TEMPERANCE COLUMNS . THREE M.P.'s ON TOTAL ABSTINENCE.

Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 148, 6 November 1886, Page 1 (Supplement)

TEMPERANCE COLUMNS . THREE M.P.'s ON TOTAL ABSTINENCE.

A very large audience assembled on Wednesday evening, 10th March, at. Stratford, in the Primitive Methodist Church, to listen to addresses on the temperance question from thraM.P.'s. The chair was taken by Mr. A. C. Corhett, M.P. for Glasgow, who explained that they had beer detained in the House of Commons until 6 p.m. debating the Sunday closing measure, which, however, their opponents had managed to talk out. (Shame.) But day by day advances were being made which would not brook resistance. Time was when the medical faculty was against them, public feeling also against them, but the doctors now exposed the evils of drink. Doctors W. Dow and H. Thompson spoko of it as a great curse, a physical and moral evil. Dr. Andrew Clark was so impressed with the evils of drink that he had stated that he sometimes felt impelled to abandon his profession aud take up a crusade against it. There were some who said it was very well for doctors and men in position to advocate this measure, men of influence, &c. It was not the movement of great men, but had arisen out of the convictions of the rank and file. Abstainers had been called mean ; was that man generous who spent his time in a publichouse midst song and drink, parting with I the money that should be spent on the wretched ones at home whom he had promised to love and cherish 1 It was the generous and strong man j who could deny himself. — Mr. Leices- j tcr, M.P., said ho had been attending a temperance meeting in St. Stephen's, i and had made his debut in the House, j i He was sori?y to inform them that ' their Conservative friends had talked j ! the measure out. He was not an , abstainer because he loved other 1 : j people better than himself. It was , because he loved Joseph Leicester 1 ; better than anyone else that he was a \ ' total abstainer. People had cried to ' Mr. Bright, to Cobden, to Gifford, j saying, "We are down, come and J pick ua up ; " but the teetotaler said, ! " You lazy rascal, get up." He had 3 got up ; what he could do they could * do. He had competed with best men in his trade, of all nationalities, and j he had beaten them all, and he did it on the pump. He then proceeded to < demonstrate at great length and with \ much humour that abstinence was the best for the nation and the individual. ( — The meetiug was also addressed in ( a most earnest manner by Mr. W. ] Johnson, M.P. for Belfast. Mr. J. \ S. Turner, U.K.A., also delivered an 1 address, in the course of which ho i moved a vote of thanks to the chair, f &c., which was carried with acclama- 1 mation, 1