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Press, Volume LII, Issue 9005, 18 January 1895, Page 3

The vindictive nature of the recent utterances of the Prohibition leaders would seem to indicate that it is not the abolition of the liquor traffic they, desire so much as the ruin of those engaged in it.—Yours, &&, An Onlookkb. Christchurch, January 17to, 1895. TO THK EDITOR OF THE PBE3S. Sir, —The reply of Pastor-Birch to the Christchurch Prohibition _ League is a strange and not pleasing commentary on the relations existing between Christian ministers. Having in ' view the terrible tragediea caused through intoxicating drink thac have taken pbee in Christchurch daring the last month or so, and of the details of. which Pastor Birch must be better acquainted than most of your readers, it is difficult for simple country folks to understand how anyone with sympathy, grit, and love for his fellows could pen such a cold and heartless note to the leaders of a great reform like the prohibition movement, ft is a new state of things for a dissenting minister to excuse bis neglect of co-opera-tion because he waits for the bishops to take the lead. Moat .people, and the Pastor is among them, know of the " change of front" which Bishop Julius has . of late years, assumed towards this great reform,' and whatever Bishop Grimes' attitude and action may be, I venture to say the, people of Canterbury will need more' patience than the historical Job ever possessed if they .wait for the present Protestant Bishop of/ Christ* church to lead them to war" against our imttfflßftl vies. It is. fortunate that all. oar

Bishops are not of the same way of thinking asßisho? Julius. I understand that theßishop of Salisbury, now on aj visit to the colony, has most pronounced views in favour of prohibi* . tion. It ia easy to sneer and find fault, and it is to be regretted that so many otherwise estimable people do this, while a few brave and heroic men and women are left to lead public opinion.: I commend a perusal of the following extract from a recent issue of an influential London journal to Pastor Birch and others !of his type.-—Yours, &<s., CountktChurchman. [extract.] Perhaps, ho we irer, the worst results of drunkenness are to be seen in its hereditary effects. Take for instance, the following family history of a man called Jukes, in the United, States, who was a hard drinker, and the story of whose descendants has been carefully investigated. Through his excesses Max Jukes became blind. Many of his descendants through two generations were also blind, and a large number of them iuhented his intemperance. One of the most notorious of his descendants was a woman called Margaret, of whose offspring Richard L. Dugdale writes:—" Iv tracing the genealogies of 540 persons who descended in seven generations from this degraded woman, and 169 who were related by marriage or cohabitation, 280 were adult paupers, and 140 were criminals and offenders of the worst sort, guilty of seven murders, theft, ' highway robbery, and nearly every every other offence known in the calendar of crime." He estimated that the coat to the public of supporting this family of drunkards, criminals and paupers was 1,308,000 dollars

To think for an hour upon the ghastly sum total of poverty, disease, vice, crime, and misery caused by the drink almost makes the mind reel with horror and dismay! And yet Christian congregations will say that they have so much else to do that they cannot attend to temperance work! Christian churches will wrangle about bishops, chasubles, copes, and all kinds of ecclesiastical fripperies, petticoats, and the like, while the drink devil is peopling hell with the souls of men by myriads! Statesmen will cay that the ravages of drink are equal to the combined ravages of war, pestilence and famine, and that if the nation does not speedily control the liquor traffic, the liquor traffic will control the natiou; and yet they can go on from year to year postponing temperance legislation ? Who can help having a gruesome vision of Nero and his fiddle P And what exclamation is appropriate but this, "Curse ye, Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, cursa ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came.not to the help of the Lord against the mighcy "!