PRECEPT AND PRACTICE.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9162, 20 July 1895, Page 10

PRECEPT AND PRACTICE.

TO THE BDITOB OF TBS PβESS. Slß,— The Chrißtchuroh Prohibition Xeagne directs mc to ask space in yonr columna to say that its attention was this ■ evening drawn to a sub-leader of yours in ,which you repeat criticisms you had previously passed on the actions of certain members of the prohibition party. The League has long since ceased to regard with surprise anything in the way of criticism of tho prohibitionists on the part of either yourself or your correspondents. They folly believe that if their leaders had not julvised that compliance with the request pt the publicans , counsel, that six prosecutions should be held sufficient to affirm a principle, yours would have been the first voice raised to charge them with being vin- . dictive and uureusouable. But they look upon your repeated statement that "the principle of inciting to the commission of an offence, is a highly dangerous one to adopt," as being an extraordinary one for you' to venture upon making. •' They are aware that very many, even of their own friends, question the propriety of the action adopted by the young men who laid the informations against the Christjshnrob publicans. But they believe that While doubts were entertained as to wheJfcber the young men acted rightly or wrongly

few, if any, questioned that their only motive was to atop the law breaking which they set themselves to expose. You, sir, on tho contrary, did not hesitate to send a man to the Clutha some months ago, specially commissioned to incite men suspected of sly grog selling to the commission ot that ofi'euce. Your motive was not to stop those offences, but to increase the difiiculfcyof enforcing the law by bolstering up your" theory that, prohibition cannot prohibit. The League holds that whoever may criticise the conduct of the young men in question your lips should be sealed with the silence of shame. —Yours, &«., J. H. Fabling, Secretary. [The Prohibition League has, of course, misrepresented the action we took in the Clutha matter. It is quite true that. A3 a public journal, anxious to find out the truth regarding a questiou of great public importance, we did send a reporter to the Clutha district to ascertain how the Act was working. Our representative, however, set no trap with the object of hurting his fellow-inan. and he did not attend a prayer meeting before startiug out on his mission. We may add that so far he hae been able to staud by all the statements he made, and ha 3 not found ie expedient to withdraw from any position he took up.—Ed. Press.]