Intemperance amongst Women

Southland Times, Issue 4942, 19 May 1884, Page 4

Intemperance amongst Women

— . .. The steady progress of temp«rance amongst men of all classes of society in England is one of the most pleasing signs of the times. It is true that drunkenness is far from being uncommon, bu% it is much less frequent than it was a few years since, even amongst the pdkrgr "classes ; !and in the better educated ranks of society, instead of its being regarded, 83 was formerly the case; as the sign of manly fellowship, it is universally recognised as a disgrace to the individual who practises it, and^ dire misfortune to his family and all those who have the unhappiness of being connected with him. The acknowledged decrease of intemperance amongst mea makes the fact that it has not lessened in an equal degree amongst women all the more hideous and distressful. That this is the case may perhaps be denied, but the following extract from che police reports of one of the daily paper?, a few weeks since, is a sufficient proof of the truth of the assertion, if one wereneeced : — 'There was a list of twenty-three charges before Mr Flowers at Bow-street, and, with the excel'tion of one charge of felony, all the cases were "for drunkenness, only nominal fines being imposed. Out of tke 22 defendants 16 were women,' It is almost incredible that such a state of things should exist in a city which claims to be regarded as one of the chief centres of civilisation, and the source from whence missionary enterprises are difEused over the entire. habitable globe. Thecanses which have led to such a lamentable state of morals are numerous ; many of these, however, are removable, not by laws, but by custom, and by the practice of individual selfrestraint. All those who have any wide experience of human nature must agree with Dt Johnson when he wrote, How small of all the ills that men endure, The part that laws or kings can cause or cure. One of the mest frequent causes of drinking ; habits in the case of the young is the thoughtless and rno3t pernicious practice, which prevails largely amongst the middle classes of society, of giving children small quantities of wine ancr other intoxicating iiquors. JSio child will of its own accord take any spirituous drink — it is repulsive alike to its taste and its instinct ; but, given day atter day by foolish parents or thoughtless friends, the habit of drinking is acquired early, and the child grows up with a liking— of ten a f aial one — for intoxicating liquors, which are not less injurious to iia delicate bodily organisation than they become to the mental and moral Btate of the adult; Amongst the poorer grades of society this habit equally pievails ; the father gives a portion of his beei to his child, and the gin-drinking mother pours the dregs of her glass down the throat of her baby. This cause of drunkenness can be remedied *only by the belter education of the.paients, and the general decrease of the habits of drinking. One of the causes of intemperance amongst women of a richer class than these who frequent public-houses - and drinking bars is the existence of the grocers' spirit licence, which offers great facility for private tippling at home. A woman who wonld not be seen entering a public-hoase can obtain, without suspicion, bottl&j.of spirit from *he grocer, and indulge in secret drinking until such time as the resuits make themselves manifest. Another incentive to female intoxication has recently been the subject of discussion -namely, the granting of public-house licenses to women, oe to men who habitually leave their businesses in the charge of their wives. Setting aside the temptation to which the landlady is exposed, we have to regard thsit which the By seem presents to other women whose husbands are from home duiiug the day ; thtse, knowing that the pubiic-house is in charge of a woman, resort to it freely, and habits of tippling and intemperance are iormed. But whatever may be the causes, the piautice of drinking amongst women is only too prevalent. On the first day of the presec t year a sufferer from that most complete of all curses, a drnnken wife, published his lamentable protest against the present state of the law, which affords no protection to the iDJured husband from the disgrace, the perpetual misery, the rum of prospects of home and children, which are the almost inevitable results of such a partner. The picture of a man returning to his home after the labors of the day are over, to find no weicome, no evening meal, no peace amongst his children, but in place of these a drunuen Jwoman, overflowing perhaps with vile Abuse or sunk into maudlin foolishness or total unconsciousness, is one .of a most dreary and hopeless character. Nevertheless, great as the evil may be, there is no remedy for it in thoße cases where it exists. The husband may indeed, as he often does, abscond ; but this, as has been justly said, me&ns ruin to all. Sot only is the erring wife punished, but also the innocent children. Or he may adopt the equally cowardly practice of supplying the wretched woman wuri as much »puit as she can take, and let ii i ».r.uk loi^cK rapidly to death. The law, as it at present btauds, is power--Iss to interfere. The Habitual Drunkards Aufris a failure in each casts us those under consideration. The woman must consent to be placed in a retreat, and even then cannot be compelled to remain against her will. What is required is an Act of Parliament that will render it possible to treat habitual drunkards, whether men or women, as maniacs incapable of managing their own affairs or those of others who may unfortunately be committed to their charge. At p.esent the person who enters a retreat established under the Habitual Drunkards Act does so voluntarily, and few are sufficiently alive to the degradation of their position to avail themselves of the advantages o£ the Act. But if residence ia these retreats was made compulsory, there would be some hope of relieving the viotimß to this terrible habit. Pending the passing of a more vigorous enactment, the relief claimed by m*ny sufferers i 8 that habitual drunkenness oh the part of a wife should be regarded as a matrimonial offence, ior which a judicial Biparauon might be sought and obtained. Any magistrate has at the present time tue power of reparation in the case of a man habitually ill-treating his wife ; but no injurious aciion on his part could be more destructive to the happiness of the home, or the well-bting and prospects of the children than drunkenness on the pare of the woman. We not infrequently hear complaints of the injustice of the laws as regards worne 1 . It would be as well if the complainants I o iv mind the fact that there are laws . .i.h bear harshly . upon the other section of the human race. — Ihe Queen.