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Otago Witness, Issue 2181, 19 December 1895, Page 42

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December IS.— Shearing is now the order of the day, and, with the fine weather we are having, gcod progjass is bein? made The clips seem to be coming out up to expectations. Lecture— Last Monday night the Rev. Mr Taylor, of Cargill road, lectured in the Echoolhouse on "John Ash worth, of Rcchdale." ihe lecturer handled hjs subject in a maateily manner, aird at the conclusion was accoided a hearty vote of thanks. Mr J. O. Duff occupied the chair. The proceed* are to be devoted towards the purchase of a horse for the- minister of the district. Oa Tuesday night the same lecturer give a temperance addrcs, at which there was a good audience, the lecturer bain? frequently applauded. Miss A Ramsay, Chief Templar, occupied the chair, and had a very orderly meeting ta deal with. The address was one of the best, if not the best, that w« have had the pleasure of listening to. Mr Taylor treated the subjflct from a great many standpoints, showing the great amount of evil that resulted from intemperance. He referred to the insuran.ee bustns*s in England, and quoted from statistics to show that, whilst in the temperance section there were 13W less d u aths than was expected, in the general section there were only 200 1e33. He referred to the bill which had been passed in regard to ths Dunedin drainage and abattoirs, in which the majority ruled for the good of the public, and contended that the majority should aljo rule on the liquor question. He snowed the small amount that the workman received from the money spent in beer — :s fil Cut of £5, — whtreas he received f torn £i to £3 out of j£s spent in industries. He spoke on prohibition in the States, and quoted figures to show that in States where prohibition was in force only 39 out of 10 0 were in gaol, compared with 75 to the -I{P) in' other States.' He did not expect prohibition to cure all evils or prevent all crime, but he believed it would go a long way towards attaining that end. Extreme diseasea required extreme remedies, and he aiked if a trade which so demoralised the people should be allowed to exist?— Bro. Meade proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the lecturer. He said that he had enjoyed Mr Taylor's lectur.- on _ the previous evening, a* he had also his temperance address. — Mr J. J. Ramsay seconded tlte motion. Hewas sure all present had- enjoyed and profited, by Me Taylor's address. Mr Taylor had given. them facts and appealed to th§ reason, which he thought was better than appealing to the sentiment— A. vote of thanks to the chair, proposed by Mr Taylor, brought the proceedings to a close. In Defence of J J Hamsay.— l said in my last letter that Mr J. J. Ramsay was to be a candidate for the Education Board. I believe this was the first public intimation of the fact, and your correspqndent " A. B." has lost no time in attacking Mr Ramsay. The principal objection, which "A-'B." has to 'Mr .Ramsay is that he fs a consistent supporter, of the Hon. MrMacGregor." Pevhaper "A B." would Be kind eaough- to tell us what he objects to in Mt ;Maofir,t;^or'a policy? He afco .complains that Mr Raui«a.ylia« quarrelled with every member of the hoard, and pitched, into the secretary, and fears thitthe board room'will be turned into a bear garden if Mr Ramsay is again elected. -Nxjw, I would likw to ask "A. B " if he approves of all the actions of the board. Take the Waiareka case, for instance— and I could quote a few more in which Jhe-board- showed its incapacity and want of backbone. H.»d Mr MacGregor's advice been taken in that cgst— viz., refer it to a magistrate— we should have had a satisfactory verdict, inEteid of one that was neither one thing nor i another. 'They find the inspector guilty, but put the blame on the teacher for allowing him to neglect his duty ; and what is. the result ? The public have lost all confidence in school inspections. "A. B.s". motto is evidently "Peace at any price," but I fancy the public like to have a litile daylight thrown on the proceedings ; and Mr Ramsay has done that good turn ou more than one occasion. A careful study of the actions of the bjard and their attendant results might open " A. B.'d " eyes.