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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 74

The Churches and the Liquor Traffic

The Churches and the Liquor Traffic.

It is well enough known that the Christian churches outside the Church of England and the Church of Rome are practically unanimous that the Liquor traffic should he suppressed.

And what of great leaders in the Church of England and the Church of Rome?

The Church of England.

Her Majesty The Queen addressing some Bechuana chiefs at Windsor, recently said: I am'glad to see the chiefs, and to Know that they love my rule. I confirm the settlement of their case which my Minister has made. I approve of the provision excluding strong Drink from their country. I feel strongly in this matter, and am glad to see that the chiefs have determined to keep so great a curse from the people."

Rev. Canon Hicks says: "The practice of abstinence is spreading among the clergy rapidly, and the number of Prohibitionists among church folk is increasing steadily, If the Church of England as a whole is not in the van of the movement, yet it has given that movement some of its ablest leaders—such as Archdeacon Sandford and Prebendery Grier in the past, and to-day the Bishop of London, the Deans of Canterbury, Winchester, and Hereford, and Canons Barker and Wilberforce."

In this Colony the Church of England Is not without valiant leaders in the good Cause. For example :—

On September 28, 1895, the clergy and representative laymen of the Anglican Diocese of Waianu, N.Z., in Synod assembled, after very exhaustive discussion passed, unanimously, the following resolution, proposed by the Rev. C. Jordan, and seconded by the Rev. T. J. Wills :—'That whereas all regulative efforts for the diminishing of intemperance have proved ineffectual, and the Liquor Traffic. Has always and everywhere proved itself defiant of all restrictive laws, therefore it is the opinion of this Synod that the sale of intoxicating beverages ought to be abolished by the vote of the people." And on September 22 of this year the same synod resolved as follows :—
l."That this Synod re-affirms its belief that the liquor traffic ought to be abolished by the votes of the people."
2."That this Synod invites the Synods of, our Church in N.Z. to unite with us in condemning the widespread and needless temptations placed In the way of the weak by the legalisation of trade in intoxicating beverages."
3."That a copy of this resolution be lent to each Synod in New Zealand."

The Church of Rome.

The late Cardinal Manning's successor England Cardinal Yaughan, is as staunch an opponent of the crime of crimes, the Liquor Traffic, as was Cardinal Manning himself.

Father Matthew, a Prohibitionist.—Father Matthew was one of the early member of the United Kingdom Alliance for the legislative prohibition of the Liquor Traffic, and when joiningit wrote asfollows; "With rapture I hail the formation of the United Kingdom Alliance. I laboured for the suppression of intemper-ance until I sacrificed my health and little property in the glorious cause. The effort of individuals, however zealous, were not equal to the mighty task. The United Kingdom Alliance strikes at the very root of the evil. I trust in God that the associated efforts of many good and benevo lent men will effectually crush a monster gorged with human gore."

In America the Church of Rome is very much to the front in the conflict against the Liquor Traffic.

The American Catholic Times said :—"If Intemperance had not been the pre-vailing vice in America during the past 40 years, the membership of the Catholic Church would be larger by several millions; while her receipts for charitable and educational purposes would be more than doubled."

At its session held on June 3, the Catholic Abstinence Society of the Arch-diocese of Boston adopted the following resolutions:—

Resolved—" That we give our hearty indorsement to no-license as a wise and prudent policy, and the members of out societies are exhorted to labour in their res-pective cities and towns for the complete and final stamping cut of the saloon."

Archbishop Ireland, who received & letter from the Pope dated March 27, 1887 extolling his zeal in the cause of Temper ance, said before the Minnesota Catholic Total Abstinence Union, June 5, 1889:—"We thought we meant business years Ago in this warfare, but I hope God will forgive us for our weakness, for we went into the battlefield without sufficient resolution, We laboured under the fatal mistake that we could argue out the question with the Rumsellers. We imagined that there was some power in moral suasion, that when we would show them the evil of their ways they would abandon the traffic. We have seen that there is no hope of improving in any shape or form the Liquor Traffic There is nothing now to be done but to wipe it out completely," [unclear: CathoK] Follow Citizens, here arc cogent reasons for striking out the top line only or you voting paper.

Every great mission which seeks to [unclear: rescue] the submerged and improve the condition of the worker is a [unclear: ertinst] the [unclear: litpioi] Traffic, as witness the Salvation Army and the [unclear: Itarrtp.rdo] Mission General Booth said of himself in the Wellington Opera House. "I am a Prohibitionist" and gave force ful reasons why.