The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1882-07-11 00:00:00

OPENINO OF THE MOULE MEMORIAL
COFFEE TAVERN.

The opening of the pretty little Coffee Tavern,
erected aa a looting monument of the life's work of the
late vicar, took place on Wednesday. and the evident
interest taken in it on this occasion by the very large
number of parishioners and friends who were present
Is a happy augury of a !successful and useful future.
With the surrounding ground well laid out the build-
ing presented • neat and homely appearance, and is
just such • house likely to attract those for whom it
Is intended.
TIFb
proceedings commenced by Divine service in
the church, which was crowded to excess, and
stoo had to be plead in the aisles for those who were
unable to find seats. Special hymns and Psalms were
selected, the service commencing with the Old
Hundredth, the concluding hymn being "0 God our
help in ages pad." The proper lemon we. Gelation v.
and 16 verse.
The Rev. Canon Smith preached an eloquent
sermon. My subject to night, the rev. Canon said, is
temperance—the great Christian virtue of temperance
—and the temperance societies which have been
established in England for the purpose of promoting
that great Christian virtue. I felt thankful for the
choice of the lesson this evening, and of the whole of
the service in which we have been engaged. Oh ! that
lemon I that solemn declaration of the mind of God,
telling you and me in such awful and solemn tones
what are the things which will for ever shut human
souls out of God's blessed kingdom. Oh I that you
will lay these things to heart. There is great need
for it in Ferdington, in Dorchester, sad in the whole
of Reiland. How many who walk to • certain
extent in the Christian profession, but rat also are
still the enemies of the Crow of Christ? Thar end is
destruction, they give themselves up to follow their
fleshly lusts. May we lay them things to heart. The
great effort which is now being made for the pro-
motion of temperance and all its kindred graces. IS One
which I know wee very dear to the heart of your late
pastor. sad it is one whiLl your present pastor
earnestly aims at, and what is that object ? nag rod
should live • godly, righteouo and spiritual life so
that as lad you may 00016 to God's eternal joy. (The
text was the fifty-ninth chapter of Isaiah, Mb verse.)
I think I see in these words a justification of the
temperance movement, and many thoughtful
persons are of opinion it is needed. The tem-
perance movement is a crusade again t one .par-
vim. Why should this hie tak-n op by the
servants of Christ? Is not Chri-tianOy iii ..id to ,
every form of spiritual darkwes and moral evil? Is It'
not promotive of ihinv that i ono:44qm'. and
of good report? Undoubt diy it lisp. Were it not
to it would not be what it pri few. I. b.—the one
religion of which Locke, the phikeollher, said
—"it has God for its author, saimlion for its
object, and truth, without • mixture of error,
for its contents." There is no one thing thst
Is for the Creator's honour, and fir the best interests
of His creatures, that Christianity does not pr >mote ;
no one thing opposed to these high ends that it does
not forbid and tend to banish far away. From the
first, it was heralded by the choir of angels, lel o I ru.
claimed as its motto—" Glory to God in the highest;
peace on earth, good will towards men." Why th
should it single out one Particular virtue as an object
of special commendation, and one particular vice as an
object of special abhorrence? Is it not thereby
adopting • lower standard, an I aiming far below the
purpose for which the great mystery of godliness—the
Divine incarnation took place. Was it only to
keep men and women from the vice of drunkenness'
No. It took a far wider scope; it was to " .lestroy
the works of the devil," and to build up the kinvdoin
of righteousoese peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,
and thereby to Make us temperate in all thing,. The
human agents to whom the Redeemer encrusted the
work were the members of His Catholio Church—the
blamed company of all faithful people. When they
were organised into • society, they were led ti make
it a fundamental rule that every use baptioni into it
shall pledge himself to renounce the d 4 sod all his
works, the pomne and vanities of this wicked world,
and all the sinful lusts of the fleah. Why, then, Is
the church engaged in snob street' ,us eff obi to
promote temperance? I think in my text I see a
Divine answer to that question. " When the enemy
c3meth in likes flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift
up a standard against him ?" Special exigencies require
special efforts, special dangers need sped .1 safeguards
to be provided. If there be no special danger to the
best interests of mankind in the prevalence of intern-
penance, then we admit that good and earnest men are
under a mistake in their enormous outlay of time,
strength, and prayer in the formation of Temperance
Societies, and we in particti ar have been under a
mistake in collecting snore than £7OO for buildiug a
coffee tavern in this piece. The object was that the
working people of Fordinoton should have one place
at least to which they might resort without being
exposed to the temptations to intemp Toilet, tem; to
tions which many have not the moral courses to resist,
and which, being yielded to, have utterly ruined whole
families by tens of thoassnds. This is an undeniable
tact. It was acknowledged by no less competent •
person then the Premier " that greater eaten:Aim are
Ind ictel cm mankind by drunkenness than by the three
historicalselarges—was,pestilenee,moi famine. Thatt
true, and Ma the measure.), our discredit and disgrace.
If so, we need no further Justification for the effort
we bane made and we heartil thank god that liei
has prepared t, so that we now present to the parieh
of Fordington a beautiful house for the Promotion of
temperance and for healthful recreation. Temperate
habits are the nursery of every domestic, every social,
aad every patriotic virtue. Tim/ me • security
▪ stthose countlem evils which follow in the wake
of drunksnoine, and which have been the reproach of
our omlMq throughout the w 'rid. Is It not a fact
that drunkenness is the main hindrance to the
extension of Christ's Kingdom? In P•41•61•T la It
not our national sin said MT 1111001111 curse? Ii there
not • loud call to us u British Chridians to do sll we
can by self-denial, by example. by ?•11••••S by Fly•re
by exertion, to stem this tremendous evil? Are we
doing our daty, to our Saviour, to our church, to our
odi.,er creatures, if we are standing MOO( and doing
nothing? Other sins and oalsaities ouch int us
occasionally, and make us sad, they fall upon as in
drops or in streams, but OM awful plague of intemper-
ance comes in like a flood, and De", MOPs in its
destructive course. The victims Of Alm vises are