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IN mSLATlON TO THE

TEMPERANCE EEFOM.

Ik every ago of the world, and among all nations, ever since the intro-
duction of ain, there ne&inM to have been an unfortunate tendency to
the excessive use of stimulantfi. Noah fell by strong drhik ; and by it
Alexander the grout wan conquered. The princely warriors of ancient
Rome fell a prey to itn grasp ; and while they reeled and staggered
over their cups, laurel-wreathed poets with singular devotion hymned
the praises of BoechuH. Millions of the human race in India and
China are opium-eaters ; and some of England's brighteat literary stars
have had their light extinguished by its use. Other millions suffer the
delirium produced by thel)otel-nut and the hashish, while multitudes,
whom no man can number, in every civilized nation under heaven, are-
victims of the monster evil — Alcohol.

Through its influence every commandment in the decalogue has
been violated. Has it not nerved the assassin's hand, and lighted the
incendiary's torch ? lias it not sent the physician staggering to the
couch of the dying, and the preacher of the gospel to a drunkard's
grave ? Has it not destroyed the magic of the statesman's voice, and
turned the healthful verse of the bard into a sickly ballad ? Has it not
filled our land with vice and crime, and peopled our prisons with con-
demned wretches ? lias it not driven love, and affectioi, and happiness-
from our sacred domestic abodes, and filled them with brutal scenes of
cruelty and violated faith ? Has it not produced more head-aches, and?
heart-breaks, and premature deaths than all other calamities together?'
Must not every man, therefore, who makes even a general claim to the
name of phi)anthroi)lst — ^a lover of his kind — be constrained, on refleo*
tion, to ask himself the question, " Can I do anything to stem this
mighty torrent of evil, which is sweeping over our land like a besonkof
destruction ? If we proceed a step further and appeal, as we do m this
essay, to Ghriatian philanthropists, hov/ can we, as professed followers
and servants of the Lord Jesus, bound by the " New Commandment"
to hve one another, turn a deaf ear to the wailing cry of suffering
humanity addressed to us daily by the crushed childreu and Heart-

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broken wife of the wretched devotee of Bacchus ? This love impera-
tively demands of us to open up the fountains of our affection£> and
cause the kindly stream of sympathy and aid to gush forth to iheir
relief and amelioration. It demands of us not only that we abstain
from everything that intoxicates, and thereby set them an example of
renunciation, but that we also labor zealously by affectionate counsel
and brotherly aid to assist them in shaking off the galling shackles
which so strongly bind them to the intoxicating cup.

If any christian miian should plead his christian liberty as a reason
why he should not be required to depri/e himself of his occasional glass
of wine, we ask yuu, friend, is this christian self-denial ? Who had
more liberty than the apostle Paul ? And yet, under the influence of
inspiration, he has recorded for the guidance ot the brotherhood in
Christ Jesus for all coming time : " It is good neither to eat flesh, nor
to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or
is offended, or is made weak,"

There are about 600,000 drunkards floating about in the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and it is calculated that 60,000
of these die drunkards every year. Tliink of the numbers in our own
city and province, that fill our police-courts week after week and
eventually a drunkard's grave. Re.'lect, too, upon the misery entailed
upon unfortunate wives and helpless innocent children; and do you
wonder that we make this earnest appeal to you as ministers of the
gospel and professed followers of our common Lord ? As disciples of
our blessed Master, we ask you to unite your efforts with oars in
order to rescue some of those who are hurrying towards the frightful
abyss of ruin and the awful realities that lie beyond. We want not
only individual exertion, wo require also the social power of combina-
tion. We want the combined harmonious effort of the good, at least,
in order to present to the enemy a strong moral front, which will baffle
all selfish antagonism on the part of the vicious and depraved. In
order to encourage the besotted drunkard to abstain, and in order to as-
sist those that are weak and easily liable to be overcome to keep the safe
path, we beseech the sober and the strong, for the sake of their weaker
brethren, to adopt the safe principle of Total Abstinence. It is an act
of self-<lenial, we grant you ; and for this very reason we urge it upon

Cas christians. Was not this the spirit that animated our Lord and
ter ? Was not His a b'fe of self-denial and self-sacrifi'^ for the
good of others ? And did he not leave us an example that we should
follow in his steps? But who can presume to say that he is following
the example of his Lord, who, by his daily practice, sets an example,
which, when carried out to its almost inevitable end, causes a brother
to stumble and fall ? Let all such take to heart the solemn words of
waraing and admonition as taught by the great apostle of the Gentiles,
who drank so deeply of his Master's spirit : " When ye sin so against
the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ."
Thus the cause which we advocate has for its basis, the noble basis

of ottr holy religion— selMenial for the good of our fellows. As
pledged temperance men, being ourselves free, by the blesshig of God,
from the fascinating thraldom of alcoholic stimulants, it is our ardent
desire, not only to exert our own influence even more zealously than
We have been doing in the past, but also to enlist in our work the cor-
dial sympathies and hearty co-operation of every christian man and
woman, in order that our enslaved fellow-men may soon beconre par-
ticipators in that sweet liberty which is the proud heritage of every
consistent temperance man.

Mo<leration, as practiced by the wealthy, has an influence for evil
rL\ther than for good. What influence for good can a man or minister
have upon the inebriate, if he take his wine daily or even occasionally?
Hov7 will he answer the very obvious objection, " You may well give
up your spirits who c&n afford wine ; give me the means and I will do
the same ?" Hence we see that nothing snort of Total Abstinence will
8ufliC(V if we wish to wield an influence for good. Our system of Total
Abstinence has proved itself to be an inestimable blessing to society as
well as to the individual. It is confessedly a most powerful moral
instrumentality. Next to Religion, and side by side with It, it is the
lever which must eventually elevate humanity to its proper level.

Seeking, as we do, the .blessing of Almighty God ; laboring, as we
are, for his glory and the eternal as well as the temporal good of
humanity, we cannot help thinking that every true chriiatian should
appreciate this grand truth and throw his entire influence into the
scale of purity and right. Believing, as we do, that the cause whose
claims we advocate is a blessing to the church, is the handmaid to true
religion, we feel confident in asserting that every clergymftn is in his
proper place when leading in the van of the temperanee movement.
And when we reflect upon the mighty impetus that the influence of
those clergymen, who have so heartily lent their aid by active laborious
effort, has given to our cause, we cannot rest satisfied until the great
body of the clergy of the different denominations unite their efforts and
labor together as one harmonious whole for the express purpose of
effecting a complete and decisive victory over the drinking customs
of society. Yes; this is certainly one of the legitimate spheres of
operation in which the christian minister may expect a rich blessing
on his work — may hope to find it ft source of much strength to the
church. If we trace the past history and present standing of these
miiasters who have been most devoted to the temperance cause, most
energetic in advocating its claims from the pulpit and on the platform,
most consistent in their unwavering fidelity to Total Abstinence prin-
ciples, we invariably find that they have won a proud place among
their compeers, and have been eminently successful as pastors, and
teachers, und guides of the people. In the clergy, therefore, and in
the religious community we have a mighty power for good, if, as a
boily, their sympathies and influence, and activities can be enlisted in
this noble work of Reform.

We do not pause here to answer the enquiry, "Is Reform nocea-
sary ?" That there is need of an iuiinediato and thorough reform is
patent to every observing and reflecting mind. But, " h Reform
possible V and, if so, ** How ?" These are important queries.

Reform is possible whenever an enlightened public sentiment sees it
to be necessary. We must, therefore, enlighten the popular mind. Itk
doing so, our aim should be two-fold. Suffering humanity with
wailing cry calls mightily upon us to save the drunkard who is being
hurriedly borne down the rapid current of vice i\nd inebriation. A
united and continuous effort, therefore, must be male by patriotic men
in this direction. Again : Tlie grand cause of this terrible curse of
drunkenness has its origin in the social drinking customs of society.
This must ever be the point of attack if we are to be eventually
successful in purging society. What liave the temi>erance organizations
done in this direction ? Tliey have done much. Hundreds, ay,
thousands ot the noblest in the land, alive to their high responsibility
as their " brother's keeper," characterized by an exalted philanthropy
and truly patriotic spirit, have bound themselves by a soleiiin pledge to
aid, both by example aad by active effort, in bringing these pevuicioua
customs into disrepute. And, by the blessing of God, their efforts
have not been mia vailing. The drinking customs of forty years ago
are no longer respectable. Then, excess, even, was not considered
disreputable. Now a prevailing temperance sentiment has necessitated
that a man do not exceed the bounds of moderation at most. This is
a great point gained.

We have, however, another mighty stride to make. We must
educate public sentiment up to the Total Abstinence point. And the
moment we succeed in enlisting the hearty co-operation o( the vast
body of the clergy and the religious community it is accomplished.
Reflect for a moment on the influenoe that would be exerted against
the social drinking customs of society, if every clergyman in the
province, and every professed christian held up the teetotal banner in
every pulpit, in every community, and in every h 'nlet into which they
enter. The moral effect would be astounding ; a thorough revolution
would be effected ; and the votaries of Bacchus would hide their
diminished heads for very shame.

What minister of the gospel has not felt that social dram-drinking
is the great barrier to the elevation of his people both morally and
religiously? Has he not found unavailing all his efforts to elevate
individuals, as well as communities, and place them in those positions
of honor and of influence for which their natural endowments had
qualified them, until he has overcome those pernicious drinking customs
which so debase and degrade society ? Clergymen know, in their
experience as pastors, that the drunkard on his death-bed differs from
all others in similar circumstances, in that his heart h{>3 become so
callous, so thoroughly stupefied, as to be altogether insensible to the
awful realities awaiting him on the dissolution of the body. How,

therefore, can the " watchman," whose duty it is to care for souls
refniiti from uning his iiifiucncc in every legitimate way to reclaim the
erring before their case is hopeless and irrenjediuble ?

Let us glance briefly at some of the inevitable effects of drunkenness
as seen by the missionary »nd the minister of the gospel. Their
testimony is that it stupefles the mind, blasts the social affections, steels
the heart, deadens the conscience, and keeps men from God's word,
from prayer, from every means of grace. In fact, wherever it has full
sway it frustrates the gospel, and completely nullifies the influence for
good of the minister of Christ. The christian worker, therefore, if he
would raise the fallen, if he would streugthen the weak, if he would
guide his flock aright, and be successful in winning them to Jesus,
must go before (hem. in the path of abstinence. He must set them a
good example by abstaining from even the appearance of evil, — by
abstaining personally from all that can intoxicate, or lead thereto, as
many, very many, of the noblest, and holiest, and most successful of
our clergymen delight to do for the Master's sake.

" For eight years," says an eminent Scotch clergyman, ** strong
drink stopped all my efforts to do good ; it kept so many from God's
house. It hindered those ?7ho came from profiting. They came heavy
and oppressed through drink, and unable to hear and pray aright. But at
length I pressed Total Abstinence home upon them, and became myself
a member of an abstinence Society^and set them an example of abstain-
ing. I brought many to join me, and then I saw the change I wanted.
And could you hear the blessings showered upon me when I entered
their cottages, and could you see the good abstinence has brought
them, — -religion — health — prosperity — peace, you would soon find your
objections against Total Abstinence cease."

On the other hand, how many young men have been led away by
the example of christian men, and even ministers, on festive occasions!
When admonished by anxious friends to be on their guard against their
besetting sin, " Oh, no fear of me, I'll do as this christian man does,
and, of course, I shall be all right!" Alas, how powerful for evil is
the good man's glass of wine on such occasions ! He does not exceed,
of course ; but what of that ? He does drink, and his example sanctions
the proctice,Ktind thereby many are turned aside. Let us not mistake,
therefore. Think not the sole field for labor, for reform, is to be found
among the ranks of confirmed drunkards. No : by no means. We
must strike at the primal source of the evil. If our efforts are to be
crowned with success, if we are to see our free institutions flourishing,
our honor as a nation untarnished, our citizens sober, industrious,
progressive, we must see to the manly and virtuous training of our
young men just launching into active life. And it will be acknowledged
that there is no such bane to the intellectual and moral growth of our
yoimg men, no such serious obstacle to virtue and religion and all that
makes men useful, and noble, and good, as are the social drinking
customs of the present day, with all their attendant fascinations in the

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form of dancing-revels, card-plaving, and gamblfng. These are all evils
whirh arise ut a very early period in the history of those who eventu-
ally fu! a prey to such pernicious vices. The thrist for strong drink
has often tiilcen a fatal hold upon a young man when thoughtless
friends, sensible men and women, sit quietly by and see him take his
glass of wine daily. How are we, therefore, to bring these too con)nion
practices into disrepute, and save our young men ? It can be effected
only by united action. Individual effort may, in some instances,
accom()liHh much. In some instances it has accomplished much ; but,
in order that the good be permanent and efRcient, combination is
indispensable.

Father Mathew, throwing his whole soul and mind into the Tem-
perance Uoform, sustained by heavenly impulses in a most remarkable
mauncr, capable by his fervid eloquence and untiring zeal of swaying
the multitude, as with a magic wand, succeeded in creating a wide-
spread enthusiasm among his countrymen in favor of reform. During
five years he prevailed upon more than five millions of people to pledge
themselves to forego their long-cherished appetites, and offer them as a
sacreil oblation at the shrine of duty. The educated classes, however,
the nobility, the clergy even, stood aloof from his work, thus frustrat-
ing, in a great measure, the good wlich otherwise might have continued
to flow from the earnest, zealous labors of so great and so goo<l a man.

Moral-suasion — the force of mind acting on mind — can be produc-
tive of lasting good, only when a large majority of the respectable and
influential are co-opeiating; for so long as there are antagonistic moral
forces of ec^ual respectability at work the one must, to a large extent,
frustrate, if not entirely defeat the other. Hence the imperative
necessity of united action in educating the popular will.

A general public sentiment awakened and sustained by the clergy
and the membership of the christian church, in every city and town
and village, cannot fail tc speak through the legislative body, and must
eventually secure a law to prohibit the traffic in intoxicating liquors.
Already a strong prohibitory sentiment has been created in the ranks
of temperance men ; and, while many still adhere to the policy of a
gradual and progressive restriction as the most effectual means to the
attainment of ultimate prohibition, still the great majority of those who
have ever marched in the vanguard of the enterprise are decidedly
opposed to the entire licensing system. This is a matter which should
engage the earnest attention of moralists and political economists, not
merely 8S a matter of expediency, but as a duty based upon christian
morals and sound philosophy. What an egregious error to think of
curbing and controlling such a monster-evil by means of Government
tariffs ! How cruel and how culpable are those who would raise a
revenue from the tears wrung out of the eyes of heart-broken widows
and forsaken ophans? If every gallon of ardent spirits manufactured
were taxed a thousand dollars it would not begin to pay for ibe sighs,
and the sorrows, and the tears of helpless innocent victims, nor for the

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blood it has shed at' the very threshold of the church, not to mention
the eternal deHpuir of the countless thousands it has destroyed for
ever.

There would seem to be a terrible responsibility restinjf upon those
who, in the full consciousi.CHS of the crying evils of the li<juor traffic,
continue to give it the sanction of legal enactment. Ih the legalizing
of the lijpior traffic right ? If it is not right, it is tcrong. There is no
middle latitude in this reckoning. What ! Legaliie tlie traffic in an
insidious poison like alcohol ! Yet this is even so. And why ? Most
of our legislators, we would fain hope, have penetration enough to see,
and many of them are candid enough to admit that the common
practice of drinking intoxicating liquors, as a beverage, is physiologi-
cally wrong, and that Total Abstinence — that prohibition, in fact, is
the only sure rcniedy for such a gigantic and acknowledged national
evil. Under such circumstances, therefore, it may be asked, " Whj
have we not a Prohibitory Law ?" Why ? Simjdy because the
principle has not [>ermeated the people, not even the religious com-
munity. It is th(; people, rather than the legislative body, that must
first decide the (juostion of prohibition or no prohibition. Is it
not asking too miu-h of any body of legislators, as such, to pass a
measure prohibiting the li(juor traffic before the popular will has been
educattfd to such a degree as to sustain them in the act? It is for this
work of enlightening the public mind, of educating the popular
conscience, that wo so much require combination on the part of
patriots, and philanthropists, and all truly christian men.

Temperance organizations nnist toil on with unflagging zeal,
working together harmoniously, and, as far as possible, in harmony
with the christian church. The church should countenance and assist
in every possible way the formation and sustentation of temperance
societies within its bounds ; or, better still, wherever available, let the
church itself be a temperance society. The religious press is a potent
agency in the formation ot public opinion, therefore, let every legiti-
mate means be employed to secure its hearty co-operat'- )n. Especially
let the temperance press be cordially patronized, and liberally
supported. Every christian family should, if possible, Ihve access to
the temperance weekly as well as to the religious ^ ly. No
christian man could read fifty-two "Abstainers" in a y«r r without
feeling conscious of the solemn responsibility which vests upon him to
engage heartily and zealously in the Temperance Reform. If the
christian church, and individual members of the church throughout the^
province were but thoroughly informed of the evils of intemperance, —
the great waste of money, the inoial degradation, the long category of"
vice and crime, the want, and wretchedness, and brutality arising out.
of it, the 8| ritual deadness and danger of its votaries, — the present,
apathy and indifference '^f christian r en would soon be supplanted by
ardor and zeal in the te )erance r:n ^e. And we do not hesitate to
affirm that it i.< ihe bou. leu duty t the christian church to keep.

abrtjast of the times in relation to this great work. Let each indivi-
dual member rewl \ip on the subject and study the great problem of
Reform for himself. Let the clergy of the different denominations unite
as one man in recommending the diffusion of tojiperance literature ;
let their influence and actire effort, in social life, on the platform, from
the pulpit, be brought to bear upon the masses, and the desired end
will soon be accomplished.

The public mind, however, must not onlv be awakened and
enlightened, it must be aroused and put in motion. This is a great
moral work, and moral means must be employed to accomplish it. A
prohibitory law can be enacted only when the cause has accjuired
great moral strength in the land. Prior to this it would be worse
than futile to expect it. The State of Maine had to be leavened with
temperance truth, and permeated with temperance sentir^ent for many
years, fcom tiie pulpit, the platform, and the press, before she enacted
her law for " the suppression of tippling houses;"* We are now con-
vinced that strong drink is a social, moral, and economic curse; and
that the time for action is at hand. In a free constitutional country
action nieans j)olitics, — not the very questionable politics of u party,
but the broader and nobler politics of a cause. "VVe must have reform,
and not the mere phantom of reform. Half-hearted compliance
deadens enthusiasm. Let us, therefore, as a christian people, manfully,
and vigorously, and persistently, strike a death-blow at the hydra-
headed monster alcohol in every form and place where he raises his
head. t

There is only one method of meeting the formidable onset of the

manufacturers and sellers of liquor. What was the course adopted by

the free traders in England in order to rouse a dormant nation and

make the heart of every member of Parliament thrill with their

principles ? Tliey wrote, they spoke, they pou/ed forth their money,

their tinie, their energies, like water ; they were determined to make

their (juestion the question of the day : and they did it. Our reform is

not less momentous, nor less needful than was theirs ; nor is it a whit

,les8 logical. t AVell-meaning people of those classes where the family

(does not suffer because the father's wine bill is large may laugh at our

80-callod fanaticism ; but every clergyman in the church of God, and

every y,ibserving christian knows that the crime of drunkenness is a

monstrous evil, and requires speedy and resolute action in order to

;8ave our young men, Jf the clergy and laity unite for this great work,

♦ With rc'^Rnl to the hehcficial results of the Maine Liquor Law up to the
present time. Set; testimony of GoTcrnors, Executive Couneii, and Congresa of
btnte of Maine, publishe'l in the " Abstainer " of Nov. 6, 1872.

« # «

t The Grand Alliance hart raised £100,000 stg. this" year to assist in carrying
the provisions of the Permiwive Bill,

* * *

and if the several branches of the christian church combine and work
together harmoniously they can make it the question of the day. Just
think of it. What political party would exist for a day without the
support of the temperance community and the allied forces of the
christian church ? United, we would present such a formidable front
that our noble principles' of philanthropy, and integrity to our fellow-
men and to our God, would be carried triumphantly with scarcely a
struggle.

Take any county or community in the province, and let the clergy,
and the office-bearers in the church, and every professed christian
unite to select a christian man as a temperaiice candidate, and who will
dare oppose him ? The time is fully come when christian principles
should permeate, and christian influence control our politics. It is
right and proper, it is the bounden duty of the christian church to
exei't her influence in every possible way to elevate the nation and
promote the glory of God, to put down evil doing and to uproot
pernicious cuf?toms. It is not enough that christian men sympathize
with the cause. It wants active support — it wnts moral power — it
wants votes. And if christian men are true to the principles which
they profess ; if they are as loyal to their order and profession as the
liquor seller is to his ; if public sp'.rit. and -true patriotism, and pure
religion have not ceased to be motives of action which will far out-
weigh self-interest and a thirst for ill-gotten gains, there can be no
doubt as to what will be the ultimate issue of such a conflict.

You who move in refined circles, and mould, ir. a great measure,
the customs of societv ; who never drink till you lose your balance or
your reason ; but who make wine-drinking fashionable, and, in a man-
ner respectable ; consider that you have in your power, under God, to
redeem our land from its most awful curse and save thousands of our
young men from crime and inebriation. Will you not, therefore, as
christian men and women, deny yourselves your trifling indulgence
and give us your hand, your votes, your sympathies, and your prayers?
In so doing you will receive an abundant compensation for your self-
denial in the consciousness of having done your duty, of having saved
some young man, perchance your qwn child, from a drunkard's grave
and a drimkard's doom ; and certainly you will not regret the sacrifice
when you are culled to give in your account.

A very respectable number of our christian people are already fully
ripe for some decisive action on the part of the ruling powers in the
church anent the liquor traffic, and hail with satisfaction every step in
the right direction. There are many in all the christian denominations
who are pre[)ared to make any complicity in the manufacture, sale, or
use, as a beverage, of ardent spirits a bar to communion, so soon as the
higher church courts decide that such a course of procedure will meet
with their a()proval. But where are \ye to begin ? Are we in this
matter to reverse the usual mode of procedure in church matters, or in
matters pertaining to the public weal ? Is it not right and proper —

is it not customary for the members cf our church organizations to
originate such reforoiS and bring them up to the higher courts for
approval. As it is necessary to educate the popu'vr mind to any
Important political measure before we can expect our members of
Parliament to legislate upon it ; so in the church, the nigher courts
should be apprized of the well-understood wishes of the membership
by means of memorial and petition. Let our christian people, there-
fore, of the several religious denominations, who have the success of
the temperance cause at heart, make a grand rally for Cnrist and
humanity and memorialize the Synods and Conferences and Conventions
at the'T next annual meeting to prohibit the countenancing in any way of
this terrible evil — intemperance. And let the memorial be so thorough,
and so numerously signed as to convince these ecclesiastical bodies that
the membership of the church are fully alive to their duty, as christians,
to abstain from all appearance of evil that God may be glorified in the
advaiicement and prosperity of his churdi. In this way combined
harmonious effort on the part of clergy ani laity can be obtained.

But a still wider combination is essential to complete organization.
There should be a basis of union for this special object, agreed upon by
all the religious denominations, so that when indulge.ice in strong
drink is made a disciplinary offence in one church tuc offender cannot
find a refuge, or a cloak for his sin under the mantle of another church
or congregation.

In order to the effectual carrying out of this scheme it would b*
necessary for each ecclesiastical court to appoint a special temperance
Committee to meet for conference and to arrange a basis or standard,
by which each denomination would hold itself bound. Let there be
the most perfect understanding relative to the matter so that the
decision of one church or congregation, beir)g in accordance with the
basis agreed upon by all the negotiating churches, shall be the decision
of the entire church. The body of Christ must not be broken up into
discordant sections if it is to flourish and prosper and be a power for
good in the world. Wherever there is an acknowledged national evil,
equally affecting all, there should surely be unity of aim, and Ci effort,
and of action in suppressing that evil. Such is certainly in acconlance
with the revealed will of God. And whereas the inhevent craving in
man for unnatural stimulants had its origin in the introduction of evil
into the world, it should pre-eminently be the work of the Christian
Church to do all in its power to check and, if possible, to uproot and
entirely overcome this depraved appetite, which is so lamentably pre-
valent among men. By such united effort and combination we would
be able, in a very few years, to banish intoxicating liquors from the
land.

Let it not be objected, however, against entire prohibition and total
abstinence that moral suasion is sufficient. The history of the past
abundantly testuies tliat even when a strong public sentiment has been
formed in favor of total abstinence principles, and a large majority of

d<
h
fd

to
for
anj
of

urtt

the people are rea«ly totpledge themselves, and to adhere to their
pledges, still there remains a. large number, either too exalted or too
degraded, to be influenced by any appeals to reason or conscience or
humane feeling. Therefore, as reformers, we must press steadily
forward towards the grand ultimatum — prohibition.

Dr. Cuyler has well said; — " God has never ordained an easy
patent method of saying men from drunkenness. Preaching abstin-
ence, practising abstinence, and persuading others to pledge thfrasclves
to abstinence are about all the practical expedients yet discovered for
making men sober. When the conscientious convictions of a com-
munity are embodied in a wise law of prohibition, and good men are
determined to enforce it, then grand and beneficent results are obtained.
But all this comes right back to individual and combined eAbrt."

What then is the duty of the Christian Church in reference to this
great question ? St. Paul says of professed Christians, " None of us
liveth to himself." True religion overcomes and uproots the naturpl
selfishness of men's hearts. It teaches us that we should care for our
brother, and live to do him good. The christian lives not merely t<y
promote his own interests, but to advance the interests and happiness
of others. He is ready to deny himself — to sacrifice his own pleasures
in order thereby to elevate and ennoble his fellow-men. Thus acting
he is "the highest style of man." And should not every professed
christian on account of his solemn profession, and every minister of
Christ on account of his sacred vows, eagerly seek to bfcome the
highest style of Christian worker ? In the words of Father Mathew: —
" AH are bound by the gospel precept to practice temperance ; the
same gospel advises to aspire to perfection ; and Total Abstinence is
the perfection of Temperance."

It is therefore, we humbly think, the bounden duty of the Church
of Christ to summon her united forces and to make a grand rally for
the entire suppression of the Liquor Traffic. If, as a church, W" stand
aloof from this great reform, which is fraught with so many rich and
lasting benefits to the human family, and which is calculated to bring
in a large revenue of praise and glory to God, and strength to his
Church, we should ponder well lest the curse of the indlfterent be
hurled against us, as violently as if we were arrayed in deadly hostility
to the work: — " Curse ye Meroz, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants
thereof; bec^^se they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help
of the Lord against the mighty."

Let us now glance briefly at the benefits of Abstnionco as opposed
to moderate drinking and drunkenness, in order tliat all true philan-
thropists and christian men may have their " pure minds stirred up by
way of remembrance," as regards the solemn responsibility which
rests upon them to countenance in i very possible way that which has
proved itself to he one of the greatest earthly blessings, and to dis-
countenance and labor zealously against the drinking customs of
society — the greatest curse of our fair and prosperous land.

Mens Sana in sano corpore — thinking po#fer and working power —
has nowhere been so completely exemplified as among total abstainers.
While there has been an occasional anomaly whose grandest achieve-
ments were wrought out under the stimulus of alcohol, invariably we
find that the brilliant lamp of genius, thus fed by too combustible oil,
Boon bursts into a flame and is speedily extinguished forever. That
brll.iant natural genius, Edgar Allan Poe, whose bright star set so
iugloriously amid the cloudy fumes of strong drink is only tie of many
truly lamentable pictures of the power of alcohol over mind. Com-
pare the fitful efforts of such men with the sustained power of thought
of a Milton, ii Bacon, a Sydney Smith, and they are but as the
meteor flash compared with the bright effulgence of the noon-day sun.

Real robustness, whether of body or of mind, is confessedly the
result, not of frequent potions of stimulants, but of suitable diet and
regular exercise. Soldiers who have served under India's burning sun
have repeatedly testified that the total abstainers endured the toil of
forced marches with much less fatigue than their drinking comrades.
And by consulting the official returns of mortality in the Indian army
We find that of " hard-drinkers "forty-four m a thousand died annually,
of " moderatenirinkers " twenty-three in a thousand, while among total
abstainers the annual rate of mortality was only ten in a thousand.
Recently similar testimony was given by a party en route for
Manitoba.

Sir Charles James Napier, the hero of Sinde, in narrating the
effects of a sunstroke, says, " I was tumbled over by the heat with
apoplexy. Forty-three others were struck, all Europeans ; and all
died within three hours except myself! I do not drink ! That is the
lecret. The sua had no ally in the liquor amongst my b'^ains."

The testimeny of Professor Miller is that "the unnecessary use of
intoxicating drinks tends to produce certain diseases, such as gout,
affections of the liver, skin arteries, «fec.; and such diseases, when not
80 produced, will be all the less likely to occur." It is conceded by all
medical ])ractitioners that nature has much to do in curing ailments ;
but the power of nature, which has been weakened and turned aside
by alcciholic stimulants, cannot be effectually restored as an operative
agency to shake off disease ; hence the tremendous fatality of disease
and epidemics among inebriates.

Out of a caravan of eighty-two persons who crossed the great
desert from Algiers to Timbuctoo, in the summer of 186B, all but
fifteen used wine and other liquors as a preventative, as they thought,
against African diseases. Soon after reaching Timbuctoo these all
dletl, except one, while, of the fifteen who abstained, all survived.
These facts show conclusively that alcohol as a beverage is positively
injurious.

But even were it an innocent beverage the waste of money
is enormous and appalling. I'he annual financial waste resulting from
the use of alcoholic drinks may be brought within the conception of all

by the following calculatiou ; . and it is certainly such as should arouse
every true philanthropist and christian man to oppose to his utmost
ability the legalizing of a traffic which so manifestly perverts the
bounties of Providence, by turning his gifts from the channel of
christian utility into the polluted and polluting streams of debauchery
and vicious indulgence. Notwithstanding the efforts of temperance
men and the restrictions placed by law upon the sale of intoxicating
liquors, the Dominion of Canada paid last year for alcoholic beverages
a sum which would have provided twenty City Churches at S40,000
each ; two hundred Country Churches at $4000 each ; twenty Oity
Temperance Halls, $40,000 each ; five hundred country Temperance
Halls, $8000 each ; one thousand School Houses at $1000 each ; twenty
Young Men's Association Buildings $40,000 each ; one hundred Read-
ing Rooms at $500 each ; one hundred Libraries at $10,000 each ; five
Universities at $300,000 each ; twenty Mercantile and Agricultural
Schools $10,000 each; twenty Orphan Asylums at $10,000 each;
twenty Asylums for deaf-mutes, insane, sick and infirm persons, at
$100,000 each ; one thousand Mechanical and Agricultural prizes at
$50 each ; one thousand prizes for Stock at $50 each ; one hundred
Literary prizes at $100 each. It would also employ one hundred
Temperance Lecturers at $1000 per year, five hundred City Mission-
aries at $1000, one thousand Bible Women at $500, one hundred
Missionaries to the heathen a $2500, four hundred Assistant Teachers
at $1000 each; and it would give, three thousand Clergymen $200
additional salary, 2000 aged and infirm persons $200 each, and a Bible
to every man, woman, and child in the Dominion of Canada. O,'
Brethren of the Cliristiau Church, is it not heart-rending to think
how our iLdustrial and benevolent and religious institutions have been
defrauded during the past year, in order to pay this enqrmous tribute
to that insatiable tyrant alcohol who has usurped such authority and
control in our land ? And not only are these large sums of money
lost to benevolence and philanthropy, but if we gaze upon the orher
side of the picture what do we behold ? Ah, how many ruined homes,,
how many desolated careers, how much misery, and anguish, and pre-
mature death, and* vice, and crime, and brutality are painted in lines of
blood upon the dark canvas ? And what is the principal cause — the
primal source and feeder of all these evils, and vices, and beggary ?
The main cause of these evils is that we support, or rather endure,
hundreds of dram-shops and licensed liquor-houses ; and the chief cause
of crime and irreligiou is justly ascribed to the drinking habits of our
people. In the words of a Committee of the Church of England, " No
evil more injuriously counteracts the spiritual work of the church th^n
the vice of intemperance."

Is it not plain, therefcwe, that if the church is really alive to her
duty she must rise in her might and shake off this terrible incubus
which is dragging humanity down into the sloughs of wretchedness
and reckless impiety? As the Church of God, and as individual

Christians, it becomes us to emp]oy*every legitimate means, and form
every possible organization to remodel society and place it on a firmer
basis, by purging it of its social drinking customs, that the blood of the
victims be not required at our hands. Our temperance organizations
and church abstinence societies for the young, as at present constituted,
are doing an admirable work in the land ; and we have already pointed
out the influence of united eflTort or the part of the clergy and laity of
the several religious denominations to awaken a public sentiment in
favor of total abstinence principles.

But there is still a mighty power for good, which, as a separate
agency, especially in our towns and cities, has not been brought into
requisition. We refer to the influence of woman as an organized society.
And, as u part of the christian church, the duty and the privilege of
laboring in the temperance reform devolves upon her in common with
man. If we are to have a thorough reform — and by the blessing of
God we will have it — it will depend upon the vigorous efforts and
earnest endeavori' of christian men .and women. Woman must be
allowed to use hei* legitimate influence, and she must use it ; for she
has a powerful influence in society.

In the- capacity of wife, mother, sister, Triend, she wields a mighty
influence. Nothing is more lovely than the implicit confidence which
children place in their mothers, young brothers in their sisters, From
them, too, the child receives its first impressions, and they are of all
the most enduring. If mothers but fully realized how apt are children,
even of very tender years, to learn by imitation, they would, in many
cases, be much more careful than they are in presenting only such
images to the young and plastic mind as would form the germs of a
noble manhood. Let the mother's example,^a3 well as her teaching,
convince the child that her honest conviction is that even the occasional
sip of wine is sinful and ought to be s«^mpulously avoided, because it
is indulging a habit that excites to sin. What pernicious examples
mothers set for their children on festive occasions and gala-days, such
as Christmas and New Years, by entertaining their choicest friend*
with sparkling wine ! What a lesson does it teach those young inno-
cents just budding into boyhood and girlhood ! Does it not say, in
effect, " You see, my dear children, when we wish to be happier than
usual we must have recourse to the joy-inspiring wine-cup" ? Scores
of temperance lectures in after life will not obliterate those first
impressions of a mother's example. O, mothers, you, who cherish so
many fond hopes, and breathe so many fervent prayers for their moral
safety and well-being, will you not banish from your board the most
dangerous, the most deadly of all tempters ? How can you, as you
kneel with your dear ones by yourside, pray, — ^" Our Father 1^ tis not
into temptation," if you, yourselves, are tempting them with the flavor
of joyous wine ? That mother who has set such an examnle to her
child in early youth must blame herself only, if the joy of her heart,

rm
ler
the

Bd,

tod

of
in

tho hopo of her declining years, is lost to home and happiness through
Btroiit; drink.

Woman In her sodal capacity as sister or friend, exerts an influence
on young m«n, either for good or for evil, which is all but omnipotent.
But, alas for the weal of society, when woman's charms and woman's
fascinations unite in presenting the tempter to generous young men
who cannot say * No,' when the glass of wine must be taken ."for my
sake." Littltt luw many a fair tempter thought of the awful responsi-
bility she incurred when by her sweet persuasive eloquence she thus
prevailed upon n young man to drink to her, until in a few short years
the bright eye and frank cheerful countenance have given place to the
blinking lear and tho bloated face, and she ia suddenly aroused in
anguiBh and destmir to think of the evil she has wrought. Whereas
if her influence had flowed through the pure untainted channel of Total
Abstinence njiiny a yo„ng man, in the fulness of his gratitude, would
rise up to call her blessed.

There is no reason why the paltry conventionalities of socicvy
should deter /.calous chrlstifin women from combining for this great
work. I'ho beiu!V<»I<n«t deeds of that one dear, devoted, philanthropic
woman, Florentje Nightingale, are more than enough to sanction the
work and \/o encourage others to labor zealously for the amelioration
of the race.

Woman has quick perceptions, a keen insight into human nature,
arrives at conoiuHir;ns and expedients by intuition, where man employs
a process of reasoning and deliberation. These are just the qualifica-
tions which so peculiarly fit her for the work of reform. These,
blended with patience and a loving heart, are a most powerful moral
instrumentality f/O elevate society and place it on a sound moral b«».8ls.
We have n»any true women who are using their influence wisely and
well in their individual capacity ; but ultimate success and complete
triumph over the pernicious drinking customs of society, both ni high
life and in lower life, can be obtained only by combined effort and
thorough organization. If those ladies who mould society, who are
regarded by general consent as worthy of imitation in social etiquette,
would organl}?e themselves into a social community, and mutually agree
to banish from their festive board all that intoxicates, how incalculably
great would be the benefits resulting from such united action. Then,
untrammelled by their own practice, they would be in a position to
counsel and admonish those of eitner sex, who are posting the down-
ward road to misery and woe ; and thereby take their true position as
social reformers, m true christian women, in elevating and ennobling
society, in ameliorating the condition of humanity, and in alleviating
the sorrows and trials incident to their sex.

The present apathy and indifference to the temperance reform on
the part of prof(;ssed Christians is sought to be excused or justified by
the very erroneous ideas of intoxicating drinks being healthful and
having the divine sanction. But if we trace the streams of physiology,,

acicnce, and revealed truth up to their fountain-head we find that Total
Abatinerice principles are in entire harmony with the laws of our
existence and the revelations of Heaven. Science has proved beyond
the possibility of dispute that alcohol — the intoxicating principh in all
distilled and fermented liquors — affords no nourishment whatever to
the human system. The laws of life and health demand that substances
taken as focd possess both innocency of action and the capability of
becoming assimilated to the tissue of the body, — the two grand essen-
tials of nutriment which science has proved alcohol does not contain.

The most eminent physicians and chemists in the world have
proclaimed alcohol to be a most dangerous poison and destructive to
the health of the body. The celebrated Dr. Paris placed it among
those substances which destroy the functions of the nervous system by
means of suffocation of the respiratory organs. Fodere and Orfila,
distinguished French chemists, place alcohol in the same category with
nux vomica, poisonous mushrooms, and other highly deleterious
substances. Dr. Conquest, an English physician of great eminence,
says, " It is my deliberate and conscientious conviction, founded on
personal observation, that nine-tenths of the disease, insanity, poverty,
wretchedness and crime in existence may be traced to the use of
intoxicating drinks." He says, moreover, " No one but a medical man
can conceive of the amount of personal and relative misery attendant
on their employment as ordinary articles of beverage. It is my
opinion that tlio mass of the people would be stronger and healthier
and capable of the endurance of a larger amount of physical and
mental labor by total absti»-.<.iice from intoxicating drinks."

Prof. Kirk, of Edinburgh, says " The true effect of alcohol is not
a stimulus, but a partial and temporary suspension of the life in the
finer portions of the nervous system. "We consider one most vital
point now scientifically and finally settled, namely, that the substance
alcohol does not become assimilated in any degree with any tissue
or fluid belonging to the living body of man. This invaluable discovery
has swept away a host of pernicious notions which marvellously
sustained alcoholic drinking. This liquor cannot now be regarded as
iood in the sense of that which builds up the frame, nor in the sense
of fuel, by which the heat of the body is sustained."

Dr. Beck, of New York, in his Medical Jurisprudence says, —
" That alcohol, whether found in rum, brandy, or wine, is ' poison" is
conceded on all hands." " That pure alcohol is a poison is an admitted
fact." Jiev. Dr. Nott, President Union College, New York. " The
testimony of physicians is uniform and unequivocal. They pronounce
alcohol a poison. They tell us it is so classed by all writers on
Materia Medica; and they point out the precise place it occupies
among the vegetable narcotic poisons." Jit. Rev. H. Potter, Episcopal
Bishop, New York.

Dr. Trail, of New York, has given as his experience that alcohol
used as a medical stimulus lessens the chance of the final recovery of

}

the patient. He says, " V^6t ten years i gave alcohol as a stimulatit in
low fevers, nrid after the crisis, • to keep the patient up.' I lost the
usual proi)ortion by death; and I «tn now fully persuaded that the
alcohol only helped them to go down. During the Jast fifteen years I
have treated hundreds of cases of all kinds and have not given a
particle of stimulus ; and I have not lost one patient."

Prof. Miller, F. R. S. E,, Surgeon to the Queen, in his "Alcohol,
its place and power," and his "Nephalism," has presented such an
array of fact and argument on the side of total abstinence as should '
convince Miy candid reader that the united voice of science and-
scripture interdicts the use of alcohol.

Hear, also, that holy man of God, the Rev. wohn Wesley : — " The
men who traffic in ardent spirit, and sell to all who will buy, are
poisoners— general ; they murder His Majesty's subjects by wholesale."

But we need not multiply testimony on this point. From what we '
have already quoted it is abundantly evident that if alcoholic drinks
apparently stimulate to daring action the real cause is found :n their
having deadened those higher qualities of soul which usually control
the man from becoming reckless and fool-hardy. Who ever thinks of
taking liquor for the purpose of intensifying the loftier elements of hie
emotional being, or to stimulate to more devotional feeling? Ah, no:
Alcohol is not a proper stimulus, much less is it an exhilaranf. Its
effects are to blunt, to stupify, to deaden. Instead of building up the
animal tissue, it destroys and poisons.

But it is objected against entire abstinence that drinking has the
divine sanction ; and yet you cannot open the Bible without finding
page after page full of exhortations and injunctions to practice self-
denial, self-control, and self-sacrifice. Moreover, whenever the use of
wine is permitted or enjoined it is an innocent unintoxicating wine that
is spoken of. The testimony of Dr. S. M. Isaacs, the eminent Hebrew
savant and Jewish Rabbi, than whom a greater authority cannot be
named, is that in the Holy Land they do not commonly use fermented
wines, for the best wines are preserved sweet and unfermented. In
reference to their religious festivals he says, " The Jews, in their feasts
for sacred purposes, including the marriage-feast, never use any kind
of fermented drinks." He also affirms that " in their libations they
employ the 'fruit of the vine' — that is, fresh grapes, unfermented
grape-juice, and raisins — as the symbol of benediction.'* Fermenta-
tion is to them always a symbol of corruption. This testimony settles
conclusively the question respecting the ' best wine' at the marriage-
feast of Cana, as also the unintoxicating qualities of the " fruit of the
vine" used by Jesus in instituting the Supper.

The testimony of Pliny, a contemporary of Christ is to the same
effect. He says, " Good wine was that which was destitute of spirit,**
Plutarch also, who lived in the time of the apostles, says, " That is the
ie$t wine which is harmless, and that the most wholesome, to which
nothing is added but the juice of the grape."

Now, we know that many reformed drunkards have had the old
thirst rekindled by the use of intoxicating wine at the Lord's Table,
and a large number of instances to the same effect, are given by
Delavan, from personal history, in hig "■ History of the Temperance
Argument." The body of a reformed Irunkard may be compared to
: a cask of gunpowder, perfectly safe so long as the fire is kept from it,
but the smallest spark will cause it to explode as surely as a shower of
sparks ; so the slightest taste, and even the smell of intoxicating wine
has in many instances kindled the former fire in the unsuspecting
victim to end his career a helpless manaic. References and instances
might be increased tenfold, did space permit, but we have adduced
enough to warrant us in urging every clergyman and ofiioe-bearer in
the Christian church to examine this subject faithfully and prayerfully.
And, if they do, we are confident that they will agree with us and with
hundreds of clergymen in England and America that the celebration
of the Lord's Supper with unintoxicating wine is in entire accordance
with the teachings of Scripture, — that it was not the same thing which
was enjoined to be used in commemorating the Saviour's dying love,
and was forbidden to be looked upon ^ when it giveth its color in the
cup." In the State of New York alone upwards of eight hundred
churches have banished intoxicating wines from the Lord's Table, and
have substituted the " fruit of the vine** in an unfermented state.
There are several congregations in Nova Scctia which use unfermented
wine at this ordinance. Unfermented sacramental wine is therefore
not without precedent. ^ It was in common use among the Jews in
the time of Christ." (Imperial Bible Dictionary. ) " Sometimes it
was preserved in an unfermented state." ( Smith' $ Bible Dictionary.)
In viaw of these facts, therefore, and the untold evils resulting from
the use of intoxicating drink, what is the bounden duty of every
minister of Christ and of every christian man and woman ? In the
words of Kitto's Biblical Cyclopedia, ''It may be declined in the
exercise of christian liberty ; it ought to be dedined, if doing so, helps
forward the cause of humanity, morality, and religion, and promotes
the glory of God.'*

It is most encourliging for those who are actively engaged in this
. noble reform to know that temperance sentiment is yearly on the in-
crease among the clergy of the several religious denominations. The
^ deliverance" on Temperance of the last General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church of the United States is most complete and
><Lecided. It affirms that "^ unconditionally and irrespective of circum-
!«tances the manufacture, sale, or uee of alcoholic stimulants, as a
'':beverage, is contrary to the spirit of God's Word, and wholly incon-
>«i8tent with the claims of christian duty." At the Conference of
'1871 the Wesleyans, actuated by the true spirit of their founder,
Besolved, ^ That we earnestly enjoin upon all our people the most
careful and conscientious observance of the rule given by the Ber.
John Wesley, viz., ' Neither buying nor selling spirituous liquors, nor

drinking them except in cases of extreme necessity.' And, That as
the Church of Christ should be tho most effectual promoter of moral
reform, we pledge ourselves to renewed efforts to purify and preserve
her from reproach by discountenancing all complicity of her members
with the great evil of intemperance, whether by drinking, nmnufactur*
ing, selling, signing petitions for license, or furnishing or renting
places for the sale of intoxicating liquors." This deliverance is metu
of the true ring and sterling value.

The Synod of the United Presbyterian Church of the Lower
Provinces in 1872 passed a resolution enjoining on all ministers to
countenance the temperance reform in every possible way ; and to
preach temperance sermons on the Sabbaths preceding gala-days, such
as Christmas and election days to warn their people of this great evil.

Our limited space precludes further discussion ; we will therefore
conclude by quoting the earnest appeal and wholesome counsel of the
Bev. Dr. Sprague ; — *^ Christians, is it not a part of almost every prayer
you offer that God will soon open upon the world the millennial day ?
Are you acting in consistency with your prayer by lending your
influence to help forward the glorious cause of moral reform which
miut prevail ere the millennium shall fully come ? Are you exerting
any influence directly or remotely to retard the cause? Do you make
the poison, or do you gell it, or do you use it ? Never open your lips,
then, to pray for the millennium."

Now, in summing up, what are the inferences which must unavoid-
ably follow from the various positions we have established ? We have
conclusively shown, we humbly think, that medical and chemical
science unite in pronouncing all intoxicating liquor to be, not only
incapable of affording nourishment, but to be positively injurious and
decidedly poisonous, so that to coantenauce its use is to permit a
phy$iological wrong,—- to use is suicidal ; to dispense to others, homicidal.
We have briefly traced its pernicious influence in society as the prime
producer of misery, and distress ; therefore, to encourage its use in any
way is to sanction a most grievous soctql wrong. We have seen that
it is the prolific source of vice and crime ; therefore to withhold our
influence from the temperance reform is silently to acquiesce in a most
humiliating moral wrong. We have proved by the unbiassed testimony
of eminent ministers of Christ that all other sinful practices combined
are not so powerful in deadening men's consciences, and in rendering
inoperative the means of grace, and the untiring efforts of holy men of
God ; therefore, to refuse to labor in pulling down this formidable
barrier to the influence of divine truth must, in all solemnity, be a great
religious wrong.

We have, we trust, satisfied every candid reader that the inspired
Word of God makes it imperative on every true christian to deny
himself for the good of his fellow-men. We have glanced at woman's
influence and woman's sphere of labor, — what she Aa« done and what
she can do, — and have shown the benefits that would necessarily

follow uiiitfid iiction. Wo have Hhown that wo must reform, not only
tho (IninkiinlH, hut nl.so tho fuuntain-hend of nil ilrniikcnnosH, vix., the
drinking <'ustomn of society. Wo have soon tlmt tliero ur<i somo so
(iopradod, »n far lost to all solf-respcot and moral resolvi! as to ho
entirely helpless in the presence of the foe, and that the tempter,
therefore, nuist ho placed hoyond their roach, in other wonls, wo must
have prohibition. Wo have recorded what a ])oworful impetus has
already hocn ;^iven to reform hy the arduous porsovorinf^ labor of
zealous cler^jfymen and untirinj^ christian men and women, and the
urgent necessity for a more extended and organized combination in
order to a thorough renovating of society — a complete triumph over
our dread foe — alcohol.

With these considerations before us, — knowing that more money
is spent on the altar of Bacchus, told manj' times over, than finds its
way into the coffers of the sanctuary, or is contributed to charitable
and benevolent institutions — convinced that the liijuor traffic fills so
many homes with insufferable want and misery trembling on the verge
of disaster — conscious that it " blights all that is good in humanity,
and robs tho earth of its loveliness," — friends of temj)erance and
morality, will you not bo up and doing? Ministers of Christ and
Christian men, will you not unite as one man to save our generous-
hearte<l young men, who, if snatched from this fiery dtstroycr, may one
day shine as bright lights in the house of the Lord ? Watchman on
Zion's towers, the blood of the fallen may be requiied at your hand.
Therefore, " Cry aloud, and spare not. Tell Judah her transgressions,
and Israel her sins," that Zion may awake and [lut on her beautifuV
garments. Friends of order, of progress, of religion, for tho sake of
those wives, and sisters, and mothers, whose hearts are broken and are
daily breaking — for the sake of our christian institutions and the
progress of the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ — for the sake
of our noble country, which bids so fair to become a bright star in
spreading the light of tho glory of Jehovah aujong the nations of the
werld, — let us all, feeling that

" One touch of nature makes tho whole world kin," —

influenced by a pure and unselfish desire to elevate and ennoble our
fellow-men, prompted by holy impulses to promote the glory of our
God, let us all unite in one grand, harmonious, determined, manly
effort to shako our country free, now and forever,, from the galling
shackles of intemperance : —

" Let us then be up and doing.
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achiering, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."

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