The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-08 00:00:00

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_e, of teteperatele ee(Tseael tilt et etierieleefe si" • see Li --tfj
se.:•' net temperanze. They heel reeled Vale
America, and they had so pressed it to the eons (IS/it:4P
men they durst nut drink there, because they knew that
wss the only way to redeem this world. They were
satisfied of this principle, that supply creates demand,
and they nicked them to understand it here, and also
that as lon, as it continued the demand would continue.
(Hear, hear.) Take away the supply, and its loss
would not be felt—take it away from the poor
I drunkard, and he would care nothing about it in
six weeks.--(Hear, hear) In America they were going
on gloriously on this principle, and he believed they
were going on gloriously here also. It had been his
province to read the journals of this country carefully,
and they had shown a progess on the part of this
country, which they were not sensible of. Thepeople
of this country were doing more than they thought, but
they thought too highly of the Americans. They did
not think highly enough of themselves here.—(Hear,
hear.) Her Majesty in her new year's gifts withheld
Leer, and he trusted she would withheld wine on the
next occa.,ion.—(Hear.) Through God's omnipotent
b!eseing he had no doubt the cause of temperance would
prosper throughout the world.—(elieers.)
The Rev. W. REED, of Edinburgh, next carae for-
ward to address the meeting. He said he must aeN:now-
ledge that he was a little squeamish about coming
into that house, being his first appearance on any stage-
-(Hear, and laughter.) But having got into it, aid
contrasted it with the place in which he was accustomed
to minister, he was almost tempted to sing a stanza of a
song which was sometimes heard in Scotland :
This is no my air. house,
I hen by the biggin'
—(Laughter.) And yet after all he did not feel himself
our of place, minister of the Gospel though he was.—
(Cheers.) When a mechanic found his machine out of
order, did he continue working at it without inquiring
into the cause? When a husbandman found his soil
unfruitful, did he not adopt means to make it fruitful?
and should a mlnlster of the Gospel, -when he found an
obstacle meeting him at every turn, remain igno-
rant with regard to that obstacle, instead of acting con-
sistently with the great commission assigned to him ?
There was one point to which he would confine his
attention during the few moments he had to address
them—he referred to the young. They had also a most
important duty to discharge to the rising generation,
and they had no right to leave a system behind them,
which would degrade, demoralise, and ruin them.—
(Cheers.) Poets had compared young children to
flowers, but if they neglected them like a deserted
garden, they could not send anything forth so noxious.
--(Hear.) If they could look upon them with the eye
of Jehovah, they should tremble with the great responsi-
bility which devolved upon them with respect to children.
fie considered that there was a great relation between
the mind of a man and the mind of a child—the con-
nexion was as intimate as the connexion between one
end of the electric telegraph and the other. To ascer-
tain the dispositions of children they must look into the
play-ground, where they would find the future
warrior, the future grasping merchant, playing at pitch
and toss, the boy who in after years might dye his hands
in blood and commit murder, they might see him make
flys spin round and round without their wings,
for the examples set before children had a great influ-
ence on their future lives, and in forming their disposi-
tions for good or evil.—(Hear.) Then the boy sitting
on his father's knee at home learned his first lesson in
intemperance by tasting a little drop. Parents might
look upon this as simply an indication of juvenile folly,
which in future years would be eradicated. The mind
of man was being observed in-the head of the boy, and
he sought no other example than that inculcated in his
father's house, and adopted no other opinions but that
which received a sanction there.—(Cheers.) It was a
great mistake to think that education began at
school, or when a man went out into the world.
The first teaching commenced at home, and was mate-
rially influenced by the kindness or unkindness of a
father, and mother, and brother and sister. Their
kindness or unkindness went a great way to form the
mind of the boy in after years. It was a most beautiful
and encouraging fact, and it was in this fact that he
had the greatest hope for the regeneration of this great
world. —(Cheers.) In fact the infant mind was free from
prejudice. The boy of a better climate would find a
companion in the child of this cold climate, and the
child of this cold climate and a child of a Prince would
not refuse to associate with the child of a peasant.—
(Hear, hear.) They come into the world free from
prejudice. He would be contented to entrust any great
question to a jury of children, gathered from any corner
of the world, he had so much confidence in them. He
would refer the Oregon question to them.—(Hear.)
He would put on one side the nature of that rocky
country, and, on the other, the blood that must have
been spilt before that country could be gained, and
they would say, "Rather let the question remain un-
settled for ever. than that one drop of blood should be
Spilt." Ile would submit to them the question of Eu-
ropean slavery, and, after considering it, they would
say, " Let every fetter be struck off, and let the slaves
go free."—(Cheers.) He would also place this question
before them, laying on one side the inutility of in-
toxicating drinks, and, on the other side, broken-hearted
wives, unhappy children, and wretched homes, and
they would say, "Taste it not—touch it not."—(Cheers.)
They had perhaps seen a number of houses in flames,
and after the fire could not be got under at the spot it
had broken out at, they had seen the firemen play upon
a house for fear it might ignite those at some distance,
from the other portion of the fire, but when the fire ex-
tended to it, it was found as difficult to get over as it
would be to swallow the ocean. It was well to play
water on the old drunkard, but it was still better to go
further, and prevent the flames from reaching the
children.—(Cheers.)
The Rev. Dr. Cox, of New York, next addressed the
meeting. Lie said he hoped to be temperate, but he was
placed in a position which might snake one feel intoxi-
eated.—(llear.) When he left America last June, he
intended, when he returned, as he did in 1833, to have
been able to say that be had never been at an opera or
a theatre.—(Laughter.) But he should make no
apology and tell the truth. There was a maxim est
modes in rebus, but the cause of temperance was the
cause of man—the cause of God. He asked England
rn help America with her example. So great was
the extent of intemperance in the gin palaces of Lon-
don, that if the whole of the spirits drank in these places
in the course of a year were gathered into one great
reservoir, the whole British Navy might swim in it.
l'he exertions of the Convention would, he believed,
outstrip all other exertions, because they formed a body
desirous of carrying out the principles of sound philan-
thropy. They would go forth to tell what it had done, the
great progress it had made, and the potent influence
which its labours would have not only on America but
upon the whole civilised world. He could not conclude
without expressing a hope that " God save the Queen"
and " All hail, Columbia," would be sung together.--
(Cheers.)
G. S. KENDRICK, Esq., of West Bromwich, then came
forward, and said that he considered it a good omen
that this meeting was held in Covent-garden Theatre,
because meetings of the first importance to mankind and
to the country had been held in that place before--
(Cheers)—and as these meetings had resulted in one of
the greatest, one of the most important, one of the most
beneficial measures of modern times, he trusted that this
meeting, held in the same place, for even a higher and
a nobler purpose, would reach an equally successful ter-
mination.—(Continued cheers.) The Premier had eulo-
gised one of the men who had been instrumental
in carrying that measure as one of the heroes of the free
trade movement ; but it yet remained for them to carry
the much more extended, and the yet more important,
measure.—(Cheers.) It was said that 5,000,0001.
would be saved by the passing of that Bill, but he (Mr.
Kendrick) affirmed that not five, but 50,000,0001. would
be saved to the kingdom if they could pass a Total Ab-.
stinence Bill.—(Hear, hear.) It was said that the want
of such a law as that lately passed had restricted the
food of the people ; but they had had undoubted autho-
rity to substantiate the fact, that seventy persons out of
every seventy-seven were punished for crimes induced
by drunkenness.—(Hear, hear.) That Bill had been
passed to benefit the poor man principally,
but this measure would be equally beneficial to rich, and
before he had
rpnoeonr Ta
dhee
poorbad heard, and
n k enmn
ea
snsy. ofjtuhsetm had seen rich,
come to that meeting, he had seen a carpenter who had
been brought to that state of degradation, that for ten
years he was not once perfectly sober.--(Hear, hear.)
He had been separated fi ora his wife three times, and
when he (Mr. Kendrick) asked the cause of separation,
the man stated that it was altogether owing to the in-
toxicating liquors, which had starved his family.
.For
these reasons he thought that the question they had met
to discuss that evening, was one of the most important
and most interesting to the human race. He said that
this law might be carried out, but how were
they do it? The most effectual, the only certain way
would be by the law of kindness. The law of kindness
was the only, the really beneficial mode • for charity
would in all circumstances be more efficacious than
force; the laws of attraction drew everything to a central,
while the laws of force repelled them.—(Cheers.) He
might be allowed to mention one word with regard to
Ireland; he had often travelled through Ireland, and he
had never hear,adsbo if witht oneth e
course
sexpressionopposed with regard to
etoxcheipstrieofilormofatioonne;
pF
ua
bt hl ec hr
nll., I
whoa the ‘wv
all spoke well of him. Now he attributed all this to
the prevailing principle of benevolence that pervaded
all his lectures and his actions—(Cheers)—and he
had found universally that no one had any
wish to oppose, but that all in that countn-
were willing to aid the temperance reformation. We
had, not long ago, stood along with Mr. Houghton, on
the balcony of a public-house to hear a lecture on tem-
perance reformation.—(Hear, hear.) The publican
himself came forward, and said, " there are two or three
persons in that corner who have broken the pledge, ad-
dress a few words to them." There were not above two
or three who left that meeting who had not signed the
pledge. He thought they ought to avoid addressing
hard words to those persons who were intemperate ; ho
repeated, they ought to avoid these, because that was
not the best way of making converts. There were 20,000
ministers of the Gospel in America, and the public feel-
ing in that country was very strong that ministers of all
denominations should be teetotallers. The control
was the case in this country. If a Miesister of this
country were to affirm these princiesks, he would be
looked down upon; not one of the, higher classes would
support him. But a better feeling was arising through•
out the country. As an illustration, he might tell them,
that at an agricultural meeting at Newcastle, where
upwards of 30,000 persons were assembled, and where, by
the way, there was an horticultural show also, there were
a number of booths erected for the sale of spirituous
liquors, but these shops were quite deserted, and the
speculators had lost by them.—(Cheers.)
Dr. CALDWELL, Professor of Mental Philosophy in
Dickenson's University, Pennsylvania, next addressegthe
meeting. He said be had not expected at that
of the night to be called on to say one wont to that
was Certain
con-
vention and vast assembiy,and en then h late hour