MR. FOX ON TEMPERANCE,

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 444, 23 March 1875, Page 2

MR. FOX ON TEMPERANCE,

In the course of a lecture in the Lome Street Hall, Auckland, on Thursday last, Mr Fox said :—: — What were the facts with regard to this colony ? Were we so very free from the evil ? Last year, according to the Government returns,' there was paid_ iji- "duty upon imported alcoholic liquors, ,£390,000. That would be about a third of the retail price. Call it £400,000 and multiply it by three, and the result would be £1,200,000. That was not all. There were about 3,000,000 gallons of beer brewed in the colony, which, at 3s a gallon, svould make £400,000. These two sums, added together, gave £1,600,000 as the value of liquor consumed in the colony during twelve months. The general revenue and the land revenue of the colony did not much exceed that. He believed from a calculation that not less than from 500 to 1000 persons a year were poisoned byvalcoholic liquor in this country. There were at least, on an average, two habitual drunkards to every public-house, and as there were 4000 public houses there would be 8000 habitual drunkards. He would say a few words about tho remedies. Nothing grieved him moie than to witness the very great apathy which had been exhibited in the old country, was now partially exhibited there, and was shown also in in this colony, by the Christian Church. If there was a machinery which could grapple with this gigantic evil ; if there were principles which if confronted with it would sweep it from among us, they were undoubtedly to be found in the Christian Church. But they found that Church/as a Church, absolutely silent on this, question. A few individual ministers took an active part in the Temperance cause, but where was the united action of our Churches on this subject 1 They could unite for the purpose of spreading the Gospel by means of mission societies ; they could unite in Bible societies jiud Hum! ay Schools ; those formed part of the

ministers alp their laity to' be anti-slavery men, But tney*never united or put church machinery in action for the purpose of grappling with that gig-an-tic evil. What was the result ? The problem was solved by a civil war. He prayed God it might not bo so with the liquor question, but the hanging back of the churches from participation in the great campaign against intern peranse was, to him, a most ominous sign. Because, historically speaking, there could be nothing more certain than that when the laity got ahead of the clergy their very creed was in peril. (Cheers.) On all subjects of great social and religious reform, our natural leaders should be the clergy, and they should not come crawling up in the race like a broken-winded horse. A great meeting of one of the most prominent churches of the colony took place not many months or weeks ago in one of the principal cities. All the most distinguished ministers of the Church were there ; and the question of the intemperance of the present day was referred to a large committee who brought a report in which they deplored in piteous and hearttouching terms the fearful inroads that the drinking habits were making upon the piety and moralty cf the people, and the evil which it was causing. Then they proposed a remedy. What did the audience think it was 1 He stood aghast when, in the 19 th century, he thought of educated men men of the highest standing propose, as a remedy for the overwhelming evil, such a little, miserable palliative. One gentleman, standing very high in his church — a learned gentleman, with literary, distinctive letters attached to his name — actually proposed that the evil should be grappled with by the minister of the church to which he belonged preaching a sermon once a year. (Laughter.) They were not satisfied with that, but actually proposed that the Government shoul&^encourage the introduction and consumptions qf light wines from Australia. Could theyconceive sucfcr&tality on the part of educated men. To whom would the sermons orWL ayear be preached 1 To a couple of hundred" respSSWte neople in broadcloath, mpst of whom would probabqr" be engaged in the importation of alcoholic liquorVand thereat woui^t&Mfcdies dressed in the first style of fashion. There would not be a single poor grovelling drunkard. He could tell those rev gentlemen how they should look at this question. They would never convert their people to sobriety unless they stood in the van themselves. v