THE BRANDY BOTTLE BEFORE THE BIBLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7824, 18 December 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE BRANDY BOTTLE BEFORE THE BIBLE.

At a Conference of the Oxford Diocesan Branch of the Church of England Temperance Society, held in the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, Sir Charles Warren, Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, delivered an address on the subject of the drink traffic among native tribes, and especially those of South Africa, Wβ were, he said, in the habit of taking the Bible in one hand and the brandy bottle in the other to the natives of South Africa. But unfortunately we did not eend the Bible first. If we sent them the Bible beforehand, the natives would be better able afterwards to withstand the temptations of drink. Many of these Dative tribes had codes of morality which by themselvea would enable them to resist these temptations. These codes were broken down, there was nothing put in their place, and the natives were given over to drink ; and afterwards we sent them the Bible. There were many thousands of natives who had been reduced to the lowest depths of poverty and an early death by the drink traffic which was forced npon them by the laws of this nation. By our laws we forced the drink on their territories, which was disallowed under their own laws. That was an absolute fact which he had often brought to the notice of those in authority. The blood of thousands of natives was at the present time crying up to Heaven against the British race, and yet from motives of expediency we refused to take any action.— Canon Ellison read a paper on the twentyfive years' work of the society, and moved a resolution, which was unanimously carried, " That the time has come when the authorities of the Church of England may be respectfully asked to make an appeal to the colonial episcopate to unite with the Church at home in vigorously prosecuting temperance work in the hope that the grievous wrong done to the native races by the free importation and circulation of strong drink may be speedily remedied."