Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-06-18 00:00:00

MAINE LIQUOR LAW MEETING.

A public meeting was held last night in the Hope Hari,
Rope-street, to prom,)te the objects of the 'United King& rn
Alliance for the snppreesion of the. licoor rroffie. The
chair was taken, at eight o'clock, by:• the Rev. Carrion
Jenkins, M.A., of Dowlais. The attendance was very
numerous. Among the gentlemen on the platform were—
Rev. Mr. Strinthal, Rev. Alexander .M.,.eltay, of Antrim,
Hon. Judge Marshall, Mr. Wilson, Mr. 3: K, Kng. M .
Kerr, &c.

The meeting was opened with prayer.
Toe Cif,titt:WAN said, that they were in a.very eperonriae
place—the hall of " Hope." In [heir agitation on This que-
tion of the liquor traffic, they could as yet scarcely ;.70
beyond the language of Hope. They Hoped theemfg' t
succeed in it, and they aped that the gaol woe.; reigar
go on. A very wise man had said, " Iron sheep eeeh
iron, and man sharreeth tlaa countee ance of his
friend ;" and so their object in coming together
that night was to sharpen one another, to provoke
each other to good works, to inspire each other
with Rhine Law principles. In that spirit the Minis'erial
conference was he'd last week in Manchester, and he een-
fidently anticipated that the effect of that cenfereece would
be to give confidence, to their mavement, which had
hitherto halted between two opinions. He thoucht the
Maine Law might be compared to a book c mtaening oil,
two pages—one page full of the dismal, misery, poverty,
and evil. What was it that filled the • world wieh
wretchedness and misery ? What WAS it that svgs join
like a mighty torrent thronth the leng•th and br,aillit
the laud, increasing taxation, filling our gaols, filing- our
asylum, destroying the bade, destroying the soul, a reigh
bar to social heppineea, and the success and progreas of
religion ? The chief c erne in this country was
intemperance. (Hear, hear) It was the love of
drink—it was the traffic in intoxica:ing liquors,
on which £75,000,000 of money were spent anfiu lily.
(Hear, hear.) An astounding fact. The book had another
page more delightful—the removal of this misers', this
wretchedness—which, however, could only be removed by
the suppression of the liquor traffic as now carried on• in
this country. (Hear, he tr.) He readily adriatteet that other
agencies could do much to inapt-cve :he world. Edueetiolt
would go far to improve it ; but would education remove
the temptation to intoxicatien ? It would not, and other
agencies besides education were, therefore, r,,qaired. It,
might be asked if it were their intention to go at once to
parliament and ask for a legislative measure to put dove-
the liquor traffic. No, it was not; they were not yet pre—
pared for it. The advocates of the Maine Law would not
at present accept s:lett a measure even if it were offered by
parliament. What, then, was their objec, ? In the word,. of
O'Connell, to "agitate, agitate"—to convince the country
by reason and argument, and stubborn facts of the desira-
bleness, the necessity and the benefit that would flow from
such a law. When they had done that, their work would
be accomplished ; for then with one voice they would
demand the suppression of the liquor traffic. (Applause.)
The Rev. Mr. STEINTHAL proposed the first and only
resolution submitted to the meeting. It was as follows :
—" Whereas, it has been proved that the greater part of
the pauperism, disease, and crime, under which this
country suffers, is directly or indirectly the result of the
traffic in intoxicating liquors—resolved that the United
Kingdom Alliance, for the suppression of that traffic,
deserves the earnest and active support of all true patriots,
and pbilantrophists ; and that a committee, to consist
of not more than twenty-five gentlemen, be appointed
to carry out the objects of the Alliance in Liverpool."
He observed, that not a day passed in which he did not
find some evidence staring him in the face, of the evils
caused by intemperance. All agreed that intemperance
was the chief cause of all the evils under which this
country suffered ; but the difference between Maine Law
men and anti-Maine Law men lay in the nature of the
remedy for, and its application to, those evile. He
maintained that it was the result of the liquor traffic, and
as they found drunkenness among men of education, and
• even among the ministers of the Gospel, they could only hope
for its removal by abolishing the cause. The rev. gentleman
then proceeded to argue the necessity for a law to suppress
this traffic, and maintained that when at any time distilation
,was prevented in Ireland, or surrounded with difficulties,
as had occasionally been the case in England and \Valeta
the people at once became prosperous, and crime rapidly
decreased in the country. The reverse was the case now—
public-houses abounded, and so did crime. In Liverpool
there was a public-house to every 160 of the inhabitants,
while there was but one place of worship to every.2,37B
of the inhabitants. Could they, then, be astonished at the
scenes which they daily witnessed in the town. In conclu-
sion, the reverend gentleman urged that the same power
in regard to the Maine Law should be given to every
community, similar to that which they now enjoyed
under the Peblic Libraries' and Health Acts, to reject or
adopt it if they pleased.
The resolution, which was seconded by Mr. Kerr, and
supported by Judge Marshall and the Rev. Mr. Mackay,
was unanimously adopted.
The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chair-
man.