. Cleric," writing to the Alliance News, quotes statements made by bishops who have presided at recent temperance anniversaries, wbich he characterises as" feeble, if notharmlul," and he pertinently asks —" Of what profitable use can such utterances of learned dignitaries he in helping on the movement? They are an encouragement to moderate drinkers, who need no encouragement, and it is not to be wondered at that they are used by speakers at lioensed victuallers' dinners and received with marks of approval, Tho Christian tcli has yet to be awakened to a lively sense of her responsibility and duty in reference to the prevailing sin in our land, and the ohief pastors of the Church ought to be leading us on to victory, instead of trying to hold us back."

It is an undoubted fact that the serving of many and heavy wines at large dinners is gradually becoming a thing of the paßt, writes George W, Childs in the January Ladies Home Journal, Of course, I do not mean that wines are no longer served, for they are and will continue to be, so long as civilised men consider thom a feature of dinners. But Ido mean that the varieties of wine there aro fewer, of the quantities less, and of tho qualities lighter, than m tho custom ten years ago, Were I preparing for a large dinner for men—whioh is always from the nature of things more heavily wined than an ordinary "mixed" dinner—l should not think it in the least degree necessary to qrder anything like the same amount or of wines that would have been imperative a few years ago. And in extenuation of the statement that the qualities of tho wines served are becoming lighter, the simple fact that at the average English dinner table port wine has been almost entirely superseded by claret, may be cited. It is also bocoming a very ordinary thing at English dinners to meet prominent men who do not drink wines of any kind, and in our country this is also becoming more and more a fact. Of course, a dinner must have fluids; the best of solids require some liquids with whioh to relish them, and a dinner would be but wasted energy and material without them. But I think it as no longer imperative to serve winos, or at least we can sorve with them some other beverage which will be of equal pleasure to the constantly-increasing set of people who find that wining and dining together is rather too heavy a combination for their comfoi.