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[IS THIS DETiKIMEKI, AS AM. OSIKIOKS, HO...
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There is no learned man but will confess...
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THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE (To the Editor of t...
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* Hum the critical " Ion" transferred wh...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Okobok Daavbon. ¥K Bcliovo Wo Are Breaki...
gregation _peculiarly _suitable . Mrs . Dawson is the preacher ' s most efficient auxiliary in carrying out the practical works which form a part of his spiritual regimen Z _ the schools , th ) B care pf the poor , the elevation of the downcast . On . the other hand , no good portrait exists , or none , at least , which is felt to convey a sufficient idea of the Master , as he appears iu his vocation . And some of the fairer portion of the congregation express a natural desire to possess the record of his aspect before time shall j _! _aye dimmed the fire of his eye , or cast its snow upon his dark locks . Many outlying members of the congregation , and some , indeed , who are not to be reckoned as belonging to it , but are outside friends , have hastened to request permission to be amongst the number of those on whose behalf the portrait is to * be presented .
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[Is This Detikimeki, As Am. Osikioks, Ho...
[ IS THIS _DETiKIMEKI , AS AM . _OSIKIOKS , HO"WEV 35 » EXTB . _EMB ABE ALLOWED A . N EXPRESSION , THE EDITOR NECESSABILX _" HOLDS HIMSELF BESPONSIBLB FOB NONE . ]
There Is No Learned Man But Will Confess...
There is no learned man but will confess he hath much profited by reading controversies , has senses awakened _, and nis judgment sharpened . If , then , it "be profitable for him to read , why should it not , at least , be tolerable for his adversary to -write . —Miltoh - .
The Temperance Cause (To The Editor Of T...
THE TEMPERANCE CAUSE ( To the Editor of the Leader . ) Leeds , September 1 , 1852 . Mb . Editob , —Can you do an old Teetotaler the justice of admitting two short letters in reply to " Ion ? " Of the first charge on which he arraigns Temperance advocates , of being too zealous , it may be said that it is at least a venial one . Zeal is a thousand times more excusable and useful than that cold propriety which Avould not save a world except it could do it in full-dress . " Ion" seems to think that Homoeopathy should be applied to Philanthropic and all other efforts , and Earnestness administered in infinitesimal doses . The
smaller the dose the greater the effect , is now to yank as a profound axiom of moral science ! Had not " Ion " so positively assured us of tho fact , we could never have imagined that our " cause would have been half as strong again , if" we " had been but half as earnest !" Common sense and historic probabilities seem to authorize just the reverse conclusion—viz ., " Twice tho zeal would have doubled the effects . " At any rate , I have _thej temerity to advise tho Teetotalers ( without losing their discretion ) to appeal from " Ion" te ) the Future—and try . l > .. l- I-- - , 1 4 1 _ -i > . _^ T _?> . £ » .. 1 . 1 . 4 J ? Hut the of feir matters of
leaving paradoxes " Ion" _meirc immediate importance , I anticipate his thanks for showing that he has fallen into serious errors in his estimate of the " dangers of the Temperance Movement . " 1- Wo aro charged Avith having " converted the honest name eif Temperaneo into the ; elisagrceable _designation of Teetotalism , " and of saying all sorts . of wdd things against " Moderation . " An acute und candid mind must feed thut thero is some mistake here ; that some Teetotalers and " Ion" use these weirds in ' » different sense . The sense in whioh Teetotalers do > ise them , it wus tho clear duty of " Ion" tei ascertain . _™> ine Teetotalers , especially in the early days of the movement , have ulloweel the ; Avorels temperate and
moderate to bo applied to the use ; of intoxicants ( us _^ > r . l ehudi applies thorn to arsenic ) by the drinkers ; J » it others , with Dr . Lees at the head of thorn , havo _oiig protested against such u misapplication of excellent words . JIJM—tj , ultra party - _lijivo , em this very lecemnt , long added u ( nullifying word , as real _temperance , true Moderation , expressly to prevent mistake about thy _worels , anel to suggest to such roii-«<> _nors a « " Iou" that they aro begging t ) ie very question 1 , 1 _uobuto , in assuming that true Temperance and Modcrntion ( with which wo have no quarrel ) include the improper use of anything , ov , what _tjronea to tho w »» e , _jJ'J'teticully speaking , the use of improper things . With hm" those virtues appeur but vaguo _abstractions , _w _» th ut they aro propHsPiu repotting upon _fucta aud
The Temperance Cause (To The Editor Of T...
evidence . They told " Teetotalism" to be a species , of which ff Temperance" is the genus . Hence , when " Ion" represents that we think that genuine Temperance is one thing and Teetotalism another , he virtually _fraisrepresents our views , and misconceives the entire question . 2 . You may understand , _therefore , with what astonishment " Temperance Teachers" find themselves charged with describing , even in their mildest mood , Moderation as " like unto an inclined plane , polished as glass and slippery as ice , on which , if the foot be once
placed , you _inevitably slide to perdition j "—and Mr . Cruikshank ' s Bottle with asserting , or even implying , the " infamous _mobal" that murder , the madhouse , and the gallows , " Avillbethe end of every family where a glass of wine 13 conscientiously poured out after dinner !!! " And is it true that my " approving correspondent" of the Leader could really credit as accurate such outrageous representations of our views —could really believe that we believed , or said , all this —and said it too , as " Ion" observes , in spite of " nineteen cases out of twenty notoriously to the contrary ?" Is it necessary to expose such incredible absurdity ?
As regards The Bottle , "Ion" ought to have remembered that Pictorial Illustration must deal with the most striking effects within the bounds of experience and probability , and is necessaril y ellipticalin its process . Could he not allow for these necessities of Art , and , out of the abundance of his generosity , have supplied some other and more likely nexus than he has done ? His interpretation ( for his phrase " called upon to helieve " is not true ) illustrates rather the unbridled impulses of Hypercriticism , than the candour and discrimination which should characterize the legitimate critic ; and the same influence has led him to impute to " Temperance Teachers" conduct and convictions which ean only be truly predicated of men utterly demented . Let those believe it who can .
3 . It is in admirable keeping that "Ion , " with alliterative extravagance , represents the Teetotaler as saying—" vice versd , if you abstain entirely , instead of being moderate , you are ' certain sure' to have a parlour , a parrot , a sideboard , and a fortune ! " The words in Italics too clearly mark the animus of the writer ; but " Ion" ought never to sacrifice truth , especially where the character and sentiments of others are concerned , to the desire to say a smart thing . Yet , all through , the article to us appears written under an animus to turn the worst-side out , whatever " Ion " may consciously intend , —an appearance fatal to the object at which he professes to aim . Witness his allusion to the Rev . Mr . Gale , who is said to have " outraged
a company of ladies and clergymen with proposing that every missionary should sign the pledge—or" [ ay , ok ] " something to that _suspicions effect . " Mr . Gale has the misfortune to be a Teetotaler . He gave ample and courteous notice of his intention to ask the meeting to express its opinion of the desirableness of Abstinence in the East ( where Hindoo converts so often become drunkards , and disgrace their profession ); he asked for no forced pledge—but simply , and tolerantly , that " far as practicable , abstainers mi ght be encouraged , " instead of practically and intolerantly discouraged as hitherto . And for this the good man ( guilty in tbe eyes of " Ion" and Bacchus of abstinence and zeal ) hael his spectacles smashed by Mr . Ueilby , and is made a spectacle of by " Ion" in tho Leader !
4 . But from this isolated and individual case ( of which far " more than the most" of truth is made ) ,. let us return to general illustrations . " Ion" charges the Teetotalers with " protending that internporance ia tho sole cause of distress , " he . ! The decisive answer to this sweeping and strange allegation is to be found in thc prominent connexion of Teetotalers with all the reforming anel progressive ; _meive ; - ments eif the day . They figure as religious reformers ,
as _Sunelay-seihool teachers , as advocates of popular education , as promoters of Mechanics Institutions and eif Free-diseus 8 ion , of Dietetic , Parliamentary , Financial , anel Sanitary Reform—though ever preaching the fundamental gospel eif Self' -Reformand Se / fPeliance . Even the ; pledge is not regarded as opposed to self-re _; _liane-e ; , any more than marriage or a promissory note ; but if " Ion" has somo new-light em this subject , we ; , for one , an ; prepared at least to listen to him , and if we cannot answer him to beeome his disciple .
1 ) . " Your moderate man , " according fo "Ion , " " In the object of _sjiecial and unrelenting antipathy to the Teetotaler ; if ho is simply a sensible , virtuous man , . whet aveiiels all excess , muster e . f his own impulses , he is sure to bo denounced by a hundred pens and tongues as tbo causa of all the drunkenness , vice , crime , and murder in the world ! 11 " Now we hold moderation , us a Hul >}« tttiv _« Mate , in quite u » high estimation as " Ion " e ; nn ele _> , but we see no seme and no morality , in needlessly and urtillciully testing it , or in over—or unnaturally— © xereiaing it . The Turk , for jjwtance , to borrow
The Temperance Cause (To The Editor Of T...
an illustration from Dr . Lees , hag enough to do to master his own natural passions , without creating an abnormal appetite by the use of opium , in order to master it . And this reminds me of a Teetotal truism which would have saved " Ion" a world of words and much misrepresentation of our principles—viz ., that it is the _dkink ( as a narcotic ) which is in all cases * the cause of the drunkard ' s appetite—not " the moderate man" not even the drunkard . Does "Ion" actually think that Teetotalers , if they " denounce" at all , denounce the Man because he is " moderate , sensible ,
virtuous , and master of his own impulses ? " We assert the simple fact tbat no one gets drunk , from the example of the drunkard , any more than any man gambles from the example of the ruined and wretched gambler ; but that the two evils result solely from trying to realize the lauded practices of "moderate drinking" and " moderate play . " Nor does an artistic exhibition of a ruined gambler mean , or imply , the notorious falsehood , that all who play blow their brains out , but simply that such is the end at which . _jnapy have arrived . If there be any " infamous moral" at all , then , it is iu tliefact—and " Ion" ought therefore to direct his _sted _* pen against that rock . We say , indeed , that in the
precise ratio of a mans mastery of evil , and excellence of character , is the seductiveness of his example , aud its danger , when associated with a practice dangerous or evil in itself—like that of opium eating , alcohol drinking , or gambling . If " Ion" knew our view of this subject ( which is a " compliment" to the character and influence of the men , though a censure of the act ) , was it honourable to conceal it ? If he did not know it , he cap be no fit critic of the movement , since he does not understand its fundamental principles . If all the sensible and self-controlling people were not to drink , will " Ion" deny that their influence would _hje more wholesome and less _dansrerous ? Yet that is all
we have said—and I will challenge " Ion to produce _^ not " one hundred pens , " but one pen in any way re _? presentative of the movement , that has said what he imputes to us . As I cannot deny another man ' s experience , he may possibly have found such narrow views and wretched logic as lie describes among some teetotalers , ( and not merely have mistaken them ); but if so , I can only say
he has been both unfortunate and peculiar hi his acquaintance . Determined to test the truthfulness of " Ion ' s" representation , I repaired to a " horrid coffeehouse , " and tried the experiment of reciting in a promiscuous company of teetotalers and non-teetotalers , what " Ion" has so confidently advanced . With what result ? On all sides I was accused of hoaxing themthey could not believe that any man could seriously pu _^ forth such "trash" for truth .
6 . When " Ion" says that teetotalers denounce publicans as intending all the evil and crime which result from their traffic , we sincerely hope that he believes what he says , and is merely echoing a most absurd and groundless calumny . If he has ever heard from teetotalers themselves anything to warrant his representation , it must have been from the extreme outsides—the mere Camp-followers of the army , who are the calamity and opprobrium of every movement , whether political * religious , or philanthropic .
There are two great divisions in the lemperanco Camj )—the Ultras , whei have certain principles , and stand by them , anel the Compromisers , whose governing " rule is expediency . Ne _. vv , if the ropulsive doctrines he ¦ peaks set much about had a _re ; al existence anywhere , we should find them amongst the Ultras . Further , if we ceiulel lay our hanel upon a man regarded hg both parties as the Champion of Ultra views , we should find such doctrines embodied in him , or nowhere . To open tho writings of such a Leader , if " ion ' s"
representation be anything but a figment , would be liko throwing wide open tho doeirs of a moral Charnel House , reeking with the runic ollence . Now , Dr . Lees , designated by our critic " tho Philosopher of the Teetotal ranks , " is pree ; isely that man . Yet " Ion" expressly , and by name , exempts him from all tinge of the moral _cneirmities which havo excited tho critic ' s " indignant scorn . " I ) oe \ s not this all but demonstrate that " Jem" is fighting with _seimo dark _shaeleiws that have ; occasionally crossed his path , and which ho has hastily _mistaken tor tiio abiding realities of the Te ; inpcranco _litoveitiont ?
Lot mo not bo misunderstood . 1 do neit plenel that we Temperance _jieoplo are ; perfect , or , inele ; e ; el , always as wise anel moderate in language as wo aro with regard to _liepieir ; but I mean that " lem ' s" picture , in outline , colouring , or expression , is no portrait at all of the Temperaneo movement-- is not even u caricature , hut a gross anel mischievous libel .
* Hum The Critical " Ion" Transferred Wh...
* Hum the critical " Ion" transferred what wo say of all cases if drunkenness to all cases of drinking t Wo shoulel bo gluel to believe ( hat , even so childish a fallacy nad bpou th y occasion of so serious a Baisrepr » i « nt » t » Qft ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 18, 1852, page 17, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18091852/page/17/
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