R. T. Booth's Return.

Evening Star, Issue 7484, 31 March 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

R. T. Booth's Return.

" I went Home from Sydney the San Francisco way," said Mr Booth, " but I got stopped at Honolulu, and remained there for five weeks holding missions amongst the Hawaiians. Before the end of that time COO of the Eurepeans had signed the pledge, and 400 of the Natives had gone in for the blue ribbon as well. This was the first time they had ever done so, because hitherto there had been a strong prejudice against it. Well, I don't know. They say the king owns the hotels, but anyhow he is a very bad job, and spends considerable of his time hanging about them. But the Natives themselves are the nicest of people. In fact I have never worked amongst people who responded to better feelings than the Hawaiians did. Of course I was a good deal at a disadvantage, because I had to employ an interpreter, but the man I had was the official interpreter of the Supreme Court, so I got along some way. Well, getting away from there, I worked down throu.h California and Colorado, holding meetings in all the cities and towns where I had been before, and every one of them was attended with the usual success. Then I got down to see my parents and relatives. That was really my object, for as I mean to settle down in Australia for good and all, I wanted to have a look at them first, and after spending two months at home I started for England." It was just mentioned to Mr Booth that people who professed to know stated that the laws of prohibition in various States worked badly, and led to all sorts of iniquities. "Well," said Mr Booth, "I visited several States where prohibition and local option are in force, and I found in those States nothing but encouragement. It is the biggest lie ever coined to say they are ineffectual. In every one of these States property has increased in value, the population is greater, and there is prosperity on every hand as a direct result of the closing of hotels. The gaols are empty, some of them literally so, and there has been less crime since the shutting up of public-houses than ever before. Mind, Ido not go so far as to say there is no evasion of the law whatever, for of course a law against the liquor traffic, or any law against men's passions and appetites, will be evaded; but in the States of Kansas, Maine, lowa, and in others, the law is enforced better than maay others, such as those for the prevention of gambling and other offences. There is another matter I might mention to you—the Women's Christian Temperance Union, which originated in America. It is doing a great work, and the question is not what does it do, but what does it not do ? I think the women deal with forty-three different branches of intemperance— political, social, physiological, and others. Every one is carried on under distinct organisations that manage everything to the very letter. There is no better organised institution anywhere, yet it is solely conducted and controlled by women, principal amongst whom is Miss Frances E. Willard. In the beginning of the crusade they used to go out and pray in front of a man's beer saloon till he closed up shop and left for other parts j but they do their work differently now. They have got a magnificent literature, that for ability will compare with anything, and they have a magnificent Press that issues thousands of pages a week, all bearing on this one reform. "However," goes on Mr Booth, "to get back to my trip. When I arrived in England, I visited all my old fields at Leicester, Swansea, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and others, and held some regular missions, thereby demonstrating that it was possible to duplicate any work of the kind previously done—an idea of mine that many people did not before believe in. Whenever I arranged for a regular mission the results were as satisfactory as any previous mission. To give you an idea how it stood, it was publicly stated at Sheffield that out of 50,000 people who had signed the pledge when I was there before 80 per cent, had kept it. I can't say that there were as good results at every place, but there was everywhere every cause for satisfaction, as, for instance, at Swansea and Newcastle onTyne, where they had preserved the result and added to it. In the latter place there were 139 fewer public-houses than there were at the time of my first visit in 1881, and it is now simply impossible to get a license, because the people will not hear of it."—Melbourne 'Telegraph.'