IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 f-IM IIM ^^^ m 1 22 " **- IIM U IIIIII.6 P^ <^ /i ^;. ^^j •^^ . < v^ .>' > // i? / /A Photograpliic Sciences Corporation ^1 ^ V ^v^ <; 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 % v ^^ .^ ■» » -» C V N A iJ A PE€T — -^ ^ or THB ^mi^mmm wmm^ Ik LECTURE, 1 DELIVERED IN THE SONS OP TEMPERANCE HALL, BLEURY STREET, MONTKEAL, NOV. 6th, 1872. BT '•'■■. if I I11M®KB» PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL, ST. NICHOLAS STREET. 1872. ss / '' M7 AUH?I1. To her whose counsel oft has wisely led, Whose sympathy and courage have sustained, Whose fond enthusiasm stimulated e'er, And whose full confidence has long inspired (E'en under sorrows of the darkest hue) The heart which else had yielded to despair,. The Author dedicates her little book. And whether this, her feeble first attempt At Authorship, by critics be received With favor or contempt, the writer trusts That she to whom 'tis offered will accept This tribute of esteem and grateful love. And when " beneath the daisies " calmly sleep Both she who writes, and she for whom is penned This faint acknowledgement of favors vast, That this poor little book may serve to lead Back to the paths from which his feet have strayed Some erring wanderer, is the fervent hope Of her whose name is now herein inscribed. L. M. SHERLOCKE. ^< PRESENT ASPECT OF THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT. Mr. Chairman ; Ladies and Gentlemen — The subject which we have 'cho=en as the foundation of our remarks this evening, is, as you have already heard announced, the present aspect of the Temperance movement but, upon entering into the consideration of this subject, we find that it naturally divides itself into three parts, viz., the social, moral, and political aspects. Yet these are not so much three different aspects as three divi- sions of the same aspect. The present aspect of the Temperance movement is one. Yet it may be viewed from three different stand-points, or cona- dered socially, morally, and politically. These divisions therefore, we will endeavor to consider in their order, though in reality we will observe them more for the sake of convenience than from necessity ; for, like the tints of the rainbow, they seem to so blend into one another that it is almost impossible to say where one ends and the other begins. We will then consider in the first place the social aspect of the Temperance movement, or, what are the effects produced upon society at the present time by the agitation of this great question. That the Temperance question is a great social problem, no one can deny ; that it aims at the suppression and destruction of one of the greatest, perhaps I may safel) say, the greatest vice which has ever cursed humanity, I think every candid and thoughtful person will admit; the point then for us to decide is how far or to what extent these aims have been realized. What success has attended the efforts of those who have labored to rid society of the monster, Intemperance ? We answer then, in the first place, that the Temperance movement has succeeded in creating a public sentiment on the side of right, a public sentiment which recognises the truth and the value of Temperance principles, even though it does not in every case reduce them to practice. Time was when a teetotaller was a marked man : when his appearance in society was greeted with jeers and insults. That time has gone by, and to-day the teetotaller is a man admired, respected and trusted above all others, even by those who are not themselves total abstainers. A man is no longer considered ungentle- manly for refusing to indulge in a course, which, if followed up, will bring him below the level of the brute creation. We have made total abstinence respectable. Certainly we have achieved a triumph. A gentleman who was addicted to the practice of using profane language was one day the subject of conversation between two of his friends, who wished to break him of his fault. '' We will tell him it is not Christian-like," said one. " No," said the other, " he wont mind that ; tell him it is ungentlemanly.'^ We have almost succeeded in gaining the assent of society to the proposi- tion that drinking is ungentlemanly. We hope to accomplish this ere long. I have said that a Temperance man is trusted above all others ; and who can deny this ? Is there a position of trust or responsibility vacant ? Rest assured it will be conferred upon the man who is known to be strictly temperate, in preference to any other applicant ; unless indeed it should chance to be a political office, when of course it will be conferred upon the most zealous supporter of the successful candidate, irrespective of personal merits or demerits. But there is another peculiarity pertaining to the present social aspect of the Temperance movement, which is a more significant, and to me, a far more important one than that to which I have just alluded. This is the democratic spirit which is everywhere at work in modern society, and which has been eagerly embraced by the Temperance reformers' of to-day, and to which nearly all of their success may be attributed. I shall not stop to define terras. I will not insult this intelligent audi- ence by telling them what " democratic " means ; but I call upon them, as thoughtful and observing men and women, to look around them and note the changes which are taking place in the world and in the opinions of society. I ask them to consider the gradual abolition of false social distmctions and class privileges, to observe the struggles which humanity is everywhere making to elevate its condition, to throw oflf all ignoble shackles, and to realize the grandest aims to which a human being can possibly aspire. I call upon my hearers to reflect upon the eflforts which humanity is making towards its own unification, towards the God-inspired sentiment which is simultaneously awaking in the hearts of earth's millions, and which earth's millions are enthusiastically hastening to acknowledge, the sentiment working alike within the soul of the European, the African, the American and the Asiatic, and which finds universal expression in the glad out-cry : — " We are One ! " " We are one, we nations of the earth ; made of one blood, formed by one hand, acknowledging one Father, inhabiting one earth, and bound to one Heaven. We are one, we nations of the earth ; spite of ancient preju- dices, spite of national animosities, spite of religious peculiafities, spite of time-honored conventionalities. We are one ; nor frowning mountains, nor swelling oceans, nor burning plains, nor frozen seas, nor rock-bound coasts, nor life, nor death, nor things present, nor things to come, shall longer prevent us from acknowledging our common brotherhood, shall longer keep asunder those whom God hath joined together. " Time and space shall be annihilated ; deep in the briny ocean shall we conceal the magic chord which shall convey from continent to continent the fraternal greeting, binding closely together the hearts between whom lies a waste of waters, separated by thousands of miles ; over the frowning mountains, down through the gl )omy valleys, over the rushing rivers, we ■I ) inll lay our jdny track of iron, over which with lightuingHKe velocity shall be borne thousands of human beings to thousands impatiencly awaiting their arrival in far distant lands ; we will send a Franklin to explore the Polar seas, and a Livingstone to the deserts and jungles of Central Africa; by the power of the printing-press we will cause the great of past ages to hold converse with the men of the living present, ayo, and to transmit the ideas which are passing through our own minds to-day to the minds of un- born generations, to the millions of the ages to come. We are an indes- tructible link between the mighty past and the still mightier future. We are one^ we nations of the earth, one with the heroes of old, one with the men of every clime and class to-day, and one with those whose very exis- tence is now but a matter of prophecy. Tyranny shall flee before us ; slavery turn pale and faint,and die with terror at our approach. Injustice, that Hydra-headed monster,shall crouch trembling at our feet, awaiting its dreaded doom ; and Intemperance, that scourge of humanity, that fiend of fiends, shall receive at our hands its death-blow." This is the spirit, ladies and gentlemen, which to-day is convulsing society to its centre ; this is the spirit animating every philanthropic asso- ciation, agitating the minds and hearts of all lovers of humanity; and this, the influence secretly felt and openly acknowledged by the many thousands identified with the Temperance movement. The Temperance movement, therefore, is one which must succeed, since it recognises a principle which compels success, a principle which is founded upon a common want of humanity. This principle is the principle of true democracy. Do you doubt it ? What is the basis of a democratic spirit ? Of course it must be a spiritual basis. It must be composed of wants, necessities and aspirations, which the universal spirit of humanity intuitively recog- nises, and the realization of which it feels impelled by an irresistible power to accomplish. And leaving for the present all other reforms out of the question, we proceed to enquire if the necessities and aspirations which form the basis of the Temperance movement are common to all humanity, are such as are felt and acknowledged by the great brother- hood of man, irrespective of class, race, or condition. One universal necessity is the necessity of a common protection against a common foe. This idea is illustrated on a small scale by the fact that two or three nations that may possibly have been much opposed to each other, will, nevertheless, unite their forces for mutual protection when menaced by a common danger. Therefore, if the whole human race is exposed to a certain evil, there is a necessity for the race to make a combined and unanimous resistance. All the various nationalities and classes into which the race is divided, no matter how diverse may be their opinions in many respects, should merge their differences and ani- mosities in the one grand idea of ridding themselves of a common foe. The Temperance movement, recognising in the monster. Intemperance, an enemy peculiar to no nationaUty, sect, class, or sex, but one to be % ■*--4^ ! I I I I il ' 6 dreaded and resisted bjr the world at large, gathers into its ranks repre- sentatives from every nation under heaven, from every grade in society, from both sexes, from all ages, of every creed or of no creed, and bids them labor for the redemption and elevation of their common humanity. If this is not a democratic principle, where will you find one ? Another universal necessitj^ is the necessity of recognising and acknow- ledging those with whom we have been associated in any enterprise or undertaking ; and the greater the risk we have incurred, the hardships we have undergone, and the efforts we have put forth, the stronger is the bond which unites us ; the firmer, truer and deeper is the attachment tfhich exists between us. Those who have struggled and suffered together, those who have shared a common triumph or experienced a common defeat are bound together by ties stronger than death. There is no free- masonry equal to that of sorrow. Those who hand in hand have passed through the same deep waters of afiliction are made one by mystic rites, only to be comprehended by those who have undergone the same dread ordeal. Do you ask for proof of this assertion ? Is there a soldier here to- night ? I call upon him, from the depths of his own soul, to respond to my appeal, to corroborate my testimony. I ask him upon the honor of a soldier if these things are not so. Say, soldier, hast thou no feeling of affection for that comrade who marched with thee night and day, fought by thy side on many a battle- field, encountered the same foe, suffered the same defeats, participated in the same triumphs ? Though a coronet adorn thy brow to-day, and the lot of thy comrade be lowly and obscure, are not thy regard and love for him the same ? Yea, verily, if a man's heart beat in thy bosom, not all the rank, titles and wealth which earth can bestow will have power to sever the ties which bind thy heart to his. Is there a mariner here to-night ? I call upon him to bear witness to the truth of the principle I am laboring to establish. I ask thee, mariner ! is there, deep-rooted in thy soul, no feeling of attachment^ for the comrade who sailed year after year in thy company, shared thy watch many a weary night, suffered with thee, it may have been ship- wrecks, hardships and perils innumerable ? You have gazed upon the same sights, tasted the same joys, experienced the same sorrows ; is not that comrade, if alive to-day, dearer to thee than a brother ? Nay, even if he has been separated from thee by death, does not the thought of that death send a deeper, keener pang to thy soul than any other loss thou hast ever experienced. Canst thou ever think of that faithful friend, that true and honest heart, now at rest forever, without emotion ? No ! I know that thou canst not. I \^ill not insult thy manhood by a contrary supposition ; and thus my assertion stands confirmed, for " at the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." Now the Temperance movement, as we have before shown, is character- ized by a democratic spirit because it numbers in its ranks representatives from all nations and classes, banded together against a common foe ; but it is also a democratic movement, because those who are thus banded together have in the first place suffered, then labored together, and hence are united in the bonds of a fraternal affection. In these ranks, fighting bravely side by side, cheering each other on in the glorious conflict,may be seen the man of letters and the illiterate street- sweeper; the eloquent Gough and the man unknown to fame ; the prince and the peasant ; the millionaire and the beggar ; all upon whom Intemperance hath cast its withering blight ; and where is the individual who, dir ectly or indirectly, has not been made to feel his power ; representatives from all classes are there, and more are constantly coming ; till by-and-bye it shall be said of us : " Behold a great multitude whom no man can number, out of every nation and kindred and tongue." And this great multitude is onc^ one in heart and purpose, " Joined heart to heart and hand to hand In holy brotherhood." We feel our might today; we recognize the principle that union such as ours is strength and power, for is it not founded upon love ? the grandest and most glorious love with which a human soul can be inspired — a love for suffering humanity. This is the love stronger than death. " A love which floods cannot devour, and many waters cannot quench," the same love which prompted the " Mighty God, the Everlasting Father," to veil His Godhead in humanity, and to stoop from a throne of glory to a cross of shame and suffering, that through His humiliation the world might be raised to share His exaltation. And He, whose great heart beat and throbbed with love divine towards every child of earth, however fallen, however degraded, is drawing together to-day all ranks, nations and con- ditions, and forming them into a common brotherhood." " And I," said the Savior, " if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me;" and as they are thus magically and' irresistibly drawn by the power of a moralgravitation, no less potent than that which guides the planets in their course, towards Him, the central Sun of Righteousness, they are also attracted and drawn towards each other, instinctively combining and cohering together, till by-and-bye these scattered particles of humanity- shall be formed into a solid mass, even a temple not made with hands, whose summit is in the heavens. '* But," says some objector, " this is not the spirit of the Temperance movement — it is the spirit of Christianity." I am well aware, my friend, that it is the spirit of a pure and true Christianity, but I none the less main- tain that this spirit of Christianity lies at the foundation of the Temperance movement. Christianity has never as yet been entirely monopolized by the Church ; and I maintain that there is much of it to be found in all institutions and organisations which have for their object the welfare of '" "'U l I I ' lill!. ':'■:.!,»' U w .r :' ?T:rf: XSaSBBBS V 8 humanity ; nor do I Uiink that the great Founder of Christianity, if on earth to-day, would disdain to recognise any society based on the principle which He Himself died to establish — that of universal love. A spirit of universal love is a truly democratic spirit ; and this spirit id the grand characteristic of the Temperance movement. We have no time to linger longer upon this point ; w.> fear that wc have already trespassed upon the patience of our audience ; we will hasten on to the consideration of the moral aspect of the Temperance question. The social and moral aspects of a subject are so closely identified that it is almost impossible to define their exact boundaries or limits, since it is manifest that that which really tends to benefit society must be of a moral nature, wliile the converse is equally true, viz., that the introduction of a truly moral reform must be a benefit and blessing to society. There- fore, in considering the social aspect of the Temperance question, or wha the Temperance movement is doing for society, we touch necessarily upon some points which serve to show the moral tendency of this reform. The moral aspect of a question is the practical one. True morality con- sists in a faithful discharge of all the duties of life. Noav, while there are many of life's duties which are common to all, there are also many which are peculiar to each individual's own position in life. Now, some of the duties which man, as man, owes to himself and society, are the maintenance of himself and those dependent upon him, the cultivation of his own mind, and the amelioration of the evils of every description to which humanity is subject. These are general duties ; and as they embrace nearly all minor and individual ones, (for the greater necessarily includes the less,) and as we are principally dealing with general principles, we will confine ourselves to their consideration. The duties which we have enumerated ' " general, common to all, cannot he discharged properly by any man who is the victim of Intemperance, for their performance imperatively demands, above all things else, the subjec- tion of the animal to the intellectual faculties. They require a clear brain and a pure heart, — for I maintain that true morality, like true politeness, has its seat in the heart. Now, the tendency of the vice of Intemperance is to bring about a state of things entirely the reverse of this : it destroys and deadens the intel- lectual faculties, while it allows the passions, the animal propensities, unlimited control. The clear brain becomes inert and sluggish ; reason is disturbed and sent reeling from her throne ; imagination wavers, becomes distorted and unreliable, is lo longer a source of pleasure, but an instru- ment of torture ; ideality is usurped by sensuality ; idiocy and madness hold their revels in the chambers of the soul ; the heart becomes a " cage of unclean birds," given up to the dominion of the vilest passions ; and how, we ask, under these circumstances can the duties of life be properly ect ; whether it can substitute morality for immorality ; and lead back to the paths of virtue those who have gone so fur astray. We rejoice that, in behalf ol at- Temperance movement, we can assert that it has done, and is still doing, all this. We exult thai thousands, aye, tens of vhousands, \. o were ar>p:.rently lost to all sense of self- respect, sunken low in the scale "f human degradation, apparently beyond ull hope of rcclemntion, are tv day sitting in our midst, clothed, and in their right minds. The blessing of the aged man, aye, an 1, of the little child, who triumphantly excluimj : " Our father don't drink any now ;" of tho loving wife, the once heave-broken mother, and the affectionate sister, are with the Temperance cause, today ; and feeling certain of tho hopes, prayers and sympathies of these, we can go on our way rejoicing, thank- ing God, and taking courage. The present moral aspect of the Temperance movement is encouraging; all around us aro the evidences of success. Many who are laboring ear- nestly in our ranks to-day were once victims of the monster, Intemperance, but having been by the efforts of Temperance men and women induced to abandon a course so full of misery, they aro now striving with their whole souls to rescue the fallen and to save the falling. So much for the social and moral aspects of this question; now for the political. Politics has been well defined as the " science of government," and probably there has never been an age in the world's history in which this subject has engrr ssed so much of public attention as it does to-day. Time was when politics was considered not the business of the people at large, but that of kings, rulers and governors. No matter how absui'd, short- sighted, or unjust might be the public acts of a monarch or a statesman, they were above the criticism of all save those of similar rank ; but that time has long since gone by ; the real power is where it should be, in the hands of the people in nearly all parts of the civilized world; and kings and statesmen are merely their representatives or mouth-pieces. The people are to-day the sovereign power, not only in republics, as in tko 10 United States, not only under a constitutional monarchy, as Great Britain and her dependencies, but even under forms of government the most absolute, the people are t},9 ruling power,without whose sanction no monarch, no statesman could retain his position one hour. Do the people every- where understand this? Are they conscious of their own importance ? Not all to the same extent, I grant you ; still they are everywhere beginning to com- prehend dimly the principle that the people are not made for the sovereign, but the sovereigii for the people ; they see through a glass darkly ; and their rulers know this; consequently they answer the demands of their subjects by conciliations, concessions, and soft speeches, where once they ■would have answered with the " rod and axe." What is the reason of this ? Because they know full well that such an answer would be met by open revolt ; and the direful consequences would be the forfeiture of their posi- tions ; and probably their lives ; therefore they prefer holding the reins with a lax hand to resigning them altogether. " Governments," say our American Cousins, "derive their just power from the consent of the governed," and this proposition is the truth, but not the whole truth ; the whole truth is that governments derive all their power, both just and unjust, from the consent of the governed. Consent is not necessarily expressed by assent. The former does not imply th« latter. I consent when I passively submit to an act ; I consent to that which I do not actively oppose. There is sound philosophy in the old adage, " Silence gives consent ;" all governments exist only upon tolerance, Why ? Because the governed are the many, the governors are the few. Real power rests always with the majority. Always ? Yes, always. How is it, then, that one man of mighty mind oft-times obtains unlimi- ted control over thousands of human beings, so that they are willing for his sake to incur any risk, to suffer any privation ? Is npt the man one ? Are not the people many ? Does he not rule and control them ? And is not the power in this case at least with the minority ? Not at all; there is unanimity here, and there is no ruling where there is unanimity ; the mind of the minority, and the mind of the majority are one ; they are en rapport. But why have the people in all past ages submitted patiently to so much tyranny and injustice, if governments rest upon tolerance ? Why did the people tolerate these things ? Why ? Because they weie ignorant of their own power, but it was none the less theirs. A certain property, of whose very existence I am ignor- ant, the title-deed to which has been lost or concealed, may be, neverthe- less, mine, and none the less so because another is enjoying the possession of it. A certain man owns an estate, which he values at a few hundred pounds ; that estate contains a yet undiscovered mine of inexhaustible richness ; that man is unconsciously a millionaire, but none the less a mil- lionaire, because an unconscious one. c» n c» •l Even 80, the people of olden time were unconscious millionaires, for 1 were they not in possession of individual sovereignty ? — a more valuable possession than all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. Thus, the people are, and ever have been, the real power ; and they are BOW beginning to realize it. The science of government is one which they are commencing to study — they are making rapid progress too ; not only are they going over all the ground which previous students have gone over, but they are investigating, experimenting, criticising ; and the world is rapidly gaining new ideas in regard to this science. It is changing, I has changed, as rapidly and surely as the sciences of geography and as- tronomy. Government to-day is the business of the people, of all the people, of both sexes, of every rank, occupation and condition of life. Every indi- yidual who comes before the world in the -capacity of legislator, senator, representative, even to the monarch ascending his throne, must be pre- pared to have all his public, aye, and many of his private acts closely in- vestigated, not only by his peers, not only by his own constituents or subjects, but by the world at large. Every question affecting in the slightest degree the welfare of the people of any country, or of the small- est portion of a country or community, is mercilessly criticised by men of every grade, from the mechanic m his workshop to the statesman in his cabinet. And now the watchword of the political world which, as we have seen, includes all the world, is Reform. Reform in every department, reform in all classes, reform by political action. Men are no longer satisfied with a certain belief, condition or mode of life, because it satisfied their ancestors. On the contrary, if there is the slightest shadow of a chance that any particular form or custom may be replaced by something a little better, we immediately try the experiment. Sometimes we find, to use a homely old adage, that we have jumped out of the frying-pan into the fire ; but, in no sense discouraged by past failures, like King Bruce's spider, we trt/ again. And we make politics the medium through which we effect nearly aL these changes and reforms. Legislation is the grand panacea, which is made to cure all the ills which afflict the body politic. Of course the remedy is often worse than the disease ; but never mind ; this is the great"- omnicure, and if it doesn't chance to remove our malady we must be content to bear it. What business have we with a disease which cannot be reached by legislation ? Well, as wo dispose of ail questions in this way, right all wrongs, if they get righted, and redress all grievances, if they get redressed at all, by tho agency of political action or legislation, we naturally inquire : What has legislation done for the Temperance question, or what is the present political aspect of the Temperance movement ? J 1. 1 12 Of course, like everj other movement in the present age, it must have a political aspect — it wouldn't be recognised as a movement if it hadn't. And can legislation assist the Temperance cause ? Can we pass a law to make men leave off drinking, any more than we can pass a law to make them leave oflf eating something of which they are particularly fond ? Can we pass a law to compel men to give up selling liquors, any more than wo could to compel them to give up selling sugars and teas or any other article for which there is an extensive demand ? If a man goes to a grocer and Avishes to purchase a bottle of brandy and a bottle of vinegar has not the grocer as good a right to sell his customer the one article as the other ? " Most assuredly," methinks I hear some one answer. " A man has a right to buy or sell any goods he pleases, and no law can ever be passed which will prevent this. Can I not do as I please with my own ? Would you restrict my individual liberty thus ? " My good sir, I agree with you to a certain extent, and to a certain extent I differ from you. I believe with you that no law can ever be passed and carried into effect which will hinder men from buying and selling whatever they please, provided these articles are to he honglit and sold. Would I interfere with your individual liberty and restrict you in the exercise of it ? Most assuredly I would, sir, if the public good demanded it ; just as I would have your house torn down that a public thoroughfare might be improved. " The object of all legislation is the greatest good to the greatest number." And if I find that you are supplying the public with an article which in nine cases out of ten produces untold miscyy, I would certainly deprive you of the power to do this if I could. I am justified in so depriving you — the public safety demands it, just as it demands that a man who is in any respect dangerous to society, should be debarred from society and condemned to solitary confinement. No man is more dangerous to the welfare of society than the man who sells liquor, unless, indeed, it be the man who drinks it — the one because he is engaged in dispensing an article which carries woe and want into many homes, and under the influence of wlhch almost every crime is committed, — the other because by his example he is inducing men to forget their manhood, to throw away self-respect, i nd to become not only their own enemies but the enemies of all that is good and true in humanity. Therefore, both these classes should bo restrained ; but how shall this be done ? By political action, yes ; but what kind of political action ? Shall we have a very stringent license law ? AVh at ! License a man to sell a poison which is causing such terrihie results ? License a man to rob, commit murder, arson, or any other crime in the calendar? License that which we believe to be wrong ? Surely no consistent Temperance man can give his sanction to such a scheme 'i What then ? Shall we legislate hv prohihition? Prohibition ? That sounds better, but after all, it is mere sound, if by prohibition we mean merely that we will prohibit tho sale of >f/ 1 18 .« %' I these intoxicating drinks. What has such a prohibitory law ever done for the friends of Temperance ? I tell you candidly, it is my opinion that wherever it has been tried, it has done more harm than good. They tried it in Maine, and they tried it in Massachusetts ; and the friends of the cause in both tlioso States exulted in the thought of the victory they had achieved. Policemen were sent round to close all the bar-rooms, dram-shops and drinking saloons in every town and city in those States ; — everything that could be done to enforce the law was done, for these men were in earnest. They meant business. They are go-ahead people down that way — they never do any thing by halves ; and where they fail, it is hardly worth while for any one else to think of success. But fail they did, after all. Pohcemen were bribed to keep silence by being instructed to open their mouths and shut their eyes, and then receiving something to make them not wise, rather the reverse ; something to make them unsteady in their movements — that was all. Liquors were done up in all the most innocent and unsuspicious forms ; they were even to be found in Bibles on the shelves of book-sellers, and in all sorts of out-of-the-way places. The initiated could always obtain these drinks, and they were always ready to initiate others. It is probable that the very secrecy and risk involved led many who otherwise would never have thought of drinking to commence the practice. And the cause of all this ? The importation and manufacture of these liquors still went on. The traffic was not stopped at the fountain-head. At the very time when Temperance men in Boston and vicinity were for shutting up even the beer-shops, importers on Com- mercial Street were bringing rum, gin and brandy into the City by thousands of hogsheads, and of course these didn't remain forever in their warehouses. They found ready purchasers ; I myself conversed with many of these men at the time, and they admitted that business was never better. So much for prohibiting the sale of hquor. ^Ji^eatt we not have a law passed to prohibit its manufacture and importation . Probably, in time ; and rest assured that this is the only kind of political action which will be of any assistance. But this is something which Ues before us, something which the Temperance men of the day should take into immediate consideration. I am well aware that it is a momentous task — that it is no child's play, but a work demanding unlimited energy and determination. But surely the interests at stake and the importance of the question should be sufficient to inspire these. Men of the Dominion, who are exulting in the idea of your new nation- ality, who are hoping in time to have your country and government known and respected all the world over, are you not willing to see the iccurscd liquor traffic, which is ruining the souls and bodies of so many of your ablest sons, abolished from your land ? Are you not willing to head the Crusade which all the civilized nations of the earth will proudly join, which has for its object the utter annihilation of the monster, Intempo- \fr u ranee ? Shall not Canada claim the honor of setting the example to all other countries in this respect ? Surely this were an ambition worthy of a New Dominion. Think of generationa, yet unborn, rising up in all parts of the earth to bless the name of Canada. And remember that the people of any nation are to-day the real power ; remember that you, the people of Canada, can make Canada whatever you will. Upon you rests its future. It is for you, people of Canada, to say whether you will have a country in which the liquor traffic shall b© unknown, or one in which thousands and tens of thousands of your noblest and most gifted sons shall be annually sent to fill drunkards' graves. It is for you to say whether thousands of wives and mothers shall be turned annually into the streets, homeless and destitute, dependent upon a pre- carious charity for the necessaries of life ; whether thousands of littlo children shall be brought into existence and grow up to manhood and womanhood, surrounded by scenes of debauchery and crime over which angels might weep and even devils blush with shame ; whether these shall be turned loose upon society to endanger the life and property of peaceful citizens ; to fill our prisons, penitentiaries, alms-houses, insane asylums, and hospitals; thereby involving the cou-^try in useless, worse than uslesa expense ; or -vshether you will have a country in which the man of genius shall be long spared to fill positions of trust and responsibility ; in which prisons, penitentiaries, &c., shall be almost unknown, because unneeded; in which children shall be secure in the possession of parental love and fondness, of homes crowned with plenty, of the blessings of education, and shall grow up to be the pride and safe-guard of their native land.' I ask you, Canadians, which Canada will you have ? For, remember that the future of your country is in your own hands. The Dominion is the clay, and ye are the potters ; and you can make out of that clay vessels to honor or dishonor. Which shall it be ? Do not forget that the " object of all legislation is the greatest good to the greatest number." And the good of the greatest number imperatively demands the abolition of the li(iuor traffic. It may be something of a sacrifice for you, men of the world, ii give up yourjchampagne suppers, your occasional social glass. You are in no danger of becoming a drunkard, and why should you give tp so harmless a pleasure. Why ? Because the good of your country demands it. On the same principle that you would offer up your life in defence of that country were she invaded by a foreign foe. You would value no sacrifice, no amount of property, no manner of danger or privation, to preserve the national flag from dishonor. Well then, manifest that patriotism by the sacrifice of a glass of wine. Your country is invaded by a foe to be far more dreaded than a whole army of Fenians or twelve legions of Yankees. Will you allow that foe to ravage your fur land with impuoity, to slay tho aobleat of your sonS; «5 u the fairest of your daughters, before your eyes, and make no effort to save them ? Nay, more, will you act the part of a traitor and lend to that foe assistance and encouragement ? Will you invite him to your house, entertain him at your own expense, and defend him in every possible manner ? If you persist in doing this, sir, you are a traitor to your country, false to her highest and noblest interests : and rest assured that for that treason, in one way or another, you shall suffer. Every moderate drinker is an enemy to his country, since he supports men for the highest offices in the land, who not only do nothing to put down the liquor traffic, — although they may, and generally do, put down the liquor in one sense, — but are actually lending all their encouragement to that traffic. I said, moderate drinkers do this ; but, — shame and sorrow ! that ever such a thing should be said or insinuated ; and what is worse, not only said, but, in many cases, substantiated, — moderate drinkers are not the only ones who at elections support, by their votes and influence, candidates for office •who are bribing half their voters by copious draughts of whiskey and other decotions from the devil's still. I have never happened to be in this city during an election, and conse- quently cannot charge Temperance men here with such things, bnt I have been in other parts of the Dominion on such occasions, when I kno v that such acts have taken place. There are towns and cit'cs in which Sons of Temperance (?) Heaven save the mark (!) and Good (!) Templars have left the Division or the Lodge Room in which they had just been advocating the necessity of more strenuous efforts on the part of their brothers and sisters in regard to clos- ing up bar-rooms and dram shops, and gone direct to a cr <<^us or some kind of political gathering to assist in nominating a candidate whom half the rum-sellers in the place had agreed to support. I hope there are no Temperance men of this stamp here to-night. I trust Montreal is an honorable exception to the rest of the Dominion in this respect; but if there should chance to be one such in my audience, I would say to him : "My poor misguided friend, come out and show your- self in your true colors ; do not protend to wish well to the Temperance cause when you are doing all in your power to retard it. Take off that regalia which you have dishonored, and call yourself no more a Son of Temperance, or a Good Templar. Do not endeavor to assist us one day, and oppose us the next. Be consistent at least. Let us have no more double-dealing. Either say to the world by words as well as actions, that you believe in upholding and extending the liquor-traffic, and that the friends of Temperance are not your friends ; or take a firm and decided stand with ?/«, and say that neither by word, look or deed will you espouse the cause of drunkards and rum-sellers, and that in every way, shape and manner you will endeavor to keep the accursed poison out of tib« knd. y«t« for Temperance men, and Ttnperance mos only. If tb«re r — ' 16 are no Temperance candidates, and }'ou are not in a position to nominate one, doti't vote at all. There is, there can be, no question of as deep and vital import to your country as the Temperance question. Nevermind your party. Let party-poUtics go by the board. I admit that there are many others evils which need be redressed — I know that there are many measures which might bo brouglit about, which would be of immense benefit to your country, thougli I am only a woman. I have looked into politics sufficiently to understand this, but I do maintain that the most judicious and beneficial measure in the world may be rendered abortive in a rum-drinking, rura-supporting community. Come out, then. Tempe- rance men, from a class of individuals whose interests are essentially inimical to yours. '' Come out from among them and be ye separate — touch not the unclean thing ; for what fellowship hath light with darkness ?" There is a class of men to whom I wish especially to address myself. I mean the worhing-men. Now, I know very little of the condition, or position taken by the working-men of Montreal. I know not whether they are Trades Union- ists or advocates of the nine-hour movement or not. I know not whether they are satisfied with the existing relations of labor and capital, whether they are contented to produce for others to consume, or whether they share in the indignation and disgust openly expressed of late by their brethren in other parts of the Dominion and adjoining Republic, and to the manifestation of which I was an actual and muoli-interested witness. But though my sympathies are with the working-men the world all over, though I consider that, with the exception of the recently emancipated colored race at the South, (and one other exception, to which I will not refer, just now,) they have suffered more wrongs than any other class in exis- tence, — still, if there are any working-men here to-night, I say to them, as I have said to many of their brethren elsewhere, that they have no foe against which to contend more crafty and powerful than the demon Intem- perance. King Capital has been hitherto a foe to be dreaded and opposed by the working-man, but his tyranny compared with that of King Alcohol has been indulgence. The little inger of King Alcohol has been thicker than the loins of King Capital. Kiiig Capital has indeed chastised you with whips, but King Alcohol has chastised you with scorpions. And I say further to the working-man that if you are resolved upon having your rights as a laborer, as a producer, if you would indeed inherit the earth your industry has almost re-created, you must force the world to respect you. You have aced of all the substance you can acquire, all the intellect you can command, if you wish to fight this battle with any prospect of success; hence it is, if possible, more for your interests than for any other class of men, to be found in the ranks of Temperance reformers. It is for your interest to vote fov prohibition — to uphold Temperance candid- ates, and no others. But be sure of one thing — be sure that they nre Temperance candidates before entrusting them with your suffrages. .t ^ .t ^ ' 17 " Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing." It is quite the style at present for a class of men who make politics a business, and who value the interests of their constituents only so far as they will serve as a ladder by which they may attain to the high places of political power, to affect an interest in the Temperance question, (that is, if there is a pretty strong Temperance sentiment in the community,) about election time. Beware of such men, — they invariably kick the ladder down after they have raised themselves to the desired position. As soon as they have secured their election, they will celebrate it by a champagne supper, and pledge the success of the Temperance cause in glasses of that beverage, or something stronger. I once lived in a town in which the larger part of the people were Baptists. A certain gentleman in that community, who was desirous of a seat in our local legislature, and who was well aware that the Baptist vote could scarcely fail to secure his triumphant return, commenced, about three months before election time, to attend service regularly in the Baptist Church, and nearly every Sunday, when the plate was passed around, contributed a doubloon. The Baptists were overjoyed, they had made a convert, — for the man had previously been a strong Episcopalian, — and secured a golden prize in the bargain. Of course when election time came round, they voted for him to a man, hnt from that time, our friend went back and walked no more with them. It is needless to add that the Baptists got no more doubloons from that quarter. Temperance men and Temperance working-men, beware of these individuals. Don't vote for a Temperance man who gets converted to your cause about three months before election. Perhaps some hypercritical individuals may imagine that my remarks under the last head of my discourse have been rather rambling, but little to the point ; and there may be some foundation for the charge ; but then, my good friends, you must bear in mind that I am only a woman, a weaker vessel, not supposed to be endowed with the superior intellect which is the peculiar prerogative of the lords of Creation, and therefore I trust I shall be frgiven for my lack of logic and numerous digressions. However, the inference which I wish to deduce from all this is, that the present aspect of the Temperance movement, considered from a political stand-point, is, on the whole, rather discouraging. It is not a pleasing aspect. As a Temperance body, we are not doing anything worth men- tioning politically. All the political action which has so far been taken has been injudicious, as the results have shown. It has made our last state worse than our first. At present, so far as political action is concer- ned, we seem to be stuck in a kind of slough of despond. We don't dare to go back, and we are afraid to go forward. This is a miserable state of things, and the sooner we get out of it the better. Is there no prophet among us to-day in whose ears is ringing the command : " Speak to the Sons of Temperance, that they go forward ?" mum ■f^v^i" ■ip mm* li .18 (By Sons of Temperance, I mean Temperance people generally.) If not, I, a woman, will take up the cry, and say : — " Brothers and sisters, " no, no ! not sisters, excuse me. I didn't mean sisters — it isn't their business —they haven't anything to do with politics — they're not people — they're onli/ women. I'll have to try the sisters on a different tack . But hold on ! Here's another awkward arrangement. I was going to say : " Bro- thers, let us go forward ! " but that wont do, either, because I'm not a brother, and being only a woman, it's none of my business whether we have a law to abolish the liquor- traffic or not. What ami going to do about it ? Well, I don't know ; I shall just have to say : — " Brothers, go forward, on your own hool*. ! And if you get there before we do, just tell them we're a-coming too : " (Tell the people in the big house up at Ottawa, I mean.) But again I say, Brothers : move forward in this matter of political action, put your shoulders to the wheel, and work with a will. You can all vote, at least — beg your pardon, you can't all do that either, in this' country. Well, all of you who possess a certain quantity of sods and stones, a pile of bricks and mortar or a six months rentstl, go ahead, and the rest of you who can't go ahead, stay behind and keep us company. Remember that we must have a law to prohibit the manufacture and importation of all intoxicating^ liquors ; there must be no temporising, no half-way measures. We must do business on the one price principle ; there must be no beating down. " Nail your colors to the mast-head ", and stand by them to the last ; and since it is not intelligence and honest industry that are entitled to vote, but sticks and stones, and bricks and mortar, and senselesti blocks, (and sometimes senseless blockheads.) let these afore- mentioned articles be instructed to vote for Temperance men, — Temperance men who are such in reality ; not for political time-servers ; for rest assured that if the interests of the country are to be given up to the hands of such individuals, they will cause " the very stones to cry out '' as well as to vote. " Thus I have endeavored to show up in a very " 'umble manner " as Uriah Heep would say, the present aspect of the Temperance movement considered morally, socially, and politically, and at such length that I fear I have already trespassed largely upon the patience of my audience 5 still if they will kindly bear with me a little longer, I should like to address a few words specially to my own sex. I want to show them that this movement has special claims upon their attention. I am going to tell them how the moral and social aspect of the Temperance question may be improvt d by their sympathy and co- operation. Do not be alarmed, ladies and gentlemen ! I am not going to advise woman to step aside from her ^^ proper sphere." I am not going to advocate anything so horrible as "woman's rights," nor counsel any lady to divesli herself of that innate grace and modesty which are her peculiar charm, by following the example of your humble servant, and appearing before a ,... 19 public audience. No, no, not for the world ! I am not going to mentiott the word "politics" in my address to the ladies. I hope, ladies, you didn't listen to what I said about politics a little while ago : if you did, forget it, please, or imagine it "something good to eat," because the subject to you is tabooed, remember. But it i? nevertheless a fact that in all the sorrows and sufferings brought upoA the race through the debasing influence of Intemperance, woman has been the principal sufferer. To borrow the language of the ritual of a certain Temperance organization : "In every association of life, in which woman's heart has been linked with Sther hearts, she has been smitten with the fell blight which this pestilence sheds from its wings. Of all the ties upon which the wealth of her nature has been lavished, whether as wife, mother, daughter or sister, none, however dear, however sacred, has been spared." Hence the Temperance cause is one which demands " the sympathies of every true woman." Mother, as thou bendest with anxious gaze over the couch of thy slumbering babe, guarding it with jealous care, lest the winds of heaven should visit its face too roughly " whilst thou lookest with dim pro- phetic eye into the future, striving to picture the destiny in store for the little one, could that future, indeed be unveiled for thee, and couldst though see that child of many prayers, round whom thy fond hopes centre, grown to manhood, mingling in fashionable society, bright eyes beaming upon him, witching smiles lavished upon him, jewelled fingers preferring the cup of enchantment, wouldst thou not tremble for him ? In imagina- tion let the curtain again be raised, and several years having elapsed, behold him mingling night after night in scenes of questionable gaiety ; mark the flushed cheek, the unnatural glitter and restless expression of the eye : see him, as maddened by his losses and the beverage he has been imbibing to drown the remembrance of them, he rushes forth from this den of infamy to mingle in scenes of still fouler debauchery, to revel in these till every trace of manhood has been obliterated from the loved form. Trace from this his rapid descent to the maniac's cell or the drunkard's grave, and let the agony of thy soul as thou shalt witness all this be enhanced by the thought that in childhood and youth no Temperance principles were instilled into his mind, — nay,more, that you, by preceptand example, rather prepared the way for his subsequent career. He saw the wine sparkling upon your festive board, saw you " upon hospitable thoughts intent," urge your guests to partake of it, and feeling that mother could do no wrong, he entered upon the course which terminated in his des- truction. Far away in the land of the Ganges, the poor Hindoo mother tears the clinging babe from her bosom and casts it into the river, to be food for crocodiles, thinking thus to appease the anger of an offended Deity. Verily, I say unto thee, misguided, unfortunate woman, it shall be more ■imp •• / 20 \ I tolerable for that poor deluded idolatrous mother in the day of judgment than for thee. * Wife, who leanest with affectionate pride upon the arm of him whom thou hast chosen to guide thee henceforth through the paths of life, who fondly believest thy husband to be a perfect realization of thy ideal of true manhood, canst thou unmoved behold him, " tarrying long at the wine," seeking the society of men of doubtful reputation, coming home occasionally late at night, his breath redolent with the odor of intoxica- ting drinks ? Is thy confidence in him in nowise shaken ? Does a fearful foreboding never cfoss thy mind of a time, perhaps not far distant, when thou shalt be spoken of with pitying lips as " that lowly thing, the drunkard's wife ? " Hast thou thought of all the anxiety, the sorrow and the shame which these words imply ? Of the cheerless home, the scanty larder, the hun- gry ill-clad children, and the curses and blows even which thou shalt receive from him " Whose plighted faith in cnrly j-outh Promiaed eternal love and truth." — Canst thou contemplate this sad change, and make no effort, speak no word of warning, to arrest the chosen of thy heart in his downward career ? A word, a trar, an earnest look may prove effectual now. A month hence and all thy entreaties may be vain. Sister, thou hast a fond and loving brother who has endeared himself to thy heart by many an act of kindness and token of love ; he has been the play-mate of thy childhood, the companion of thy girlhood ; thou hast anticipated his slightest wish in sickness and health, and he has rewarded thy fidelity with all a brother's devotion ; he has directed thy studies, interested himself in all thy pursuits, in short been to thee in one, teacher, brother, friend. What if that brother, whose character thou hast considered almost perfect, whose judgment thou hast believed infallible, prove to be the very reverse of all thou hast imagined him ? What if in an evil hour, he listens to the voice of the tempter and partakes of the intoxi- cating cup ? At first, he perceives no danger, but insensibly, by slow degrees, the habit gains upon him ; he is brought more and more under the dominion of appetite, and finally falls to rise no more. Sister, canst thou think calmly of a possibility such as we have sketched. Does not the bare supposition fill thee witl'. indescribable horror ? What then must be the dread reality ? Oh ! use a sister's influence to counteract the evil impressions to be met in the cold world. With gentle words and loving smiles, seek to lure thy brother into the only safe path of total abstinence ; counsel him to enrol his name with the friends of Temperance, and to assist them by every means in his power in the grand task of elevating humanity. !■■*■ 21 Warn him to " look not upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright ; for at the last it biteth hke a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Maiden, just emerging from childhood, whose glad eye sparkles with the light, and whose fair cheek is tinged with the glow of sixteea summers — " Standing with reluctant feet Wiiere the brook and river meet/' — thou hast been taught from infancy to love and honor thy father, next to thy God ; and thy filial devotion has been returned, and more thtin return- ed, by the being upon whom thou hast lavished it. But of late " the fine gold has become dim." The father whom thou hast so loved and rever- enced has fallen from the high pedestal he has occupied in thy heart. Pity has taken the place of respect, distrust the room of confidence ; for thou hast now a dread and horrible rival with which to contend. Thy father's affections have been transferred to the wine-cup, and wife and children fill but a secondary place in his heart. Verily, the iron hath entered into thy soul. God pity thee, for dark and sunless appears thy future lot. Better that thou should'st stand by the open grave of that parent, hear pronounced o'er the sense- less form, buried out of thy sight, the mournful sentence : — " Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," and go forth into the world with no other friend than the Father of the fatherless, than thou should'st live to see a fond parent converted into a fiend, and a happy home transformed Into a hell of misery. " There is confusion worse than death. Trouble on trouble, pain on pain." Wife, mother, daughter, sister, in view of all these possibilities which may await you in the future, in view of the blighted hopes, deserted homes, and wasted lives which have so long been the portion of your sex, and which may be your portion too, we call upon you to come to our assistance; we need your help." Around our fount of crystal life-giving water, we would gather the poetry of woman's smile, the eloquence of woman's tears." But, although woman has principally suffered from the ravages of Intern* perance through her friends of the opposite sex, she herself has not entirely escaped pollution. Not all the grace, refinement and purity which are generally supposed to be woman's birth-right have ensured her in all cases again-'t the dangers which lurk in the wine-cup. God knows I hate to make this admission in regard to luy own sex. I would gladly believe, if I could, that we are all the angels that some men tell us we are ; but, granting it true, even angels fell, we are told, and woman is not an angel, but a weak and fallible human being. " To err is human," and hence we find that the vice of Intemperance is not confined to the male sex. Some of the fairest daughters of earth, of society's brightest ornaments, have fallen victims to it, — in proof of which I will recite a poem. mmm 22 tbe heartrthrilling incident therein recort^jd having actually occurred flome years ago in the city of Now York : — A VOICE FItOM KATE'S GRAVE. ,S •' With dizzy whirl, on ruaiied the wheels Along the city'i niurl