The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-07-12 00:00:00

TEMPERANCE FETE AT THE CRYSTAL

PALACE.

The Temperance Fête which took place on Tuesday
at the Crystal Palace was probably one of the most
successful of its kind ever held, both in point of the
numbers of persons present and the extent and
variety of the programme. Special excursion trains
from all parts were constantly run to the Palace
throughout the day, and brought large contingents of
pleasure-seekers, till by the afternoon every portion
of the building and grounds was filled with visitors
from all parts of the country. Numerous as they
were, however, ample means of amusement had been
provided for all, varied as their tastes might be.
Considering the he: t of the weather and the pressure
of the multitude in the building, it was not to be
wondered at that the great majority of
holiday makers should prefer to spend their
time in the open air, and as a consequence
the cricket matches between temperance cricket
clubs and other sports were favoured with large atten-
dances of spectators. Besides the cricket and the
amateur " Go-as-you-please " matches on the bicycle
track and the flat racing in the sports ground, that
part of the grounds devoted to the swings, round-
abouts, and "cocoanut shies," always such a popular
resort on a holiday, was filled from morning till night
by a constant tide of merry young people. In the
palace the first things to be inspected were, of course,
the exhibits of the International Exhibition, which
were viewed with much interest. Later on there was
the annual Temperance Choir Contest, in which
twelve choirs took part, after which came a great
choral concert by 5000 abstainers. While these and
many other amusements were going forward the great
object of the fête of advocating temperance, and
of showing the numbers and respectability of those
at the back of the movement, had not been
lost sight of. Meetings of Rechabites, Danielites,
(vegetarian teetotalers), and Good Templar lodges
were held at different times of the day, but
the most important of all was a miscellaneous meet-
ing held in the Opera Theatre, and which was pre-
sided over by Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P. Besides the
hon. baronet, another teetotal celebrity was present
in the person of Tawhiao, the Maori king, accom-
panied by Major Te Wheoro and Chief Topra. The
chairman, who was loudly cheered on rising, said he
was glad to see so large a gathering of representatives
of teetotalism from all parts of the country. They
had all done great work already, but he feared that
he had done less than any of them, because he was a
member of the Legislature. Everyone had done more
than the Legislature to which he happened to belong.
He was present the other day at one of Mr. Stuart
Cumberland's thought-reading exhibitions, and there
was one man who gave Mr. Cumberland a great
deal of trouble, and he confessed that he was
unable to find out what the man was thinking
about. Presently the man muttered "Brandy and
soda." That was what the man was thinking
of, and that was what the nation was suffer-
ing from." King Tawhiao, who was loudly applauded,
then addressed the meeting in his native tongue, each
sentence of his speech being interpreted. He
acknowledged himself proud of wearing the blue
ribbon, and he was very glad that he came to Eng-
land. He had hearcl the name of the blue ribbon in
New Zealand, but he did not know much about it.
lie had been for over three years fighting against the
consumption of intoxicating liquors, which inflicted so
much harm on his chiefs and people. Many of the
young chiefs had died from drinking; and he there-
fore came to the conclusion that they should have
nothing more to do with drink. Resolutions were
afterwards passed in favour of total abstinence, Chief
Topra being among the speakers, and the meeting
terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman.
The great feature of the afternoon was the grand
procession of temperance societies through the
grounds with their bands and banners, each member
being decked out in full regalia. At the close of the
day the Palace was splendidly illuminated by the
Gulcher electric light.