The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-01-04 00:00:00

Biocat ino gi.stritt

(.001.) TEMPLARS' OPEN SESSION.

The second " Open Sessiun " of the Stour-
Midge " Triumphant Lodge," was held at St.
Luouiaa's School-room, Beauty Bank (which Was
kindly placed at their disposal by the Rev. H.
borrard), on Weffnesday evening last. Tilt.
:netting was opena by Mrs. Bevingtou, Worthy
Vice-Templar, who introduced Brother Thome-
son, L.D., of Kidderminster, to the audience.
Bro. Thomason having taken the chair, briefly'
ffidressed those present. He thought they.
:-Imuld have had some binding from the choir be-
fore he was called on to address them, and con.
.;equently felt rather unprepared. No doubt
many of the people of Stourbridge, when they
3aw the hills in the windows announcing that
open session of Good Tempters wondered what
was meant by it, and wanted to know what Good
Tempiary was, lie had often been naked that
question himself in Kidderminster. He liked
persons of that enquiring turn of mind; for lie
tueoght generally it was a mark of intelligence.
'aunt° perseus would tell them it was not good to
Mr inquisitive, and ihat they should mind their
own business; but if everyone minded only his
on concerns amid had no regard for the interests
or welfare of his neighbour there would have
been no Good Tempters, and he (the speaker)
would most certainly not have been there that
evening. Good Tempters were people who
banded themselves together for the suppression
,of the liquor traffic. He wished them all to
thoroughly understand this, because it sometimes
happened that after persons had joined their
order and became aware of what Good Templary
was instituted for, that they professed them-
selves unable to go so far. He wished them
therefore to make no mistake about that that
their object was nothing more or less than the
total suppression of the liquor traffic. Publicans
'could tell them that they (the Good Tempters)
had declared war with them to the knife. 'They
1110 St certainly had declared war against the
liquor traffic, as it was the cause of so much
crime and degradation, and if they could but re-
nffive the Calloie the effects would follow. Be
afterwards called upon the choir for a chorus,
which. was very well rendered.

Brother Ryland, of the Stourbridge " Trim-
phant " Lodge, afterwards gave an excellent
reeling; which WWI followed by a song from
Brother Perry, secretary of the Lye Lodge.
Brother Rider, becretary of the " Triumphant"
Lodge, then addressed those present, and gave
S nee statistics with reference to the money spent
in the liquor traffic daring the past year. Their
order was founded not to suppress other tempe•
r men societies, but to help them forward. Pub-
scans often said they were as anxious to suppress
drunkenness u teetotallers were; and if Good

Tent')laty would confine itself to the suppres-
-0011 of drunkenness they (the publicans) would
help them to do that. But, he would ask, How
wool(' they do it? Why, by trying to make
drunken men of sober ones. In the Ttmesnews-
piper of the other day it stated that the revenue
from the liquor traffic was n 0500,000 more dur-
ing the past year than in the previous one; and,
looking into the future, it stated that the working
classes were spending far too much money in
strong dring. But the Times, like the publicans,
thought it was not necessary to suppress the
liquor traffic to make working men more sober.
Last year Dr. Dalrymple brought a bill into the
House of Commons having for its object the
establishment of inebriate asylums where habi.
that drunkards would be kept until they were
made temperate. There was an inebriate asylum
in Stourbridge, and if they would only bring the
drunkards to them they would not only make
them sober, but would keep them so; and they
would do this without putting the country to an
enormous cost in building and keeping inebriate
asylums. There were about £120,000,000 ydarly
Spent in the liquor traffic. The rich alleged that
there were now no drunkards amongst them ; but
the fact was that when a gentleman got rather
more than he could carry there was no podee.
man waiting outside to convey him to the sta.
tion and lock hi.o up, and then fine him in the
morning for having been drunk; but he was
placed in a cab and conveyed safely home.
Hence it was that they could assert there was no
drunkenness ammigst them, because their names
seldom got into the papers. There were, how-
ever, £40,000,000 a year spent in drink by the
wealthy classes. That left £80,000,000 a year
to be expended in drink by the working classes;
a sum which if devoted to that purpose, would
keep all of them when they grew old from the
workhouse. He would ask them to look at the
rained homes, the degradation, and the misery
wrought by strong drink. He had been a teeto-
taller for some time and he should remain one,
because he had been enabled to look better, to
live better, and to dress better since he had been
one. There were now 2,000 Good Templar
lodges in the country, numbering 200,000 mem-
bers. To show them the degradation that ex-
isted in a place not far from there he would
mention the fact that there was a man who lived
in Wolla.ton who had seven or eight children.
If they went into his house they would find a
beautiful set of furniture. There was one table,
a chair (in a very dilapidated condition), and a
sofa which the man himself had manufactured
out of some old bedsteads. This, with a very
poor bed, constituted the furniture. He had
done his best to make that man a teetotaller, but
he was sorry to say that hitherto his efforts had
not been crowned with success.

Brother Starr (of Kidderminster), then sang
a song; and Brother Burns gave a reading en-
titled," Where did he get the taste for it 2"
Chorus, by the Choir—" The Templars' Battle
Cry."
Worthy Chief Templar Mrs. Bovington. next
gave a vory excellent address, which, we regret
to say, our space will not permit us to publish.
At its conclusion, she was highly complimented
by the Chairman, who said that if they had many
members like her the Order would progress much
more rapidly than it was even now doing.
The usual votes of thanks brought to a con-
clusion a very pleasant and profitable evening's
entertainment.