, 1853-04-09
A Strong Temperance Speech.

We hnd in an eastern paper the follow
ing arguments in favor Of Temperance by
Mr.. Edward Baines, OF England, who is the
member Of Parliament, we believe, for
Leeds. The following is an extract from
hiEpeech
" The peculiar danger Of intoxicating
drinks is in their extreme seductiveness, and
in the all bu, unconquerablc strength Of the
drinking habit when once formed and their
peculiar maligniiy is in their Being the pa
rent or nurse of every kind of crime, wick
edness, and suffering. r p .-.. DBL.
&c ! say boldly that no man living who
uses intoxicating drinks is free from the
danger Of at'least occasional, and If of oc-
casional, ultimately Of habitual excess. /
have myself known such frightful instances
of persons brought into captivity 10 the
habit, that there seems to be no character,
position, or circumstances that free mea
from tho danger have known many
young men OF the finest promise led by the
drinking habit into vice, ruin, and early
death. have known such become virtdal
PaTicidcs.4 | have known mahy lradesmeh
whom II has made bankrupt, lhaye known
Sunday scholars whom it has led to prison.
! have known teachers, and even superin-
tendents, whom il has dragged down to
proAigacy. ] have known ministers Of TO
ligion, in and Oul Of the Establishment, Of
high academic honors, Of splendid eloquence,
nay, of vast usefulness, whom il has facinar
ted and hurried over the precipice Of public
infamy, with their Fyes open, and gazing
With horror on their fate. have known
men Of the strongest and elearest Intellect,
andof vigorous resolution, whom il has made
weaker than children AMI fools. have
known gentlemen Of refinement aud lasle
whom il has debased into brutes. I have
known poets Of high genius whom il has
bound in bondage worse than the sSlleys,
and ultimately cut short their days. Ihsv6
known siatpsmen, lawyers, and judges whom
it has killed, ] have known kind husbands
and fathers whom it has turned inlo mon
sters. have known hoheSt men whom Il
has made villains. have known rEegs0l
and Christian ladies whom il has converted
into bloatcd s6ts. ii9n aW --.nt> ENTrl
els il not notorious that under ne grava!
gee Of drunkeRHeas he land mourns2 That
i Is this which-7,I may almost say e1clu-
sively-flls our prisons, our warehouses;,
our unatic asylOms, our dens Of pollution,
and our tosPivuIsi,5 ,rE;oh sAusss s.sJ..i 20
the lhipwreeks, 6Fes, fatal socldsnts, crimes,
outrag s, and suicides that load the columns
Of our nrwspapeIs which robs numberless
wives Of husbands affection, and number
less children Of a parents fondne~; which
strips thousands Of homes OF every comfort,
deprives scores Of thousands Of children o.
educAtion,f and slmosi Of bread, and turns
Them on tho sEerts (which leaves 30 many
PLACES Of worship almost empty, aud 20
many Mechanics' 1nstiluies languishipg,
whilst the pot-houses are crowded Which
brings down (it is estimaied) sixty thousand
OF our population every year TO a drunkard's
grave y i-i
Sr~ And ofaltbe victims Of ih,etnperance,
be il remembered, there isnot one who did
not begin by moderate drinking, or who bad
the remOlest idea when he began that he
should be led into excess" ...-....