The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1867-06-22

DUEINo the last twenty years. in England and
America. there has been a growing feeling among
tlAt cia= Of the population known aa the iib-
erals" in Christianity. tending towards a lax
ob-er,anoc Of the Christian sabbath. The Gus
toms Of Catholic Europe were commended. where.
after morning mass, the entire Y~opuaec give
thcm-elye= ~ t. recreation and jolliv.-whore
the theateTs, dancing houses. shows. bull fights.
wine AMI beer shop OF gardens were olen t. the
public. and Sunday was a general festival DAY.
II was argued by these liberal Christians
that after tie dull. p~lo,dins round Of sjx days
labor. this way Of Spending the seventh was the
most rational. and rno-t conducive t. health.
The Le-t answer l, this argument j, to lie
funl in the history oc the Puritan-, under the
Commonwealth If old England and in the earlier
day. of New England. Those were men OF steE-
ling worth. There the Sabbath was the day Of
day-. and Observed with the stricJest Solemnity.
There are many of the present generation who
cln remember, Ia childhoOdis days, in some of
the State- of the Union. that when the sun set
Saturday night all labor ceased. The cooking
for SUNDAY was dOne.-Or at least the pork and
beans and tie Indian padding were in the
oyrn,-the cows were MIXED and loddcred. the
LDt4-t Wa- Lltt4N t4cllitl anu EdI4ll>LtA- -Etlllld
had put away her knitting, and even the boots
and shoes were cleaned and polished FOX the conl-
in holy day. Then, after the frugal supper,
anil the dishes were cleared away. how truly
Burns ia his ..COtter's Saturday night, pictures
the scene, The family, gathered all about the
hearth. the stern old Covenantcr or Puritan father
takes down the family Bible from is wontcd
niche.
he wsles 4 portion With juLicious case,
And. let IL worship G"i' he says, ~itI Ii'us air.
Then the next day,-fow still, quiet and orderly.
Punctual attendance was required AMI exacted.
except in cases of real illneSs,-of each mem
Der of the family at - meeting" and the young
steIs must beware how they tripped by the way,
or betrayed any signs of lcyity in soing or COM
ing. BY tine old Blue Laws Of Connecticut,
any one who should undertake to travel on the
road out Of a walk Oh tie Sabbath. was liable To
4 fine. Thus particular We're the old Scotch Cove
nanters and the early New Englanders in their
observance Of the Holy day.
In Old England. the Sunday, as the day is
there dcnOminated. though not kept with that
formal strictncss which obtained among the Amer
lean Puri;ans and tie Scotch COvcnantcrs. was
eminently and thoroughly Il day of Sacred rest,
and all worldly avocations were tabued on that
day. The old fashioned Englishman made it a
matter of duty to 20 regularly To church, and
the extent Of his indulgence on Sunday was to
take an afternoon walk or Il ride in the country
with his wife and little ones. But in the present
day, John Bull. while almost invariably Il church
going man, has his Sunday trains, his Sunday
dinners, and picnics, his bands in the public
parks, and for the poorer classes, the beer and
grog shops are decorated to amuse and entice.
Thus he compromises. between the strictness of
the Puritan on the one hand and the laXity of the
ROmani-t ON the other, and between these two
stools he appears to be lettering, 50 far as 4 pro-
per observance of the Sabbath is concerned.
More particularly Is public attention in Eng
land at the present time directed towards the
of the sale of intoxicating drinks on Sun
days. The rule in most of the large towns and
cities of England has been, To shut the beer and
liquor shops ON that day, only between the hours
of 10 \. NJ. and l p. NJ, these being the hours
particularly devoted To public worship. When
the clock strikes one. the strects-in certain local
itics-are filled with men, women and children,
especially the latter, of the lower classes, with
pot or jug in hand, vending their way Ia the
=. gin palace or the beer shop, for the home sup
HN- LUIS - tpiF ~ an iAuultiiot tAAcllt. ssIau ~
the day, instead Of being one of relaxation and
rest, becomes to the laboring classes the day of all
the week ON which they take the least real ply
steal and mental rest. and is devoted to riotinZ and
debadchery.
Recently in London, a public meeting was cali
ca by the Lord Mayor, in accordance with a
rcquisition signed by Archbishop Manning, and
five OF six hundred others, clergymen and
merchants, etc, at Guildhall, to express their
on the ~Propricty of adopting measures
for prohibiting the sale of Intoxicating liquors on
Sundays. The large hall was filed. The Lord
Mayor occupied the chair. Says a report of the
proceedings:
The Rev. Dr. Garrett, Of Manchester, novel the first reso-
luton - That this meeting believes that the saie of inteNi-
Of the people and That II ought therefore TO b. disoontnn'7i--
lie said il was not the object of the promoters OF this movement
10 10 vas 10 promote a great national work in a harmonious
spirit The great question was whether publie-hoases should
81 should not be entirely closed on Sunday. Cheers, and loud
marks Of diseutJ II the people pettoned the House Of Com
mons in An earnest and respectful manner entirely to close
IubIic-houses on sunday it would be done but if the House
OF Commons thought those places ought TO Be open during part
Alderman Hale seconded the motion. He said he occasion
t"k a glass Of ~ine, but he never drank wine on . sunday
Mr.. J. II. Wright, a licensed victuaner, rose to move the
following amendment - That, in the opinion Of this meeting,
it j. ineNpeiient at present 70 make any alteration in the Las
respecting the sale Of beer, wine, or spirits" He WAS met
" 4A 4 "aflAA- ~A"AA ~ 'rAifl'fa43 am - 0luA"A "aN"~
which vas with diaaculty quenel. lie denied that the work
ing people u England were in such a degraded and immoral
state that they could not he trusted II book after themselves,
their families, AMI their property unless pubhc-hOuses Were
locked up one whole day cut Of seven tupr1ar).
Mr. I. sale, a very J1vLal-looking person, seconded the mo-
tion, and denounced the puntauism which would deprive
working men % their beer
Archbishop Manning, who was received with vocifrous
applause. said he supported the original motion with all his
heart. He had signed the Tegui>iton because he knew from
the report of a committee Of the House of Commons, in 1884,
that drunkenness exceeded all official statistics in England,
a r%i '"a a6i y SIn5sS tE q PbnaTfiT ILs d III IL % tm s-I thst
ThH lay WH- rT far I-fInr when l. FMf Which, now rested
upon IL should b. removed from the fair fame and the fair name
Of CUR country Cheers
Alderman Cotton agreed neither with the resolution nor the
amendment. He cuutended that the amount u intoxicating
drinks a man should take ought to be regulated by common
sense. and BY q Consideration Of how much his constitution
would stand laughter He considered that the present reGu-
lauous for closing pUhhc-hUu>es on sundays were sufficient,
hut he would not object To their being closed after six O'Clock
on Saturday evenings when working men received their wages.
Eventually the lord maNur nut the amendment 10 the meet