The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1870-05-07 00:00:00

NATIONAL TEMPERANCE LEAGUE.

On Monday evening the annual public meeting of
the League was held at Exeter Hall, under the presi-
dency of Mr. Samuel Bowly. The attendsnce of mem-
bers and the public was unusually large, including a
great number of privates and non•commissioned offitern
from regiments stationed at Woolwich, Aldershott,
Dover, Guildford, and Windsor. The soldiers having
taken tea at the office of the League proceeded to the
hall, and on entering the platform, where they were
accommodated with seats, they were loudly cheered by
the general company,
. _

-
Anions' those who supported the chair were the Rev.
Lord Wriottesley Russell, the Rev. .T. G. Gregory, the
Rev. S. Romilly Hall, the Rev. Hugh 11.0,..tt, of
Woolwich. Mr. A. H. M'Clean, Mr. Joseph Crosfield,
and Mr. G. Cruikahank.
Mr. Robert Rae, secretiry, then reed an abstract of the
annual sepirt. which commencad by allotting to imeetal
efforts made during the year to strengthen the head of sym-
pathy raising between the medical profession and the tem-
perance movement. A medical emir ere:. ce had heen held
last summer at the Camou-street Motel, Landon, at which
papers or letters were rent from nearly 30 medical teetotal-
lers ; a second conference, attended by 150 mein oars of the
British Medical Association, had been held eluting the
annual meetings of that hotly at I eetla; and a quarterly
periedleal, entitled the Medical Te torura nee Journal, had
been auccesqully established. Through the agency of the
League, temperance sermons had been preached to very large
congregations, on a recent Sunday, in St. Paula Cathedral,
the Metropolitan Tabernacle, and City-road Wesleyan Chattel;
and sermons had also been preached in several metropolitan
chapels, as well as In Glocester Cathedral, and in 15 parish
churches in town and country. An address on the cl aims of the
temperance movement, signed by 3-63 Baptist ministers, had
just been published for circulation among the ministers and
members of the Baptist churches. Deputations had visited
a number of Theological Colleges, and v ere well received by
the prclessors and students at St. David's College, Lampeter ;
the Calvinistic Methodist College, Bala; the C. mgregational
Colleges at Bala, Birmingham, Manchest,T, Bradford, 11 dher-
harm alit Notiliigharn; and the Baptist Colleges at limy, Raw-
dou, and the Metropolitan Teltern‘cie toe Theological
Students' Total Abstinence labs, composed of 92 teetotal
students, at Hearties Park College, Hackney College, New
College, aleiropolitau Tabernacle College, Church Mis-
sionary College, Presbyterian Coll eve, and Cheshunt College,
had also been visited hy a depu,atian ; and addresses had
been given to 250 at tie ind fern'tie atodents attending the
Training Cotleges for Sehooln.aaters anti Stinntlmlntreesee at
Hornerton. Stock. ell, and Ii rough rood. School visitation
had been extensively carried out in all claws of schools—pri-
vate, national, British, Wesleyan, etc.—and numerous ad-
dresses had teen given to the inmates of orphan institutions
and ragged schools. An important conference, attended by
120 Christian ministers of different denominations, vas re-
cently held under the prestiOency of tile Rev. William
Pennefather. Conhrences, thawing-room meet'ims, and
special public meetings had been held at Liverpool,
Clifton, Plymouth, Wandsworth, Brompton, Whitechapel,
e.tmlniater, Holloway, Stoke Newington, Clapham,
South Hackney, al ildmay park, Kensington, Clanton,
and Hlghbury. The Young Men's Mutual Improvement ,
Society had hell IS meetings. Thirty-eight working.
clan meetings had been held at the Lambeth Baths
and Burdett-hall, where 503 persons signed the pledge ;
and the President of the League had ad . reseed a meet-
ing of the directors, officials, and employee of the Mid-
latielJtailway Company at Derby. Meetings had been held
at several military garrisons. temperance societies Mai !wen
formed on board the Minot our 14,1.1 other a in ivy;
and the mission A' y s. amino ! iii 5,6......nba
In the port of Ludt" CiAributeel anent o,uoti sail
other publications, and registered 230 tissues in his pledge
book. The lecturers, MietiOnliriee, and honorary deputitlons
of the League had attended about 1,51.* meetings during the
year; and the Crystal Palace Fete had been attended by
53,700 persons, being nearly 11,100 more than on any
former Ye:Aston. The receipts of the year, amounting to
.C 4,155 176. 1114., included £262 10. II from a legacy, and
£1,469 00. 61 in subscriptions and donations.
The chairman said he hoped he mighttaddreee a very

large portion of the vast meeting then before him as
fellow abstainers. He rejoiced at the advance which
pualic opinion hal made upon the question of tempe-
rance; but they must not forget the responsibility
which peculiarly belonged to them in carrying for.
ward the gre it work they had undertaken to accomplish.
They must strive to banish that ignorance and delusion
which still clouded and prejudiced the minds of many
thous:tads of well-educated pi ogle, vho believed that
latoxicating drinks were often necessary either to
prom re their health, to aid their strength, or to
contribute to their innocent enjoyments. But it had
been proved by long experience an well as science that
intoxicatinz liquors were in no care necessary. Much
ignorance prevailed as to what were intoxicating
drinks, and what was their proper use. When should
he have the happiness of hearing ladies after coming
from their parties say, "Those vulgar people had wine
on their table," then he should expect to see a change
in the haits of the people with respect to drinking.
By whom was the preset custom maintained? By
persons of the higher classes, who acted under the
delusion that the use of wine was fashionable and a
mark of refinement. He believed, however, the League
had in some fleas-ire weakened that impression. No
doubt it at first required some degree of moral courage
to softer one's friends to be seated around the tabls
drinking water rather than wine. A great obstacle
also presented itself to the progrees of total abstinence
in the practice of medical ...en. Dr. Higginbottom,
who was now in his eighty-second year, and who had
adopted the system, had written to him a letter in
which he expressed his regret that a larger number of
the members of his profrosion did not also adopt it in
their own practice, and become its advocates on the
platform. But there was another difficulty in the way
of any rapid stivancement in the adoption of total
abstitience,—namely, the want of a more cordial co-
operation on the part of the niinieters of religion. In
Amerit a almost every minister of every denomination
was a total abstainer. Another delusion was that they
could bane nations! drinking without national drunken-
ness. Ile believed that to be a great mistake. All ex.
perience showed it to be an error. Let it, therefore, be
impressed upon their minds that if they roust have this
national habit of drinking, they must also have the con-
comitant vices and misery of drunkenness. With re-
spect to the legislative aspect of the question, it was
certainly one of very deep importance. He bad Rot him-
self taken any active part in the movement in that
direction, but to those who were engaged in promoting
legislative action, he heartily wiehed success. The
Alliance movement was not so strong as that under-
taken by the League; the former asar elation sought to
shut up drinking houses altogether, their system being
total abstinence, the object of the League, however,
stopped short at temperance. 'I hey both eonght the
same thiug in the result, and he thought they might
both work well together ; and his belief was that the
country at large would rejoice in the success of so good
and great a movement.
The meeting wee then addressed by the Rev. J. G.
Gregory, Mr. A. IL M'Lean. the Rev. Mr. Huleatt,
Chaplain of the Forces at Wordwich, Mr. Joseph
Crordield, and others, after which a vote of thanks to
the chairman was passed and the meeting separated.