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1
A PASTORAL LETTEB ADDBESBED TO THi: KEMBEKtt ut xu.^
CANADA FBE8B7TERIAK OHUBOH.
Dearlt Beloted Brethren.— Grace be iinto j'ou, » nd 7>eare, from
.God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Synod of our (Jhurch, at iis meeting in June la(>., .i,vived, rend,
and considered eeveral overtures, aid a memorial, on the suhjert of Tem-
perance, and unanimously 8<lopted the following finding, viz: — "The Synod
" having heard the overtures, agree to receive and adopt them, and to record
"their sorrow and anxiety at the great prevalence of the sin of intemperance,
•'and, recognizing their obligations at once to testify against, and etrive t"
"BuppresB the evil, do hereby recommend each Minister of the Church to
"take up the subject by an earnest address from the pulpit, at least once
" in the year, and in every- suitable way endeavour to discountenance the
"prevelant drinking; usages that lend to intempcmncc ; and thnt the
"Moderator, Dr. Thornton, and Mr. Wardrope, be instructed to pre-
"pare a pastorn! letter on this subject, to be signed by the Moderator, and
" sent to each Session of the Church."
In accordance with the terms of tliisdclivernnce, we desire eameslly nnd
affectionately to greet you in the Lord, and to commend to your prnycrful
consideration the entire s^uestion to which it refers.
The subject is one of no ordinary importnnce and interest at the present
time. It has occupied the attention of the highest ecclesinstical couils of
other Churches as well as our own, and the \inited testimony of all is thnt
the general use of intoxicating beverages is a great nnd terrible evil, and
presents a powerful obstacle to the progress of pure religion, and the exten-
sion of the Redeemer's Kingdom.
The vice of intemperance is alarminglyprevalent, nnd exerts its insidious
and malign influence among all classesof society. Its baneful effects arc seen
not only among the poor, the ignorant, the degraded and immoral, but also
among the wealthy, the influential, the respectable, and the professedly
religious. Neither age nor sex, rank nor class, station nor profession, is
exempt. It ruthlessly dra^ its hopeless victims from every quarter, nnd
its malignant reign casts its shadow over tis all ; no man is free from danger,
no home secure from invasion. The vast army which, under its fatal spell,
marches on through indigence, vice, impurity, ]irolanity, recklessness and
ruin to a dishonoured grave and a hopeless future, is being ever recruited
from the homes of the happy, the prosperous, and the moral, as well as
from the hovels of the wretched, the outcast, and the vile.
It is utterly impossible fully to estimate the extent and magnitude of the
evils — financial, social, moral and spiritual — which either accompany or
flow from the use of alcoholic beverage?, nor need we attempt the task, for
many of them are patent to every obser\;r, and few indeed, if any, are
not called bitterly to grieve over them, and to suffer directly or indirectly in
their persons or homes, their fame or fortune. Who of us has not had to
weep over the folly, the fatuity, or the fall of some one, overj whom our
hearts lovingly yearned ?
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The effect* of the traftii- in intoxicating liquors on the national inrlustrv,
wealth, and i>nwperit.v, un- mo«# i)eniicious, in the Iorh of lifi , Inlioiir.
capital, time and nkill, which it involveF, and in the iiaui)m!«in, rrinn .
waste and expenditure, which it incurs or incrcaseR. Long a^'o one nl
Kn^landV gnuitesl thinkers and most Raf^acioUH Btntosnien declared t\u\*
"all the crinie.M on the earth do not def.ir().v s' many of the human racei
nor alienate no mueh |)ro]>erty, as drinikennehs,'' a ptatement, the truth of
which prolonged experience and wider ol>.->ervalion only confirm. Indeed,
ho Btrikingly ohvioun are the Idighting effects of drunkcnneHi* up.^n the
welfare of a pcoj.le, that few will l.e found to (juestion the position that
poverty, destitution and distress, in any cunununity, yill l.e found to he in
proportion to the facilities furnished for the sale and consumption < f
intoxicating drinks. Nor are the injurious and ruinous effects rJ" th« traflii
less marked u|)on the intelligence and morals of a jjeople. The learned
and pious Judge Hale remarked in his day, that four-f/ths of all the
murders, manslaughters, Ijurglaries, rold.eries, riots, tumults, and other
enormities perjjetrated liy the vicious and punished l>y the law, were causeil.
by excessive drinking, and were the result of tavern and alehf.use meet-
ings. The same th .ig may be truthfully averred to-day. Conqpctent
authorities declare, and common observation confirms the declaration, tliat
a very large proporticm of the crime, paui)erism, and misery, the ignuniii.e.
squalor and wretchedness, the juvenile vagrancy, homekssncss, and
depravity exhibited in our streets, rcveaIo<l in our ]ioii. e courts, confiiieil in
our jails, recorded in the columns of our daily journals, is the necessary and
inevitable re.sult of the liquor traffic, which is suiij.orted and jicria'tiiated
by the drinking usages of society, and sanctioned by the authority ol
legal enactment.
The unhappy and unhallowed effects of intemjierance upon the Chris-
tian Church are seen and felt to be no less manifest and mournful, in
hindering her progiess, and lessening her influence, by relaxing discipline,
and lowering the tone and standard of vital ])iety. Its direct tendency is
to prevent the diffusioti of gospel truth, and to diminish its ]iower over
the hearts and consciences of men, either by estranging them from the
house of God and its ordinances, br by unfitting them for profit iikg by
attendance ui)on them. It is ever the bane of Sabbath observance, church
attendance, Sunday school and Bible cla.ss instruction. It retards |and
counteracts the work of evangelization at home, and it impedes and oj.poses
the work of christian missions abroad, |by crippling the resources of the
Church, weakening her testimony, .squandering her means, demoralizing
her agencies, fostering opposition, and strenthening the hands of her foe>.
Can it be a question, in the present state of society, whether the habitual
use of intoxicating drinks, as a beveragv, by,^mendjers of any christian
congregation, seriously affects the healthful influence of thpf congregation,
or that it tends to support the drinking usages which lead so many astrav,'
and cause many a brothcr.to stumble and fall ? Or can it be denied tlia»
such habitual use is likely to lead to the neglect of personal or family duty, t..
irregular or rare attendance at the place of prayer, to general spiritual
declension, and possibly to a shameful fall i ;Such, alas! has been the sad
*
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fxpprionce of many, who " through stroriR drink are out of the way."
Brethrnn I.ikIi in ofti.'o an-l in honour too, of gr.-iit iis,.fulnc.H, and highly
K'loved, oven'onie l.y this insidious and p.-rnicious hal.it, have fallen, and
l.rouKht dis;,'rare upon themselves and dishonour upon their profession •
mmisterial .haractor and usefulness have often 1 n sudly impaired, the
influence of the -ospelcountemcte,!, and the hearts of many grieved and
discouraged l.y the known Iml-its of otfice-bearers in this respect ; ami the
fact that inemI,HN an.l even otHce-hearern of the Church not onlv'u^e, but
manufacture and s.-ll iutoxicatiuK li'l'iors, is often referred to as Riving the
high sanction ,.f religion to the traffic, and the •commendation of good
authority for the practir,. ..f drinking. A v.ry large number of those who
are engaged in this traHic are members of Christian Churchps, and contribute
for the su|.p<.rt of their onlinances and institutions, and hence the solemn
responsibility that rests upon all alike, ami the urgent necessity for earnest
action in 'he matter. The various scheu^ei^ of religious and benevolent
enterprise, languish for want of men and money, while thousands of chris-
tian iiien are employed, and milli<.n.s of money spent on what is at best a
useless, and genenilly a most injurious indulgence. The claims of missiims
abroad, and the nee.ls of the Church at home, urge the propriety of using
all lawful means, and of making every personal sacrifice, in order to the
.Mippres.sion of the tiaffic, and the removal of so great a hindrance to the
j-alvafion of souls and the convei-sion of the worid.
The fearful effects of intemperance on the hopes ami happiness of fami-
lies, who can dej.ict? What scene more appallingly desolate than a
drunkanl s home ? Whose comlition more piteously hopeless than that of
us wretched and unhappy inmates /-physical .lestitution, domestic misery,
social degradation, moral pollution, and spiritual .larkness and death-and
all so rayless ,md hop.-less to the anguished, broken-hearte.l wife, and des-
l.airing mother, and her neglected, abused, demoralized children, b.^ause
of the constant temptations and fatal facilities everywhere presented by
the practices ami regulati.ms of so-,alled Christian society. The drunken
parent is doubtless chargeable with heavy guilt, but are we free from
blame, ami guilth-sss in this thing > The ruinous results of excessive indul
gence on the individual are patent to every eye, and are only too frequently
presented to our gaze ; religious declension and spiritual darknesB,-a dia-
honoured manhood ami a degra.le.1 position.-intellectual imbecility anS
mental ma<lness-physical defor-.ity and bodily disease— wld delirium
and fearful horrors, are the sure, even when tardy fruits of drinking and
drunkenness ; and when the use is not so great as to produce such fatal
effects, the baneful influence is felt on the temper, the affections the
disposition and general health of body and mind, as, even in more moderate
quantities, alcohol inflames the passions, darkens the judgment, impairs
the memory, weakens the will, and indurates alike the feelings and the
conscience.
When we inquire into the causes which support ami perpetuate an evil of
such magnitude, so inimical to all the best interests of society, so hostile
to the progress of the Gospel, so fraught with every woe to the household,
and so baleful to the individual, we cannot fail to discover, au by far the
^
moot pot*nt. thf dririkinR u»<ip#« of »«(>ri(ty, which awoc ialc the iji.c of thr
rIw* with nil that i* huppy nnrl hopeful in domcMir lifp, with all that i«
jovoiw. an.! .lelif-hlfiil in w., iai intprrour-r. with all that ip. hilariouf. nml
nttrartivi'on fentiv.nTiH pul.lic onwion*, and not unfrcf|utntly with all
that in aolenin and affprtinj; in thi- nervirrn of rpliffion. T)u: moderate
drinking of thf rfipoctoldo und th.- reoprrtnl, the lovely nnd the lovod. )«
thr RmaproliHrdourco of ^.iipport and »'upj)Iy of that alariT^nf? virr, whirh
^^o^;l^ the whe. Is of national jiroHpcrity, iniiicdcs the pro^jrpsn of Scrijiturnl
Christianity, blipht« the Mc«,.dnrH<. of many a happy home, and mam and
mutilaU'B the ^dory of inanhoo<l. Moderate drinking' must reaae, or its
expenses must be provided for in the future, as they have been drfrnyed in
the past, ))y those who indulpe in it ; for while all are involved in some of
the expenses incurred, and niv called upon to suffer for and by others, still
upon those alone who use tlie lirjuor will the call for pfvfonal service and
aoul-sacriflco be made, Tin rnnk«i of the drunken are rapidly thinned—
for the life of the revell.i i- usually f^hort, and the dangers he incurs
numerous and deadly— and these depleted ranks must be filled; luusi I,.
and mind, manhood and mipht, sense and soul, character and virtue must
be supplied, and these will be largely drawn from the homes where the
moderate use alone has hitherto been exemplified or encouraged. Oh, Hint
men were wise, and would consider the end of these things ! Another
cause of the power and jiermanency of this widespread evil is to >.e found
in the peculiar facilities everywhere provided, for the supply of the mate-
rial of intoxication, in the numerous licensed liouses for its retail. The
number of such houses in most localities is very great, and many of them
are mere haunts of vice, scenes of dissipation and allurements to drunken-
ncfts. The broad aegis of public enactment is thus spread over the traffic,
and the moral sanction of law given to its necessary results. A glance at
these causes indicates the nature of the remedy required ; ])ublic sentiment
and common practice must be changed, the laws sanctioning and regulating
the traffic altered or annulled, and the traffic itself restricted or suppressed.
And surely in regard to such a work, contemplating the highest and best
interests of man, the glory of God, and the influence of the Redeemer's
Kingdom, all Christians ought to be agreed, and should conlially uiU(e in
earnest endeavour to arrest the progress of intcm)ierance, and avert the
evils which it bring". The mission and duty of the Church is to seek and
save the lost; reformation of life, character, and conduct, is her peculiar
function ; and though she may hitherto have failed fully to realize the fact
the temperance reform is a part of her legitimate work ; n right apprecia-
tion of her high position as the light of the world, a reverential regard to
the authority, will, example, and glory of her Divine Hend, a keen sense of
her own danger, and an enlightened view of duty, prompt her to earnest-
ness and activity in this work. Much has our Church, in common with
others, suffered from the inroads of this vice ; some of her able and eloquent
ministers have been silenced, many of them have been grieved and discouraged,
lier members have been seduced from their steadfastness, her ordinances
have been neglected, her chiMren have been decoyed and ensnared, and
multitudes have been deterred from her communion, or estranged from her
<t..:L.^' -. •'■''
^i
servkes. U it not tben her plain duty to arise, don her armour, and do
vahant battle with this, the giant evil of the day /
We affectionately appeal to you, our brethren in the Ministry, and
beseech you, by the dignity, sacredness, and authority of your high office
by the love you bear to our living King and Head, and the affection you
cherish tor the Church which ia His body, by the necessity laid upon vou
to. preach the whole counsel of God, the present needed truth ; by 'the
dangers which beset many of your brethren, and encompass those placed
under your care, be ye faithful, earnest, and fearles,s in proclaiming from the
pulpit the teachings of God's Word on the whole subject of danger and
duty in this matter, and by a pure example as well as by Scriptural pre-
cept, enforce and illustrate the great law of love and duty of self-denial
Dear brethren, it is yours tq awaken, enUghten and vitalize the conscience
ot the Church on thisquestion ; fail "not in this duty, and you will not fail in
attaining a glorious reward. Dear brethren in the eldership, overseers of the
house of God, into whose hands are intrusted the discipline of the Church,
and, to a large extent, the spiritual, interests qf.the people, we earnestly
exhort you to magnify your office, be "examples to the flock," "be blame-
less, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach
not given to wine." You can do much by your example, vour counsel
your faithftil discharge of duty, to elevate tlie standard of Christian con'
duct in this matter in your congregations, and to reclaim .«uch as may have
fallen.
To you who are teachers in our Sabbath schools we look with anxious
hope ; the lambs of the fold are intrusted to you ; seek lovingly and patiently
to insta into their young minds right views, and inculpate right practices •
frequently and wisely point out to them the dangers to which they will be
exposed as they grow up, warn them against the seductions of evil com-
panions, and the peril which Ues in the first glass, r*" all the youth of the
Church could be saved from the pestilential infection, it were a glorious
work, a noble victory. Fathers and mothers, we implore you by the love
you bear your offspring, and they are dear to you, by the solemn vows
under which you Ue to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord, by all your fond parental hopes for their welfare here and here-
after, by your love for the Church of Christ, her purity and peace, teach
your children to shun the ensnaring cup; bring the might of your affec-
tions and the weight of your authority alike to bear upon and save them
from the alluring fascinations and the fatal consequences of this vice. Your
influence is great, your example ia powerful, let them ever be on the side
of sobriety and safety; you are aware of the dangers to which your loved
ones are exposed, prepare them to meet and successfully bmve them, by
inculcating upon them from their childhood the practice of total absti-
nence from all that can intoxicate. Should your chUdren follow your counsel,
will it ever prove to them or to you a matter of regret? Should they
reject it, they may bring your grey hairs with sorrow to the grave, but
your conscience will be clear, pure from their blood. But,— bear with us
brethren,— if by your example, or your neglect, yoi+r child should fall a prey
to the spoiler, what a burden of sorrow would press upon your heart ; and
1
i
8
when at the close of lile you are caUed upon to part with them, how 'sad
your hopes and their prospects, and in view of nieetinK them again liow
solemn your responsibility !
In conclusion, brethren, our appeal to you is not bu.sed upon the question as
to the powonous qualities of the liquor consumed, nor whether drinking is in
Jtself a sm nor whether there is any positive prohrbition contained in
Uods Word. Let each man settle these cases according to the li-ht he
has, in view of his own duty and responsibility. But <.ur appeal is° based
upon the great fact of your professed subjection to Christ, and vour obli-
gation to do all things for His glory, and like Hi.i, to live not lor yourselves,
hut for others. Now, on the one hand, here is the admitted prevalence of a
most insidious and destructive vice, a widespread and most pernicious
.practice existing among us. An I .,n the other, there is the example and
teachfng ot Jesus, the entire spi ,t of the Gospel we receive, inspiring love
enjoiniug self-denial, and cnUiu^' upon us to stretch fcath the hand and
hjlp the weak-help a feeble, tried, tempted, falling brother, one for whom
Lhnat d..-J. Surely it is our duty at once to act upon the principle
implied in the noble declaration of the magnanimous tender-hearted
apostle, when he says :-<' Wherefore if meat make my brother to offend,
I will eat no Hesh wliile the world standeth, lest I make my brother to
offend." Though our circumstances are very different, the principle is the
same, and is susceptible of a ready and easy appUcation. Will you not then,
tor the sake of many thousands who are already victims of strong drink^
tor the sake of multitudes who are in great danger of becoming .«.uch, for
the sake of those who are dear to you, for the sake of the Saviour who died
lor you, and for the love of souls who are ready to perish, resolve, by the
divme blessing, to do all in your power to banish intemperance and its
brood ot ills from the Church and the world \ As patriots who love vour
country, as philanthropists who are interested in all that concerns the 'weal
of your teHow-men, and above all, as Christian followers of Him who gave
himself for us, and who has said : « If any man wiU come after me, let
him deny himself, take up hLs cross and follow me," we ask you to aid in
the suppression of this evil; under which our country, our Church, and our
people mourn.. While the season of the year suggests the interchange of
mutual good wishes, and inculcates the e.xercise of charity and good will to
all, it also reminds us that, on that very account, it is a time of peculiar
temptations to many in the enjoyment of the domestic and social enter-
tainments, which are so frequent, and otherwise -so precious and so power-
ful for good. In the e.xercise of hospitality one towards another, we pray
you to be on your guanl that you wreathe not the bowl of danger to all,
and of death to many, with the fragrant and Ijeauteous Howers of hoTue
gladnesa and social festivity.
"And now. Brethren, we commend you to God, and to the Word of Hia
Grace, which is able to buihl you up, and to give you an inheritance among all
them which are .'sanctified."
Vour brotlier and fellow-labourer in the Lord,
W. ORMISTON, D. D., Modtratiyr of Synod.
Hamilton, Dec. 25th, 1869.