DRINK. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11453, 19 June 1899, Page 2

DRINK. TO THE EDITOR.

'/Pv:. f as >.much Ple»sed with the letter of Britisher in your issue of Saturday, .but although he and others may write—and well and forcefully—on this great topic,.prohibitionists in New Zealand have taken a very narrow standing point, and lean their whole weight upon "no'license "as the only and infallible cure for the evils of drink. They give us torrents of eloquence in. describing these evils,,but they fail, arid always'have■ tailed, to recognise that excessive drinking is more frequently the effect than the cause of the admitted evils we all deplore. There is a.foot of bitterness in various' conditions of life that compel the sufferers to resort-to drink as a ready and, at first, a pleasant remedy for their misery, discontent, and unrest. If prohibitionists arid temperance' reformers would more zealously and persevermgly attempt to cure and minimise'-.'those evils that .underlie and precede the* drink habit, they would be doing better work and be of more benefit to humanity.: It 'is -out. of the heart all evils proceed we all should know, and to lop off a* branch or two of evil..effects, leaving the root untouched that produces the branches, is just what our extreme prohibitionists are vainly attempting to do. Neither do they propose or suggest any substitute of equal or greater attractions than the publichouse to create and establish a higher and nobler remedy for the trials, vexations,: and miseries of ordinary life under bad conditions. In short, they have no policy, and their sole thought is destruction ■of the licensed publichouse. . XL am here tempted to give an illustration that came under my personal knowledge recently of the many ways in which drunkenness comes to be indulged in. A respectable and hard-working man had been for long endeavouring to keep clear of debt and make his home comfortable; but on going home-one day, he was confronted with a big bill for drapery, etc., incurred by his wife, in which most unnecessary luxuries figured. He got so disgusted and hopeless that he went to the publichouse to drown his, thoughts, and was helplessly drunk for a week. Theso things are not rare. We all know that our poor unfortunate sisters, more sinned against than sinning, do not drink at first fall, nor for loug, but the misery and hopelessness of their lives make them victims to drink. To conclude, the prohibitionists are attempting the impossible, and until they occupy broader ground and formulate some feasible and practicable scheme of reform in the disposal of intoxicants, they cannot expect the support of the thousands of temperate men and women who are still the great majority amongst us.—l am, etc., Temperate.