CAMBRIDGE. Cambridge Total Abstinence Society.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1277, 4 September 1880, Page 2

CAMBRIDGE. Cambridge Total Abstinence Society.

A special public meeting of this Society was held m the Public Hall Cambridge on Thursday evening. There was only a moderate attendance which in some measure may be accounted for partly by the fiict that the meeting was not advertised. The Rev W. N. DeL. Willis occupied the chair, and opened the proceedings by calliug upon the audience to sing a portion of the 100 th Pcalm. Tho Rev H. Bull then engaged in prayer, The Key. Chairman did not think tnere was any need for him to enlarge upon the great importance of the Temperance qnes- , tion. They were all alive to the great evils of intemperance. It seemed to be generally demandel throughout tho world that some special means should be Adopted to stem the evils of the liquor trffic. They could accomplish much more in this direction working together as a society than they could ever hope to do as individuals. Some two months back a few friends met together to see "what action should be taken ; it was generally admitted that something ought to be done but there were many suggestions as to the way at ought to be dnue. Some were in favour of establishing a bocietv of total abstinence. Oth era wished to adopt the principles of Good Templary, while others advoc it n d the formation of a society which should include in its ranks both the abstainers and non- abstainer?. Upon tbis question tho meeting had divided and by a large majority it was c;irvud that the society should be go veined upon total abstinence principles. His pu-ticular duty thst night was to aunounce to them the rules made for tin guidance of the Society, which had beer drawn up by a sub-committee and parsed. He would for the information of the meet ing briefly summarise them. By the iirsl rule* which fixed tho name o; the Society they would see that they were entirely a free and iudo pendent body. The objects ol the &o cicty ■were similar to those of all kindiec societies, viz , the: promotion of habits of temperance, tho reformation oi the in temperate, and the removal of the eaiioo; which lead to intempeiance. Each mom her pledged himself or herself to abstain from all intoxicating liquors as a beverage — they did not prohibit its use whei; taken medicinally or as a religions observance — so long as he or she remained <i member of the society. The society was to be governed by a President, VicePresident, (Secretary and Treasurer, and a committee of fi\c to be elected annually. All persons over the age of 15 years who were prepared to sign the prescribed declaration were elegible for membership. Moiithly meetings would be held at which members would be allowed to vote. There was no definite subscripton ; the society would be entirely supjjorted by voluntary contributions. Any member might sever his connection m ith the society by sending in his resignation. Provision had been made to meet cases in which a breach of the pledge had been committed. For the first offence a fine of 2s 6d would be imposed ; for the second ss, and a third breach to be dealt with specially. They intended to be temperate in all things and accordingly they had passed a rule limiting the duration of any meeting to 10 o'clock p.m. The rules could be altered from time to time at the pleasure of the Society. There might be a little in them that was peculiar ; for instance, they only took a temporary pledge. He was, however, opposed to life-long pledges. He looked upon a pledge as being a protest against intemperance, but looked forward to a better time when people would be so elevated by education that there would be no need for these measures. As education advanced, men woulrl come to see the great evil drinking does to their constitutions, and for very fear they would come, as a society, to avoid the foolish practice in which they indulged in the present day. This movement he regarded as a means of checking the evil which now obtained. St. Paul had advised people not to marry, not because he was opposed to it, but because of the then present distress, and they might with justice apply the same principle to the present case ; men should be persuaded to abstain because of She distress which liquor had produced. The Society would have to rely upon voluntary support, and he hoped that members would bear that in mind and assist to the best

of their ability. He again reminded them thcit the meetings would be opejtt [ and that people would be free to speak upon the subject from every point of view. For himself he was anxious that they should have both sides of the question put before them. In conclusion, he hoped they would be moderate and temperate in everything they undertook. He called upon Mr Smerdon to give an address. Mr Smerdon said he was sorry he had not had time to prepare a suitable address. "He would have liked to say something very eloquent, because the, subject they were met there to consider was worthy of all the eloquence any man could bring to bear upon it- He had been a total abstainer for 14 years, and M-as sure that he was better off in every respect than if he had been a moderate drinker. If he had remained a moderate drinker he might have degenerated into a dnmkard, and He warned moderate drinkers to have a cai'e, as it was from their class the drunkards sprung. He would have been pleased to see a larger attendance, because he thought there was much need for reform. He hoped all those present would join the Society. Let them try total abstinence : if they found it made them worse off let them resign. Mr Evans sang "John Perkins," a temperance song, with good effect. The Rev. W. Evans then delivered a somewhat long address on the evils, pointing out the injurious effect which alcohol had upon the system when taken habitually. He deprecated the use of intemperate language against hotels and hotelkeepCtS. Hotels wex'e necessary, and when well kept he had no fault to find with them, but unfortunately there were many which were not well kept, and he illustrated his observations by some very telling anecdotes. He al=o quoted high medical authority in support of his argument against the use of liquor as a beverage. The Ilev. 11. Bull commenced his ad-dres-s by congratulating his hearers upon the increased favor which the temperance movement wa& finding in high places, and on the success which had attended the efforts of Sir Wilfrid Lawson. He then proceeded to give a few reasons why they should be total abstainers. Firstly, on the ground of safety, because under the influence of liquor men had been led into crime, even to the commission of murder. Secondly, on the ground of example to weak and erring brethren ; and, thirdly, on the ground of patriotism, because had the amount of money annually spent in drink been devoted to the construction of our public works, we should have had no occasion to raise IOiiUS. Mr Stuart also addressed the meeting, appealing to them as Britishers to support a weak cause. He stated that the society had resolved to do all that lay in its power to prevent the granting of a license to the new hotel in course of erection in Cambridge west. The Chairman invited those present to make any remarks they saw fit, or to ask questions concerning the society. Mr Kipley made a few remarks, stating that he had been a total abstainer for a gieat number of years, and had never seen any occasion to break his pledge. About 21 members were then enrolled, and the meeting Avas adjourned till halfpast 7 o'clock on Monday next, at the school-house.