New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-02-25
GREAT TEMPERANCE GATHERING
second Quarterly Meeting Of the National
Temperance Society.
TReported for The Tribune ]

among them we noticed good proportion ol -
dies. Az o'clock, the President, JoHS FALco'
yER. ESQ. took the chair, and the proceedings
were commenced by the whole audience joining
in Temperance Hymn, under the lead Of +. II.
NASH. Esq. Rev. joins DowLISG then delivered
an eloquent Prayer which was followed by the
,ono "Come to the Mountain" by Mr.. Nash.
The Secretary then, on behalf Of the Society,
presented the following resolutions, as embodying
its principles;
b,rssn OF The Of spiuOus and malt liquors,
vine and cider-and While such moderate use continues
PIy5 Thai we extend the hand Of reo wshp to all
ORGANIZATIONS for the promotion Of Total Abstinence, and
hail them as cosborefs eqasly interested with u.s. IN the
INFRINGEMENT OF this great Reform
Resord That our thanks are especially Que 20 nose
cereymen and editors who have given our cause ae oen
eo5peTation 10 hereby earnestly solicited.
Resored That the increased degree OF Intemperance
IN sunday over any other day In the week, made apparent
hv he Police Reports calls loudly upon the Mayor OF this
Civ for rigid enforcement Of the laws against the sund
R,.alrs9 That the system OF licensing to sell In
toTicarng Drinks Is radically wrong and ought 10 De
aboljssed-snd al laws or parts OF laws that sanction ana
Justify The traffic such drinks, ought TO be repealed
Rev. r. s. FOSTER was presented to the audi
ence by the Secretary. He remarked that not
withdrawing the attention which had been d.
rected to the subject of temperance, it was still
one Of vast Importance, and one which demanded
our utmost unwearied exertions. We have but
gained the point where we see the magnitude OF
the labor that is before us. We have but carried
the outposts-the citadel still remains mistaken
vet we should not be disheartened. There is
no evil OF half the terrific dimensions as those
presented by the rum tralic-in fact all other
evils combined do not equal It, and the
marvel is that the demand has not been made
that the brutal tragedy should cease Gould
the panorama Of the drunkards Ire pass De-
fore the public eye, the demand would be
made. and made, too, in a voice that would
be needed The speaker then gave some stats
tics 10 show the evils of the rum traffic and the
loss of life and treasure that followed its con-
tinuance, and concluded his address with bitter
denunciation of those who were dealers In IN
toxicstiDg drinks
Prof NASH gave capital Temperance Song
"A Sober Spouse for Me-
Rev c. ]. WARES, Secretary Of the Society
read the Quarterly Report. 1t gave an account
of the doings of the Society for the past three
months-the amount of moneys received and dis
bursed-and the desires and projects which
the Society entertained. One great object
which the Society steadily had in view was
the erection of a suitable building in which
they might hold their meetings, and thus
have standing point around which the friends
of temperance might rally. In connection with
this the Society also desire to establish an Asy-
lum and Reading Room. For the purpose OF al
fecting this object twenty-five per cent. of all the
receipts is sacredly set apurt. The receipts for
the past three months have been 5000, and the ex-
penditures 1917 50, leaving balance IN the hands
of the Treasurer Of s523 AZ.
A collection was then taken up during which
the Banner of Temperance was sung by Mr.
Nash.
Hon. SAMUEL HoUsTON, U. s. Senator from
Texas next addressed the assembly. He
would in advance apologize to the audience
for appearing before them, for he knew that he
should not fulfill their expectations. Not reared
amid the refinement which he here saw around
him, he would not address them in the Ian
gusge of the polished orator, but Injured to border
life and being more a man Of observation than
of books, he would speak TO them ia the ain dl-
alect of those with whom he had passed through
life And before he proceeded further he desired
10 pay q passing tribute TO those who had hrst
commenced the temperance warfare-to the pio-
neers in the struggle-the men who had COM
menced with few and persevered until they had
gathered hosts to their standard. he would be
expected TO speak somewhat OF hlmselt-of ais
earlier lile-of the scenes through which he had
passed If he did so, il would not be 70 claim for
himself any credit, but to show that man could be
reformed and be could freely say, that before he
bad left off the practice of taking an occasional
spree % be had never ttha.conscousness ofrecti
tude that he felt now. Temperance leads to action
--ntemperance to in action temperance will keep
q man in the paths ofvirtae and rectltude-intem
peraBce will lead him down to the depths OF vice
and degradation. You cannot repose any conf
dence in the inebriate, but you avoid trusting
any Of your business to him, as you would
shun the leprosy. In addition TO the bad
breath with which be will annoy you, he
is a bad companion and a bad example to be
placed before you. You would not choose an ine-
briate for your President, nor for a Judge, nor
for a General-nor would you trust him In
your store any sooner than you would gam.
bier But how is the inebriate to be reclaimed
and the vice Of drunkenness banished from our
midst By such associations as | see before
me tonight, and every good citizen should enrol
himself under its banner. There was a class of
MEL however who refused to join temperance
society, because Of the pledge which it required
of its members. They wished to be free, and
they would be iree-that is free In the use OF the
bottle. twas not because the pledge took away
their so called freedom that they detested it, but
because It deprived them, ii they adhered 70 it, OF
their freedom to drink rum. There was another
class Of men who would not join because there was
no necessity for their doing so-they could control
themselves without IT, And this, said the
speaker, reminds me Of an occurrence that
happene1 to me IN Texas. Riding through the
border settlements Of that State, halted one
day at the house of settler. Passing into the
ball that divides the two rooms Of every settlers
house ia that state, Hound pail Of liquid stand
ing on the bench and beside it cup. i took
cupfull, for was thirsty and weary and raising
it TO my lips, tasted it. Instead Of pure water,
which / expected 10 qusf / found it was
grog-s ard that made from the vilest species
Of "baldfaced whisky" Looking around at
the cabin, was not surprised to find that this
erog occupied q prominent place in it. The
space between the logs were so wide that you
could take at by the heels and sling her horizon
tally through them. twas then in April and there
had been a severe frost the night before. Turning
to the owner Of the dwelling. l remarked that il
must be some y bat airy. a" les,' drAwled out the
man, in that peculiar vein and manner that intoxi-