"THE MAN TRAPS OF CHRISTCHURCH.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7143, 3 September 1888, Page 6

"THE MAN TRAPS OF CHRISTCHURCH.

The Rev. J. J. Le wisdeli vered a secondaddress last night at the St. Albans Wesleyan church to young men. There was a large congregation, of which the young men were not in the majority. The rev. gentleman took his text from Jeremiah v., 26. The first man trap to which he drew at. tention was a very familiar one. It was to be found at every street corner, with its glasses and bottles and mirrors and barmaids. The latter was a class more sinned against than sinning, and a Legislature Buch as ours should prohibit women serving behind bars. Young men were tempted to have a " nip " in a social wayi in the way of business, at a birthday party, perhaps at a wedding breakfast, or on the anniversary of some public instituteThe " nip " was taken and a taste formed, and on men went until their bloated features, blodshot eyes, and shambling gait denoted the wreck of their constitution. Another trap in connection with the public-house, and yet reaching beyond its influence, was that of gambling. This began in an equally simple way, yet led to such frightful results. Dancing had been called the *' poetry of movement." It had a fascination which could hardly be told in words, but it was unmanly in young nien and immodest in young women, and had roobed the Churches wholesale. Buc he would say that the prevailing sin with young men was not that of excessive drinking. For one young man he knew to be mastered by that he knew ten who were the victims of something far worse. However difficult it was to refer to such matter before such an audience, he could not refrain from saying that there were I rows of houses of illfame in Christchurch, the occupiers of which attract their victims by an, organised system. Then there was another amusement which, in ' the words of a Magistrate, was " demoralising the whole community." When he found that skating was being mixed up with fancy costumes, prizes for the most original dress worn oy a lady, and so on, he a&ked whether there/was not room for the Magistrate's remark that "this rinking seems to be demoralising the whole community" Young men mi<?ht say Are we then to have no kind of amusement ? To that he would point out that there were such amusements as cricketing, rowing, driving, walking {ot which very little 'ivas done), gymnastics, draughts, chess (that king of games), singing, elocution and such like. Many a young man partook of forbidden fruit, not with the intention of continuing, but just to taste to see what they were like. There was a family suffering from diphtheria. Let him visit and see what that was like. Not long ago a man died from taking prussic acid. The young man might try that. Let him (the Rev. Mr Lewis) tell young men that it were safer to trifle wMi diphtheria and prussic acid than to trifle with sin. A young man's outward life might make him appear moral, but in his heart there might be a festering corruption which would show itself. Young men wanted something more than anything human philosophy could dictate or human science discover. They wanted the power to say "My strength is as the strength of ten men because my heart is pure."