CHURCH OF ENGLAND TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10953, 1 May 1901, Page 10

CHURCH OF ENGLAND TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

THE NATIONAL CURSP avt* I NATIONA^cgf R^ D TITS

Old England has gone thronth „ i trouble m her time- and nl l\ ?« a *•>' o| come safe out of very she ** is afflicted to-day b I SttStf"' ** and only the faith", com! *L")H ««*. of her children can savTffi fiL , SS I have been watered by' the M?' j , b ? i bravest and aoblest of the tL* TL° f . th * The Pestilence thawalkS? £ t S *»* 1 has filled our gravels I by cholera, fever,'and S maL POX ° I gaunt Famine, even in ouT??*! "f* I wasted with his brcati theTonSof I**' I cashire and of Ireland. of **«• I But our National Cure.*, n . I ness, slavs more than itl n Drmitea - I The total t r W - ib do " 1 most fatal campaign '?■ $ the Crimean War, f Russian shot, shell/»r*2 fc by I on the heights of lutbS&T I of Balaclava— together with Vn! i < > hearts striken to death in t£ t \ by the deadly cold, o7 Saff by V, of Pestilence in the hospS* if & was less than one fourth of th™ «o cording to the highest aJS every year m our own hnd ft tionul Curse. But i n war TO num£ o» wounded as well as our dead Ni tional Curse has wounded its tk™. j in and «&.* t°Et weakened the minds of men, that if £ sent more wretched beings into our W tie asylums than any other cause hu ft has so ruined the estates of men, Wt two out of three of in-door and oit-S paupers might be independent tad £ or their fathers been sober and mdmitmJ It ihas so shattered our morals, that Us Lord thief Justice says nine out of ten of our gaols might be closed for wactTt prisoners if drunkenasss were istopped War leaves widows to weep and chfl**i to starve. It robs the household of a, bread-winner, children of th«ir profecfoand parents of their pillar and support' So does drunkenness! The publican says this drunkenness k a nuisance, the public thinks ' it" is. a diagraca, and the drunkard knows and fwls that it is a curse. Who will remove iha curse? The Church of England feels that she ought to try to remove the Curse of England. The Lord her Master came to set. at liberty the captive, and to bind up .the broken-hearted—to bring peace on earth and good will to , men; and our National Church, by its great Temperance Society, da warring against the National Curse. For twenty-one years, faithful clergymen have been praying and fighting against the evil, and now the Church a$ a, whole is moving like a mighty array, in the name of the Lord of Hosts, against tlua foe of God's people. Our army nunibera half a million of enrolled members'; , it marches with the sanction of Convocation (the Church's Parliament). Amongst its standard bearers are fourteen thousand clengy, and the archbishops and bishops I to a man. T3ie National Church, by her \ Temperance Society, preaches a crusade . against the National Srn from her ancient cathedrals and modern mission rooms. v She enrols recruits from, the palaos Mid \ the hovel. She charges all her members to, keep their own bodies in Soberness, Tern« peiunce, and Chastity, and to figh* mahv fully under Christ's banner against Sin, the World, and the Devil. She urges tike drunkard to give up entirely that which . leads him. to sin. She approves o[ those ; who abstain, for the sake of encouraging : ■others in the safe way of abstinence. Ana she urges her Temperance meinbera, atleast, to refuse to give drink to children or servants, as wages or reward. •■: She asks her sons to oppose treating* 1 aasd "wettings" of bargains, and"footings," afid similar customs. She teaches that drunkenness is a sin, and, therefore, its victims need God'e pardon for th« pat, and His help for the future; and that He wlio i willeth not the death of any sinner will grant pardon and help, for Christ's sake, , in answer to earnest prayer. She teach«a that drunkenness is only one sin, and that all should avoid all sin, and, by God's help, strive to live sober, righteous, and godly lives, to the Glory of His Holj Name. Wanted Known.—That tie C.E.T. Society, St. Matthew's Branch, St. AlbaM,, will give a special musical- programme in the schoolroom on Monday, 6th May. Dooi-s open 7.30, commence sharp ai 8. All over fifteen years are welcome. No charge. Children only * admitted with parents and guardians. ' Collection towards funds of the Society. 300 a