SIR WILFRID LAWSON ON THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XLII, Issue 4321, 17 December 1874, Page 3

SIR WILFRID LAWSON ON THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

The following ie characterised by the Times as a “ pleasant speech—- . A great country temperance demonstration was held in the grounds of Brayton-hall, the seat of Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P., on Wednee- ■ day afternoon. There were nearly 10,000 ] jersons present, including representatives :rom the various Lodges of Good Templars and Beohabites in the county of Cumberland, and of Good Templars from the Lodges of the South of Scotland. In the course of theafternoon addresses were delivered upon tho subject of temperance by several of the local leaders.

Sir Wilfrid Lawson, who was received with loud cheers, welcomed the large assemblage. He said he believed a great many of them were Good Templars. Now, Good Templars were very much laughed at, and that was a very good sign. (Laughter). He never knew anybody in the world who carried out any good work who was not laughed at for his pains. It had been so ever since the children who laughed at Elisha were eaten up by the she-hears; in olden days in Bn gland it was a custom if a man held unpopular opinions to out his head off and silence him in that way. (Laughter). That was not the custom now, and the only way to meet those persons who proclaimed a new unpopular opinion was first to misrepresent and then laugh at them. Good Templars were very much laughed at because they walked about in their regalia. He himself did not wear regalia. He thought he could fight against the evil of intemperance just as well in a shooting jacket-(laughter), but there were a number of people who found they could unite together better if they dressed in some particular uniform like an army. He could not quarrel with them. They were only copying the clergymen, who were fighting a life-long fight against evil and wickedness. Daring the last session one of the most important duties of Parliament had been to decide what uniform these clergymen should wear. (Cheers and laughter.) They were fighting against universal taste. He had read of a Yankee lecturer who said “ Many men, many minds,” upon which an old Yankee called out, “Squire, you are wrong there; if you asked us on the platform to have a drink, every one of us would come.” (Laughter.) Now, he had no doubt if he had

to ask all now before him on to the

platform to have a drink, although this was a Good Templars’ demonstration, a good many of them would step up. (Laughter.) That showed how widespread was the taste with, which they were combatting. It was 40 yearn since the battle of temperance was begun by the old temperance societies, who were sac* ceeded by the teetotallers, and now they had the Good Templars, and what pleased him most with that organisation was that it was a part of their creed that they would never succeed in their undertaking until they had got rid of the liquor traffic itself. (Cheers.) They were not there to discuss which was the greater evil—moderate drinking or drunkenness. It was the most extraordinary proposition that he ever heard made that moderate drinkers were worse than drunkards, because there was no doubt if they could get rid of .moderate drinking they would get rid of drunkenness. He had never heard of mea being bora drunkards; he had of men being born fools, but a drunkard was made by the circumstances which surrounded him. (Cheers.) The great object of this movement was to make this a sober nation, and the real obstacle to doing that was that there were were 140,000 licensed drink sellers to impede their progress. It must not be supposed, however, that he was going to throw stones at those men. They were carrying on a trade which bad been legalised by the House of Commons and by those who had elected that House qf Commons; therefore, the. temperance societies were just as much to blaino for .the consequences unless they exerted themselves to alter the law. There were temperance organisations of all kinds working away voluntarily to make a sober nation, but on the other hand, there was this great army of publicans sent forth by the Government, every one of whom was paid by resists, and making a living by getting as much drink sold as he possibly could. The Government gpt £3O,QQQ,QOO, taken, principally, fromsjhe pockets of the working classes, which saved rich men from paying income-tax, which they would otherwise Have to pay. That was a pretty state of thing. Notwithstanding all the temperance organisations,“the publicans had beaten their heads off. They might picnic every day and pass resolutions, play bands, wave banners, and sing temperance sengs,-but unless they did something else the publicans would laugh them to scorn, and the members of Parliament whom the publicans returned would mook them. The gaols was crowded, the workhouses overflowing, lunacy was on the increase, and they read day by day. of the most horrible crimes, and this state of things would never stop until the people would themselvek understand the evil and its cure, and would work out that cure. A great many wonderful suggestions had been made for the cure of drunkenness. First, working men’s clubs wero to settle the whole thing; that had been tried over and over again, and the publicans had beaten the clubs out of the field. Then it had been suggested that education would make a change, and at a meeting of clergymen at Carlisle it had been proposed that people should only drink at meal times, but hia impression was that if that policy was adopted there would be a great many meals in the day. (Laughter.) The people would carry bread and cheese in their pockets. (Much laughter ) He bad not much faith in pledgee of that kind. At that same meeting it had been suggested that the publicans should not be allowed to turn out any drunken man unless he had somebody else to take care of him. That seemed to be a very good idea, and no one was so fit as the clergymen to take care of him. It would be a very edifying sight to see a man turning out of a public-house with one arm in that of a clergyman and the other in that of a policeman. Then a Town Councillor in Edinburgh bad proposed that they should not any longer license the sellers of liquors, but license the people who consumed ' it. (laughter.) Eeally that Town Councillor was not far out. Under the present system, the poor publican did his best,'but could not tell exactly how much was good for a man. He sometimes gave him on overdose ; but if, instead cf licensing the publican, they were to license the consumer, the magistrates would bare to summon before them all who

wanted to drink daring the next 12 months, and they would put them through the test to see how much they could hold without getting drunk, and giro them licences accordingly. Such a plan would save the poor publican a groat deal of anxiety, and he did .hope the plan would be. adopted. (Laughter.) Fancy a man going about with a license hanging around his neck, showing how much he was licensed to consume. What a dignity it would add to a man! Fancy a half-barrel man going about 5 how popular he would be in Cumberland! (Laughter). Or fancy a three-bottle man.He was sure that a man of that mark would get into the' beer Parliament without a contest, and when he got there he would be so highly respected that if they did not make him Prime Minister they would be sure to make hip a Bishop. (Much laughter). But hoivever childish all these schemes seemed when brought to the light of reason and common sense, they could not alter human nature,'and the only way to stop drunkenness was to prevent the. Government from putting boundless temptations before people. He had ventured to introduce the Permissive Bill again, and that measure deserved support because no one else had ventured to introduce any further amendment to the licensing system. In 1872 the clock struck “ Bruce,” in 1874 the clock struck “ Cross.” When did they intend that the clock should strike “Lawson?” (Cheers.) He urged them to make themselves masters of the question, and they would get what they wanted exactly as soon as they deserved it. Let them work, and let their political influence be given in favour only of those candidates who would go against this great monopoly, and in favour of the rights and liberties of the people. Resolutions were afterwards passed condemning the liquor traffic and in favour of the Permissive Bill.