"OUR CRAFT IS IN DANGER."

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 197, 20 August 1900, Page 2

"OUR CRAFT IS IN DANGER."

The pulpit at St. Luke's Presbyterian Church was occupied yesterday morning by the Rev. W. Ready, who spoke from the words "Our Craft Js in danger to be set at naught*" Mr Ready said that was the language of brewers and publicans to-day. The drink-god, with its wretched devotees to-day, was greater far than the goddess Diana of the Ephesians was of old. The curse of idolatry was trivial compared with the curse of drunkenness. Mr Ready said a word on the dealings of the British with native races. Take the trade in opium, which cursed India, Burma and China. They must bear in mind that was forced on the natives, and it was all for revenue—"craft." 0 England, so-called Christian England, said Mr. Ready, truly the spirit of greed is thy spirit, money first—the welfare of the people second. "Curses like chickens come home to roost"—some of our chickens have already come home. What about the opium dens in Sydney, Melbourne, and Ne-w Zealand, where British youth of both sexes are being ruined in body and soul? We have, as a British nation, poured into Africa, India and other countries millions of gallons of fire-water every year. Let us come closer home. We boast we have in New Zealand one of the finest of the native races in the Maoris. We say what a pity that such a fine race should be dying off so quickly ,yet there are scrme men, who are so anxious to make money, that they want to legalise a traffic among our natives which is the. shortest and safest way to their demoralisation and ruin.