TEMPERANCE ITEMS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5112, 24 August 1895, Page 3

TEMPERANCE ITEMS.

DRUNKENNESS OP SHIPMASTERS. Examplo is decidedly much better than precept, and really we are bound toconfess,however nil cctantly, that this fact seems to beignoied too frequently by shipmasters of somo of the smaller sailing ships of our merchant navy. A drunken master will serve to make all hands intemperate, and the cases of the Guy Mannering, the St, Monaus, the Jessie Osborne, and the Alcinousare but a fow of tlie glaring examples of the tippling system at sea, Not ynly sailing, ships, howoyor, aro afilicted in this way apparently; for it is within our knowledge that a large linn of steam shipowners lias recently sent a circular letter to each master in the employ, setting forth in precise terms that in consequence of the trouble and expense caused by the drunken habits of some of the masters, it has been found absolutely necessary to requiro from each one the signing of the pledge to totally abstain from all alcoholic beverages; or failing this guarantee, to terminate the engagement on December 31st, Slight objection may rightly bo urged against tlio wording of the circular letter in some parts, but the principle involved is of the highest importance and deserving of commendation. A shipowner has a perfect right to lay down rules for ensuring the greater safety of the ships and crews in which he is interested. This being granted, tl.e sober shipmaster: will scarcely lind such a regulation irksome, while it should serve to; effectually exclude from command i men whoseinteinperancc isareproach'i to the cloth, and acts as a powerful; incentive for his subordinates to go. and do likewise. Drunkenness in master, deck ollicer, engineer, seaman, or fireman cannot he tolerated for a single moment. Hence, should I a master imagine that the personal liberty of the subject is interfered j with by a regulation compelling him; to sign the pledge, even though ho 'bat a moderate drinker, let him I reflect that it is for the general good of the service, and may tend to keep some weaker-minded master from I excess, which will eventually lead to the suspension of certificate and beggary. We hear loud complaints occasionally from shipmasters as to the drunkenness of seamen and firemen. Well, to put it plainly, the courts have recently been demonstrating that the need for shipmasters' example is not altogether wanting. Ashipmaster'nuist always j remember that he is, as it wore, the ruler of a small community under the llritisli flag, and a tierce light always beats upon a throne. Liko master, liko man, is as true at sea as elsewhere on dry land. A drunken master is an object lesson for evil to his whole crew, and they, in turn, will spread the teaching far and wide from ship to ship, llow can a! sailor or fireuian have respect for a superior officer who is occasionally unfit for anywhere except the inside of a lunatic asylum? Shipmasters as a class, sober shipmasters, will accept our remarks in the kindly spirit in which they are penned, but really it does appear that the hour has struck for some seriously plain speaking on the matter of drunkenness at sea. —Liverjml Journal of Commerce

" Tilt; HHUTAL TRUTH." " Yorick," in the Lkensinij World, brutally writes: "It simply comes to this—The many are not willing to sacrific their comforts, their tastes, for the sake of the few. It is not in human nature. The weak must go to the wall. This great world will go on grinding the unlit to powder,andcrushthemand render them as nothing. The strong will have their will; the weak must go under. In every path of life this is so, and will be in the matter of alcohol. In some cases drink is a great evil. But in the case of the vast majority it is useful, •pleasant, and : grateful; and even if the gratifica-; tion of this desire for stimulants meant the wrecking of the few for over and ever, so long as the many wished it and liked it, so long will they obtain it and drink it and enjoy it. That is the brutal truth of it. Thatis,with the many-headed ' honest brute,' we'll say, and for my part I heartily agree with him." ■ M.U'.VMI: mil. Madame I'atti lias uttered some strong convictions on the effect of alcoholic liquors on the human voice. She thinks anyone who aspires to success as a vocalist should bo a total abstainer. She says " Alcoholic stimulants of any kind tend to irritate the throat, and should be entirely abstained from. Even light wines are no exception to this rule. Most people are familiar with the hoarso voice of the hard drinker, and it is often said of such an individual that he has burnt his throat with drink, liven a moderate use of alcohol may, therefore, tend to make the voice husky." ANARCHIST lIEES. The Bee Journal says, " It appears that there is a method of producing Anarchist bees. This method, from experiments by Dr. Biichner, is both simple and easy. It consists of subjecting the worker bees to a diet of bonoy and alcohol. These insects quickly take a liking to this pernicious food, Under its influence they first lose the instinct to work so normal with bees; they then lose that of hierarchy, usually not strong in this species. Tlioy become antisocial, revolt, and, without the slighest scruple,'abandon themselves to robbery and brigandage. This curious and suggestive experiment has been cited by the celebrated Professor Lombrosi, in the Italian archives of criminal psychology and anthropology." '■ WISE I'IiODUCTIO.V. In Arthur Young's Travels in i France, 1788, the following passage i occurs : "Every person at table > agreed in another point which was > discussed, that the wino proyinces ' aro the poorest in all France. I : urged the produce being greater per arpend by far than all other lands; . they adhered to the fact as one i. generally known and admitted."

■ Mr G. P. Hausmann, manager of tbe " Australian Merrymakers," a combination which lias been delighting Wellington audiences, is now in Mastcrton, malting arrangements for a Mastcrton season. Fuller particulars will appear on Monday. The Company has been showing for five weeks in Wellington, and doing good business. The motion declaring that My, who , had been returned as a member for, ■ Limerick City, was incapable of taking t his seat in the House of Commons was ' proposed by Sir Biehard Webster, At- [ tornoy General, who declared that the reason of My's rcjcctionwas thathowaa guilty of treason-felony, but that really lie was of the same class as the common J garotters. He said it was impossibly to t proceed by petition, and that tho only 8 course was to declare tho plcction in> Y<Mi ;