CONSCIENCE AND PROHIBITION.

Evening Star, Issue 14530, 5 December 1910, Page 4

CONSCIENCE AND PROHIBITION.

TO THE KDITOII. Sir, —Last night I heurd an able sermon in one of our City churches upon the subject of ' Conscience.' One of the points the preacher made was tha.t though conscience itself never made a mistake, yet mistakes were often made by individuals owing to the lack of moral and religious instruction of a proper kind. It seemed to mo that this had a. distinct bearing upon the subject as at the head of my letter. There is hardly a man in New Zealand that would not readily admit that it was a great pity a, single drop of alcoholic liquor had ever been, allowed to be sold in the Dominion, and that its manufacture and sale has produced a hundred times more of misery and degradation than it has of joy and prosperity. Therefore the conscience of all these men should at onco—and in unmistakoable terms—instruct them that it is their duty to vote out. the alcoholic liquor business lock, 6tock, and barrel, both locally and colonially. Why does it not do so? Why are many good men still fightins <shy of this thing? Tiio fact that the liquor traltie is a wrong upon society should settle the question. It seems to me that it is because their education and thinking upon this point have not been of, the proper kind, or they aro confusing themselves by other questions than tho right and wrong of the matter. Hut should wo not do Tight because it is right? If it was a mistake. —as is universally granted—ever to establish the liquor business, and ever to begin the drink habit, are we to continue to perpetuate that mistake and to continually renew that diseased condition merely because we have erroneously set it up? No! a thousand times No! New Zealand is a, young nation. Wo are still in our infancy. Let u« correct our mistakes while we are still young, and so avoid the errors of the older nation". The alcoholic error is one of the wor.-f of these, and New Zealand has the chance- in 1911 of not only helping herself, but of helping all oilier nations by showing the correct way to doa] with this greatest of world curses. — 1 am, etc.. IIU'ROVB L.WIItO.NMENT. December 5.