THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION —No. 2.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXII, Issue 5724, 27 January 1876, Page 3

THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION —No. 2.

"They who t.uiy lon^ at the wine." To the Editor • Sn, — After an nnmodeiate consumption of alcoholic stimulant, tho eje bears a very restlcsb and excited cxpussioii. At a farther stage, it loses lustre and aetu lty, and becomes expressionless ; the tongue ceases to run not, becomes elunis} in its movement", unl me ipable of di-tmct ai tioulation. The neivous energy nccc-s iry to pieseive the upnght oquilibuum of the body becomes exhausted, and the subject natuially seeks a leeliuing position ; stupor supeivenes, and nature makes an cffoit to lecupuate the wasted and exhausted eneigies under the protective condition of sleep. After a laborious and dibtiubed rest, the sleeper uvakes with a disordeied stomach, an aching head, a tremulous state of nei\e3, and a geneial unlitness to follow business, 01 enjoy the comfoits of life. If inexperienced in -ncli dissipation, he shuns the stimulant, for that day at least, as he would poison [t experienced, he probably seeks and finds paitial iclief fioin tho same stimulant, and some of such continue imbibing deeply, day atter day, until the tension of the neivoas sjstem ij so much impaired, that insanity ensue?. Others, w ho continue, but not so deeply, in the same dissipation of nerve powei, peimanently obscure their mental pel eeptions and w eaken their energy. Ha\ ing made, the stimulant a considerable item of their legular diet, it becomes necessary to them, and they feel they cannot stung up their constitutions to that tone at -which lite becomes enjoyable without it Th«_u action may be suicidal, but it ib nut quite niational. An important liiquuy heie is, what are the causes which le id to tho establishment of buck confumed and 1111modeiate appetites tor the stimulant .' One popular theory is, that the foundation is Laid early in life, and grows gradually m stiength like deposits m a savings bank. Theieaie, no doubt, instances of this kind, but (hey occur only in the lowest stiata of society We must seal eh more deeply into human nature foi the piominent causes of habitual, and also of frequent and occasional mtempeiance. Unepiulilie eaiw is the abseiu e fioin the mind of a worthy object of puiMiit With the attention thus aimless, unlived and unoccupied, the man becomes an easy picy to passing seductions. The imps ot mischief lind tho house empty, swept and ganushed and go in and take possession Mt n w ho aie eager to secure comfort and competence toi their families, or are striving to be 1 lch, or thirsting for power, or stiugglmg tor distinction, or panting to attain snpeiioi excellence in any bianeh of science or ait, seldom become diunkauls, anil uhen they do it is geneially because they have been t;iievously disappointed mtheircxpect ihons. In such cases theie is a deficiency of ldonut able pluck necessary to cope with ie\eiscs, they lose heart and drink to forget their mistoi tunes and remember their misery no moi e. liaeheloidom is also responsible for much drunkenness. A great many of our uninaiued men have no relatives or are widely separated Horn them. They hive no domestic ha\en with its comtoits, attachments, and considerations to restrain them from excess and preserve them in the path of modulation; so they apply to the stimulant ioi v social nitei course approaching theieto, and the i u.uliest equivalent they e ui obtain undo the circumstance, Oui bushmenwho fell our foiests, our nuiies who make our lailroads, our miiieis who iineuth our precious metals, and many other sons of haid toil whose large and patient sen ices of mind and sinew in the woik of ei\ilisitioii are not half appieciated by society ; .no \ ei v generally unman led, and consequently the routines of then live? often consists of a spell of work and a spell of drink "When lemoiibtiated with ior squiiiluiiif th 1 n money, they leply, " >\ hat i= tiio u _> of money to mo 1 ' 1 havo neithci wif,«, chick, nor child, and when my in >n_> ], done 1 can ah. sys eain moio " 'J\» men of tins stimp, it disposed (o settle (i, at tic/ seldom aic), al>\ing and i'idii-,ti..>u J v. to, a home, and oilipnn_j, would bo <,u ,r<li in angels against nilempeianee. Mouoy co'ne by easily is an it'ior cause of d >sipilion, as it often happens m Mich eases tint so no Weak biaini'd fool is the fortunato--or a» the ii c i> in his exsc— the nnfoi tunatj mil A dotting aant oi fathei leaves hi.n a L.c'j sum or money of which he iiu\.t knew Ihj tioublo of getting, and foitawith lie eo-n niences to in ike it lly. His. aim is to bo dashing, extra \ agant, and be called a jolly lino fellow, and he soon gives wings to tho thousands, perhaps haidly earned ; t ; iey iiy away, ami he is penniless, and, poihap,, tikes to the bu.sli to split fhewood for a living. But if he is not too demoralised to do that, theie is even then some hope for him uul the necessity of earning his living with an axe, will tend moie to make a nun of him than the legacy. An esteemed point of honour m the etiquette of tho " shoutiii"" system is anothei cause of over-stimulation 1 ! When ono tiiend treats another it is considered mean if the one treated does not return the treat. Everyone except the genuine loafer is .afraid of being thought mean. The real loifcr h not at all seiioitive on that point. Thus it happens that when adhering to this estoemed point of honour, half a dozen friends go for dunks each, it really means six drinks each, which any ono knows is too much at one time. In such cases, and with parsons who .no puuctilhoHS to observe this point of honour, the best escape is to say "Not now, I'll see you again " I will mention one cause more — the ehai icterof diinksm vo"iie These contain too largo a propoiUon°of stimul mt They excite too much, aud (jiieneh thnst too little. As to spirits, any man having a eaie of what he is about, will only take these in medicinal doses. Before oui bicweiici were established choice lay between spmts and bottled English beer, and tho latter being too expensive, spiiits had the preference, but since the establishment and pei fection of our breweries I belie re beer has the prefeionee. I do not take poit and sherry into account, for the genuine aitiele is beyond the me uio of the yeneial public, so also are the best Australian -vviucs. The brews of some bieweis uio light and refieshing, those of otheis aie heady. It is surely a business ovt Might to pioducc heady "drinks, for the moi e eustomcis can consume without becoming intoxicated the moie money passes through the hands of the publican, a-id consequently into the hands of the brewer; and the publican, if a l expectable one, succeeds in conducting his business with gi eater pleasure to himself and gi eater eudit to his house. With a climate such as ours, aud the ninny sheltered spots, the undulating surface ot the country picsents a geiicial cultivation of the grapo- \ me and themanufactureand the sale ol li-'ht wiiHS at juices suitable to tho means of the geneial public t<in only be a question of time; which, toother with the .settling down of oui llo.iting population to lcgulai, instead of precaimus, industry, and the continuance of the present decided public opinion ag mist diuukenness, must gradually abate the ins'uie foil}'.- -I am, &c, Utiui v.