TEMPERANCE ITEMS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4238, 8 October 1892, Page 2

TEMPERANCE ITEMS.

Why / am a Prohibitionist BY HOK. SEAL DOW, . .. You ask ma to tell you " Why lam a Prohibitionist." The reasons for era so many, and so cogent,- and soobvious, that I do not see bow it: is possible for any intelligent mas Vjbo loves and feara Gods, bis country his fellow taen, to bB otherwise. ' But all these .reasons are resolved into this one,'that tie liquor traffic is absolutely ineonsistent ■ with 'ti»e general welfare. It wages. dssdlj, unceasing war upon erery interest of the lfstioa, (State and peopSfo.gfej which there is no trnoe for k dar/"fST boar, a moment •, night sad- day, withoni jntermissioa, it k working with pick, shovel: and dyaawit© to undermine ana overthrow onr institutiona ; changing good citizens, good, fathers, good; husbands, good brothers, good sons, into.bad ones; peaeefol, prosperous, thrifty, happy Itosaea/iaUt abodes of poverty, misery, discord and wretchedness; ia abort, into upon earth. The liqaoc trtfie ahangei the loving husband into a drunken devil, who, with blows and kicks and blood repays a demoted wife aad mother for ali her Übotir acd selfsacrifica in the end<«vour to immde for ' her family the BeoMsKtiet of Hf« to which the husband contributes nothing, hecaosa alt hia earalsgs go into the till of the rmu-geiler . cent for the poison wLicli esnvsris him into a demon. Tfce ehtld»« ia the so centime, pinched wlUi heggsf and oolrf, su&rjQg in a thottwad ways from the Snfioenoe ot the salooa «t«t the father, with ao other eotapMioaw, 6lnp than that of the miserable themuehss who swam in the gutters, with no education than that. gathered ; : ap.-io the glum*. Is not all this, and a gretit deal mora, true to tno liquor traffie ? 1 Is there a. word of it exasgented! or cveretrained? Theii why caa kbe . that any inieliigenfr man, especially a Chrietian, .will pass all this by without a thought, *nd lend his influence of whatever kind to a system which upholds this devilish trade, protecting it by law, giving it full sad free permission- to blast the hoara of the People ? Why is it that flood aim &hdiild coaaenf: to a system converts peaceful, indestriona citisena into tramps, beggats, wgaboatls, burglairs, thieyes, robbers, incendiaries , men of violence and men of blood, arid condemns children to a way of life which fits them for nothing but to swell the ranks of the dangerous " classes Have I sot down a word here which is not tree to the lignbc traffic? And jet not a tithe: of its horrors are even allnJoJ (or mob why is it tfiat so ia&ny good aA should stand aloof from to change all that, and advocate » policy which creates and perpetuates all this evil, involving at:the. stwe tiiae the sin, shame and brime of ing Nation, State and Municipality feting partnets in the xum-trade, putting into the public treasury tha , largest part of its profits ? "The liquor trti&a is thegipmtio crime of criDjea." "It inflicts ujioa the country more and greater «?i!i than come from war, pestilence, and famine combined, those great scourges of mankind." This has been said a thousand times and has sever beea denied or doubted by anybody. This being so, I wonder how it is that a iamoas D. D. of New York is aeiivsly *nd earnestly in favour of giving to is protection of the law and establishing it on a firm : foimd&tioa as s. good thing. There are many such, I am sorry to say. May their numbers be less, speedily, and their influence and prestige be shorn* ffire is a great scourge; hnndrsAV of lives are destroyed annually: by it, poor wretches suffering excruciating - agony by such a death almost arory day ! hundreds of tniitions of dollars are consumed by it. The prodaet of honest industry, the fruit of mtny years of toil and prudent savings; hundreds of families tnrasd out of doors by it every year, homeless and penniless, atripjied of all, with no *B- - but the'workhouse, no alternative bat that or starving or freesittg. Yet no one suggests tbe ProhiHtion at fite in bouse, workshop, or factory, or any other, place of resideoce, iedustry oi pleasure. Why ? fire is not only a great comfort but it is also an absolute necessity. - W# therefore endure she lesser evil for the sake of the far greater good ; the balance of good is largely ia its &?or. Ocean navigation infiiota immeesa losses every year of property and life. ': H&ndredsof industrious people are reduced to poverty by it : inexpren* ibis sorrow for. a time, drives all fort and joy from many homes ; ilP> this End-much raoto that is evil come# from ocean navigation. But no suggests an scfc of Congress forbidding st. "Why 1 Became the good of it to the country is far greater than * evil.

f ow, will the famous. New York D.D., who is in favor of licensed grog-. ebopa, dismount from his .high horse and condescsbd to: ie!i us wh»i good'"-' co meg from such plaoes that can justify hita in pressing for their perpetuation I Any good to the Nation, ths State or the people 1 Not to the value of a penny to any or all of them. Tfcay area perpetual cars® to sU ; more and greater aviia coning from tbera than froii si) the other eouroo* of«vi2 combined, while so good'to tbfl vahig of a penny comes from them to any public, personal or social .ia tar est. Ihea why in it—can snybodv tell 1~ ,lbat snob asanas I : have indicated elioald lend,all their great iaflaaace to uphold and perpetuate asaong as such % fearful snesiy of awrytbtna. that tends to promote Jtuwea pinan ? Tbat'B ihs -atiy tisy dig fc the old time when hnsjasu sla^sry' dominated lha lfatioii as th« grog. sbopanow do.;Slavsry'iii thoja day* . waa a: " divine institution -th* geaeleroac who eald that oftbe bcs4ago of the chain will hardly My it of ths more fearful kjuskg® tb» bottle.

1 A war is now going on ag&jjist the grMtaliOga ; "a war beiweaa Heavea and hall -Charles Bux'os, MMate? of the British ParK&saefli,- gtoid thnt«' The - rear of artillery, the mtla of snuefoatry, are cseasiaaUy in was- earn j tba ones of wouadedj <ba gtiaaa * dying, at# vU&<mt mmtino

going up to Heaven, In this great struggle tho Lord is on one side, tho dovil and his imps—all of them—on the other. In this, as in all other contests, " fortuuo" srems to wavor sometimes on ono side, sometimes on tho other. Tho results of this great endeavour lor the right against tho wrong lakes hold on eternity. Look t now carefully through the columns of -pjfc tho religious papers' - many of them of various denominations como to my table evory week—look through them carefully as I do. Rarely will be seen there, any notice of this supremo struggle for the right; still more seldom any expression of desiro that the wrong may go down and the right triumph. Again, how rarely any expression of sympathy with those who are personally fighting this great battlo against Appolyon. I epeak of this emphatically beo<ußel feel deeply that we never can win until the Church as a body shall wake up to a proper sense of its r* \"\ duty and lend to this cause its powerful aid, What I have said about the religious press does not apply to all such publications: Eomo of them help to the utmost of their power, If the Church.would arouse itself and help, in a year we would drive tho liquor traffic to its Sedan. At present its torpor seemsto bo profound and fixed. I give you hero very briefly soma of tho reasons why I am a Prohibifctefionist. In this view of the liquor t traffic, as to its relations to the public good, I am more and more confirmed, if possible, from year to year. There is no reason why it should be; it earns nothing; its great wealth comes from the earnings of the people, mostly from the poverty of the people, Its exißtcnco is an infinite mischief to the Nation, an infinite misery to the people. Its absolute suppression would be an infiuito blessing to both. —Portland, Me,