CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM..

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 145, 12 April 1873, Page 2

CHRONIC ALCOHOLISM..

I Wk aiv quite read) to admit that decorum is in itself a good tiling. The familiar spectado of gentlemen speechless and stiggcring irom tlio hea\y potations c mid not fail to h&ro v, degrading and brutalizing cUbct upon the society to whirl; they belonged. It is morally an advance that awn should bo ashamed to be scon in this odious and iilthy condition. But decorum may be in itself a snare, and it is well that tho j truth, lio\ve\er cJikrse, vulgar, and unpleasant it may be, 1 should be- faced It irnut be remembered that tho threebottle and four-bottle men of other days were after all exceptional men, and a mere handful in tuc community, and t iat, although moat men thought littlo of getting drunk, this w.is with a great m.my an mlulgence wlncli tliey allowed themselves iut hibitirilly, but on special occasions and with intervals between. Tliu'm un dilTeivnse between tho drinklug habits of the List generation aul of the present would teem to be, that formerly men, when they «at down to drink, | drink more tit a tin* 1 , w-hile no-ir men druik moderately nt a Mltiun, but in sips or" uips" drink a gwd deal during eich d.i\. Wnetlur the modern hibil 13 better than the old habit 1-1 .1 i|iic-.tio l i wluuh p'jisccs-tu-i ouly a speculative interest. The • nujW.'Uiit tiling i-, luit L'u iiu lur-i lubit should bj recogi in->e las ucioiu m\ laiivvii.jksijiiic We are aware thit tins i-> quite an old atosy now, and perhaps people may be tirod of its repetition. Unfortunately the noei-ssity for speaking of it does not appear to have diminished About a year ago the doctors pubhslied a declaration respecting alcohol, insisting that, as a medicine, it ou^lit to bu prescribed' with the same care and precision as any other powerful drug, and pointing out that its value a: an article ol'diet was immoniely overrated. The dojuui'iit also recommended legislation \t ltli a i icw to uonlinu the u-,e of alcohol within proper limits and to promote habits of temperance. For our own part wo should be disposed to rely much more confidently on the personal influence of tho doctors themselves than on any kind of legislation. Something may be done to enforce decorum in the streets and in placc*A'", common resort, and to curtail the facilities lo'" public drinking, but after all this is only making clean tho outside of the platter. -Most reasonable persons will admit that the Licensing \et goes about as far in this direction as is practicable if indeed it does not overshoot the mark. Itii jnat because we are convinced ot the powerlcuncss of legisla- ; tion, because we distrust all violent coercne measures, aud | h.ire no futh in any reform which does not spring from \olunt,iry restiiviiLtsoml an unproved state of public opinion, that we feel bound once more, at the risk of wearisome 1 ik-raliun, tv cull attention to the subject. The Eieistt return . the SMtistio- of criminal oilcinn--, tile warning-, of the. tloctor-i, the tevftrishiics n»<l excitement of social lile, the , prevalence ol uurvotn dividers, the crowded drinking bar?, and tho marked increase of reeling drunk irds in the streets, all point to the t^ame conclusion, [t n impossible to doubt I the growing intemperance of the working classes. Personal observation on. such a point may sometimes be misleading, but the sime story comes from uIL parts of the country. As a rule, nigh wages sc-em to mruironly more drinking ; and di inking means wifo-beating at home and fighting in the streets. Mr Vornon Har<»ourt, who. objects to the stringency ! of tho Licensing Act, appears to think it necessary to arguo that the country is roally very temperate and sobor. Wo have as little- liking for restrictive legislation as Mr Harcourt, but we see no uoo in. shutting our eyes to unpleasant facts. It is necessary to distinguish between the bigotry and fanaticism of the teetotalers ami the basis of truth which underlies their agitation. The evil which they denounce unhappily exists,, and even their violent and distempered imaginations can hardly exaggerate its magnitude. It may be reasonable to resist the tyrannical measures which tho total abstainers are anxious to impose upon tho country, but it is idle to pretend that tho country is in this respect in a. sitisfacton condition. It is scarcely a consolation to be told t'i'it tho \a»t increase in the expenditure ou intoxicating lquors is a ivnf of the prosperity of tho nation. It is doubtful wiieitwr. the present high rates of wages will be m untamed ; bur, if they fall, tho passion for stimulants which has already b.-en developed will uiifortunitoly remain. Anybody wmo reult tin- p 'lice reports will &'c the steady increase of cases of br.ital ujuilts, especially on a omen, winch.! maybe t:a.vl to dn iuiu,'. The present "genial" season i 1 lias been appropr-itciv celebrated — a woj.an supping with. j her husbiiKl aiul frieul suddenly flun>j out of a window; a man stabbed bv Ins wile, a wife by her husbaud, a girl by her sweetheart. "Thank G-od Christmas is over!" wo hoard, a poor w oin.ui say the other day as she steadied her staggoring husband up the steps of a railway station. We are quite of one mind with the Bishop of Peterborough. that if it is necessary to choose, freedom is better thaiv sobriety j | but it is not mvposinble for people to be free and sobor too. I The criminal statistics compiled by the police show anincrca.se of more- than forty percent, in tho convictions for drunkounoss before the magistrates in England mid' Wales in 187 L as compared, w itii the average of the previous ten years. The Excise and Customs returns show n vait mcrei*»o*in tho coniumption of all kinds of drink, and especially of spirit*. The country has been thriving, wngen have been high, and tliod surplus earnings ha.\c been spent chiefly ii liquor. The*e-' are not pleasant fuots, and thej hardly confirm those pretty theories of social progress of w hic!i we hear so much. But | progress has been said to be like a wave which seinetupeiieeuu* to retire even in the course of advancing, and this may perhaps be only one of the backward movements of focial improvement As far a^ we can see, there is nothing to bp done in the matter except to- direct attention to the factd, and leave them to make their impression on the public mine!. It is reserved nowadays for the working man to get drunk in the old way, " like <v lord," but tho other classes, though they bear thomselres more discreetly, siUßfer for their potations in j other ways. Brandy and soda, Hitter ale, odd glasses of j sherry, nips, and pegs, and drams, keep up a perpetual irriU- I tion and excitement which, added to the cares and worrie* I of business and the fatigues of social life, wear out the nerve*^ and are apt to end m hysteria or paralysis. The docton^q who- are aware of tho spit'ading evil, might do«nujt'li to check it, and their duty in the matter was certainly not exhausted by the signing of tho declaration of a year ago. The lesson needs to-be constantly and emphatically enforced. Tho evil siiould be probed to its root in neglect of sanitary and lietetic rules, and the forced p.'tce of social aud especially of business life. The attempt to get through tea hours' work in five or six explains in a great measure the craving for stimulants. People,, though they have more holidays than thoy used to have, get less rest, and rest is what they want.