TEMPERANCE AND INTEMPERANCE.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9021, 6 February 1895, Page 6

TEMPERANCE AND INTEMPERANCE.

50 THE EDITOS 07 TUB PBESS. Bm,—Your trenchant and well-deserved criticism of the Rev. L. laitt's letter in this day's issue of your journal, will, I am sure, be heartily endorsed by the majority of your readers. Aβ you have repeatedly thown, the course adopted by these ultraprohibitionists is one calculated to disgust •very lover of justice, fair play, or the liberty of the subject. If the shafts of total prohibition were directed at those " whiskey •hops," the management of which aie a disgrace to civilisation, where youths are Allowed, aye encouraged, to contract that fatal desire which has been the downfall of •o many bright intellects in this young colony, we might then exclaim " Well done I" And lam sure, sir, that your pen ■would be one of the first to aid in the good work; but when the " devil in solution" line of action is adopted they estrange many «rho wonld under more reasonable auspices help in trying to stay the drink curse. I would like just to point out or remind the Rev. L. Isitt, that in our ethical condition there are many gifts from the Author of all euch, the moderate use of which proves a blessing, and the abuse a curse; but far and •way above all others, the divine gift of tjpeeoh is the one most abased. Intemperate language comes not well from a temperate lecturer. Some unfortunate victim of intemperance is found in ja river, a post mortem examination results jn finding traces of alcohol. Shut up all the pubs, says Isitt, good and bad alike, and this is the language of a Cbiistian temperance lecttirer. I say, sheet home the crime of serving drink to youths or to any adult who is already tinder the'influence of liquor, jand make the penalty for this offence be loss of license; then we'd find that the licensed vulture would speedily become a thing of \he past. But because ■ome are rained through over-indulgence in nature's gifts—or the devil in solution— that those gifts should be entirely abolished I cannot see. One might just as logically propound the theory that on account of the abusive orations occasionally given in the square all language should be totally pro-hibited—-a bad day that for the Rev. L. Jjittl—Yours, 40. i

a. a R.