GOOD TEMPLARISM.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1709, 26 January 1874, Page 2

GOOD TEMPLARISM.

The Presbytery of Otago were lately pi session, and while discussing the question of some of the, members fell foul of the Good Templars :— - 1 " The Rev. Mr GUlies referred specially to the Good Templars, and said they/were an organisation which the Presbyterians should be very chary about giving their support to. It; was what was called a religious society, but he wasjvery spr,ry to say, in their ceremonies there wag a total ignoring of Christianity. They should, therefore be very careful about giving-the order their approbation, ;:■ The Rev. Mr Qhristie was a Good Templar, and denied intoto the remarks- of the last speaker. At their ceremonies prayers were offered up, and the Lord's blessing invoked. The Rev. Mr Gillies said he had 'founded his observations upon what he had heard and read. The Rev. Mr Gillies : said iV was pure nonsense. The Rev. MriStobo said the leader in the London. Tfmes plainly showed, that a" change was .coming over public opinion in this matter of 'drinking. The Rev. Mr Todd said froni^whai* he knew it appeared to him that>the. religion ;of the Good Templars was of a tjegativ^ character. It was indped raulph akjn tq the religion of the Unitarians. , Th 6 Rev. Mr Christie again denied that'the religicm of the Good Templars was negative," Some incidents in con neotion' with Good Templarism in England are thus narrated in the Times of a recent date;:— -Mr Angus Holden,: of Bradford K /who ; has held the offices of District-Deputy' and Grand Worthy .Councillor of the .Qcdervbi . Good Templars, and has givenaevidence ofj his interest in the cause: of the order in a variety of .ways, including the,, erection at a cost of LSOOO of a Templars Hall at . Girlington,, has withdrawn iu«n namp ljfrom the roll of membership of" that "body. It is alleged that Mr Hpld^^iKesignjition was caused partly by his opposition to a

rule of the order which forbids a member to countenance the supply of alcoholic liquors to members of his family, and partly by his opposition to a decision recently arrived at by "the Grand Lodge of the World," which prohibits a member •who is a justice of the peace from signing a license for the sale of alcoholic liquor. The latter rule was regarded by Mr Holden as an unwarrantable interference with ihe discharge of his duties as a citizen. The Harrisburgh (Perm) papers report ihe following attempts at wholesale murder made in Houston township, Clearfield country :—" While the Good Templar Lodge was in session at Mill Run, an explosion of powder occurred beneath the fbor of the schoolhouse in which the organisation met, with sufficient force to tip over the tables and lamps, while the fire burst through the crevices in the floor, and filled the house with stifling smoke. A further examination by daylight revealed the fact that the building had been lifted enough to allow the foundation to be pushed out of place. A powder can that would hold about 251 b was found under the house, blown to pieces. Bushes had been cut and placed over the opening made in the wall to introduce the can. The floor being a double one, it was strong enough to withstand the shoek — even to slightly lifting the house and pushing out the wall— thus enabling the powder to expend its force laterally, and thwarting the evident intention of blowing up fiteen or twenty men and women."