The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1875-02-06

sober nation, but, on the other hand, there was
this great army Of pubiicans sent forth by the
Government, every one OF whom was paid by
results. and making a living BY getting rs much
drink sold as he possibly could. The Government
got $50 GOO, coo, taken principally from the
pockets of the working classes, which saved rich
men from paying income tax, which they would
otherwise have 70 pay. That was a pretty state
Of things. Notwithstanding all the Temperance
organizations, the p~ublIcans had beaten their
heads of. They might picnic every day and pass
resolutions, play bands, wave banners, and sing
Temperance songs, but unless they did something
else the publieans would laugh them TO scorn,
and the members Of Parliament whom the pub
licans returned would mock them. The gaols
were crowded, the work-houses oy~erhowin6.
lunacy was on the increase, and they read day BY
day Of the most horrible crimes, and this state Of
things would never stop until the people would
themselves understand the evil and its cure, and
would work out that cure. A great many Won
derful suggestions had been made for the cure Of
drunkenness. First working mems clubs were to
settle the whole thing that had been tried over
and over again, and the pnblicans had beaten the
clubs out of the field. Then it had been sug-
gested that education would make a change, and
at a meeting of clergymen at Carlisle ii had been
proposed that people should only drink at meal
times, but his impression was that if that policy
were adopted there would be very many meals in
the day. ~(Laughter.) The people would carry
bread and cheese in their pockets. Much
laughter.) He had not much faith in pledges of
that kind. At that same meeting il had been
suggested that the publicans should not be
allowed to turn out any drunken man unless he
had somebody else to take care of him. That
seemed to be a very good idea, and no one was so
fit as the clergyman to take care of him. 1t
would be a very edIfying sight, no doubt, to see
a man turning out of a public house with one
arm in that of a clergyman and the other in that
Of a policeman. Then a Town Councillor in
E1ipknrOh had pr0nOSa1 that thew ebOul1 not
any longer license the sellers of liquor, but license
the people who consumed it. CLaughter.) Really
that Town Councillor was not far out. Under
the present system, the poor publican did his
best, bat could not tell exactly how much was
good for a man. He sometimes gave him an
overdose but if, instead of licensing the pub
lican, they were to license the consumer, the
magistrates would have to summon before them
all who wanted to drink during the next twelve
months, and they would put them through the
test to see how much they could hold without
getting drunk, and give them licenses accordingly.
Such a plan would save the poor publican a great
deal of anxiety, and he did hope the plan would
be adopted. (Laughter.) Fancy a man going
about with a license hanging round his neck,
showing how much he was licensed to consume.
What a dignity it would add to a man Fancy
a halEbarrel man going about, how popular he
would be in Cumberland (Laughter.) Or
fancy a three-bottle man. lie was sure that a
man of that mark would get into the beer Parlia-
ment without a contest, and when he got there
he would be SO highly respected that if they did
not make him Prime Minister they would be sure
to make him a Bishop. Much laughter.) But
however childish all these schemes seemed when
brought to the light of reason and common sense,
they could not alter human nature, and the only
way to stop drunkenness was to prevent the Gov
eminent from putting boundless temptations
before people. He had ventured to introduce the
Permissiye Bill again, and that measure deserved
support because no one else had v%entured to in
troduce any further amendment to the licensing
system. In 1872 the clock struck 9 Bruce in
1874 the clock struck SO Cross When did they
intend that the clock should strike : lawson? p
(Cheers.) He urged them to make themselves
masters of the question, and they would get what
they wanted exactly as soon as they deserved it.
Let them work, and let their political influence
be given in favor only of those candidates who
would 60 against this great monopoly, and in
favor of the rights and liberties of the people.
Resolutions were afterwards passed condem-
ming the liquor traffic and in favor of the Per-
missive Bill.