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Leader (1850-1860), 4th September 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 17, machinery. Also, a sweeping reform in th...

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      T Ii E T Emperance Caus1 (To The Editor ...

      knowledge , has done a great amount of moral , social , and intellectual good . _« Ion" finds fault with the advocates of teetotalism for representing moderate drinkers as standing on slippery p laces , while he thinks they are as firm as there is any need for . Did "Ion" ever trace drunkenness to its source ? If be has , what do his researches prove ?

      Is it not ; that every drunkard of the present day was the moderate drinker of a former one ? True , some men have a greater amount of moral courage than others ; and if weak-minded men are apt to fall into a snare , that those of stronger minds would not , is it not the duty of the stronger to help the weaker ? This , if carried to its full extent , is the fundamental principle of association , and I dare say all of us are labouring less or more to make it universal .

      I shall be most happy to read of any other method less objectionable , and at the same time as effective , introduced by " Ion , " or any one , to overcome the growing drunkenness of the age , and also to advocate it so far as I possibly can ; but it will require , to be something more than what is hinted at in his last letter . He has brought forth nothing more than the old familiar and feeble phrase of " Be temperate in all things /' This has been tried for ages , and proved a failure . None will doubt that hundreds , ay , thousands , can take a little , and never degrade themselves witji the abuse of it . But it waa not to _ujeet their case that

      the total abstinence pledge was had recourse to , but to get hold of those whose temperament could not withstand the baneful influence of alcohol induced hy a moderate use of it . { low many thousands are there amongst us who can np more resist getting intoxicated after merely tasting the first glass than they can accomplish impossibilities . It requires no " Mentor" to inform " Ion" that alcohol has _different effects on different constitutions . Is there , therefore , any other way of meeting the case of these men ? To tell them to be "temperate will have no effect . Their only safety lies in refraining entirely from the use of it .

      It is therefore not so much a different principle that is wanted , as a staff of well-educated temperate men , in order to make a change for the better on the morals of the community . It is certainly matter of regret that such men as "Ion" should think it below them to mix themselves up with the teetotal agitation . They cannot expect that men every way qualified for so onerous a duty as the advocacy of this great cause will spring up from the ranks of the working classes at a

      few days' warning—men whose energies have been wasted by toil , and whose intellect are beclouded by those very customs that their hearts tell them ought to be banished from the midst of society . Need wo wonder , therefore , that in those who have felt the evils of strong drink in their persons and their families , and who are conscious of the apathy and indifference with which the wetter educated view their position , the zeal oftentimes gets tho better of the discretion .

      " Ion" also says , that teetotalers " impute to every man the incapacity of self-control . " I never heard of this before ; but it _uppears " Ion" has . This of itself , therefore , is reason sufficient for his letter ; but if ho really believes it , and means to charge total abstainers with this imputation , merely _becauso they take the pledge , or ask _others to do so , he is woefully mistaken . There is nothing whatever in the pledge , or in the principles of any society that I know of , ( except the Jesuits , ) that could cause any one , who took the trouble to inquire , to come to such a conclusion . No doubt this is often asserted . But it is not what is said of any society or association , but what are tho facts ? And if " Ion" will take the trouble to inquire , ho will find that there is nothing whatever in the abstinence pledge to lead him to such a conclusion .

      He states again , that " your moderate man is the object of the special nnd unrelenting antipathy of your' teetotaler . " With all duo deference to " Ion , " I most unhesitatingly state , that this is not the cose with the { rreat mass of teetotalers north of the Tweed . I know numbers of advocates of that cause whose most sincere friends are moderate drinkers ; and I can number not a few of my own personal friends -men of 'duration and talent—who are not abstainers , ft is not ju . st _, therefore , in anyone to make such a sweeping assertion , who has perhaps found it to ho the case with a few . *

      lii r eference to the reception of "Ton ' s" friend nt 'he Temperance . Hotel , I would merel y say , that the _'" giunents used h y him were uncalled for . He had no Y'l _* ' ° <'() lu I ' _'" > since ho went to the wrong place . he landlord was , not to blame . The lecturer would "ive come sooner to his purpose had ho lelt when the " "" tako was discovered , without making so many words J ' . _* ' Who would think of sending to their book-»« 'ller lor u pair of boots , or to their tea merchant for " ¦ e-creuiu ? A mistake of that kind mi g ht occur ; but w _« Hhould bc very apt to question tho Hiipit y of him

      T Ii E T Emperance Caus1 (To The Editor ...

      who , _having made such a mistake , would try to persuade either party of their error in not keeping these articles is because he required , or thought he required them . Hoping you will give this a place in your *« Open Council , " I am , Sir , yours very respectfully , _GUGLIELMTJS .

      Ar01708

      Tempebance Dogmatism. (To The Editor Of ...

      TEMPEBANCE DOGMATISM . ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) _£ > ib , — % am as earnest and as sincere in my condemnation of drunkenness as any teetotaller well can " be , but I have no sympathy with the affected purism of Pump orators . I have many opportunities of seeing how utterly drunkenness annihilates all moral consciousness , hut I am not therefore a teetotaller . When any of

      that sect abuses me for my very moderate consumption of alcohol , I mostly retort after this fashion—I have confidence in myself , which you have pot . You condemn yourself as the victini of an appetite . I can govern my stomach . I rely upon moral _stability , and a natural antipathy to kuown evil , whilst you resign yourself to the despotism of a formula . " And with those only in whom drinking has become a passion , is " pledging" at all useful .

      But I h old the usual position assumed by teetotal propagandists to he altogether untenable . They say , ' _* Alcohol is poisonous , _therefore we should not partake of it . " Is not everything of which we partake , and by which we arc _surrounded , destructive ( in its first action ) of our being ? The food we eat , ay , and the water we drink—the pure water , is an aggression on the hying organism j and the very air we breathe is composed mainly of the most destructive agent of which we know . An invisible gas , which can quietly moulder granite into dust , and of which every adult daily absorbs about 46 , 000 cubip inches , is surely a destructive thing ? Yet it is the destructive quality of this oxygen which maintains our being , whilst it yearly destroys many thousands , who cannot resist its force . Qxygen is even more terrible than the " bottle : " but without

      it ? The fact is , the action of anything upon any organism depends , in a . great measure , upon tho condition of the organism itself . -4 nd as Walter Johnson shows " that life and health are indirectly produced hy disease-exciting , death-tending agents , " I think we may fairly presume that the use , not the abuse , of alcohol in some cases is beneficial . It is not , however , to temperance I would object ,

      but to that arrogant _intolerance which would make us teetotallers by law . If ; is odious enough to set up a standard of religion on sheep-skin , but to tabulate our diet in 3 t . Stephens were an abomination not to be endured . Yet the subject of petitioning Parliament to forbid malting is seriously canvassed amongst the leaders of the temperance cause . Truly these apostles of virtuous water would make very wise , generous , and just lawgivers .

      I tako great _mtorost in movements to eleyate the people , and would labour in an onlightened movement to resjeue them from the degradation of drink , but the present exclusive _crocket-ty _teetotallism I cannot support . Allow me , Sir , through you , to thank " Ion" for his able statement of this _question , and to _asauro him that , however much somo sloppy consciences may grumble , the view ho takes of tho mafter is the truly _rational and just one . Yours , truly , Earnest .

      The Vajuo Of What Has Been Doijo By Mr- ...

      The vajuo of what has been _doijo by Mr- E . 1 ) . Maurico , Mr . Edward Vuiutittart _^ calo , Mr . J . M . Ludlow , and others , is sufficiently _conceded , and miudi good is anticipated from tho movement of indus - trial reform begun by co-operative stores and associations ; but on this very account it is important to ascertain tho regularity of the proceedings of any society or committee assuming to promote such important operations . Do tl » o publio know with _whouj or with what they havo to deal in _thjtf wa _^ tor— pr do thoy know unon wtyit _pnncijiJeH tiuuh _dojnitcd organization

      ON THE 1 L _. ATE _CO-OPERATIVE _CONFERENCE AND ITS REPORT . ( To the Editor of the Leador . ) Sin , —I have observed tho _porrespondence , instituted by Mr . Shorter , concerning tho Into Co-oporativo Conference , but after nil that _gentleman has been _pleaded to communicate , the whole thing is as much a mystery to the publio as ever . Tho question which porplores a looker on , is nof , of courso whether tho Leader was invited or not to he present at tho said Conference—that you have disposed of- —but how or from whom the invitation should havo como either to you or your contemporaries .

      The Vajuo Of What Has Been Doijo By Mr- ...

      proceeds ? What is the mode of acting of the Committee of Working Men ' s Associations—how do the members of the Committee recruit themselves ? What amount of control are they ready to accept , consequently what kind of guarantee do they afford the public at large as to their course of procedure ? Mr . Thomas Shorter writes as Secretary of the late Conference ; might it be asked of that gentleman whether the report published in the Morning Advertiser he accepted as an exact relation of the transactions of the Conference ? And if not , is it the _intention of th e Conference to publish any official and accredited report of their proceedings ? By answering such queries Mr . Thomas Shorter would oblige , Yours respectfully , sir , A Lookeb-QjS _" .

      Von Beck. (Ih The Editor Of The Leader?)...

      VON BECK . ( Ih the Editor of the Leader ?) Birmingham , 18 th Aug . 1852 . Sjb , ¦— Your correspondent , " Another Old Subscriber , " tacitly admits the truth of the report I referred to—namely , that the " Baroness '" friends had been warned that " sudden excitement" might causeher death ; but he excuses the gentlemen who caused her arrest , on the grounds that the " Baroness" had so far recovered

      as to " ride in a carriage _,- " to " walk on foot ; " to " intend to take part in private theatricals j" and to " dance . " I do not know that " riding , " " walking , " or intending to perform , are either very exciting exercises : the " dance" may have been so to her j bu , t " Another Old Subscriber" will admit a difference between the _excitement of pleasure , and that of fear- — between the excitement of friendly intercourse , and the society of a gaoler .

      I can conceive of a better reason having induced the " defendants" to disregard the warning , and act as they did : perhaps they suspected that her illness , as well as her title , was ; feigned . It may ( as your correspondent says ) be " rash to prejudge" this mysterious case ; but the remark applies to both sides . If it is right for " Another Old Correspondent" to come—as he evidently does—to such a decided conclusion iii favour of the "defendants , " whose evidence is n 6 t before the public ; it may be excusable to entertain an opinion somewhat leaning towards the side qa which evidence is before us . Yours faithfully , AN OliD SUBSCBIBEB .

      Machinery. Also, A Sweeping Reform In Th...

      machinery . Also , a sweeping reform in the appor _^ _opmeijt of her revenues , which J . think should bo gradually brought lip and consolidated into ono common fund ; and then distributed according to local requirements . I have talked to high and low Churchmen on the subject , and do not think it would bo a desperate task to bring them tos omo common agreement on tho subject . The great point _seeing to be to enforce on people ' _^ mind the fact that in the 19 th century we must ( if we wish to meet in common _woiship at all , instead of having as many ehurehew as wc have summerhouses or back-parlours ) bear and forbear : and be content to cleave privately to our moro particular and special tenets under the wise and merciful shelter of a large , though not , therefore , barren creed . " A . II . E .

      CONVOCATION [ The following extract is from a letter addressed to us by an esteemed correspondent . Its form as an extract will be explained , when wc state that the main of thp letter related to a totally different and personal topic . _J tt # # # j was glad to read the Leader's remarks on convocation . The theory of the Times is most dismal , vulgar , and sickening . I think two conditions are essential to convocation : tl > e _admission of laymen , and the restriction from _discussing points of theology , _unless _submitted for consideration hy the Queen , or the Uppor Ifouso of Convocation . Tho great work for Convocation _peejnp to me fhe thoroughgoing _adaptation of tho Church to the wants am ] feelings of tho nation in her practical

      Noticks To Cowtbspond ' Bntb. Wn Shall H...

      NOTICKS TO COWtBSPOND ' _BNTB . Wn shall ho _tflad to hoar more specifically from our _correapondont "Oa tho PoH . _lioii _ttjul ClniiriH of women , " and , in tho 1110011 ( 1100 , wo havo to _rocjtiCHt hia or her attention to our rulo im to anonymous communications . " Gaiuij . bi > _IJuroBTH . "—Will G . 1 ' . havo tho goodnesst . oHand um a private key to _hjn vory witty but ambii » uoun letter _, which we flhould bo _tf lad to insert for tint wit , but , boiiifr no dull an to havo lulled to detect tho butt of tho . joko , wo aro compelled | . o withhold for tho ambiguity . Wo nhitll bo happy to insert any communication from Mr . J . J . Hull , in repl y l . o tho recent allegation ! , of Mr . J . Dry , wliich whall not contain H . it . oiiioutH injuriously affecting _porahnal character aud antecedents . It in our duty to olioit the truth of public ohurgoM _, but it i . i neither our du | , y nor our inclination _Jo _ImrsXio _porrciniomloiitrt into tho privacy of their families knd lomoa .- — Ku . Luadjju . Tho " Oo-oiierntivo Movemout , " by William Qomngbl _^ n , to be continued neit week . '' Letters on tho " 'IVmporanoo _Caime , " on f Oouoort ia Bailway _AdininiHtratioii , " & c ., in typo .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 4, 1852, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_04091852/page/17/